Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost

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Thursday, 9 November 2017 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore; though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the City of God, the holy place, where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is YHVH of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of YHVH – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Thursday, 9 November 2017 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 47 : 1-2, 8-9, 12

The Man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastward. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the Altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside, to the outer gate facing the east; and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful; and the seawater will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound.”

“Near the river on both banks, there will be all kinds of fruit trees, with foliage that will not wither; and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop, because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”

Alternative reading

1 Corinthians 3 : 9c-11, 16-17

But you are God’s field and building. I, as good architect, according to the capacity given to me, I laid the foundation, and another is to build upon it. Each one must be careful how to build upon it. No one can lay a foundation other than the One which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit abides within you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him. God’s Temple is holy, and you are this Temple.

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Wednesday, 8 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord, Who reminded us that all of us as Christians need to be dedicated and committed to God, giving our everything to Him. Our faith in Him cannot be just mere formality or it will be meaningless. Faith cannot be just merely on paper alone, that we end up becoming Christians just by name only.

In the Gospel today, all of us also heard how Jesus mentioned with parables, mentioning how no one built a house without considering its costs and what would entail to build up the entire house, or else it could not be completed, and the builder would be humiliated for starting such a meaningless and incomplete project. Similarly, He also spoke about how kings would have planned well whether he could win against an opponent before deciding to go to war, or else, he would have been defeated.

What do all these parables show us, brothers and sisters in Christ? They show us that all of us Christians cannot be blind to our future, and we all have been surely well versed in what we will end up if we do not keep our faith in God. There are three last things according to our faith, first which is heaven, and second is Purgatory, while the third and last one is hell.

These are the last things, because eventually one of these three places will be where we end up after we die, and when we have to face the Lord and give an account for our lives. The Lord Himself will judge us based on our actions, words and deeds. And He knows everything that is in our hearts, our minds and our whole beings, nothing can be hidden from Him. And if our faith is lacking and found wanting, there will be no heaven or even Purgatory for us. There will only be hell be waiting for us.

In our lives, we cannot therefore be complacent or be ignorant of our faith, as we really have to be active in our faith, looking ahead in what we will end up in, should we fail to do what the Lord had commanded us to do. This is what each and every one of us should do, to be truly faithful in all things, to be loving as the Lord has loved us dearly and tenderly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the first reading today, we heard about the Law of God, as what the Lord had revealed to His people through Moses, the Ten Commandments, and which Jesus had unveiled in its true meaning, that is the Law of love. Love is the most important part of our faith, and we cannot be truly faithful without love, especially, first and foremost all of us must love the Lord our God, with all of our hearts, our minds, our bodies, and all of our whole beings.

We have to give our time, our effort and our entire life to God, and we cannot do this, without loving our brothers and sisters, our fellow men, with true and genuine love. What does this mean? It means that each and every one of us as Christians, we must love our brothers and sisters, and give ourselves, in love, to those who are in need of our love, care and attention, especially to the poor, the sick and the lonely.

Let us all, brothers and sisters, be true and living Christians, with living and genuine faith in God, through our acts and commitments, so that not only that we will be worthy of the Lord through our living faith, filled with actions of love towards our neighbours and ultimately towards God Himself. Let us draw ever closer to God and be more like Him through our love and dedication. May the Lord bless us always, and all of our good works and endeavours for our faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 25-33

At that time, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, “If you come to Me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not follow Me, carrying his own cross, cannot be My disciple.”

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you, have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you : ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become My disciple, if he does not give up everything he has.”

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Wednesday, 8 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 4-5, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

He is for the righteous a light in darkness; He is kind, merciful and upright. It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.

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Wednesday, 8 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 13 : 8-10

Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another : Love. The one who loves his or her neighbour fulfils the Law. For the commandments : Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not covet, and whatever else, are summarised in this one : You will love your neighbour as yourself.

Love cannot do the neighbour any harm; so love fulfils the whole Law.

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Tuesday, 7 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Gospel passage today the Lord Jesus reminded us of the need for all of us Christians to follow Him and to listen to His will, and not be distracted by the many temptations of life in this world. In that Gospel Jesus used the parable of the feast and its guests in order to teach the people, showing them the fact that while many have been called, but few will be chosen in the end.

The man who held the feast is none other than God Himself, Who has invited His people to come into the eternal banquet of heaven. Yet, as we heard from the passage, God’s call went unheeded, as those who were invited to the feast refused to come for the event. They came up with various reasons why they could not come to the event as we heard in the passage.

All of these represent just how stubborn we mankind can be in resisting God’s call, and how temptations can easily turn us away from God’s path and into the path to our doom. There are many of these temptations that we are all quite familiar with, the temptation of power, of wealth, of worldly glory, of pleasures of the flesh, of wickedness, and many others.

These are the obstacles that can indeed hamper us in our way towards salvation and eternal glory in God, for these things can distance us from God, and make us to be unworthy of Him. Many of us also have this misconception, thinking that God is forever merciful and loving, and that there is no way that God will cast us all who have believed in Him into the sufferings in hell. Yet, that is the reality, that even Christians may end up in hell, should they wander away from the Lord’s path.

God offers us His mercy and love freely, but should we refuse to accept that mercy and love, and stubbornly close our hearts and minds against Him, then in the end, it is we ourselves who have caused our downfall into damnation. God is always ready to forgive us our sins and trespasses, and He is always willing to welcome us back and to be reconciled with us, but are we willing to be forgiven?

And more importantly, are we willing to make the sacrifices to make changes in our lives that we may be truly reconciled with our God? It is easier said to be done, if we want to be truly faithful to God. There will be inconveniences, but that is what all of us as Christians need to be prepared to do if we are to follow God.

Then we should also heed what we heard in our first reading today, where St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome pointed out how Christians should live their lives. We should follow what St. Paul had mentioned, in our interactions with one another. What does this mean? As mentioned, we should love one another tenderly and genuinely, seeking to be compassionate to those who are in need. We should reach out to our brethren who are unloved, weak, poor or those who are hated by the world.

These will not be easy, as we have to persevere against those who disapprove of our actions and our faith in God. Yet, through our commitment to Him, if we truly love Him, we will not easily fall into temptation, just as our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs had done. Let us all therefore draw ever closer to the Lord, and ensure that in everything we say, and we do, we always do them for the greater glory of our God.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to bless us and all of our works day after day, so that, through our efforts, and through the love which we show Him, we will be able to resist the many temptations of power, of money, of glory, of fame, of the many other things that Satan is using to bring about our downfall. May the Lord empower each and every one of us to become His committed disciples. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 15-24

At that time, upon hearing the words of Jesus, one of those at the table said to Him, “Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!”

Jesus replied, “A man once gave a feast and invited many guests. When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready. But all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘Please excuse me. I must go and see the piece of land I have just bought.'”

“Another said, ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’ Still another said, ‘How can I come, when I have just got married?'”

“The servant returned alone, and reported this to his master. Upon hearing his account, the master of the house flew into a rage, and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly, into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'”

“The servant reported after a while, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’ The master said, ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes, and force people to come in, to ensure that my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.'”

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Tuesday, 7 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 130 : 1, 2, 3

O YHVH, my heart is not proud nor do I have arrogant eyes. I am not engrossed in ambitious matters, nor in things too great for me.

I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child, on its mother’s lap; like a contented child is my soul.

Hope in YHVH, o Israel, now and forever.

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Tuesday, 7 November 2017 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 12 : 5-16a

The same with us; being many, we are one body in Christ, depending on one another. Let each one of us, therefore, serve, according to our different gifts. Are you a prophet? Then give the insights of faith. Let the minister fulfil his office; let the teacher teach, the one who encourages, convince.

You must, likewise, give, with an open hand, preside with dedication, and be cheerful in your works of charity. Let love be sincere. Hate what is evil and hold to whatever is good. Love one another and be considerate. Out do one another, in mutual respect. Be zealous in fulfilling your duties. Be fervent in the spirit, and serve God.

Have hope and be cheerful. Be patient in trials and pray constantly. Share with other Christians in need. With those passing by, be ready to receive them. Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not wish evil on anyone. Rejoice with those who are joyful, and weep with those who weep. Live in peace with one another.