Liturgical Colour : Green
Romans 8 : 26-27
Likewise, the Spirit helps is in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us, without words, as if with groans. And He, Who sees inner secrets, knows the desires of the Spirit, for He asks for the holy ones, what is pleasing to God.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 85 : 5-6, 9-10, 15-16a
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.
But You, o YHVH God, are merciful, slow to anger, loving and faithful. Turn to me, take pity on me.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Wisdom 12 : 13, 16-19
For there is no other god besides You, One Who cares for everyone, who could ask You to justify Your judgments. Your strength is the source of Your justice and because You are the Lord of all, You can be merciful to everyone.
To those who doubt Your sovereign power You show Your strength and You confound the insolence of those who ignore it. But You, the Lord of strength, judge with prudence and govern us with great patience, because You are able to do anything at the time You want.
In this way You have taught Your people that a righteous person must love his human fellows; You have also given Your people cause for hope by prompting them to repent of their sin.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all things, to do His will and not to give in to the temptations of worldly glory and power, all of which can lead us astray down the path of disobedience, evil and sin. We must always strive to be upright and good in all things, doing whatever we can so that by our good examples and actions grounded and anchored upon our firm foundation of faith in God, we will always be the worthy and faithful bearers of our Christian faith and truth in our world today. All of us should always be the guardians of the truth and of all that our Christian faith teaches us and shows us.
In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Micah in which the Lord told His people through Micah of His anger and the coming punishments and consequences awaiting His wicked and disobedient people, all of whom had chosen to disobey Him, walking down the path of rebellion and wickedness, choosing to obey the lies of the devil rather than to trust in the Lord, their God and Master. The prophet Micah was sent to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, during the time of the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the Assyrian invasion and domination of the kingdom of Judah by King Sennacherib. He was one of the prophets who were active at the time, and he brought God’s words to His people in Judah.
We heard about all the things that would soon happen to the people and kingdom of Judah, the downfall of those who have long disobeyed His commandments and preferring to follow the wicked paths of the false idols and pagan gods rather than to trust and have faith in their Lord and Master Who had taken care of them all, all throughout the years of their prosperous existence in Judah and Israel. The consequences for those sins have to be faced by the people themselves, and that was why the Lord gave them all this warning and premonition through Micah. Of course, He did so while also telling them of His love and mercy, and showing them the prophecy of the coming liberation and salvation that they would receive from God.
Through this, the Lord wanted to show His people that He truly loved each and every one of them, and He did not truly want to punish them or make their lives difficult, but it was rather their hardened hearts and minds, their stubbornness and their continued rebellion against God which had condemned them and led them to their predicaments. They did not trust in the Lord and refused to obey by His Law and commandments, and as a result, they suffered, they became lost and they were muddled in their paths and thoughts. But the Lord never gave up on them, and He continued to send His help and guidance through His prophets, and promised them the ultimate salvation that He ultimately fulfilled and accomplished through the sending of His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the passage taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord Jesus and how He was treated by the Pharisees and many of the religious elites of His time were highlighted to all of us. The Lord Jesus was indeed the One Whom God had sent into this world, the Son of God Incarnate in the flesh, the Son of Man, through Whom God would gather everyone to Himself, all of His beloved ones, showing them all His love manifested perfectly in the flesh. And yet, He was rejected and opposed by those who were supposedly the most knowledgeable about the Law and the teachings of the prophets, as they saw in Him a great Rival and even threat to their own power, influence and authority among the people of God.
Nonetheless, the Lord continued to do His best to reach out to those who are dear and beloved to Him, caring for them as best as He could, showing them His ever generous and patient love even when the people had disobeyed Him and refused to follow His path, through their stubbornness and disobedience. He still reached out to them, performing His works and miracles in their midst, sending His disciples to share with them all His truth, Good News, love and guidance. The Lord did everything just as the prophets had foretold of Him, loving all of them wonderfully and generously, reaching out to the greatest sinners and those deemed most unworthy in the midst of the people, like the prostitutes and tax collectors, those who were suffering from maladies and diseases, and those possessed by evil spirits.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence realise that God is truly full of love, kindness, compassion and mercy towards each and every one of us, and no matter how great we have sinned against Him and how far we have fallen into sin, He will offer us chances and opportunities, again and again, to embrace His ever generous love and mercy, made always available for us, at all times. We must also realise how God has sent the best and most wonderful gift for us in the person of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, His own Begotten Son so that by Him coming into our midst, touching us, our lives and our existence, and by His revelation of this most amazing Love of God manifested most tangibly and real in the flesh, we may indeed appreciate, realise and come to seek Him once again with genuine faith and love.
May the Lord, our most loving God, continue to guide each and every one of us in our paths and journeys towards Him, empowering us with the courage and strength to carry out our respective missions in life, in obeying Him and living our lives according to what He Himself has shown and taught us. Let us all therefore be the good role models and examples for one another, in showing forth our faith through real actions grounded in genuine faith and trust in God. May God bless us always, and may He continue to strengthen our resolve to walk in His path, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Matthew 12 : 14-21
At that time, the Pharisees went out, and made plans to get rid of Jesus. As Jesus was aware of their plans, He left that place. Many people followed Him, and He cured all who were sick. But He gave them strict orders not to make Him known.
In this way, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled : Here is My Servant, Whom I have chosen; the One I love, and with Whom I am pleased. I will put My Spirit upon Him; and He will announce My judgment to the nations. He will not argue or shout, nor will His voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed He will not crush, nor snuff out the smouldering wick until He brings justice to victory, and in Him, all the nations will put their hope.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Psalm 9 : 22-23, 24-25, 28-29, 35
Why, o YHVH, do You stand afar? Why hide from us in times of distress? The wicked are in power; the weak suffer harassment; the poor become victims of evil schemes.
Exploiters boast in their power and greed; the covetous blasphemes and defies God. In their pride the wicked say, “There is no God.” They see no further.
Their mouths are filled with cursing, deceit and threats; spite and mischief are under their tongues. They lie in ambush near the villages, murdering the innocent and the unfortunate, spying upon their next victim.
But You see those in misery, o God, and You take it in hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; the orphan turns to You for help.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)
Micah 2 : 1-5
Woe to those who plot wickedness and plan evil even on their beds! When morning comes they do it, as soon as it is within their reach. If they covet fields, they seize them. Do they like houses? They take them. They seize the owner and his household; both, the man and his property.
This is why YHVH speaks, “I am plotting evil against this whole brood, from which your necks cannot escape. No more shall you walk with head held high, for it will be an evil time.” On that day, they will sing a taunting song against you; and a bitter lamentation will be heard, “We have been stripped of our property in our homeland. Who will free us from the wicked who allots our fields.”
Truly, no one will be found in the assembly of YHVH to keep a field for you.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures that reminded us again of the great love and compassion that God has for each and every one of us. The Lord has shown His kindness towards us again and again, from time to time, so that through Him we may receive pardon for our sins, blessings and graces that strengthens us and keeps us strong despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure from time to time. Each and every one of us are so fortunate that God has always reached out to us and showed us a lot of His patient and enduring love despite all of our disobedience and wickedness.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the interaction between king Hezekiah of Judah and the prophet Isaiah at a time when Hezekiah fell mortally ill and was about to die, and the prophet himself told the king to get his house and affairs in order as he was soon about to die. The king lamented the shortness of his life and beseeched the Lord to show mercy to him and to spare him the fate of early death, out of compassion for all the faithfulness that he had shown Him, the obedience that Hezekiah as king has shown the Lord as opposed to the wickedness and disobedience among many of his forefathers, as one of the few righteous kings of Judah, the kingdom of God’s people.
The Lord heard Hezekiah’s plea and granted his wishes, and the Lord not only cured him from his illness but also extended his life by another fifteen years, as a show of His most generous mercy and love, and also to show that as God, He has the power and control over all things, and hence, Hezekiah should continue to serve Him and to do His will. The Lord showed mercy to Hezekiah and extended His love to His servant in the hour of greatest need. This was what we have heard from our first reading today, detailing to us one example of God’s most enduring love for each one of us and how He has always cared for us all, each and every one of us, who are faithful to Him, without exception.
And not only that, as in our Gospel passage today, we also heard of the Lord confronting the Pharisees who criticised His disciples for plucking the grains of wheat in the field on the day of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was and today is still a holy day that according to the Law of God, ought to be preserved and observed as a day of holiness, the holy day of the Lord in which the people should refrain from doing work and spend the day in honouring and worshipping God. The Pharisees in particular, together with the teachers of the Law observed this Law and interpreted it as strictly as possible, not allowing any kind of work or action at all, even things that are good or beneficial.
Unfortunately, that led to the confrontation in which when the disciples were really hungry and were likely in the wilderness, far away from any places where they could obtain food, the disciples had no choice but to eat of the grains of the field, or else they would be suffering from hunger. The Lord therefore told the Pharisees that their version and interpretation of the Law ran into danger of disregarding the true intention and purpose of the Law, which is to help mankind find their way back to the Lord, and to guide them in the right path that they may become ever closer to God and be more worthy of Him as God has always intended when He first gave, revealed and passed that Law to all of them.
Instead, what the Pharisees had done ended up causing great inconvenience and hardships for the people of God, who became overly and unjustly burdened by the Law, and ended up causing more and more people to fall away from the path towards redemption. They closed the gates towards God and His grace by their inflexible and exceedingly strict interpretations of the Law, and they also closed themselves off from listening to the truth that God Himself has willingly revealed to them, through Jesus Christ, His Son, the One Who told them all that the Law of the Sabbath and as well as the whole Law itself was made for mankind, and not the other way round.
It is yet again another reminder of just how fortunate we all are to have been beloved by God, that He continued to patiently showed us the path to His salvation and grace, giving us the blessings and all that allowed each one of us to turn towards Him with faith once again. And therefore, it is only right that we dedicate ourselves to Him with love, and do our very best to follow Him wholeheartedly, all the days of our lives. Today, we are all called to live our lives and faith genuinely with true faith, obedience and commitment towards God. And this requires us to embrace completely what the Lord Himself had taught and revealed to us through His Son and through the guidance and Wisdom of the Holy Spirit He bestowed on us and His Church.
May the Lord continue therefore to guide and strengthen us in our journey of faith in life, and help us to continue persevering in our virtuous and exemplary living in faith so that like our holy and devout predecessors, we may truly be good inspiration to each other, in showing forth the true light of Christ our Saviour, in our every actions, words and deeds that are truly reflections of what it means for us to be Christians, disciples and followers of our Lord. May God bless each and every one of us in our every good efforts and endeavours, in living faithfully our Christian faith, now and always. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 12 : 1-8
At that time, it happened that, Jesus walking through the wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry; and they began to pick some heads of wheat, to crush and to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, “Look at Your disciples! They are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did, when he and his men were hungry? He went into the House of God, and they ate the bread offered to God, though neither he nor his men had the right to eat it, but only the priests. And have you not read in the law, how, on the Sabbath, the priests in the Temple desecrate the Sabbath, yet they are not guilty?”
“I tell you, there is greater than the Temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words : It is mercy I want, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. Besides, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 38 : 10, 11, 12abcd, 16
Once I said : In the noontime of my life I go; I am sent to the land of the dead, for the rest of my years.
I said : Never again shall I see YHVH in the land of the living; never again shall I see the inhabitants of the earth.
Like a shepherd’s tent, my dwelling has been pulled down and thrown away; like a weaver, You rolled up my life and cut it from the loom.
O Lord, give me back my health and give me back my life!
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 