Church fathers

by

Saturday, 21 September 2024 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the great occasion of the Feast of St. Matthew, one of the great Apostles of the Lord and also one of the Four Evangelists. St. Matthew has once been known as Levi, a tax collector who was among those despised by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law among others for their work and role in collecting taxes on behalf of the rulers and overlords of the land, and were also seen and perceived as being corrupt and greedy by the others which made them hated and shunned by the rest of the community. Yet, as we have seen from the example of St. Matthew himself, that no matter what people might think of or perceive, even great sinners and those deemed to be unworthy of God, are capable of truly great and faithful deeds, and are equally beloved by God like everyone else.

In the Gospels, we heard how Levi was called by the Lord, and he immediately left everything behind in order to follow Him and commit Himself wholly to His cause from then on. St. Matthew as Levi worked in collecting taxes for the Romans and the local rulers, and that led to him and the other tax collectors being despised as they collected taxes which were resented by many among the people, as those taxes were expenses that at times made it difficult for many people to make ends meet. As mentioned, this made the tax collectors to be considered as greedy and corrupt, and they were branded and marginalised, ostracised and rejected because they were seen as wicked and sinful, and the Pharisees in particular acted against them and made them to be the enemies of the people of God.

But, as the Gospel also highlighted, the tax collectors and the others whom those self-righteous people condemned and ostracised as sinners were actually the ones who wanted to seek the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy, and also those who were willing to listen to His truth and teachings, while the ones who thought themselves as worthy and righteous like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, proudly and arrogantly rejected the Lord and His teachings, stubbornly closing their hearts and minds against God and all the truth that He has revealed through His Son, the Saviour Whom He had sent into their midst. It was St. Matthew and the many other sinners who came closer to God and His salvation, through their humility and desire to love God wholeheartedly.

According to Apostolic traditions and history, St. Matthew continued to minister among the Jewish people, just as his Gospel was noted for his particular aim and focus on the Jewish converts to the Christian faith. He worked hard to proclaim the Lord to them and then he continued on with his ministry to other places like Ethiopia. It was there that according to tradition, St. Matthew was martyred after he rebuked the King of Ethiopia who lusted after a holy virgin who had consecrated herself to God. St. Matthew devoted himself faithfully and wholeheartedly to the Lord all throughout his life to the end, and in doing so, he truly showed us all his commitment to the Lord’s path, and inspire us to do the same as well, giving us all the hope that even he, who was once shunned and ostracised, can become a great disciple of the Lord. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard and discussed in the life and ministry which St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist carried out for the sake of the Lord, as a faithful disciple and servant of God, through his many efforts and works at evangelisation, through his missions and through the Gospel that he had compiled and written, as well as the many other efforts and works he had made, through his courageous testifying of the truth and message of the Gospel that he himself had written, St. Matthew has shown us a great example and inspiration on how each and every one of us can live our lives worthily as Christians as well. All of us are called and reminded to follow in the footsteps of St. Matthew and the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord at all times.

In this world today, there are still many people who have yet to know the Lord and His truth, His Good News and salvation. And there are many people who are still ignorant of His love and grace, His ways and commandments. It is up to us to show what our Christian faith is all about and to reveal God’s Good News and love to everyone around us, to all those whom we encounter in each and every moments of our lives, not through mere empty words and formalities, appearances or pious actions, but through wholesome and thorough embodiment of our faith in our daily lives, in even the smallest details and parts of our words, actions and deeds, in our every efforts and interactions with one another, with those who are less fortunate and unloved, those who are suffering and troubled, and whenever we make ourselves available to them, to show tender care, concern and genuine love, that is how we show the love of God to them.

This is why today, as we rejoice together and honour as one people the memory of the great St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, holy servant of God, our role model and inspiration, let us all be reminded of our important roles and vocations in life as fellow Christians, as God’s holy and beloved disciples and followers. Each and every one of us have the important parts to play in doing whatever it is that God has entrusted to us, to bring forth the love and truth of God to more and more people throughout the whole world. We may think that we cannot do great things, but the reality is that, each and every one of us, no matter how small our contributions may be, but all these will add up together and make up the great works and contributions from every single one of us, reaching much further than we think we can reach through our efforts and works.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to serve the Lord faithfully as St. Matthew and many other holy people of God had done, by doing our very best in each and every moments of our lives so that by our every good efforts and exemplary works, we may inspire many others whom we encounter in life, all those around us, be it those whom we know and even strangers, who have all come to seek God and therefore, through us, they may truly experience God’s love and grace. May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator continue to help and inspire us all in our journey of faith through life, that each and every moments of our lives may truly be enriching in faith and be good examples for each other. May St. Matthew, Holy Apostle and Evangelist, continue to intercede for us sinners and inspire us by his examples and dedication. Amen.

by

Saturday, 21 September 2024 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from the place where He cured a paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew, at his seat in the custom house; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him. 

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it, that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go, and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

by

Saturday, 21 September 2024 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

by

Saturday, 21 September 2024 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, Who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some, He gave to be Apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, He prepared those who belong to Him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.

by

Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded not to be proud, arrogant or egoistic in how we carry on living our lives. Instead, the greater we are, and the more knowledgeable we are, the wiser and the better we are, the more we should be humble and willing to listen to others, especially the Lord Himself in how we should be living our lives. We must not allow our ego and pride to become our downfall and be the serious obstacles and challenges in our path, preventing us from truly being able to approach the Lord and be filled with His grace and love. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those evils and ambitions, and if we harden and close our hearts and minds against Him and against others, then more often than not we may find ourselves falling into the wrong path in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and faithful people of God in Corinth in which the Apostle spoke of the matter about his ministry and how he did not boast about his accomplishments and achievements before everyone. Instead, he highlighted that being Christians, that is as the disciples and followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, one must be more humble and focused on the Lord in all things, rather than to be proud and full of oneself. He reminded all Christians to be always vigilant against the various temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, all of which can lead one astray and away from the Lord and His salvation unless we are careful and vigilant in how we live our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers in which He rebuked those hypocrites and those who have been blinded by their arrogance, pride and greed that they failed to see the truth of God and His love. He was clearly referring to the actions and attitudes of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, many of whom had not welcomed Him and in fact opposed Him vehemently, always making a lot of efforts to put stumbling blocks and obstacles in the path that the Lord had taken, opposing His ministry and good works, doubting Him and His authority, sowing seeds of dissension and divisions by their constant and repeated efforts at refusing to follow the Lord and what He has taught and shown to the people of God.

All these likely came about because of their great pride and sense of self-entitlement given their standing in the community of the people of God, as well as their strong sense of superiority against those others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than they were, so much so that they frequently criticised and condemned many people, such as the tax collectors, prostitutes and those afflicted by diseases, thinking that those people were wicked and unworthy of God, and had been cursed by their many sins. But they failed to realise that they themselves were sinners and by their indulging in their pride, ego and ambition, they have allowed themselves to be led into the path of rebellion against God, and closed the doors of their heart from the Lord.

That was why they were ‘blind’ because they had been blinded by all that pride and ego, all of which kept them from truly being able to appreciate the truth and Good News which the Lord had brought into our midst. This is an important reminder therefore for each and every one of us not to fall into this same trap, falling into the same predicament of hardening our hearts and minds, closing ourselves off from the Lord and His ever generous offer of love and His truth. We should instead be more humble, the greater we are. We must not let all these pride and wickedness of the world to distract us from our true goal in Christ, in His truth and love, His grace and salvation. We must always be willing to let the Lord to come into our hearts and minds, while humbly seeking Him to forgive us all our own sins and imperfections.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John Chrysostom, a great servant of God and bishop, who was honoured afterwards as one of the great and esteemed Doctors of the Church for his many contributions and works, and his commitment to God in the early periods of the Church’s history. St. John Chrysostom was one of the famous Early Church fathers who dedicated himself to his mission of evangelisation and care for the flock of God’s holy and beloved people and who was remembered well for his great courage and determination to stand up for his beliefs and convictions amidst the various challenges and difficulties that he might have to face in the process of his efforts and works, in his commitment as a good and faithful shepherd of the Lord’s people. St. John Chrysostom is truly a worthy role model for all of us to follow in how we ought to live our lives with faith.

St. John Chrysostom was born in a pagan family to a high-ranking military officer who died early in St. John Chrysostom’s life. His mother raised him and gave him good education in various areas of academics and other philosophical pursuits. However, he soon developed strong desire to learn more about God, devoting his time more to his Christian faith and embraced deep learning of theology. He then became a hermit for a while, adopting an ascetic lifestyle, before becoming a deacon in Antioch, gaining great popularity for his great charism and eloquence in his service and dedication, in his wonderful style of preaching and teaching to the people regarding various matters of the faith. Eventually, he was chosen as the Archbishop of Constantinople, a position of truly great influence in the Roman Empire at that time, being the Eastern capital of the Empire.

During his time as the Archbishop and shepherd of the flock of the people of God in Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom had to face a lot of challenges and difficulties, as he soon gained the enmity and the wrath of the powerful nobles, especially that of the Roman Empress Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor Arcadius. The Empress was angry at St. John Chrysostom spoke out courageously against excesses of worldly wealth and also display of feminine elegance and ornamentations, which she presumed to be directed against her. She therefore managed to get him to be banished from his See and persecuted, which led to violent opposition by those who supported St. John Chrysostom, and this, coupled with the omen of an earthquake that struck the very night the man of God was arrested led to him being released and reinstated. However, the troubles did not end there are conflicts kept on going between the Empress and the Archbishop of Constantinople, which led him to be exiled again and persecuted to the end of his life. But all these did not dampen his efforts, and St. John Chrysostom remained firmly faithful to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the faithful examples of St. John Chrysostom, who dedicated himself wholly and thoroughly to God, and that he spoke up courageously against those who abused their power and against all those who acted with pride, ego and arrogance, and who humbly dedicated himself to God and His people despite his status and the prestige that he enjoyed. He did not allow himself to be swayed by the temptations of sin, of pride and ego, of ambition and greed. Each and every one of us should be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to do our best so that we may grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God, and we may distance ourselves from all the things that may lead to our downfall and destruction, and keeping us away from God. May the Lord be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and endeavours, to come ever closer to Him, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 39-42

At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”

“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”

by

Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6, 12

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, to make the ascent to You.

For YHVH God is a sun and a shield; He bestows favour and glory. YHVH withholds no good thing from those who walk in uprightness.

by

Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve my reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the Gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.

Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes, who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet, for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run, knowing where I go. I box, but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

by

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.

by

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.