Doctors of the Church

by

Saturday, 25 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to listen to the words from the Sacred Scriptures, we are again constantly being reminded of the need for us all as Christians to be truly genuine in our faith and obedience to God. We should not be hypocrites who profess to believe in God and yet in our daily living, in how we live our lives, in how we act and behave, in what we say and do, we do not truly believe in the Lord, and we even sully and profane His Holy Name because our actions had been contrary to what we believe in, to our Christian faith and calling.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James in which the Apostle continued with his exhortations to the people of God that we have heard in the past one or two weeks, as he told the people not to give in to the many temptations of the world, highlighting the fact that all those temptations had led to many people to fall into the path of sin and destruction, which leads only to damnation and suffering for us, and that was why the Apostle exhorted all the faithful to stay away from the path of temptation, disobedience and sin, all the things which could lead the people astray from truth and therefore into their downfall and defeat.

St. James told the faithful to stay rooted in their faith in God and to have genuine relationship and connection with God. Through prayer and the building of genuine commitment and relationship with God, we mankind can continue to live through our lives with renewed faith and that important connection that can help anchor us all in the faith. We must use the many opportunities, chances and moments that the Lord had given us so that we may build and establish a truly vibrant and living relationship with Him, strengthened through prayer and quality time, and through the faithful living of our lives as Christians.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, reminding them all to be like little children in their faith. He was making this reference because they had been fighting and quarrelling with each other over favour and preference by the Lord, debating and disagreeing among themselves who among them was the greatest and the most important among the Lord’s followers. The Lord contrasted those attitudes with the pure faith of little children, who truly believe in the Lord and put themselves completely in His care, and not allowing themselves to be swayed by the temptations of the world.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of not just one but three holy saints of the Church, and these holy men and women hopefully can encourage us all through their exemplary lives so that by their good examples, we may indeed be strengthened in our resolve and commitment to follow their examples and live our lives ever more worthily in the Lord. First of all, St. Bede the Venerable was an English saint and remembered for his numerous writings and works on history as well as other Church matters, and then Pope St. Gregory VII was the leader and Pope of the Church, known for his role in the Investiture Controversy against the Holy Roman Emperor and his reforms of the Church, and lastly St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi who was a renowned Carmelite nun and mystic during the late Renaissance era.

St. Bede the Venerable was raised from young in a monastic area during the Anglo-Saxon period of England and its surrounding regions, eventually becoming a monk, ordained deacon and eventually as a priest, to be a faithful and good servant of God and His Church. As mentioned, St. Bede was well-known for his numerous writings and intellectual works, through which he chronicled not just many aspects of history of the British Isles and the general region, history of the world and other things, but his many writings and translations of the Scriptures were very influential in helping many generations of the Christian faithful in the British Isles and beyond after his time.

Pope St. Gregory VII as mentioned was embroiled in the bitter Investiture Controversy that had lasted for quite some time between the Church authorities and the secular powers of the world, with the Pope leading the Church on one side, while the Holy Roman Emperor entrusted with power and rule over all of Christendom on the other side. The Holy Roman Emperor, while crowned and anointed by the Pope to be the God-appointed ruler of all Christendom, began claiming the power to choose the bishops and prelates over the lands under his dominion as well, which was something that the Pope reserved to himself as the Vicar of Christ.

Thus, this led to a lot of struggles and disagreements, with the Holy Roman Emperors even appointing their own rival Antipopes to be the rival of the Popes in Rome, and to cast doubt on their authority, while trying to bring the Popes under Imperial dominion, power and influence. Pope St. Gregory VII laboured hard to oppose this intrusion of secular power into the spiritual and Church domain, rights and privileges, and he also spent a lot of time and efforts to reform the Church and its clergy, many of whom had fallen to corruption and excesses of the world. The Lord did many truly great things through this holy Pope and servant, who had dedicated himself thoroughly to His cause.

St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was born into a very wealthy and influential family in what is today Italy, and since young, she had been brought up in great piety, and she soon exhibited great love and commitment to God, practicing self-mortification and wearing even a replica of the crown of thorns and other means to restrain her own worldly desires and temptations, while at the same time beginning to experience visions and mystical experiences that she would receive and encounter throughout her whole life. Eventually, after resisting her family’s effort to marry her to another nobleman, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi joined religious life, dedicating her whole life to God, experiencing many visions and writing down her experiences, through which she inspired many others who were touched by her experiences.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard from the great examples of these three saints, holy men and women of God, in how they dedicated themselves and their whole lives to the Lord, let us all therefore strive to do our best to follow in their footsteps and to carry out whatever it is that God has entrusted to us to do so that by our every lives, actions and deeds, in our whole entire way of living, we may truly be worthy and will be great inspiration ourselves for all those who have witnessed us and our lives. Let us resist the temptations of worldly glory and desires, and the temptations of our ego, ambition, pride and other things that can lead us down the path towards our downfall. May God be with us always, and may He empower each one of us to live ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

by

Saturday, 25 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Holy Virgins)

Mark 10 : 13-16

At that time, people were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. When Jesus noticed it, He was very angry and said, “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Then He took the children in His arms and, laying His hands on them, blessed them.

by

Saturday, 25 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Holy Virgins)

Psalm 140 : 1-2, 3 and 8

Lord, I call on You, hasten to help me! Listen to my plea when I call to You. Let my prayer rise to You, like incense; as I lift up my hands, as in an evening sacrifice.

O YHVH, set a guard at my mouth; keep watch at the gate of my lips. But my eyes are turned to You, o God, my YHVH; strip me not of life, for You are my refuge.

by

Saturday, 25 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Holy Virgins)

James 5 : 13-20

Are any among you, discouraged? They should pray. Are any of you happy? They should sing songs to God. If anyone is sick, let him call on the elders of the Church. They shall pray for him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. The prayer said in faith will save the sick person; the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

There will be healing, if you confess your sins to one another, and pray for each other. The prayer of the upright man has great power, provided he perseveres. Elijah was a human being, like ourselves, and when he prayed, earnestly, for it not to rain, no rain fell for three and a half years. Then he prayed again : the sky yielded rain and the earth produced its fruit.

Brothers, if any one of you strays far away from the truth, and another person brings him back to it, be sure of this : he who brings back a sinner from the wrong way, will save his soul from death and win forgiveness for many sins.

by

Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (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 of the hardships, challenges, persecutions and trials that we may have to endure in our path of life as Christians, as we all heard the examples and the persecutions facing the early Christian communities and the missionaries like the Apostles, especially what St. Paul and his companions had endured throughout their ministry among various people in their missionary journeys. We also have the history, life examples and evidences from the many saints and martyrs of the Church, throughout its long two millennia of history, where Christian faithful had been persecuted, enduring challenges and trials one after another, and yet, many of them still remained firmly in faith in God.

In our first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, as mentioned earlier, we heard of the moment when St. Paul the Apostle was carrying out his missionary work and journey in the region of Macedonia and Greece, after he had laboured on firstly in Philippi and then in Athens, proclaiming the truth and love of God to the people who have not yet known Him, and even sparring words with the pagan philosophers and those who worshipped the Greek idols, to reveal the truth about God, the One and only True Master and Creator of all. He continued his work and mission in the nearby region of Achaia just as we heard from the passage of the Acts of the Apostles and how he stayed on in that region for a year and a half, spreading the truth of God and converting many among the people to the Christian faith.

We then heard how the some of the Jewish people in Achaia plotted against St. Paul by complaining against the Roman governor, Gallio, accusing St. Paul of having committed blasphemy against God by teaching in manner contrary to their own practices and ways. Contextually, it was likely that those Jews belonged to the group of the Pharisees, many of whom were very particular about how the Law of God ought to be followed, practiced and obeyed, as they took a very literal and excessive emphasis on the rituals and practices of the Law, embellished by centuries of modification and changes which had actually corrupted and turned the Law of God away from its original purpose, meaning and intention.

It was a similar issue which led to the Lord Jesus facing intense opposition and persecution from the members of the Pharisees and many among the chief priests for His teachings and ways, which the former disapproved of and considered as even wicked and blasphemous. St. Paul taught exactly what the Lord Himself had taught and revealed to this world, and especially his generous outreach towards the Gentiles, proclaiming salvation of God for the non-Jewish people was particularly disliked by the more conservative segments of the Jewish community then. To those people, salvation and grace of God could only belong to the Jews, and everyone else who were not God’s chosen people would not have a share in His glory and inheritance.

But as we heard, St. Paul kept on carrying out his mission nonetheless, just as the governor Gallio refused to intervene on behalf of the Jews, as he considered the matter as a private religious issue within the Jewish community. It was common for that time in the early history of the Christian Church that the early Christians were often considered as a sect of Judaism, and were therefore treated by the local Roman authorities as such. However, the Apostles clearly pointed out that the Christian faith and truth is the sole truth that sought to call all the people, Jewish and non-Jewish alike to follow the path and the way which the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, had shown to us. Those same missionaries like St. Paul and others committed themselves wholeheartedly to proclaim God’s truth and Good News, spreading the words of the Gospel to the ends of the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord telling His disciples about the sufferings that they would have to encounter and endure amidst their ministry and missions in various parts of the world. He told this to them in a rather veiled manner by comparing it to the woman who was suffering and enduring the pangs, pain and difficulties of childbirth. Then He also highlighted how all those pain and hardships would be overcome once the woman has given birth, which is actually an allusion to how the disciples and followers of the Lord would have to endure bitter sufferings and hardships as they laboured to proclaim the truth and Good News of God, facing persecutions and rejection from many, like what St. Paul himself had endured in Achaia and other places that he had ministered and preached in.

Yet, in the end, despite all these sufferings, the Church would continue to grow, and in the end, the Lord promised to all of us, His faithful ones, that we shall be triumphant with Him. Throughout its history the Church and the Christian faith had faced lots of difficulties and challenges, and yet all those did not prevent the Church from continuing to grow and to spread the truth to more and more people. Many had attempted to destroy the Church and the Christian faithful, and many martyrs had been made throughout all those many moments of sufferings and great trials, and yet, the Lord was always with His Church, guiding and providing for His faithful ones, and more and more people were called to the truth of God, to embrace His salvation and grace. All these are precisely just as how He Himself had foretold it.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John of Avila, a great and holy priest who was honoured much later as a Doctor of the Church for his many contributions to the Church and the works of theology and other areas that he had done. He was born into a pious family and grew up well-known for his great sanctity and faith in God. Eventually he became a priest and devoted his time and efforts to serve the Lord and initially wanted to go to proclaim the Lord as a missionary in distant lands, but was dissuaded by the local Archbishop who saw great potential in this young priest. St. John of Avila therefore committed himself to the regions of Spain particularly in Andalusia, preaching and ministering to many of the faithful, while calling for reforms and criticising the excesses of the aristocratic families of his time.

Like St. Paul and the other disciples of the Lord before him, St. John of Avila also encountered lots of challenges and difficulties as he continued to work hard to champion the cause of the reform in the Church which at that time was beset by many troubles, especially that of the corrupt attitude and behaviours of the aristocracy and the members of the clergy which brought great scandal upon the Church and the Christian faith. That is why St. John of Avila was persecuted because of his outspokeness against the establishment, and he was once even put under the Inquisition, but he was exonerated from all of the charges put against him. The Lord was with St. John of Avila, and he continued to do many good works for the benefit of the Church and the faithful and holy people of God to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our very best so that in whatever we do, we will always strive to proclaim His words and Good News to everyone we encounter in our daily lives. We should always do our best that our good lives and examples may be great inspiration for others around us in how we all should live our lives faithfully, and despite the many challenges and trials we may have to face and endure, let us always continue to persevere and be faithful and holy in our every moments in life, for the greater glory of God. Amen.

by

Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 20-23a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy : a human being is born into the world.”

“You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice; and no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask Me anything.”

by

Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

He brings peoples under our dominion and puts nations under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us – the pride of Jacob whom He loves!

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

by

Friday, 10 May 2024 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 18 : 9-18

One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”

Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint. But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.”

Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

by

Thursday, 2 May 2024 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are all reminded of the need for us to follow and obey the commandments of God wholeheartedly and to understand what He has taught and entrusted to us so that in all the things we say and do, we shall always be focused and centred on the Lord, full of love and commitment for Him and then at the same time, also filled with genuine love for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. We must not allow the temptations of worldly glory and desires from misleading us down the wrong path in life, as it is by following the Lord wholeheartedly and obeying Him that we shall find the path towards God’s grace and assured of His salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard of the continuation of the story from Acts of the Apostles when the Church was being divided on the issue of whether the Christian faithful ought to obey and follow the whole suit of the entire Jewish laws, customs, rituals and practices which was the favoured position of those who converted to the Christian faith from among the Pharisees and the more hardline ones among the Jewish people, demanding the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people to adopt wholesale the entire rules and laws concerning the Jewish customs and practices. This would have made it very difficult for the non-Jewish Christian converts to live their lives and consequently would have placed great burden on all those who seek to live their lives faithfully in God’s path.

That was why St. Paul and St. Barnabas adamantly insisted that this should not be the way how the Church should proceed forward. They brought the discussion to the table to the Apostles in Jerusalem, highlighting before the whole assembly of the faithful how God has done His great works, signs and miracles among the non-Jewish people as well, showing that He has truly called on everyone to follow Him regardless of their cultural, racial and original background, and He loved everyone regardless of their differences, and thus the Church should also act in the same manner by not making it difficult for those who did not come from Jewish background or origin to follow the Lord and His path, as the way how the Pharisees practiced the Law and the commandments of God was rather excessive and unnecessary.

Therefore in this first Council of the Church, historically known as the First Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles led by St. Peter, the first Pope and Vicar of Christ decided that all the faithful people of God are not bound to the extensive and rigid application of the Jewish laws, rules, customs and rituals, and they also set the standard of what the faithful ought to believe in, a standard which continued to evolve and became more standardised later on, and yet, in its basic form and core tenet remains what we also believe today in our Christian faith. We are all reminded through these that what truly matters in our faith as Christians is for us to follow the Lord faithfully and focus ourselves thoroughly in Him, making God as the centre and focus of our lives, and not like how those Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had become so obsessed in the laws and customs they preserved, that they ended up idolising those laws and customs while forgetting the very purpose why those laws and customs were given to us in the first place.

As Christians, all of us are reminded this day that we must truly have that strong and genuine love for the Lord our God and then also have the same love for our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow men and women. All of us must always live our lives in a manner that is worthy of the Lord so that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will always continue to proclaim the glory of God and show His love and truth to everyone whom we encounter in life. Through our faithful and worthy lives therefore we may inspire countless others who have experienced us in their lives, either through their friendship or relationship with us, or through our simple actions and words, even for those whom we do not know at all, like strangers and others in our midst.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great saint and man of God whose life and contributions to the Church and the Christian faithful were truly great and remarkable. St. Athanasius was renowned for his courageous stand and defence of the true and orthodox faith against the dangerous threats of heresies and falsehoods which were rampant and common at that time, threatening not just the fate and salvation of many souls but also destroying the unity of the Church through schisms and the divisions because of all the heresies which had misled so many of the faithful into the wrong and evil paths. St. Athanasius in his role as a great Church father and leader of the Church especially as the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, is an inspiration for all of us to follow in how we ought to live up to our Christian faith.

St. Athanasius was born into a Christian family in Egypt during the time of Diocletianic Persecution, the last great official persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. He grew up and matured just as the Christians throughout the Empire began to be emancipated and freed from all the many years of persecutions they were facing back then. He was well educated and eventually was prepared for clerical life by the then Bishop of Alexandria for his outstanding character and talents even early on in his youth. St. Athanasius became a great theologian and was a strong supporter of the orthodox Christian truth against the then popular and widespread heresy of Arianism popularised by the very charismatic preacher named Arius who turned many people from the true faith into heresy and who had many supporters from even among the bishops and priests of the Church, as well as among the secular rulers and nobles.

Yet, that did not dampen the spirit and courage shown by St. Athanasius, who as the Patriarch of Alexandria and as one the most influential leaders of the Church at the time became one of the champions of the true faith against all those who sought to pervert and change God’s teachings and truths for their own selfish ambitions and desires. He was one of the supporters of the true teaching of the Lord, defending the equality and the consubstantiality of the Son of God with the Father, something that the Arians refused to accept. He continued to minister faithfully to the people of God and to all the flock entrusted to his care amidst all the conflicts against the heretics, particularly with all the Arians and their supporters. He had to endure a lot of trials and challenges, and even exile at times from his See.

Yet, St. Athanasius continued to be firmly faithful and devoted himself thoroughly to his mission and calling in defending the faithful and the faith itself from being tainted by the falsehoods and heresies of his time. He wrote extensively on the many matters of the faith and his writings on the defence against the heresies of his time remained well-known and well-read to this day. St. Athanasius like those of St. Paul and St. Barnabas before him did his best to do God’s will and courageously stood up for the true Christian faith and teachings against all those who sought to change or corrupt those teachings for their own selfish desires and ambitions. Through his good examples and actions, he had brought so many people and souls closer to God’s salvation and grace, and many others to be inspired by their courage and examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to proclaim the Lord’s truth and reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, to all those who have not yet known or experienced the Lord in their lives. Let our own lives and examples, like that of St. Athanasius and the Holy Apostles, the many other saints and holy men and women of God, be the source of light and hope, inspiration and strength for others. May the Risen Lord continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He empower us all to live ever more worthily in His Presence, now and always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 2 May 2024 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-11

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”