Wednesday

by

Wednesday, 17 July 2024 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 10 : 5-7, 13-16

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger, the staff of My fury! Against a godless nation I send him, against a people who provoke My wrath I dispatch him, to plunder and pillage, to tread them down like mud in the streets. But the mind of his king is far from this, his heart harbours other thoughts; what he wants is to destroy, to make an end of all nations.

For the King says : “By my own strength I have done this and by my own wisdom, for I am clever. I have moved the frontiers of people, I have plundered treasures, I have brought inhabitants down to the dust, I have toppled kings from their thrones. As one reaches into a nest, so my hands have reached into nations’ wealth. As one gathers deserted eggs, so have I gathered the riches of the earth. No one flapped a wing or opened its mouth to chirp a protest.”

Does the ax claim more credit than the man who wields it? Does the saw magnify itself more than the one who uses it? This would be like a rod wielding the man who lifts it up; will those not made of wood, be controlled by the cudgel? This is why YHVH Sabaoth, is ready to send a wasting sickness upon the king’s sturdy warriors. Beneath his plenty, a flame will burn like a consuming fire.

by

Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us have heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded that each and every one of us must focus our lives and our whole attention on the Lord, and we must abandon all of our past sins, wickedness and all the things which had kept us away from the path of the Lord. If we allow all those things and the temptations of the world to distract and pull us away from the path of God’s righteousness and virtues, from His loving care and Presence, then in the end we shall regret our choice of siding not with the Lord but with the evil one and all the wickedness of this world. As Christians, each and every one of us are reminded to truly embody our faith and to be truly faithful to God in all things, and not just in formality only.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the account from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the Lord continued to detail the revelation of the downfall and destruction that would await the kingdom of Israel, referring to the northern half of the once united kingdom of Israel ruled by David and Solomon. The prophet Hosea had been sent to that place in order to reveal all the words of the Lord and the fate of the people, who had disobeyed the Lord and refused to obey Him so many times, that their sins were truly enormous and unimaginable in scale. They had indeed committed many mistakes, in building up idols and worshipping them, making altars to worship those false gods instead of the Lord, their one and only true God.

They had scandalised His Holy Name, spurning the ever generous love, kindness and mercy which He has always shown them from the very beginning. God has sent to His people numerous prophets, messengers and guides with the intention to help them all to realise the errors of their ways and to remind them to return to the path of righteousness and virtue before it was too late for them. They revealed God’s words and told them of the many sins which they had committed time and again before God and mankind alike, and all these were exactly what the prophet Hosea has repeated once again among all of them. Yet, they still refused to listen to God and they continued to walk down the path of rebellion and sin, hardening their hearts against God.

That was why the Lord told them all everything that they would have to suffer for their continued obstinate and wicked attitudes, in their refusal to turn away from their dark path. They persecuted the prophets and messengers of God sent to them, and therefore, in their pride, they would be humiliated and made to face the consequences of their actions just as the Lord had predicted and revealed to them. The Lord wanted them and also all of us to know that while He truly loves each and every one of us greatly and while He wants to forgive us from our many sins and wickedness, as is His nature to be full of love and compassion, mercy and kindness upon us, the most beloved among all of His creations. However, at the same time, sin is truly a grievous error and is something that can harm us all, by separating us from God and His love, and as long as we continue to live in the state of sin, then we may find ourselves locked out of God’s inheritance and grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord called His chief disciples, choosing the twelve among them to be the members of His own inner circle, all of whom except Judas Iscariot the traitor, would become the Twelve Apostles. They were entrusted with the power and authority to do many great signs and wonders, casting out demons and performing many other miracles. They were sent out with the missions and the tasks to prepare the way for the Lord, to proclaim His Good News and truth among the people and to call upon everyone to repent from their sins and wickedness. The Lord entrusted to them the mission and the outreach to His people, revealing His love and salvation to them through these disciples.

From what we have heard in this Gospel passage today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us as Christians are first of all called to live our lives worthily in God’s path, in that we should no longer disobey God’s commandments, His Law and will as what we and our predecessors have often done, like how the Israelites had once disobeyed the Lord and refused to follow His ways, persecuting the prophets and messengers sent to them. Thus, as Christians, we must always centre our lives upon the Lord and put Him as the centre and the attention of our whole existence, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we may continue to inspire others around us, to lead others towards the Lord, Our God and Saviour. We are the ones who can and should continue the good works that the Lord had begun through His Apostles and entrusted to His Church, that is to all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have listened from the words of the Sacred Scriptures and pondered upon them, let us all continue to do our part so that in each and every actions of our lives so that we may be truly evangelising, missionary and active disciples of the Lord. All of us must continue to do our best to proclaim the Lord, His truth and Good News in the midst of our respective communities, that all of us may continue to touch the lives of more and more people around us. It is through all of us and our efforts and contributions to the Church’s missions and works in this world that will help so many lost souls, our fellow brothers and sisters, to find their path towards God, to His love and grace, to be saved by Him and assured the gift of eternal life.

May the Lord our loving God and Father, our most generous and merciful Creator and Master continue to help, protect and guide us in all things. May He bless us in our every actions, our every efforts and works, and our interactions with one another, so that we may truly bear rich fruits of faith, and be good and worthy disciples in proclaiming His truth and salvation to the whole world. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 1-7

At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instruction : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near.”

by

Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

by

Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hosea 10 : 1-3, 7-8, 12

Israel was a spreading vine, rich in fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the more his land prospered, the more he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is divided! They shall pay for it. Their altars will be thrown down and their sacred stones broken to pieces. Now they say, “We have no king (because we have no fear of God) and what good would a king do us?”

As for the king of Samaria, he has been carried off like foam on water. The idolatrous high places – the sin of Israel – will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will creep over the altars. Then they will say to the mountains : “Cover us,” and to the hills : “Fall on us.”

Plow new ground, sow for yourselves justice and reap the harvest of kindness. It is the time to go seeking YHVH, until He comes to rain salvation on you.

by

Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, also known as Thomas Didymus or Thomas the Twin. He was quite known in the Gospels as a figure who was always a doubter, a pessimistic person and disciple of the Lord, who always threw out doubts and questions against the Lord and His works and decisions. For example, at the time just before the Lord was about to embark on His last journey and Passion in Jerusalem, to face the moment of His sufferings, crucifixion and death, He told His disciples of His plan to return once again to Judea and Jerusalem despite the opposition and the threats which He had faced from the Pharisees and the chief priests, which St. Thomas replied rather sarcastically saying that they should all indeed follow the Lord to their deaths.

Then, we also heard in today’s Gospel reading from the moment after the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead, of how St. Thomas refused to believe in the Risen Lord despite all the other disciples of the Lord having told him that they had seen the Risen Lord Himself in the flesh, appearing before them shortly after His Resurrection at Easter Sunday. St. Thomas was not there at that moment, and he therefore refused to believe, and said that unless he could prove it himself that the Lord was truly Risen from the dead, and that it was truly indeed the Lord, to the point of mentioning that unless he can place his fingers into the holes that the wounds of the nails and the spear had made on the Lord’s hands and side, that he would not believe otherwise. St. Thomas truly had that doubting side in him which became a great barrier preventing him to truly believe in the Lord, but why is that so? That is because he has yet to embrace the Lord fully at that time and earlier on, allowing himself to be swayed by his pride and ego.

This pride and ego likely made St. Thomas think that he could not be wrong in his assessment that the Resurrection was just nonsense mentioned by the other disciples, and in his naturally doubtful mind, it was indeed hard for him to accept that his pessimism about the chances of the success of the Lord’s mission could have been wrong. Thus, he asked for the signs and proofs to prove to him that the Lord did indeed rise from the dead, because his pride and ego were still holding him back from truly being able to believe in the Lord, in His Resurrection, truth and Good News. But the moment the Risen Lord Himself appeared before him and everyone else, challenging him to do whatever he had said that he would do in order to prove that it was truly the Lord Himself, Risen in body and flesh, St. Thomas was struck dumbfounded and finally professed his faith before the Lord.

The words that were spoken by St. Thomas may indeed sound familiar to all of us, ‘My Lord and my God.’ That is because these are the same words that we all say right at the moment when the priest at the Mass during the time of the Consecration as the Consecrated Host and Wine, the Most Precious Body and Blood of the Lord to all the faithful before we are to receive Him at Holy Communion. Through the hands of the priest and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been shown the Lord Himself truly present in His Body and Blood before us, and although the shape and the appearance remain of that bread and wine, but through our faith and belief in the doctrine of ‘Transubstantiation’, all of us believe that the Eucharist, the bread and wine are truly the Most Precious Body and the Most Precious Blood of the Lord.

Therefore, when we utter the same words which St. Thomas had mentioned, essentially that is what the Lord had told St. Thomas about those who have not seen and yet believed, and truly how they will be blessed. We may not have seen the Lord Himself in His physical form as known and recognised by the Apostles like St. Thomas when He was still walking in this world, but we still believe in Him, in His Real Presence in the Eucharist, and we profess this faith in each and every moments despite not seeing the Lord in the form that is recognisable by us as a Man. But we know that in the Most Precious Body and Blood we have received and partaken, we truly receive the Lord Himself into our being, that He truly dwells within us.

St. Thomas himself would thereafter become a very steadfast servant of God, leaving behind all of his past doubts and lack of faith, embracing a new life of ministry and commitment to God, as he went to many distant places to proclaim the truth and Good News of God’s salvation and love, facing lots of hardships, persecutions and challenges on his path and journey. St. Thomas according to many Apostolic traditions and historical evidences, went to the region which is now part of southern India, where he proclaimed the Christian faith to the local population, gaining converts and establishing the first Christian communities in that area, which would remain strong after many centuries, known as ‘St. Thomas Christians’ for long afterwards.

It was told that he also ministered to other areas like Parthia or Iran today, and also the northwestern parts of India together with St. Bartholomew, another Apostle of the Lord. He continued to carry out his missions for many decades in the region of India, until about forty years or so after the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, he was martyred at the place known today as St. Thomas’ Mount in Chennai, southern India. It was told that he was martyred by being pierced with a spear in that place, likely after facing oppositions from those who worshipped pagan idols and opposed the efforts of St. Thomas in spreading the Christian faith and the belief in the Risen Lord among the local populace. We see how St. Thomas’ faith and trust in the Lord had developed that he no longer doubted but trusted in the Lord so wholeheartedly that he was willing to give up his life for Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all rejoice in the glorious memory of St. Thomas the Apostle, holy servant of God, let us all first realise that each and every one of us are also called to be faithful to God as St. Thomas had been reminded to have faith in God. All of us are reminded to be strong in our faith in the Lord so that any doubts, persecutions, oppressions and oppositions facing us in this world will not deter us from following God wholeheartedly. And then, at the same time, we are also reminded that all of us have the same obligations and missions to continue the good works of the Apostles in proclaiming the Good News and truth of God to more and more people. All of us are reminded that we should continue to do God’s will and to carry our whatever mission He has entrusted to each one of us.

May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all in our journey through life, and may He continue to empower and strengthen us all in our faith so that despite the many trials and challenges that we have to face, we may always continue to do our best to glorify the Lord by our exemplary lives and actions, at all times. May God bless us all in our every efforts, good works and endeavours for the Lord, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 20 : 24-29

At that time, Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with the other Eleven when Jesus came. The other disciples told Him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

by

Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 116 : 1, 2

Alleluia! Praise YHVH, all you nations; all you peoples, praise Him.

How great is His love for us! His faithfulness lasts forever.

by

Wednesday, 3 July 2024 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

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.

by

Wednesday, 26 June 2024 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the readings and passages from the Sacred Scriptures of our obligation as God’s holy and beloved people to be the good and faithful servants, followers and disciples of His cause, called and encouraged to do what is right, good and just according to God’s will. Each and every one of us must always strive to be good and worthy in all the things that we say and do, so that we will continue to be good role models and inspirations for each other, for everyone who witness us and all of our lives, that we may proclaim the Lord and His truth, His love and Good News through our lives and good examples, at all times. Each and every one of us must always be filled with God’s grace and love, His compassion and kindness at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, the story of the time when the Book of the Law of God was found once again in the neglected Temple of God in Jerusalem during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. The High Priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law of God and the King, who obeyed the Lord’s commands and lived according to His ways, sought to find out what the Law of God was about, and how the people ought to live in the manner that was pleasing to God. At that time, the people of God had wandered off so far from the path of God, disobeyed and refusing to believe in Him in many occasions despite the Lord’s reminders towards them through His many prophets and messengers, and hence, the people of God faced a lot of hardships, challenges and trials, suffering all the terrible defeats and worldly hardships for their disobedience and sins.

King Josiah was the last of the kings of Judah who was considered as righteous and obedient to God, and immediately after having read through the details of the accounts of the Law and commandments of God, the king was frightened at the extent of how the people had disobeyed the Lord according to the Law which by then had been mostly forgotten and ignored, and he sought to make amends by ordering the priests and all of the people of the kingdom to do what God had commanded them to do, in obeying His Law and commandments once again, fulfilling the many things that God had called them all to do, such as observing the Passover festival again, and purifying the Temple of God, and removing from their midst all the abominations of the pagan and foreign idols that had misled so many into the path of sin.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers about the dangers of the false prophets in their midst, and how every one of them ought to be careful and vigilant lest they might be persuaded and tempted to walk down the wrong path, all the falsehoods and the twisted versions of the teachings and the truths of God that could lead many into the path of sin and damnation. This is why He reminded all of them, and hence also all of us not to follow all these false and wicked ways, and not to be persuaded, swayed, tempted or coerced by all those who did not truly serve the Lord’s purpose. Instead, all of us as God’s beloved and holy people must always strive to be truly ever more faithful to God and to be truly committed to His path and truth.

This is because as Christians it is important that we truly embody our faith in everything that we say and do. We must always be sincere in our words, actions and deeds, or we are no better than hypocrites and those false prophets who outwardly may appear faithful and pious, and yet in their hearts and minds, God is not truly there, and inside them, instead are desires, ego, ambitions and all the false leads which lead us all down the path of evil, disobedience, wickedness and eventually towards our downfall through sin. Many of our predecessors, even those high in position in the Church and in the world had fallen prey to all these, to Satan’s temptations and the allures of worldly glory, fame, pleasures and ambitions, which led them to the path of damnation.

The Lord Jesus used the parable of the fruits of the tree to explain to His disciples and followers in order to make them all understand His teachings and what He meant, as He told them that good trees will inevitably bear good fruits, while rotten and bad trees will inevitably yield bad and rotten fruits. Therefore, if we do not cultivate our faith in the Lord and develop a strong love, devotion and commitment to God, in the end, eventually we will not be able to show that genuine faith and love towards God, and our faith will be empty, meaningless and dead in nature. We cannot truly obey and follow the Lord faithfully unless we truly believe in Him from our heart, and are truly sincere in dedicating ourselves, our time and effort to follow Him thoroughly as best as we can.

Each and every one of us as Christians must always be active in living up to our faith in the Lord, not through great and grandiose actions and works, but rather through even small and simple deeds that we carry out in life. Through all these small and seemingly insignificant little actions in life, we can help and inspire one another to live a better and more worthy life filled with God’s grace and love. For too long we have allowed ourselves to be swayed and tempted by the evil ones and those who seek our destruction and damnation. Now is the time for us to make our stand, to stand by our Lord and God firmly in faith, and renew our commitment to Him, that we commit to follow the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him in each and every moments of our lives from now on, if we have not yet done so.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower us all in each and every one of our journeys in faith throughout our lives, and may He continue to guide us all through the many challenges and trials in life so that regardless of the hardships and obstacles that we may have to endure and experience amidst our path and journey towards Him, we will continue to persevere and carry out our lives and actions with great faith and obedience to Him, to His Law and to His will. May all of us continue to be the great and worthy bearers of God’s Good News, His light of hope, His love and truth in our society, amongst everyone whom we encounter and journey with, now and always. Amen.