divine wisdom

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Thursday, 28 May 2015 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach (Ecclesiastes) 42 : 15-25

Now I shall remind you of the works of the Lord and relate what I have seen. The Lord’s works depend on His word, and creation obeys His will. The sun shines on everything and the work of the Lord is filled with His glory. Not even to His holy ones has the Lord given full knowledge of all His marvellous works.

The Lord, Master of the universe, has ordained that all should stand firm in His glory. He penetrates both the depth of the abyss and the human heart and knows their secrets. For the Most High has full knowledge and ordains the signs of the heavens.

He knows the past and foretells the future and reveals the traces of the world’s mysteries. No thought escapes Him, no word is hidden from Him. He has ordered the marvellous works of His wisdom, from ever and forever. Nothing can be added, nothing can be taken away and He has no need of counsel.

All His works are beautiful, even to the smallest spark of light. All this lives and endures forever : all is useful and obedient to His will. All things are in pairs, one opposite the other, and nothing He makes is in any way deficient. One thing emphasises the excellence of the other; who could ever weary of admiring His glory?

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Monday, 25 May 2015 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Sirach (Ecclesiastes) 17 : 20-29

Their misdeeds cannot be hidden from Him, all their sins are before the Lord. He holds a man’s almsgiving dear as a priceless signet ring; He cherishes a good deed like the apple of His eye.

One day He will rise and reward them; He will place their prize on their heads. He allows those who repent to return; He comforts those whose hopes are fading. Be converted to the Lord and give up your sins, plead with Him to lessen your offense. Return to the Almighty, turn aside from wrongdoing and totally detest evil.

For who in the grave will praise the Almighty, if the living do not give Him glory? The dead man is as if he did not exist and cannot give praise; he who has life and health can praise the Lord. How great is the mercy of the lord and His forgiveness for those who turn to Him!

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 8 February 2015 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians

2 Corinthians 11 : 19-33 and 2 Corinthians 12 : 1-9

Fratres : Libenter suffertis insipientens : Cum sitis ipsi sapientes. Sustinetis enim, si quis vos in servitutem redigit, si quis devorat, si quis accipit, si quis extollitur, si quis in faciem vos caedit. Secundum ignobilitatem dico, quasi nos infirmi fuerimus in hac parte.

In quo quis audet (in insipientia dico) audeo et ego : Hebraei sunt, et ego : Israelitae sunt, et ego : Ministri Christi sunt, (ut minus sapiens dico) plus ego : in laboribus plurimis, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis supra modum, in mortibus frequenter.

A Judaeis quinquies quadragenas, una minus accepi. Ter virgis caesus sum, semel lapidatus sum, ter naufragium feci, nocte et die in profundo maris fui : in itineribus saepe, periculis fluminum, periculis latronum, periculis ex genere, periculis ex gentibus, periculis in civitate, periculis in solitudine, periculis in mari, periculis in falsis fratribus.

In labore et aerumna, in vigiliis multis, in fame et siti, in jejuniis multis, in frigore et nuditate : praeter illa, quae extrinsecus sunt, instantia mea cotidiana, sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum. Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? Si gloriari oportet : quae infirmitatis meae sunt, gloriabor.

Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui est benedictus in saecula, scit quod non mentior. Damasci praepositus gentis Aretae regis, custodiebat civitatem Damascenorum, ut me comprehenderet : et per fenestram in sports dimissus sum per murum, et sic effugi manus ejus.

Si gloriari oportet (non expedit quidem), veniam autem ad visiones et revelationes Domini. Scio hominem in Christo ante annos quatuordecim, (sive in corpore nescio, sive extra corpus nescio, Deus scit 🙂 raptum hujusmodi usque ad tertium caelum.

Et scio hujusmodi hominem, (sive in corpore, sive extra corpus nescio, Deus scit 🙂 quoniam raptus est in paradisum : et audivit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui. Pro hujusmodi gloriabor : pro me autem nihil gloriabor nisi in infirmitatibus meis. Nam, et si voluero gloriari, non ero insipiens : veritatem enim dicam.

Parco autem, ne quis me existimet supra id, quod videt in me, aut aliquid audit ex me. Et ne magnitudo revelationem extollat me, datus est mihi stimulus carnis meae angelus satanae, qui me colaphizet. Propter quod ter Dominum rogavi, ut discederet a me : et dixit mihi : Sufficit tibi gratia mea : nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur. Libenter igitur gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi.

English translation

Brethren, you gladly suffer the foolish, whereas yourselves are wise. For you suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take from you, if a man be lifted up, if a man strike you in the face. I speak according to dishonour, as if we had been weak in this part.

Wherein if any man dare (I speak foolishly), I also dare. They are Hebrews, so am I. They are Israelites, so am I. They are the seed of Abraham, so am I. They are the ministers of Christ (I speak as one less wise), I am more, in many more labours, in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.

Of the Jews five times I have received forty stripes save one. Thrice I was beaten with rods, and I was stoned once. I suffered shipwreck thrice, a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea. In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren.

In labour and painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides those things which are without, my daily instance, the solicitude for all the churches. Who is weak, and am I not weak? Who is scandalised, and am I not on fire? If I have to glorify, I will glory on the things that concern my infirmity.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. At Damascus the governor of the nation under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket I was let down by the wall, and so escaped his hands.

If I must glorify (it is not expedient indeed), but I will come to the visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, only God knows), such a person rapt even to the third heaven.

And I know such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell, only God knows) that he was caught up into paradise, and heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter. For such a person I will glorify, but for myself I will glorify nothing, but in my infirmities. For though I should have a mind for glory, I shall not be foolish, for I will say the truth.

But I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he sees on me, or anything he hears from me, and lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given to me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. For which thing I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore I will glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

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Wednesday, 4 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He raised the daughter of Jairus, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the Brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 4 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 4-7, 11-15

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin? Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children : ‘My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when He punishes you. For the Lord corrects those He loves and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.’

What you endure is in order to correct you. God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father? All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it.

Lift up, then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed. Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. See that no one falls from the grace of God, lest a bitter plant spring up and its poison corrupt many among you.

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Wednesday, 28 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the famous parable of the sower in the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ to the people. This parable told us of the gifts of God’s love in all of us, and what can happen to that gift, either be it for out own good, for our benefit, or whether it will become dead and useless, meaningless for the sake of our salvation. It is all truly entirely up to us, in our own actions in life, on what will become of the gifts which God had given us all.

In the first reading we are told of the action of God, who by the singular act of our Lord Jesus Christ had made the impossible possible for all of us. While we were once sinners who deserved only death and damnation, He had brought us out from the precipice of death, through the loving sacrifice of our Lord Himself, who had borne all of our sins at once, and carry that cross of sin, of shame and of damnation upon His shoulders to Calvary.

And by that act, we were all saved. Redemption was given to us and salvation is offered freely to us, if only we believe in what Christ had done for us, that is God’s love. And it is therefore, in this that we should see how God had planted His love within us all. Through Jesus, He had revealed unto us, the seeds of faith, the seeds of love, and the seeds of hope, which all of us, upon our acceptance of the Good News of the Gospels, receive from the Lord Himself, who is the Sower of those seeds.

But what we all should realise is that, those seeds need something to be able to grow. As all farmers should know, that Jesus was referring to them by that parable, so that they might be able to understand His intentions. That intention was that to show mankind how our faith requires an active participation and contribution by all of us without exception. And this is perfectly shown by the parable of the sower.

In rich soil, the seeds will prosper and grow well, and very well indeed, bearing many and many more fruits and results than what had been planted. Such will also be our reward, rich and plentiful, should we decide to walk in the way of the Lord. Our Lord and God will never disappoint us, and He will always guide us and be with us, just like the farmer taking care of its good crops. But bad crops He will uproot and destroy.

And even worse, for many people, the seeds would not even have the chance to grow and develop, for the various reasons summarised in the parable of the sower. For some, the seeds of faith, hope and love did not even manage to take root at all, unable to penetrate the hardness of the hearts of some of us. Yes, just as the Israelites in the past had hardened their hearts against God, and just as the Pharaoh had hardened his heart against the Israelites, so are many of us who have dwelled too long in our pride, in our prejudice, our greed and desires, so that we have no place for God at all within us.

And from among those whom the seeds had been sown in, there are those who are so concerned with worldly things, to the point that they are unable to fully commit to the Lord’s way and teachings. To them, the temptation of the world is too much and too good for them to ignore, and therefore, they gave in to the temptations of Satan, much like weeds growing around the crops and choking them to death, and thus they bore no fruit at all, and have no part in God’s salvation.

Today, we celebrate the feast of a great saint of the Church, that is of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Doctor of the Church and the revolutionary philosopher saint who advanced greatly the Theology of the Church, by showing through his brilliant mind, the truth of God made real and concrete, and many understood the true meaning of their faith through his works.

St. Thomas Aquinas told us that there is much we do not know about the Lord, and that we can understand Him by observing what we have around us in the world, through the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas developed greatly the understanding on the nature of God, and what He had done for us through His various graces. And that is exactly by understanding the Lord, that we may grow stronger in faith and empower ourselves, that our lives will be made richer and the seeds of faith, hope and love our Lord planted in us may grow and be strong.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, shall we seek to overcome the temptations of this world and cast out all forms of worldliness from our lives? Shall we seek to be closer to the Lord our God by striving to know Him better? Surely we all can put in more effort to be closer to our God and strive to live according to what He had told us.

Let us all therefore work hard to provide ourselves with the optimum environment and condition necessary for the faith in us to grow, for the hope in us to blossom, and for the love in us to bear forth great fruits. That is why, with the inspiration from St. Thomas Aquinas, we should all seek to understand our faith more deeply, by regularly reading the Holy Scriptures and learning the teachings of the Church.

By doing so, therefore we have strengthened the faith within us, and then we should bring forth that same faith, that same hope and love in our actions, and then truly that seed which had been planted in us will bear rich fruits that will be truly thirtyfold, sixtyfold, hundredfold and even more. May Almighty God witness the faith we have for Him, through what we have done to one another, and may He bless us always with His rich graces. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 4 : 1-20

At that time, again Jesus began to teach by the lake; but such a large crowd gathered about Him, that He got into a boat and sat in it on the lake, while the crowd stood on the shore. He taught them many things through parables. In His teaching He said, “Listen! The sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some of the seed fell along a path, and the birds came and ate it up.”

“Some of the seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil; it sprang up immediately because it had no depth; but when the sun rose and burned it, it withered because it had no roots. Other seed fell among thornbushes, and the thorns grew and choked it, so it did not produce any grain.”

“But some seed fell on good soil, grew and increased and yielded grain; some seed produced thirty times as much, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.” And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”

When the crowd went away, some who were around Him with the Twelve asked about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so that the more they see, they do not perceive; the more they hear, they do not understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those along the path, where the seed fell, are people who hear the word, but as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”

“Other people receive the word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word, they accept it with joy, but they have no roots, so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come because of the word, than they fall. Others receive the seed, as seed among thorns. After they hear the word, they are caught up in the worries of this life, false hopes of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the word, so that finally it produces nothing.”

“And there are others who receive the word as good soil. They hear the word, take it to heart and produce : some thirty, some sixty and some one hundred times as much.”

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Wednesday, 28 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Wednesday, 28 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hebrews 10 : 11-18

So, whereas every priest stands daily by the altar offering repeatedly the same sacrifices that can never take away sins, Christ has offered for all times a single sacrifice for sins and has taken His seat at the right hand of God, waiting until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet. By a single sacrifice He has brought those who are sanctified to what is perfect forever.

This also was testified by the Holy Spirit. For after having declared : ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come’ – says the Lord – ‘I will put My laws in their hearts and write them on their minds.’ He says : ‘Their sins and evil deeds I will remember no more.’

So, if sins are forgiven, there is no longer need of any sacrifice for sin.

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(Usus Antiquior) Third Sunday after Epiphany, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and Feast of St. Peter the Apostle (II Classis) – Sunday, 25 January 2015 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans

Romans 12 : 16-21

Fratres : Nolite esse prudentes apud vosmetipsos : nulli malum pro malo reddentes : providentes bona non tantum coram Deo, sed etiam coram omnibus hominibus. Si fieri potest, quod ex vobis est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habentes : Non vosmetipsos defendentes, carissimi, sed date locum irae.

Scriptum est enim : Mihi vindicta : ego retribuam, dicit Dominus. Sed si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum : si sitit, potum da illi : hoc enim faciens, carbones ignis congeres super caput ejus. Noli vinci a malo, sed vince in bono malum.

English translation

Brethren, do not be wise in your own conceits. To no man you should render evil for evil, providing good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men. If it is possible, as much as it is in you, have peace with all men. Do not make revenge yourselves, my dearly beloved, but give place unto wrath.

For it is written, ‘Revenge is Mine, I will repay,’ the Lord had said. But if your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for in doing this, you shall heap coals of fire upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by doing good.