Saints

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Wednesday, 28 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 27-32

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness. In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous. You say : Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets. So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”

“And now, finish off what your ancestors began!”

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Wednesday, 28 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

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Wednesday, 28 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Thessalonians 3 : 6-10, 16-18

We command you, beloved, to stay away from believers who are living in idleness, contrary to the traditions we passed on to you. You know, how you ought to follow our example : we worked while we were with you. Day and night, we laboured and toiled so as not to be a burden to any of you.

We had the right to act otherwise, but we wanted to give you an example. Besides, while we were with you, we said clearly : if anyone is not willing to work, neither should that one eat.

May the Lord of peace give you His peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with you all. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is my signature in all my letters. This is how I write. May the grace of Christ Jesus our Lord be with you.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures where we heard about the continuation of the discourse on the woes of the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today as the Lord continued on His criticism and rebuke on the Pharisees, the religious elite of the Jewish community who often opposed the Lord in His ministry and works, as well as the exhortation by St. Paul to the faithful people of God in Thessalonica on how they ought to stand firm to their faith in God, not allowing themselves to be easily swayed by falsehoods and temptations around them, to prevent them from falling into sin. Through all these, we are all reminded that we should continue to be faithful as Christians in all of our lives and actions, to be truly faithful to God and not merely be outwardly pious but having no love for God in us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, in what is now part of Greece, continuing from what we heard in yesterday’s passage, the Apostle reminded the people of God not to be easily swayed and tempted by various false messages and misleading details which might tempt them to give up their faith in God. That is why the people of God must have strong and enduring faith to persevere amidst the various challenges, trials and temptations surrounding them. There were a lot of misleading teachings and messages going around even since the very earliest days of the Church as evidenced in that Epistle that St. Paul wrote and sent to the Thessalonians. There were quite a few of those who tried to appropriate Church and Christian teachings to suit their own agenda.

That was why they mixed parts of the Christian teachings and truth with their own misinformation and ideas, which resulted in not few among the Christians to be swayed into their erroneous and heretical paths. St. Paul was working hard against all those heretics and all the false prophets and messengers, all those irresponsible and wicked people who sought to lead the people of God into the wrong paths for their own selfish agenda and benefits. He persevered through the challenges to slowly and patiently guide the people of God to return back once again to Him, and to return to the path of virtue and righteousness, abandoning whatever wrong and misguided ideas that they had been exposed to through those false leaders and heretics.

In our Gospel passage today, as mentioned earlier we heard from the we heard the continuation of the woes and criticism, rebuke and words that the Lord Jesus had against the Pharisees, who were the religious elites of the Jewish community at that time. The Pharisees often looked down on others around them and considered themselves as superior in matters of faith and piety, as the guardians of the Law and commandments of God. They also adopted a rather strict interpretation of God’s Law, the Law revealed through His servant Moses, and this brought great difficulties upon the people as many of them had to face tough challenges and hardships amidst obeying the many precepts and tenets of the Law of God.

What the Lord harshly criticised and rebuked the Pharisees for is their inconsistency in applying the rules of the Law, which were meant to advantage and benefit themselves. The Pharisees liked to parade their piety and obedience to God, their prayers and practices, but they themselves did not truly obey and follow the Law of God faithfully and sincerely as they should have done. Worse still, they also made it difficult for many others to follow the Lord and closed the doors to many of those whom they judged and deemed to be unworthy, being prejudiced and biased against those like the prostitutes and the tax collectors, those afflicted with diseases and possessed by evil spirits among others.

All these people were ostracised by the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish community, but the irony is that they were the ones who were seeking the Lord the most earnestly and hence were closer to the Lord’s salvation than the Pharisees themselves. Those Pharisees were blinded and misguided by their own ego and pride, by their own mistaken knowledge and understanding of the Law, which is similar to what St. Paul had warned and advised the faithful in Thessalonica against, that they must not fall into this wrong path, to the path that does not lead towards God. This is why we are also reminded not to walk down this path, and we should indeed spend more time to connect ourselves well to the Lord and to renew our faith in Him. We should also help one another to remain true to our faith in God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Monica, the mother of the well-known St. Augustine of Hippo, and who is the patron saint of mothers. St. Monica is a truly great saint who can be our great inspiration in how we should live our lives as faithful and holy people of God, in her tireless commitment to her son, her prayers and patience in guiding him towards the Lord. St. Monica was a Christian married to a Roman pagan influential man, and her son, St. Augustine of Hippo was a brilliant young man, but he was easily influenced by the many debauched and wicked influences of his time, and became a Manichaean, indulging himself in all sorts of wicked behaviours and even fathered a child out of wedlock. One can only imagine the frustrations that St. Monica might have to experience.

And yet, St. Monica went through it all patiently, always there to pray and support her son, praying for his conversion and change of heart. Slowly but surely, this impacted the members of her family, beginning from her husband, who converted to be a Christian before he passed away, and then St. Augustine of Hippo himself, who was called by God and then, under the tutelage of St. Ambrose of Milan, finally embraced the Christian faith and the Lord fully, abandoning his past wicked way of life. St. Monica was by her son’s side throughout the whole entire journey, and has always shown her love to him, reminding us all what it means for us to be a Christian and a disciple of Christ, in how we ought to love one another and to help one another in our path towards the Lord’s salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our best to proclaim the Lord ever more faithfully in our whole lives, and do our part as Christians to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to bless and guide us in our journey, strengthening us all to walk ever more faithfully in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 23-26

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything; but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup, with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.”

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Thessalonians 2 : 1-3a, 14-17

Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, and our gathering to meet Him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.

To this end He called you, through the Gospel we preach, for He willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who has loved us, may God Our Father, Who, in His mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.

May He encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Thessalonians 2 : 1-3a, 14-17

Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, and our gathering to meet Him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.

To this end He called you, through the Gospel we preach, for He willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who has loved us, may God Our Father, Who, in His mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.

May He encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

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Saturday, 24 August 2024 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of one of the Twelve Holy Apostles of the Lord, namely that of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. The name Bartholomew had its origin from the patronymic name, Bar-Tholomew, indicating that this St. Bartholomew was the son of someone named Tholomew, Tholomaios or Talmai. In the Scriptures and Apostolic tradition, he was also known and associated with Nathanael, as we all heard his story today from the Gospel according to St. John. Regardless of his actual name, on whether it is Bartholomew or Nathanael, or whether it is Nathanael bar Talmai/Ptolemy or Nathanael son of Talmai/Ptolemy as some Biblical scholars proposed, what matters is that this faithful servant of God has lived his life in commitment to God and has done many wonderful deeds in His service.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Revelations of St. John about the vision of St. John the Apostle who saw the vision of the great city of New Jerusalem, the City of God that has come down from Heaven. This vision of the heavenly and new Jerusalem is the symbol of the coming of the eternal Kingdom of God, the restoration of everything that had fallen into disarray by our disobedience and sins. Everything would be restored to how God had intended it to be at the beginning of time and creation. God had always meant for us all to enjoy the fullness of His love and grace, to share in everything that He had created and prepared for us, the eternal joy and happiness which He has meant for us to have with us. And St. John saw the vision of the twelve gates of the city decorated richly with precious stones, with the names of the Twelve Apostles written on them.

From what we have heard in this account of the heavenly vision of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the ultimate destination which we all have in our lives, that is to be reunited completely and fully with God, with our loving Father and Creator. The heavenly and new Jerusalem present at the end of time, after all the tribulations, trials and sufferings which St. John witnessed in his visions, showed us all the end of all of our journeys and hardships, as we endure all those in our path to seek God’s salvation and to be reunited with Him. We must not give up easily on this journey, as in the end, all of us will have a share in the eternal glory of God, and we are meant to live and exist with Him in an eternity of joy, free from all hardships and sufferings. The Apostles themselves have also received this same assurance, and they would indeed be the ones by the side of the Lord, honoured greatly as the pillars of His Church.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus called the person named Nathanael to Him, and when He convinced this same Nathanael to join Him in His mission to the people of Israel. As mentioned earlier, this Nathanael is likely the same as Bartholomew, by his patronymic ‘son of Talmai or Ptolemy’, and this Nathanael was a rather wise and learned man, as someone who was knowledgeable in the Scriptures and the prophets. When it was mentioned that the Lord Jesus hailed from the area of Galilee, Nathanael knew that no prophet or great man would come from that region, showing his knowledge and understanding of the prophets and the Scriptures, but he did not know that the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea just as the prophets had prophesied about Him and His coming.

The Lord then told Nathanael that He knew of what he was doing and where he was, a truly supernatural experience and ability which convinced Nathanael that the Lord Jesus was truly the One Whom the prophets and the Scriptures had predicted, the Messiah or the Saviour of the whole world. He told them that he and the other Apostles would see even more great and wonderful things, all the signs and wonders that He would perform before them, and ultimately, in the end of their respective journeys, they would be among the first to experience the beatific vision of Heaven, of the Angels of God glorifying the Lord, the One Whom St. Bartholomew himself had seen, witnessed and interacted with. His faith and commitment to the Lord would truly be rewarded by the Lord, and they would share in the glory of their Lord and Master just as St. John had seen and shared with us.

St. Bartholomew according to the Apostolic traditions would go on to carry out the mission which had been entrusted to him by the Lord after He has accomplished His works, His Passion and death, and after He has risen from the dead and ascended into Heaven. St. Bartholomew went on missionary journeys to many places, such as Mesopotamia, Parthia, Armenia, Lycaonia, Ethiopia and even as far as India. He worked tirelessly to proclaim the word of God to those places, ministering to the people of God and proclaiming God and His truth to many more people who have not yet known Him. St. Bartholomew spent his life to do whatever he could to evangelise the truth of God to more people, committing himself to the service of God.

According to Apostolic tradition, St. Bartholomew went to Armenia where he managed to convert Polymius, the local Armenian king, who became a Christian. This resulted in the riot and rebellion from the local pagan population, which led to the king’s brother to order the arrest, torture and execution of St. Bartholomew. Yet another related and popular tradition stated that St. Bartholomew was martyred in the nearby region of what is today Azerbaijan, where he was skinned alive and then beheaded. Regardless of the details of the sufferings and martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, what was clear is that he has truly devoted himself to the service of God, proclaiming His truth and Good News to the far ends of the world, suffering many things amidst his efforts and works, not fearing the persecutions, oppressions and tribulations that he had to face in the midst of doing so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples of St. Bartholomew the Apostle and remember that each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we have the shared responsibilities to continue the good works and ministry which the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, our predecessors have started. We should continue to do our best in whatever opportunities that have been given to us so that we may always be exemplary and good role models for our fellow brethren, and that our whole lives may truly shine with God’s ever present and wonderful light. May God continue to empower and bless us all in all of our endeavours, and may St. Bartholomew, Holy Apostle of the Lord continue to intercede and pray for us sinners still struggling and persevering daily in this world today. Amen.

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Saturday, 24 August 2024 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”