Tuesday

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us as God’s people are reminded of the need for us to remain humble and also to put our trust always in the Lord. The Lord has shown His love and most generous kindness towards us, and He has always been patient in leading and guiding us, showing us the path of righteousness and justice. However, it is often that many of us gave in to the temptations of our desires and pride, our greed and ambitions, that we ended up shutting the Lord out of our lives and keeping Him away from our hearts and minds. As our Scripture readings highlighted to us, there had been many occasions in the past where man has been swayed and tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions that they fell into sin and evil.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the story of the confrontation between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, both of whom wanted a share of the limelight and the prominence of Moses’ leadership over the people of Israel, and being biased against Moses because of the woman he married while claiming that the Lord could also speak through them. Essentially, they both committed sins against God and against Moses by their slander and actions, as they were really jealous of the position and the prominence that Moses experienced in his leadership, and how he was chosen by God for this role. It was mentioned how Moses was really a very humble person, who did not seek for glory or greatness, as was evident very early on, before he even went forth for his mission to Egypt, as he was unsure and reluctant to take up the role of the leader of God’s people because of his lack of eloquence unlike that of his brother Aaron, and presumably, also his sister, Miriam.

Miriam and Aaron in turn were likely jealous of all the attention and the importance which Moses had received, and thus desired to have the same benefits and privileges that Moses had as well. Then, the Lord made it very clear to all of them and to all of the people that His favour and choice rested on Moses alone, and that it was Him Who chose and empowered Moses for his mission and ministry as the leader of the Israelites, and not the efforts and the persuasions of those who sought the same position as Moses, like that of Miriam and Aaron, or any others who attempted to usurp the leadership of the Israelites, such as in another occasion when a portion of the Israelites rebelled under the leadership of Korah and those who sided with him. And just as how God swiftly dealt with those rebels and crushed them, thus Miriam and Aaron were punished by God with a plague of leprosy to clearly show to everyone, the obvious sign of Divine displeasure.

In our Gospel passage today, the same attitude was shown by those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people who criticised the Lord’s disciples because they deemed them to be unlawful in their behaviour. They criticised the Lord’s disciples as they did not wash their hands in the manner prescribed by the Law of God as revealed through Moses, which if we understand the context, had become very highly detailed and ritualised by the time of the Lord and His ministry. According to the Jewish traditions and Church history, those practices of purification and handwashing became so elaborate and complicated, that the people might very well ended up losing sight of the importance and meaning of those practices and customs altogether. While indeed, such practices had good reasons to maintain hygiene in a society living in especially crowded conditions during the Exodus, but it was more of the uncharitable and proud attitude of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law which was criticised by the Lord.

Those people were swayed by their own pride and greed, and tempted by the allures of worldly glory and fame. Their privileged status and position within the Jewish community made them to be clouded in their judgment, as they deemed themselves to be infallible and better than all others, especially those who were not in accordance to their ideals and ways, those who did not obey and fulfil the Law of God according to their particularly strict and rigid understanding and appreciation. Hence, the Lord rebuked them and chastised them for their attitude and lack of true faith in God. They behaved exactly just like how Miriam and Aaron had done in the past, as they placed their own qualities, power and might, their own intellect and status above that of the love for their fellow men and women. Their condemnation and acts in ostracising those who need the Lord’s help the most, were particularly criticised by the Lord.

This is why, today, each and every one of us are reminded not to allow our emotions, our pride and greed, our ego and all the negative things and thoughts, the temptations and evils all around us to tempt and pull us away from the path towards God’s righteousness and grace. Instead, we should learn from many of our holy predecessors, the holy men and women who had gone before us. We should reject those excesses of worldly attachments and desires, and strive to put our focus on the Lord and place Him at the very centre of our lives and existence. Each and every one of us should be inspired by the examples of those who have answered God’s call, and embraced Him wholeheartedly, just like Moses himself, who dedicated his whole life to God, and hence God sent him to His people to be His servant and messenger, and as the leader to help His people out from the darkness of slavery and into the light of freedom.

Today, the Church celebrates together the feast of a great and renowned saint, whose life should be a great source of inspiration and strength for us as Christians, in how we ourselves should behave and live our lives as faithful and devoted followers and disciples of God. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman was the great founder of the Order of Preachers or Ordo Praedicatorum, better known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is today part of Spain where according to tradition, his mother gave birth to him after having dreamt of a dog that leapt out of her womb with a flaming torch on its mouth which set the whole earth on fire. Later on this would be part of the Dominican traditions and hagiography which linked the great courage and passion with which St. Dominic dedicated his life in preaching the Good News of God, and the charism of the Order, which is truly related to that vision which St. Dominic’s mother saw.

St. Dominic devoted his life to the Lord and soon became a priest from a young age of twenty-four, spending a lot of time travelling around and proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people, especially to those who have fallen astray in their path and forgotten their faith in God. St. Dominic was also working with the other contemporaries of his time, who were working against the dangerous heresy of Catharism, which had befuddled many of the faithful and dragged them into the wrong path. St. Dominic and many others, and those who were inspired by his examples, ministered for many years among the areas affected by the Cathar heresy, and managed to bring many back to the Holy Mother Church and salvation in God. It was also during this mission that according to tradition, St. Dominic received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who gave him the rosary and therefore began the popularisation of the rosary devotion amongst Christians. St. Dominic dedicated himself to the very end of his life for the sake of the salvation of souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we be inspired by the great examples and the dedication which St. Dominic has shown us all through his exemplary life and actions? Shall we all be renewed in our commitment to God and in our desire and willingness to walk down His path? Each and every one of us are part of God’s Church, and we all share in the same calling and commitment to live our lives worthily and to become the missionaries and witnesses of our faith in the Lord. All of us should keep in mind all that we have reflected upon today, and do whatever we can so that we may be truly God’s worthy followers, and as the great role models and inspirations for one another in faith. Let us all turn our back against the evils and temptations of this world, and all the wickedness of pride and ego which had brought about the downfall of so many of our predecessors, and return to the Lord with all our heart. May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us in our every good efforts and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 15 : 1-2, 10-14

At that time, some Pharisees, and teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, gathered around Jesus. And they said to Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders? For they, they do not wash their hands before eating.”

Jesus then called the people to Him, and said to them, “Listen and understand : What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”

After a while the disciples gathered around Jesus and said, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended by what You said?” Jesus answered, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted. Pay no attention to them! They are blind, leading the blind. When a blind person leads another, the two will fall into a pit.”

Alternative reading

Matthew 14 : 22-36

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

They came ashore at Gennesaret. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought to Him all the sick people, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 6bc-7, 12-13

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

What is evil in Your sight, I have done. You are right when You pass sentence; and blameless in Your judgement. For I have been guilt-ridden from birth; a sinner from my mother’s womb.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 12 : 1-13

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married and they said, “Has YHVH only spoken through Moses? Has He not also spoken through us?” And YHVH heard.

Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than any man on the face of the earth. Yet suddenly YHVH said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three of them came out.

YHVH came down in the pillar of cloud and, standing at the door of the Tent, called Aaron and Miriam. They both went out and He said, “Listen carefully to what I say, ‘If there is a prophet among you, I reveal Myself to him in a vision and I speak to him in a dream. It is not so for My servant, Moses, My trusted steward in all My household.'”

“‘To Him I speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles, and he sees the presence of YHVH. Why then did you not fear to speak against My servant, against Moses?'” YHVH became angry with them and He departed. The cloud moved away from above the Tent and Miriam was there white as snow with leprosy. Aaron turned towards Miriam and he saw that she was leprous.

And he said to Moses, “My lord, I beg you, do not charge us with this sin that we have foolishly committed. Let her not be like the stillborn whose flesh is half-eaten when it comes from its mother’s womb.”

Then Moses cried to YHVH, “Heal her, o God, I beg of You.”

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Tuesday, 1 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Scriptures which reminded us all of the great love and compassion, mercy and kindness which He has often shown us all, we mankind who are sinners and unworthy of His love, having often betrayed and abandoned Him for false gods and idols, and all the other distractions and temptations which kept us away from the path that the Lord has shown us. Each and every one of us have been given this great grace of God’s mercy and love, which He constantly showered upon us, as He wants us all to return to Him, and to find our way back to Him, as we are all truly precious and important to Him, and He does not hold grudge or hate us because of the fact that we are sinners, as He despises not us, but our sins and wickedness.

That is why, as we listened to our first reading today from the Book of Exodus, we are reminded of this great love and compassionate mercy of God, as Moses came to the Tent of Meeting where the Lord’s Presence resided, shortly after the people of Israel had been chastised and punished for their great betrayal of the Lord in the building of the golden calf idol at Mount Sinai, at the time when the Lord was establishing His new Covenant with all of them and was giving them all His Law and commandments. The Lord in His righteous anger had wanted to destroy the people for their sins, but Moses pleaded before the Lord to spare them, and after the golden calf idol had been destroyed, as we heard in our first reading today, he once again pleaded to the Lord to show mercy upon the people who had sinned against Him and disobeyed His Law and commandments.

Moses went to the Tent of Meeting to meet God Himself, Who came clad in the a mighty pillar of cloud and light, and he called upon the Lord to show His kindness and to continue to dwell along His people even when they had disobeyed and refused to listen to Him in numerous occasions. The Lord then responded in showing him and all the Israelites that He was indeed full of mercy and compassion, as the One and only True God of all, Who wants to be reconciled and reunited with all of His scattered and lost loved ones, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock. The Lord then at the same time also highlighted that He would still punish those who committed sins and evil deeds, and mete out justice against those who have not walked in the path of righteousness and those who have committed sins and wickedness in His sight and presence. It is a reminder for us that God loves us, but He does not tolerate our sins and wickedness, our waywardness and disobedience.

This is why we need to be alert and vigilant against the temptations of evil and all the allures of worldly pleasures and ambitions. We should not allow ourselves to be easily tempted and swayed by all those falsehoods and lies, which the devil and all of his wicked allies propagated in order to lead us all down the wrong paths to our downfall and damnation. In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus highlighted to His disciples and hence to all of us, the parable of the weeds in the field, which is related to the parable of the sower which the Lord elaborated just earlier on. In that parable of the weeds, the Lord mentioned how the enemy came to sow the seeds of weeds among the good seeds of the crops of the field spread by the master and owner of the field. Those bad seeds represent all the wickedness and evils present in us, which the devil and all of his forces had constantly spread in our midst, in trying to pull us away from God and His salvation.

At the same time, God, the Master of all of us, and the Lord and Master of this whole world has planted in us the seeds of His truth, the seeds of faith and love, the seeds of righteousness and justice, the seeds of His Wisdom and grace. These gifts and good things are present in us, just as the weeds and all the vices and wickedness are present within and all around us, in our lives and in our beings, in our communities and in all of our families and circles of friends. It is a reminder for us, through that parable of the weeds, that in the end, all the weeds will be gathered, burnt and destroyed, while the good crops, the wheat and other fruitful harvest will be gathered into the Lord’s glorious kingdom one day. It is representative of how the wicked and those who commit evil shall one day have to answer for their wickedness and evils, and meanwhile, the righteous and the just shall be made worthy by their obedience and faith in the Lord.

Now, the question is, what are we then going to do with our lives? Are we going to allow the seeds of evil and wickedness, the seeds of weeds to grow and suffocate us all in our lives? And are we going to let them to mislead us down the path of damnation and downfall? Or can we resist those temptations and strive instead to remain faithful and true to the Lord in all of our dedication and faith towards Him? Can we commit ourselves once again to walk with zeal and true faith in God? Just as Moses and all the whole people of Israel came before the Lord with repentance and regret for their sins and wickedness, can we all do the same as well? It is our pride and greed, our inability to resist the many temptations and evils around us that had often led us down the wrong path, and hence, we should now entrust ourselves wholly to the Lord, and humbly seek Him with faith and genuine love, as our holy predecessors and the many holy men and women of God have shown in their lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, the renowned founder of the religious order known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists. St. Alphonsus Liguori was truly a great man of God, a bishop and faithful servant of the Lord, who dedicated his whole life to the service of God, his Lord and Master. He was born into a small minor noble family, and went on to excel in his academics and studies, and became a lawyer for quite a number of years. However, he did not truly find true satisfaction and joy in life, and was looking for deeper meaning in his life. St. Alphonsus Liguori then eventually sought the Lord in the consecrated life, as a priest and missionary of the Lord, in proclaiming the love and truth of God to many people, with his initiatives and efforts reaching out to tens of thousands of people, who were touched by his genuine and clear sermons, filled with truth and genuine love of the Lord.

St. Alphonsus Liguori desired to show more of the Lord’s compassionate and merciful side to many of the people who have been lost to Him, while at the same time also stressing the importance of repentance and turning away from one’s sins. St. Alphonsus Liguori hence established the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, which began a great campaign of ministry all throughout the whole world, in bringing the knowledge of the Divine Redeemer, the Mercy of God to more and more of the people of God. Later on, the order would also add on to their charism and ministry, the propagation of the devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, having been entrusted by the Pope himself with the care of the Byzantine Icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help, which complemented and added on to their missions in seeking the salvation of souls, the redemption of sinners and the liberation of the whole world from the forces of sin and darkness.

St. Alphonsus Liguori himself, despite having been appointed and made a bishop in his later years continued to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the people entrusted to his care, never ceasing to carry out his hard work and efforts for the salvation of souls. He ensured the discipline and the well-being of his priests and members of his congregations, encouraging more and more among the people of God to lead a life that is truly worthy of the Lord. Hence, all of us should really look carefully upon the examples and the actions which St. Alphonsus Liguori had done in his life, in all of his ministry and works, and be inspired by them, so that we ourselves may also carry out the same mission and work, in dedicating ourselves to the glory of God, and to the salvation of our fellow men, all those who are still suffering the tyranny and bondage to sin.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord, and being inspired by the examples of the saints, the holy people of God, particularly that of St. Alphonsus Liguori, let us all hence be great role models and inspirations ourselves, in leading lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, by doing God’s will and obeying His Law and commandments at all times. May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey, and may He empower us all to carry on with our lives with great zeal and obedience to God, now and always, forevermore. St. Alphonsus Liguori, holy servant of God, pray for us all sinners, that the Lord, the Most Holy Redeemer, may always show His mercy and compassion towards us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 1 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 13 : 36-43

At that time, Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” Jesus answered them, “The One Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one. The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is the end of time, and the workers are the Angels.”

“Just as the weeds are pulled up and burnt in the fire, so will it be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send His Angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil. And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the just will shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.”

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Tuesday, 1 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 102 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

YHVH restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses; and His deeds, to the people of Israel.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins. As a father has compassion on his children, so YHVH pities those who fear Him.

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Tuesday, 1 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Exodus 33 : 7-11 and Exodus 34 : 5b-9, 28

Moses then took the Tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, at a distance from it, and called it the Tent of Meeting. Whoever sought YHVH would go out to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. And when Moses went to the Tent all the people would stand, each one at the entrance to his tent and keep looking towards Moses until he entered the Tent.

Now, as soon as Moses entered the Tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the Tent, while YHVH spoke with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance to the Tent, they would arise and worship, each one at the entrance to his own tent. Then YHVH would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his neighbour, and then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, son of Nun, would not leave the Tent.

And Moses called on the Name of YHVH. Then YHVH passed in front of him and cried out, “YHVH, YHVH is a God full of pity and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in truth and loving kindness. He shows loving kindness to the thousandth generation and forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin; yet He does not leave the guilty without punishment, even punishing the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Moses hastened to bow down to the ground and worshipped. He then said, “If You really look kindly on me, my Lord, please come and walk in our midst and even though we are a stiff-necked people, pardon our wickedness and our sin and make us Yours.”

Moses remained there with YHVH forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the Covenant – the Ten Commandments.

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Tuesday, 25 July 2023 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of one of the Lord’s great Twelve Apostles, namely St. James the Greater, the elder brother of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, and one of the sons of Zebedee who followed the Lord Jesus since the very beginning of His ministry. St. James was also one of the closest among all of the Lord’s disciples, part of the three disciples that the Lord often brought with Him in important occasions, together with St. Peter, the leader and chief of all the Apostles, and St. John himself, St. James’ younger brother. All the three of them were present at every major occasions in the Lord’s ministry, such as at the Transfiguration of the Lord, the healing and the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official, as well as the moment of the Lord’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, among others.

And as compared with St. John the Apostle, his brother, St. James was also notable as being likely the first among the Apostles to die of martyrdom, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, with Apostolic and Church traditions placing his martyrdom just a decade or so from the time of the Lord’s death and Resurrection. On the other hand, St. John was the last of all the Apostles to pass away, and the only one among all of them who did not die of martyrdom, although he did suffer a lot of persecution, sufferings and oppressions throughout his many years of life. Nonetheless, both brothers have followed the Lord faithfully and with great dedication to the very end, enduring many challenges and hardships, struggles and difficulties throughout their ministry, and they did all that they could to proclaim the Good News of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the same two brothers St. James and St. John, who came together with their mother, and at that time, their mother asked the Lord to grant the two of them the places of honour by the left and the right hand side of the Lord. As we heard, this action brought about a lot of insecurities and jealousy from the other disciples of the Lord, and it highlighted to us the dangers of temptations of worldly power and glory, and one which we should resist or else we may end up falling into the wrong paths in life, and not the path that the Lord has shown us. Then, we must understand the context that at that time, many of the people living at the moment of the Lord’s work and ministry thought that the Messiah, that is the Saviour to be sent by God, would be a great conquering King and Ruler, born of the House of David so that the Kingdom of Israel of old can be restored.

That was why among many of the disciples of the Lord, there might have been many who hoped that the Lord Jesus, Whom they considered as the Messiah, would be the One to bring back the glorious days of the Kingdom of Israel, and liberate them all from the hands of their foreign oppressors and rulers, the Romans as well as the foreign rule of the Idumaean Herodian kings. Therefore, when the mother of St. James and St. John made such a request, and the displeasures and jealousy of the other disciples at that time, were all borne out of the misguided ideas and misunderstandings regarding what the Lord’s mission truly was, and what His disciples and followers would have to go through and experience in the midst of their own ministries and works. Thus, the Lord told the two brothers, St. James and St. John, that it was not for Him to decide Who should sit on His left and right, and if they would be able to drink of the cup of suffering that He Himself was about to drink.

Through this, the Lord Himself wanted to reveal the kind of hardships and sufferings, challenges and trials that St. James and St. John and also all the other Apostles and disciples of His, may have to undergo and endure in the midst of their ministries and works. St. James himself eventually was to go on his missionary works and trips, proclaiming the Good News to the far ends of the world, most well-known of which is in the region of Hispania, in what is now parts of Spain, where he proclaimed the Lord and His Good News to many of the people there, and to whom Our Lady herself, Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to in order to encourage and strengthen him, in the apparition known now as Our Lady of the Pillar. St. James’ ministry is the reason why his greatest shrine is now located at the place of his former ministry, in what is now known as Santiago de Compostela, named after the Apostle himself.

St. James eventually would be martyred after that in Jerusalem, as we heard in the Acts of the Apostles, when king Herod Agrippa who wanted to gain favour with the Jewish leaders and elders, persecuted the Christians and their leaders, arrested St. James and then executed him. He was thus likely the first of the Apostles to die in martyrdom, and many of the other Apostles would also suffer and die in the subsequent years and decades. Nonetheless, their faith and commitment to God remained firm and strong even throughout those difficult years, and that faith is something that all of us as Christians should also be inspired with, and be strengthened from. And we have also been constantly reminded that the works of the Lord which He had begun and entrusted to His Apostles like St. James and others, have not yet been completed, and there are still many areas and circumstances where we are called to be like the Apostles in proclaiming the truth of God, His Good News and salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be strengthened by the examples and dedication shown by St. James the Apostle, all his work and ministry, and in his courage to spread the word of God and the faith, and in having indeed drunk of the cup of suffering and martyrdom that the Lord Himself had drunk from. Let us all be genuine and committed disciples of the Lord ourselves and let us all seek to do what the Lord had called us to do, and be ever more faithful to Him in all of our ways. Let us all be exemplary and good in our every words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions and relationships with one another. We are all parts of the Church and its mission to evangelise and to proclaim God’s truth, salvation and Good News to all the whole world, and each one of us have to commit ourselves to this mission in whichever areas and parts that we are able to contribute in.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and guide each one of us, and may the intercession of St. James, His Apostle continue to help us in our journey, and empower us all should we face many challenges and trials throughout our journey of faith and life. May God bless us all and may He bless our every works and good deeds, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 July 2023 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 20 : 20-28

At that time, the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favour. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here, You have my two sons. Grant, that they may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your kingdom.”

Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink My cup; but to sit at My right or at My left is not for Me to grant. That will be for those, for whom My Father has prepared it.”

The other then heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know, that the rulers of nations behave like tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you : whoever wants to be great in your community, let him minister to the community. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man, Who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”