Wednesday

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Wednesday, 16 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Virgins)
Revelations 4 : 1-11

After this, I looked up to the wall of the sky and saw an open door. The voice which I had first speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here and I will show you what will come in the future.”

Immediately I was seized by the Spirit. There, in heaven, was a throne and One sitting on it. He Who sat there looked like jasper and carnelian and round the throne was a rainbow resembling an emerald. In a circle around the throne are twenty-four thrones and seated on these are twenty-four elders, dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.

Flashes of lightning come forth from the throne, with voices and thunderclaps. Seven flaming torches burn before the throne; these are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there is a platform, transparent like crystal. Around and beside the throne stand four living creatures, full of eyes, both in front and behind.

The first living creature is like a lion, the second like a bull, the third has the face of a man and the fourth looks like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures has six wings full of eyes, all around as well as within; day and night they sing without ceasing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, Master of the universe, Who was, and is and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honour and thanks to the One on the throne, He Who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him and worship the One Who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns in front of the throne and say, “Our Lord and God, worthy are You to receive glory, honour and power! For You have created all things; by Your will they came to be and were made.”

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Wednesday, 9 November 2016 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Major Papal and Roman Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate with the entire Universal Church the great feast and solemnity in remembrance of the moment when the great Cathedral of Rome, the seat of the Bishop of Rome, of the Vicar of Christ, from St. Peter to his successors and to our current Pope, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, was consecrated and dedicated firstly to our Lord, the Most Holy Saviour of us all, and then to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.

Many of us would have thought that the Cathedra or the seat of the Pope is at the Vatican City, or at the St. Peter’s Basilica, which is truly the largest and most magnificent of all the churches and basilicas throughout the world, but in fact, due to the residence of the Pope in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, the Basilica of St. Peter is where most of the Papal liturgical celebrations take place due to its position and convenience, but the Papal Cathedra is not at that basilica.

Even though the Papal Basilica of St. Peter is indeed special as that was where St. Peter, the first Vicar of Christ and the Bishop of Rome was martyred, and where subsequently he was entombed, but the Cathedral of Rome is indeed located in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in the middle of the city of Rome due to its historical reasons, as that basilica is the first of the churches to be built in Rome after the official persecutions of Christians were ended by the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great.

Before that time, Christians were not be able to openly celebrate the Holy Mass and other celebrations of our faith in public, or else, the Roman authorities would seize them, arrest the faithful and destroy whatever they had, as the officials and the administration for most of the early Church were hostile and unfriendly towards the Church and the faithful. Unlike today, going to a Holy Mass at that time would actually mean choosing between life or death, and was a matter of chance whether one would be found out and arrested.

In fact, if we read through the history of the Church, the story of the holy martyrs and servants of God at that time, we would realise just how difficult it was to become a Christian, as they had to hide from place to place, and though sometimes under more tolerant Emperors and administrations they were able to have more leeway, but generally, most of the early Christians had to hide underground, and in fact, they celebrate the Holy Mass in the catacombs, on the tombs of the saints and martyrs.

Some of them had to struggle just to get to the Holy Mass, and while some servants of the Lord were risking their own safety and lives in order to minister to the people, including that of St. Tarcisius, who was a young man tasked to deliver the Eucharist, the Body of our Lord, to prisoners who were not able to gain access to the Mass, and when angry enemies of the Lord demanded that he had to hand to them the Eucharist, he chose to defend it to his death rather than to surrender the Lord.

Imagine how joyful the faithful people of God would have been when the persecutions against them by the authorities were rescinded by the order of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, who extended a universal toleration of the Christian faith throughout the whole Empire in the Edict of Milan, after almost three whole centuries of sufferings of the early Church.

And the Emperor who was attracted to the teachings and the truth of Christianity would then donate funds for the building of churches and places of worship for Christians, the principal one of which was the one built atop the Lateran hill, which would become the Basilica and later, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. It was there then that the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope was affixed and established.

And this very day, the ninth day of November, was supposed to be the day when the Archbasilica and Cathedral of Rome was consecrated to God and dedicated both to the Most Holy Saviour, as well as to the St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and Apostle. This is a very important event, as before a church is consecrated and dedicated, it cannot be used as a place to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And as the Holy Mass is at the centre of our faith, therefore, the dedication of this great place of worship, this House of God is truly very significant for all the faithful.

And ever since, throughout its very long history, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran has been at the heart of Christianity, the Christian faith and Christendom, the focal point of the faith, where the Popes resided for much of their subsequent dominion in Rome and over the whole world in the adjacent Lateran Palace for much of the next millennia and many centuries henceforth.

What is the significance of this great feast day for all of us, brethren? It is firstly that as this Archbasilica is the Cathedral of Rome, the Seat of the Papal authority, therefore, it is the Mother Church of all the other churches, parishes and cathedrals, basilicas and all other centres of the Christian faith throughout the world, as the Head of all the churches, all united under the authority of the Roman Pontiff, our Pope, the Vicar of Christ.

In each of our own Cathedrals in our respective dioceses, or Archdioceses, or other circumscriptions and territories of the Church, they are the respective Mother Churches and the focal points for all the believers in those local regions and divisions, but all are united to the whole entire Church in the authority of the Pope, as the leader of the entire Universal Church.

In the Scripture readings we heard today, we saw the vision of Ezekiel of the Temple and the Sanctuary of heaven, where he saw the Temple of the Lord, where the Lord Himself resides, and from it flowed out life-giving stream of water, which gave life to many things on wherever it flowed to. And this is the second point that we should take note in our celebrations today. That the Church of God, its edifices and buildings should be holy places worthy of the Lord, and out of which should come out life and goodness.

And yet, how many of us defile the sacredness and the holiness of the House of God? How many of us came to the Holy Mass with inappropriate attire, inappropriate gestures, and more important of all, with inappropriate state of heart and mind. We come to the Mass not because of the Lord, or because we want to visit Him and be with Him, but rather due to other reasons.

And what are these reasons, brethren? It is either that we feel the obligation to come to the church and the Mass because it is what the Church told us to do, or because we come to the Church to find our friends and to chit chat and talk with them, or because we do not know what we did so? All these are the common reasons why we have not been genuine with our devotion to God in the Holy Mass, coming to the churches for our own selfish desires and not for the sake of the Lord. We forget that when we come to the Mass, it is the Lord Who ought to be the centre of all of our attentions.

And the fact is that, as Jesus pointed out in the Gospel today, our bodies are the Temples of the Lord’s Most Holy Presence, much as the Temple of Jerusalem was the place where God dwelled among His people. Why is this so? That is because the Lord Himself has come to dwell among us, within us, inside us, deep inside our hearts, when we, His people, receive Him through the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Yes, we received the Lord through the Eucharist, His own Body and Blood, from the bread and wine offered to the Lord and by the power and the authority granted to our priests acting in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ, to transform them completely in matter and reality to that of our Lord’s very own Presence and Essence. And by coming down into us, we have made ourselves to become the Holy Tabernacle of our Lord, the Temple of the Lord’s Divine Presence.

And God Himself had sent us His own Holy Spirit, and by the life He had granted us, the life given to us by God the Creator, God is fully inside us, blessing us and providing us with sustenance and strength to carry on with our daily lives and more. And this is something which many of us might not have realised, as we tend to be too busy or too distracted by many things in this world, and indeed, if our behaviours and attitudes towards the Holy Mass, towards God’s Holy Temple had been indicative, how would then one be surprised at what we have done to our own bodies, which are also the Temples of the Lord?

St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, the first letter, verse three, where he spoke to them about us as in his own words, ‘Do you not know that you are God’s holy Temple and God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?’ And this precisely what I was just talking about, on all of us being the Vessels and the Temples of God, and therefore, just as much as our holy places, churches and all dedicated to God for holy purposes, then each and every one of us must also make sure that we are clean, pure and holy in all of our bodies, hearts and minds.

Those who have defiled the sanctity of that holy Temple of God will therefore receive the same treatment that Jesus did to all the merchants, money-changers and other crooks who corrupted and defiled the holy grounds of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. He fashioned a cord out of reeds and whipped all of them out, throwing away their money boxes and chasing out all of their merchandises, animals and all sorts, purifying the Temple and House of God from all of these.

In the same manner, therefore, if we have not been faithful to God, wicked in our ways and do not preserve the sanctity of our bodies, minds and hearts, then at the end of our earthly lives and on the day of judgment, God will reject us, cast us out and leave us to our fate of eternal suffering, separated for eternity from His love and grace, for indeed we have committed a great sin.

Instead, brothers and sisters in Christ, what should we do then in order to be faithful to the Lord? Returning back to what I have mentioned at the beginning of this homily, I mentioned how the faithful were oppressed and had great difficulties in the days of the early Church, where they were literally unable to practice their faith openly, lest they be arrested, put into prison and tortured because of their faith in God.

They had to celebrate the Mass in catacombs and graves of the saints, in hidden places underground, or in places without people, and the ministers of the Lord had to suffer a lot, as they had to move on from places to places, ministering to the people of God, and often times, they were discovered by the authorities. And in the end, they were liberated and free to practice their faith, as the Emperor accepted the truth of Christ and was converted to His cause, and the Lateran Archbasilica was built and consecrated.

Therefore, first of all, each and every one of us should be grateful and be thankful of all the graces that God had given to each and every one of us. We should be grateful if we had had a good life, and had no problem to practice our faith openly. We have to remember that in this world, there are many of our brethren in various areas who still have to practice their faith in secret, lest they might encounter persecution and even death, and thus, let us all pray and help these brethren of ours in whatever way we can.

And then, if we give our best to decorate the holy Tabernacles, as well as the holy churches, Cathedrals and Basilicas, consecrating them to the Lord, then we should do the same with our own selves, body, heart, mind and soul, for we are indeed also the Temple of God’s Holy Presence and where the Holy Spirit of God dwells. Thus, it is only logical that we should also honour Him by giving the best we can, devoting ourselves to make this Temple that is our being, worthy of the Lord.

Let us do this by exhibiting true Christian actions in our lives, that where we see hatred and divisions, we should bring love and unity; and where we see sorrow, sadness, lamentation and anguish, we should bring hope, kindness, tenderness and sympathy. And we can also begin by truly understanding the importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in our lives, spending precious and good time with the Lord, and truly give Him the adoration, worship and respect He deserves, by giving our best whenever we come to His House, to be truly there for Him and being with Him.

May the Lord help us and His Church, bringing all of His faithful ones closer to Him, that just as today we celebrate the memory of the dedication and consecration of the great Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Mother Church and Head of all the churches and parishes throughout the whole world, then we too will devote our own bodies, minds, hearts and souls, and devote them fully to the Lord our God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 November 2016 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Major Papal and Roman Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
John 2 : 13-22

At that time, as the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple court He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves, and money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple court, together with the oxen and sheep.

He knocked over the tables of the money-changers, scattering the coins, and ordered the people selling doves, “Take all this away, and stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace!” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture : ‘Zeal for Your House devours Me like fire.’

The Jews then questioned Jesus, “Where are the miraculous signs which give You the right to do this?” And Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then replied, “The building of this Temple has already taken forty-six years, and will You raise it up in three days?”

Actually Jesus was referring to the Temple of His Body. Only when He had risen from the dead did His disciples remember these words; then they believed both the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.

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Wednesday, 9 November 2016 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Major Papal and Roman Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World (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 the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Wednesday, 9 November 2016 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Major Papal and Roman Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World (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 eastwards. 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 sea water 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 a 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, 2 November 2016 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the All Souls’ Day, we remember all of our brethren who have departed before us, all those whom we have known and have left us behind, and even all others, strangers whom we have not met, but indeed have also left this earthly life behind. Today we remember all the souls of the faithful departed, just as yesterday we rejoice together in the glory of the saints, those whom God and His Church had deemed worthy to receive directly the glory of heaven.

And today, we pray for those who have left this earthly life and yet we are not sure of their state after their earthly death, whether they would be worthy enough to merit to enter the kingdom of heaven, or whether they have to suffer in purgatory before they can enter into the kingdom of God, or whether their wickedness or sins had overcome them and made them judged to be worthy of hell instead. It is not us to decide, but God.

For many of us, our instinctive reaction upon thinking of death is fear, that is we are afraid of death, because of this uncertainty of our fate, and ultimately, of course, many of us find it difficult to part with whatever we have attained and possessed in this world, resulting in many of us trying to preserve whatever we have, our life and our youth, with many emphasis placed on trying to prolong our lives and maintaining our youthful appearances.

Many of us grieve very badly upon losing our loved ones to death, mostly because we think that we are not going to see them again, and we cannot bear to be separated from them. It is part of our natural instinct as human beings to grieve and be sad, because after all, when we are no longer able to physically interact with someone we love and care for, we should indeed feel disturbed by that new reality.

But we should not lose hope or despair, for the Lord Himself had made it clear to us in many occasions, that He has come into the world that all of us may have hope, because of His death and resurrection, which showed us all that there is a path out of that darkness and despair, the path to our salvation in our God. And that is the hope which all of us ought to remember today, even as we are saddened by the loss of our beloved.

Remember, brethren, that Christ’s death is followed by His resurrection, and He has promised us all through His disciples, that He will raise all those who are faithful to Him on the last day, and we all will be reunited with one another, with our beloved ones, with our brothers and sisters with whom we may have been temporarily separated. If we believe in this, then truly, we should absolutely have no need to fear death, be it for our own or for others around us, as it is not an end, but rather the transition and the beginning to a new life filled with new joy with our God.

Therefore, today, as we celebrate the Feast of All Souls’ Day, first of all, let us all realise that as I have mentioned yesterday during the Solemnity of All Saints, there are three parts of the Church, the Church Triumphant, consisting of the saints of God, who have been deemed worthy to enjoy immediately the joy of the kingdom of God, the Church Militant, all of us living in this world at the moment, who are living the daily struggles of our lives, and finally the Church Suffering, for whom we are praying for today.

For the Church Suffering consists of all the faithful ones who have lived in the grace of God, died in a state of grace, but which venial or minor sins have not been completely cleared and absolved from them. They are not yet able to be with God, for they cannot bring sin before God, as sin has no place before Him. Nevertheless, they have also been found worthy enough so as to escape the eternal damnation in hell, which is reserved only for those whose evil and wicked deeds truly outweighed their good ones.

So today, firstly, we have to pray for those souls in purgatory, who are suffering the pain of the holy flames of purification, enduring the consequences of their sufferings. We pray that God will lessen their sufferings and ordeal, and be willing to completely absolve our brethren in purgatory of their sins, that they may finally enter into the heavenly kingdom and partake in the glorious inheritance reserved for them.

And secondly, we should also reflect on how we ourselves live our lives in this world. The souls in purgatory knew well what they have committed in life, all the things they have done that landed them in the purgatorial flames instead of immediately enjoying the glorious heaven. And they definitely would not want us to end up where they are as well. In fact, just as we have prayed for them, they too are constantly praying for us.

Knowing just how much we all are related to each other, even beyond the realm of this world, we should all the more be more inspired to live a good and devout Christian life. We should not take chances, brothers and sisters in Christ, for what is at stake is none other than our own souls, the state of our own salvation or whether it would instead be damnation.

Let us all not wait until it is too late for us, but instead, work together and helping each other to find our way to the Lord, by doing what is right in the sight of God, by our unfailing obedience and commitment, by loving our brethren in need, be generous and be charitable in all things. And let us also not forget about our loving brethren, our beloved relatives and even strangers who are also our brothers and sisters, children of the same God, that we should offer them our prayers and for the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass to be offered for their sake.

Let us pray for one another, that all of us will eventually be able to persevere through all the difficult challenges in this world, and give our best in order to do the will of our God, be no longer lukewarm and hesitant in our faith, but instead be true disciples of our Lord, doing His will in all that we say, act and do. May God bless us all, and may all the souls of our brethren, those who are faithful and have departed, find the rest they need in the Lord. Requiescat in Pace. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2016 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black
Luke 7 : 11-17

At that time, a little later after Jesus healed the servant of a captain in Capernaum, He went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” The news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2016 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black
Romans 5 : 5-11

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and we have become just through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason now we may be saved through His life.

Not only that; we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through Whom we have been reconciled.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2016 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Black
Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

Hear my voice when I call, o Lord, have mercy on me and answer. My heart says to You, “I seek Your face, o Lord.” Do not hide Your face from me nor turn away Your servant in anger.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Wednesday, 2 November 2016 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black
Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : For YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.