Wednesday

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Wednesday, 18 October 2023 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them, two by two, ahead of Him, to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know.”

“Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Wednesday, 18 October 2023 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom, and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign, and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endured, from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Wednesday, 18 October 2023 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know, that Demas has deserted me, for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house, and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander, the metalworker, has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him, for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the word fully, and to let all the pagans hear it.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of God’s great love and mercy to all of us, His beloved people, as He has always reached out to us, patiently leading and guiding all of us towards Himself, and He has never given up on us, no matter how much we have rebelled against Him and disobeyed Him, as He constantly still tried to reach out to us, loving us, caring for us and giving us help along the way so that hopefully we may be able to find our way towards Him. As our loving Father and Creator, God wants us to experience His love and kindness, just as He is also stern and serious whenever He disciplines us as we erred and made mistakes along our journey in life. In the end, those who have constantly rejected the Lord and refused His mercy and love, had condemned themselves by their stubbornness and actions.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the story from the Book of Jonah in which the prophet Jonah was unhappy because everything that he had worked in going forth all the way to Nineveh, the capital and great city of the Assyrian Empire, and proclaiming its destruction and downfall, did not happen because the Lord took pity on the people of Nineveh on the account of their repentance and regret over their many sins and wickedness, and their very much public show of regret and remorse over their many sins. For the mighty and proud Assyrian Empire, which had boasted over its many achievements and power, in conquering and ruling over many cities and nations, this was indeed extraordinary and unheard of, that a whole city and its people humbled themselves before God.

The Lord wanted Jonah to understand that He never actually intended or desired the destruction of any one of us. This is because each and every one of us mankind are dear to Him, and He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him forever, unless if it is by their own choice and conscious decision that they constantly and repeatedly rejected His ever persistent and enduring offer of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. Yet, Jonah was being selfish at that time, because he was complaining to the Lord about the great heat when a castor oil plant that shaded him died, and yet, he wanted the destruction of the whole entire city of Nineveh, and its a hundred and twenty thousand people according to the Scriptures, just because it was kind of a vindication of his efforts and works in answering God’s call.

Initially, Jonah refused to do what the Lord had called and entrusted to him to do, trying to flee from the Lord, and then later on, when the Lord brought a great storm that threatened to sink his ship, he eventually continued to carry out his mission as intended. He might have felt that he was entitled to see the destruction of Nineveh as after all, that was the message that God had intended and assigned him to deliver to that city and its people. However, he was essentially making a presumption that God desired the destruction of the people of Nineveh, and assumed that he knew of what God truly wanted, when that was not the case. But what God truly wanted from all of us, even the worst among sinners, is for us to be fully reconciled and reunited with Him, by embracing the rich forgiveness that He has offered us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account from the Gospel of St. Luke regarding the time when the disciples of the Lord asked Him about how they ought to pray to the Lord, and then the Lord taught them all how to pray with the prayer which we all certainly know really well, that is the Pater Noster, also known as the ‘Our Father’ and as the Lord’s Prayer. Through that prayer, the Lord highlighted to us what it truly means for us to pray to God, to seek the Lord, our loving Father, and to commit ourselves to Him in prayer, and in communicating with Him, speaking and spending time with Him, asking Him for His blessing, guidance and help in all of our lives. The Lord’s Prayer is truly an example and inspiration through which all of us should follow, in committing ourselves to a life of prayer and devotion to God.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters? That is because the Lord’s Prayer is the example and the perfect prayer that we all should emulate in how we ourselves pray to the Lord. In our prayers, we should not be full of self-praise and full of litany of requests, or even demands, in asking the Lord to do things for us. Prayer is not meant for us to demand that the Lord does things for our sake, or that we ask Him to intervene for us, when we are in need and then ignore Him at other times and moments. Prayer is in fact the means through which we come to communicate with God and as we ought to do so with reverence and sincerity, and with genuine love and desire to seek the Lord. Like we heard in the Lord’s Prayer, prayer is not about us, but in fact, is about us seeking to glorify God and to thank Him for everything that He has done for us, and is a reminder for us to always listen to God and obey Him at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. John XXIII, one of the more recent Popes who have lived and reigned as the Pope, Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ in the middle of the twentieth century, leading the Church through rapidly changing and turbulent times, and was especially well-known for his contributions in convoking the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, also known as the Vatican II Council. Through his examples, Pope St. John XXIII should indeed be a great role model and inspiration for all of us in how we all should live our lives as true and genuine Christians, in all the things that we say and do in life. He was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in a poor family of Bergamo in northern part of Italy today. Despite having been born into a poor family, the young Angelo Roncalli was brought up well in the faith by his devout parents.

Eventually the young future Pope St. John XXIII entered the seminary and after a period in formation, was ordained as a priest, in which he then experienced firsthand the challenges of the people and the workers then, under the tutelage of his mentor, Bishop Giocomo Radini-Tedeschi, the then Bishop of Bergamo, who was a champion of the rights of the workers at the time, and impacted the young Angelo Roncalli greatly, as he was Bishop Radini-Tedeschi’s secretary then, until the latter passed away. Then, the young priest experienced the ministry among the trenches and warfare during the First World War before being appointed as the Apostolic Delegate and representative of the Pope to Bulgaria, and ordained as a bishop in the years following the war.

The experiences of the earlier days Pope St. John XXIII in his years as Apostolic Nuncio to Bulgaria, and then Greece and Turkey, and finally Apostolic Nuncio to France greatly expanded his horizons and views of the world, its divergent and great variety of peoples and groups, and in his ability to negotiate and work with various parties and collaborators of the works of faith. In Bulgaria, he was instrumental in making bridges and connections with the separated brethren from the Orthodox Church, while during his tenure in France, he helped to repair the often tense relationship between the Church and the state. As Patriarch of Venice for several years, he would continue to do what he has always passionately and courageously done since his youth and earlier days as a priest, that is dedicating himself to his flock and all those who had been entrusted to him.

As Pope, Pope St. John XXIII devoted himself to many great works and efforts, in leading a reform to the Church, by convoking and announcing the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican as mentioned, helping to bring the Church, its practices and beliefs more up-to-date in responding to the challenges and the difficulties faced by the faithful due to the rapidly changing world and conditions. He was also instrumental in his efforts to bring about peace between the feuding superpowers in the Cold War, namely the United States of America and the Soviet Union, particularly during the intense crisis in Cuba that almost led the world to nuclear war and total destruction, publishing his Papal Encyclical, Pacem in Terris or ‘Peace on Earth’, calling upon peace between peoples and nations. To the very end of his life, Pope St. John XXIII continued to labour greatly for the Lord’s sake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all been reminded by the inspiring examples set by Pope St. John XXIII, in his life and ministry, let us all therefore strive to do our best in our own lives, in our every words, actions and deeds so that we may indeed be great role models of our Christian faith and virtues, and be the shining beacons of God’s light, truth and love. Let us all obey the Lord ever more faithfully in all of our lives and actions, entrusting ourselves to His will. May all of us continue to bear the Good News and love of God ever more faithfully in our lives, and strive to be ever more faithful in all the things we do in life, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Luke 11 : 1-4

At that time, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught His disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Psalm 85 : 3-4, 5-6, 9-10

Have mercy on me, o YHVH, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant; for You, o YHVH, I lift up my soul.

You are good and forgiving, o YHVH, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o YHVH, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.

All the nations You have made will come; they will worship before You, o YHVH, and bring glory to Your Name. For You are great, and wonderful are Your deeds; You alone, are God.

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Wednesday, 11 October 2023 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Jonah 4 : 1-11

But Jonah was greatly displeased at this, and he was indignant. He prayed to YHVH and said, “O YHVH, is this not what I said when I was yet in my own country? This is why I fled to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and full of love, and You relent from imposing terrible punishment. I beseech You now, YHVH, to take my life, for now it is better for me to die than to live.”

But YHVH replied, “What right have you to be angry?” Jonah then left the city. He went to a place east of it, built himself a shelter and sat under its shade to wait and see what would happen to Nineveh. Then YHVH God provided a castor-oil plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade over his head and to ease his discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

But the next day, at dawn, God sent a worm which attacked the plant and made it wither. When the sun rose, God sent a scorching east wind; the sun blazed down upon Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. His death wish returned and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Then God asked Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the castor-oil plant?” Jonah answered, “I am right to be angry enough to wish to die.” YHVH said, “You are concerned about a plant which cost you no labour to make it grow. Overnight it sprang up, and overnight it perished. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish right from left and they have many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned for such a great city?”

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Wednesday, 4 October 2023 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the calling that each and every one of us have received as God’s people, to follow Him and to do His will, in whatever parts and places that He has sent us to, and in whatever vocation or ministries that He has entrusted to us, for us to carry out with faith and commitment, in each and every moments of our lives. As Christians, it is our calling and mission to embrace God’s mission and to go forth actively, proclaiming Him to all the people of all the nations, in our every words, actions and deeds. We must not be idle or ignorant of what we all have been called to do, but we have to strive to do our part in the mission and works of the Church, through our best efforts in living a most virtuous and worthy Christian living at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Nehemiah, we heard of the sorrow of Nehemiah, who was a high ranking official and cupbearer in the service of the Great King of Persia, Artaxerxes. At that time, although historical evidences and timeline were a bit uncertain, the people of Judah, the descendants of Israel, had returned back to their ancestral lands and began rebuilding their homes and cities in the land that had been desolated for many decades by the conquests of the Assyrians and the Babylonians earlier on, which devastated the land and caused its depopulation, when many of the people of God were brought off into exile in far-off lands of Assyria and Babylon. They were allowed to return to their lands by King Cyrus of Persia, who was likely one of King Artaxerxes’ predecessors.

Then, as we heard in today’s account, we heard how Nehemiah longed for his homeland and was moved to help rebuild the cities of Israel and also the Temple and House of God. Nehemiah had a really good life and enjoyed great favours of the King, and he could have continued to live in great abundance and comfort, without any worries or hardships if he so chose to do. However, in his heart, he has that strong longing for the Lord and for his homeland, as he was called to go there and do his part in the rebuilding efforts and to reestablish God’s House and city. Thus, we heard how Nehemiah, great in favour with the King, was granted leave from his service to the King so that he could attend to his mission and works in the land of Judah, in rebuilding the cities and the House of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord who encountered several people who wanted to follow Him, and the Lord pointed out to them how following Him was like truly putting their faith in what is unknown, presenting the reality of how He had nowhere to truly lay His head, as unlike the other earthly leaders and rulers, He did not have any place as His power base or palace, or centre of power and authority. He frequently wandered off in the wilderness and walked among the less fortunate and all those rejected and abandoned by the society. To follow Him, it means that many of the disciples would likely have to give up their comforts and convenience in life. Things would not be easy for them, but they ought to trust in the Lord.

When the Lord pointed out to the man who said that he would have to go back and bury his father first, before he would follow the Lord, it would seem indeed that the Lord was being quite rude to the man. However, the Lord actually pointed out our common nature of making excuses that we keep on trying to evade and get away from our responsibilities and commitment to God. Indeed, the man would settle his family matters first before following the Lord, but then, what if other matters considered important to us also then happen? Will we then make that as yet another excuse for us not to commit ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly? Or will all those attachments and conflicting commitments prevent us from truly giving our best to live a most Christ-like life and existence?

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of a great saint whose life and actions should be great source of inspiration for many of us, in how we ourselves should commit ourselves to the Lord, and in doing our best to live worthily in the path that the Lord has set before us. St. Francis of Assisi, born as Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, the son of rich merchant Pietro di Bernardone, who was also known as Francis or Francesco because of his father’s liking for the French and all of his businesses there. St. Francis of Assisi’s father desired his son to be a successful businessman and merchant just as he was, and hoped that he would continue carrying on the family legacy and properties. Thus, he was brought up in great riches and wealth, and lived a lavish lifestyle, full of hedonism and waste.

However, all these eventually felt empty and meaningless to the young St. Francis of Assisi, who grew disillusioned with the riches and excesses of the world that he enjoyed at the time, and he began to seek true satisfaction and fulfilment, which he could not get from all the worldly glory and pleasures that he had been exposed and inundated with since early in his life. He joined a military venture and expedition, in that pursuit, which ended in him being injured and becoming a captive, and being ill as well, which led him down the path of self-introspection and rediscovery. He began to associate with beggars and in search of poverty, and abandoning the great riches of the world, in seeking true satisfaction in the Lord.

In a well-documented event surrounding his life, St. Francis of Assisi received a vision and call from the Lord as he passed by a dilapidated church, which is now known as the San Damiano Church. In that forsaken and dilapidated church, St. Francis saw a vision of the Christ Crucified speaking to him, asking him to go forth and ‘repair His Church, as it was currently in ruins’. The Lord was actually calling upon St. Francis of Assisi to go forth and begin a process of renewal and reform for the Church, that had by that time been afflicted with excesses and worldly corruptions among the members of the clergy and the laity alike. However, the latter misunderstood and thought that the Lord literally meant that he should go and rebuild that dilapidated church in San Damiano.

Thus, St. Francis of Assisi secretly took some of his father’s cloth products and sold them for some proceeds, which he offered to the local priest. The priest refused to accept the money because it had been gained from inappropriate actions like stealing. The young St. Francis was angry and fled, fearing the wrath of his father, hiding in the local caves for a whole month. His father was indeed angry, beating and harassing the young St. Francis, and not only demanding that the latter paid off all the gold and money that he had owed him from stealing his wares, but also to renounce his inheritance. St. Francis famously took off everything he had and renounced everything that he had ever received from his father, to which the local diocesan bishop covered the naked St. Francis with his cloak.

Ever since then, St. Francis continued to devote himself thoroughly to the Lord, assembling more and more like minded men and people, to live in a state of graceful poverty, which led to the foundation of the Order of the Friars Minor, also better known as the Franciscans after their founder. St. Francis of Assisi dedicated himself and his fellow order members to a life of great charity and devotion to God, living together in faith and love, and in ministering to the people of God all around them. St. Francis was also known well for his stigmata wounds, that he received in a great vision of the Seraphim of God, that inflicted upon him the wounds that the Lord and Saviour Himself had endured. To the end of his life, St. Francis lived worthily of the Lord, in a life full of holiness and virtues, and he inspired countless others during and long after his passing to be ever more faithful to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now that we have heard today’s Scripture passages and having been reminded of the need that we have in obeying God and His Law, in following Him and entrusting ourselves to Him, and as we have heard the account of the life of St. Francis of Assisi, his works and ministry, let us all therefore do our very best to live our lives worthily of the Lord, listening to the call and the reminders that the Lord has given to us in our lives, deep in our hearts and minds, and in following Him at all times. Let us all not easily be swayed by the many temptations and worldly excesses around us, but instead, learn to better trust in the Lord, and have greater faith in Him, just as Nehemiah and St. Francis of Assisi had done. May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us all in all things, and help us so that we may always be ever inspired to live our lives each day ever more worthily, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 October 2023 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 57-62

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples went on their way, a man said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

To another, Jesus said, “Follow Me!” But he answered, “Let me go back now, for, first, I want to bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their dead; as for you, leave them, and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Another said to Him, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” And Jesus said to him, “Whoever has put his hand to the plow, and looks back, is not fit for the kingdom of God.”

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Wednesday, 4 October 2023 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 136 : 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

By the streams of Babylon, we sat; and then wept, as we remembered Zion. When, on the poplars, we hung our harps.

Our captors asked for song. Our tormentors wanted songs of joy : “Sing to us one of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing YHVH’s song in a strange and alien land? If I forget you, o Jerusalem, may my right hand fall useless!

May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, if Jerusalem is not the first of my joys.