Wednesday

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Wednesday, 13 February 2019 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 2 : 4b-9, 15-17

On the day that YHVH God made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on earth any shrub on the fields, nor had any plant yet sprung up, for YHVH God had not made it rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.

Then YHVH God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive with breath. God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there He placed Man whom He had created. YHVH God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat, also the tree of life on the middle of the garden and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

YHVH God took Man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and to take care of it. Then YHVH God gave an order to Man saying, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die.”

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God reminding us about the wonderful works that God has done in our midst, and yet at the same time, we are also presented with the sad reality of the opposition and ignorance with which many among us have in our own lives, in how we do not recognise God’s wonders and love in work within us and in the midst of our community, our society and even within our own families and circle of friends.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord’s work among the people, all the miraculous deeds and wonders He had done, healing the sick, casting out evil spirits and demons, and even raising the dead back into life, all these were doubted and even ridiculed by the people who saw all that He had performed before them. Some of them refused to believe and doubted because they thought of Him as the Son of a mere village carpenter, and they could not reconcile that fact with what they have witnessed in the Lord’s many miracles and wisdom.

All of these ultimately came about because of the prejudices and biases that were rampant among the community of the people of God, when people judged one another and treated one another according to one’s social status and standing within the society. Those who were uneducated and held difficult and yet humble jobs like carpenters, farmers, shepherds, all those who took up menial labours and went through much physical hardships, without proper compensation and were poor, all of these were often marginalised and ignored by the greater society.

The Lord called many of His disciples and followers from among these, as many of them were uneducated, with ordinary and even poor background, having no status or greatness, having no special privileges, just like Himself, born into a poor family from a poor and small, insignificant village of Nazareth in Galilee, which was equally a backwater periphery of the Jewish community and world at that time, where no one of particular honour and power was expected to come from.

The Lord gathered His disciples and followers, showing them all what they often had to endure for His sake, because of their background, and even more importantly, because of their faith and belief in God. To be His followers, the disciples of the Lord Jesus were called to be ready to be humiliated, ostracised, abandoned, rejected and left without honour, and even imprisoned and to suffer from various pains and sufferings, just as the Lord Himself has suffered the same.

That was what the first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews spoke about, of the readiness to suffer for God’s sake, and yet, at the same time, the faithful were reminded of God’s faithfulness and unshakeable dedication to His faithful ones. God will not abandon His faithful ones to the darkness, and He will not allow them to fall into damnation, and that is why, He gave us this gift of faith, as well as love for Him.

However, the reality of life is such that we often falter when we are faced with challenges and difficulties, because we have not been able to feel and know His presence in our midst. We are often too preoccupied and too prejudiced to notice the Lord’s works and presence in our midst, just as the people who witnessed all of the Lord’s miracles and wonders still doubted in Him and refused to believe despite all that they have seen and experienced.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of saints and martyrs, whose life and devotion to God are truly exemplary, and should become our inspiration in life. St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs, both priests and the laity were known together as the Holy Japanese Martyrs, those who suffered and died during those years when the Japanese authorities severely oppressed the faithful in Japan, both laity and priests, both foreign missionaries and local Christians alike.

St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs in faith were harassed, arrested and tortured because of their faith in God, as they refused to reject the Lord and abandon Christ. When they were forced to desecrate the holy images of the Lord, His blessed Mother and His saints, they refused to do so, and remained resolute in their faith and commitment. The authorities sentenced them to death, and they were forced to march thousands of kilometres from the capital in Kyoto to their site of martyrdom in Nagasaki.

But despite all of these sufferings, challenges and difficulties, the pains and sorrows that the Japanese Christians, St. Paul Miki and his fellow martyrs had to endure, they remained firm in their faith in God, and kept that joy within them. The Lord Himself was with them, and they kept that joy of knowing just how God’s love has given them strength. St. Paul Miki and his companions endured the long and arduous journey, singing the thanksgiving hymn, ‘Te Deum’ throughout the way.

When they were martyred, the holy Japanese martyrs faced death with faith, and committed themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. They remained true to their faith to the very end, knowing that God would always be with them, despite all the difficulties and challenges that they encountered. Now, we are called to imitate and follow the examples of those holy saints and martyrs, St. Paul Miki and his companions, who have given themselves so totally to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to commit ourselves and dedicate ourselves in the same manner? Are we able to face the challenges of this world with the same joy as the Apostles, and as St. Paul Miki and his companions had done? We are called to follow in their footsteps, and let us all pray, that from now on, we will grow ever more in our faith and love for God, and be able to dedicate ourselves, each and every days of our life. May God be with us always, and may the intercession of St. Paul Miki and his companions be our help always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He resurrected the daughter of Jairus, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offence at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 13-14, 17-18a

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

But the Lord’s kindness is forever with those who fear Him; so is His justice, for their children’s children, for those who keep His covenant and remember His commands.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 12 : 4-7, 11-15

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin? Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children : My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when He punishes you. For the Lord corrects those He loves and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.

What you endure is in order to correct you. God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father? All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it.

Lift up, then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed. Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. See that no one falls from the grace of God, lest a bitter plant spring up and its poison corrupt many among you.

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Wednesday, 30 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, as we continue the discourse regarding the High Priesthood of Christ from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we are reminded yet again of the wonders of God’s love that He has willingly sacrificed Himself, offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood as the High Priest of us all, that through this sacred and worthy offering, all of us are freed from the slavery of sin, and receive the renewed grace of God’s love.

He has made a new Covenant with each and every one of us by the outpouring of His Blood and the shedding of His Body on the altar of the cross, sanctified and sealed by that sacrifice, making a Covenant that is everlasting and unbreakable, the Covenant of love between God and His beloved people. And because of His love for us, He willingly embraced that painful and yet loving sacrifice, enduring all the sufferings for our sake, that we may live.

Yet, for all that the Lord has done for our sake, many of us are still incapable of recognising the wonderful gift of this love. And the Lord reminds us about this through the Gospel passage today, in which He told His disciples the famous parable of the sower. In that parable, the Lord told the people of a sower who sowed his seeds which fell on different types of soil and conditions, in each of which, the seeds failed to grow except for the ones that fell on the rich and fertile soil.

Those seeds that the sower spread on the soil, is the Word of God, the faith and the truth that God has brought upon us through His Church and all those who worked hard to spread the Good News and the message of the Gospels of Christ. The sower himself is the Lord, Who sowed good things in us and spread His Good News and truth in our midst, that each and every one of us may grow in our faith and become closer to Him.

Unfortunately, based on what the Lord had gone through with us through the parable, we heard how many of those seeds fell on various types of soil medium, which were not conducive for proper and healthy growth and development of the plants. First of all, the seeds that fell on the roadside were eaten up by birds and therefore did not grow, representing all those who were distracted by the many temptations of life, and chose to follow Satan and his lies instead of following the way that God has shown us.

And then those seeds that fell among thorns and thistles and were strangled by those plants, as well as those that fell on rocky ground and failed to grow deep roots and dried up, were those who had the faith in them and yet, they were unable to grow in faith as the burdens of worldly temptations and the allures of pleasure and human greed caused them to falter and fall, to be made to bow to the pressures of the expectations of our world and our community.

It is only those seeds that fell on the rich and fertile soil that managed to grow into healthy and fruitful plants that bore rich produce and returns, many multiples of what had been planted in the first place. This rich and fertile soil is in fact referring to all those who have allowed God’s words and truth to come into their midst, and not only that, but they also internalised and understood those words and their meaning, and making them integral part of their lives.

That is how the Lord’s grace, love and blessings can bear fruit within us, and make us to be bountiful and great, when we allow God to enter into our hearts and minds, and transform us completely from the inside out. And thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to love God in the same manner as He has loved us all so deeply and wonderfully, that He has laid down His own life for our sake, offering for our salvation, the perfect offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood as our Eternal High Priest.

Let us all turn towards the Lord from now on, loving Him and devoting ourselves to Him, each and every days of our life. Let us all open our hearts and minds, to allow God to enter into our lives, changing us and transforming us to become His worthy and beloved servants, and His wonderful people from now on. May God bless us all and our every endeavours, and may He be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 30 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 4 : 1-20

At that time, Jesus began to teach by the lake; but such a large crowd gathered about Him, that He got into a boat and sat in it on the lake, while the crowd stood on the shore. He taught them many things through parables. In His teaching, He said, “Listen! The sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some of the seed fell along a path; and the birds came and ate it up.”

“Some of the seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil; it sprang up immediately, because it had no depth; but when the sun rose and burnt it, it withered, because it had no roots. Other seed fell among thorn bushes; and the thorns grew and choked it; so it did not produce any grain.”

“But some seed fell on good soil, grew and increased and yielded grain; some seed produced thirty times as much, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.” And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”

When the crowd went away, some who were around Him with the Twelve asked about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so, that, the more they see, they do not perceive; the more they hear, they do not understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How, then, will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those along the path, where the seed fell, are people who hear the word, but as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”

“Other people receive the word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy. But they have no roots, so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come because of the word, than they fall. Others receive the seed, as seed among thorns. After they hear the word, they are caught up in the worries of this life, false hope of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the word, so that finally it produces nothing.”

“And there are others who receive the word as good soil. They hear the word, take it to heart and produce : some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.”

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Wednesday, 30 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Wednesday, 30 January 2019 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 10 : 11-18

So, whereas every priest stands, daily, by the Altar, offering, repeatedly, the same sacrifices, that can never take away sins, Christ has offered, for all times, a single sacrifice for sins, and has taken His seat at the right hand of God, waiting, until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet. By a single sacrifice He has brought those who are sanctified to what is perfect forever.

This also was testified by the Holy Spirit. For after having declared : This is the Covenant that I will make with them in the days to come – says the Lord – I will put My Laws in their hearts and write them on their minds. He says : Their sins and evil deeds I will remember no more. So, if sins are forgiven, there is no longer need of any sacrifice for sin.

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Wednesday, 23 January 2019 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord which remind us of His love for each and every one of us as our loving High Priest, in His ministry and work among us, as shown in the Gospel passage today, by the healing of the man with the paralytic hand. At that time, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law argued that the Lord Jesus had disobeyed the Law by healing someone on the Sabbath day. But the Lord rebuked them as they failed to understand the true meaning and purpose of the Law of God.

The Lord was angry at them, and at the same time also sad, as mentioned in the Gospel, because He saw such stubbornness and injustice being present among His own people. He saw how the people were being very selfish and arrogant, thinking that they were righteous and great, mighty and powerful, and others were less deserving of God’s grace and love than the rest. The Lord gave His people His laws and commandments with the intention to bring them closer to Him, and unfortunately, those had been misused and misunderstood.

Instead of becoming a pathway for the people of God to come closer to Him, those laws and commandments have become great obstacles and barriers, imposed by those in power and influential positions on those who were weaker, less fortunate and less intellectual. The laws of God became a great burden for the people to bear, who followed and obeyed them not out of true love for God, but out of fear of being punished and damned into hell.

And worse still, many among the Pharisees and the chief priests who claimed to obey the laws and fulfil the commandments the most, those people did so not out of love for God, but for their own personal benefits and convenience, that is to satisfy their own personal greed and worldly desires, the desire for power, for influence, for prestige and for their own ambitions, that they imposed such a difficult situation for the rest of the people of God.

That is why the Lord was so angered by what He had seen, all the hypocrisy and the lack of faith among those to whom the guardianship and the leadership of the people and flock of God had been entrusted to. The Lord rebuked them directly before the people, as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had been adamant in their constant opposition to His works, especially on the matter of His miracles and healing on the Sabbath.

He reminded the people that the law of the Sabbath did not mean that the people of God could not do anything, even things that are good and done in obedience to God. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were understanding the Law in the literal manner, without understanding the true purpose and intention of those rules and commandments. As a result, they caused others to also interpret the Law in the wrong way, and walk down the wrong path in practicing their faith.

And the Lord Himself showed the example by His own commitment and obedience to the true intention and meaning of the Law. As He Himself mentioned, the whole Law and commandments of God can be summarised into two main parts, that is first of all, the love for God, our Lord and Creator, and then, the same love which we must have for our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow men, be it our family members, our friends, or even strangers and those who do not love us, or even hated us.

He, Our Lord and High Priest, as mentioned in our first reading passage today, the one and true Eternal High Priest of us all, in the line of the High Priest Melchizedek, offered Himself for the atonement of our sins, and therefore for our salvation. He showed us what it truly means for us to have faith in God, not in empty and meaningless show of obedience as the hypocrites had shown in the past, but through real love and commitment for God, and for the love which He had for each one of us, that He willingly bore the burden of the cross for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now each and every one of us are called to love God and to serve Him much in the same way as He has shown us, by His loving sacrifice on the cross. We are called and challenged to follow His examples, in truly devoting ourselves to Him and in giving of ourselves to the greater glory of God. Let us all therefore turn towards Him wholeheartedly, and do our very best to live up to our faith from now on. Amen.