Tuesday

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Deuteronomy 32 : 26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab

I said I would scatter them afar and blot out their memory among humankind, but I feared the enemy’s boasting, lest the adversary misunderstand.

And say : ‘We have triumphed, the Lord has not brought this about.’ They are a senseless and undiscerning nation. Had they wisdom, they would have known.

For how could one or two men put to flight a thousand or ten thousand, unless their Rock had abandoned them, unless their Lord had given them up?

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 28 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre : You are very proud and self-satisfied : ‘I am a god, I sit like a god in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are man and not a god; would you hold yourself as wise as God? You consider yourself wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you. Your wisdom and know-how have earned you a fortune, gold and silver flowed to your treasury.”

“Clever in trade, you became wealthy and, as your fortune increased, your heart became prouder. But now, YHVH has spoken to you, to the one who is like God : I am bringing foreigners against you, the most feared of all the nations. Their sword will challenge your wisdom and debase your refined culture. They will bring you down to the pit and you will die in the depths of the sea.”

“Will you be able to say ‘I am a god’ when your murderers are killing you? You are a man and not a god. You will die the death of the uncircumcised and perish at the hands of aliens, for I have spoken – word of YHVH.”

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Tuesday, 13 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us should be willing to listen to God, to heed His words and the calling which He had made to us in each and every moments of our lives, as He has constantly done so, in reaching out to us and calling on us to return to Him and to embrace His love and grace once again. It is by our disobedience that we have fallen into sin and therefore been sundered from the fullness of God’s grace and love, and therefore that is why we have to wander and suffer in this world, as consequences of our rebelliousness and disobedience. But God truly did not wish for our destruction and damnation, and He truly wants each and every one of us to be reconciled and reunited with Him, and that is why He has always provided us with the means, help and guidance in order to do so, and we should heed what He has told and reminded us of.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the continuation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel which he received from God was told to us. We heard how in that vision, the prophet Ezekiel was tasked to speak to the people of Israel, the people of God, in order to remind them of the words that the Lord wanted to share with those people, the lamentations, the groaning and the woes which He had for them, for all of their stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to His words, despite everything that He had done for them. It was their own wickedness and disobedience, their refusal to follow the path that God has set before them which led them to their then predicament and hardships, as they were enduring exile and sufferings far away from the lands that they had been uprooted from, the lands of their ancestors.

Yet, God still cared for them and loved them nonetheless, and He reached out to them through His many prophets and messengers with this specifically in mind. God loved His people, each and every one of them, and He sent them prophets like Ezekiel and many others so that they might recognise their errors and wickedness, and embrace once again the path of God’s righteousness and virtues. And not only that, but He even sent us all, His most beloved Son, His only Begotten One, Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate to manifest to us His ever enduring and present love, and as our loving and Good Shepherd, He wants us all to be found and gathered from this world, each and every one of us, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock.

In our Gospel passage today, this is what we have heard from the Lord Jesus Himself, Who told His disciples the folly of their debates and their struggles with each other to determine who among them was truly the greatest and the first among the disciples of the Lord. He told them all that they ought to have the faith like that of little children because it is this kind of faith which is truly pure and genuine, not tainted and corrupted by the desires of the world, truly loving God and committing oneself to follow Him wholeheartedly instead of being so immersed and preoccupied by worldly matters and desires that we end up forgetting our true and most important mission in life as Christians, that is to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, and to love one another in the same way as well.

The Lord then also reiterated this love which He has for each and every one of us. He told His disciples using the comparison with that of a shepherd and owner of the flock who would leave behind his ninety-nine safely accounted flock of sheep to seek for the one that had been lost to him. This is a representation and reminder to every one of us of just how beloved we are by the Lord and how precious we truly are to Him, that God will not let any one of us to be lost to Him. He will always show us His patient love and mercy, reaching out to us ever consistently and patiently to bring us out of the darkness into the light of His salvation and grace. That is why we all should heed His love and appreciate just how blessed all of us are to have been beloved in such a manner by our loving God, our Shepherd and Father.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, two saints whose lives and commitments to the Lord, actions and examples have been great inspiration for each and every one of us. Pope St. Pontian was the leader of the Church at the time when the Church and Christians throughout the Roman Empire was persecuted for their faith in God, during the tumultuous years of the upheavals that were also facing the Roman Empire in that era. Pope St. Pontian and his predecessors, Pope St. Callixtus I and Pope St. Urban I also faced internal divisions and challenges such as from St. Hippolytus, whose feast we are also celebrating today. This St. Hippolytus, also known as St. Hippolytus of Rome, had been elected as a rival Pope or Antipope over the controversy of the Pope’s decision to extend absolution and forgiveness to Christians who have committed grave sins.

St. Hippolytus was among those who advocated rigorism and stricter attitudes against those Christians who have committed serious and grave sins such as adultery and idolatry, and thus, allowed himself to be elected by his supporters as a Rival Bishop of Rome and Antipope, which led to a bitter division in the Church which lasted through the next two Pontificates, up to that of Pope St. Pontian’s pontificate. When the persecution of the faithful intensified and led to the arrest of both Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, it was told that when they were exiled to the Sardinian mines, they were reconciled with each other, with Pope St. Pontian apparently voluntarily resigning his Papal office to allow the election of a worthy successor to continue the office of the Supreme Pontiff while St. Hippolytus also repented his schism, which had led to the division of the Church. Eventually they were both martyred for their faith in God but not before they helped to restore unity in the Church and inspire many with their great courage and faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed in our Scripture readings earlier today and as we have heard from the great examples and inspiration shown by Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, let us all as Christians continue to strive to be faithful and committed to God, rejecting the evils and wickedness of this world, and follow Him in all of the ways of our lives. Let us all be willing to work with one another, overcoming our differences and seek forgiveness for one another just as Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus had shown us. Each and every one of us as Christians should be great role models and examples for our fellow brethren in everything that we say and do, in our every efforts and endeavours in our lives.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of faith in life, and may He continue to strengthen and empower us so that in everything that we do, we will always continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions, words and deeds in life. May God bless each and every one of us and may He bless our every deeds, efforts and good works in all things, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 13 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10, 12-14

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”

“It is the same with your Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.”

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Tuesday, 13 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 118 : 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.

Your law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.

How sweet are Your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart.

I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.

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Tuesday, 13 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Ezekiel 2 : 8 – Ezekiel 3 : 4

God said to Ezekiel, “Listen then, son of man, to what I say, and do not be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I am about to say.”

I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groaning and woes. He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel.”

I opened my mouth and He made me eat the scroll; and then He said to me, “Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate it; and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, “Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with My words.”

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Tuesday, 6 August 2024 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we mark the great and most glorious Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, marking the moment when Lord Jesus revealed a glimpse of His true identity and glory as the Divine Son of God, the Holy One incarnate in the flesh to the three of His disciples at Mount Tabor. On this day we recall that most wonderful moment when Our Lord revealed His salvation through His Son, showing us all how God has fulfilled all the promises which He had made with us all, His beloved people, so that through His Son, His love has been manifested in the flesh and became approachable and tangible for us. And at the same time we have also been shown what we are all expected to be like, to be transfigured ourselves from our current worldly lives into new lives truly blessed and filled by the grace of God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Daniel in which the Lord showed the prophet Daniel a great heavenly vision that was a prefigurement of the coming of the Saviour into this world, and at the same time, revealed to the people of God some of the truth of the identity of this Saviour Whom God had promised and would send to be with His people. He showed them that God would send His Son into our midst to lead us all into the ultimate triumph and victory, liberated and delivered from all the darkness around us, gathering each and every one of us to return back to His heavenly Father, to be the One through Whom all of us are assured of God’s salvation and grace, fulfilling all of His promises and reassurances to us.

Daniel saw the vision of One of a Great Age, a figure that represents God the Father, the Creator of all of us as the One seated in Heaven, ruling over all of Creation. Back then, no one would have known anything about the identity of the Lord, Who in truth exists in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son of Man shown in Daniel’s heavenly vision clearly prefigured the coming of Christ, the Son of God Incarnate and His role in the story of our salvation. After all, to whom would God grant all dominion, power and authority, such a great responsibility, the kingship and power, that everyone in all of creation ought to serve this Son of Man? It is clearly none among us all mankind, for we are all equal to each other, and neither the Angels nor any other beings that God had created. He must therefore be God Himself, in His aspect as the Son and Word of God, united to the Father, the Creator, and the Holy Spirit.

Thus, it was indeed a prefigurement of the One Whom God would send into this world, One Who is co-eternal, consubstantial, that is of the same nature and substance as Himself, the Divine Son of God, the Word by which God had created this world, Who would enter into this world, incarnate in the flesh through the acceptance of His mother Mary, who accepted the mission entrusted to her by the Archangel Gabriel, to bear the Son of God Himself within her. That is how He came to be known as the Son of Man as well, because through this Incarnation, He has taken up flesh of man, the complete and full nature of our humanity, and become the Son of Man, the Son of Mary, His beloved Mother. But all these were yet to be fully known and understood by the people of Daniel’s time and afterwards, up to the time of the Lord Himself.

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, as mentioned earlier, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord was transfigured before His three disciples at Mount Tabor, when He revealed His true Divine glory and nature which had been hidden behind His human nature and appearance. He revealed to the three disciples that He was not just merely a Man, or any ordinary human beings or a Prophet. For He is no less than the Almighty God Himself in the flesh, having His full Divine nature manifested together with His human nature, in the one Person of Jesus Christ, the One Whom the three disciples called Lord, Teacher and Master. It was there at Mount Tabor that the Lord manifested Himself and revealed Who He really was to the world, through His three disciples, appearing before them with His Divinity bared freely to be seen.

We heard how the Lord appeared before St. Peter, St. James and St. John together with Moses and Elijah, which was actually an important symbolism and was meant to reveal not just the Lord’s Divine nature, but also the fact that He was indeed the One Whom God has sent into the world, the One He has promised to us to deliver us from the destruction caused by our sins and wickedness. The Lord showed that He is indeed the culmination of the Law and the Prophets of God, with Moses representing God’s Law and Elijah representing God’s many prophets and messengers. That both of them appeared to the Lord at Mount Tabor showed that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah or Saviour that has been prophesied through the prophets, and that He would also uphold and reveal the full truth and meaning of God’s Law. He is the One through Whom God would make all things right once again.

Now, at that moment we also heard how St. Peter told the Lord that they ought to build three tents, one for Himself, one for Moses and one for Elijah. This was then met by a rebuke from the Father, Who spoke to them through the clouds, telling them all to listen to and to obey His Son, His Chosen and Beloved One. Then the heavenly vision and the figure of the Transfigured Lord disappeared, and the Lord with His disciples went down Mount Tabor, and afterwards, they would go on to Judah and Jerusalem, where the Lord would face His sufferings or Passion, bearing up the Cross for the salvation of all the whole mankind and the whole world. This is what is meant by obedience, just as the Lord Jesus had the choice to remain on that mountain, on the place and moment of His glorious Divinity, His majesty and power. He chose to obey His Father’s will, emptying Himself of His glory and power, and assuming the humble condition as a slave, to suffer and die for all of us.

Today therefore, as we rejoice and celebrate in this great moment of the revelation of Our Lord’s glory and majesty, we are therefore called to follow in the examples set by the Lord Himself, and follow Him as we all should do in each and every one of our respective lives. We should walk in His footsteps, remembering the great love, kindness and compassion which God has shown us all throughout the way, all these while. And at the same time, we all should continue to remember that through His glorious Transfiguration, the Lord wants to show us all that we are all called to seek this same transfiguration of our existence and lives in this world. For by sharing in our human nature and becoming the Son of Man, God has united Himself through His humanity with all of us, and through His Transfiguration, the Lord showed us all what we all are ourselves going to be like after we have transcended from this human and worldly existence to the new and everlasting life beyond death.

All of us are called to return to the Lord and be fully reconciled and reunited with Him, to assume once again our blessed and graceful existence and appearance, which God had created us all with, to be perfect and wonderful once again, free from all defects and wickedness due to our sins, full of grace and love, just as how God created us all in the very beginning. Let us all therefore strive to live our lives to the fullest, serving God at all times and glorifying Him by our very lives, in each and every moments. Let our lives shine with the fullness of God’s light, truth, hope and love, and be the beacons of His light and truth, as a glimpse of our own transfigured selves, and encourage one another, our fellow brothers and sisters, so that each and every one of us will remain firm and true in our path towards God and His salvation. May the Lord, our most gloriously Transfigured Lord continue to bless and guide us all in His path, and strengthen us in faith, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2024 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 28b-36

At that time, six days after Jesus predicted His own death, He took with Him Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. Jesus’ appearance was changed before them : His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became bright as light. Just then Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents : one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter was still speaking, when a bright cloud covered them with its shadow, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, My Chosen One. Listen to Him.”

On hearing the voice, the disciples fell to the ground, full of fear. But Jesus came, touched them and said, “Stand up, do not be afraid.” When they raised their eyes, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus. And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had just seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2024 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 96 : 1-2, 5-6, 9

YHVH reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Clouds and darkness surround Him; justice and right, are His throne.

The mountains melt like wax before YHVH, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.

For You are the Master of the universe, exalted far above all gods.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2024 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Daniel 7 : 9-10, 13-14

I looked and saw the following : Some thrones were set in place and One of Great Age took His seat. His robe was white, as snow, His hair, white as washed wool. His throne was flames of fire with wheels of blazing fire. A river of fire sprang forth and flowed before Him. Thousands upon thousands served Him and a countless multitude stood before Him.

Those in the tribunal took their seats and opened the book. I continued watching the nocturnal vision : One like a Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into His presence. Dominion, honour and kingship were given Him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served Him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; His kingdom will never be destroyed.

Alternative reading (Second Reading if this Feast is celebrated as a Solemnity)

2 Peter 1 : 16-19

Indeed, what we taught you about the power, and the return of Christ Jesus our Lord, was not drawn from myths or formulated theories. We, ourselves, were eyewitnesses of His majesty, when He received glory and honour from God, the Father, when, from the magnificent glory, this most extraordinary word came upon Him : “This is My beloved Son, this is My Chosen One.”

We, ourselves, heard this voice from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain. Therefore, we believe most firmly in the message of the prophets, which you should consider rightly, as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the break of day, when the Morning Star shines in your hearts.