Weeks of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 6 February 2022 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-11

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. For I am the last of the Apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although, not I, rather the grace of God, in me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this, we preach, and this, you have believed.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

1 Corinthians 15 : 3-8, 11

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. Now, whether it was I or they, this, we preach, and this, you have believed.

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Sunday, 6 February 2022 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5, 7c-8

I thank You, o YHVH, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down toward Your holy Temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word, which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

O YHVH, all kings on earth will give You praise, when they have heard Your words. They will celebrate the ways of YHVH, “Great is the glory of YHVH!”

You save me from the wrath of my foes, with Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Sunday, 6 February 2022 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 6 : 1-2a, 3-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings.

They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His glory!” At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.”

Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the Altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

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Saturday, 5 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of God in the Sacred Scriptures we are reminded to put our faith in the Lord and to trust in Him, asking Him for strength and guidance in our respective journeys of life. We are all called to follow Him and to walk in His path, modelling ourselves and our lives based on all that He has taught us through His Apostles and disciples, and through all the holy men and women, all those who have dedicated themselves to walk in the path of the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard of the time when King Solomon of Israel, the son of King David who succeeded him as the king over all the people of God, the Israelites. We heard how Solomon, who was then still young and inexperienced, asked the Lord for wisdom and guidance so that he might be able to follow in the great examples set by his father. He prayed for wisdom to be a good leader for the people of God, asking the Lord to show him the path forward as he took over the kingship and leadership from his father.

The Lord did not just grant Solomon what he had asked for, because he did not ask for more wealth, power or glory unlike what most people would have asked for. He humbly asked for wisdom and guidance to be a good leader for the people of God, and God gave him just that, a wisdom unsurpassed by others, which made him famous beyond the lands of Israel. At the same time, God gave Solomon wealth, power and glory unsurpassed and unmatched, and this made the kingdom of Israel to be a great kingdom at the height of its power.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the works of the Lord and His disciples as they went from place to place ministering to the people, proclaiming the truth of God and the Good News of His salvation. There were so many people following them and desiring to listen to the Lord that the disciples were often overwhelmed. They could not even have a proper time to rest. As we heard in our Gospel today, even when they finally managed to get away to a secluded place on their own, the people managed to figure out where they were going and went there ahead of them.

There, despite the tiring works that He had done earlier, the Lord still ministered to the people, teaching them and speaking to them, spending a lot of time with them. It was at that time when the disciples were likely given a time to rest while the Lord continued to work tirelessly, reaching out to His people. We saw in that occasion just how beloved each and every one of us are to God, and how fortunate we are to have been beloved in such a manner by the Lord. God has sent to us His only begotten Son to be our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Through what we have heard today, we have seen how God loves us, wants to be reconciled and reunited with us, that He reached out to us and bestow upon us His blessings and graces. However, more often than not, we are not able to grasp His love and efforts because we are too busy with our many preoccupations and worldly desires. We are often too busy thinking about our many concerns and plans in life to notice God and His presence in our lives, only remembering Him when we have need of Him, and forgetting Him when we do not need Him.

Today, all of us are called to be like Solomon, in humbling ourselves before the Lord and asking for His guidance and wisdom, so that we may discern carefully our path in life going forward from now on. And we also should model ourselves based on the examples set by one of our holy predecessors, whose feast we celebrate today. St. Agatha of Sicily, a renowned martyr and saint from the time of the Great Persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperors can indeed inspire us to be better Christians in true deeds and actions.

St. Agatha was born into a noble Roman family and she made a vow of holy and perpetual virginity, which she offered to God freely and wholeheartedly. Her great beauty was noted by a pagan Roman prefect named Quintianus, who did all he could to try to persuade and coax her to marry him. But despite his best efforts, his pressure and even threats, all those could not sway St. Agatha from abandoning her vow of virginity and her faith in the Lord. She remained resolute in her conviction and desire to follow the Lord.

As that time coincided with the intense persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius, which was a particularly brutal period of intense persecution against Christians, the displeased and disappointed prefect reported St. Agatha to the authorities, and as the prefect Quintianus himself presided over the trial, he hoped that the threat of suffering and death would make St. Agatha to give up her stubborn resistance and refusal to abandon her faith in God. Instead, St. Agatha remained even more ardent in her faith and refused to give up.

She prayed to the Lord saying, “Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, You know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am Your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil.” And despite the efforts the prefect tried to incarcerate, torture and make her life difficult, St. Agatha would not be swayed and she remained faithful to the very end. She was tortured with all sorts of punishments, and had her breasts cut, surviving a burning at the stake before eventually dying in prison, remaining faithful to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all be inspired by the great examples set before us by the young King Solomon and by St. Agatha, the great Holy Virgin and Martyr. Let us all follow their examples in faith and commit ourselves to walk in the path of faith and grow ever stronger in faith and loving God more and more with each and every passing moments. Let us all seek the Lord with ever greater conviction and ask Him for guidance and strength that we may draw ever closer to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 30-34

At that time, the Apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then He said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the Apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.

But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

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Saturday, 5 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 118 : 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

How can young people remain pure? By living according to Your word.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my YHVH.

Praise to You, o YHVH; instruct me in Your statutes.

That, with my lips, I may declare all Your spoken decrees.

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

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Saturday, 5 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Kings 3 : 4-13

The king used to sacrifice at Gibeon, the great high place; on the altar there he had offered a thousand burnt offerings. It was in Gibeon, during the night, that YHVH appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what you want Me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “You have shown Your servant David my father a great and steadfast love because he served You faithfully and was righteous and sincere towards You. You have given him proof of Your steadfast love in making a son of his sit on his throne this day.”

“And now, o YHVH my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a young boy who does not know how to undertake anything. Meantime, Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen – a people so great that they can neither be numbered nor counted.”

“Give me, therefore, an understanding mind in governing Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this multitude of people of Yours?”

YHVH was pleased that Solomon had made this request. And He told him, “Because you have requested this rather than long life or wealth or even vengeance on your enemies; indeed, because you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I shall grant you your request. I now give you a wise and discerning mind such as no one has had before you nor anyone after you shall ever have.”

“I will also give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and fame; and no king shall be your equal during your lifetime.”

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Friday, 4 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Sacred Scriptures all of us are reminded yet again on what each and every one of us ought to be doing as those who believe in God and walk in His path. Today we are all called to remember the great examples set by two of our holy and dedicated predecessors, namely King David of Israel, the great King of all Israel who ruled the people of God justly and defeated Goliath the great enemy in his youth, as well as St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, the one who proclaimed the coming of Christ into this world.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Sirach regarding the story of David, the faithful servant of God, how he followed the Lord in all that He had called him to do, all the way from the early years of his youth. David had loved God and was a kind and righteous man from the very beginning, and he allowed God to lead him in whatever he did. He followed the Lord and when he was chosen to be the new King over all the people of God, he entrusted himself to God wholeheartedly.

He was the one whom God blessed and protected, and when he courageously answered the mocking calls of the Philistine champion, Goliath, David stood before the people of Israel and the Philistines who mocked and ridiculed God. He stood against the mighty giant, clad in just his shepherd’s cloak against Goliath’s fully armoured might. David completely trusted in the Lord, and through Him, he brought Goliath down, defeated the Philistines and restored the glory of God’s Name and the glory of Israel.

David was not a perfect person and neither was he blameless. He was a sinner just like us, who made mistakes and committed sins such as when he coveted the wife of Uriah, his own loyal commander, whom he led to his death in order to hide his affair from becoming known to the public. He also sinned against God when in his moment of pride desired to know the power and the glory he possessed and ordered the census over the entire land of Israel on his own accord, not in accordance with the will of God.

Yet, what was remarkable about David was that although he had sinned against God at times, but he genuinely loved God and His people, and he atoned for his sins many times over, admitting his sinfulness, humbling himself and stripping himself from the trappings of glory to be a penitent on more than one occasion just as recorded in the Book of the prophet Sirach and in the Book of Kings and the Chronicles. He desired to be reconciled with God and remained faithful and true to his dedication to Him to the end of his days.

Meanwhile, we have also heard the good examples of St. John the Baptist, the one whom God had sent into this world to be the one to proclaim the coming of His salvation. St. John the Baptist was the Herald of the Messiah, the one to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. In today’s reading, we heard how this faithful servant of God was martyred because of his commitment, so much so that he was not afraid to speak out against the king, Herod as well as his unlawfully wedded wife, Herodias, who was still in the eyes of the Law, the lawful wife of Herod’s living brother Philip.

St. John the Baptist spoke out against the king’s immoral action, and this led to Herodias in particular holding a grudge against him, which eventually led to the plot in which Herodias used her own daughter, historically named Salome, to seduce her own stepfather, king Herod, in the middle of the party and then in the end, forced him to order the execution of St. John the Baptist in prison just as we heard in our Gospel passage today. Thus was how the life of this great servant of God ended, he who had gone and stood up against the vices of the Pharisees and the king, all for the truth and the greater glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore now discern carefully the path that we are going to take in life from now on. Are we going to live our lives from now on following the good examples of King David and St. John the Baptist? Or are we still going to continue to disobey the Lord and remain in the state of sin? The choice is ours, and we should make a firm decision to walk down the path of righteousness and faith, rejecting the temptations and the allures of sin, and doing our best to dedicate our lives to God. We may not be perfect, as no one is perfect, but following the examples of our holy predecessors, we can draw ever closer to God.

May the Lord be with us in our journey of faith through life. May He strengthen each and every one of us, and empower us to walk ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, forevermore. May God bless us all in our every deeds and works, in our every moments. Amen.

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Friday, 4 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 6 : 14-29

At that time, king Herod also heard about Jesus, because His Name had become well-known. Some people said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in Him.” Others thought, “He is a prophet like the prophets of times past.” When Herod was told of this, he thought, “I had John beheaded, yet he has risen from the dead!”

For this is what had happened : Herod had ordered John to be arrested, and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, and John had told him, “It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.”

So Herodias held a grudge against John; and wanted to kill him, but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him, although he became very disturbed, whenever he heard him.

Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.”

And he went so far as to say with many oaths, “I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” The mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of his bodyguards with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.

When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.

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Friday, 4 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 17 : 31, 47 and 50, 51

This God – His way is perfect; the word of YHVH can stand fire. He is a shield for those who seek refuge in Him.

YHVH lives! Praised be my Rock! Exalted be my Saviour God. For this I extol You, o YHVH, among the nations; I will sing praise to Your Name.

He has given victories to His king; He has shown His love to His anointed ones, to David, and to his descendants forever.