bishops

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Thursday, 7 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 26 : 1-6

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah : We have a strong city, He Himself has set up walls and fortifications to protect us. Open the gates! Let the righteous nation enter, she who is firm in faithfulness. You keep in perfect place the one of steadfast mind, the one who trusts in You.

Trust in YHVH forever, for YHVH is an everlasting Rock. He brought down those who dwell on high, He laid low the lofty city, He razed it to the ground, levelled it to the dust. Now it is trampled, the poor and the lowly tread upon it.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this blessed time and season of Advent, we are all lovingly reminded through the Scriptures of God’s ever generous love and providence, and of everything that He has prepared and given to us all, and how beloved all of us are to Him. In this time and season of Advent, we are all preparing ourselves spiritually and mentally so that we may truly be able to celebrate the upcoming joyous season of Christmas with proper disposition and understanding. Instead of all the excesses of the worldly and secular Christmas that we all may be accustomed to, we are all called to remember that ultimately, Christmas is about Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and all the joy that He has brought us by His coming into this world, fulfilling all that He has promised to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophet spoke of the moment when the Lord will bring all of His people together and bless them forever with everlasting joy and happiness. The Lord promised all of His people that He would gather them to a place of eternal bliss, where suffering, pain and sorrow will no longer exist, and where everything will be perfect just as He has always intended it to be. Sufferings and pain, difficulties, trials and challenges that we faced, all these are the consequences and effects of our sins. Thus, as God will bring us all completely out of the dominion of sin, and as He has revealed it through His Son, Whom He sent into this world to save us by His crucifixion and death on the Cross, this is why all of us are reminded that we all should continue to uphold our faith in the Lord despite the many trials and challenges we face.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the Lord showing His love, care and concern to all of His beloved people, as we listened to the examples and what He had done in healing the sick, making the blind to see again, the deaf and the mute to be able to hear and talk again, among other things, and finally, then, also of how the Lord miraculously fed the multitudes of thousands of people who were gathered there to listen to His teachings. Through all these miracles and wonders, and by the feeding miracle of the thousands, all of us have been reminded of God’s ever generous and enduring love, as He showed each and every one of us the wonders of His grace and love, by caring for us and our needs. This is a really wonderful and important reminder for us, what we are all truly rejoice about in the upcoming season of Christmas.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas, also known as St. Nicholas of Myra. This saint and great man of God is also perhaps better known as Santa Claus by much of the world, as the corruption of the word Sinterklaas, which is the Dutch name and pronunciation of St. Nicholas’ name. Santa Claus is often associated with Christmas celebrations and season, and is ubiquitous and present everywhere there are Christmas celebrations and festivities. However, do we truly know who St. Nicholas of Myra actually was? Santa Claus is often depicted as an elderly man who is wearing a thick and fluffy red coat and overalls, hats and having a long and thick white beard, bringing lots of gifts in a large bag or sack, to be given to children. This is likely from the tradition and beliefs that St. Nicholas of Myra did so during his time and ministry as Bishop of Myra, in showing kindness to the children in his diocese.

However, St. Nicholas of Myra did more than just all that, and he should be remembered much more than merely just in the popular memory and celebration of being a generous old man who brought forth gifts to children. St. Nicholas of Myra was a great and holy man of God, who was a devotee shepherd to the flock that God had entrusted to him. He was known for his great care for the people, both in their spiritual needs as well as their worldly and physical matters, which is why the legend of Santa Claus began in the first place, as St. Nicholas was also known for his great generosity. St. Nicholas of Myra also lived and ministered to the people of God through the time of great division in the Church, as there were many heresies and false teachings running rampant at that time, and he worked hard to keep his people from being misled and misguided.

St. Nicholas of Myra was also a participant at the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, where he was one of the bishops and Church fathers involved in the proceedings in formalising the expressions and tenets of the Christian faith. At that Ecumenical Council, the great and harmful heresy of Arianism was outlawed and condemned by the Church. Arianism was a heresy based on the teachings of the popular priest named Arius who rejected the consubstantial and co-eternal nature of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and instead teaching falsely that the Son was the first among those whom God had created. The truth as we uphold it, is that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Most Holy Trinity and Triune God, are co-equal and co-eternal, having existed from before time, and that the Son was begotten from the Father, not created. St. Nicholas was one of the bishops who fervently championed the true faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from the Scripture passages and from the life and works of St. Nicholas of Myra, we should indeed be reminded to put our right focus and attention in our Advent commemoration, as well as our Christmas preparations, and also our way of living our lives so that we may always remain focused firmly in the Lord, our God and Saviour. Many of us have lost our focus and attention on the Lord because of the many worldly temptations, distractions all around us. And with regard to Christmas, we are all accustomed to the way how the world celebrates it, with lots of festivities and celebrations, merrymaking and rejoicing. Yet, the one most important thing about Christmas is often missing from many of our Christmas celebrations, and that is the One Whom we ought to celebrate in Christmas, Christ, Our Lord.

Let us all therefore strive to refocus our attention and path in life from now on, and let us all renew our faith in the Lord. Let us remind ourselves and one another of all the love and the kind generosity which God has always shown us, in patiently loving us and caring for our every needs. Let us all truly be worthy and ready to celebrate Christmas with the right disposition, proper focus and understanding of the true significance and meaning of Christmas. And like St. Nicholas of Myra, let us all be generous in giving and sharing our many blessings in life, and our Christmas joy, that all of us may rejoice together in the same Lord, our Saviour. May our Advent season be truly blessed and fruitful, and may St. Nicholas of Myra, our holy role model and example in faith, intercede for us to the Lord. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Matthew 15 : 29-37

At that time, from the place where Jesus healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, He went to the shore of Lake Galilee, and then went up into hills, where He sat down. Great crowds came to Him, bringing the dumb, the blind, the lame, the crippled, and many with other infirmities. People carried them to the feet of Jesus, and He healed them.

All were astonished when they saw the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the crippled healed, and the blind able to see; and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I am filled with compassion for these people; they have already followed Me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they may faint on the way.”

His disciples said to Him, “And where shall we find enough bread in this wilderness to feed such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Jesus ordered the people to sit on the ground. Then, He took the seven loaves and the small fish, and gave thanks to God. He broke them and gave them to His disciples, who distributed them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover pieces filled seven wicker baskets.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2023 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Isaiah 25 : 6-10a

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more. The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken.

On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For on this mountain the hand of YHVH rests.

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Thursday, 30 November 2023 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, the brother of St. Peter the Apostle, a truly great man of God and a most faithful servant of our Lord and Saviour. St. Andrew the Apostle is also known as St. Andrew the First-Called or Protocletos, because he was among the first of the Lord’s disciples, and was the one to introduce the Lord to his brother St. Peter the Apostle, then named Simon, and the two sons of Zebedee, St. James the Greater and St. John the Evangelist, both of whom are also part of the Twelve Apostles. On this day we recall the memory of this great saint, whose life, works and actions should serve as great inspiration for all of us Christians.

St. Andrew was a fisherman working by the Lake of Galilee, where he worked alongside his brother Simon, later known as St. Peter, and the two aforementioned sons of Zebedee. They were most likely poor and illiterate, and their profession was not exactly well-respected at that time. Yet, it was to them that the Lord first reached out to, in calling out His disciples and followers. According to tradition, St. Andrew was a disciple of St. John the Baptist, and he was one of the two disciples of St. John the Baptist mentioned in the Gospels, who followed the Lord Jesus after He was baptised by St. John the Baptist at the River Jordan. Hence, St. Andrew then introduced the Lord to his fellow fishermen, and the Lord began His ministry with those first disciples including St. Andrew.

As highlighted in parts of the Gospels, such as the feeding of the five thousand men, St. Andrew took part closely in many of the works and ministries of the Lord. He helped the Lord and His other Apostles in serving the people of God, and eventually, after His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, St. Andrew travelled from places to places in proclaiming the Good News of God just like the other Apostles. Various Apostolic and Church traditions highlighted that St. Andrew ministered in many places such as what is today Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Asia Minor, Greece and many others. He spread the Gospels and the truth about Jesus Christ, and the salvation of God that has come into this world, to the many people and communities who have not yet heard and known of Him.

He founded the beginnings of the Church and its communities in many of the places he had visited during his missionary travels and works. Thus this is why he is highly regarded and respected, venerated and honoured in the places mentioned above, and especially amongst our brethren in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, many of whose bishops can trace the origin of their dioceses and sees to St. Andrew and to the churches and communities that he had established all throughout his missionary journeys. St. Andrew eventually was arrested, tortured and martyred in Patras, in what is today parts of modern Greece, where he was persecuted for his faith and then crucified on an X-shaped cross, which henceforth became known as the ‘St. Andrew’s Cross’.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the story of the life and the works of St. Andrew the Apostle, let us all reflect on our own lives and works as well, on whether we have been faithful to the Lord in the same way as St. Andrew the Apostle and other saints and holy men and women of God had done in their own lives. It is important that each and every one of us are aware that we all should also live our lives and commit ourselves to the Lord in each and every moments with great faith and trust in the Lord. We should do our part in living our lives worthily as Christians, in doing what the Lord has shown and taught us, so that by our examples and good words, deeds and actions, we may truly exemplify our faith in God, and be the true and genuine missionaries that we have all been called to be.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, as parts and members of the Church of God, it is part of our responsibilities and calling for all of us to be missionary and evangelistic in all things. We cannot be idle in how we live our lives, but we must always reach out to others all around us, spreading the truth and love of God, His Good News and salvation to more and more people. And how we do this, is not always by merely proclaiming and preaching to others, and we also should not think that just because we seemingly did not have the opportunities, the means and the wisdom or tools to do what the Apostles, the saints and other great men and women of the Church had done, then we cannot do what they had done for the greater glory of God.

Rather, in our own ordinary and unique ways, in every circumstances, and in all that we have in our lives, we should always strive to do what the Lord has shown and taught us, in His Law and commandments, in all of the things that He has asked us to carry out in accordance with His will. It means that in even the smallest and the seemingly least significant things that we do, we should always strive to be ever more faithful and committed, in doing what is right and just in God’s presence, and in proclaiming His truth amidst our every words, actions and deeds. We should always remember that in everything we say and do, we must truly be honest and genuine Christians, or else we will be like hypocrites who profess or claim to believe in something and yet, his or her way of life show completely otherwise.

Let us all be reminded that St. Andrew himself was also a poor and illiterate fisherman of the Lake of Galilee, who was not expected to do great things in life. Yet, God made him to be a great servant and man, whose contributions and works led to the salvation of so many souls. We must always be reminded that each and every one of us, be it rich or poor, strong or weak, famous or not, all of us are called to be disciples and followers of the Lord, and in each and every opportunities that God has given us, we must always make good use of all the graces and blessings which God has granted to us. We must never take what we have been blessed for granted, and we must do our part as Christians, so that by our lives, the Lord may be glorified at all times. Let us allow the Lord to lead our path in life, and transform our works to be truly worthy of those whom He has called and chosen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all ask St. Andrew the Apostle, whom the Lord had called to be His disciple and Apostle to intercede for us always, and may all of us continue to be inspired by his good and worthy examples in life, and also those of the other innumerable other saints and martyrs, holy men and women, whose examples and lives have been great beacons of inspiration and help for us. Let us all be encouraged, strengthened and be empowered to do our best in living a most worthy, genuine and committed Christian life at all times. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 November 2023 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 4 : 18-22

At that time, as Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow Me; and I will make you fish for people.”

At once they left their nets and followed Him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them.

At once, they left the boat, and their father, and followed Him.

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Thursday, 30 November 2023 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Thursday, 30 November 2023 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 10 : 9-18

You are saved, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and, in your heart, you believe that God raised Him from the dead. By believing from the heart, you obtain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips, you are saved.

For Scripture says : No one who believes in Him will be ashamed. Here, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; all have the same Lord, Who is very generous with whoever calls on Him. Truly, all who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.

But how can they call upon the Name of the Lord without having believed in Him? And how can they believe in Him, without having first heard about Him? And how will they hear about Him, if no one preaches about Him? And how will they preach about Him, if no one sends them?

As Scripture says : How beautiful are the feet of the messenger of Good News. Although, not everyone obeyed the Good News, as Isaiah said : Lord, who has believed in our preaching? So, faith comes from preaching, and preaching is rooted in the word of Christ.

I ask : Have the Jews not heard? But, of course, they have. Because the voice of those preaching resounded all over the earth, and their voice was heard, to the ends of the world.

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Wednesday, 15 November 2023 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded yet again to be righteous, good and worthy in all of our works and deeds. Each and every one of us are called to put our faith and trust in the Wisdom that God has given to us, and place ourselves firmly in the path which the Lord has shown us. All of us as God’s followers and disciples, we are all expected to follow God’s ways, obey His Law and commandments at all times, regardless of our background, nature, occupation or whatever it is that we are doing. And today we are also reminded that especially for those in the positions of power and responsibility, it is even more important that we live our lives in accordance with God and His ways, or else we may end up misleading many others down the wrong path, and the consequences for us will indeed be severe.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, we heard of the words of the Lord delivered to all of His people, and this time, particularly directed to those leaders, sovereigns and rulers of nations and peoples, reminding them all that all of their power, sovereignty and rule all ultimately came from God. Each and every one of them must always keep in mind that they should not allow the temptations of worldly pleasures, corruptions of sin and desires to mislead and trick us down the wrong path in life. Many people throughout history, especially those who have been entrusted with power and authority, fell into the temptations of sin and evil, abusing their power and authority for their own good, seeking to enrich themselves and to gain good things for themselves by misusing what God had entrusted to them.

What the Lord wants us all to know is that, each and every one of us have been given various distinct and unique blessings, gifts and abilities, talents and opportunities in our lives. How we use them is really up to us, and we have been given the freedom to choose how we want to live our lives. We can use those gifts and opportunities to do what is good, right and just according to God, or to misuse them just as how some of our ancestors and predecessors had done. What the Lord reminds us with is that, for everything we have done, be it good or bad, worthy or wicked, we shall be held accountable for them all, and for those of us who have been entrusted with more, then the more shall be accounted for them, in everything that they and all of us say and do, in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel reading today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke of the story of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan and the healing that happened to all of them. All of them begged the Lord to have them healed from their leprosy, which had made them ostracised and cast out from the rest of the community. According to the Law of Moses, the lepers must be segregated and separated out from the community until they recovered from their illness, as this was meant to avoid the disease from spreading rampantly in the close quarters of the people during the time of the Exodus. However, this has also led to the the lepers from being treated badly and looked upon with disdain by everyone, and no one would have wanted that kind of experiences.

Hence, the Lord in His love and mercy, showed them His power and healed all of them from their sickness. He told them to show themselves to the priests as according to the Law of Moses, they had to present themselves being healed and whole to a priest before they could be readmitted into the community. But this happened before they were healed. They were healed as they made their way to the priests, and as we heard, everyone except for the Samaritan among them rejoiced greatly after knowing that they had been healed. Only the Samaritan retraced his steps and sought the Lord again to thank Him for what He had done. This is actually also an allusion and link to what we have heard in our first reading today, as this is yet another reminder that everything we have, and all that we have received, ultimately came from God, and we really should thank Him and keep in mind of whatever it is that He has entrusted to us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Albert the Great, or St. Albertus Magnus, a renowned man of God and great teacher of the faith, whose life, works and dedication to God should inspire us all to be dedicated and committed to Him ourselves. Each and every one of us should heed the good examples set by this wonderful man of God, so that we may also be always faithful to Him, at all times. St. Albert the Great was born in what is now Bavaria in southern part of Germany, during the High Middle Ages. He was brought up well academically and showed his talents early on. He then became a member of the Dominican Order, and studied to become a theologian, which began his great and long ministry as a teacher and theologian henceforth.

St. Albert the Great later on became one of the provincials of the Dominican Order, and carried out his duties with great obedience and dedication. And while later on he was appointed as a bishop, as the Bishop of Regensburg, he remained humble and committed to the missions entrusted to him, walking all around his diocese on foot instead of riding a horse as he was entitled to. He dedicated himself to whatever missions God had entrusted him with, and despite the honour and respect that many people and his positions entitled him with, he remained very humble and focused on the Lord, not being swayed by the temptations of worldly power and glory. Instead, he committed himself wholly to the Lord and to the people of God, all throughout his life, and this is something that we should be inspired to follow as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the story of the life and works of St. Albert the Great, let us all therefore strive to be good, worthy and responsible in how we live our lives as Christians in this world. Let us all be filled with the desire to love God and to proclaim His truth and love, with humility and faith, much as St. Albert the Great and the many other saints, holy men and women of God had done. Let us all be good examples and role models for one another, in how we live our lives so that we may inspire more and more people to live their lives worthily and to walk ever always in God’s path. May God bless us all in our every good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.