Weekdays of Ordinary Time

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Tuesday, 18 October 2022 : 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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Tuesday, 18 October 2022 : 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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Tuesday, 18 October 2022 : 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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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the immense love and mercy of God through which each and every one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and salvation, all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us must remember how the Lord cares for us and how He treats us as truly precious people, as His own children, so that we will remember that we should remain focused on Him and not on worldly things and all else which can easily distract us in our way and journey towards His salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul reminding all the people of God there of everything that the Lord had done for them, in their great fortune in having been rescued and redeemed by their Lord, Master, Saviour and Redeemer. All of them have deserved death and destruction, damnation and hell, and yet, God had mercy on them and because He is so full of love, and to all of us this reminder serves the same purpose, because God’s love, compassion and mercy are extended to all of us, regardless of our background and how great a sinner we have been in our respective lives.

St. Paul himself highlighted just how fallen and wretched our human nature and existence were, and yet, because of God’s love and mercy, all of us have received a new lease of life, a new hope and liberation from our downwards path towards destruction. St. Paul encouraged all of us just as he did to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding us of just how great and rich God’s mercy and compassion truly are. But at the same time, we must also not take His love and mercy for granted, or else, we will end up spurning these advances of love and mercy by the Lord, as what had happened to many of our predecessors, who were so caught up in their pride, ego and greed that they ignored the Lord and His love and mercy.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that was precisely the reason why so many had faltered in their journey towards the Lord. They all failed to appreciate and embrace the Lord’s approach of love and compassion towards them. They took His love and generosity for granted and ignored and abandoned Him at their own convenience. In the end, they were all condemned not because God did not love them, but because they had little to no faith in Him, and they rejected Him by their own conscious effort and accord. They refused to embrace God’s love and mercy, and preferring to remain in the state of sin, although God has so generously given them His loving compassion and has always offered them His forgiveness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the example of a rich man who asked Him to judge and support him for his part of the inheritance against his own brethren. The Lord then also mentioned a parable about a rich man who was consumed with worry and preoccupied with his greed and desires, thinking of how he could accumulate more of whatever wealth that he had been gathering up to that point. The Lord concluded that parable and story with the warning of how even that rich man would meet his end, because if God so wills it, his life could end there and then, and nothing of what he had accumulated would accompany him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the Lord want us to learn from these passages today? Through His Church and the Scriptures today, the Lord wants us to know that we should be vigilant with ourselves and with the many temptations ever present all around us, lest we may be tempted to abandon Him and His love for the sake of worldly glory, material wealth, fame, possessions, human praise, status and many other things in this world which often distracted us and dragged us away from the path of God and into the path towards damnation and destruction. We have often indulged in these worldly desires and ended up forgetting about God, about His love and mercy.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the great early Church fathers whose life and works, whose actions and faith can become sources of inspiration for all of us in how each one of us can become ever better and more committed Christians in life. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the early Church fathers and bishops as the successors of the Apostles in the ministry of the Church, and he was the successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch that the Apostle founded, who was dedicated to his flock and the expansion of the Church, for the care and salvation of souls among others.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was and is still greatly revered for his piety and faith in God, for his immense contribution and commitment to the Lord and His Church, as he wrote extensively to the Church, and corresponded actively with Pope St. Clement, the Bishop of Rome and St. Peter’s successor as the Vicar of Christ, and with the other Church fathers, on top of his work and passionate dedication to his local Christian flock. He faced hardships and challenges just as many of the early Christians and the Apostles themselves had faced, and died as a martyr in defending his faith and love for God.

Let us all therefore follow the good examples set by our holy predecessors, by St. Ignatius of Antioch and the innumerable other saints and martyrs, who have shown us what it truly means for us to become Christians, in becoming the holy people of God, called and chosen from this darkened and wretched world. We have been called to a greater and holier existence, to be like our loving and good Father, our Lord and Saviour Himself. Therefore, each and every one of us should strive to purify our lives and to align ourselves to His path and teachings, and reject all the corruptions and other things which sin had brought unto us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in life, that we may ever persevere through the challenges and trials of life, especially when our faith in Him are tested and when we face hardships in life. We should remain firm in our faith and commitment to God, remembering His faithfulness to the Covenant that He had made with us, the love which He had generously given us and the compassion by which He willingly forgives us our sins. Let us all therefore commit ourselves to the Lord anew and endeavour and strive to lead a new life from now on, without sin any more. May God bless us and remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 1-10

You were dead, through the faults and sins. Once, you lived through them, according to this world, and followed the Sovereign Ruler Who reigns between heaven and earth, and Who goes on working, in those who resist the faith.

All of us belonged to them, at one time, and we followed human greed; we obeyed the urges of our human nature and consented to its desires. By ourselves, we went straight to the judgment, like the rest of humankind.

But God, Who is rich in mercy, revealed His immense love. As we were dead through our sins, He gave us life, with Christ. By grace, you have been saved! And He raised us to life, with Christ, giving us a place with Him in heaven.

In showing us such kindness, in Christ Jesus, God willed to reveal, and unfold in the coming ages, the extraordinary riches of His grace. By the grace of God, you have been saved, through faith.

This has not come from you : it is God’s gift. This was not the result of your works, so you are not to feel proud. What we are, is God’s work. He has created us, in Christ Jesus, for the good works He has prepared, that we should devote ourselves to them.

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Sunday, 16 October 2022 : Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we are all reminded of the need for us to trust in the Lord, our Strength and our Hope, our Protector and Guide, our Light and our Rock in this life. God is the source of all of our strength and inspiration, and through Him we shall gain knowledge and wisdom, righteousness and justice, and we shall be triumphant together with Him in the end, if we all trust in Him and continue to put ourselves in His hands. We should not allow fear to affect us or distract us in our journey of faith in this life, and we should learn to trust more in God and in His power, to lead us to victory in the constant battle for our souls and for our fate.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Exodus the story of how the Israelites were fighting against the Amalekites during the time of their Exodus out of Egypt and journey towards the Promised Land. The Amalekites were bitter enemies of the people of Israel, and they were constantly mentioned throughout the early part of the Old Testament as enemies of the people of God. In that occasion the Amalekites went on the offensive and struck at the Israelites first at Rephidim, and therefore Moses as the leader of the Israelites told the leaders to fight back against the Amalekites, while he himself stood atop a hill holding up the staff of judgment, to show the people of God that God was with them.

As long as Moses raised his hands and staff, the Israelites were winning and drove the Amalekites back, and when he lowered his hands, the Amalekites fought back. Thus Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ hands, and in the end the Israelites triumphed greatly over the Amalekites. God was with His people that day, and through His providence, the Israelites won a great and mighty victory against their enemies. Historically, the Amalekites having lived in the region longer and been more suited to the land, would have had great advantages against the people of God, but yet they were defeated because God was not on their side.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to the people and to His disciples using a parable regarding an evil judge who was very proud and stubborn, and yet, that same judge was coerced and persuaded to address the demands of an old woman who persistently dogged and demanded the evil judge to pursue her case and fight for her. As highlighted by the Lord, He used this example to show how if even that kind of evil and wicked person, full of ego, pride and selfishness, could be moved to act for another given enough persistence from the other party, then all the more that the Lord Who loves us very dearly will listen to us, care for us and provide for our needs.

Through these comparisons, the Lord wanted us all to know that first of all, in case we are still not aware of it yet, there are always battle and conflict raging all around us, all the time, for our souls. What is this battle all about? It is the battle and warfare constantly fought between those who seek our salvation, namely the Lord, His Angels and saints, with those who seek our downfall and destruction, namely Satan, the great enemy, also known as the devil, and his fellow numerous evil and wicker spirits, the fallen angels of God, and all those who have rebelled against the Lord, and are now looking for ways to bring about our downfall as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, against these mighty enemies and forces, we cannot face them alone on our own. We cannot win against them without the guidance and strength from God. But with God, our victory and triumph will be certain, for no matter how mighty those evil and wicked spirits might be, ultimately all of them were nothing compared to God, Who is also their Creator, Lord and Master. Without God, we will end up being easy prey for those evil spirits and demons, all of whom will then come to snatch us from the path towards salvation and grace in God. Like the Amalekites, they would have won against us if not for God and His Angels ever standing by our side protecting us.

If we stand by God, and remain faithful and true to Him, we shall be triumphant as how the Israelites beat the Amalekites and crushed their forces. But too often we carry on our battles alone and not trusting enough in God, as we prefer to do things our own way, and this more often than not led us to the path towards damnation and our downfall. By ourselves, we are nothing and without God, we can do nothing. All of our achievements and glory, our power and might all are possible in fact because we have been given the talents, abilities, opportunities and more by God.

St. Paul in his Epistle to St. Timothy, part of which is our second reading today, spoke of how we have been presented with the Scriptures, the Word of God and the Wisdom of God as passed down to us through Christ Himself and the Holy Spirit that He has promised to us, and which came down upon the Apostles and the Church at Pentecost. Through these gifts from the Lord, each and every one of us have in fact been given the means to do the will of God, to fight and resist against those who have desired to see our destruction and downfall. The Lord has always been with us and He has always provided us with what we need.

Unfortunately, the greatest issue here is that, many of us often did not have faith in God. Many of us did not have that firm trust in the Lord which led to us seeking for source of consolation and support from various alternative sources but not from the Lord Himself. We are also often too proud to admit that we are in need of help or assistance. The Lord has always reached out to us with love, and yet we often ignored Him and refused to embrace Him and His love. This is unfortunately the reason why so many people ended up remaining in the state of sin and failing to return to the Lord, all because they depended on themselves and their strength only, and did not trust in the Lord to help them.

We often do not realise that all we need is to ask, and the Lord will answer us. If only that we have more trust and faith in Him, everything will be possible for us. That is why this Sunday as we listened to these readings from the Scriptures, we are reminded to have more faith and trust in the Lord, and no longer be ignorant of the threat of the various temptations, persuasions, and all the forces of the devil and the evil spirits arrayed against us. We have to trust in the Lord to guide us in our path in life, and we have to allow Him to show us the path going forward, following Him to wherever He will lead us to. We must open our hearts and minds to listen to the Lord from now on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore call upon the Lord with faith, calling on our beloved Lord, Master, Creator and Father to be with us, to help us and strengthen us in our journey of life, and to give us the necessary strength and perseverance to endure the various challenges in life that we may have to face especially as disciples and followers of the Lord. And let us also do our very best in our various capacities and in the different opportunities provided to us to do God’s will, to serve Him faithfully through our actions, words and deeds. All of us are reminded to be active in the living of our faith and to entrust ourselves to God’s providence and love.

May the Lord be with us always and may He empower each one of us to be able to live wholeheartedly and sincerely in His Presence, following His Law and commandments at all times. May God bless us all and may He guide us all into everlasting life, and give us the inheritance that He has promised us His faithful ones. Amen.

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Sunday, 16 October 2022 : Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 18 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples a parable, to show them that they should pray continually, and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain town there was a judge, who neither feared God nor people. In the same town there was a widow, who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my opponent!'”

“For a time he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, this widow bothers me so much, I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.'”

And Jesus said, “Listen to what the evil judge says. Will God not do justice for His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, even if He delays in answering them? I tell you, He will speedily do them justice. But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”

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Sunday, 16 October 2022 : Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Timothy 3 : 14 – 2 Timothy 4 : 2

As for you, continue with what you have learnt, and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. Besides, you have known the Scriptures from childhood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God, and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. Through Scripture, the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of His coming, and His kingdom, I urge you to preach the Word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, or advising, always with patience, and providing instruction.