Popes

by

Wednesday, 29 May 2024 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Paul VI, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

1 Peter 1 : 18-25

Remember, that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver, but with the precious Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish. God, Who has known Christ before the world began, revealed Him to you in the last days. Through Him, you have faith in God, Who raised Him from the dead, and glorified Him, in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God.

In obeying the truth, you have gained interior purification, from which comes sincere mutual love. Love one another, then, with all your heart, since you are born again, not from mortal beings, but with enduring life, through the word of God, Who lives and remains forever. It is written : All flesh is grass and its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. This word, is the Gospel, which has been brought to you.

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

Saturday, 18 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we gather together as one united and holy people of God at the eve of the end of the glorious and most joyful season of Easter which will come to its conclusion tomorrow with the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday. Today, the readings from the Sacred Scriptures remind us all of the continuing works that each and every one of us as Christians have been entrusted with. All of us as the people whom God had called and chosen, we are all given the respective talents, gifts, blessings and all the things which can help us in our path, in leading lives that are truly worthy of God, in doing our best so that we may inspire others to follow in the path of righteousness and in God’s grace. We must always be the ones to bring forth the light and Good News of God’s salvation to our world today, which is still enshrouded in darkness of sin and evil.

In our first reading today, we heard of the last part of the ministry of the Apostle St. Paul who finally arrived in Rome after a long and arduous journey that we would know and remember if we have read the earlier parts of the Acts of the Apostles. This was the last of all of St. Paul’s missionary journeys, which he undertook to follow God’s guidance and will, to proclaim the Word of God and His salvation to the people of Rome, which was then the capital of the great and mighty Roman Empire. St. Paul therefore braved through the many dangers and challenges that he had to face as he embarked on this journey towards the Eternal City, as Rome has been commonly known by, to proclaim the Lord to everyone, and to establish the foundations of the Church there together with the other missionaries, like St. Peter, who was the first Bishop of Rome.

We heard how the Lord was with St. Paul and his mission and despite him having been technically under arrest of the earlier charges put against him, as he awaited his appeal to the Roman Emperor, he was actually given a lot of freedom to come and go as he pleased, as he continued his ministry and works among the people of Rome, to both the Jews and the Gentiles or non-Jewish people alike, many of whom became believers in Christ, embracing the love of God and His salvation which He has revealed through His Son and His Apostles. St. Paul continued to commit himself thoroughly to fulfil whatever the Lord had entrusted to him to do in proclaiming His Good News, all the way to the end of his life in martyrdom, as Apostolic traditions put St. Paul as being martyred in Rome during the great persecution of Christians by the Emperor Nero.

Then, in our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel of St. John, we heard of the conversation between the Lord Jesus and His disciples, in which the Lord told His disciples at the Last Supper when they were all discussing about His words and what He had revealed to them, firstly about the one who would betray Him, referring to Judas Iscariot, whom at the time no one would have expected to betray the Lord. Then, they also spoke about the disciple whom the Lord loved, referring to St. John the Apostle himself, the writer of this Gospel. As was common and expected, there was a kind of rivalry and jealousy existing between the disciples, as they all definitely tried to get more favour in the eyes of the Lord, and St. John in particular was one who was a target of the other disciples.

That was because in another occasion in the Gospels, we heard how St. John and St. James, together with their mother came before the Lord, and the mother asked the Lord Jesus for special favours for her sons, to sit by His left and right sides, an act which was met by an immediate unhappiness and discord among the Lord’s disciples. At that time, some if not many among the Lord’s followers did follow Him hoping that He would be the Messiah to restore the Kingdom of Israel, and they likely hoped to gain benefits and honour, glory and power for themselves in the event that the Lord accomplished His works and missions. But they failed to understand that this was not what the Lord intended to do, and as the Lord Himself pointed out to everyone, that it was not their business to know or understand if the disciple beloved by the Lord, St. John the Apostle would not die before he was to see His coming.

Those words indeed came to be true as Apostolic traditions again showed that St. John the Apostle was the only one among all the Apostles who did not suffer martyrdom, and St. John would also see the Lord’s salvation through visions at the Island of Patmos, which he then recorded in his Book of Apocalypse or Revelations. All the other Apostles including that of St. Paul eventually met their end through martyrdom, giving their lives after various kinds of sufferings and persecutions to glorify God. They did not give up on their faith in God, and they continued to labour hard for God and for the people they had been entrusted with. However, this did not mean that St. John did not suffer for his faith and commitment to God. Being the last among the Apostles to survive, he endured many decades of hardships and challenges, persecutions and exiles, including to the Island of Patmos mentioned earlier. In a sense, he was also a martyr, as he endured ‘white martyrdom’ not by shedding his blood but by enduring great sufferings for the Lord’s sake throughout his ministry.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of a great Church father and devoted man of God, whose faith and commitment to God can be a great inspiration and strength for all of us. Pope St. John I was one of the early leaders and Popes of the Church, who was known especially for his courage and dedication to God in standing up against even the powerful secular power and bureaucracy, eventually martyred for his faith in God and for his commitment to his mission, just as his many predecessors before him. He was elected as Pope during a rather turbulent time for the Church especially in Rome, due to the clashes between the secular rulers of Italy, then under the Ostrogothic Kingdom, led by its Arian heretic rulers and the Roman Emperors in Constantinople.

Pope St. John I was torn between protecting the orthodoxy of the Christian teachings and faith which the Arian Ostrogothic rulers did not adhere to, and protecting the well-being and the safety of the many people and clergy under his care in Rome and its associated territories. He went on a mission to the Imperial capital in Constantinople to try to mediate the situation and was well received by the Emperor who tried to help the Pope as best as he could do. However upon his return to Rome, Pope St. John I was arrested by the Ostrogothic King, Theodoric the Great who was suspicious at the Pope of having possibly colluded and plotted against him and his kingdom with the Roman Emperor. Thus, Pope St. John I was imprisoned and eventually died in prison from maltreatment and neglect, as a martyr of the faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord wants to remind us all today through all these passages of the Sacred Scriptures and from the life and examples of Pope St. John I, holy Pope and Martyr of the Church, that each and every one of us must be always ready and committed to follow whatever the Lord had called us to do, and to do His will, to proclaim Him, His truth, His Good News and love to everyone, despite the challenges, hardships and trials that we may have to encounter in our paths. We must always remember that God is always by our side and He will continue to provide for our efforts and works in our journey of faith, and while we may have to suffer, but we are suffering together with Him.

Let us all therefore continue to do God’s will and strive to be the most faithful disciples and followers, to be His shining beacons of light and truth in our communities and respective societies today. Even though the season of Easter is coming to an end, let us always remember this does not mean that our responsibilities and commitments as Christians, as an Easter people blessed by the Risen Lord come to an end. Instead, as we continue to carry on living our lives each day, we should continue to commit ourselves each day with ever greater zeal and love for God in all things, now and always. Amen.

by

Saturday, 18 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 21 : 20-25

At that time, Peter looked back and saw that the disciple Jesus loved was following as well, the one who had reclined close to Jesus at the supper, and had asked Him, “Lord, who is to betray You?”

On seeing him, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I come, does that concern you? Follow Me!” Because of this the rumour spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, “He will not die,” but, “Suppose I want him to remain until I come.”

It is this disciple who testifies about the things he has written here, and we know that his testimony is true. But Jesus did many other things; if all were written down, I think the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

by

Saturday, 18 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 10 : 4, 5 and 7

The Lord is in His holy place – our God Whose throne is in heaven. He looks down to earth to observe the race of Adam.

The Lord searches both righteous and wicked. He hates those who delight in violence, for the Lord is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.

by

Saturday, 18 May 2024 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 28 : 16-20, 30-31

Upon our arrival in Rome, the captain turned the prisoners over to the military governor but permitted Paul to lodge in a private house with the soldier who guarded him. After three days, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews.

When they had gathered, he said to them : “Brothers, though I have not done anything against our people or against the traditions of our fathers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to set me free, for they saw nothing in my case that deserved death.”

“But the Jews objected, so I was forced to appeal to Caesar without the least intention of bringing any case against my own people. Therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I bear these chains.”

Paul stayed for two whole years in a house he himself rented, where he received without any hindrance all those who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught the truth about Jesus Christ, the Lord, quite openly and without any hindrance.

by

Tuesday, 30 April 2024 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures presented to us in which the Lord wanted to remind us that we must always be strong amidst all the challenges and trials that we may face in our lives, in the midst of our works and efforts to proclaim His Good News and truth, at all times. We should not allow fear or indecisiveness, doubt or temptations of the world from dissuading and preventing us from following the Lord and doing His will. All those things can keep us from living in the manner that the Lord wants us all to live our lives, that is as worthy and righteous followers and disciples of His, in all that we say and do, in our every actions, words and deeds.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which we heard how the Apostles and disciples of the Lord faced hardships, struggles and difficulties in their path, as they encountered significant opposition in their efforts to proclaim the Lord’s truth and Good News to the various people they encountered throughout their ministry. The example given was the experiences endured by St. Paul and St. Barnabas who were persecuted by some of the Jews who refused to believe in the Lord, and incited the people to persecute and attack the two of them, leaving them almost dead in the process. And yet, this did not dampen the spirit and the willingness of the two of them to continue their mission and journey.

We heard how the Apostles and disciples of the Lord gathered and regrouped, supported and strengthened one another, reminding one another that each and every one of them ought to be strong in their ministry and calling in ministering to the people of God and in their missionary and evangelising work, proclaiming the truth and Good News of God to more and more people. The Lord Jesus Himself had told and forewarned His disciples of the challenges, trials and sufferings that they might have to face in the midst of their work and ministry, and the obstacles and enemies they might have to endure just as He Himself had faced many difficulties and oppressions, as shown by His Passion and death on the Cross.

This is the same reminder and reassurance that the Lord Himself had told His disciples as described and mentioned in our Gospel passage today, in which the Risen Lord made His appearance before the disciples, telling them that they should not be afraid, and that He has indeed truly risen from the dead just as He had said and predicted to them. And therefore, if He had told them truthfully of everything that would happen, including the kind of sufferings and tribulations that the disciples of the Lord, His Church, all of us faithful people of God would have to endure for the sake of the Lord, then therefore, He also reassured us all with His Presence, that He would never abandon us or leave us alone in our struggles.

He reminded the disciples and hence all of us that in Him alone we can have true and lasting peace, true satisfaction and joy in life, things that the world cannot provide us. We should not doubt the Lord’s providence and love, which He has always readily and generously provided towards us, as He continues to love each and every one of us with great and most sincere love, through His compassion and care for us, His desire to be reconciled with us and to provide us all with what we need. Through Him indeed we shall receive great favours and graces, and assured of the eternal life and glory which the Lord has prepared and reserved for all those who are faithful and committed to Him. Each and every one of us as Christians must always keep this in mind and make the conscious effort to continue loving the Lord with all of our strength and might.

Like what the Apostles and disciples of the Lord had done, we must continue to have faith and trust in the Lord, believing in His providence and guidance, allowing Him to lead us in the path that He has called us into, and doing our best to accomplish whatever it is that He has entrusted to us to do in our respective lives. We should be always ever ready to support one another in our various endeavours and efforts, and be there to support each other amidst the challenges, trials and difficulties that we may be facing in our paths as children of God. Our efforts and works should always be directed towards uniting our every actions, words and deeds, combining what we have done for the greater glory of God, and helping one another to persevere through the many challenges and trials present in our midst in this world, in answering God’s call and mission.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of a great saint and man of God, whose commitment and hard work for the Lord and His Church can be source of great inspiration for all of us in how we should live our own lives as well. Pope St. Pius V was remembered for his crucial role in steering and leading the Church through very difficult and turbulent times when the Church and the Christian communities were assailed both from within and outside, with threats and dangers facing many souls, both physically and spiritually at that time. It was a time of great trial and hardship for the people of God which were under threat from the forces of the unbelievers under the then powerful Ottoman Empire, bound for conquest and attacks against various parts of Christendom, and at the same time, the divisions caused by the Protestant ‘reformation’ was tearing the unity of the Church and the Christian faithful apart, as many fell into the heretical teachings and false ways advocated by those who had veered off from the true teachings of the Church.

Pope St. Pius V contributed greatly in his role in countering and leading the Church against those two great threats, uniting the Christian faithful against those who sought their destruction. He was instrumental in uniting Christendom and its various forces to build a mighty Crusade in opposing the forces of the Ottoman Empire, which would eventually lead to a great victory at the Battle of Lepanto, where the forces of Christendom crushed the forces of the Ottomans, and therefore averted great threat against the Church and the faithful people of God, beginning a reversal of fortune for Christendom against its external enemies. At the same time, through his efforts in concluding the Ecumenical Council of Trent, and enforcing its many reforms, Pope St. Pius V energised the Church and the Counter-Reformation, which managed to stem the tide of Protestant heresies, and reunited parts of the Church that had been separated from the Holy Mother Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the many contributions and efforts which Pope St. Pius V had shown us, all of us are reminded that we are also called in our own unique and diverse ways by the Lord to contribute to the good works of the Church’s efforts and missions, which we can do through our sacrifice and offerings of our efforts and endeavours, even in the smallest things we do. We must be encouraged that in whatever we do, even in those seemingly small and insignificant things, all of these will ultimately come together to great deeds and works that may be even beyond our imagination. As members and parts of this same Body of Christ, the Church, each and every one of us are called and reminded to do our part to glorify God by our lives, and to continue to proclaim Him in our world today, amidst all the trials and challenges facing us.

May the Risen Lord continue to be with us all, His Church and people. May He continue to strengthen and empower us all, in all the things we say and do. May our lives be great inspiration and light for others to follow, so that in all things, we may help to bring one another and everyone ever closer to the Lord, to His salvation, truth and love, now and always. Amen.