priests

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Friday, 21 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Exodus 11 : 10 – Exodus 12 : 14

Moses and Aaron had worked all these marvels in the presence of Pharaoh, but YHVH had made Pharaoh obstinate and he would not let the people of Israel leave his country.

YHVH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt and said, “This month is to be the beginning of all months, the first month of your year. Speak to the community of Israel and say to them : On the tenth day of this month let each family take a lamb, a lamb for each house. If the family is too small for a lamb, they must join with a neighbour, the nearest to the house, according to the number of persons and to what each one can eat.”

“You will select a perfect lamb without blemish, a male born during the present year, taken from the sheep or goats. Then you will keep it until the fourteenth day of the month. On that evening all the people will slaughter their lambs and take some of the blood to put on the doorposts and on top of the doorframes of the houses where you eat.”

“That night you will eat the flesh roasted at the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat the meat lightly cooked and boiled in water but roasted entirely over the fire – the head, the legs and the inner parts. Do not leave any of it until the morning. If any is left till morning, burn it in the fire.”

“And this is how you will eat : with a belt round your waist, sandals on your feet and a staff in your hand. You shall eat hastily for it is a Passover in honour of YHVH. On that night I shall go through Egypt and strike every firstborn in Egypt, men and animals; and I will even bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt, I, YHVH! The blood on your houses will be the sign that you are there. I will see the blood and pass over you; and you will escape the mortal plague when I strike Egypt.”

“This is a day you are to remember and celebrate in honour of YHVH. It is to be kept as a festival day for all generations forever.”

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Friday, 14 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us all of the calling that all of us have received as Christians, in following God and in entrusting ourselves and our lives to do whatever it is that He has commanded us all to do. God has given each and every one of us the commission and the responsibilities to proclaim His truth and the Good News to all the nations. That is why all of us have been guided to His path, with God’s calling, His words and will revealed within our hearts and minds, that show unto us the way to His salvation and grace, and so that many more people may come to know of the Lord and His path, by our example and inspiration, by our actions and guidance for all those around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis we heard how God reassured Jacob when he was about to embark on the journey to the land of Egypt, upon hearing the joyous news that Joseph, one of his beloved sons, had not died but in fact lived and had become the great Regent of all Egypt. Jacob was uncertain and unsure when it was all true, and whether it was for him to go to Egypt, but the Lord reassured Jacob, telling him that it had been His plan all along, how He had sent Joseph ahead of everyone else in his family so that he could take good care of them in the land of Egypt during the time of great famine and hardships, so that the whole nation of God’s chosen people, descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, might prosper and flourish, grow and became great just as He has promised to Jacob and his forefathers.

Thus that was how Jacob was convinced to go to Egypt with his whole entire family, and was reunited with Joseph at last. God took good care of Jacob, Joseph and their whole family, and fulfilled everything that He has promised to all of them. Even later on when their descendants, the Israelites were mistreated and enslaved by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, the Lord was always with them and did not forget about them. He sent them Moses whom He had entrusted with the mission to liberate His people, and in the well-known story of the Exodus from Egypt, we are all aware of how God brought His beloved ones out of the land where they suffered and were enslaved. God has always been faithful to the Covenant that He has established with His faithful ones, and this was no exception.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the instructions that the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples as He sent them out to carry out their missions and works among the people, to do God’s will and to proclaim the Good News, so that they might know what they were sent to do, and also what they might have to endure and face amidst the mission and works they carried out, the challenges, trials, rejections and persecutions, and all the things which might be obstacles and stumbling blocks in the way of those who follow the Lord and His ways. The Lord told them upfront that their journey might be fruitful and good in some occasions, but might also be challenging and tough in others, and they might have to stand up for their faith from time to time, and defend their beliefs before others. But the Lord told them that they truly had nothing to be worried about.

The Lord Himself reassured them that He would be with them and that the Holy Spirit would guide them and strengthen them, and that the Wisdom of God, His eloquence and truth would empower them that they would be able to make a stand and outwit those who oppose them, as long as they keep their faith and trust in the Lord. He reassured and reminded them that just as they would have to suffer, He Himself would suffer the rejection of the world, the persecutions and the hardships, which we all know too well, of how the Lord embraced His Cross willingly, rejected and betrayed by His own people and even His followers, condemned to death for a sin that He did not commit, and bore the burden of our innumerable sins and faults so that through Him all of us might be truly and fully reconciled with God, and receive from Him the fullness of pardon and grace.

That is why today, all of us as Christians, we are all reminded of God’s calling for us in our respective lives. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the grace of God’s blessings, and we have received His most generous love. He has called on all of us to share these blessings and all the graces we have received with one another, and to proclaim the truth and salvation that He has brought into our midst so that we may truly be His faithful and great missionaries and disciples, in proclaiming His truth, Good News and love to all the people all over the world, even in our smallest and most insignificant actions and works. All of us as Christians are called to

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Camillus de Lellis, a holy and devoted man of God, who as a priest was remembered for his great care for his great care and compassion for the sick and the dying, and for all who were wounded and hospitalised, based on his own prior experiences, when he was fighting in the military prior to joining the priesthood, where a leg injury and also bad experiences, attitude and problems, that included his aggressive nature and excessive gambling, eventually led him to seek the Lord through the assistance of a Capuchin friar who patiently helped St. Camillus de Lellis to find his way to the Lord. Through that conversion, this sinful man turned into a new life as a priest and man of God eventually felt the calling to serve the Lord and His people in greater ways.

He founded the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm, also known today as the Camillians after their founder, which members dedicate themselves to the care of the sick and the wounded, assisting in wars and conflicts, and in the care of all those who were not able to take care of themselves. St. Camillus de Lellis himself suffered from ailments and hardships throughout his life and ministry, but he did not let all of those things to dissuade or discourage him from continuing to carry out his works, in reaching out to the sick and suffering, and all to those who were less fortunate, actions that inspired many other people to join and help out in his cause, through his patient efforts and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the great and inspiring examples set by St. Camillus de Lellis and those that the Lord’s disciples had done, let us all therefore help one another to be strong and firm in our own faith as well. Let us all be good role models and inspirations for each other in faith, so that in our every works and actions, in our every good efforts and endeavours, we will always help to lead others ever closer to God, and that we will always be ready to walk in the path that the Lord has shown us, even if things may seem to be really challenging and difficult for us. May God be with us always, as He has always been with His beloved ones, and may He bless our every step forward as we carry on living our lives with faith and commitment to Him. Amen.

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Friday, 14 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 10 : 16-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of Me, so that you may witness to them and the pagans.”

“But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father, speaking through you.”

“Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, you will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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Friday, 14 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

Trust in YHVH and do good; dwell in the land and live on it. Make YHVH your delight; and He will grant your heart’s desire.

YHVH watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. They are not crushed in times of calamity; when famine strikes, they still are satisfied.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. For YHVH loves justice and right, and never forsakes His faithful ones. The wicked, instead, will perish, and their breed will be cut off.

YHVH is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. YHVH helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them, for they sought shelter in Him.

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Friday, 14 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Genesis 46 : 1-7, 28-30

Israel left with all he owned and reached Beersheba where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions that he had during the night. “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he said. “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I will go with you to Egypt and I will bring you back again and Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”

Jacob left Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father with their little children and their wives in the wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him. They also took their flocks and all that they had acquired in Canaan. And so it was that Jacob came to Egypt and with him all his family, his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters, in short all his children he took with him to Egypt.

Jacob sent Judah ahead to let Joseph know he was coming and that he would soon arrive in the land of Goshen. Joseph got his chariot ready in order to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself, threw his arms around his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, for I have seen your face and know you are alive.”

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord, each and every one of us are reminded that no one is to be excluded from the love and grace of God, from the kindness and compassion that He has always shown each one of us. No one is truly beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy, as the Scripture passages today can attest to us and remind us what God’s love has done for many amongst us even in the times of greatest distress and hardships. He has always shown His care and attention, and none of us are ever too far from His providence. That is why we are reminded this day that we should not lose hope and we should continue to hold on fast to our faith in the Lord even amidst great tribulations and trials in our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis the story of the conflict that arose between Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham from his mother Hagar, a slave owned by Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Isaac, the son that Sarah herself had borne for Abraham, the son that God had promised Abraham. It was logical to think that Sarah was afraid that Ishmael would try to snatch the inheritance away from Isaac, her own son, and all these ultimately happened because in his momentary weakness and moment of doubt, Abraham chose to find worldly solution to his problem rather than to trust in God for what He had promised and spoken to him about giving and granting him a son to continue his legacy and family. Abraham took Hagar, Sarah’s slave to bear a child for them, probably upon Sarah’s suggestion, a decision that would probably be regretted by the latter.

Now, despite all the problems and issues that arose from the fact that Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, they are both still Abraham’s sons, and while Abraham did send Ishmael and his mother away, God did not abandon them but in fact took good care of them and helped them in their times of hardships, sending His Angel to take care of them and to provide for them in the wilderness. God has also promised Abraham that He would still take care of Ishmael for despite the child having been conceived against God’s will, but ultimately, as a child of Abraham, he was also still deserving of God’s blessings that God has promised his father Abraham. Ultimately, he was also one of God’s beloved children, just like all of us.

That is why, we can see how God’s love has been given so generously to us, as we have seen His blessings, love and compassion even to those who others may think as undeserving of God’s love and kindness. This He has yet again shown in our Gospel passage today as we heard of how the Lord had shown His mercy and compassion on two men who had been possessed by evil spirits in the region of Gadara beyond the Jordan River from Judea. Those two men had been living in the wilderness, shunned and rejected by the rest of the Jewish community for their condition, as they were struck by the evil spirits that made them to be very much feared by the rest of the people, who stayed away from them.

But the Lord did not abandon those two men, and He cast the demons from the two men into the herd of pigs nearby, freeing the two men from the possession by the evil spirits. The news of that miracle and exorcism astounded many of the people in the region, who have never heard or witnessed such things before. And the pig herders and owners in that area naturally were afraid of the Lord because He has caused many of their pigs to fall into their deaths, possessed by the evil spirits, and hence, they begged Him to leave their area. But in the end, the two men, who were once possessed by the evil spirits, had been freed from their bondage and from those wicked spirits, gained their freedom and position again among the people of God. The Lord did that for them, and again, we can see the love of God that has been generously shown to us.

Today, all of us are therefore reminded that we should continue to love the Lord wholeheartedly and commit ourselves totally to Him. All of us as Christians have been so fortunate that God has always watched over us and taken care of us even when He was not obliged to do so. After all, it was us who have disobeyed and abandoned Him first, betrayed Him and refusing to listen to Him. Yet, He still patiently cared for us and repeatedly sought for us, calling on us to return to Him so that we may find our way back to Him. All of us are beloved by God, and no one can indeed separate us from the love of God, unless we ourselves have consciously and repeatedly rejected His love right up to the very end.

This day, we also celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Zaccaria, a faithful priest and saint, man of God, whose life and actions hopefully can serve as inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives, that we may indeed know how to follow the Lord faithfully as he had done in his own life. St. Anthony Zaccaria was a truly devout priest and preacher who spent a lot of time and effort to proclaim the truth of God, and calling upon the people of God to love the Lord through the devotion that now has become very popular, that is the Forty-hours devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He laboured hard during the tough time of the Protestant reformation, leading the efforts with the Counter-Reformation, helping many among the faithful to realise the flaws and mistakes in the heretical ideas and teachings that were then running rampant all around Christendom.

St. Anthony Zaccaria dedicated himself so much to his work and ministry, and laid the foundations for not just one, but in fact three religious institutions, namely the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, as well as the lay organisation of the Laity of St. Paul. Through his establishments of these societies, and his many other works, and inspiration for many to work together for the greater glory of God, St. Anthony Zaccaria had truly brought about great good to many people, and helped many to realise their love for God, and to walk ever more faithfully in the path that God had called them to walk in. All of us as Christians therefore should also do our part in the manner that St. Anthony Zaccaria has shown us, in loving God, Who has loved us so dearly, and to show that love to one another.

Let our actions be truly Christ-like, and be the extensions of God’s love and compassion, so that we may truly, like God Himself had done, love one another, our fellow brothers and sisters with great and unconditional love. May the Lord continue to bless us in our every good works and endeavours, that we may ever grow stronger in our faith and commitment, to follow Him at all times. May God be with us all and be with Church, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 8 : 28-34

At that time, when Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, He was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged Him, “If You drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 33 : 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

When the poor cry out, YHVH hears and saves them from distress. YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him.

Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.

Come, listen to me, my children; I will show you how to fear YHVH. If you desire long life; if you want to enjoy prosperity.

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Genesis 21 : 5, 8-20

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son and she said to Abraham, “Send this slave girl and her son away; the child of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.”

This matter distressed Abraham because it concerned his son, but God said to him, “Do not be worried about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, because the race which is called by your name will spring from Isaac. But from the son of your servant I will also form a nation, for he too is your offspring.”

Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy under one of the bushes, and then went and sat down about a hundred yards away, for she thought, “I cannot bear to see my son die.”

But as she sat there, the child began to wail. God heard him and the Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I will make him into a great nation.”

God then opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness and became an expert archer.

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Monday, 19 June 2023 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the message from the Scriptures reminding us of the things that we have to do as Christians, in all the actions we carry out in life, in everything that we say and speak of, and in our every interactions and works throughout our lives. Each and every one of us as Christians are expected to carry out the Law and the commandments of God, and walk in the path that the Lord has shown us all, and do whatever He has commanded us to do. All of us should be good role models and inspirations to one another, and we should do our part in showing our faith through our actions, works, words and deeds, and be genuine Christians in all things, and not just in name only.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle that St. Paul wrote to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, in which the Apostle exhorted all the faithful people of God there to do what is right in all of their actions and in following the examples of the ministers of God, all the Apostles, disciples and the many missionaries who have worked among them tirelessly in proclaiming the Good News of God, His ways and His teachings. St. Paul reminded all of them to remain committed to God and to do what is right and just in accordance with the Law and commandments of God, so that their lives might truly inspire many others to follow their examples, much as how the Apostles and the missionaries themselves have inspired them in their faith.

St. Paul also highlighted the difficulties and the many hardships that the faithful might have to endure in the midst of their lives as Christians, because inevitably, there would be those who refused to believe in God and in His truth, and therefore, chose to persecute, oppress and made the lives of the faithful Christians, the people of God to be difficult. As the Apostle St. Paul himself had experienced, as were those other missionaries, they could face tribulations and trials, even imprisonment and hardships, challenges to their lives and their works and ministry, but despite all of those things, the Lord would always be with them, guiding them and strengthening them, and through their exemplary lives and help for one another, they persevered in the faith. Hence, the others should also follow their examples as well.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus saying to His disciples what it truly means to be His disciples and followers. He told them the famous adages or sayings, that ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’, which actually came from the old Jewish laws, practices and customs, which were meant to keep the people in check, after their many and frequent acts of disobedience against God and the Law. Those things meant that for whatever wrongdoings or faults that any one of the people had committed, an equivalent or similarly punitive consequence must be meted. However, this was not the true intention of the Lord and the Law that He has provided to His people, as it was actually meant to help them to discipline themselves and to discourage them from committing sins against Him.

Unfortunately, that has led to people being rather rigid and legalistic in how they viewed the Law and in how they fulfilled the conditions and the precepts of the Law. They viewed the Law and the commandments of God, or being a faithful follower of the Lord means that they ought to obey all those laws and precepts, but in many cases, they forgot the true importance and the purpose of the Law as the Lord has intended it. They ended up focusing on all the details and all the cumbersome additions of the rules and regulations, rituals and the practices, which often deviated and distracted the people from realising the true intention and purpose of the Law. This is where the Lord reminded all of us through His disciples and Church, that each and every one of us have been called and taught to live our lives worthily, by loving Him and one another wholeheartedly and sincerely.

That is why, each and every one of us are reminded that our every words, actions and deeds have to be good and righteous, worthy of God and show our Christian faith and truth at all times. It means that in how we interact with each other, we should love one another tenderly and genuinely, caring for all those around us with compassion and care. We should also do what the Lord has taught and told us to do, so that in all of our actions, interactions and dealings, our every deeds will shine with the light and truth of God’s glory. The Lord has called us to be His disciples and also missionaries to spread His Good News to the nations, and it is by living our lives in the way that the Lord has commanded us, that we become good role models and inspirations to others around us so that they too may live their lives in accordance to God’s ways.

Today, the Church also marks the commemoration of the memories and the lives of those holy predecessors of ours, who have suffered greatly and perished during an episode of intense persecution of Christians in what is today Vietnam. Today is the Feast of St. Philip Minh and his companions, who have endured intense oppression for being Christians, in their dedication and commitment to God as Christians. The state and the governmental apparatus back then viewed all Christians and their faith, as well as the missionaries who came to Vietnam to preach the Good News of God with great suspicion and fear, considering them as agents of foreign powers and as threat to their existence and sovereignty. Therefore, in consideration of all these, that was why St. Philip Minh and others faced those bitter experiences and hardships. Yet, they all faced those sufferings and hardships with faith and courage, not giving in to those who seek to destroy them or force them to abandon their faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the examples of St. Philip Minh and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, that we may also aspire and strive to do what we can so that our lives and actions are true reflection of our Christian faith, so that we ourselves may inspire many others around us by our good examples and way of life. May the Lord, our most loving God and Master continue to help and guide us all in our journey throughout our lives, and may He empower all of us to continue living our lives with dedication and commitment, and doing our very best to be the true and shining beacons of His light and truth, His Good News and love, now and always, forevermore. May God bless us in our every good works and endeavours, in all things. Amen.