November 1st, 2018

Solemnity of All Saints

LECTIONARY
667

FIRST READING
RV 7:2-4, 9-14

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
“Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb.”

All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:

“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”
He said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

PSALM
PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

Response: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

SECOND READING
1 JN 3:1-3

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

GOSPEL
MT 5:1-12A

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Daily Reflection

Today we honour all the saints, who are models and inspirations to us. Some of them carried discipleship to a heroic degree by dying for their faith and principles. Beatitudes mean blessedness or happiness.

The saints are praised by Jesus for being poor in spirit, pure in heart, gentle, merciful, peace-makers, thirsting for righteousness. Do we imitate the saints’ virtues? Do we show mercy instead of being harsh?

The saints tried with much success to be like Jesus; like them, let us glorify the Lord in our sisters and brothers, seeing in them the image and likeness of God. Some saints had to suffer much pain and sorrow but they bore it with patience and fortitude. Some bore the stigmata, some saw visions and received missions and messages.

Some saints’ bodies still remain incorrupt for centuries. Can we pray to our patron saint daily and be as like him/her as possible?

October 31st, 2018

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
481

FIRST READING
EPH 6:1-9

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may go well with you
and that you may have a long life on earth.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling,
in sincerity of heart, as to Christ,
not only when being watched, as currying favor,
but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
willingly serving the Lord and not men,
knowing that each will be requited from the Lord
for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Masters, act in the same way towards them, and stop bullying,
knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven
and that with him there is no partiality.

PSALM
PS 145:10-11, 12-13AB, 13CD-14

Response: The Lord is faithful in all his words.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

GOSPEL
LK 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.’
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”

Daily Reflection

31st October 2018

For those who naively believe that being ‘Catholic’ is a ticket to a life in heaven, the warning of Jesus in today’s Gospel may come as a shock. God’s invitation is open to all, Jew and Gentile alike. But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door, which is Himself! Hence, if we are to enter through that door we would need to walk in the footsteps of Jesus – to speak the truth, to stand for justice, to foster peace, to show mercy, to be compassionate, to serve selflessly and to love unconditionally.

St. Paul says we must struggle against the forces of temptation to sin (even apathy, indifference, and compromise) that would hinder us from walking the way of Christ and doing the will of God. The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and His grace is sufficient!

We cannot enter heaven on borrowed goodness, we need to walk through the narrow door!

October 30th, 2018

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
480

FIRST READING
EPH 5:21-33

Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the Church,
he himself the savior of the Body.
As the Church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the Church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the Church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the Church,
because we are members of his Body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.
In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,
and the wife should respect her husband

PSALM
PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Response: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.

GOSPEL
LK 13:18-21

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Daily Reflection

30th October 2018

Some are quick to dismiss the writings of Paul as being male chauvinistic when he says, “... so is the husband the head of his wife... and ... so should wives submit to their husbands, in everything”. However, a closer reading of the text in its proper context will reveal the real meaning to be quite different. To begin with, Paul’s analogy of the relationship of Christ and His bride, the Church, with that of the relationship between a husband and wife, is drawn from the Old Testament. Prophets like Hosea, Isaiah and Ezekiel made similar analogies comparing the intimate relationship between God and Israel with the love of a husband and wife.

Therefore, by comparison itself, such a relationship is sacred. Further, a deeper study of the text points to equality, mutual love and respect, selfless sacrifice and fidelity. It is when husbands and wives live thus, that they become the leaven in the dough, working towards making the kingdom of God a reality.

October 29th, 2018

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
479

FIRST READING
EPH 4:32–5:8

Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.

PSALM
PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6

Response: Behave like God as his very dear children.

Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.

Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.

GOSPEL
LK 13:10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

Daily Reflection

29th October 2018

Jesus demonstrated not just the power and authority, but also the liberating love of God each time He reached out to people who were shackled by physical and emotional sickness, personal weakness and sin, or those possessed by some evil power. It took but a word from Jesus to instantly release the woman from her infirmity, in today’s narrative. The Jewish leaders were indignant that Jesus was carrying out the ‘work of healing’ on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. They were so caught up in their ritual observance of the Sabbath that they lost sight of God’s mercy and goodness. The Sabbath Law did not stop Jesus; He was the merciful face of God, who does not restrict His mercy and love to six days of the week!

We are - each one of us - God’s children and St. Paul exhorts us to imitate God; this is best done by being loving and forgiving like He is.

Am I the visible loving presence of God to people around me?

October 28th, 2018

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
149

FIRST READING
JER 31:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the world,
with the blind and the lame in their midst,
the mothers and those with child;
they shall return as an immense throng.
They departed in tears,
but I will console them and guide them;
I will lead them to brooks of water,
on a level road, so that none shall stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my first-born.

PSALM
PS 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

Response: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.

Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.

SECOND READING
HEB 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
Every high priest is taken from among men
and made their representative before God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,
for he himself is beset by weakness
and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself
as well as for the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself
but only when called by God,
just as Aaron was.
In the same way,
it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,
but rather the one who said to him:
You are my son:
this day I have begotten you;
just as he says in another place:
You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.

GOSPEL
MK 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Daily Reflection

28th October 2018

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the first reading the prophet Jeremiah carries a message of hope for the exiles in Babylon. There will be a new exodus, as marvellous as the old, and even the most helpless will see the salvation of God.

The second reading from Hebrews tells us that Jesus, our high priest and mediator, opens our eyes to see the marvels that God works for us.

The blind man Bartimaeus, in the Gospel, represents our collective human situation that is constantly yearning for healing and liberation from all sorts of limitations. The blindness in question might not necessarily be the physical loss of vision, but spiritual ignorance that limits our relationship with others, and with God. The healing of Bartimaeus illustrates the 3-step journey to faith:

First: acknowledging our drawbacks and limitations.
Second: seeking Christ’s help, in humility.
Third: demonstrating our readiness to leave the past behind (the discarding of the cloak) and starting anew.

Like Bartimaeus, then, when we see clearly, we joyfully follow Jesus along the road.

October 27th, 2018

Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
478

FIRST READING
EPH 4:7-16

Brothers and sisters:
Grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore, it says:

He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants,
tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching
arising from human trickery,
from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
Rather, living the truth in love,
we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole Body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
with the proper functioning of each part,
brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

PSALM
PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5

Response: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.

According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.

GOSPEL
LK 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them–
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”

Daily Reflection

27th October 2018

Some Jews often spoke of calamities and disasters as being the consequence of sin. In the Gospel, Jesus uses two occasions – one a political massacre of Galileans by Pilate, and the other a natural disaster causing the death of 18 people, with the collapse of a tower in Jerusalem – to address the issue of sin and judgment, with his Jewish audience. Jesus points out that the real danger and calamity in the case of an unexpected disaster or a sudden death, is the fact that it does not give us time to repent for our sins, and to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord. The warning is clear - take responsibility now for your actions and moral choices, and put sin to death today before it can destroy your heart, mind, soul and body as well. If it is not eliminated through repentance – i.e. asking God for forgiveness and for his healing grace – it leads to a spiritual death, which is far worse than physical destruction. St Paul reminds us that we must live by the truth and in love, so that we can reflect Christ in everything we do.

Growth in maturity of faith is the need of the hour!

October 26th, 2018

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
477

FIRST READING
EPH 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

PSALM
PS 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

Response: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

GOSPEL
LK 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

Daily Reflection

26th October 2018

Paul pleads with the Ephesians to lead a life worthy of their vocation, which among other things, consists in “preserving the unity of the Spirit”. This unity must be fostered by “bearing with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience”. Although this may seem difficult, Paul highlights that this is made possible when we realign our focus to our calling through our Baptism. He mentions the word “one” seven times in a sentence to lay stress on the unifying effect of Baptism – one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism and one God and Father!

Jesus points out that just as we anticipate the change in season by recognising the signs in nature and make adjustments accordingly, so too, must we deal with others, by recognising the unifying Spirit of our Baptism within us.