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Wednesday, 11 December 2013 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Lord lies our rest, and in Him lies our true joy and hope, and the hope of true happiness in Him. This hope of joy is not the same as the joy of this world, of that which is offered by the evil one to us, through the pleasures of this world. In God only lies all the comfort and satisfaction that the world cannot give.

It may seem to us that following the Lord is not an appealing option to us, and we would prefer indeed to follow the ways of the world, enjoying what is there in the world to give us, rather than troubling ourselves with the burdens of following the ways of God. But this is exactly where we are mistaken, for indeed, the burdens that are laid upon us if we follow the Lord, are temporary, but the burdens that we will have to endure, if we deny the Lord, is heavier and eternal.

Our God loves us in ways that all of us can never completely comprehend, due to the vastness and infinite nature of this divine love. He never gives up on us, even as we fell into sin and evil, and even as we betrayed Him and caused Him suffering, as He bore our sins down with Him on the way to Calvary, and onto the cross. He loves us all the same, even after all of that.

He is rich in mercy and great in compassion. We might have caused Him much sorrow, for our constant rebellions and disobedience against His will, but He did not give up His love and care for us all, unless we ourselves continue to defy Him, all the way to the end, and reject His offer of love and forgiveness. It is our defiance and arrogance that ultimately will lead us to ruin.

Following the Lord and to walk in His ways is not easy, not easy indeed for us. This is because we who have been tempted by Satan, in our ancestors, are predisposed to temptation by sin, and to be tempted to veer away from the true path towards salvation. We are easily swayed, by the goodness of the other way, that is the evil’s way, easier but deadly. We are also easily tempted by the offers of Satan, who gave us the offering of all the goods that he can give.

And as often mentioned, the ways of this world and the way of the Lord frequently do not match, and therefore, there will be displeasure and difficulties should we decide to follow the path of righteousness. There will be even jeers, mockery, and even hatred towards us, because we are different. Yet, such are the little price that we ought to pay, for the greater price of our salvation.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Damasus I, one of the saints who were also jeered, mocked, and opposed in his ministry. This is exactly as how the Lord Himself had been opposed and rejected by those who walked in the ways of evil. Pope St. Damasus I was opposed by his own people, many of whom supported a rival candidate as Pope, nominating him as an Antipope. Nevertheless, Pope St. Damasus I did not fear nor was he affected by all those negative opinions about him.

Pope St. Damasus I stood strong in the face of those oppositions and campaigned against them with the fury and wrath that is of the Lord Himself. He was particularly staunch in his opposition against heresy, particularly Arianism, which was truly widespread in Christendom at the time, poisoning the minds of many people against the true faith.

Pope St. Damasus I worked hard to strengthen the faith in many people and many areas under his care, as the Vicar of Christ. He was also credited with the codification of the Holy Scriptures and its translation of the Scripture into the Latin language in the Vulgate Bible as done by St. Jerome. Pope St. Damasus I was the patron of that great saint and Doctor of the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you have seen how walking in the way of the Lord and to be His servant, is by no means easy. There will be many challenges and opposition, precisely as what had been experienced by Pope St. Damasus I, and by many other saints and the Apostles themselves. But they did not let these to hinder them, and instead these oppositions helped to further push them on to work even harder for the sake of the Lord.

Pope St. Damasus I and the other saints showed us that, we should not worry or fear rejection from this world, for after all, it has first rejected the Lord Himself. Instead, we should put our complete faith and trust in the Lord, in whom we will have true joy and true rest. For indeed, the Lord did offer us a burden, because His path is not an easy one, but that burden is a light one, and at the end of the way, He will lift up that burden from us, and give us an unparalled crown of unending and heavenly glory.

May the Lord with the intercession of Pope St. Damasus I and other holy men and women who ceaselessly praise Him daily with the angels, continue to watch over us, strengthen us, and reinforce our faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 6 December 2013 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in God lies our salvation, and in Him we have a bright new hope for the future. For we have lived long in the darkness, just as the two blind men healed by Jesus in the reading today. Remember what the Scripture said, that a people who had lived and walked in darkness, had seen a great light, and that light is none other than Jesus, the Lord and the Light of world.

Jesus is the light, true light and source of all light that will dispel all the darkness that surrounded us. In Him lies the salvation of the world in light, after for eons it had been living in the great darkness. Indeed, the great darkness of our sinfulness. We have been made blind by our lust for evil, by the disobedience that we had done. In our search of knowledge and curiosity, we had been trapped in the designs of the evil one, who misled us towards destruction.

Mankind groans to be free of this state of darkness. Who among the blind does not want to see the beauty of light and the beauty of the world through light? They certainly aspire, desire, and want to see again, to be able to once again perceive light in their eyes. Such was the condition of mankind, and indeed, still is, even until today.

That is why the two blind men sought the mercy of Jesus, whom they recognised, as the One who would be able to bring them out of their dark blindness, and return into the world of the light. And Jesus, having loved them just as He loves all of us, and in His pity and mercy for them, healed them and made them to see once again.

We too, brothers and sisters, are blind. We who have ever sinned are blinded by sin, by the forces of evil that comprises sinfulness. This blindness is not the physical blindness of our eyes, but instead, is the spiritual blindness of our hearts and souls. Sin has wrapped itself around us, distorting truth and distorting our perceptions of the world around us. It has made us corrupted in a sense, and made us to conform to the ways of evil.

That is why, even though we groan to be released from this state of blindness, and even though we are called by the Lord, and through the disciples He had sent to us, He had made the effort to call us out of the darkness, we still often linger or prefer to linger in this state of darkness. Sin corrupts us, and it distorts our perceptions, and it makes often irresistible offers that keep many people to continue in their sinfulness.

It is indeed, in our world today, one increasingly tainted by evil and sin, easier for us to commit things that are evil in the eyes of God, than to do things that are in accordance with the will of God. It is harder for many of us to be good persons that are concerned with the good of others, instead of being selfish and caring only for our own good.

But we can do it, brothers and sisters! We can do it! We can seek and reach out to the Lord, as the two blind men had done. Step outside of our comfort zone, and seek the Lord in places unknown. We have been far too long been blind, and in our darkness, we have been manipulated and corrupted by sin. Reach out to the Lord who is Light, and seek His healing just as He healed the two blind men, who put their trust and faith in Him.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas, also known as St. Nicholas of Myra, which many people said to be the figure that inspired the story of father Christmas, or Santa Claus. Many people see Santa Claus as the figure who goes around the world every Christmas, distributing gifts and presents to children, and from there, eventually grew the secularised celebration of Christmas, a commercialised version, where Christ no longer lays at the centre of it.

St. Nicholas of Myra was in fact a bishop of the early Church, in the area of Myra, now located at the area known as Turkey. At that time, the Church was growing and flourished in the area, and with every day, new converts entered the Church of God, bearing the fruits of salvation. St. Nicholas was one of their bishops, and he was particularly dedicated to the flock entrusted to him.

St. Nicholas often give generous gifts to others, to the people he was bishop of, and to the children. He showed them the warmth of God’s love and care, through his own actions, as one of God’s representatives among mankind. He showed the perfection of God in love, and share the love he has received from the Lord, that everyone may enjoy the love together.

Such is the true joy of Christmas, for God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, part of Himself, who is Love, that He might share that eternal and undying love with all of us. That is the true essence of Christmas, that is about Christ, about His coming into this world, and about His humble birth, and not in all the commercialised celebrations of Christmas.

It is alright to rejoice and be happy in Christmas, as indeed we should be happy and rejoice. But are we doing them for the right purpose? Let us not be blinded by sin and evil, who will scheme to distort our understanding of the nature of this wondrous event, from one where we rejoice in the coming of Christ, into one where we think only about ourselves, about our own good, about our own well-being.

May the Lord who is Light, the true light, will shine forth and pierce the darkness and evil that surround us, and with the guidance and intercession of St. Nicholas of Myra, allow us to seek the light and be able to truly see again the truth of God and the truth about ourselves and our salvation in God. May He bless us as we prepare to celebrate His coming this Christmas. Amen!

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Monday, 2 December 2013 : 1st Week of Advent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we begin the first of the weekdays of Advent, and appropriately, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, we are reminded on our humanity, and our frailty, one which needs help from the Lord. We heard this from the story from the Gospel, where Jesus healed the servant of the army captain, and the humility and faith of the captain, which he showed in all sincerity before Jesus.

We are all definitely too familiar with the words that the army captain had said, “I am not worthy that You, the Lord, should enter under my roof.” That is the statement that we always recite and repeat all over and over again every time we celebrate the Mass, just after the Agnus Dei, or the Lamb of God hymn. The other statement, “But only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” is certainly also a very familiar phrase to all of us, as this phrase is also used at the same time with the previous phrase.

These phrases were the words that the captain had said to Jesus, after he asked Him to heal his ailing servant, and he turned to no other help but Jesus the Lord. To some, the initial reaction of hearing these words would be that of detesting the captain’s arrogance. Some may even say, ‘How dare this captain say these things to the Lord when He had agreed to come and heal the ailing servant of the captain?’

This is our natural response, but we have to look beyond the surface into the true meaning of those words the captain had uttered. The captain in fact had so much faith in the Lord Jesus, that he knew even if Jesus did not come physically into his home, He, as the Lord of all and Almighty God has the power to heal his servant at that moment even there, where the two of them were far away from the captain’s home. Such was the faith of the captain, that he believed completely in Jesus without question.

But that is not all that there is in the faith and devotion of the captain. The captain’s response to the Lord also showed the quality and the truth about his faith and devotion. Not only that he is devoted to the Lord and placed his full trust in Jesus, but that he showed great humility and understanding of his own unworthiness as he sought the Lord for help with his servant.

All of us are sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all sinners ever since our ancestors first disobey the instructions and the will of the Lord, but we are not lost. Our Father and Lord loves us still, and He proved that to us by sending Jesus His own Son to us. Yet, many of us still deny our sinfulness and turn our back to the salvation which Christ has offered us freely.

That is how Christ praised the faith of the army captain. He may be an army captain, and to many people of his time, he may not be seen as someone who will do good deeds or have faith in God. Worse still, the army captain, as it was during the dominion of the Roman Empire, may well be a Roman centurion. And the people of Israel looked at them with disdain, treating them as pagans and unworthy of salvation.

Yet, you knew what happened. Jesus praised the faith of the army captain, not just because of his total dedication, but also because of his humility, a great humility indeed, to realise his sinfulness and unworthiness, to the point of saying it publicly that he was not worthy to have the Lord at his home. And compare this to the faith of the Pharisees, as you all notice that they are the ones considered holy and pious by the people. Yet, they were arrogant and proud, disdaining the sinful while not realising that they themselves were sinful too.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, now we all know the meaning of the words we always say at the Mass. From now on, every time we say those words the captain had once said, let us remember the faith of the captain, and also try to emulate the faith he had. We have to be aware of our own sins and unworthiness, while at the same time, trying our best to dedicate ourselves to the Lord without being taken in by the temptations of the evil one.

May the Lord who rewarded those faithful to Him, also reward us in the same way, and that we may realise the depth and gravity of our sinfulness, and therefore strive to draw ever closer to the Lord our God, seeking His generous mercy and love, that we may strive to be more like Him, and aspire to reach the heavenly glory that He had promised us. Amen.

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Monday, 2 December 2013 : 1st Week of Advent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 8 : 5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached Him to ask His help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralysed and suffers terribly.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this He was astonished, and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.”

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Thursday, 21 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been called by the Lord, to be His possessions. Yes, indeed, to be within His Holy Family, with Him at the centre of all, at the centre of our own lives. That is what He meant, when He said that all those who do the will of God, belongs to Him and He claims at His own.

It may seem to some that the Lord Jesus was being rude towards His own family, especially to His own mother, Mary, who had given birth to Him. But this is not so! Why so? That is because indeed, when we try to portray what happened in our human language, it is distorted in its true meaning. What the Lord truly meant was in fact that, firstly, He is the property of all mankind, of all creation, and He belongs to all of us, just as we all belong to Him.

Then secondly, Jesus meant for all of us to be more like His own mother, the role model of all the faithful. Yes, Jesus in fact praised His own mother in a subtle means, through what He had said. He highlighted the goodness and the faith that is in Mary, His mother, whom we celebrate today, the event of her presentation just after her birth.

For the Blessed Virgin Mary, she was born in a state of purity, without the taint of original sin, and she led a pure, holy, and immaculate life from then on. This is to prepare her to become the very vessel, the gateway through which the salvation of our Lord would come down to us. Through her, our Lord Himself came upon this world in Jesus, God incarnate into Man.

Today we celebrate this Mother of our God, when she was presented after her immaculate birth, at the Temple of God, just as her Son Jesus was presented many years later. From this presentation, mankind has presented to the Lord, the one through whom the Salvation of the world would come. As we approach the end of this liturgical year, we talk a lot about the end of times and the final salvation of all souls, and therefore, in Mary, the Lord has further advanced the path of mankind, to be closer and closer towards the final end.

Mary is a role model for us, to follow in our journey of faith. That was what Jesus meant, as He spoke to His disciples and the people who heard Him. As the Lord said in the Book of the prophet Zechariah, that He will make His people His own, and taking them into His own presence and being. And they ought to rejoice, for God Himself has come to dwell among us, within us, and alongside us.

And this happened through Mary, and with the full cooperation from this wonderful and yet humble and good woman. Without the cooperation, the perfect obedience, and dedication of Mary, the salvation of the Lord would not have come. Through Mary and her own words, ‘I am the handmaid and servant of the Lord, be it done unto me as what He willed.’, Mary made salvation to come unto this world, and also at the same time, showed the kind of virtue and obedience that the Lord expects from all of us.

That is why our Lord said, ‘Those who do the will of God are My family.’ Essentially, what Mary had done, is what we are all expected to become. Obey the will of the Lord, keep His laws and precepts foremost in our lives, and cast away all things that made us unworthy. And indeed, just as Mary was presented before the Lord, we too should do the same.

Yes, brethren, surrender ourselves to the Lord, and to His infinite and undying love. Open the gates of our hearts to allow God’s love and mercy to flow unrestricted in their fullness into us. Present our dirty and sinful selves, that we may be made whole and pure again, worthy of the Lord who will bring us into Himself, and made us all His family, to enjoy the happiness He had prepared for all of us.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners and help us to draw ever closer to Your Son. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 November 2013 : 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Thessalonians 3 : 7-12

You know how you ought to follow our example : we worked while we were with you. Day and night we laboured and toiled so as not to be a burden to any of you. We had the right to act otherwise, but we wanted to give you an example.

Besides, while we were with you, we said clearly : If anyone is not willing to work, neither should that one eat. However we heard that some among you live in idleness – busybodies, doing no work. In the Name of Christ Jesus our Lord we command these people to work and earn their own living.

 

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Saturday, 9 November 2013 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Today, all of us in the Holy Mother Church, that is all the people of God in communion with each other, and therefore united as one Church of God, celebrate the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, or the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, the place where the very Vicar of Christ, the Pope, has his seat of authority. It is the mother church of all Christendom, the primary church of the entire Universal Church.

We celebrate today the dedication of that Basilica, the great place of worship of our God, which had stood since the day when the faith in God finally triumphed over all its oppressors, under the rule of the first Christian Emperor Constantine. This Basilica was once an Imperial palace complex for the Roman Emperors in Rome, and it was donated to the Church by the Emperor Constantine, over seventeen centuries ago, with massive state funding to help establish proper places of worship.

The Bishop of Rome, that is the successor of St. Peter as the Vicar of Christ on earth, the leader of the entire Universal Church, received that generous donation from the pious Emperor, and he made what will become the Basilica of St. John Lateran, as the Cathedral and seat of the Pope, the centre and heart of the Universal Church. That Basilica is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and to the Lord Saviour of all mankind. Truly a place of marvel, fitting to be the heart of all Christendom. Today we celebrate the dedication of that wonder of God.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings have been designed to fit with the occasion, and therefore, they deal with the matter of the holy Temple of God. In the first reading, we are told of the heavenly Temple, the Temple of God in the glory of heaven, out of which gushes forth living water that satisfies and saves. It is the life-giving water that came from the Lord Himself

But the Temple of God is not just a physical temple or the heavenly temple. It is also in fact, all of us the faithful ones of God. For, ever since we were baptised and sealed in the Holy Name of the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God has dwelled within us, through the Holy Spirit that comes and dwells within all of us, who had been marked as the children of God.

That is why, all of us, our hearts and bodies are the Temple of God and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is why the Lord continues to encourage us to do good deeds and avoid things evil and unworthy of God, basically things that can corrupt the holiness of our Temples, that is our hearts and bodies. We must always be vigilant, as we cannot be complacent or evil may corrupt the Temple that is our body and heart.

Just as we keep the Temple of God, that is our churches, cathedrals, and also the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which dedication we remember today, holy and good at all times, then we too must and should keep the Temple that is our hearts and bodies pure at all times. If we wreath ourselves in love, in God’s love, then we can readily maintain the purity of our Temples.

Our mouth is the gate to this Temple, and our hands, limbs and others are the courtyard. If we are to ensure the purity of the Temple of God in us, we have to make sure that these places are clean as well. We cannot let the devil and his agents to corrupt these that the Temple that is our body, heart and soul be corrupted with sin.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to watch our words, our deeds and actions, that we do not end up committing sin through them. That we will not make dirty and unworthy the Temple, where the Lord resides in us. Jesus was right to be angry, when He saw the House of God, that is the Temple of Jerusalem, made into a house of sin, by the corrupt practices of the merchants and sellers of the animal sacrifices and money changers, all of whom cheated their customers all those who came to genuinely worship the Lord.

The Lord’s wrath is great against all those people, and He will not let them go so easily. The Lord will show them His justice. Therefore, we too, brethren, should strive to always be upright in our dealings, in our words and actions. How to do so? By having a strong and healthy spiritual life and having closer and intimate relationship with the Lord our God!

We have to pray, pray faithfully, pray with zeal, and pray with true devotion and dedication to God, whenever we pray. Through prayer, the Lord will grant us His love and blessing, opening the floodgates of His blessing upon us. We will be strong, and purified by the waters that flow from the Temple of God in heaven, the life-giving water, and the water that purifies. That water is also Jesus, the One who had given up His life for us, that from Him, and to all who believes in Him, a new life may be given to them, a life eternal in God.

Hence, as we rejoice today in the dedication of this great Basilica of St. John Lateran, the centre and heart of Christendom, let us also take the time to reflect and make the effort to keep clean and pure, the Temple of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, that is our hearts and our bodies, that we can always worship the Lord worthily and with the fullness of God’s blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 November 2013 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ showed us how God is so loving and kind to all of His creation, especially all of us, the greatest and most beloved of them all, that He wants us to be reunited with Him once again. He is willing to extend His hands over to us, to welcome us back into His embrace, leaving behind our sinfulness and unworthiness.

That is why, Jesus told us how happy it is in heaven, when any sinner returns to the embrace of God, forsaking his sinfulness and evil past, to embrace God’s divine love and mercy. Yes, such is the joy in heaven that angels will sing and saints will chant songs of joy, over the repentance of the lost ones. It does not mean that they do not rejoice over those who are already saved, as they do rejoice, but the joy is ever greater when a sinner repents.

For we belong to God and God alone. This is because He created us from nothingness, and gave us the breath of life, that we can exist in this physical world. Hence, we will always belong to Him, since our very life and soul came from He who is God and who is Love. God did not want us to be lost and to be condemned for the sins we have committed, and that is why He did His best to prevent that.

He sent His only Son Jesus, to be that way, the way to salvation, liberation, and total freedom, from the yoke of sins and evils that had burdened us for all these times. Our Lord and God is the Good Shepherd, just as one who gives his all for the sake of the sheep entrusted to him. Therefore, the Lord too, through Jesus has loved mankind greatly and tenderly. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep, and such great is His care that He searched for us with all of His might, and that was what Jesus had done.

Yes, Jesus came, as He Himself said, for everyone, but particularly for those who have been lost in sin and evil, that is the lost sheep of the Lord. These people deserve more of God’s attention in Jesus, because they faced great risk of falling into eternal damnation, out of which there can be no escape, and where there is absolutely no hope.

He reached out to sinners, and still is reaching out to sinners like us even today, and will be the same too in the future. The Lord opens His great mercy and shines His love upon us all, all of us who are His beloved children. We are the lost sheep whom the Lord had searched all over the world, and once He found us, He gathered us all into the one flock, one flock of the Lord, united in His Body, that is the Church of God.

But nevertheless, brethren, we cannot be complacent, and think that because we have been found and saved by God, then we can relax and take it easy, doing whatever we want to do. That is because, just as sheep often venture away from the flock at times and become lost, therefore we too can be lost if we are not careful in what we are doing in our lives.

The devil is like wolves lurking in the darkness, hoping to lure as away from the flock of God by his lies and persuasions, which may indeed appear very appealing to us. If we take his lies and fall into them, we will likely be lost, like lost sheep and the wolves, that is the devil, will come and devour us, essentially what happens when we do not repent and realise our sinfulness.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us from now on take the initiative and seek out the Lord, our shepherd. Let us reach out to Him and approach Him with a heart filled to the brim with love and dedication for Him. Let us not be taken over by our pride and instead sharpen the edge of our humility.  May the Lord continue to love us and protect us, that we will be lost from Him, but remain in His love forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 November 2013 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 15 : 1-10

Meanwhile tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the Scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So. Jesus told them this parable :

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders?”

“Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbours, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!'”

“I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

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Tuesday, 5 November 2013 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 15-24

Upon hearing these words, one of those at the table said to Jesus, “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, and make sure my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.'”