Weekdays of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 22 September 2019 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we listened to the words of God in the Sacred Scriptures reminding us all on the matter of being truly faithful and dedicated to God in everything. We have to trust in the Lord and follow Him with all of our hearts, with all of our minds and with all of our strength. But it is often that throughout our lives, we are distracted and tempted by various temptations present in this world.

In our first reading today, as we heard from the Book of the prophet Amos, we heard the Lord rebuking His people through the prophet Amos because of their wicked attitudes, in cheating others and treating others badly, in how they acted without care for the well-being of their fellow brothers and sisters. All of them were wicked and unjust, greedy and seeking only to satisfy their own selfish desires.

And God was angry at those people because of their wicked intentions and desires. He was displeased at their attachments to worldly things such as wealth, power, fame and other things that kept them distracted and prevented them from truly being connected with God. This is reinforced by what we have heard in our Gospel passage today when the Lord used the parable of the dishonest steward to teach the people.

In that parable, the Lord spoke of a steward who was caught in doing fraudulent service and was reported to his master, who then decided to dismiss him for such a dishonest and disloyal act. The steward wanted to protect himself and provide for his needs, and that was why he did all that were mentioned in the parable, as he looked for two other servants of his master who owed certain debts to the master.

The dishonest steward manipulated the details of the debt, probably because he was the one in charge of the accounts and in fact his fraudulent service would probably have been exactly what was described in his action with the two servants. By rewriting the debts of the two servants, the dishonest steward in fact cheated his own master. Perhaps the fraudulent service he had been found out earlier was meant to enrich his own pockets, but the actions he took with the two servants were no better.

Why is that so? That is because it is still cheating and being dishonest in order to protect himself and provide for his desires. The dishonest steward himself put it clearly before us just before he acted, as he thought in his mind how he was ashamed to beg for money, now that he had lost his job. This thought showed us what his attitude was, and showed us how he had always been selfish and proud, refusing to admit that he was wrong and continued to do what was wrong even in trying to provide for himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is what can happen to us all as well if we allow the temptations present in our world to affect us and to overcome us. It is very easy for us to fall into those temptations unless we consciously try to resist those temptations. Indeed, it will not be easy for us to resist because there will be many moments when we will feel pressured or pulled to follow those temptations.

Often we may end up following those temptations and fall into their snares. As long as we embrace worldly ways and think in the manner that the world approves, we will not be able to truly love God with all of our hearts and with all of our focus and attention. That is what the Lord Jesus wanted to point out to the disciples and to the people, and also to all of us when He said that “No servant can serve two masters… and that you cannot give yourself to both God and money.”

The Lord did not mean that we must avoid money altogether, or that we should not make use of worldly means in our daily lives. We still need to make good use of what the Lord has blessed each and every one of us with and not to misuse those things. However, the key here is that of self-restraint and control, which many of us are lacking or are not cultivating, which leads to us being easily tempted and led astray.

We have to be wise and discerning stewards of God, for God has indeed entrusted us with many blessings, talents, gifts and all sorts of things He has given us with, and it is our free choice and by the free will God has given us that we choose what we want to make use of those gifts and blessings for. Are we going to make use of them for our own selfish gains and desires? Or are we going to make use of them responsibly and for the good of everyone?

If we allow ourselves to be overcome by greed and worldly temptations for wealth, for power, glory and fame, that is why we can end up like that of the dishonest steward in our Gospel passage today who compromised on just principles and also like the merchants and people rebuked by God through the prophet Amos in our first reading today as those who put their own selfish and greedy wants and desires over other things.

Instead, let us all make good use of what God has entrusted to us, and heed what the Apostle St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy in our second reading today, that indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ alone is the Mediator of the New Covenant between God and us. This means that the Lord alone is the true focus and true satisfaction and destination that we should be seeking for in our respective lives in this world.

All other worldly things and desires, all those tempting and seemingly pleasurable and wonderful things are in the end, just illusions and distractions I have discussed earlier, all that can prevent us from finding the path to eternal and true joy in the Lord. We need to overcome all these temptations and all the attachments to worldly satisfaction so that we can become God’s good and worthy servants and disciples.

Let us all reflect on this and see how we can make the necessary changes in our lives, in how we live our daily lives and in our even small little actions, in our words and deeds, that we can become ever more attuned to God’s will and grow in our loving relationship with Him. Let us all strive to be better Christians from now on. May the Lord continue to guide us all in our journey of life. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 September 2019 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 16 : 1-13

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light. And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.”

“So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

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Sunday, 22 September 2019 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 2 : 1-8

First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for rulers of states, and all in authority, that we may enjoy a quiet and peaceful life, in godliness and respect. This is good and pleases God. For He wants all to be saved, and come to the knowledge of truth.

As there is one God, there is one Mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, Himself human, Who gave His life for the redemption of all. This is the testimony, given in its proper time, and of this, God has made me Apostle and herald. I am not lying, I am telling the truth : He made me teacher of the nations regarding faith and truth.

I want men, in every place, to lift pure hands, in prayer, to heaven, without anger and dissension.

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Sunday, 22 September 2019 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 112 : 1-2, 4-6, 7-8

Alleluia! Praise, o servants of YHVH, praise the Name of YHVH! Blessed be the Name of YHVH now and forever!

YHVH is exalted over the nations; His glory above the heavens. Who is like YHVH our God, Who sits enthroned on high, but also bends down to see on earth as in heaven?

He lifts up the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. He makes them sit with princes, with rulers of His people.

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Sunday, 22 September 2019 : Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Amos 8 : 4-7

Hear this, you, who trample on the needy, to do away with the weak of the land. You who say, “When will the new moon or the Sabbath feast be over that we may open the store and sell our grain? Let us lower the measure and raise the price; let us cheat and tamper with the scaled, and even sell the refuse with the whole grain. We will buy up the poor for money and the needy for a pair of sandals.”

YHVH, the Pride of Jacob, has sworn by Himself, “I shall never forget their deeds.”

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Saturday, 21 September 2019 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the feast of one of the Lord’s twelve principal disciples, also known as the Apostles. And on this day, we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle, who was also one of the Four Evangelists together with St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. St. Matthew was once known as Levi, who was a tax collector that the Lord Jesus called to be His disciple.

The Lord called Levi to follow him and leave behind his post, and Levi listened to the Lord, and invited Him to his house along with many of the other tax collectors. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law disapproved of this act, and they thought badly of the Lord because they saw Him as associating with the people they condemned as sinners and being unworthy of God. But the Lord rebuked them and said that He came into this world precisely to seek those who are sick, sick because of sin.

And Levi left behind his post and profession, and became a disciple of the Lord from then on. That was how he became St. Matthew eventually, one of the Twelve Apostles, a committed disciple of the Lord who followed Him throughout His ministry and through the moments of His Passion, suffering, death and resurrection. He witnessed all that the Lord has done, and was part of the Great Commission which the Lord commanded all of His disciples.

They were all commissioned and sent into the world, to preach the Good News and the truth about God’s salvation. And the Apostles and the other disciples went to various places throughout the world spreading the Word of God. St. Matthew went to the Jewish communities throughout Judea and other parts of Israel, and was likely focused on ministering among the Jewish communities at that time.

That was also why St. Matthew wrote his Gospel a few decades after the death of Christ with the particular slant and purpose, aimed to target the Jewish populations to bring to them the truth of God explaining in particular the aspect of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as the One Whom God has promised for time immemorial through His servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the forefathers of the Israelites, and also through king David, the great king of Israel.

In the way he wrote his Gospel, he wanted to deliver the truth of God towards His own people, in explaining with the context understood by the Jews at the time. He did his best through the power of his pen and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to help guide the people of God to the truth. In addition, he also carried out missionary works like that of the other Apostles and eventually, was martyred for his faith as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are called to reflect on the life and the works of St. Matthew the Apostle, in all the hard work that he had done for the sake of the people to whom he is ministering and evangelising towards. Are we able to dedicate ourselves to the Lord in the way St. Matthew has dedicated his? We must not forget how St. Matthew even left everything behind to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.

It does not mean that we have to leave everything behind as St. Matthew has done, but rather, we have to give our heart totally to God and focus our attention in Him. We have to do our best in our every actions, words and deeds to give greater glory to God, and become the witnesses of His truth to all others not just by words alone but through our every actions and even small gestures that we take every single day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all renew our commitment to the Lord and let us all be ever closer in our relationship with Him. Let us all entrust ourselves, our hearts, our minds and indeed our whole being to God without any more reservations. Let us all be ever more faithful and be more Christian-like in everything. May God bless us all now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 September 2019 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from the place where He cured a paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew, at his seat in the custom house; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him.

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it, that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go, and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Saturday, 21 September 2019 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Psalm)

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.

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Saturday, 21 September 2019 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some, He gave to be Apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, He prepared those who belong to Him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.

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Friday, 20 September 2019 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and Martyr, St. Paul Chong Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us to be pure in our faith and in our intentions in serving the Lord and in evangelising the Gospel of Christ. St. Paul in his Epistle to St. Timothy reminds us all to walk righteously before God and to follow Him wholeheartedly without being distracted by worldly temptations of glory, fame, wealth and possessions.

All of us must do our best to walk faithfully in God’s path, and persevere in this path even if we have to suffer persecution and challenges from all those who disagree with us and from those who rather believe in the falsehood of the evil one. As St. Paul mentioned in the same Epistle passage, there are many of those who are motivated and inspired by the love of money and the world, and they are powerful and numerous, but this should not discourage us from remaining true and faithful.

And on this day in particular we are reminded of the great inspiration shown by our holy predecessors who have suffered the same persecution and challenges for their faith in God. Today we recall the memory of the Holy Korean Martyrs, a multitude of saints and martyrs who have suffered and shed their blood for remaining true to God and refusing to renounce Him and their faith in Him.

During many years and decades, Christians and missionaries in Korea had endured terrible persecutions for their faith. Many were oppressed and chased to hiding for their dedication to the Christian faith. Many had to endure all the pain and suffering, and even being betrayed by their own families and close ones. And in particular the missionaries had to be very careful as they spread the Christian faith and preached the Word of God.

Many of those missionaries, both the local and foreign missionaries had to hide from the authorities who were hunting down on Christians and particularly on the leaders of the Church. St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, St. Paul Chong Ha-sang among many others were the local converts, some like St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon became priests and were martyred for remaining resolute in opposing the effort to make the Christians to renounce their faith.

And the foreign missionaries like St. Laurent Imbert among many others also suffered and gave their lives for the sake of the people of God and in remaining true to their dedication to God. They remained strong and true to their faith despite the challenges and troubles they had to face. St. Laurent Imbert in particular was remembered for his courage in stepping up to protect the flock entrusted under his care.

For St. Laurent Imbert was the Vicar Apostolic of Korea, the local ordinary and bishop then entrusted with the responsibility over the entire mission territory of Korea. He was therefore the prime target of the anti-Christian authority who wanted him to surrender or else the whole community of Christians would suffer even more. St. Laurent Imbert decided to surrender himself to the authorities and even encouraged two other priests to also give themselves up with the hope that the authorities would spare the rest of the faithful.

The martyrdom of St. Laurent Imbert, and also St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon and many others recognised throughout the long era of persecution in Korea reminds each one of us that being Christians have to be prepared for rejection and opposition from this world. It is not necessary that all of us must go through persecution, and the extent of persecution from one community to another, and from one person to another may be different, but in essence, the path to follow Christ will likely be riddled with obstacles and troubles.

That is why the Lord also said that in order to become His disciples we must be ready to take up our cross and follow Him. There will be challenges and difficulties along the way, the temptations and many things that will lure us away from His path. But we must always hold firm to our faith in God and dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, for in the end, while we may be disobedient and unfaithful, God will always be ever faithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to follow in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, especially the Holy Korean Martyrs whose memory we celebrate today? Are we able to turn towards God with renewed faith and commitment from now on, giving ourselves wholly from now on? Let us all be ever more faithful and be more dedicated Christians, and be ever closer and attuned to God, our loving Father and Creator. Amen.