Mass Reading: Sunday - 05th October 2025

First reading
Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4
The upright man will live by his faithfulness

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help

while you will not listen;

to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me,

why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see,

all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said,

‘Write the vision down,

inscribe it on tablets

to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only:

eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;

if it comes slowly, wait,

for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,

but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

The word of the Lord.

____________________

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

with songs let us hail the Lord.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

let us kneel before the God who made us:

for he is our God and we

the people who belong to his pasture,

the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

O that today you would listen to his voice!

‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

 

 ____________________

Second reading

2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14

Never be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord


I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.


The word of the Lord.



____________________



Gospel Acclamation
1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!


Or:
1P1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever.
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

 ____________________

Gospel
Luke 17:5-10
Say, 'We are merely servants'


The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’


The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 05th October 2025

 

HAB 1:2-3; 2:2-2-4; PS 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 TM 1:6-8, 13-14; LK 17:5-10

Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life, that is, a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom, is not easy. They also show us that our lives belong to God, not to us, and that God will indeed bring about the fulfillment of His kingdom. We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design.

We can all relate to the frustration expressed in the First Reading from Habakuk. “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!” “Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?” The Lord knows that the life of a steward is not easy. When we look around us, it can seem as if all our efforts are in vain. We spend time praying, but nothing happens. We are faithful to our ministry, but no one seems to notice. We give generously of our financial resources, but the needs around us remain great. Despite all this, the Lord urges us to remain faithful. “For the vision [the fulfillment of His kingdom] still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint.”

Our Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy offers encouragement on the difficult path of discipleship, reminding us that we have all the tools we need to remain faithful. Paul says to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have….” Through the sacraments, the Word of God, and the teachings of the Church, we have every possible grace and blessing needed to continue moving forward on the stewardship path. We simply need to return to them over and over so as to stir these gifts into flame. Paul instructs us to “guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.” Relying on the abundant spiritual gifts God has given to us, and relying on the Holy Spirit’s strength, we can bear our share of hardship well for the sake of the Gospel. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards.

Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles ask the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard seed-sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need only take the tiniest step forward, and He will do the rest. It is a true privilege to cooperate as servants in the work of building His Kingdom.

Living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility, as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in this passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come in from tending to the master’s affairs and asks whether it would be reasonable for the master to begin waiting on his servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable. The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says we should have this same attitude before God. The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to God. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility.

The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving Christ and His kingdom a reality.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 06th October 2024

First reading
Genesis 2:18-24
A man and his wife become one body

    The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

‘This at last is bone from my bones,

and flesh from my flesh!

This is to be called woman,

for this was taken from man.’

    This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 127(128)

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
    and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
    You will be happy and prosper.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Your wife like a fruitful vine
    in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
    around your table.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
    the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
    in a happy Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children.
    On Israel, peace!

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

________

Second reading
Hebrews 2:9-11
The one who sanctifies is the brother of those who are sanctified

    We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind.

    As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Or:
1Jn4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 10:2-16
What God has united, man must not divide

    Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’

    People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 06th October 2024

 

GN 2:18-24; PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; HEB 2:9-11; MK 10:2-16 OR 10:2-12

Our readings this week speak to each of our domestic churches — the little churches that we call our families. They bring us back to the very beginning of time and call us to restore what God had intended for each of us.

The First Reading from the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of creation when God made man and woman. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” And out of man, woman was created.

When Adam sees the woman he says, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman.’”

We can almost hear the longing, gratitude, and appreciation in Adam’s voice when he meets Eve as he says, “at last.” She was a gift because she was an equal partner to him.

This was before the fall of man, meaning sin had not entered the world. Adam and Eve only viewed each other in total acceptance and love.

Our Gospel brings us to life after sin had entered the world — a time that is familiar to us. As the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, He expressed that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of man’s heart. However, Jesus was calling them to deeper holiness. He was calling them to restore the original plan God had intended for marriage, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Jesus’ words still apply to us here and now in each of our domestic churches. It is the task of families to tirelessly work to restore God’s original plan for marriage and family life — homes filled with gratitude, acceptance, and love. It is a beautiful request and yet extremely difficult because sin and temptation surround us.

It takes a daily commitment to live out our call to holiness to restore our families to this beautiful image.

To recognize the gifts God has bestowed on us through the members of our families, we need to remain close to our Gracious Giver. Just as Adam and Eve “walked” with God in the Garden before their fall, we too are called to walk with God in our day-to-day moments. This is primarily done through prayer and action.

As Genesis reminds us, God created woman as a partner for man and He desires that they become unified. It is in this union of marriage that man and woman work together to bring their family to Heaven. This is the mission that our families must be united in.

We must ask ourselves, how are we living out that mission? It should be the very heart and soul of our families.

It is done through individual, spousal, and family prayer. Simply by praying before meals, attending Mass together, going to confession, praying a decade of the Rosary, or even a simple Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory be together each evening that we become more aware and united on our mission to Heaven.

It’s also done through action — how we treat each member of our family. How we respond to one another in our day-to-day moments, support and challenge one another on this road to sanctity, and humbly choose to serve each member that our families will be transformed.

Restoring our families to what God had intended them to be takes work, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. All we need to do is take one step closer to Him.

As we think about our families this week — whether it be a single household or a family of 10 — let us find small ways in which we can live out our mission to bring our families to Heaven.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 08th October 2023

First reading
Isaiah 5:1-7
Against the Lord’s vineyard

Let me sing to my friend
the song of his love for his vineyard.

My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug the soil, cleared it of stones
and planted choice vines in it.
In the middle he built a tower,
he dug a press there too.
He expected it to yield grapes,
but sour grapes were all that it gave.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
I ask you to judge
between my vineyard and me.
What could I have done for my vineyard
that I have not done?
I expected it to yield grapes.
Why did it yield sour grapes instead?

Very well, I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on,
and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.
I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug;
overgrown by the briar and the thorn.
I will command the clouds
to rain no rain on it.
Yes, the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the House of Israel,
and the men of Judah
that chosen plant.
He expected justice, but found bloodshed,
integrity, but only a cry of distress.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 79(80):9,12-16,19-20

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    to plant it you drove out the nations.
It stretched out its branches to the sea,
    to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Then why have you broken down its walls?
    It is plucked by all who pass by.
It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,
    devoured by the beasts of the field.

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
    look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
    the vine your right hand has planted.

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

And we shall never forsake you again;
    give us life that we may call upon your name.
God of hosts, bring us back;
    let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

________

Second reading
Philippians 4:6-9
If there is anything you need, pray for it.

    There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Or:
cf.Jn15:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.

Alleluia!

__________

Gospel
Matthew 21:33-43
This is the landlord's heir: come, let us kill him

    Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

    It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?

    ‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 08th October 2023

IS 5:1-7; PS 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; PHIL 4:6-9; MT 21:33-43

We have been given so many gifts and blessings by our Heavenly Father. Yet, in our fallen state it is all too easy to take them for granted. Our readings today teach us that we must live with an intentional awareness of our many blessings and use them gratefully to glorify God.
 
Our First Reading, from Isaiah, foreshadows today’s Gospel passage. Both passages employ images of a landowner and his vineyard. The First Reading tells the story of a landowner who, with great love and care, creates the perfect vineyard and fills it with the choicest vines. Yet, it fails to produce good fruit. As a result, the landowner allows the vineyard to go to ruin. This is a reminder that while Our Heavenly Father is merciful and kind, He is also just. As Christian stewards, we must continuously fight the tendency towards complacency and instead use our blessings to produce good fruit.
 
Our Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, is a reminder of one key blessing that is surprisingly easy to take for granted — the gift of our thought life. Our intellect is a gift from God and we are called to steward it well. Lack of discipline in our thoughts can easily lead us down a path of discontentment and fear. St. Paul instructs us rather to “have no anxiety at all.” How are we to do this? He tells us, “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” And as it turns out, by turning our thoughts towards God with gratitude, we will be blessed immediately. Paul continues, “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
Paul gives specific advice for intentionally maintaining an attitude of gratitude in our thought life. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise” these are the things we should focus on. As we develop this habit we will discover a powerful way to navigate life with peace and joy despite the troubles that surround us.
 
In our Gospel passage from Matthew, we return to the image of a vineyard in a parable Jesus uses to teach the importance of using our blessings well. It is the story of a landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it to tenants before he goes on a journey. Instead of tending the vineyard, the tenants mistreat the servants in the vineyard and even the son of the landowner, whom they kill. When the landowner realizes what the tenants have done, he puts them to death and leases his vineyard to tenants who “will give him the produce at the proper times.”
 
By Baptism, we have received the gift of salvation and membership in Kingdom of God — we are now “tenants” called to work in the “vineyard” and produce fruit for its owner, our Heavenly Father. This calling is a gift from God to be treasured above all other gifts. Jesus makes it clear that if we squander the gift of salvation, we will lose it. It is a sobering truth.
 
So let us live each day with a profound awareness of all that we have been given by God. Let us use our intellect to think on these gifts throughout the day and resolve to use all our gifts for God’s glory. We will find peace, joy and purpose as we do.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 02nd October 2022

First reading
Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4
The upright man will live by his faithfulness

How long, O Lord, am I to cry for help
while you will not listen;
to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear
and you will not save?
Why do you set injustice before me,
why do you look on where there is tyranny?
Outrage and violence, this is all I see,
all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said,
‘Write the vision down,
inscribe it on tablets
to be easily read,
since this vision is for its own time only:
eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;
if it comes slowly, wait,
for come it will, without fail.
See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,
but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
    hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
    with songs let us hail the Lord.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come in; let us bow and bend low;
    let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
    the people who belong to his pasture,
    the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
    ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
    as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
    when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

________

Second reading
2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14
Never be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord

    I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

    Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or:
1P1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever.
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 17:5-10
Say, 'We are merely servants'

    The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

    ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 02nd October 2022

 

HAB 1:2-3; 2:2-2-4; PS 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 TM 1:6-8, 13-14; LK 17:5-10

 

Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life, that is, a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom, is not easy. They also show us that our lives belong to God, not to us and that God will indeed bring about the fulfillment of His kingdom. We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design.
 
We can all relate to the frustration expressed in the First Reading from Habakuk. “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!” “Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?” The Lord knows that the life of a steward is not easy. When we look around us it can seem as if all our efforts are in vain. We spend time praying but nothing happens. We are faithful to our ministry but no one seems to notice. We give generously of our financial resources but the needs around us remain great. Despite all this, the Lord urges us to remain faithful. “For the vision [the fulfillment of His kingdom] still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint.”
 
Our Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy offers encouragement on the difficult path of discipleship, reminding us that we have all the tools we need to remain faithful. Paul says to “stir into flame the gift of God that you have….” Through the sacraments, the Word of God, and the teachings of the Church, we have every possible grace and blessing needed to continue moving forward on the stewardship path. We simply need to return to them over and over so as to stir these gifts into flame. Paul instructs us to “guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.” Relying on the abundant spiritual gifts God has given to us, and relying on the Holy Spirit’s strength, we can bear our share of hardship well for the sake of the Gospel. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards.
 
Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles ask the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard seed-sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need only take the tiniest step forward, and He will do the rest. It is a true privilege to cooperate as servants in the work of building His Kingdom.
 
Living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in this passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come in from tending to the master’s affairs and asks whether it would be reasonable for the master to begin waiting on his servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable. The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says we should have this same attitude before God. The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to God. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility.
 
The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving Christ and His kingdom a reality. 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 03rd October 2021

 

Our readings this week speak to each of our domestic churches — the little churches that we call our families. They bring us back to the very beginning of time and call us to restore what God had intended for each of us. 
 
The First Reading from the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of creation when God made man and woman. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” And out of man, woman was created. 
 
When Adam sees the woman he says, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman.’” 
 
We can almost hear the longing, gratitude, and appreciation in Adam’s voice when he meets Eve as he says, “at last.” She was a gift because she was an equal partner to him. 
 
This was before the fall of man, meaning sin had not entered the world. Adam and Eve only viewed each other in total acceptance and love. 
 
Our Gospel brings us to life after sin had entered the world — a time that is familiar to us. As the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, He expressed that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of man’s heart. However, Jesus was calling them to deeper holiness. He was calling them to restore the original plan God had intended for marriage, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
 
Jesus’ words still apply to us here and now in each of our domestic churches. It is the task of families to tirelessly work to restore God’s original plan for marriage and family life — homes filled with gratitude, acceptance, and love. It is a beautiful request and yet extremely difficult because sin and temptation surround us. 
 
It takes a daily commitment to live out our call to holiness to restore our families to this beautiful image. 
 
To recognize the gifts God has bestowed on us through the members of our families, we need to remain close to our Gracious Giver. Just as Adam and Eve “walked” with God in the Garden before their fall, we too are called to walk with God in our day-to-day moments. This is primarily done through prayer and action.
 
As Genesis reminds us, God created woman as a partner for man and He desires that they become unified. It is in this union of marriage that man and woman work together to bring their family to Heaven. This is the mission that our families must be united in. 
 
We must ask ourselves, how are we living out that mission? It should be the very heart and soul of our families. 
 
It is done through individual, spousal, and family prayer. Simply by praying before meals, attending Mass together, going to confession, praying a decade of the Rosary, or even a simple Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory be together each evening that we become more aware and united on our mission to Heaven. 
 
It’s also done through action — how we treat each member of our family. How we respond to one another in our day-to-day moments, support and challenge one another on this road to sanctity, and humbly choose to serve each member that our families will be transformed. 
 
Restoring our families to what God had intended them to be takes work, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. All we need to do is take one step closer to Him.  
 
As we think about our families this week — whether it be a single household or a family of 10 — let us find small ways in which we can live out our mission to bring our families to Heaven.

The Liturgy of the Word: Sunday - 03rd October 2021

First reading
Genesis 2:18-24
A man and his wife become one body

The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 127(128)

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
    and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
    You will be happy and prosper.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Your wife like a fruitful vine
    in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
    around your table.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
    the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
    in a happy Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children.
    On Israel, peace!

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

________

Second reading
Hebrews 2:9-11
The one who sanctifies is the brother of those who are sanctified

We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind.

    As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Or:
1Jn4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 10:2-16
What God has united, man must not divide

Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’

    People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection on Mass Readings: Sunday, 04th October 2020

  IS 5:1-7; PS 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; PHIL 4:6-9; MT 21:33-43

We have been given so many gifts and blessings by our Heavenly Father. Yet, in our fallen state it is all too easy to take them for granted. Our readings today teach us that we must live with an intentional awareness of our many blessings and use them gratefully to glorify God.

Our First Reading, from Isaiah, foreshadows today’s Gospel passage. Both passages employ images of a landowner and his vineyard. The First Reading tells the story of a landowner who, with great love and care, creates the perfect vineyard and fills it with the choicest vines. Yet, it fails to produce good fruit. As a result, the landowner allows the vineyard to go to ruin. This is a reminder that while Our Heavenly Father is merciful and kind, He is also just. As Christian stewards, we must continuously fight the tendency towards complacency and instead use our blessings to produce good fruit.

Our Second Reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, is a reminder of one key blessing that is surprisingly easy to take for granted — the gift of our thought life. Our intellect is a gift from God and we are called to steward it well. Lack of discipline in our thoughts can easily lead us down a path of discontentment and fear. St. Paul instructs us rather to “have no anxiety at all.” How are we to do this? He tells us, “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” And as it turns out, by turning our thoughts towards God with gratitude, we will be blessed immediately. Paul continues, “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul gives specific advice for intentionally maintaining an attitude of gratitude in our thought life. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise” these are the things we should focus on. As we develop this habit we will discover a powerful way to navigate life with peace and joy despite the troubles that surround us.

In our Gospel passage from Matthew, we return to the image of a vineyard in a parable Jesus uses to teach the importance of using our blessings well. It is the story of a landowner who plants a vineyard and leases it to tenants before he goes on a journey. Instead of tending the vineyard, the tenants mistreat the servants in the vineyard and even the son of the landowner, whom they kill. When the landowner realizes what the tenants have done, he puts them to death and leases his vineyard to tenants who “will give him the produce at the proper times.”

By Baptism, we have received the gift of salvation and membership in Kingdom of God — we are now “tenants” called to work in the “vineyard” and produce fruit for its owner, our Heavenly Father. This calling is a gift from God to be treasured above all other gifts. Jesus makes it clear that if we squander the gift of salvation, we will lose it. It is a sobering truth.

So let us live each day with a profound awareness of all that we have been given by God. Let us use our intellect to think on these gifts throughout the day and resolve to use all our gifts for God’s glory. We will find peace, joy and purpose as we do.

Mass Readings: Sunday, 4th October 2020

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of Isaiah 5:1-7

The vineyard of the Lord God of hosts is the House of Israel.

Let me sing to my friend

the song of his love for his vineyard.

My friend had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug the Soil, cleared it of stones,

and planted choice vines in it.

In the middle he built a tower,

he dug a press there too.

He expected it to yield grapes,

but sour grapes were all that it gave.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

I ask you to judge

between my vineyard and me.

What could I have done for my vineyard

that I have not done?

I expected it to yield grapes.

Why did it yield sour grapes instead?

Very well, I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on,

and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.

I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug;

overgrown by the briar and the thorn.

I will command the clouds to rain no rain on it.

Yes, the vineyard of the Lord god of hosts

is the House of Israel,

and the men of Judah that chosen plant.

He expected justice, but found bloodshed,

integrity, but only a cry of distress.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm  Ps 79

Response: The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel

1. You brought a vine out of Egypt;

to plant it, you drove out the nations.

It stretched out its branches to the sea,

to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.

2. Then why have you broken down its walls?

It is plucked by all who pass by.

It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,

devoured by the beasts of the field.

3. God of hosts, turn again, we implore,

look down from heaven and see.

Visit this vine and protect it,

the vine your right hand has planted.

4. And we shall never forsake you again:

give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;

let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians 4:6-9

The God of peace will be with you.

There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for

it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of

God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard

your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, fill your

minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything

that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and

everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep

doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught

by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will

be with you.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel Acclamation Jn 15: 15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Or  Jn 15: 16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I chose you from the world to go out and to bear fruit,

fruit that will last says the Lord

Alleluia!

GOSPEL

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 21:33-43

He will lease the vineyard to other tenants.

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:

‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who

planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and

built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When

vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect

his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed

another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this

time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way.

Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But

when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the

heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they

seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now

when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those

tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a

wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will

deliver the produce to him when the season arrives’. Jesus said to

them,

‘Have you never read in the scriptures: It was the stone rejected by

the builders that became the key stone. This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and

given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

The Gospel of the Lord.