Weekdays of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today on this Sunday, the holy day of the Lord, all of us are called by God to be holy. Indeed, we have all been called to be holy just as the Lord Himself is holy, and this means that our every words, actions and deeds must reflect that holiness and sanctity that must be present inside each one of us. This is what the Lord wants from us, brothers and sisters in Christ.

To be holy however, does not mean for us to boast about our piety and our devotion to God. That is the way of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, which our Lord Jesus Himself had denounced and rebuked before His disciples and the people. Being holy does not equate us saying prayers aloud in public, or reciting prayers after prayers, or by carrying with us holy relics and items to be seen by others. All these are external signs of faith and without genuine holiness inside us, they mean nothing for us.

Indeed, what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done were not real and true holiness, as they did so in order to advance their own worldly achievements, fame and glory, rather than being truly holy in the sight of God and men. Instead, as we read through the Scripture passages we have heard today, we can understand better how we ought to be holy and devout to God.

While the Pharisees and the elders, the teachers of the Law shunned the poor, the sinners like prostitutes and the tax collectors, and while they heaped burdens upon burdens on others, rejecting those who they deemed to be unworthy of them, the Lord said that all of us must embrace our brethren in need, our neighbours and all those who have not been loved and abandoned by the society.

This is true holiness, that we show our holiness through action, where we show our understanding of what it truly means to be holy and good in the sight of God. True holiness is love, mercy and compassion, to show compassion and love even on our enemies and those who despise and hate us. To be holy is to be able to forgive others their trespasses against us, and to have compassion on those who are suffering and those who have been sundered from the love of God through sin.

This is the essence of what Jesus our Lord told His disciples and also all of us in the Gospel today, that as Christians called to a holy life, we all ought to love tenderly and sincerely, showing unconditional love to all the people, without the need and want for return and reciprocation. That kind of love which requires reciprocation and returns is not true love, but a transaction of a worldly type, like that of money.

We do business and transactions expecting that each party would honour each other’s pledge to give according to what had been agreed. But love cannot be given in this manner, as if we put condition to our love, the love which we give, then it is no longer genuine love, but instead twisted and changed by our desires and human greed. This is not true love, and it will not lead us into true holiness.

Rather, let us all look at the examples of the holy saints and servants of God, all of whom had practiced the actions of true holiness in their own lives. Throngs of saints showed mercy, compassion and care for the poor and the needy, both those who were materially poor, and even more importantly, to those who were spiritually poor and in need of help.

Many of the holy saints of God worked hard to bring the Word of God to those who have been led astray by the temptations of the devil and this world. Some went forth to faraway lands such as St. Francis Xavier and the many other brave and courageous missionaries who went to spread the word of God’s salvation to many people who are still living in the darkness and ignorance of the Lord. And many followed them not because they were outwardly holy and pious, but rather because they showed through their dedication and through their actions, that they were servants of God, and His holiness shone through them.

And we know of those holy men who by their actions and work among the people had inspired many others to follow in their footsteps, the likes of St. John Mary Vianney and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Many other holy saints like them showed true holiness to others and are venerated by many through the ages, until even this very day as many of us well know just how popular these saints are, because of their humility, and because of their total submission to the will of God.

This is what we, as the people of God, as Christians who believe in the Lord, should be like, that we follow in the footsteps of the saints who had been deemed holy and worthy by the Church, by the virtues of their life, their faith and dedication, that they are worthy of becoming the source of inspiration and light to brighten the path we ourselves are to take on our way to the Lord, that we may find our path to the Lord.

Why is this so important? That is because as St. Paul pointed out in the second reading we have today, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, we are all the Temples of the Holy Presence of God, as God Himself had made us all to be His dwellings on earth. Not only just that He had come into this world, as one among us, through Jesus Christ, but through that act also, He had given us His own real Flesh and Blood to eat, and all of us who have shared in this ultimate gifts of our Lord, have received Him in our very own beings.

And therefore, it is only appropriate that if the Lord Himself resides within us, and really present in us, then we should make ourselves as holy and pure as possible, distancing ourselves from all sorts of sins and wicked actions and deeds. If we do our best to make our places of worships, our churches and cathedrals to be immaculate and worthy, then why should we not do the same with our own bodies, our own hearts, minds, and indeed our whole beings? For we are also the Temple and House of God’s residence.

I like to compare ourselves as windows and mirrors, and a good mirror ought to let the light to pass through and show the beauty of that light. In our churches and cathedrals, we often have stained glass decorations on the walls, with images of the saints and other biblical figures, and indeed, that is what saints are truly like. They are like stained glasses that are beautifully decorated, and when light shines through them, they showed their great beauty because of that light.

It means that the light of God is reflected in the life and works of the saints of God, all of whose obedience, humility and all the myriads of forms of their devotion to God had become examples for us to follow. They are like beautiful stained glass untainted by dust, dirt, grease or grime. Then how about ourselves, brethren? Are we like them, or are we more like stained glass that have long been left without maintenance, filled with dirt and all other things that have made us ugly and hideous in the sight of others?

That is the nature of our sin, brothers and sisters in Christ. Sin has made us to be twisted, corrupted and bereft of the true beauty of our beings, that is holiness in God. We must reject our past ways of sin and wickedness, and follow in the footsteps of the holy saints and all those who have been faithful in their life. Let us all begin by showing love for those who are around us, to those whom we meet along the way. Let us show mercy and forgiveness for those who have hurt us, and let us from now on lead a righteous and faithful life without sin.

May the Lord help us all to be holy in all of our deeds, that eventually we will be great and glorious like the holy saints and all those whom God had called and made worthy. May He bless us all and show His light, that our lives may be filled with His light, and through us, the light of God will lead many others to salvation and grace. God bless us all and be with us all always. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 5 : 38-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “You have heard that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well.”

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”

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Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Corinthians 3 : 16-23

Do you not know that you are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit abides within you? If anyone destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him. God’s Temple is holy, and you are this Temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If anyone of you considers himself wise in the ways of the world, let him become a fool, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. To this, Scripture says : God catches the wise in their own wisdom. It also says : The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is useless.

Because of this, let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to You, Paul, Apollos, Cephas – life, death, the present and the future. Everything is Yours, and you, you belong to Christ, and Christ is of God.

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Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10, 12-13

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.

As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.

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Sunday, 19 February 2017 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Leviticus 19 : 1-2, 17-18

YHVH spoke to Moses and said, “Speak to the entire assembly of the people of Israel and say to them : Be holy for I, YHVH, your God, am holy.

Do not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke your neighbour frankly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or nurture a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself; I am YHVH.

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are presented with the passages from the Sacred Scriptures, calling us to be faithful to the Lord our God, by the examples of our forefathers, who had been made just and righteous by their faith, from the time of Abel, whose faith was a great and shining light amidst the darkness in the hearts of men, to the time of Enoch and Noah, and finally to the time of Jesus itself.

While mankind had been corrupted by sin, and through their disobedience they had been sundered from God’s love, but among the sons and daughters of mankind, there had been those who were willing to resist the temptations to sin, and preferred to walk in the path of the Lord, following the path of righteousness and faith, and for that, they had been greatly rewarded.

Abel had been faithful to the Lord, and offered to Him a worthy sacrifice, and He had been faithful to the Lord’s commands, offering only what was the best for Him. Abel gave his offering with a sincere heart, and God answered Abel’s faith with His approval. But Cain was jealous of his younger brother’s acceptance by the Lord, while his offering was rejected, because he was likely not sincere and genuine in offering his own gifts.

As we know, Cain murdered Abel for that, and were cursed for what he had done. For he had sinned before God and men alike. But Abel did not suffer and die for nothing, for his faith in God had justified him, and by his blood, the blood of his martyrdom for his righteousness had made him just, and God surely welcomed him into His place in heaven.

Enoch was exceptional among the sons and daughters of mankind, for he alone among all others, have been raised and lifted up directly to heaven, not having to endure the pain of death, which is the punishment and consequence for our sins. Enoch was righteous and just in all of his actions, and therefore God rewarded him with the gift of heavenly grace, for his faith and dedication to Him.

And Noah had been faithful amidst a world filled with wickedness, evil and all sorts of sin. He alone among all others had been faithful, and therefore God rescued him and his family from the great flood, with which God cleansed the whole world from the taints of mankind’s great sins. By his faith, Noah had been made worthy and brought away from the calamities that befell all others around him.

And it is the great contributions and examples of these three great predecessors of ours which should inspire us to also walk in their footsteps and be obedient to the Lord as they had been obedient and faithful. In the Gospel today, Jesus was transfigured before His disciples on Mount Tabor, where He revealed the truth about Himself and His glory to St. Peter, St. John and St. James, showing to them Who He really was, and indeed what they and all other men and women are going to be, as a preview of the time that is to come.

The story of the Transfiguration of our Lord is more than just the revelation of our Lord Jesus as the Divine Word of God and the Messiah to His disciples, but even more so, because He has taken up the nature of our flesh and blood, and therefore as the perfect Man, He had shown us all our future, if we are to follow Him and obey Him in all of His laws and precepts.

The Transfiguration of our Lord is a prelude and a brief taste for us to see how God revealed to us what awaits all those who have kept their faith in Him. This is because by sin we have been made dirty and tainted, unworthy to receive the grace of God, but at the same time, God wants us to be cleansed and be purified from all those things that had tainted us, all for the same reason that God loves each and every one of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time to reflect on today’s Scripture passages, and ask ourselves whether we have been faithful to God in all of our actions, words and deeds. Have we loved and showed care for one another, for our brethren and neighbours around us, just as the Lord had taught us to do? Have we committed ourselves faithfully to be true disciples of our Lord, or is our faith just an empty and meaningless faith without action?

Let us all remind one another, that each and every one of us will always do our best to help each other to reach out to the Lord and to His salvation, that we may always persevere to resist the temptations to sin and the pressure to commit things that cause corruption and wickedness to enter into our beings. Let us all pray that all of us may become more like Christ in our ways, that we will be transformed by His light and His love, that we are no longer children of sin and darkness, but instead like Abel, Enoch and Noah of the ancient times we may be found worthy to be with God and receive His eternal life and grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Mark 9 : 2-13

At that time, six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain. There His appearance was changed before their eyes. Even His clothes shone, becoming as white as no bleach of this world could make them. Elijah and Moses appeared to them; the two were talking with Jesus.

Then Peter spoke and said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say : they were overcome with awe. But a cloud formed, covering them in a shadow, and from the cloud came a voice, “This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him.”

And suddenly, as they looked around, they no longer saw anyone except Jesus with them. As they came down the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this to themselves, although they discussed with one another what ‘to rise from the dead’ could mean.

Finally they asked Him, “Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Of course Elijah will come first, so that everything may be as it should be. But why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they have treated him as they pleased, as the Scriptures say of him.”

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 10-11

I will praise You day after day and exalt Your Name forever. Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

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

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Saturday, 18 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Hebrews 11 : 1-7

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the stages of creation were disposed by God’s word, and what is visible came from what cannot be seen.

Because of Abel’s faith his offering was more acceptable than that of his brother Cain, which meant he was upright, and God Himself approved his offering. Because of this faith he cried to God, as said in Scripture, even after he died.

By faith Enoch was taken to heaven, instead of experiencing death : he could not be found because God had taken him. In fact, it is said that before being taken up he had pleased God. Yet without faith it is impossible to please Him : no one draws near to God without first believing that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him earnestly.

By faith Noah was instructed of events which could not yet be seen and, heeding what he heard, he built a boat in which to save his family. The faith of Noah condemned the world and he reached holiness born of faith.

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Friday, 17 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard the proclamations of the Scripture reminding us not to follow in the footsteps of the proud, the arrogant and the haughty ones. In the first reading we heard about the story of the Tower of Babel, which was the place where God scattered all of His people because of their pride and arrogance.

In that passage, we heard about how mankind after the time of Noah had grown powerful, great and filled with many great things and riches of the world. Everyone spoke the same language since they were descended from Noah and his family, and all the people gathered together, having ambition in their hearts to surpass even the glory of God, plotting to build a great tower which height would reach out to heaven itself.

It was their pride that had become their undoing, as it had for Satan, who fell from his haughtiness, and became an example for all others who thought that they could become like God, or to be even greater than God. He wanted to surpass God and the other Angels, such was the pride and ambition in his heart, who had been created with great and unsurpassed beauty and might among the Angels of God, as Lucifer.

But Lucifer rebelled against God, and disobeyed Him. And he was defeated, and was humiliated and cast out of heaven. Such was his fate because of his pride, and such was therefore also the fate of those others who followed in his footsteps, the people who tried to build up the great tower of Babel. They were scattered and confused in their language, as a reminder that no matter how great, mighty and powerful we are, our power and might are nothing if we are not with God.

It is what the Lord wanted us all to remember, even as we now continue to live our respective lives here on earth. He Himself has come into this world in order to show us the way. Many kings and lords of this world were powerful, proud of their power, intellect, achievements and greatness, but He, Who is the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, came into this world humbly, not flaunting to others His might and power, even though His power is true power, and His might is real might.

He came into this world to humbly work the works that His Father has entrusted to Him to do, that is the salvation of this world. He bore the burden of the cross for our sake, His people, that by all of His sacrifice, He might save us all from the hopelessness and despair because of our sins, and from all the sufferings caused by our disobedience against God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should also heed what our Lord Jesus had said in the Gospel today. He said that it is better for someone to lose one’s life and lose other things for the sake of the Lord, rather than for someone to try to save his or her life, and at the cost of his or her own soul. It is a kind reminder by our Lord that to be His disciple, we often will need to make sacrifices, and also to endure rejection and opposition from others.

Are we as Christians ready to take up the challenges and the crosses of our life together with Jesus? Are we ready to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, be humble and be meek in all things, and not to be proud, arrogant or haughty just because of our human achievements, power and greatness? It is important that we should resist the temptations of our flesh, through which the devil is constantly trying to pull us into sin.

Let us all follow in the footsteps of the seven Holy Founders of the Servite order. These seven men were people of exceptional piety and devotion to the Lord, and each of them were committed to serve God’s people, and for that reason, they established the congregation of the Servites. They led others into a life of poverty, simplicity and humility before God.

Many people were inspired to follow in their footsteps, to let go of their pride and their human ambitions, and instead endeavour to follow the Lord and be humble in all of their deeds. Let us all seek to be humble and to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. Let us all spend our whole lives and all the things that we do, glorifying the Lord by our deeds.

May the Lord bless us all and all of our endeavours and works. May He remain with us always, and keep us all in His loving grace. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.