Church fathers

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, 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 endured, from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Friday, 18 October 2024 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know, that Demas has deserted me, for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house, and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander, the metalworker, has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him, for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the word fully, and to let all the pagans hear it.

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people to continue to obey wholeheartedly the teachings of the Lord, our loving God and Saviour, Who has revealed His love to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, manifesting His love to us in the fullest and in manner that is tangible and approachable by us, so that we may come to benefit from His love and salvation, and that we may be assured of His ever patient guidance and help throughout our respective journeys in life. Consequently, we should also strive to keep away from ourselves all the 

In our first reading todayreadinb, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Ephesus, we heard the greeting from the Apostle to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding them all of the salvation in Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour, which he and the other Apostles and missionaries had been proclaiming about, reminding them that the salvation in the Lord came through Christ and whatever He had revealed to them through His disciples and Church, and not through other means such as through the obedience of the Law and commandments of God, as some of the converts from the Jewish background, especially those from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law group claimed and wanted to enforce the Jewish customs and ways on the rest of the Church and the Christian faithful.

As they were making such coercions and efforts, they were also claiming that unless the people of God obeyed the Law of Moses in how they were interpreted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, then they could not be saved or have a share in God’s grace. This claim and false interpretations of the Law and their attempts to impose these on the Church and the faithful therefore were met with opposition and rebuke from St. Paul, just as the Lord Himself has also told the people that the path towards the Lord and eternal life is through Himself, and not through the obedience to the man-made laws, rules, regulations, customs and boundaries which men tried to set in their midst, in order to make some among themselves more righteous, worthy and better than others.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the continuation of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist where the Lord continued to rebuke and criticise the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their actions and for their lack of faith in God and His Saviour. The context in all these must be understood in that the Lord had faced constant opposition and rejection, stubborn attitudes and obstacles from all those aforementioned Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who often doubted His teachings, questioned His authority to teach and perform the miracles, and used their own strict and rigid interpretation and understanding of the Law of God to oppose what the Lord had revealed and attempted to teach to them. As such, the Lord often faced a lot of hardships throughout His ministry because of all that.

That was why the Lord criticised and rebuked those Pharisees for their attitudes, which He highlighted as being similar with the attitudes that their ancestors and predecessors had once shown, in their stubbornness to follow the whim of their own desires, their own understanding and interpretation of things rather than to trust in the Lord and His truth. Their pride and ego, ambitions and desires of this world led them to walk down the wrong path and made them to be ever more distant from the Lord, as they had closed the doors of their hearts and minds to the Lord. This is the attitude that the Lord does not want any of us to have, so that we do not end up thinking that our ways and methods are better or that we are somehow better and superior than others around us. Instead, as Christians, it is always important that we remain humble and willing to listen to others, especially in listening to God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the renowned St. Ignatius of Antioch, a great Church father and one of the famous martyrs of the early Church, whose courage, faith and dedication to God are truly exemplary and inspirational to all of us. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the early successors of the Apostles and was a convert to the Christian faith during the time of the great missionary works of the Apostles, who were establishing the Church and spreading the Good News to many people all throughout the world. St. Ignatius of Antioch according to the Church history and tradition was the disciple of St. John the Apostle, and therefore knew about the Apostles directly and received the truth from them, which he himself upheld most faithfully and continued to propagate in his own ministry.

St. Ignatius of Antioch went to Antioch, to the city where one of the first community of Christians outside of Judah, Galilee and Jerusalem was formed, and there he succeeded St. Peter the Apostle who was the first Bishop of Antioch in eventually becoming the shepherd of the flock of God’s people in that great city, ministering to the faithful and proclaiming God’s Good News to many more of the people in that region, and eventually, during the intense persecutions against Christians at that time, he was martyred like most of the Apostles and many other disciples and missionaries of the Lord, and he remained firmly faithful to the Lord to the very end, not giving up his commitment to Him and remaining strong in his conviction to follow the Lord despite the sufferings and trials that he had to endure, and his great courage and faith strengthened many other faithful people of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the life and examples of St. Ignatius of Antioch, and as we have discerned the words of the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore do our best so that we may follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us and been exemplary in their lives and faith in God. Let us all cast away our pride and ego, greed and other forms of desires that can lead us to the path towards our downfall. Let us all strive to do God’s will ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives from now on, and let us continue to inspire one another by our own exemplary lives that we may draw everyone ever closer towards the Lord. May God be with us all and may He bless our every endeavours and efforts that we may continue to glorify Him in all things. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 11 : 47-54

At that time, Jesus said to the teachers of the Law, “A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed. So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so? They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!”

“For that reason the wisdom of God also said : I will send prophets and Apostles and these people will kill and persecute some of them. But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all.”

“A curse is on you, teachers of the Law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering.”

As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to harass Him, asking Him endless questions, setting traps to catch Him in something He might say.

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

With melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord!

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Thursday, 17 October 2024 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 1 : 1-10

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, to you, who share Christian faith : receive grace and peace from God, our Father, and from Jesus, the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, Who, in Christ, has blessed us from heaven, with every spiritual blessing. God chose us, in Christ, before the creation of the world, to be holy, and without sin in His presence.

From eternity He destined us, in love, to be His adopted sons and daughters, through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling His free and generous will. This goal suited Him : that His loving-kindness, which He granted us His beloved might finally receive all glory and praise.

For, in Christ, we obtain freedom, sealed by His Blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this, appears the greatness of His grace, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us His mysterious design, in accordance with His loving-kindness, in Christ.

In Him, and under Him, God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.

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Monday, 30 September 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest 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 Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the futility of worldly glory, pleasures, ambitions, desires and all the things which often distracted us in our path towards God and His salvation and grace. Each and every one of us are constantly being reminded this day so that we may continue to live our lives worthily in the manner that God has wanted us all to live our lives, in lives that are truly centred and focused on Him, and not on the many distractions and temptations present all around us in this world, all those things which can keep us away from the Lord and His salvation.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Job of the servant of God named Job, who according to Scripture experts might have not existed or might be a metaphor for a suffering and yet obedient servant of God, while some others said that he truly existed. But regardless, the story of Job should serve as inspiration for all of us on how to remain faithful to the Lord despite the challenges and difficulties that we have to encounter and face in life. As we all heard how the life of Job was truly blessed before his misfortune, as a rich man with great family and many possessions, and then, through Satan’s attack and efforts, all of those things were taken from him, while not even his body and health was also spared, in Satan’s effort to tempt him and see if he would abandon God.

If we were to continue reading through the Book of Job, we would then hear how Job remained firm in his faith despite all of his predicaments, and despite everything that he had to endure throughout the ordeals, including being attacked and criticised by his own friends and peers, he did not give up faith and hope in the Lord. And while he did encounter moments of despair and hardships, desolation and difficulties on the way, Job continued to remain strong in his beliefs and remained faithful to the end, and God rewarded him greatly, restoring everything that he had lost and in fact blessed him double than what he had before. Job’s perseverance in faith and devotion to God was known to God and He blessed him greatly for that.

It is a reminder for us all that first, our lives as Christians may not always be smooth sailing and we may encounter trials, hardships and challenges in our ways, and we may have to endure sufferings and challenges in our paths in life. However, if we remain firm in our faith and trust in the Lord, we will then be strengthened and empowered by God Who is always with us and by our side, as He has constantly reassured and shown Job all throughout, and also showed to all of us throughout the whole journey, that He is with us, leading us patiently by our side, ever always guiding and strengthening us through all the challenges and tribulations that we may have to go through. God has not left us all alone and He always provided for our needs, supporting us and encouraging us in this path.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke in which the Lord Jesus were speaking to some of His disciples who were arguing and bickering among themselves, who among them were the most important and prominent, and likely who deserved more favour and honour from the Lord. The Lord rebuked them for all of those attitudes and behaviours, for their pettiness with worldly things, with all the glory and ambitions of the world. Each and every one of them as His followers should not be doing all those things and sought for all the temporary and illusory ambitions, all the false leads and temptations present all around them and all of us. His path, the Christian truth and journey, is all about focusing oneself on God and Him alone, distancing and detaching oneself from the worldly ambitions and pursuits.

As the example of Job, his suffering and the aftermath reminded us all, that all worldly pursuits and ambitions are ultimately meaningless and pointless, and we should not put our trust and focus on all those things but rather on the Lord and His Providence instead. We are all God’s beloved ones and as long as we continue to walk in His path and continue to be committed to His cause, we will surely be rewarded in the end of our journey, receiving the fullness of God’s inheritance and graces, the promise of life everlasting and true happiness and glory, everything that He has promised and assured us all from the very beginning of time, from the moment of Creation to this very day and to everlasting. We must always keep in mind of God’s ever enduring and patient love for each one of us.

This day, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Jerome, the renowned saint whose contributions to the Church and the faithful people of God were truly enormous, but particularly was renowned for his role in translating the Scriptures from the Greek Septuagint version, which itself came from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts, into Latin language, compiling what would come to be known as the Latin Vulgate Bible, from which the various translations and the Scriptural basis of the Western Christianity was derived from, which remains to this very day, in all the Bibles that we have today, which can trace their roots to the works of St. Jerome, who has dedicated himself most wonderfully and faithfully to the Lord.

St. Jerome was born and lived during the fourth century, about the time when the Christian faith began to be tolerated and accepted by large parts of the Roman Empire. He converted to the Christian faith in his middle twenties and went for a while to the desert to live the life of a hermit, which is something that he is also often associated with. Later on, due to his connection and patronage by Pope St. Damasus, he was called to Rome to help the Pope in managing the Church there, as some sort of early predecessor of the office of Cardinals, as there was not yet any well-established system of the Cardinalate at that time. He helped the Pope with the reforms of the Church, rooting out worldliness and corruption from the Church and the clergy, and most importantly, as mentioned, he helped to compile the Latin translation of the Bible for those in Western Christendom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Jerome has shown us all how we should live in great faith and commitment to God, in living our lives with focus on the Lord and to be holy just as He is holy. There may be difficulties and challenges, as St. Jerome himself encountered throughout his life and missions, but we must not be disheartened or discouraged by all the challenges and trials that we have to face in this journey. Instead, like Job and St. Jerome before us, as well as the innumerable saints and martyrs, holy men and women of God, let us all continue to be faithful to the Lord, trust in His love and providence, and do our best so that our lives may truly be great inspiration to others and glorify the Lord at all times. May the Lord, our ever loving and generous God, be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 30 September 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 46-50

At that time, one day, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so He took a little child and stood him by His side. Then He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My Name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me. And listen : the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest.”

Then John spoke up, “Master, we saw someone who drives out demons by calling upon Your Name, and we tried to forbid him, because he does not follow You with us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him. He who is not against you is for you.”

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Monday, 30 September 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 16 : 1, 2-3, 6-7

Hear a just cause, o YHVH, listen to my complaint. Give heed to my prayer, for there is no deceit on my lips.

Let my defence come forth from You; Your eyes see what is right. You have probed my heart, searched me at night, tested me by fire, and You have seen no wickedness in me.

I call on You, You will answer me, o God; incline Your ear and hear my word. For You do wonders for Your faithful, You save those fleeing from the enemy as they seek refuge at Your right hand.

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Monday, 30 September 2024 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Job 1 : 6-22

One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before YHVH, and Satan came with them. YHVH asked Satan, “Where have you been?” Satan answered, “Going up and down the earth, roaming about.”

YHVH asked again, “Have you noticed My servant Job? No one on earth is as blameless and upright as he, a man who fears God and avoids evil.” But Satan returned the question, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not built a protective wall around him and his family and all his possessions? You have blessed and prospered him, with his livestock all over the land. But stretch out Your hand and strike where his riches are, and I bet he will curse You to Your face.”

YHVH said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power. But do not lay a finger upon the man himself.” So Satan left the presence of YHVH. One day, while his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said, “Your oxen were plowing, and your donkeys were grazing nearby when the Sabaeans came and carried them off. They killed the herdsmen. I alone escaped to tell you.”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came, “God’s fire fell from the sky and burnt all your sheep and the shepherds as well. I alone have escaped to tell you.” He had hardly finished speaking when another messenger arrived, “Three raiding teams of Chaldeans have killed your servants and carried off your camels. I alone have escaped to tell you.”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and said to Job, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother when suddenly a great wind blew across the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they all died. I alone have escaped to tell you.”

In grief Job tore his clothes and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshipped, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked shall I return. YHVH gave, YHVH has taken away. Blessed be His Name!”

In spite of this calamity, Job did not sin by blaspheming God.