priests

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Friday, 20 September 2024 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Laurent Imbert, Bishop and Martyr, St. Jacques Chastan, Priest and Martyr, and St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and Martyr, and St. Paul Chong Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 16 : 1, 6-7, 8b and 15

Hear a just cause, o Lord, listen to my complaint. Give heed to my prayer for there is no deceit on my lips.

I call on You, You will answer me, o God; incline Your ear and hear my word. For You do wonders for Your faithful, You save those fleeing from the enemy as they seek refuge at Your right hand.

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; under the shadow of Your wings hide me. As for me, righteous in Your sight, I shall see Your face and, awakening, gaze my fill on Your likeness.

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Friday, 20 September 2024 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Laurent Imbert, Bishop and Martyr, St. Jacques Chastan, Priest and Martyr, and St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and Martyr, and St. Paul Chong Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Corinthians 15 : 12-20

Well, then, if Christ is preached as risen from the dead, how can some of you say, that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is empty, and our belief comes to nothing. And we become false witnesses of God, attesting that He raised Christ, whereas He could not raise Him, if indeed, the dead are not raised.

If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin. Also, those who fall asleep, in Christ, are lost. If it is only for this life, that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people. But no, Christ has been raised from the dead, and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep.

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Monday, 9 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures we are reminded that we should have true and genuine faith in the Lord, and not to allow ourselves to be tempted by the distractions and temptations present all around us in this world. Each and every one of us must always be committed to the Lord, our loving God and Master, and keep ourselves firmly rooted in our faith in Him, entrusting ourselves to Him in all things. We should not allow our pride and ego to be hurdles and stumbling blocks in our path, preventing us from coming closer to God and His salvation. Instead, we should continue to resist the temptations of the world, the temptations and allures of pride and ego so that we may truly come faithfully to the Lord’s Presence.

In our first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, we heard how St. Paul chastised the Corinthians and the faithful people of God there for their immoral and improper behaviour in how they carried out actions such as taking one’s own stepmother as a wife, and other scandals which were truly unbecoming of the Lord’s holy and beloved people. This together with other immoral actions and behaviours which St. Paul highlighted to the Christians in Corinth that they should not be doing those actions and that they should turn back once again towards the righteous and virtuous path of the Lord, throwing away the corruptions of worldliness and immorality, and all the things which may become stumbling blocks and obstacles in their path towards God and His salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the occasion in the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus healed a man with paralysed right hand before the eyes of the people and some of the Pharisees who were there watching and observing Him. Those Pharisees were very rigid in their interpretation of the Law of God, and they especially frowned upon any disobedience and improper following of the Law in accordance to their strict interpretation. In this regard, those Pharisees saw the Lord’s actions in carrying out His ministry and performing miracles and healing works on the day of the Sabbath as erroneous and even blasphemous. They criticised Him and saying that He should not have done that action, and the Lord rebuked them for their stubborn attitude and mistaken understanding of the true purpose of the Sabbath.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from those passages in the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride and ego, just as how those Pharisees thought that they knew it better and that they were superior than any others around them. When we allow these temptations to sway us, that is when we may end up disobeying the Lord and falling into the wrong path, falling ever deeper into sin and away from God and His salvation. As Christians, all of us should always be humble, and be willing to listen to God and His words, as He calls upon us to follow Him and to do His will. Each and every one of us have to adhere faithfully to the path that the Lord has shown us and guided us to, and we should seek inspiration from our holy predecessors who have shown us how we can be truly faithful to the Lord.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Claver, a holy man and dedicated servant of God who as a priest and missionary was remembered for his great contributions in bringing many people closer to God, in spreading God’s truth and Good News to many more people who have not yet received these. St. Peter Claver was born in Spain to a devout and prosperous family of farmers, who eventually went to join the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits after he completed his studies. Through his interactions with another great saint, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, a Jesuit porter and laybrother during his formation years, who told him of God’s calling for him to go to New Spain, the territories of what is now the American continent, eventually St. Peter Claver embraced that call and volunteered himself to go there as a missionary.

St. Peter Claver was renowned in the region of New Spain as a courageous and fervent defender of the rights of the African slaves and others who have been marginalised, discriminated against and oppressed, standing by them and championing their rights. He also ministered among many of them, and spent a lot of time going to visit the various communities of people, and even visiting the filthy conditions of the ships carrying the slaves, and many of them accepted the Lord as their Saviour and Master, especially touched by the kindness and generosity which St. Peter Claver had shown them. He treated them as fellow Christians and urged them to consider one another as brethren to each other, showing respect and care for their fellow men.

According to Church tradition and history, St. Peter Claver personally baptised no less than three hundred thousand people and many others were impacted by his efforts and ministry. He showed great love and care for all people regardless of their background, and cared for the least, the lost and those who have suffered and faced terrible challenges and trials in life. He laboured and worked hard not minding his own needs and desires, and gave his all for many decades for the sake of God’s beloved people. To the very end of his life, St. Peter Claver committed himself to God’s missions, and in the end, after his passing, his reputation and holiness were widely known and he was revered for his great contributions and dedication to God’s people and His Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence be inspired by the great examples showed by St. Peter Claver, who has shown us how we all can also live our lives worthily as a disciple and follower of the Lord. Each and every one of us as part of God’s Church have the shared responsibility, mission and calling to do what He has entrusted to us to do, that is to proclaim God’s truth and love, His Good News and salvation to everyone, and we should do this while showing the same love which God has generously showered us with. Let us all continue to love one another and be gracious to all of our fellow brethren, especially those who are less fortunate and have no one to care for them. May God be with us all and may He bless each and every one of our good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 9 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 6 : 6-11

At that time, on another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralysed right hand, and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Him : Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If He did, they could accuse Him.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Get up, and stand in the middle.” Then He spoke to them, “I want to ask you : what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And Jesus looked around at them all.

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other. But they were furious, and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

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Monday, 9 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 5 : 5-6, 7, 12

You are not a God Who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.

You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them YHVH detests.

But for those who take refuge in You, let them ever sing and rejoice. Let Your deliverance shield them, that they may praise You in gladness – those who love Your Name, o YHVH.

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Monday, 9 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

1 Corinthians 5 : 1-8

You have become news, with a case of immorality, and such a case, that is not even found among pagans. Yes, one of you has taken, as wife, his own stepmother. And you feel proud! Should you not be in mourning, instead, and expel the one who did such a thing?

For my part, although I am physically absent, my spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed sentence on the man who committed such a sin. Let us meet together, you and my spirit, and in the Name of Our Lord Jesus, and with His power, you shall deliver him to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit be saved in the day of Judgment.

This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the clear message from the Scripture passages reminding each and every one of us that we must always be humble in all things, and we must not let the temptations of our human pride, ego, ambition, greed and all the things that often afflict us, be stumbling blocks that prevent us from reaching towards the Lord and His salvation. We should always remind ourselves that all the glory and riches of this world are ultimately fleeting in nature, and there is nothing that is in this world which will truly satisfy us, no matter what. This world itself will not last forever, and therefore, as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we should always strive to do what is right and just according to His will, and to what He has taught us to do. We should always commit ourselves to the Lord, and put Him at the centre of our lives and existence.

In our first reading, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, in which the Lord spoke of His judgments against the great city of Tyre, which by the time of Ezekiel had been the great mother-city of the Phoenician and their vast colonial territories. The city of Tyre was located just off the mainland of what is Lebanon today, and is a great island city and fortress which was very rich and powerful, with its many trade connections and riches just as detailed in our first reading today. Its many connections to the various Phoenician colonies and cities, as well as other important trading cities and realms further strengthened its position and power as a great and rich city, powerful and mighty in all of its dealings and actions.

However, all those things tend to lead its people and leaders astray, filling them up with pride, ambition, ego and hubris by their greatness, power and glory, all the things that can lead anyone into their downfall. No matter how great or powerful anyone or anything in this world is, in the end, none of this power and glory will last forever. For Tyre itself, the Lord prophesied its downfall and destruction, through Ezekiel, which would indeed happen about two centuries or so after the Lord Himself spoke it. During the reign of Alexander the Great, Great King of Macedon and his conquest of the Persian Empire, the city of Tyre refused to surrender, thinking that it was impregnable and secure behind its walls and navy, but eventually, Tyre was conquered and destroyed, and while it would be rebuilt, it would never be as glorious as it once was. This proved again the fleeting nature of worldly power and glory.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew where the Lord followed up from the moment when a young man asked Him about how he could attain eternal life. The Lord answered after the young man told Him that he had obeyed all the laws and commandments of God, that he should sell his possessions and material wealth, and then distributing them to the poor, and follow Him wholeheartedly. The young man left Him in sorrow, and this was the impetus for what the Lord mentioned at the start of the Gospel of how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. As I mentioned in yesterday’s reflection, the Lord was not asking us to sell everything that we have, or to literally abandon everything that we have in this world.

Rather, what He wants us to know is that we must not allow all these worldly things and distractions to tempt us away from the path of God’s righteousness. We must not allow all these worldly glory, fame, possessions and material wealth to lead us into obsession and attachment, which led to us losing our sight and focus on what we should be doing in our lives, that is to follow the Lord and to serve Him wholeheartedly in all things. They are means for us to put them into good use so that we may use them for the benefit of everyone around us, to help the less fortunate and all those who are not as blessed as we all are. The more we have been blessed, the more generous we should be in sharing and giving our many gifts and blessings to one another.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Bernard, also known as St. Bernard the Abbot and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a great man of God, a dedicated monk and abbot, the founder of the Cistercian Order, formed from the reformation of the Benedictine order. He was also the co-founder of the renowned Knights Templar, and his many other contributions have been well-known throughout history, and are great inspirations for us all to follow, in how we ourselves live our lives as Christians. He was born into a family of high nobility in Burgundy, a region that is part of today’s France. Since his early youth, he has always had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he later on would promote his devotion to Mary throughout all of his works and missions.

St. Bernard has always wanted to become a priest, and later on, eventually he inspired many other men who followed his inspiration to join a monastic life, setting up the community of reformed Benedictines, which would eventually become the foundation of the Cistercian Order, and becoming the Abbot of Clairvaux, for which he was most well-known for. He soon had many following, and many people flocked to join his monastery, and support his endeavour, including his own father and brothers. He took part in many important events throughout the Church, supporting the Pope and others in embarking on the vigorous reforms of the Church and the Christian faith, improving the spirituality and discipline of the faithful, both those among the clergy and the laity alike.

Then, he was also remembered for his many works in opposing heresies and rooting out corrupt practices in the Church, taking part in Church councils and working on my writings, letters and documents which made his efforts and works truly influential at the time, as well as long after his passing and era. He had to face difficulties and challenges from the heretics and all those who opposed his reforms and efforts, but all these did not dampen his spirit and desire to follow the Lord faithfully and to do whatever he could to serve Him. He continued to labour hard in service to God and His people, as well as spreading the devotion to Mary, the Holy Mother of God in all of his works and missions throughout all of Christendom until the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the great life and examples showed to us by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, his dedication and efforts to serve the Lord, and through what we have been discussing from our Scripture passages, we should strive to live our lives worthily at all times, putting Him as the focus and centre of all of our lives and not the many distractions and temptations of worldly matters, wealth, possessions and all the other things that often distract us from the path towards God and His salvation. Let us all reorientate our lives so that we may focus them once more towards the Lord and reject the excesses of the world around us. May God be with us always and may He empower us to be ever more faithful and committed in following Him, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 19 : 23-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you : it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, believe Me : it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

On hearing this, the disciples were astonished and said, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and answered, “For human beings it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter spoke up and said, “You see, we have given up everything to follow You. What, then, will there be for us?”

Jesus answered, “You, who have followed Me, listen to My words : on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on His throne in glory, you, also, will sit, on twelve thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for My Name’s sake, they will receive a hundredfold, and be given eternal life. Many who are now first, will be last, and many who are now last, will be first.”

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Deuteronomy 32 : 26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab

I said I would scatter them afar and blot out their memory among humankind, but I feared the enemy’s boasting, lest the adversary misunderstand.

And say : ‘We have triumphed, the Lord has not brought this about.’ They are a senseless and undiscerning nation. Had they wisdom, they would have known.

For how could one or two men put to flight a thousand or ten thousand, unless their Rock had abandoned them, unless their Lord had given them up?

Their day of calamity is at hand, and swiftly their doom will come. The Lord will give justice to His people and have mercy on His servants.

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Tuesday, 20 August 2024 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 28 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre : You are very proud and self-satisfied : ‘I am a god, I sit like a god in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are man and not a god; would you hold yourself as wise as God? You consider yourself wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you. Your wisdom and know-how have earned you a fortune, gold and silver flowed to your treasury.”

“Clever in trade, you became wealthy and, as your fortune increased, your heart became prouder. But now, YHVH has spoken to you, to the one who is like God : I am bringing foreigners against you, the most feared of all the nations. Their sword will challenge your wisdom and debase your refined culture. They will bring you down to the pit and you will die in the depths of the sea.”

“Will you be able to say ‘I am a god’ when your murderers are killing you? You are a man and not a god. You will die the death of the uncircumcised and perish at the hands of aliens, for I have spoken – word of YHVH.”