Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 4-5, 9
Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.
He is for the righteous a light in darkness, He is kind, merciful and upright. It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty.
He gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour.
Liturgical Colour : White
Romans 13 : 8-10
Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another : Love. The one who loves his or her neighbour fulfilled the Law. For the commandments : Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not covet and whatever else are summarised in this one : You will love your neighbour as yourself.
Love cannot do the neighbour any harm; so love fulfils the whole Law.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast of two of our Lord’s chief disciples, the Holy Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, while St. Jude here is different from Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would eventually betray Jesus and died in sin, but rather, St. Judas Thaddeus or St. Judas son of James.
On this day we heard about the role of the Apostles, whom God had called and chosen from among His people, so that they might be the extension of the works of His hands, as His chief deputies and representatives in this world. Through the disciples and the Apostles, Jesus continues His works on earth, even long after the end of His earthly existence, when He ascended in glory into the glorious Heaven.
The Apostles went forth in accordance with the mission that Jesus had given to all of them, and they went to the various places on earth, spreading further the Word of God and the salvation that Jesus Christ our Lord offers to all those who have faith in Him. They are truly the foundations of the Church, which Jesus our Lord had established on this world, based on Peter, the cornerstone, upon which He had established His Church.
God had built a strong foundation for His Church, and the Apostles are also like the pillars that strengthened the building and structure of the entire Church. For not only that they had evangelised and spread the words of the Gospel and the Good News, but they have established a solid and strong core of support structures for the Church, namely by providing many bishops and other servants of the Lord, that gave strength to the Church.
Through them, God made His will and works visible to all of the world, by providing the means through which many of the souls that still lie in darkness are able to listen to the word of God, and be saved as a result of the works of these faithful servants of our Lord. The Apostles were the catalysts of God’s work of salvation, in bringing mankind ever closer to God, and in their hard labours, they even laid down their lives and shed their blood for His sake, and for the sake of His Church.
Thus, the saying is true, that the blood of martyrs are the seeds of Christians. For all of the Apostles except for one were martyred and died in great and excruciating agony for their faith. Yet, they accepted their deaths willingly and openly as they knew that their reward in heaven is truly very, very rich, for God will not forget about all those who have given up everything for His sake.
St. Simon the Zealot himself is often associated with St. Jude the Apostle, and that is why their feast days are celebrated together as one on this day. St. Simon together with St. Jude went to many places, from Egypt and then to Persia and lands of the east, before returning to the region now known as Lebanon, where they were martyred for their faith.
They did not give up until the end, and even unto the end, unto their own deaths, they still strove hard to work for the benefit and for the good of the people to whom they had been sent to by the Lord. They opened the eyes of many, healed many of their afflictions, both body and soul, and ultimately, they saved countless souls from the gates of hell, and brought these instead to the gates of heavenly glory.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what is it that we all must take note of so that whatever we have heard on this day will benefit us all? It is the attitude of the Apostles and their perseverance that we all can model from, and we all have to also realise that the works of the Apostles and disciples of Christ are truly far from over. In fact, their works are still ongoing now, just as Jesus commissioned them to deliver the Good News to all the nations.
Yes, we are all modern day Apostles and disciples of our Lord, as we have been tasked in a similar manner, to bring as many souls as possible, to the salvation present only in the Lord Jesus our Saviour, and to His light so that all mankind, every people may receive redemption and forgiveness from their sins, and be found righteous and just, that they will be worthy of eternal life.
Let us all realise this mission that we have, so that each and every one of us may realise our roles in the Church of God, as the bearers of God’s will and as His servants, to deliver God’s words to all, not just by mere words or proclamations only, but also through real and genuine action grounded firmly in faith and love for our Lord and for His laws.
Let us all commit ourselves anew to Him, and devote ourselves ever more to our Lord’s way, that we may bring one another to salvation, and we ourselves will grow ever richer in God’s grace. Do not despise those who are still living and darkness, and do not hate them for their wickedness, but instead, let us try to bring them closer to God, and help them in their path of repentance, so that like the Apostles of old, like St. Simon and St. Jude, we may also bring about God’s healing to all of them.
May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us all our sins, and may we all through the intercession of His holy saints and Apostles, be ever more devoted and committed children of our Lord and loving Father. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 6 : 12-19
At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.
Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.
The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5
The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.
No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22
Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus.
In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a Holy Temple in the Lord. In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Holy Scriptures remind us that we all should refrain and abstain from sinning once again, and we should keep ourselves from doing all the things that will place us all under the dominion of sin once again. For we all have been liberated from sin and from the punishments for our sins, because our Lord Himself have come to save us and by His saving works we have been brought into a new life.
To be under the dominion of sin was like how it was once when we were subjected to the consequences of our sins, the effects of which we still feel even unto this very day. For the consequence of sin is primarily death, the separation we experience from the Lord of all life, that is none other than the Lord our God. By our disobedience and rebellion against His will and His ways, we fell into disgrace and into the abyss of sin.
And while we mankind we created perfect, good and without blemish, and while we would have enjoyed an eternity of grace, blessings, joy and happiness living together with our God in the bliss of Eden, but because of sin, we tasted the first taste of suffering, and of death. Death becomes an integral part of our life, and death claims the life of all the mortal beings like us.
And once, we see no hope beyond death, for death is intended as the punishment for our sinfulness, the consequences we are to suffer, and just as we came from dust, our physical bodies shall not last and return to the dust, and death and hell would claim our souls for eternity. There was once no hope out of this despair, against the darkness that awaits us after the end of our earthly existence.
Yet, God who loves us has given us the new, lasting and eternal hope in Jesus Christ, His Son. Through Him we have the path out of our predicament, the sufferings we are to bear for our sins have been paid in full by the sacrifice of His Blood on the cross, and by sharing and partaking of His Body and Blood, we receive the salvation and life which He had promised us.
This means that we have been freed from the bonds and the tyranny which sin and the devil have imposed on us. We are truly free if we hold tight in the Lord and His promises, and as long as we keep our faith in Him and trust in Him fully. But we can easily fall back into the dominion of sin, if we lapse and fail to hold back our desires and fail to resist the temptations of the evil one, who is constantly trying to pull us back into damnation through sin.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, through the Gospel passage we heard together, our Lord Jesus Christ wants to remind us that each one of us whom He had brought out of the darkness have become God’s children by adoption through Christ, who is the Son of God and by assuming the form of Man, we too have become the children of God.
And because all of us are God’s children, He who is the Lord and Master over all of creation would entrust us with the care over creation, all the things in this world, and also with the care for one another, from one to his fellow men around him or her. It is by this that we have been appointed as stewards by our Lord, and it is truly up to us, and the choice is fully ours, whether we are to be good and responsible stewards, or whether our choice is to be terrible and wicked stewards.
It is in our human tendency for us to be lazy, slothful and selfish, thinking only about ourselves before anything else. This is why we often end up as the bad and wicked steward, who think that he could have it easy and laid back and rest, while the master is away from the house. In the same way therefore, because we think that God has given us so many opportunities and chances, then we can take it easy and slack, or sin and the Lord will tolerate those sins.
But all of us should know that the coming of the Lord will be truly sudden and unexpected, and if we are caught unprepared, the consequences will be truly fatal. Just as the wicked and lazy servant, our inaction will be our undoing. Shall we take heed of this so that we will not fall into eternal damnation just because we have failed to do something in order to help those who have been entrusted to us.
Let us all make the effort to love each other, guide one another and bring all of us closer to the Lord, by our efforts and actions, by caring for those who have fallen into sin and encourage them to return to the light, and also all those suffering from hunger and poverty, let us all help them in whatever way we can. May Almighty God bless us on our endeavours and keep us His stewards faithful to Him at all times. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Luke 12 : 39-48
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Pay attention to this : If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”
Peter said, “Lord, did You tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward, whom the master sets over his other servants to give them wheat at the proper time. Fortunate is this servant if his master on coming home, finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.”
“But it may be that the steward thinks, ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him off, and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.”
“The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare and do what his master wanted, will be soundly beaten; but the one who does unconsciously what deserves punishment, shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one who has been entrusted with more.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 123 : 1-3, 4-6, 7-8
Had not the Lord been on our side – let Israel say – had not the Lord been on our side, when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive; such was their anger against us.
A bit more and the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Blessed be the Lord, Who did not let us be devoured.
Like a bird our soul escaped from the snare of the fowler; the snare was broken and we were freed. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 6 : 12-18
Do not allow sin any control over your mortal bodies; do not submit yourselves to its evil inclinations, and do not give your members over to sin, as instruments to do evil. On the contrary, offer yourselves as persons returned from death to life, and let the members of your body be as holy instruments at the service of God.
Sin will not lord it over you again, for you are not under the Law, but under grace. I ask again : are we to sin because we are not under the Law, but under grace? Certainly not. If you have given yourselves up to someone as his slave, you are to obey the one who commands you, are you not? Now with sin you go to death, and by accepting faith you go the right way.
Let us give thanks to God for, after having sin as your master, you have been given to another, that is, to the doctrine of faith, to which you listen willingly. And being free from sin, you began to serve true righteousness.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 