Month: July 2024

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Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that each and every one of us are truly beloved by God, He Who has always been patient in loving and caring for us, and Who has always reached out to us to help bring us back from the darkness into the light of His grace. God has always been kind to us, in sending to us His guidance and providence, through all those servants, messengers and helpers that had assisted us in our journey back towards Him all these while. And while He did chastise and punish us whenever we erred and made mistakes, He did all these not because He despised or hated us, but instead, His love for us truly endured, so much so that He wanted us all to be redeemed and forgiven from the many sins we have committed, which is what He despises.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which God after having told His people of the coming destruction and sufferings that they had to face, the punishments and hardships that they would have to endure for their sins and wickedness, their disobedience and refusal to follow the path which He has shown them, He then told them of the mercy and love which He, as their loving God and Father, has for each and every one of us. The Lord told His people, the Israelites, that they would be brought back eventually from their misery and sufferings, just like how they had once been rescued from their enslavement and sufferings in the land of Egypt, under the rule and yoke of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

God highlighted to them all His frustrations and all the problems that His people had caused Him, that despite all the things which He had done for them, in patiently instructing and guiding them, they kept on getting further and further away from Him, abandoning His Law and precepts, worshipping and following pagan idols and false gods rather than obeying Him and worshipping Him alone. Nonetheless, despite this, God kept on caring for His beloved ones, and still watched over them, sending His servants again and again to help them on their paths. He never gave up on them, and later on, afterwards, He gathered them back from their exile and helped them to return once again to their homeland, fulfilling all the promises and predictions He had spoken to them through the prophets like what we heard in today’s reading from the prophet Hosea.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers, as He instructed them all on what they should be doing in the missions and works that He has entrusted to each and every one of them. He sent them out two by two to the many towns and villages that He Himself would be going to, and He encouraged them all that whatever sufferings and challenges that they might have to face, He would be with them and He would guide and strengthen them, and they should not depend on their own means or power in achieving what they had been sent out to do, or else, they might end up forgetting the purpose and reason why they were all sent out in the first place, that is to minister and to proclaim the Good News of God.

That was why He told them all not to bring too many things with them, and in fact just what they barely needed to survive upon themselves, and that they should instead depend on the good will and kindness of the people that they had visited and ministered amongst. He sent them all to proclaim His words and Good News, to show His truth and love, by granting them the power over evil spirits and the power of miracles so that through their works, they might heal many people who have been afflicted and troubled by various maladies and difficulties, especially from that of sin. Through these things we have heard from the Lord Himself, all of us are reminded that first of all God’s love for us is truly great and universal, and then, each and every one of us as Christians, we have the same mission to reach out to our fellow brethren, to proclaim and show the Lord to all of them.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the great and renowned St. Benedict, also known as St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder and initiator of Western monasticism. He was born in Nursia, in what is part of Italy today, into a family of Roman nobility just right after the downfall of the Roman Empire in the West and in Italy itself. He and his twin sister, St. Scholastica was brought up during this turbulent time, and for St. Benedict, he was initially sent to Rome to study and be an academic, however he found the academic life in the city of Rome to be disappointing, and this eventually led to him discovering a community of hermits in Subiaco nearby the town of Enfide outside of Rome. He became a hermit for about three years and as he grew and mature in his faith and wisdom, he eventually grew to appreciate monastic life.

St. Benedict therefore slowly went on the path of religious life, and despite facing challenges and difficulties along the way, it did not dissuade him from his path and commitment, and it was told from his hagiographic story, how miracles happened to St. Benedict and in one of them a jealous priest named Florentius tried to harm and poison him with a poisoned bread, only for a raven to snatch the bread from St. Benedict after he prayed and said blessing over the bread. This and many other miracles that happened inspired many people who came to visit him in Subiaco and later on in Monte Cassino where he established a great Benedictine monastery, the first of the many Benedictine monasteries, where the rule of St. Benedict eventually became popular among all other monastic traditions. Many people flocked to the monasteries and the Christian faith thanks to the efforts and the holy life led by St. Benedict.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore now spend some time to reflect upon our lives and our path in walking down this life, on whether we have truly been faithful to the Lord or whether we have allowed ourselves to be tempted and swayed by the temptations of this world, of pleasures and human greed, the desires for power and worldly fame, glory and ambitions, all of which could mislead us away from the path towards God’s salvation and grace. Instead, let us all be committed to the Lord wholeheartedly like how St. Benedict had done in his life, and let us also be good examples ourselves in our own lives, so that we may truly embody the light of God’s grace and salvation, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 10 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

“And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.”

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Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 79 : 2ac and 3bc, 15-16

Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You, Who sit enthroned between the Cherubim. Stir up Your might and come to save us.

Turn again, o YHVH of hosts, look down from heaven and see; care for this vine, and protect the stock Your hand has planted.

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Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 11 : 1-4, 8c-9

I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called My Son. But the more I have called, the further have they gone from Me – sacrificing to the Baals, burning incense to the idols. Yet, it was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; yet, little did they realise that it was I Who cared for them.

I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as One Who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them. My heart is troubled within Me and I am moved with compassion. I will not give vent to My great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst; and I do not want to come to you in anger.

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Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us have heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded that each and every one of us must focus our lives and our whole attention on the Lord, and we must abandon all of our past sins, wickedness and all the things which had kept us away from the path of the Lord. If we allow all those things and the temptations of the world to distract and pull us away from the path of God’s righteousness and virtues, from His loving care and Presence, then in the end we shall regret our choice of siding not with the Lord but with the evil one and all the wickedness of this world. As Christians, each and every one of us are reminded to truly embody our faith and to be truly faithful to God in all things, and not just in formality only.

In our first reading today, we heard the continuation of the account from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the Lord continued to detail the revelation of the downfall and destruction that would await the kingdom of Israel, referring to the northern half of the once united kingdom of Israel ruled by David and Solomon. The prophet Hosea had been sent to that place in order to reveal all the words of the Lord and the fate of the people, who had disobeyed the Lord and refused to obey Him so many times, that their sins were truly enormous and unimaginable in scale. They had indeed committed many mistakes, in building up idols and worshipping them, making altars to worship those false gods instead of the Lord, their one and only true God.

They had scandalised His Holy Name, spurning the ever generous love, kindness and mercy which He has always shown them from the very beginning. God has sent to His people numerous prophets, messengers and guides with the intention to help them all to realise the errors of their ways and to remind them to return to the path of righteousness and virtue before it was too late for them. They revealed God’s words and told them of the many sins which they had committed time and again before God and mankind alike, and all these were exactly what the prophet Hosea has repeated once again among all of them. Yet, they still refused to listen to God and they continued to walk down the path of rebellion and sin, hardening their hearts against God.

That was why the Lord told them all everything that they would have to suffer for their continued obstinate and wicked attitudes, in their refusal to turn away from their dark path. They persecuted the prophets and messengers of God sent to them, and therefore, in their pride, they would be humiliated and made to face the consequences of their actions just as the Lord had predicted and revealed to them. The Lord wanted them and also all of us to know that while He truly loves each and every one of us greatly and while He wants to forgive us from our many sins and wickedness, as is His nature to be full of love and compassion, mercy and kindness upon us, the most beloved among all of His creations. However, at the same time, sin is truly a grievous error and is something that can harm us all, by separating us from God and His love, and as long as we continue to live in the state of sin, then we may find ourselves locked out of God’s inheritance and grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord called His chief disciples, choosing the twelve among them to be the members of His own inner circle, all of whom except Judas Iscariot the traitor, would become the Twelve Apostles. They were entrusted with the power and authority to do many great signs and wonders, casting out demons and performing many other miracles. They were sent out with the missions and the tasks to prepare the way for the Lord, to proclaim His Good News and truth among the people and to call upon everyone to repent from their sins and wickedness. The Lord entrusted to them the mission and the outreach to His people, revealing His love and salvation to them through these disciples.

From what we have heard in this Gospel passage today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us as Christians are first of all called to live our lives worthily in God’s path, in that we should no longer disobey God’s commandments, His Law and will as what we and our predecessors have often done, like how the Israelites had once disobeyed the Lord and refused to follow His ways, persecuting the prophets and messengers sent to them. Thus, as Christians, we must always centre our lives upon the Lord and put Him as the centre and the attention of our whole existence, so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we may continue to inspire others around us, to lead others towards the Lord, Our God and Saviour. We are the ones who can and should continue the good works that the Lord had begun through His Apostles and entrusted to His Church, that is to all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have listened from the words of the Sacred Scriptures and pondered upon them, let us all continue to do our part so that in each and every actions of our lives so that we may be truly evangelising, missionary and active disciples of the Lord. All of us must continue to do our best to proclaim the Lord, His truth and Good News in the midst of our respective communities, that all of us may continue to touch the lives of more and more people around us. It is through all of us and our efforts and contributions to the Church’s missions and works in this world that will help so many lost souls, our fellow brothers and sisters, to find their path towards God, to His love and grace, to be saved by Him and assured the gift of eternal life.

May the Lord our loving God and Father, our most generous and merciful Creator and Master continue to help, protect and guide us in all things. May He bless us in our every actions, our every efforts and works, and our interactions with one another, so that we may truly bear rich fruits of faith, and be good and worthy disciples in proclaiming His truth and salvation to the whole world. Amen.

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Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 1-7

At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instruction : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near.”

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Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

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Wednesday, 10 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hosea 10 : 1-3, 7-8, 12

Israel was a spreading vine, rich in fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the more his land prospered, the more he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is divided! They shall pay for it. Their altars will be thrown down and their sacred stones broken to pieces. Now they say, “We have no king (because we have no fear of God) and what good would a king do us?”

As for the king of Samaria, he has been carried off like foam on water. The idolatrous high places – the sin of Israel – will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will creep over the altars. Then they will say to the mountains : “Cover us,” and to the hills : “Fall on us.”

Plow new ground, sow for yourselves justice and reap the harvest of kindness. It is the time to go seeking YHVH, until He comes to rain salvation on you.

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that we have all sinned against God through our disobedience against Him, and we have disappointed God many times in our respective areas in life. Yet, the same Lord our God still continues to love us, and He still shows His patience and kindness, His ever generous love and commitment to the Covenant which He had made with each and every one of us. We must not take all the love which He has shown us all for granted, and we have to be thankful and appreciative of the many opportunities which He has constantly given to us because He wants us all to be reconciled to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which the Lord spoke to His people, the Israelites living in the northern kingdom known also as Israel, and listed down all the complaints and the grievances against all the wickedness and all the sins which they had committed against Him, in their refusal to obey the Law and the commandments which He had given and taught them to follow. The Lord told them all that His anger was blazing against them, against all those who had defiled His Name and the sanctity of His sanctuaries and dwelling places, all the wicked deeds they had committed in worshipping pagan idols and false gods instead of embracing and loving their one and only true God, the One Who had always provided for them in times both good and bad.

The prophet Hosea was sent to the people of Israel towards the end of their existence as an independent kingdom and entity, approximately two and a half centuries after the once united Kingdom of Israel had been divided between the descendants of David in Judah and the rebel regime in the northern regions. At that time, the rising power of Assyria was ascendant, and it would come to pass that everything which the Lord had predicted and warned against His people in Israel, would indeed happen, as soon after, the Assyrians with their mighty armies and forces came to defeat the Israelites and conquered their cities and kingdom, destroying Samaria and bringing the people into exile in distant lands. Their disobedience and their wickedness, their refusal to follow and obey God’s Law led them to ‘return back to Egypt’, which was in fact an allusion of their renewed enslavement by the forces of the Assyrians just as once they had been under the yoke of the Egyptians.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the time from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the works of the Lord were highlighted to us, in how He miraculously healed the man possessed by a demon, which made him dumb and mute. The Lord showed His power and compassion towards the man, and drove out the demon from within him, which led to an almost immediate ridicule and criticism from the Pharisees who were there, accusing Him of colluding with the prince of demons in doing so. They hardened their hearts and minds because they refused to accept the fact that their ways and actions, their understanding and knowledge of the Law of God could have been wrong or mistaken, and they accused the Lord of wrongdoing because they did not want to admit their weakness and imperfections.

Yet, despite all of that, we heard how the Lord still continued on with His ministry, caring for the people, performing His miracles, signs and wonders regardless, reaching out to those who are poor and needy, those who have no one else to turn to, those who have been neglected and were facing challenges and difficulties in life. He showed pity on them, as we heard how they were described as sheep of the flock without a shepherd. And this highlights what the Lord has done for His people, that He embraced each and every one of us as a loving Shepherd and Guide, as the One Who will lead us all into the path of righteousness and virtue, out from the darkness and wickedness in this world. He wants us all to be reconciled to Him and to find our path out of the destruction and damnation awaiting us if we continue to remain in sin.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, who were persecuted, made to suffer and eventually were martyred in China. At that time, missionaries went to China to bring the Christian faith to many people who have not yet known the Lord, proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people. However, the Christian faith and the missionaries were seen with great suspicion and even treated with hostility by the government and officials who saw them as threats to their power and control over the people. The government persecuted the Christian missionaries and local converts sporadically and systematically at times, forcing them to abandon their faith in the Lord at the threat of great sufferings and torture.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong himself was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, a French missionary from the Paris Foreign Mission Society who was persecuted, arrested and then eventually martyred in the capital in Beijing. This experience among others led him to be a Christian convert himself, and eventually he became a diocesan priest serving the local Christian community, facing many challenges and hardships during his missions and works. Eventually, like many other Christians at that time, he was martyred about two centuries ago amidst an intense episode of persecutions against Christians. We remember this day the great courage and faith which St. Augustine Zhao Rong and the many other holy martyrs, the Holy Martyrs of China, have shown in their faith, dedication and commitment to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to do our best to follow in the great footsteps of the holy martyrs, St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of China. All of us should realise how much we have been blessed and loved by God, and by calling on us, and by us following Him and embracing His love, His compassion and kindness, we should always do our best to glorify Him and His Name in all things, and we should continue to live in the path of righteousness and justice, no longer distracted and misguided by sin and evil. Let us all be the great examples and inspirations for one another just as the holy martyrs had inspired us all in our own lives. May God be with us always and may He bless us in all of our good endeavours and works, all for His greater glory. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 9 : 32-38

At that time, as the two blind men were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb, because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom; and He cured every sickness and disease. When He saw the crowds, He was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the Master of the harvest to send workers to gather His harvest.”