Popes

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Monday, 7 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He has always provided upon us, from time to time again, that He showed us His care and providence, when we were in great need and were facing hardships. The Lord never abandoned us or ignored us when we were in need, and when we were calling out to Him, and He has patiently loved us despite our frequent disobedience and refusal to obey Him and our wayward lives and wicked actions, abhorrent and evil in His sight. He still loves us all regardless and cares for us, sending His messengers and blessings on us, hoping on all of us to be called to repentance and to embrace His rich forgiveness, mercy and love once again. He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him because of our rebellions and downfall to sin.

That is why the Lord reminded us through the Church with our Scripture readings today, of the moments when He had taken care of our predecessors, as we heard from the feeding of the people of Israel during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land with the manna, the bread from heaven, and also then with the well-known story of the Lord Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand men and many others with the mere five loaves and two fishes made available to Him. Through all those events, we are all being reminded of just how wonderful God’s love is for us, that He still patiently cared for us despite our frequent stubborn and rebellious attitudes, in not listening to Him and in constantly being ungrateful despite having been so blessed and beloved by the Lord in so many circumstances. God still loves us all regardless, and wants us all to know of His love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the moment when the Israelites rebelled against and disobeyed God when they were all complaining of the manna that they received daily from the Lord as sustenance and food, to help and strengthen them in the journey through the mostly lifeless and resourceless desert. They complained because they compared what they had then in the manna every morning and the other sustenance that they were having in the desert, such as the flock of birds sent to their camp every evening, and the water provided to them, with the variety of goods and food that they had when they were still enslaved in the land of Egypt. This was a classic case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, as they were thinking that even their old condition of being enslaved and treated as less than human beings were better than to follow the Lord to the assurance of the Promised Land, and everything that the Lord had done for them.

Nonetheless, the Lord continued to provide for them and helped them throughout their journey, patiently, through Moses, His servant, whom we can also notice and feel of just how frustrated he was from today’s reading passage, as he had to contend and endure the rebellious and hard-hearted attitude of the people that he was leading through all those years of hard journey and sufferings. The Lord helped His servant Moses and encouraged him to continue on, despite the challenges and hardships that he had to face, the ungrateful things that he had to face. This was how the Lord kept on caring for the people that He had called and chosen, loved and shown compassion towards, despite of their lack of faith and care for Him. Many years later, when He came into this world through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that was how He blessed the five thousand men and many others who came to listen to Him, with the bountiful food and sustenance in the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes.

At that occasion, the Lord showed pity on the people who followed him, a great multitude of them in the wilderness with no food sources nearby and they were all hungry. Hence, the Lord miraculously multiplied the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were found and presented to Him. This showed them all what it meant to be truly loved by God and at the same time, showing forth His power and truth of His nature as the Saviour of the world and the Lord of all. It was also a premonition and prefigurement of what He Himself would do at the end and culmination of His ministry, when He would lay down His own life and offer for all of us His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us to partake and share. The Lord loved us all so much that He was willing to endure the worst of sufferings and humiliations, and to let Himself be broken and shared among all of us, as the Bread of Life, the Living Bread of Heaven, in His own words. By this, the Lord wants us to gain passage to eternal life and to be truly reunited with Him.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of great saints, holy servants of the Lord whose lives and actions hopefully can inspire us in our own lives and actions, that we may always do our best to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to thank Him and be grateful to Him for everything that He has always done for us. Today, we honour the glorious memories of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, who suffered during the trials and hardships, the martyrdom at the time of the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Valerian, when many suffered and die died for their faith in God, and then as well as St. Cajetan, a holy priest and man of God, who was remembered for his dedication and love for the Lord, and for inspiring many others to follow in his path and examples, in living lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, good and righteous in all things.

Pope St. Sixtus II was the leader of the Universal Church during the difficult time of the middle third century when there were tumultuous events, conflicts in the world and also divisions among the faithful, due to various disagreements and heresies that were widespread during that time. According to Apostolic traditions, Pope St. Sixtus II devoted his life and efforts to reunite the Church, and led the faithful through those difficult and turbulent years, and brought back many of the wayward to the Holy Mother Church. He and many others, including another great saint, St. Lawrence of Rome, was martyred during the persecution of Christians during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valerian, faithful to the very end. Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a lawyer and diplomat by profession in his earlier years, and then became a priest, dedicating himself to healing the sick, particularly focusing on the spiritual healing of those who have been separated from God and His love.

St. Cajetan laid the foundations for and established the Theatines, also known by its official name of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular, together with Archbishop Giovanni Petro Carafa, who would eventually elected as the Pope and leader of the Church as Pope Paul IV. He also interacted well with his contemporaries like St. Jerome Emiliani, another famous priest dedicated to the well-being of the faithful and those who were suffering, assisting the latter with the foundation of the Congregation of the Clerks Regular, or the Somaschan Fathers. Through all of his work and dedication, St. Cajetan, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions, they all showed us how we all should respond to God’s call and love, which He has always shown and lavished upon us. Each and every one of us should do whatever we can so that we may truly be faithful and worthy of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore commit ourselves with renewed zeal and faith to the Lord, following the great examples set by Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, St. Cajetan and many other holy men and women of God who had devoted their lives and works for the greater glory of God. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love. May God bless us all and our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 7 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Matthew 14 : 13-21

At that time, when Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He set out by boat for a secluded place, to be alone. But the people heard of it, and they followed Him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there, and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, His disciples came to Him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so that they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes.” Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there, besides women and children.

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Monday, 7 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Psalm 80 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

But My people did not listen; Israel did not obey. So I gave them over to their stubbornness and they followed their own counsels.

If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways, I would quickly subdue their adversaries and turn My hand against their enemies.

Those who hate YHVH would cringe before Him, and their panic would last forever. I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with honey from the rock.

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Monday, 7 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priests)

Numbers 11 : 4b-15

The Israelites wept and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic. Now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to look at, nothing but manna.”

Now the manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bedellium. The people went about gathering it up and then ground it between millstones or pounded it in a mortar. They boiled it in a pot and made cakes with it which tasted like cakes made with oil. As soon as dew fell at night in the camp, the manna came with it.

Moses heard the people crying, family by family at the entrance to their tent and YHVH became very angry. This displeased Moses. Then Moses said to YHVH, “Why have You treated Your servant so badly? Is it because You do not love me that You burdened me with this people? Did I conceive all these people and did I give them birth?”

“And now You want me to carry them in my bosom as a nurse carries an infant, to the land You promised on oath to their fathers? Where would I get meat for all these people, when they cry to me saying :’Give us meat that we may eat?'”

“I cannot, myself alone, carry all these people; the burden is too heavy for me. Kill me rather than treat me like this, I beg of You, if You look kindly on me, and let me not see Your anger.”

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, 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 : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded to stay united with God and to remain firm in our faith in Him at all times, resisting the temptations of worldly ambitions, attachments and other things that may end up misleading us down the wrong path in life. We should not let our desires and the corrupt temptations and attachments to this world lead us astray from the path that the Lord has shown us. As Christians we should continue to keep ourselves attuned to the Lord and firmly continue to uphold the Law and the commandments of God that He has shown us through His Church, amidst and despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to face and endure through as we live our lives faithfully as the followers of Christ.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, of the time when St. Paul the Apostle was standing before the whole Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, which was composed of the most powerful and influential members of the Jewish community back then, including the Pharisees and the Sadducees among them, as the two most powerful factions among the Jews. Each of these groups were bitterly divided and antagonistic against each other, and was then united only in their common hatred and opposition against the followers of the Lord, especially that of St. Paul, who had performed so many works for the Lord and brought many into the Christian faith. Like what we heard in our first reading today, immediately when St. Paul mentioned that he belonged to the group of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Pharisees began to fight against each other in a massive conflict.

This shows that there was no unity among all those who persecuted St. Paul and the other early Christians, and God also gave St. Paul the wisdom to act in such a manner so as to prevent the Sanhedrin from uniting against him and in doing so, allowing St. Paul to commence his journey towards being put on trial by the Emperor in Rome, hence fulfilling what the Lord had called on him to do, to minister to the faithful and to spread the Good News to the very heart and centre of the Empire. Through his tireless efforts and commitment, and as well as all the time and hard work that he had put into place, St. Paul had shown us all what it means for us to be Christians, in trusting in the Lord and in doing what God has called and entrusted upon us to do. And God is always with us, by our side, just as the Lord Himself reassured His disciples as He prayed over them, as He promised them all that they would all see the true glory and joy through Him. Each and every one of us should be inspired to live our lives most faithfully as good Christians.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of three great saints whose lives and devotions to God in their own way may indeed be great source of inspiration and hope for each and every one of us, in how we can emulate their examples in our own lives. They are St. Bede the Venerable, a renowned priest and monk, and also a Church historian whose works and theological writings made him to be remembered greatly and honoured as one of the Doctors of the Church, and then Pope St. Gregory VII, who reformed the Church and led the Church through a turbulent and difficult moment where divisions and struggles between the religious and secular authorities were at its peak. Finally we have St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, a dedicated virgin and holy woman, whose life as a religious and experience as a mystic inspired many during her lifetime and afterwards.

St. Bede the Venerable lived and was active during the early years of Medieval Britain, in which he was renowned for being a great scholar and monk, with extensive library and collection of writings and works that still inspired so many people many centuries after his time. St. Bede the Venerable was ordained as a priest, and went on several travels and trips across the British isles, visiting many places and communities, which helped him to know and understand better about the local communities, especially the Christian Church there, and placed the foundation for the many works that he was writing, in topics as diverse as history and astronomy, among many others, and of course many of them dealing with the teachings of the Church and the Christian truth, which still inspired many who read his works afterwards. Many others made the works of St. Bede as their inspiration, and the rich diversity of his works continued to inspire the Church.

Meanwhile, Pope St. Gregory VII was the leader of the Universal Church during the height of what is known as the Investiture Controversy, which arose because of the dispute between the Pope and the Church with the secular authorities under the Holy Roman Emperor. In the past few hundred years before the time of Pope St. Gregory, both positions have become the greatest religious and secular authorities respectively, and the dispute arose because the Emperor claimed the right to appoint bishops and to control them within his own dominion, being appointed and supreme over all the secular rulers. On the other hand, the Pope St. Gregory VII represented the culmination of the Church efforts to resist secular influence and control of the Church and the members of the clergy, and stood firmly against any efforts of the Emperor and his nobles and supporters in trying to control the Church. He also carried out many other important reforms in purifying the Church from many corruptions and wickedness of that time.

Then, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was a woman who had been attracted and called to a spiritual life from a very young age, and who eventually joined the Carmelite monastery, becoming one of the Carmelite religious sisters. She has begun receiving mystical visions from a young age, and this continued on through her time and experience as a Carmelite religious. Her great piety and dedication to God, her exemplary actions and care for others, as well as her great holiness and the visions she experienced inspired many others to follow her examples in faith and dedication to God. Through her dedication, many have come to seek the Lord and endeavour to follow the good examples that this faithful and dedicated woman had done in her own life. Thus, all of us should also be inspired by the examples of those whose lives and commitments to God we have just discussed.

Let us all therefore seek to glorify the Lord and proclaim His truth, love and Good News through our own works and actions. Let us all be good and faithful disciples and followers of our Lord and God, spending much of our time and effort to do the will of God and to proclaim Him in the midst of all the things that we have dedicated unto Him. Let us all be good role models and sources of inspiration for each other, in how we lead our lives and carry out our every actions, even in the smallest and seemingly least significant of actions and interactions with others around us. May the Lord continue to guide us in all things and help us to remain ever firmly faithful in Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, 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 : White

John 17 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”

“I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are One : I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.”

“Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.”

“As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and also may be in them.”

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, 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 : White

Psalm 15 : 1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Keep me safe, o God, for in You I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “O Lord, my inheritance and my cup, my chosen portion – hold secure my lot.”

I bless the Lord Who counsels me; even at night my inmost self instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; for with Him at my right hand, I will never be shaken.

My heart, therefore, exults, my soul rejoices; my body too will rest assured. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor will You suffer Your Holy One to see decay in the land of the dead.

You will show me the path of life, in Your presence the fullness of joy, at Your right hand happiness forever.

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Thursday, 25 May 2023 : 7th Week of Easter, 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 : White

Acts 22 : 30 and Acts 23 : 6-11

The next day the commander wanted to know for certain the charges the Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul knew that part of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial here.”

At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided. For the Sadducees claim that there is neither resurrection, nor Angels nor spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all these things.

Then the shouting grew louder, and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an Angel has spoken to him.” With this the argument became so violent that the commander feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore ordered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him back to the fortress.

That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Courage! As you have borne witness to Me here in Jerusalem, so must you do in Rome.”

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Tenth Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis as Successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff

(Taken from Cathedral of the Good Shepherd Sunday Bulletin, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Singapore)

Wishing our Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Francis, a most blessed tenth anniversary of his election to the Papacy, as the Successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!

Ad multos annos, Your Holiness!

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Monday, 13 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the love and kindness of God in healing us from our sickness and troubles, in reconciling each and every one of us to Himself, so that by doing so, He may lead us all to a new life and existence with Him, free from the troubles and corruptions of sin and evil. He wants us to be freed from the tyranny and dominion of sin, which have kept so many of us separated from God, and which had led to the downfall of many of our predecessors. That is why today’s Scripture readings remind us of what God had done for His people, and for all those who come to Him seeking for healing, mercy and forgiveness, and how our attitude and action in embracing or rejecting God’s love and mercy is important in determining our fate.

In our first reading today, taken from the Second Book of Kings, we heard of how a mighty Aramean warrior, named Naaman the Syrian was healed by God through the prophet Elisha. At that time, the kingdom of Aram in what is Syria today was a great enemy and rival of the northern half of the kingdom of Israel. And that Naaman was a great general in the employ of the King of Aram, who was afflicted with leprosy. Leprosy as described in the Scriptures is not exactly the leprosy as we know it today, as Biblical studies and evidences pointed out that this leprosy instead referred to a highly infectious kind of skin disease that can also afflict even buildings and fabric, which nonetheless quite a lot of discomfort and inconvenience for whoever it was that contracted the leprosy. Its highly infectious nature made the leper to be shunned and rejected by the community, and for them to be ostracised against.

Hence, without a cure in sight and in desperation, the King of Aram sent his right-hand man and trusted general to Israel to seek the prophet Elisha, who was known for his miracles. That was how we heard about the whole account of how Naaman travelled to Israel in the search of the prophet Elisha, asking him to heal him from his affliction of leprosy. Naaman sought for healing from God, and the prophet told him to dip himself seven times in the River Jordan. As we heard, initially Naaman was upset and refused to do as he was told to do, proudly declaring that he could have done the same in any rivers found in his own home country of Aram. But eventually Naaman conceded after his servant pointed out the foolishness of his pride and arrogance, as the prophet was asking him to do something that was very easily done. Naaman therefore did as Elisha told him, and was healed.

Then, in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the people living in His own hometown of Nazareth, regarding how they refused to believe in Him and in the message that He was bringing to them. Why was that so? That is likely because they must have thought that because they knew Him well as the Son of the local carpenter, who is His foster-father, St. Joseph, then they thought that it must be impossible for someone like Him to be the One that God had sent into this world to save all of us, or even as a Prophet. Essentially, their pride and arrogance, just like that of Naaman earlier, acted as a barrier and an obstacle in preventing them from opening themselves up to the truth and love of God. As such, they remained separated and closed off from the Lord and the richness of His grace and mercy. God Himself has come into their midst to reach out to them, but those people shut off the doors of their hearts and minds against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these readings are reminders for us all that we must not allow the temptations of our pride and ego, our arrogance and hubris, greed and other things to become obstacles in our journey towards the Lord. We must always be vigilant and careful in living our lives that we do not end up being distracted and misled by all those temptations, pressures, coercions or all the attachments we have to worldly matters and desires, all the things that can cause us to end up being like those who rejected God’s love and compassionate mercy. That also almost prevented Naaman from gaining healing and providence from God, if not for his obedience and willingness to humble himself, and follow what the Lord had told him to do. That is why, all of us are called to do the same as well, and learn to listen to the Lord and to obey His Law and commandments from this Lent and henceforth.

This also brings us back to the nature of sin again. Sin itself is brought about because of our disobedience against God and our refusal to obey Him, and as such, we become corrupted by sin. Satan himself fell from grace because of his refusal to obey the Lord, and becoming filled with pride and ego, with jealousy and desire for the glory and power of God. His fall and the fall of our ancestors were examples and reminders for all of us not to fall into the same trap that had those had encountered, just as how Lucifer, the mighty and brilliant Angel of God was thrown down because of his pride in trying to usurp the rule over Creation from God, and in his rebellion, and how Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, fell into disgrace and sin because they also disobeyed God’s commands and chose to eat of the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, allowing themselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly desires, of knowledge and glory, and thus sinned against God.

In this season of Lent we are all reminded to resist those temptations and open our hearts and minds to welcome God and His truth into them. All of us are called to deepen our relationship with the Lord, by our efforts in coming closer to Him, spending more quality time with Him through prayers and other means. It is time for us to learn to listen more to God, turning ourselves to Him once more and doing whatever we can to obey His will. Let us all turn away from the path of sin and evil, freeing ourselves from the many temptations, bonds and enslavement to our many attachments and desires in this world. That is why we deepen our relationship with God, spending time in prayer, committing ourselves to fasting and abstinence among other things we do this Lent, and in doing what we can to overcome the threat of sin, by the grace of God.

Let us all be humbled like Naaman, and come to the Lord with a contrite heart, regretting our many sins and wickedness, and turning towards Him once again with faith. Let us all return to Him and be reconciled with Him, and find healing for the sickness that we all experience, the sickness due to our sins and wickedness, that God alone can heal, through His ever generous mercy and forgiveness. May God be with us all and may He empower each one of us to always be faithful to Him and to be ever more worthy to walk in His path. May God bless us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Let us lastly also pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who is celebrating the tenth anniversary since his election as Pope at the Papal Conclave in 2013, that God will always bless him and guide him in his ministry as our shepherd. Amen.