Saints

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Tuesday, 30 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we are all beloved by God, and God has always given us the opportunities and the means for each and every one of us to return to Him with contrite hearts and repentance, ever showing us all His rich mercy and forgiveness, as well as the desire to be reunited with us. We must always remember that God has always been patient in reaching out to us, caring for us and showing us His providence and compassion at each and every moments, and we should never take this for granted, or else, we may regret it when it is too late for us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the prophet spoke about the desolation and destruction that the people of God in the lands and the kingdom of Judah had been facing at that time, having endured all those because of the sins and wickedness that they had committed, and as they persecuted the prophets and messengers of God, refusing to listen to God’s words and reminders, refusing to obey the Law and commandments of God, all of which led to them being punished and chastised for all the wicked deeds which they had done. But the Lord wanted to tell His people that they are not forgotten, and that He still loved them all nonetheless, and everything that He had done, was meant to help bring them all back to Him.

That was why the prophet Jeremiah said all the words of prayer we have heard in our first reading today, calling upon the Lord to have mercy on the people, all of whom had indeed sinned against God and failed to follow His ways. But the people also realised their sinfulness and many among them wanted to return to the Lord, and thus, the prophet Jeremiah echoed and showed this sentiment and desire to the Lord through His prayers and words to Him, calling on Him to plead for the sake of the ones whom God had beloved and cared for. And through that, each and every one of us are also therefore reminded of this fact of how we are truly the holy and beloved people of God, called and chosen to do God’s will in our world today, and to reject sin and evil in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we heard of the Lord explaining the parable of the weeds and the wheat in a field to His disciples and the ones assembled to listen to Him. Through that parable, the Lord told them all of an enemy who plotted against the master and sower of seeds in the field by sowing weeds upon the same field, and which caused the weeds to grow in between the crops and the desired plants. The Lord explained to His disciples how that parable is a representation of the Lord and the evil one competing for the hearts and minds of the people, those in whom God and the evil one have sowed respectively, the seeds of faith, hope and love, as well as the evil one’s seeds of doubt, despair and hatred, among many others.

This parable highlighted the reality that each and every one of us have received these various ‘seeds’ planted in us, and it is therefore now up to us to cultivate the right kind of ‘seeds’ in our lives. We have been given the choice and the free will by God to decide on how we ought to live our lives, and what path we are to choose in our path going forward in life. The fact that the wheat and crops are growing together with the weeds and the other undesirable plants is a reality that every one of us living in this world are struggling with daily, as our lives are truly a tapestry of things that are good and righteous, as well as those that are sinful and unworthy of God, through our disobedience against God and sins against Him.

The choice is therefore ours whether we want to do what is right and just according to God’s will or whether we prefer to do things in our own way, in listening to the devil and all of his wicked lies and deceptions. And in that same Gospel passage today, in the Lord’s explanations, the Lord made it clear that the weeds shall be uprooted and destroyed in the fire at the time of the reaping and the harvest, reminding all of us that if we continue to embrace those sinful ways and path in life, then in the end, there will be nothing left for us but regret because we have chosen to reject the ever generous and gracious love of God. That is why we are all called and reminded to embrace God’s righteousness and grace, His love and truth, and strive our best to live our lives according to this path.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Chrysologus, a great and holy man of God whose life and devotion to God, great works and efforts should be great inspiration and model for all of us to follow. St. Peter Chrysologus was born in what is now part of northern Italy during the final decades of the Roman Empire in the Western Mediterranean, where he became first a deacon and then archdeacon in service to the Church, before the then Pope appointed him as the Bishop of Ravenna, which was then the de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire. It was told in Church tradition that the Pope saw a vision of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Apolllinaris of Ravenna pointing to a young man who would become the new Bishop of Ravenna, and this vision referred to the then young St. Peter Chrysologus.

St. Peter Chrysologus gained his epithet of Chrysologus or ‘Golden-worded’ exactly because of his often simple yet powerful homilies which touched the lives and hearts of countless people who were under his care and listened to him. St. Peter Chrysologus explained the Scriptures and the Christian teachings well and he also made a firm and courageous stand against all the falsehoods, heresies and other evils of his time, doing his best to lead the people of God in the path towards God all throughout his whole life. St. Peter Chrysologus is truly a great example for all of us as Christians, in everything that he had done and in the efforts that he had in devoting himself completely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Peter Chrysologus and the many other saints, holy men and women of God in our lives, so that we may continue to do our best to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, and that we may be truly worthy and faithful in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions with one another. Let us all be the rich and bountiful crops and not be the weeds in the Lord’s field that is this world, making best use of the opportunities and time given to us to do His will, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 30 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Matthew 13 : 36-43

At that time, Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” Jesus answered them, “The One Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one. The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is the end of time, and the workers are the Angels.”

“Just as the weeds are pulled up and burnt in the fire, so will it be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send His Angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil. And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the just will shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.”

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Tuesday, 30 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 78 : 8, 9, 11, 13

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us for the sake of Your Name.

Listen to the groans of the prisoners; by the strength of Your arm, deliver those doomed to die.

Then we, Your people, the flock of Your pasture, will thank You forever. We will recount Your praise from generation to generation.

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Tuesday, 30 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Jeremiah 14 : 17-22

This you will say to them : Let My eyes shed tears night and day without ceasing! For a great wound has the virgin daughter of My people been wounded, a most grievous wound. If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword. If I enter the city I see the ravages of famine. For the prophet and the priest did not understand what was happening in the land.

Have You then rejected Judah forever? Do You abhor Zion? Why have You wounded us and left us with no hope of recovery? We hoped for salvation but received nothing good; we waited for healing, but terror came! YHVH, we know our wickedness and that of our ancestors, and the times we have sinned against You.

For Your Name’s sake do not despise us; do not dishonour the throne of Your glory. Remember us. Do not break Your Covenant with us! Among the worthless idols of the nations, are there any who can bring rain, or make the skies send showers? Only in You, YHVH our God, do we hope, for it is You Who do all this.

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Monday, 29 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of the friends and close companions of the Lord, the siblings, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, who were mentioned quite a number of times throughout the Gospels as the ones who have closely accompanied the Lord in His journeys and ministry. They were the people trusted and close to the Lord, and we honour their memory today to remind ourselves of how each and every one of us ought to live as God’s beloved disciples and followers, all those whom He had called and chosen from this world. All of us should be inspired by the great examples set by these holy people, and reflect upon what we have just heard from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures so that our lives may come ever closer to be truly worthy of God.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the first Epistle of St. John in which the Apostle elaborated about the most generous and wonderful love which God has shown to all of us through the giving of His Son, manifested in this world, as the perfect revelation of God’s great love in the flesh. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God manifested in the flesh, God has shown us all His most perfect and generous love that He has always given to us in each and every moments, and through His Son, He made us all to be able to experience the tangible reality of His love and kindness, His compassion and mercy. And God has loved us all despite us having disobeyed and rejected Him, betrayed and sinned against Him, from the very beginning up to now.

Therefore we must not take God’s love for us for granted, and we must realise just how blessed and fortunate all of us are because we have been loved in such a manner by God. God’s love has been offered to us and has endured all these while, and He has never given up on us despite us having repeatedly failed Him and rebelled against Him. Nonetheless, disobedience and sin against God are things that are truly serious and we must not take for granted the love, compassion and kindness which He has shown to each and every one of us. And at the same time, St. John also exhorted and reminded all of us that we should practice and embody the same love in our every actions in life, so that we are truly a people filled with the richness of God’s love and grace in every occasions.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard either the account from the Gospel of St. John regarding the Resurrection of Lazarus, the same St. Lazarus whom we are commemorating today, or the account from the Gospel of St. Luke in which we heard about the moment when the Lord Jesus came to the house of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, and we are presented with how St. Martha and St. Mary welcomed and embraced the Lord coming into their midst. Through either one of these Gospel passages, we gain more insight into what the Lord wants us all to know and remember about Him and following Him in our own respective lives, on how we all should dedicate and commit ourselves as faithful Christians in this world today.

In the first Gospel passage today, we heard about how the Lord came to the place where St. Lazarus, a dear friend of His had been buried. Earlier on, St. Lazarus had been very sick and the Lord and His disciples made the journey to Judah to the place where he and his sisters lived in, as the sisters asked the Lord for help, hoping that He could heal their brother and restore him back to good health. The Lord delayed for a while before coming down, which resulted in St. Lazarus having died before the Lord reached his place. It was at the place he was buried that the Lord went to reassure his sisters, telling them that they must not lose faith in Him and the Resurrection, because He is truly the Lord and Master of life and death, and all of us shall share in His new life if we hold strongly and faithfully to our faith in Him.

That was why the Lord raised up St. Lazarus from the dead, as how everything had been meant to be by the will of God. Through what He had done, God showed us all just how He has the power over all things, that He is in charge and He rules over every part of Creation, and we must always have this firm faith and trust in Him, not allowing ourselves to be easily swayed by those who seek to mislead and drag us down the path of destruction and downfall. We should continue to entrust ourselves in the Light of the Lord’s Resurrection and glory, reminding us all to be the bearers of God’s light, truth and hope in our world today, darkened by evil and sin.

And then, in the other Gospel passage we heard of the time when the Lord Jesus came to the house of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus where we heard how the sisters welcomed Him and brought Him into their house with two different approaches. St. Martha was very busy with all of her work in the kitchen and elsewhere, preparing everything to welcome the Lord into her house with great celebration, while St. Mary her sister was by the side of the Lord, listening closely to Him teaching to her, paying close attention to His words. And we heard how St. Martha was not happy that her sister did not help her at all, but the Lord lightly rebuked her saying that although her intentions might be good, but St. Martha in her preoccupation in trying to prepare everything for the Lord distracted her and prevented her from seeing the true blessing present before her, that is the Lord being present in her midst.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded this day through the Lord and His interactions with His dear and close friends, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus that each and every one of us as Christians have been called to realise just how beloved we have been by God, how fortunate all of us truly are that God had been willing to reach out to us and to heal us from our sins. And we must remember that we must not take this love for granted, and appreciate His Presence in our lives, just as St. Mary put her focus and attention on Him. We should reflect upon our lives and our path, so that we may truly be faithful and worthy disciples of the Lord, in our great and ever present love for Him, our commitment to His path and our love and compassion for one another.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, our loving Creator and Master, continue to be with us all and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may truly love Him wholeheartedly and ever more courageously, focusing our attention and whole lives on Him, and no longer on the many temptations and wickedness of this world. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, so that inspired by the examples and lives of His saints, especially the glorious St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, holy men and women of God, we may continue to walk ever more righteously in God’s path, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 29 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 11 : 19-27

At that time, many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha replied, “I know that He will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.” But Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha then answered, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He Who is coming into the world.”

Alternative reading

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Monday, 29 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

I will praise YHVH all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in YHVH; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify YHVH; together, let us glorify His Name! I sought YHVH, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. 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. Oh, see and taste the goodness of YHVH! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in 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.

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Monday, 29 July 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-16

My dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves, is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love. How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world, that we might have life, through Him.

This is love : not that we loved God, but that, He first loved us and sent His Son, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.

How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God. We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is love. The one who lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.

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Friday, 26 July 2024 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of how beloved we all have been by God, and how great is the love and compassion which our loving Father and Creator for each and every one of us. That is why we should always strive to nurture our love for God and also our faith in Him, as if we do not nurture this love and faith we ought to have in us, they will wither and we will not get close to the Lord and we may even find ourselves shutting ourselves off from His love and kindness, from His grace and blessings. Each and every one of us should always strive to be ever closer to the Lord, and we have to begin it by living our lives from now on ever more faithfully in the Lord’s path.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the prophet of God spoke of the words of the Lord to His people, telling them all of the love which He has always had for them, and how He called upon them all to return to Him once again. He would lead them all once again back to their lands and take care of them as He had always done, after all that the people had to endure came to pass, all the punishments and hardships that they would have to endure because of all of their sins and wickedness. The Lord did not despise or hate His people, and He still loved them all after everything that they had done to them, their disobedience and wickedness which were truly abhorrent. But God wished to reconcile them to Himself, and thus made the way for them to return to Him.

That was why He sent them His many prophets and messengers to help and guide them down the right path, turning away from all the wickedness which they had committed in life. He sent them the prophet Jeremiah as a sort of final warning, telling them of all the punishments and hardships that they would very soon had to face and endure for their disobedience and sins against God, the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, and the deportation of many of the people of God to distant places in Mesopotamia, in Assyria and Babylon, as what had also happened to the northern half of the kingdom of Israel, destroyed by the Assyrians a century or so earlier on. He wanted them all to realise the errors of their ways and to return once again towards His light and love.

Then, in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and the ones assembled to listen to Him as He used the famous parable of the sower to teach them about what He intended to tell them, which we have also heard in our Gospel passage yesterday. This parable of the sower highlighted the importance of us allowing the seeds of faith that the Lord has sown and planted in us to grow well and wonderfully in our hearts and minds, just as He has explained to the people then, how those seeds that landed in the places that were inhospitable and improper for the growth, germination and development of seeds either did not even manage to germinate, or were destroyed soon after because of the inhospitable conditions.

It is only those seeds that landed on rich and fertile soil which managed to germinate, grow and prosper wonderfully into plants that grew well and bear a lot of rich fruits, with products in thirty, sixty and hundredfold of what was planted earlier on. This is a reminder therefore for all of us tonight that we must always strive to provide this fertile environment for our faith and love for God to grow and develop, as the people of Israel and Judah failed to do so mainly because they allowed themselves to be swayed by the path of sin and wickedness, by the temptations of worldly glory, pleasures and ambitions which made them to abandon God’s path and His Law, His righteous ways and commandments, and instead seeking to satisfy their own selfish and worldly desires in life, and hence, fell into the trap of sin.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, who are the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and hence, they are the grandparents of the Lord. Accordingly, our current Pope, Pope Francis proclaimed earlier a few years ago that this celebration of the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne would also be the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, remembering all of our own grandparents and senior members of our family, and of all the elderly people in our midst. Not much was known about the life and actions of St. Joachim and St. Anne, but what is certain is that they were upright and devout people, who raised up Mary to be an obedient and a holy person in her own right.

We are reminded today to be appreciative and grateful for our grandparents and our elders who have shown us their love, care and concern. In our world today, due to changing nature of the family and relationships, many families tend to neglect their elders and forget about them, and many people do not even live with their own grandparents and the elders anymore, and this led to many of the latter facing hardships, challenges and loneliness in the conduct of their daily living and actions. We must not forget all the love that they had shown to us, much as how the Lord our God Himself has loved us all patiently. Our elderly and grandparents often made many sacrifices and went the extra mile for us without us realising it, and we often realised it only when it is already too late for us to do so, when they are no longer by our side.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore as we have been reminded to develop that strong and genuine relationship with God, let us also remember those around us especially our elders and grandparents, all those who have loved us and are now living through their twilight years. We should continue to love them all and develop a strong, genuine and loving relationship with our elders and grandparents, in all that we do in our lives. Let our love for our elders and grandparents be good examples and inspirations for everyone that more and more people will continue to grow in love for their family members particularly their elders, and grow ever stronger in their faith in God. May God bless each and every one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 26 July 2024 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 13 : 18-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath.”

“The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word, and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the word, than he gives up.”

“The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word, but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word; and it does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.”