Saints

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Thursday, 5 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that we should not put our trust only in human power and abilities, only in our own wisdom and intellect, as there would be a time and opportunity when those things may eventually fail us, while if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we will be strengthened and while our paths and journeys may still be difficult and challenging, but in the end, it is with the Lord alone that we shall be able to gain true satisfaction, joy and happiness, glory and liberation from all of our troubles and difficulties. If we follow the Lord, then He will guide us all to His Presence, and we have to commit ourselves to walk in this path He has shown and led us through.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we heard how the Apostle was speaking about the matter of human and worldly wisdom, and how those who are members of the faithful and holy people, the Church of God ought to be always seek to be filled with God’s Wisdom and grace, to be filled with His love and kindness, and not be swayed by the foolish paths taken by those who depended and walked in the path shown by their worldly wisdom and understanding alone. Those who sought worldliness and its satisfaction will be brought low while those who sought the Lord to be with them, all of them would be protected and reassured in their lives and existence before God and man alike.

As Christians, it is important that all of us must embody our faith and beliefs in each and every one of our actions, words and deeds, or else we are no better than hypocrites and unbelievers. Worse still, we may even scandalise our faith and the Lord’s good and holy Name if we allow ourselves and our actions to be swayed by the falsehoods and evils of this world around us. We should not allow our pride, ego and ambition, our greatness, abilities and other things from leading us astray from the Lord and His righteousness. Many people, our predecessors and our fellow brothers and sisters have fallen into this same trap as they allowed the temptations of pride and desire to mislead them and to tempt them away from the path and wisdom of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we are all reminded through the Gospel according to St. Luke in which we heard the account of the moment when the Lord was with His disciples at the Lake of Galilee or Gennesaret, where some of His disciples who were fishermen, were in the water, seeking for fish while their Master was on the land, teaching all the people who had come to Him to listen to Him. And we heard how the Lord then asked Simon Peter, one of His disciples to put out his boat and net into the deep waters, so that they could get fishes for themselves. Simon Peter, who was a fisherman and was an experienced one in his area of expertise immediately told the Lord that he and the other fishermen had worked hard all night long and they did not manage to get any fish.

But at the same time, we then heard of how Simon Peter obeyed the Lord’s commands, and he did just exactly as the Lord had told him to do, putting out his boat into the deep waters and lowering his net, which almost immediately and miraculously led to a huge and vast number of fishes being caught in the net, causing the boats that the disciples were in to be almost capsized by the huge haul. This miracle and event showed that the power and wisdom of God, His power and might are truly far greater than anything that the world can provide or give us. And this is why by entrusting himself to the Lord and by obeying Him, St. Peter and the other disciples could gain such a great catch, at which moment the Lord then told them to follow Him and that He would make them ‘fishers of men’.

This is a reminder how each and every one of us as the members of the Church and as part of the efforts and missions to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters all around us in this world. All of us are like those fishermen, St. Peter and the other disciples of the Lord, who were labouring for the Lord, gathering and reaching out to more and more of those who have not yet seen the Lord’s truth and wonders. We are all parts of God’s Church and we all share the same mission, calling and responsibility to reach out to everyone of all the nations, to all those to whom we have been sent to, proclaiming the Good News of God and His salvation to them, and it is by our obedience to God and by the path that God has shown us that we will have great success in this endeavour, and not by our own power and might.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of the famous St. Teresa of Kolkata, also known as St. Teresa of Calcutta, or as Mother Teresa, renowned for her great charitable works and efforts through the congregation of Missionaries of Charity that she founded, in caring for the needy and the poor, the sick and the dying, and especially in giving dignified treatment for those who were suffering and dying, showing them the love of God manifested and shown through the actions of St. Teresa of Kolkata and her fellow sisters and other collaborators in the Missionaries of Charity. She was born in Albania as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu to a Catholic Albanian family in the year 1910, and since young she has been fascinated and inspired to be a missionary in distant lands. This eventually led to her joining the Sisters of Loreto congregation and went to India to continue her formation.

St. Teresa of Kolkata became involved in the education of young children in Kolkata, India during her many years in the congreagtion of the Sisters of Loreto, and eventually becoming the headmistress of the mission school there. However, she was continually disturbed by the great and abject poverty which many of the people in Kolkata and other parts of India suffered from. Through this calling that she embraced wholeheartedly, she eventually decided to leave her profession as a Sister of Loreto and role in the school, founding a new congregation, the Missionaries of Charity dedicated to the care and attention towards the poor, the needy and those who were sick and dying. She gathered many other like-minded women who sought to serve the needs of the people, giving care and compassionate love for those who needed them.

She gave dignity to those who have been abandoned, neglected and ostracised, caring for them in the poorest and most despicable conditions, in the slums and in the streets. She was well-known for her outreach to everyone who were poor and suffering regardless of their religious beliefs and background. She opened and operated hospices and houses like the famous Nirmala Hriday of Kolkata, where the poor and the dying can be cared with love and given the dignity due to them as human beings. Throughout the rest of her life, St. Teresa of Kolkata continued to do her best to serve the Lord and His people, following Him to whichever path that He wanted her to go, and famously mentioning at the time when she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts, that she was just ‘an instrument in the hands of the Lord.’

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the great examples of St. Teresa of Kolkata and the many other saints, holy men and women of God, so that our lives and efforts will truly be centred on God and that we will not be swayed by the temptations of worldly ambitions, power and glory. Instead, let us all humbly seek the Lord and strive to be always guided by Him and His Wisdom in all things. Let us all be the instruments of the Lord’s works, and be the ones through whom God would bring His many good works to fruition. May the Lord bless each and every one of us, in our every good effort, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 5 : 1-11

At that time, one day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around Him listening to the word of God, He caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There He sat, and continued to teach the crowd.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything.

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Thursday, 5 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Thursday, 5 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

1 Corinthians 3 : 18-23

Do not deceive yourselves. If anyone of you considers himself wise in the ways of the world, let him become a fool, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. To this, Scripture says : God catches the wise in their own wisdom. It also says : The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is useless.

Because of this, let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you; Paul, Apollos, Cephas – life, death, the present and the future. Everything is yours, and you, you belong to Christ, and Christ is of God.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we should always put our trust in the Wisdom of God which He has imparted to us through His Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Whom He has sent to us to dwell within us and to empower us all, through His Church and Apostles, through their successors, our bishops and the priests whom He has called and chosen to serve Him and His people, that is all of us. Through the Holy Spirit, the Lord has sent His guidance to us all so that all of us may come towards Him, embracing Him and His love, His path and His truth, that we are no longer lost from Him, and are worthy to receive from Him the assurance of eternal life and glory. We should always allow ourselves to be guided and led by Him, and not by our earthly desires.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth, continuing the series of discourses by the Apostle to the Corinthians which we have heard in the past few days. We heard of how the Lord had sent His Spirit into our midst, revealing to us His Wisdom, and through this Wisdom, showing us all the things that we need to do in order to follow the Lord most faithfully and genuinely. However, many of the people chose to trust in their own power and judgment and hence, they remained oblivious and unwilling to accept the truth, the reality and the teachings which the Lord Himself has presented before each and every one of them. That is because they chose to depend on their own wisdom and power instead of trusting in God.

The Lord has shown us all His Wisdom, and passed them to us through His Church, and as Christians, each and every one of us as God’s holy and beloved people like that of the Corinthians are reminded again and again that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, by our pride and ego, especially if we think that we know it better than others. We must not let the temptations of our worldly knowledge and wisdom to lead us astray, bringing us down the wrong path in life as we choose to side with the flawed and mistaken ways of the world rather than to trust in the Lord and His ever patient guidance and help. All of us should strive to continue to be open-minded and to be willing to listen to the Lord speaking to us, giving us His Wisdom and guidance in all things.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord was teaching to the people in Capernaum in Galilee when a man possessed by evil spirits came to Him and disturbed His session, proclaiming loudly before everyone that he knew Who the Lord Jesus truly was, that is the Holy One of God, the Son of God and the Messiah. As manipulative and dangerous the evil spirits were in harming us and in possessing that man, and as malicious as the evil spirits’ intent might have been, they could not lie but speak the truth about the One Who was before them, the One Whom God Himself has sent into this world to save each and every one of us.

It was indeed a great irony that while many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were there and witnessed the many miracles and wonderful deeds that the Lord had done, and all the wisdom and words which He had spoken, and doubting Him and His truth, questioning His authority and authenticity, yet, it was the evil spirits that proclaimed the Lord and spoke the truth about Him, albeit with some malicious intents in doing so. Those evil spirits still tried to disturb the Lord’s works, as knowing that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were against the Lord and His claim to the Divinity of the Son of God, by doing so, they could disturb His works and made Him to face opposition from the Pharisees and the other enemies of the Lord.

But the fact remains that they acknowledged the Lord and spoke the truth about Him while those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who took great pride in their knowledge and sense of superiority over others around them, refused to listen to Him or to acknowledge His truth. Their pride and ego, their worldly knowledge and wisdom which they depended on very much prevented them from accepting the truth with humility and grace, and thus was why they continued to oppose the Lord despite having witnessed for themselves again and again, what wonders and miracles the Lord had done, and hearing all the wisdom and great teachings that the Lord had spoken and taught before all of them. This is what we must not do ourselves as Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, a great Pope and leader of the Universal Church, who dedicated himself to the Lord and to His people, carrying out many great and wonderful works for the benefit of the people of God. Pope St. Gregory the Great was born as the son of a Roman senator during the years when the Roman Empire just restored their rule over Rome after several decades of rule by the Germanic kingdoms. He lived in a monastery that he established within his Roman estate and was quite involved in the Roman matters and governance, and his grandfather was also elected as an earlier Pope. He was well-educated and became a government official, and then ordained as a deacon and becoming the Roman ambassador to the Imperial court in Constantinople.

After his years of experience as the ambassador of Rome to the Imperial court, eventually Pope St. Gregory the Great was elected as the successor of St. Peter, and immediately he began to embark on a great campaign to reform the Roman Church and also participate in the leadership over the Universal Church. Pope St. Gregory the Great was deeply involved in many theological disputes and matters of that time, and he also actively contributed to the works of the evangelisation, as he was well-known for sending many missionaries to many parts of the world where there were still no established existence of Christianity and its beliefs, such as parts of Germania and also Britain and Ireland, where he sent St. Augustine of Canterbury and other saints and missionaries to work the rich vineyard of the Lord.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was also well-renowned for his contributions to the reform of the Church liturgy and worship practices, known well for the origins of the Gregorian liturgy and chants, among others. Through his tireless efforts and works, Western Christianity as we are all familiar with today began to come to be, uniting the various divided factions and diverse practices of the early Christian Church, and helping the faithful to overcome the temptations of worldly pride and glory, trusting completely in the Lord and following Him, as this truly great Pope and servant of God helped to lead so many people back towards the Lord, to His love and truth, to His salvation and eternal life that He has promised, committing himself thoroughly to the end of his life.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard and hopefully been inspired by the great story and examples showed by Pope St. Gregory the Great and having discussed and discerned the message of the Sacred Scriptures earlier on, let us all therefore do our best to live our lives with full trust in the Lord and His Wisdom just as Pope St. Gregory the Great and many other holy men and women, saints of God had done before us. Let our lives be truly faithful and committed to the Lord in all things, and let us continue to do God’s will as much as possible in our daily living and actions, now and always, being good and worthy inspiration to one another. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 4 : 31-37

At that time, Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the Sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way He taught them, for His word was spoken with authority.

In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by an evil spirit, who shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I recognise You : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus said to him sharply, “Be silent and leave this man!” The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them, and came out of him without doing him harm. Amazement seized all these people, and they said to one another, “What does this mean? He commands the evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!”

And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14

Compassionate and gracious is YHVH, slow to anger and abounding in love. YHVH is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2024 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 2 : 10b-16

Because the Spirit probes everything, even the depth of God. Who, but his own spirit, knows the secrets of a person? Similarly, no one, but the Spirit of God, knows the secrets of God. We have not received the spirit of world, but the Spirit Who comes from God and, through Him, we understand what God, in His goodness, has given us.

So we speak of this, not in terms inspired by human wisdom, but in a language taught by the Spirit, explaining a spiritual wisdom to spiritual persons. The one who remains on the psychological level does not understand the things of the Spirit. They are foolishness for him; and he does not understand, because they require a spiritual experience.

On the other hand, the spiritual person judges everything, but no one judges him. Who has known the mind of God so as to teach Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

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Thursday, 29 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah. This Passion refers to the moment when St. John the Baptist suffered for his faith and dedication to the Lord, similar to that of the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, which we commemorate during the Holy Week in each liturgical year. On this day, we honour St. John the Baptist who had shared in the sufferings of the Lord, as the one who had prepared His path as His herald, and who therefore suffered and died before his own Lord and Master, courageously defending what he had believed in and everything that he had laboured for throughout his whole life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord reassured His people in the kingdom of Judah, to whom the Lord had sent Jeremiah to, that they should not be afraid or fearful of all their enemies and all those who sought to destroy them because He would be with them and protected them much as how He had done so in the earlier ages and eras. The Lord had always been with His people despite their many insubordinations, rebellions and refusals to obey Him and His Law, His commandments and ways. He had built His protections and barriers around them, coming in between them and their enemies, destroying many of those who plotted against them and sought their destruction on many occasions.

And yet, they still hardened their hearts and minds against Him despite all these things which He had done for them. The Lord had patiently helped and showed them His messengers, His servants and more to help and lead them towards Him. Many of these were persecuted and oppressed by those who refused to listen to their words and reminders, which brought about God’s anger against them and their stubbornness. Yet, despite having shown them this displeasure and anger, warning them of the dangerous consequences should they continue in their rebellious paths, which was one of the major message theme that Jeremiah brought to the people of Judah, the Lord also reassured them at the same time that He would be willing to welcome them back should they choose to repent from their sins and trust in Him again.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the account of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist himself, as this faithful servant of God had been arrested when he criticised and rebuked King Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who had entered into an adulterous relationship and marriage with his own brother’s wife, Herodias. According to tradition this was because Herodias’ former husband, Philip who was Herod’s own brother, was still alive at the time, and according to both Jewish and Christian traditions and beliefs, this is an act of adultery as the bond of marriage is something that is sacred and indissoluble. Furthermore, the fact that the daughter of Herodias was exactly named as such, indicated that this daughter was from the union between Philip and Herodias. That union having thus been consummated, cannot and should not be broken.

Yet, Herod and Herodias both gave in to the temptations of worldliness and decided to live in a state of sin, falling into the corruption of evil. When St. John the Baptist rebuked both of them, Herodias took it particularly badly and she harboured great hatred towards the man of God, desiring to destroy him. St. John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned for this courageous act of rebuking the king and queen for their immoral behaviour, and while Herod showed remorse for his actions, and willing to listen to St. John the Baptist, Herodias plotted for the death of this man of God which happened as detailed in our Gospel passage today, at the time of the celebration when she managed to trick the likely drunk and mesmerised Herod to order the execution of St. John the Baptist before his nobles and officials.

Through what we have discussed and heard today, we can see how living our lives and following the Lord is not something that is easily done, and we may often have to make plenty of sacrifices and face many challenges in our path as we continue to move forward as disciples and followers of our Lord. Like St. John the Baptist and many of the martyrs of the Church throughout its long history, many of whom had endured prison, tortures, all sorts of persecution and hardships, opposition even from those who were close and dear to them. Yet, they did not allow all those to dissuade them from following the Lord faithfully and courageously, just as what St. John the Baptist himself had done. As Christians, that is what we should be doing in obedience to God, to His Law and commandments.

Therefore, as we reflect on the life and actions of the most courageous and faithful servant of God, St. John the Baptist, particularly in his sufferings and martyrdom, the memory of his Passion which he had gone through for the sake of the Lord and all that he has been entrusted to do, let us all therefore reflect upon our own lives and ask ourselves what we can do to commit ourselves to the Lord with the same fervour, dedication, zeal and commitment, not fearing the hardships and persecutions of the world. We should not allow ourselves to be dissuaded by the opposition, challenges, troubles and difficulties that we may have to endure, and instead, like St. John the Baptist, we should strive so that our lives and examples may inspire those around us so that we may help others who are struggling in their faith in God to remain strong and firm in their faith and commitment.

May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith and may He encourage and empower us to persevere through the many challenges and trials that we may have to face in the midst of our journey in life, in our dedication and faith in Him, at all times. May St. John the Baptist, His herald and faithful servant continue to inspire us all and pray for each and every one of us, holy and beloved people of God as we keep on going with our daily struggles and perseverance in faith. May God bless us in our every endeavours, good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 6 : 17-29

At that time, this is what had happened : Herod had ordered John to be arrested; and had had him bound and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her; and John had told him, “It is not right for you to live with your brother’s wife.”

So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him; but she could not, because Herod respected John. He knew John to be an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And he liked listening to him; although he became very disturbed whenever he heard him.

Herodias had her chance on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a dinner for all the senior government officials, military chiefs, and the leaders of Galilee. On that occasion, the daughter of Herodias came in and danced; and she delighted Herod and his guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.” And he went so far as to say with many oaths, “I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” The mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

The girl hurried to the king and made her request, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist, here and now, on a dish.” The king was very displeased, but he would not refuse in front of his guests because of his oaths. So he sent one of the bodyguards, with orders to bring John’s head.

He went and beheaded John in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and buried it.