Saints

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Tuesday, 26 December 2023 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 6 : 8-10 and Acts 7 : 54-59

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When the Council heard the reproach Stephen made against them, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, so he declared : “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God.”

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying : “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

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Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we come very close to the time and beginning of the Christmas season which is just in two days time or so, all of us are ever reminded of why we all celebrate Christmas in the Scripture readings that we have heard. We heard in this day in particular of the messenger that the Lord had sent to us in order to proclaim the coming and appearance of His Saviour, that is none other than St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, who prepared and made straight the way and path for the Lord. Later on, we will discuss why this is truly very important for us to reflect upon what this holy servant of God had done and its significance to our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Malachi, who was one of the final prophets to appear to the people of God before the time of the New Testament, approximately four centuries or so before the birth of Christ our Lord. The prophet Malachi spoke about the coming of the Messiah, and also the messenger whom the Lord would send ahead of His Saviour to prepare the way for Him. This messenger and herald that the Lord would send to His people was St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord sent to call of His people to come to Him and repent from their sins and wickedness. There was that long wait and expectation of the coming of the Messiah among the people of God, who had been promised the coming of God’s salvation from prophets to prophets.

The Lord spoke of this servant of God through Malachi as the one who would help to lead the people of God through a process of purification, so that they may all indeed be ready and prepared to welcome Him when He comes again, as the world was still full of sins and evil. Hence, through St. John the Baptist, the one who was prophesied to come as the Lord’s messenger, God would work His wonders among His people, calling all of them to repentance and to turn themselves away from the path of sin and evil. St. John the Baptist came into this world so that when the Lord came, He would have a people that had been touched by the call to repentance, and had been reminded of their sins and the need for them to be forgiven from those sins.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when St. John the Baptist himself was born, which was miraculous as the child himself was born of a barren mother who had been way past childbearing time, and then the occurrences around his birth was no less wonderful and amazing, as his father, Zechariah whose doubt had caused him to become dumb and mute, was able to speak again the moment he wrote down the name of the child, which the Angel of God had told him in the moment when he was told of the good news of the coming of the Lord’s Herald. Thus, through that moment, we can see how the Lord truly began the time of His saving grace, beginning from St. John the Baptist who proclaimed to the people of God, after a long period of silence from the days of Malachi, that the Lord was finally about to come.

That is why today, as we all gather together to prepare ourselves further for the time of Christmas which is coming really soon, all of us are reminded of the need for the realignment and reorientation of our lives, our whole focus and emphasis especially in Christmas and all of the things that we celebrate so that in all of them, we may once again put the Lord, our God and Saviour at the centre, instead of ourselves and our own selfish desires, ambitions and all the other things that may prevent us from realising the true meaning and joy of Christmas, that is in Christ, Our Lord. Too often we have allowed the many temptations, sins and evils of this world to mislead us down the wrong path.

We have often allowed for the comforts and pleasures of this world to lead us astray. This is also reflected in our way of celebrating Christmas, which often has lost its meaning and focus. Instead of celebrating the joy which we have at the salvation and reassurances that God had brought unto us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, we have ended up focusing so much on the festivities and the celebrations that we often forgot why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. As we continue to approach Christmas, let us all hence do our best to rediscover this true meaning and joy that we ought to have in Christ, Our Lord and God, the One in Whom we are all called to focus our attention on, in thanking Him for all that He had done for us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, a Polish priest who was remembered as a great and holy man of God, a dedicated priest and servant of God, as well as as a great and wonderful teacher of the faith and sciences. He was also well remembered for his great generosity particularly towards the needy and the poor, and also among the students who studied at the university where he was teaching at the time. St. John helped those who needed his help and showed his great dedication and love both for God as well as for his fellow brothers and sisters, an example we can well emulate and follow in our own lives in this world, as someone who place God and his fellow men and women ahead of himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be ever more committed to God and His path, and that as Christians, may our lives be truly worthy of Him, in loving and caring for one another, and in modelling ourselves upon Christ’s own examples so that we may always be full of love and compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. May our Christmas joy and celebration be truly about Christ and not about our own selfish desires and greed, unlike how we often celebrated it all these while. May the Lord continue to guide us especially as we come towards the joyous celebration of Christmas which begins after tomorrow, and may He bless our every good efforts and endeavours in all things. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

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Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.

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Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us continue to progress through the season of Advent and towards the time and season of Christmas, we are constantly being reminded of everything that God has done for us, in His love for each and every one of us, that by this same love, this has made it possible for us to find our path towards the Lord and His ever enduring love for us. Through God’s love, He has shown us His ever present guidance and existence in our midst, and that we are never alone in this journey of faith and life. We must therefore always strive to put our focus in the Lord at all times, and we should not easily be swayed to abandon Him for other, worldly sources of satisfaction and pleasures.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Songs, we heard of the words of the author speaking about the love that God has for us all, we who are His lovers, the ones who are enjoying the grace of His Presence, His love and kindness. The Lord is calling upon all of His people to come forth away from the darkness and the desolation of sin, that they may embrace His love, His light and warmth that have been generously and ever consistently been projected and shared to all of us without fail. He has always been generous in showing us all His love and mercy, His patience and kindness, that we should really consider ourselves truly blessed and fortunate for having been beloved in such a way by our Lord, Who loves us all.

In our other first reading option today, from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah, we have also heard a similar series of words of reassurance and affirmation, telling all the people of God that their Lord and Master Who loves them all, will come to them, and all o will indeed come true, showing us how loving, patient and forgiving God has been to all of those who are dear to Him. The prophet Zephaniah came to the people of God and ministered to them during the time and reign of King Josiah of Judah, who reigned after the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians, and after many misfortunes have befallen the people of God, the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem.

Hence, the words of the Lord’s affirmation and love must have truly come at a very timely moment then because it means that the people who had been suffering and enduring a lot of hardships were reminded yet again that despite their stubborn and wicked attitudes, the Lord still loved His people nonetheless, and He wanted all of them to be reconciled with Him, and hence, He told them of His ever generous mercy and love, by which His people through genuine repentance, may always come to seek Him, and this includes each and every one of us as well, because we are all also God’s beloved people, whom He has called and gathered from among the nations, to follow Him and to walk in His Holy Presence.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the moment when Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Child within her, as she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was also bearing St. John the Baptist in her own womb. We heard of the great joy which both Elizabeth and her baby, St. John the Baptist had experienced upon knowing that Mary and Our Lord Himself had come to their dwelling place. We may not realise it, but this occasion was truly a very symbolic and meaningful one as this represents the moment when the Lord came towards His people, manifesting Himself by being Incarnate and present in this world through His Mother, fulfilling all that God had promised to us.

This is why it is important that today we must ensure that our lives’ focus and our attention are properly directed towards God, and not upon other distractions in life. We must make sure that we are all centred on the Lord and not on our selfish desires and wants, our ambitions and attachments to worldly pleasures and greed. And in our upcoming Christmas celebrations and festivities we must always keep in mind to focus our attention on the Lord and not on all the glamour and the festivities that often took up much of the event, and we end up actually forgetting the One in Whom we ought to be all celebrating about, that is Christ Himself, our Lord and Saviour, by Whose love and actions, we have been saved from our impending damnation.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Canisius, the holy priest and man of God, and a renowned teacher of the faith and honoured as a great Doctor of the Church, who is also one of my patron saints and therefore is the patron of this blog. St. Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit priest renowned being one of the founders and first members of the Jesuits or the Society of Jesus, and who was remembered greatly for his works in Counter-Reformation, and in the works of evangelisation and catechesis among the people of God. He helped to spearhead the efforts of the Jesuits in the German speaking regions of Christendom, establishing institutions and schools meant to strengthen the knowledge of the faithful about their faith through proper catechesis.

He also wrote and authored the now-still famous Catechism which became a great standard of many other catechism works and books, in being very effective in delivering the teachings and aspects of the Christian faith to the people, and managed, together with St. Peter Canisius’ constant efforts in reaching out and having dialogues and conversations with the lapsed Catholics, and all who had been swayed by the false heresies of Protestantism. He helped the implementations and the reforms of the Council of Trent which strengthened the foundation and the teachings of the Church, and through his efforts, countless souls had been saved from the threat of damnation, and brought back to the Holy Mother Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in all of his works and efforts, St. Peter Canisius has always been rooted and focused on Christ. Let us all therefore follow his good examples and do whatever we can so that we may also be truly faithful in all things, and that we may indeed be filled with genuine faith and commitment to God at all times. May the Lord be with us always and may He guide us through this time of Advent, and help us to prepare ourselves well through this time towards a proper and worthy celebration of Christmas. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 39-45

Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women; and blessed is the Fruit of your womb! How is it, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you, who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 32 : 2-3, 11-12, 20-21

Give thanks to YHVH on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.

But His plan stands forever, and His heart’s design, through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is YHVH – the people He has chosen for His inheritance.

In hope, we wait for YHVH, for He is our help and our shield. Our hearts rejoice in Him, for we trust on His holy Name.

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Thursday, 21 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Song of Songs 2 : 8-14

The voice of my Lover! Behold He comes, springing across the mountains, jumping over the hills, like a gazelle or a young stag. Now He stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattice.

My Lover speaks to me, “Arise, My love, My beautiful one! Come, the winter is gone, the rains are over. Flowers have appeared on earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard. The fig tree forms its early fruit, the vines in blossom are fragrant. Arise, My beautiful one, come with Me, My love, come.”

“O My dove in the rocky cleft, in the secret places of the cliff, let Me see your face, let Me hear your voice. Your face – how lovely! Your voice – how sweet!”

Alternative reading

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18a

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.

On that day, they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love. For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the feast. I will drive away the evil I warned you about.

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Thursday, 14 December 2023 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through this blessed time and season of Advent and as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded more and more of the coming of our salvation in God, which He has brought into our midst through none other than Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God, and the One Who has been prophesied and predicted to come into this world, as the Saviour of all mankind. This Advent all of us are reminded as usual of this fact, so that we may indeed remember the very reason why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. Christmas is truly not all about the festivities, merrymaking, all the joy and the parties, the gifts and the food that we are going to have, but it is all about Christ, our Lord, and the love that God Himself has shown us through His Son.

In our first reading today, we continue to hear the reading from the prophet Isaiah, in which we are constantly being reminded yet again of God’s love and all the reassurances and promises which He has given to us all, His beloved ones, which He has also fulfilled and accomplished through the coming of His Son, Our Messiah or Saviour. The context for those words of reassurance were that God wanted to remind all of His beloved ones, that despite of their many sins, wickedness and evils, He continues to care for them and love them as usual, just as He has always done from the very beginning. What He despises from them, and hence, from all of us, is our sins and disobedience, our wickedness and evils, but not us personally. The Lord our God, is our loving God, Father and Creator, and He has always loved us all these while.

And that was why, He promised us all the path to leave the evils and darkness of this world. He opened the path to eternal life and righteousness through Jesus Christ, His own begotten Son, through Whom He has shown us a new path out of the darkness, and into His eternal Light. He has shown us all by His own examples what it truly means for us to be disciples, followers and the holy people of God, and by His own perfect obedience, He brought us all into the new assurance of eternal life, reconciling us with our loving God and Father, overcoming the sin borne out of the disobedience and unfaithfulness which our forefathers and predecessors had done, in their folly and inability to resist the many temptations and pressures to sin.

The Gospel passage today then spoke of how the Lord Jesus praised St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord had also prophesied as the one to prepare the way for the world’s Saviour. What we heard is yet again another affirmation that everything that the Lord has planned and wished to happen, had indeed come true and into its full fruition because He has always intended for us to be reconciled and reunited with Him. The Lord has sent St. John the Baptist who called many to the path of repentance, reminding them of their sins and wickedness, so that they might open their hearts and minds once again to the Lord, freeing themselves from the dominion and corruption of sin and evil which have corrupted and clouded their minds and hearts for so long, that God may lead them all once again to the path of righteousness.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, today through those passages from the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we should always hold onto the faith which we have in the Lord, and remain focused on Him throughout our lives. And in particular, with regards of our preparations for Christmas and all the observances we made during this time and season of Advent, we should always remain firmly focused on the Lord and not be easily distracted and swayed by the many temptations present all around us, and be distracted by all the very prominent and loud celebrations and festivities, all the Christmas shopping, merrymaking and all the parties that are bereft and lacking of the true focus and attention on Christ, the One in Whom we ought to be celebrating and be rejoicing about.

We should not allow these temptations and worldly attachments, pleasures and all other things to dissuade and tempt us away from the path of righteousness and virtue in God. As Christians, each and every one of us should always be committed to the Lord, and we should always be Christ-like in all of our actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions and works, in our every good efforts and endeavours. This time and season of Advent is truly a good time for us to reconnect ourselves with the Lord, and to reevaluate our lives thus far, especially if we have allowed our many concerns and desires in life to interfere with our Christian faith and obligations. We should not allow all those distractions from keeping us away from the path of God’s truth, and we should also seek inspiration and strength from our holy predecessors, and their examples.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John of the Cross, a renowned saint and holy man of God, who was one of the founders of the Discalced Carmelites order. St. John of the Cross was born into a family of Jewish Christian convert in the area near Avila in Spain, and he had a difficult early life due to having lost his father early on. St. John of the Cross eventually became a priest and while initially he wanted to join the Carthusians, an encounter with St. Teresa of Avila, with whom he would become the co-founders of the Discalced Carmelites, this led to St. John of the Cross helping St. Teresa of Avila in reforming the Carmelites and rediscovering their ancient discipline, rule and way of the Carmelites which had been distorted and corrupted over the centuries.

St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila worked in tandem to reform the Carmelites and they were joined by many who were interested and called to follow the Lord in the way that both these holy saints had done. However, they did not have it easy, as tensions with the original Carmelites as well as with the other religious orders brought about quite a lot of hardships and challenges, as they encountered even moments when the Discalced Carmelites were almost disbanded by the pressure and the order of those who were opposed of the works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. Nonetheless, they remained firm in their conviction and dedication, in doing whatever they could to glorify God by their lives and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples set by St. John of the Cross and the many other holy men and women of God who have gone before us. Let their examples be our inspiration and strength that we may draw ever closer to God and be ever more courageous in how we continue to live our lives worthily in God’s Presence, and in how we continue to labour to prepare ourselves well for the upcoming celebration of Christmas. May God be with us always, and may He bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, our Advent journey and our lives. Amen.