abbot

by

Friday, 11 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

I know You desire truth in the heart, teach me wisdom in my inmost being. Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.

by

Friday, 11 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 14 : 2-10

Return to your God YHVH, o Israel! Your sins have caused your downfall. Return to YHVH with humble words. Say to Him, “Oh You who show compassion to the fatherless, forgive our debt, be appeased. Instead of bulls and sacrifices, accept the praise from our lips.”

“Assyria will not save us : No longer shall we look for horses nor ever again shall we say, ‘Our Gods’ to the work of our hands.” I will heal their wavering and love them with all my heart, for My anger has turned from them.

I shall be like dew to Israel, like the lily will he blossom. Like a cedar he will send down his roots; the young shoots will grow and spread. His splendour will be like an olive tree, His fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar. They will dwell in My shade again, they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like a vine, and their fame will be like Lebanon wine.

What would Ephraim do with idols, when it is I who hear and make him prosper? I am like an ever-green cypress tree; all your fruitfulness comes from Me. Who is wise enough to grasp all this? Who is discerning and will understand? Straight are the ways of YHVH : the just walk in them, but the sinners stumble.

by

Friday, 17 January 2014 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White (Priests and Abbots)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we reflect on the kingship and authority of the Lord, and how it can be compared to the authority of kings, princes, and any other earthly powers and authorities. We heard today of the clamour and the request of the people of Israel, that they be granted a king to rule over them, as lord to be their king and protector, much in the same way that their neighbours and other states have kings and princes to rule over them.

Continuing the catechesis in the theme of the prophet Samuel, during his ministry, Samuel faced much difficulties in dealing with the people of Israel, as even though they revered him as the prophet of the Lord, and following the way of the Lord as he ruled them as the judge of the Lord, they were not satisfied, and as before, had been bought over by the forces of the world. They clamoured for and desired for things of the world, including modelling themselves after the ways of the world.

This, even despite the fact that they had been chosen by the Lord, as a chosen race, and a chosen people. They were set aside from others, to be the ones whom God loved the most, as the chosen ones among His creation. Yet, they continuously fought against His will and chose to walk on their own way, and persistently asked to be given a king to rule over them, chosen from among them.

The people of Israel had no king over them, because the Lord their God is their King, the One who lead them and the only One who truly have authority over them. Indeed, the Lord God is not just the King of Israel, but also King over the entire universe, that is over the entire creation. He is Lord over all creation, and therefore over all mankind, over all states and dominions.

The Lord is the font of power and authority, from whom alone power and authority may come. Without the Lord, there can be no true power or authority, but instead there will often be tyranny or abuse of power. That was what the prophet Samuel warned the people about, to try to dissuade them from the foolishness of insisting having a king over them. The people did not listen to him.

The king as the leader of the people of Israel would have enormous dominion and power over his people, and by the standards of monarchical rule at the time, kings and their authority are often absolute. The word of the king is often law and unchallengeable. Thus, the people could not just refuse or reject any orders, demands, or desire from their respective kings.

As long as the king is faithful to the Lord, and lead them in his own behaviour and actions in accordance with the will of God, the people would prosper and be blessed, just as long as the people would stay faithful to the Lord. However, if the king is not faithful to the Lord and refuse to worship Him, and instead follow his own way in things, then great suffering and tragedy would happen to the people of God.

A clear example would be the behaviour of the first king himself. The king whom had been demanded by the people of God, led them to ruin and condemnation. For Saul, although supposedly was anointed king over Israel, but he did not remain faithful throughout his reign. While the prophet Samuel passed to him the will and commandments of the Lord, Saul did not fully obey them, and let his human judgments to allow him to corrupt the power he had been entrusted with.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This often repeated phrase is indeed true in this case. Saul abused the power and authority given to him, and he began to act tyrannically and without the spirit of the Lord in him. It was not only king Saul, but in fact, many of the kings of Israel, especially the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel after division of Israel, were tyrants and wicked people, who brought the people of God to sin even more before the eyes of God.

It may seem that having kings over them might be a very bad choice for the people of Israel, but in fact, not all kings were bad rulers and unfaithful. The king David and Solomon for example, as well as some of the kings after them, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, were faithful and zealous kings, who followed the commandments of the Lord and exercised their power as the vicar of the Lord. They acted justly and in accordance with the will of God, and the people were blessed by God during their reign.

In the end, God would not let the devil to corrupt and destroy His beloved people, for the truth about the Lord is that God is love! He loves us completely and could not have given Himself to abandon and destroy us on purpose. It is often our own actions and deeds that condemned and doomed us rather than any divine actions. God cares for us, and He truly loves us.

That was why, to fulfill the promise He made to mankind, as well as other promises He had made to David his servant, which He made clearly known through the numerous prophets and messengers He sent over the ages, He came down upon the world, to be one of us, and to reassume the kingship He had over His people, that He, the true King and King over all other kings and lords, would once again lead their people.

Jesus came bearing the message of love, and love He had shown for mankind, by showing the authority He had over spirits and illnesses, and also the authority over sin and its forgiveness. He is Lord, God who was made into flesh by His own power. Yet the people continued in their resistance against Him, and they rejected Him, even though He, their King, had come to them to liberate them from the tyranny of sin and evil.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony, also known as St. Anthony the Great, a well-known abbot and religious, who lived during the late period of the Roman Empire in what is now the present day Egypt. St. Anthony was one of the first monks, who sought life in seclusion from the world and one of complete dedication to the Lord. That was why St. Anthony pioneered the trend which became common in the years after him, of those going into the wilderness and the desert to seek that consolation and relationship with God through prayer.

St. Anthony was often at odds with the devil and his forces, in his piety and constant life of prayer, dedicated to God who loved mankind. The devil often opposed St. Anthony during his various journeys and sojourns in the desert, even at times striking him physically and threatening him with considerable danger. Nevertheless, St. Anthony never feared the devil, not even a bit, and laughed off his attacks.

That was because St. Anthony had complete and deep faith in God and in His power, who has all the authority that there is in heaven or on earth. That was why St. Anthony often rebuked Satan by saying that despite all the challenges, temptations, and threats that he posed on St. Anthony, he has no authority or power whatsoever over him, and that the Lord protects all those who remain faithful to Him, and remain in His love.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to emulate the exemplary faith of St. Anthony? And his love of the Lord? That he and many others had gone into seclusion just so that they could be truly with God and dedicated their lives to Him? We do not have to go to the extent of leaving everything we have and going to the wilderness as St. Anthony had done, but what we can learn from him are his examples in life and his attitude towards faith.

We must be dedicated to our Lord, brethren, for we cannot hope to both dedicate ourselves to the Lord and to the devil. Our faith in God must be genuine, and we should always seek out for the Lord in our lives, as St. Anthony had done. That is why it is important for us, every single day, to spend some time with God in prayer. St. Anthony’s devotion and strong prayer life protected him from the machinations of the devil.

The Lord too will therefore be with us and guide us, if we pray often, and if we pray devoutly, and dedicate ourselves completely to Him. May our Lord and God, Jesus Christ the King, bless us, strengthen us, and protect us, that our faith may be strong and our love may be truly genuine and tender, just as that which St. Anthony had. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Friday, 17 January 2014 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Priests and Abbots)

Mark 2 : 1-12

After some days Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that He was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the Word to them, some people brought a paralysed man to Him.

The four men who carried him could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, He said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the Law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, “How can He speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?”

At once Jesus knew in His Spirit what they were thinking, and asked, “Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

And He said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, “Never have we seen anything like this!”

by

Friday, 17 January 2014 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White (Priests and Abbots)

Psalm 88 : 16-17, 18-19

Blessed is the people who know Your praise. They walk in the light of Your face. They celebrate all day Your Name and Your protection lifts them up.

You give us glory and power; and Your favour gives us victory. Our king is in the hands of the Lord; the God of Israel is our shield.

by

Friday, 17 January 2014 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Priests and Abbots)

1 Samuel 8 : 4-7, 10-22a

Because of this, all the chiefs of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel in Ramah. They said to him, “You are already old and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations.

Samuel was very displeased with what they said, “Give us a king to rule us,” and he prayed to YHVH. And YHVH told him, “Give to this people all that they ask for.”

So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king, and he told them all that YHVH said to him, “Look, these will be the demands of your king : he will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot. Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and commanders over fifty. Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his implements of war and the equipments for his chariots.”

“He will take your daughters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive orchards and give them to his officials.”

“He will take a tenth portion of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your menservants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work.”

“He will take the tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When these things happen, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. But by then, YHVH will not answer you.”

The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, “No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations. Our king shall govern us, lead us and go ahead of us in our battles.”

Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to YHVH. But YHVH said to him, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

by

Saturday, 23 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbot and Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the fact on the lack of faith that mankind has in the Lord. Mankind has grown feeble in the faith that they have in God, preferring their own reasoning, their own ideas and their own wisdom rather than putting their trust and faith in the One and True God. They refused to believe and hardened their hearts against God.

Yes, that was what the Sadducees had done, when they opposed Jesus and tried to test and challenge Him with questions about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees are the moral and theological opposite of the zealous Pharisees, being influential Jews that in our modern terms can be equated as being secular in nature, even to the point of atheism, that is disbelief in the presence of the divine God.

They refused to believe in anything spiritual and otherworldly, preferring to trust in their own human senses and judgment. They did not believe in angels, in saints, and in the resurrection of the dead, and believe indeed that their lives in this world is to be savoured in its entirety, that they ought not to worry about the life that is to come. They thought of death as the end of our lives, a definitive end.

But to us, brothers and sisters in Christ, we know and believe that death is not the end of all things. Indeed, death marks the beginning of a new and eternal life in God. That is proven by none other than Jesus Himself, the One who rose from the dead in glory, and in the process, gaining mankind to Himself, and releasing them from the slavery of sin, providing them with an exit from death’s grasp.

For death is the fate of us all mankind, who had disobeyed the Lord and went astray from His laws and His precepts. Beginning from Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, mankind had been trapped in the cycle of death. Death is the punishment for disobedience, for our waywardness have led us away from God and His love. But the Lord loves us so much, that He would not let death have the final word.

He sent deliverance into this world, pretty much as what He had done as witnessed in our first reading, from the Book of the Maccabees, which retells the story of how a people was saved from the hands of evil. The forces of the world struck against the faithful ones of the Lord, through the hands of the Greek king, Antiochus Epiphanes. And yet, the Lord raised up the Maccabees family, beginning with Judas, who led the people in a sort of holy war, in order to preserve their purity and sanctity against the forces of evil arrayed against them.

They rose up, cast out the forces of the Greeks, and regained their righteous freedom. And in the same way therefore, the Lord has come as the source of deliverance for all, through Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. He led the salvation of all and dealt the forces of evil a final defeat, and gained a final victory for all creations. And this, most importantly will not happen, without resurrection.

For resurrection is the Lord’s answer to death, and therefore, is His answer to sin, and to evil that had engulfed our world, and all of us, that through the resurrection of Jesus, which happened on the Easter Sunday, three days after His death on the cross, the sovereignty and power that death has over us is cast down. Without the resurrection, there is no hope for all of us. With it, and the with the Risen Christ, we have a new hope, that at the end of our journeys in this world, if we keep faith in God and attach ourselves to His ways, we will be saved.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Clement I, one of the early and direct successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the leader of the entire Universal Church. He was also a holy martyr and a dedicated leader of the faithful, who dedicated his life in the complete service to the Lord. And in him today, we rejoice. That is because, if not Pope St. Clement I’s death in holy martyrdom would have been in vain, if there is no life after death.

Pope St. Clement I was one of the great early leaders of the Church, leading the faithful through difficult times, both against external oppositions and challenges, as well as internal disputes and rivalries. Pope St. Clement I wrote extensively many letters to the Universal Church, giving them encouragement and directions to keep strong and true the faith in God. And the core of that faith in God is the faith in the resurrection, for it is from the resurrection that our Faith is born.

Pope St. Clement I faithfully served the people of God, and he followed them even into custody, prison, and persecution. He was tortured by the Roman authorities who persecuted Christians, sent him into exile, and finally he was executed by drowning. Pope St. Clement I did not back down, and he kept his faith to the end, the faith in the Risen Lord. For he knew that there is hope in the Risen Christ, and through his hard works he had been rewarded with life eternal in the fullness of the glory of God.

St. Columban is another saint whom we commemorate today. He was an abbot and a pious worker of the faith who travelled across different areas and territories for many years, spreading the Good News and the teachings about the faith in those areas. St. Columban is a great missionary, who went around many areas of Western Europe, converting many to the cause of Christ, and bringing people closer to the salvation in the Risen Lord.

St. Columban worked hard and laboured for the faith, across the modern day France, and went on to many parts of Celtic Europe in the British islands. St. Columban worked in the islands and spread zealously the word of God as far as Ireland, where he spent significant amount of time in. He led the example for many to follow a dedicated religious life to God, giving of oneself in prayerful service to God and the fellow men.

Both the saints we celebrate today, in their own ways, proclaim the greatness of the Lord and testify for His glorious resurrection, through which the salvation of this world came about, delivering many souls from their intended path towards doom and eternal death. Through the hard works of these two saints therefore, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is therefore brought even closer to us, as Pope St. Clement I himself showed through his martyrdom, how he did not fear the suffering at the hands of men nor death, because he knew that, as St. Columban and all the other saints and holy men and women knew, that the glory of God and all the rewards are awaiting us at the other end of the tough road, if they remain faithful to the end.

We are shown how, death did not have the final say. For Jesus had made His appearance and through His own death, He had definitively proven to the entire creation, that the One with all the authority and power over life and death is God, and just as God did not intend us for death, for we have been made for perfection, so for those who remain true to His ways, God will grant everlasting life, if we will just believe, and keep on strongly to that faith. Amen.

by

Saturday, 23 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbot and Mass of our Lady)

Luke 20 : 27-40

Then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.'”

“Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact, all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when he called the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare to ask Him anything else.

by

Saturday, 23 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbot and Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 4 and 6, 16b and 19

The wicked are in power; the weak suffer harassment; the poor become victims of evil schemes. Exploiters boast in their power and greed; the covetous blasphemes and defies God.

In their pride the wicked say, “There is no God.” They see no further. All of them saying in their heart, “Nothing will trouble me. I am secure, powerful, and happy.”

The pagans have vanished from the lands of the Lord, let no human raise from earth and strike terror.

by

Saturday, 23 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbot and Mass of our Lady)

1 Maccabeus 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates, and weapons left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there but the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back, and he returned much embittered to Babylon.

While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard too that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem, and had rebuilt the temple walls to the same height as before, and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur.

When he received these news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned. So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt that he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me, and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”