Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 131 : 6-7, 9-10, 13-14
Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrata, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!
May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.
For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”
Liturgical Colour : White
1 Chronicles 15 : 3-4, 15-16 and 1 Chronicles 16 : 1-2
Then David gathered all Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of YHVH.
David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties for some Levites to sing and play a joyful tune with their various musical instruments : harps and lyres and cymbals. They brought the Ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.
And when David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Name of YHVH.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the most renowned saints of our modern day era, one whom we may be quite familiar with, the saint of the World War II era and the NAZI Holocaust, namely St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest and martyr, who gave his life for a very noble cause, imitating the very love which God has given to all of us His beloved ones.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was a conventual Franciscan friar and priest who worked as a missionary for many years in the East, in Japan and other places such as India, where he was known for his zeal and piety, his contributions to the Church and its development in the mission regions, by the establishment of the Militia Immaculatae or the Army of the Immaculate One in his early years as a friar and then priest, through his personal strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to counter the many works of the devil and the opponents of the Church.
St. Maximilian Kolbe served the Lord faithfully for many years and dedicated his life to bring about the greater glory of God and the salvation of His people. He returned to Poland where he was born in, and continued to serve the Church afterwards in the years just immediately preceding the Second World War. He stayed on when the forces of NAZI Germany overran the entire nation of Poland and beyond.
Eventually, his opposition to the NAZI regime and constant passive resistance through the publications and works his monastery produced led to him being arrested and brought to the infamous concentration camp of Auschwitz. Even there, he continued to serve the people who were in despair and suffering in the worst conditions imaginable in the concentration camp. As a priest and servant of God, he inspired many of the inmates in the camp to remain strong in their faith and in their hope.
And St. Maximilian Kolbe was especially remembered for his courageous and most selfless love, when he offered himself in exchange for another inmate who was about to be executed when an attempt in escaping was foiled. The faithful saint offered himself because the man was in despair over his family that he was to leave behind if he was to be executed. And thus, St. Maximilian Kolbe in fact followed in the example of Christ, in offering himself to suffer for the sake of others.
And through all of these, the good examples of St. Maximilian Kolbe, and the words of the Scripture we heard today, we are all reminded to be exemplary in our lives, living our lives with genuine and strong faith. In our first reading today, we heard the account from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the one whom God appointed to be the leader of His people Israel in order to rescue them from the tyranny of the Pharaoh and slavery in Egypt finally went to the end of his earthly life at Mount Nebo.
Moses was not able to enter the land promised by God to the children of Israel, although he was allowed to have a glance at the whole land before he died. It was because of the disobedience that Moses performed out of anger, when he did not do as the Lord commanded when the people pressed hard on him and complained against him and God. But regardless of that and besides that unfortunate occasion, Moses was truly a very faithful servant of God, much as St. Maximilian Kolbe had been.
Moses devoted his life to the Lord and tirelessly served God for many, many years, guiding and leading the people of Israel through to the right path, despite their constant bickering, disobedience and stubbornness in refusing to listen to God and His will. He persevered through all of the challenges and remained true to the very end, serving God with all of his heart and with all of his strength, and therefore, now counted as one of the great saints and elders of the faith.
All of us are reminded today therefore to walk in the footsteps of these holy predecessors of ours, Moses, the many other faithful and holy prophets, the holy Apostles, saints and martyrs of all the ages, and St. Maximilian Kolbe, the martyr of our more recent times. We are called to be true Christians in how we live our lives from now on, that just as those saints and martyrs have been faithful in theirs, and reflect the glory and love of God, we too may do the same with our lives.
In the Gospel passage today, the Lord also reminds us that we all have been given responsibilities as members of the Church, the Body of the faithful people of God. In that passage, the Lord exhorted His disciples to take care of one another and pay attention to those who have erred in the practices and beliefs of their faith, and to bring them back to the Lord and to reconcile them with Him in love.
Are we able to what the Lord has commanded us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able to do what our holy predecessors had done? Let us all ask for the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe and the holy saints of God, that through their prayers God may give us the strength and courage to live faithfully in His presence, from now on and till the end of time. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Matthew 18 : 15-20
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “If your brother has sinned against you, go and point out the fault to him, when the two of you are alone; and if he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
“And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard him as a pagan, or a tax collector. I say to you : whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.”
“In like manner, I say to you, if, on earth, two of you agree in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by My heavenly Father; for where two or there are gathered in My Name, I am there, among them.”
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 65 : 1-3a, 5 and 16-17
Shout with joy to God, all you on earth; sing to the glory of His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God, “How great are Your deeds!”
Come, and see God’s wonders; His deeds, awesome for humans. All you, who fear God, come, and listen; let me tell you what He has done. I cried aloud to Him, extolling Him with my tongue.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Deuteronomy 34 : 1-12
From the barren plain of Moab, Moses went up to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho. And YHVH showed him all the Land : from Gilead to Dan, the whole of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, the whole land of Judah, as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, the Plains, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.
And YHVH said to him : “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, promising it to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not enter it.”
Moses, the servant of God, died there in the land of Moab, according to the will of YHVH. They buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but to this very day, no one knows where his tomb is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. He did not lose his vigour and his eyes still saw clearly.
The children of Israel mourned for him in the plains of Moab for thirty days. But Joshua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as YHVH had commanded Moses.
No prophet like Moses has appeared again. YHVH conversed with him face to face. What signs and wonders he worked in Egypt against Pharaoh, against his people and all his land! He displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel!
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Scriptures to remind us to keep our faith in Him strong, despite the challenges and difficulties we may encounter in life. In the Scripture passages we heard from both the Old Testament and the New Testament today we can see the contrast between what happened in the time of the Exodus and at the time of the Lord Jesus.
In the first reading today, we listened to the story of Caleb and his fellow men chosen to be those who would scout ahead of the whole nation of Israel to see the land promised to them and their ancestors, the land known as Canaan. They saw the whole land and saw the people who lived in them, and except for Caleb, the rest of the scouts came before the Israelites and made them to fear the Canaanites because they seemed to be so powerful and tough, and they made the whole nation to go against God and Moses.
And all these happened despite God having provided for them throughout the whole journey and guided them through the difficult moments, liberating them with great power from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, and brought them out of the land of Egypt, providing for them and their needs along the way, giving them manna to eat and water to drink in the middle of the desert.
God has done so much for His people and yet, they refused to believe in Him and did not want to trust Him. They became fearful and refused to enter the land promised to them because they did not have strong and genuine faith in God. They thought rather in human and worldly terms, fearing that they were not powerful enough to overcome the many people living in Canaan at that time, some of whom were described as powerful and mighty, even like giants in appearance.
Then, we heard from our Gospel passage today, the irony of having one of the same Canaanite, or in another source, a Syro-Phoenician, which corresponded to the region of Canaan itself, who actually had such a strong and genuine faith in God, surpassing the faith of all those who have called themselves as the chosen people and the chosen race of God. And for this to come from a Canaanite and a woman was indeed special, to the point of being revolutionary and breaking prejudices held at that time.
The Canaanite woman begged the Lord to heal her daughter and cast out the demon that had been tormenting her. But the Lord’s response to her seemed to be not just cold and unfeeling, but in fact could be seen as rude and being condescending, if we do not understand the context and the purpose of why the Lord Jesus made such a reply to her. The Lord’s intention with such a remark was in fact to show all of His disciples the kind of prejudice that the people of Israel had against the Canaanites that kind of mirrored what they had exhibited all the way from the time of the Exodus.
The Israelites took great pride in the fact that they were a people chosen by God, and the remnants of that once great people by the time of Jesus, namely the Jewish people in Judea and Galilee often looked down and despised the foreigners living in and around them, from the Samaritans to the Syrians, Phoenicians and all other peoples whom they deemed to be outside of the exclusive group chosen by God.
It was in fact so bad that the Lord showed perfectly just how prejudiced and unbecoming their judgmental attitude against the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles. He used a comparison with dogs to refer to the non-Jewish people and how food from the table of the house should not be given to them, a reference to the blessings and the salvation found in God. But yet, the woman remained persistent and showed her genuine faith by humbling herself before the Lord.
It is an irony that the Canaanite woman had greater faith than the Israelites at the time of the Exodus, as the latter became fearful and panicked when they saw the people in the land promised to them by God and having seen all the wonders that God had done for them all those while. And those people thought that the Canaanites were godless and unworthy people when that Canaanite woman mentioned in the Gospel probably put all of them to shame in the matter of faith.
Today, all of us are called to follow the example of the faithful Canaanite woman who had faith in the Lord and devoted herself wholeheartedly to Him, despite of the rejection and refusal she seemed to be getting. She remained firm in her resolution to be faithful and to trust in God, unlike the Israelites who had wavered in their faith so easily just because of some challenges they were to face ahead of them.
On this day, perhaps we should also look upon the examples set by two saints whose feast we celebrate this day, namely that of Pope St. Sixtus II, a martyr of the early Church and also St. Cajetan, a holy priest and founder of the Theatines religious order. Their faith and dedication to the Lord through their lives should be inspirations for us to follow in how we should live out our own lives as well.
Pope St. Sixtus II was martyred together with several other martyrs during a harsh persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian in the early days of the Church, when many of the faithful suffered grievously just because they believed in God. And as their shepherd, Pope St. Sixtus II courageously stood by his faith in the Lord and committed himself totally to Him, that he did not budge from his faith even under the threat of suffering and death.
Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a holy and dedicated priest, who followed the Lord’s call and ministered to the poor and the people who were less fortunate and troubled in the society, and co-founded the religious order later on known as the Theatines, with people who had similar calling and passion to help with the needs of those people who were often looked down by others in the community.
Now, having seen the faith present in all these people we have discussed about today, let us all be inspired by their examples and grow to have the same kind of faith in us, in our sincere and genuine belief and commitment towards God. Let us all put our trust in God and no longer doubt His providence and love from now on. May the Lord continue to guide us throughout this journey and may He continue to be with us and bless us all in our good many endeavours in life. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Matthew 15 : 21-28
At that time, leaving that area, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from the area, came and cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”
But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!” Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to puppies.”
The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even puppies eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Psalm 105 : 6-7a, 13-14, 21-22, 23
We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. When they were in Egypt, our ancestors had no regard for Your wondrous deeds.
But soon they forgot His works and did not wait for His counsel. They gave way to wanton craving and tempted God in the desert.
They forgot their Saviour God, Who had done great things in Egypt, wonderful works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Sea of Reeds.
So He spoke of destroying them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him to shield them from destruction.
Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)
Numbers 13 : 1-2, 25 – Numbers 14 : 1, 26-29, 34-35
YHVH then spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites; send one man from each of the ancestral tribes, all of them leaders.”
After forty days of exploration, they returned. They went and met Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They gave an account to them and the whole community and showed them the fruit of this land.
And they said, “We entered the land where you sent us, truly a land flowing with milk and honey and here is the fruit. But how strong are the people who inhabit the land! The cities are fortified with walls and bars, and we even saw there descendants of the Anakites. Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; the Canaanites are by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
Caleb then quieted the people who rose up against Moses and said, “We should go up and take over the land, for we shall surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot advance against these people for they are stronger than we are.”
And they spread an unfavourable report about the land that they had explored, saying to the Israelites, “The land we went through to explore is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people we saw there are men of great size. We even saw giants (these giants were the Anakites). We felt like grasshoppers before them, and to them we must have seemed the same.”
Then all the community broke out in loud cries and wept during the night. Then YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “How long will this wicked community grumble against Me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel against Me. Say to them : As truly as I live, it is YHVH Who speaks, I will do to you what you have said in My hearing.”
“All of you of twenty years and more, numbered in the census, who grumbled against Me, your corpses will fall in the desert. You will not enter the land where I swore to settle you, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh and Joshua, son of Nun. According to the number of days spent in exploring the land – forty days, for every day a year – for forty years you shall bear the guilt of your sins and you shall know what it is to oppose Me.”
“I, YHVH, have spoken. Surely this is what I will do to this wicked community that has conspired against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed and this is where they shall die.”
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 