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 (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.

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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 (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 4 : 24-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people of Nazareth, “No prophet is honoured in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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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 (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 41 : 2, 3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre and harp, o God, my God.