Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
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, who do no harm to their neighbours.
Those who 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 not be shaken.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
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 not the whole land 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 oaks of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to be always filled with love and concern, empathy and compassion for our fellow brethren all around us. We must always be exemplary in how we live our lives, as God’s followers and disciples, so that in everything we say and do, we will always be the worthy bearers of His truth and Good News, and in our every words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions with one another, we will always be truly faithful in all things, and not just merely paying lip service to the Lord. All of us have to be genuinely committed to the Lord and be wholeheartedly dedicated to Him, showing our faith at every moment, in every possible things.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, the words of the Apostle St. Paul exhorting the people of God in Corinth to be inspired by the great examples set by their fellow brethren in the region of Macedonia, which St. Paul had also ministered in, in how the faithful there had persevered and endured even though they had faced quite a few obstacles and hardships, persecutions and trials. They helped and encouraged one another, and remained firmly faithful to the Lord despite the hardships that they had to endure all those while. Therefore, their obedience to God and perseverance, their commitment to God was shared by St. Paul, who hoped that other Christians elsewhere, be it in Corinth or in other places, may also share the same commitment and faith in God.
St. Paul highlighted how each and every members of the faithful in Macedonia had lived their lives well as those whom the Lord had called and chosen, in their support for each other and in their love for God as well as in their love for their fellow brothers and sisters. In essence, they were following the very examples set by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, their Lord and Saviour, Who had come into our midst, enduring persecution, rejection and ridicule, stubbornness and even betrayal by those who were closest to Him. The Lord had done so because of His obedience to His Father’s will, His love for all of us, His beloved ones. He had endured the worst of treatments, sufferings and humiliations so that by His endurance and commitment, He might save us all from our impending destruction.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we then heard from our Gospel passage today, in which the Lord Jesus Christ highlighted again what He Himself had done and would do for the sake of His loved ones. He told His disciples, that to follow Him and His Father, all of us must be truly filled with Love, pure love that is unconditional and not seeking for returns, a pure love that is genuine and truly rich in compassion. The Lord used the example of how the Lord cared and showed His love on both the upright and the wicked alike, and He did not deny those who have even repeatedly disobeyed and sinned against Him, the grace of having forgiveness and mercy to be shown to them. For as long as they still have the time left, the Lord’s love, mercy and forgiveness will still be given to them should they seek for Him with sincere heart.
The Lord reminded all of us that as Christians, we have to love everyone, as best as we are able to, and we should not be transactional or discriminatory in how we love others around us. Yes, definitely there will be those whom we love more than others, but we should also strive to love all those who have not loved us back, and even treat well those who might have cause us hurt and harm. We should not be the ones who seek vengeance and harm to others as well, because, in doing so, we are only going to perpetuate the cycle of hatred and anger, the cycle of pain and sufferings. We should do our best to break that cycle, and instead, be the ones to live a life truly worthy of God, by loving one another as best as we can.
That was what the faithful people of God in Macedonia had been doing as well, in how they continued to show love and compassion, care for others and all, even when they had faced great hardships and challenges in their lives, being persecuted and oppressed by those who hated and despised them. They did not allow their hurt and pain to turn into hatred and anger, or violence and other forms of evils and wickedness. Instead, they showed all of us, that it is indeed possible for us to follow the Lord’s examples in His most generous and wonderful love for each and every one of us, which He has shown us through none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, Who has given His life for our sake, so that by His suffering and death, all of us may be saved.
The Lord has loved us and cared for us, even when we have not obeyed Him, and when we have constantly disobeyed and rebelled against Him. Yet, the Lord continued to show us His love and compassion most generously, caring for us in the best way that He could, offering us His mercy and salvation, if only we open our hearts and minds to welcome Him, allowing him to enter into our hearts and minds, that He may work His acts of healing and compassion in us, turning us all from the people and children of darkness and sin, into a people of the Light, filled once again with His love and grace. All of us have been called by the Lord to follow Him, and commit ourselves once again to the path that He has shown us.
May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to guide and strengthen us at all times. May He empower each and every one of us so that we may always walk in His path most faithfully, and dedicate ourselves with renewed conviction and strength. Let us all be good role models and inspirations to one another, in living our lives most faithfully at all times, focusing our whole lives and existences to God, Who should be the very reason and the very focus of our lives. May God bless us always, in all of our good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.
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 perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 145 : 1-2, 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a
Alleluia! Praise YHVH, my soul! I will sing to YHVH 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 YHVH their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.
YHVH is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. YHVH sets the prisoners free.
YHVH gives sight to the blind; YHVH loves the virtuous; but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. YHVH straightens the bent. YHVH protects the stranger.
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.
Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Sacred Scriptures the reminder that all of us as Christians, that is as God’s disciples and followers, all of us must follow His path and do His will, and each one of us have been gathered and called from this world, in order to give testimony of our faith to the people all around us, not just through words only but also through actions and works. If we have not truly and sincerely believed in the Lord, in doing what the Lord has commanded us to do, then we have not lived our lives well as Christians, as how we are supposed to live as God’s servants and disciples. All of us have to be active and committed in our every living moments, so that in everything we say and do, in our every interactions, we are proclaiming God, His love, truth and Good News always.
In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, as the Apostle reminded the faithful community in Corinth how God has always been faithful to the Covenant and to the promises which He has made and renewed with us and our ancestors, again and again. Therefore, all of us should also be committed to the same Covenant which God has made with us, and to embrace Him thoroughly and wholeheartedly, not ignoring the responsibilities that we have in doing God’s will and in obeying His Law and commandments. God Himself had done everything for our sake, not sparing even His own Son, Whom He sent into our midst, so that by dwelling among us, we may see this perfect manifestation of God’s Love and promises in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.
If God has done so much for us, to the extent of bearing His Cross and suffer the worst of persecutions and humiliations for our sake, then naturally, it is only right that all of us should then commit ourselves in a similar way, in following Him and in walking down the path that He has shown all of us. Each one of us as Christians have to be active in living our lives and we have to be sincere and true in our Christian living and way of life, for as we later then heard in our Gospel passage today, that we are all truly the ‘light of the world’ and ‘salt of the earth’. And because of these qualities and comparisons, the Lord wanted us all to know that we have to live up to our faith in Him and not merely paying lip service and keeping appearances only for others to see our faith like how some of our predecessors had done, for which the Lord reprimanded them, like those of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.
In order to understand better the meaning and significance of our Gospel passage today we should understand the importance of light and salt in our world, and especially more so back then during the time of the Lord Jesus. These two commodities were truly important and precious for the people back then as without them, much of the people’s livelihood cannot go on and no one can carry out their lives if they were lacking in light and salt. First of all, light is needed for the people to see clearly and do their various activities, and back then when there was no electricity and artificial electric light sources, light was an especially crucial and important commodity needed by many people in order for all of them to be able to perform work or any activities and actions at all. Hence, when the Lord referred to His disciples and exhorting them to be the ‘light of the world’, and not to hide their brightness, it is a reference to the expectation how all of us as Christians, we have to be committed to God in all the things we do, and be good role models for one another.
Similarly, salt was used, and indeed is still used today for the preservation for many types of food items. However, back then, salt was even more important because not only that there was no refrigeration methods easily and commercially available back then, and preserving the food with salt is among one of the few ways to ensure that many food items remained viable beyond their fresh shelf-life. Salt was also used to add flavour to the food, and if salt was not used, the food might end up being bland and unpalatable. That is why, salt was really a very important commodity back then, as it is still so nowadays. When the Lord referred to this and exhorted His disciples to be like the ‘salt of the earth’, He was calling on them to live lives that are virtuous, just and full of faith, so that by their examples and good role modelling, they may truly be the flavours that rejuvenated the faith and spread the Good News to the world.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Scripture readings today clearly conveyed to us the call for us to go forth and be truly faithful in Him in all things, by doing what we can to show what it truly means to be Christians, as God’s faithful ones and as all those whom He has called and chosen, and chose to embrace His Law and commandments. All of us are called and reminded to be the light of the world and salt of the earth so that by our faithful commitment to the Lord and His truth, we may indeed proclaim Him in our world, in our respective various communities and in wherever we have all been sent to, as each and every one of us have the obligation to fulfil in leading more and more people towards the Lord, and we cannot persuade others to do so unless we have embodied our faith in our own way of life and actions.
Today, all of us celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the famous saint who is known especially for his intercession on behalf of those who have lost their precious items, and who was also famous for being one of the saints who have been canonised the soonest after his passing, being canonised less than a year after his death, which was a testimony of his great devotion to God and the popularity of his piety and inspiring examples that had touched so many people back then. St. Anthony of Padua was a member of the Franciscan Order and was ordained a priest, and who dedicated his life to missionary work and preaching, spending a lot of time teaching many people throughout his journeys, inspiring many by his deep understanding of the Scriptures, his eloquence and charism, as well as his natural ability to connect to others to whom he had preached to.
Then St. Anthony of Padua continued his ministry in helping with the education of the young generation of Franciscan friars, and which in one occasion led to his association with the discovery of lost things. According to Church tradition and hagiography, St. Anthony of Padua lost his precious psalter, or psalm book, which had been taken by a Franciscan novice who chose to leave the order behind. Through the prayers of St. Anthony of Padua, miraculously not only that the thief-novice was moved to return the stolen psalter to St. Anthony, but the same former novice chose to return to the Franciscan Order and continue his formation. This showed that the Lord is always with His righteous ones and He listened to us all, ever guiding and providing for us, and St. Anthony was listened to by the Lord because he truly has been obedient to Him, and has been the light of the world and the salt of the earth, through his faith, commitment and dedication, which all of us should be inspired to follow as well.
May the Lord continue to inspire and strengthen us, just as He has done so through the life of His faithful servant, St. Anthony of Padua, through his holiness and devotion to God. May all of us also continue to strive to do what we can to be always worthy of God, in doing what God has called us to do, and in committing ourselves in each and every moments for the greater glory of God, to be the light of the world and salt of the earth. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : White
Matthew 5 : 13-16
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “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.”
Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 118 : 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135
Wonderful are Your decrees; my soul cannot but keep them.
As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.
I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.
Turn to me then and be gracious as to those who love Your Name.
You promised to direct my steps; free my path from evil.
Favour me with Your smile and teach me Your statutes.
Liturgical Colour : White
2 Corinthians 1 : 18-22
God knows that our dealing with you is not Yes and No, just as the Son of God, Christ Jesus, Whom we – Silvanus, Timothy, and I – preach to you, was not Yes and No; with Him it was simply Yes. In Him all the promises of God have come to be a Yes, and we also say in His Name : Amen! giving thanks to God.
God Himself has anointed us and strengthens us with you to serve Christ; He has marked us with His own seal in a first outpouring of the Spirit in our hearts.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 