Wednesday

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Mark 10 : 32-45

At that time, Jesus and His disciples were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and He was walking ahead. The Twelve were anxious, and those who followed were afraid. Once more Jesus took the Twelve aside to tell them what was to happen to Him.

“You see we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the foreigners, who will make fun of Him, spit on Him, scourge Him, and finally kill Him; but three days later He will rise.”

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to Him, “Master, we want You to grant us what we are going to ask of You.” And He said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They answered, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, when You come in Your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptised in the way I am baptised?” They answered, “We can.” And Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptised in the way that I am baptised; but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant. It has been prepared for others.”

On hearing this, the other ten were angry with James and John. Jesus then called them to Him and said, “As you know, the so-called rulers of the nations act as tyrants, and their great ones oppress them. But it shall not be so among you; whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall make himself slave of all.”

“Think of the Son of Man, Who has not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

1 Peter 1 : 18-25

Remember that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver but with the precious Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish. God, Who has known Christ before the world began, revealed Him to you in the last days.

Through Him, you have faith in God Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God. In obeying the truth, you have gained interior purification from which comes sincere mutual love. Love one another, then, with all your heart, since you are born again, not from mortal beings, but with enduring life, through the Word of God Who lives and remains forever.

It is written : All flesh is grass and its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. This Word is the Gospel which has been brought to you.

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Wednesday, 18 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about St. James speaking in his Epistle, about the way we should act in our lives. He criticised those who made many plans about how they would go about their days, and thinking that they would seek to make more money or income in so and so city or place.

And the reason he put forward was indeed true, brethren, that the Lord is the Master of all, the Lord and Master over our lives and all that we do. He has control and power over all things, and our own lives will not be ours to go about and do as we like. We may plan all that we want to do and what we wish to do with our lives, but ultimately, it is the will of God that will triumph in the end.

Ambitious men and women had from time to time trying their luck and putting the efforts in trying to bring glory to themselves. And they made a lot of effort in order to satisfy what they want, and immersed themselves in their busy schedules and in their plans. But what they did not realise is that, God can take away the life He has given them at any time, as He willed it. Our lives are in His hands, brothers and sisters in Christ.

There is no point for us to be so busy in planning ahead, that we fail to enjoy the fullness of it. If God is to take our life and bring us back to Him tomorrow, will that therefore be a waste then, all that we have planned for ourselves? I am not saying that we should be carefree and disregard anything in life, or leave it entirely to chance and luck in how we live our lives. Rather, it means that we must not let our lives, all of its busy and hectic schedules to control us and swallow us.

If we notice, in our world today, all around us, in our own communities and families, can we tell how many of us are so preoccupied with what we are doing to the point of forgetting everything else? It is because we are so focused with ourselves, our work, our desires and wants, that we have lost sight of the greater picture of life. We become our own slaves, slaves to our desires and needs.

We live in period of selfishness, where everything is about consideration for ourselves and we spare little or none for others around us. And as a result, we do not show love when we are capable of showing love, and we do not show care and concern for one another when we need to show these to our brethren and neighbours around us who need them.

In the Gospel today, Jesus spoke about those who were doing good works and yet not belonging to the group of the Apostles and the disciples. The disciples were trying to stop what those people had done as they did not belong to their group. But the Lord rebuked them and said that they should not stop these good works as those who did not oppose the Lord belongs also to God.

In this, we see the contrast with what was shown by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who were furiously and actively trying to oppose the works of Jesus and His disciples, as they saw Jesus and His disciples as bitter rivals and opponents to their own teaching authority and influence. They selfishly tried to stop the good works of the Lord to serve their own purpose and sinned in doing so.

This is precisely what we have to avoid, brethren. We cannot act in the same way as these people, unless if we want to fall into the same trap as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. In this, perhaps we should follow in the footsteps of the saint whose feast we celebrate today, namely that of Pope St. John I, Bishop of Rome and leader of the Universal Church during its early days and a holy martyr of God.

Pope St. John I reigned during the time of conflict between the powers of the world, between the Roman Emperor Justinian in the east and the king of the Ostrogothic kingdom, Theodoric the Great, who ruled the city and province of Rome at the time. The conflict extended into the matters of the Church, made worse as the Ostrogoths believed in the heresy of Arianism, while the faithful Romans kept the true faith.

As such, conflict grew and the faithful people of God became caught in the entanglement of the conflicts. Pope St. John I worked hard to keep the Church strong amidst the difficulties and persecutions, working for peace among the factions. And yet, the Ostrogoths suspected the Pope as plotting against them with the Romans and thus imprisoned and tortured him.

But Pope St. John I refused to give in to his persecutors’ demands, and he remained strong and resolute in the face of the opposition, and in the end, he met his death at the hands of the enemies of the people of God, but before having shown to the people of God, the examples of faith and commitment which he had shown to God, in not seeking his own personal glory, but instead in bringing forth and proclaiming the glory of God.

Let us all heed his examples, and reflect on the readings from the Holy Scriptures, and learn to live faithfully from now on. Let us all go forth to renew our lives, filled with renewed commitments to God, our Lord and Master. May all of us find our path to our Lord, and through our acts, bound and filled with love, be our justification before His holy presence. May God be with us all, and may He awaken in all of us the selfless love for one another. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Mark 9 : 38-40

At that time, John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon Your Name, and we tried to forbid him because he does not belong to our group.”

Jesus answered, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My Name can soon after speak evil of Me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

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Wednesday, 18 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 48 : 2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11

Hear this, all you peoples! Listen, all you inhabitants of the world, high and low together, rich and poor alike!

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers ring me round – those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

For no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For redeeming one’s life demands too high a price, and all is lost forever. Who can remain forever alive and never see the grave?

For we see that the wise die, and pass away like the fool and the stupid leaving to others their fortune and wealth.

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Wednesday, 18 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

James 4 : 13-17

Listen now, you who speak like this, “Today or tomorrow we will go off to this city and spend a year there; we will do business and make money.” You have no idea what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? No more than a mist which appears for a moment and then disappears.

Instead of this, you should say, “God willing, we will live and do this or that.” But no! You boast of your plans : this brazen pride is wicked. Anyone who knows what is good and does not do it, sins.

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Wednesday, 11 May 2016 : Seventh Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we heard the continuation of the discourse which St. Paul had with the elders, the bishops, priests and the faithful of the Church in Ephesus, we heard of the reminders that we all should also pay attention to, in how they ought to live their lives faithfully, committed to God. St. Paul reminded the people of Ephesus on what things to expect as they live in faith.

In the Gospel, we also heard about the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Father in heaven, during the moments just before He was about to suffer, to be crucified and to die on the cross. He prayed that the Lord His Father would protect His disciples and keep them from harm’s way, and from the predation and attacks by the evil one. He prayed that they will remain in God’s grace and remain as one people faithful to God.

In all these, there is a similar theme to all, that is the alertness, the readiness and the care which all of us must take against the encroachments of evil, the allure and the pull of darkness, and all the methods and ways which the devil and its fellow allies are using against each one of us who are faithful to God. We must realise that the danger and the threat are ever present, and we cannot be less prepared or be less aware of the danger.

As Christians, and indeed as human beings, all of us are always presented with choices in our respective lives. And with each of the choices we made, we are presented with the consequences that are inevitable to come for each of these choices that we made. If we act in ways that are contrary to God’s laws and teachings, then we only invite harm and danger to ourselves, and then, it is not only affecting us, but in fact, also others around us.

How is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because we mankind are visual and auditory creatures, and we form our judgments and ideas based on what we see, what we hear and what we witness in others. How would people believe in us, no matter what we show them and teach them, if we as Christians do not act as how Christians should act? Indeed, if we do things that are contrary to our faith, we even would scandalise our faith, and prevent people from ever reaching salvation.

And if by our actions we have caused our fellow brethren to be condemned and thrown into hell, then we too would be held responsible for their downfall. We should have inspired them and helped them to attain salvation in God, and yet, what we have done had merely made them to go even further in their own sinful ways and prevent them from approaching the Lord through faith, because they saw in us the wickedness of the faithful.

Therefore, all of us today are challenged, just as St. Paul had reminded and challenged the elders, the bishops and the shepherds of God’s people in Ephesus. And this challenge is that we all should live our lives faithfully as Christians, and we should devote our time and our actions to be truly worthy of being called as Christians, that is by obeying the Lord in all of His laws and commandments, loving and caring for our fellow brethren, and acting with full faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the challenge has been given to us. Are we up to the challenge? It is up to us to choose whether we want to walk in this path, difficult and challenging, but reaps rich rewards of eternal life and glory in God, or we rather follow the path that is offered to us, the easier path of the world that leads to uncertainty and even to damnation.

Let us pray for discernment, that God will strengthen our faith and our resolve. May all of us be ever more courageous to carry out the laws and commandments of God in all of our actions, even if those actions may not be viewed favourably by others around us. Let us remember that we live to serve the Lord and not to serve the world. Let us all work together, so that hopefully at the end of the days, when the Lord comes again to claim us His faithful ones, He may find us worthy and just, and thus bring us to everlasting life. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 May 2016 : Seventh Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 17 : 11b-19

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as We also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this the Scripture was fulfilled. And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves.”

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

“Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”

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Wednesday, 11 May 2016 : Seventh Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 67 : 29-30, 33-35a, 35bc and 36c

Summon Your power, o God, with the strength You have wielded for us. To Your Temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.

Sing to God, o kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, to Him Who rides the ancient heavens and speaks in the voice of thunder. Proclaim the might of God.

He is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. Blessed be God!