Doctor of the Church

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard the passages from the Sacred Scriptures telling us the true meaning of being a servant of God, as those who have been called to serve Him and to be the instruments of His will in this world. Through all of these God is telling us the true meaning of service, and how we ought to serve Him with all of our heart.

As those who follow the Lord, all of us Christians must be humble in heart and be patient, as the persecutions and sufferings of this world will come to us for sure, and we will face many obstacles on our path, but we must persevere through or else we will fall into temptation and into sin. We must help one another in our path, and we must remain true to our calling as Christians, to be what the Lord had shown us all to do.

Jesus Himself had shown us the way forward, as He showed it through His own actions in life. He is a King, Lord and Master over the whole universe, over all of creation, and yet, He has willingly emptied Himself of His majesty, and came down to us in the form of a Man, taking up our own flesh, so that He might walk among us, and through His works, and by the ultimate sacrifice He made on the cross, all of us can be saved.

While the disciples grumbled and debated among themselves, on who among them ought to be the greatest and the first among all of them, Jesus showed them that in order to follow Him and become His disciple, all must learn humility, obedience and faith, just as Jesus Himself was humble and obedient, obeying the will of His Father, and enduring everything so that by His humble obedience, He became the source of salvation and hope for so many people.

Jesus is teaching us all the meaning of servant leadership. As a leader, truly as the Lord and Master of all, He did not lord it over all those who had been placed under His care. Instead, He showed genuine care and love for them, and He gave Himself wholeheartedly as their leader, guide and shepherd. That was why He represented Himself as the Good Shepherd, Who was willing to even lay down His life for His sheep, namely all of His beloved people.

He humbled Himself before all, even to the point of washing His disciples’ feet. Even though some of them like St. Peter objected to this, but Jesus explained to them through His action the true meaning of service and love. He Himself said that He has done that in order to be followed by His disciples, the action of selflessness and loving one another.

He showed us all that as Christians, we should not act proudly or arrogantly, and we should not boast of our own strength, ability and achievements. Otherwise, we are not true Christians in the sense that, we are not doing what Jesus Himself had done. Instead, to be a true Christian means for us to be selfless in all of our words, actions and deeds, putting others ahead of ourselves, and to love others genuinely, showing real care and concern for each other’s well-being.

Today, we also celebrate the feast day of one of the great saints of the Church, namely St. Peter Damian, a renowned holy and pious man, and also a Benedictine monk whose role in the reforms of the Church approximately more that nine centuries ago could not be overlooked. He was an important part of the effort to reform the practices of the Church led by the Pope at that time, who also appointed St. Peter Damian to be one of the Cardinals of the Church.

As a Cardinal, St. Peter Damian was very influential, and indeed, that position was supposed to bring him great honour, prestige and power, as well as authority and influence. Yet, even though he has been given such a great honour by the Church, he remained very humble and dedicated, and unlike some others who were tempted by the worldly glory and all the temptations of worldliness, wealth and other vices.

He continued to devote his time and efforts to help reform the Church, and through his efforts and writings, he helped to make the Church a more holy place and a more holy institution free from the corruption of the world. His humility and piety were noted by many others, who were also inspired to follow in his footsteps, making the whole Church more committed and true to its roots in the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all renew our commitment together to live more faithfully as Christians, following all the ways of our Lord, being humble in all things and obey all the laws and commandments of our God. May the Lord help us, and through the intercession of St. Peter Damian, may we grow ever closer to God and be ever more faithful, every days of our life. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Mark 9 : 30-37

At that time, after leaving the place where He cast out evil spirit from a deaf and dumb boy, Jesus and His disciples made their way through Galilee, but He did not want people to know where He was because He was teaching His disciples. And He told them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, but three days after He has been killed, He will rise.”

The disciples, however, did not understand these words and they were afraid to ask Him what He meant. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they did not answer, because they had been arguing about who was the greatest.

Then He sat down, called the Twelve and said to them, “If someone wants to be first, let him be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child, placed him in their midst, and putting His arms around him, He said to them, “Whoever welcomes a child such as this in My Name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes not Me but the One Who sent Me.”

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and live on it. Make the Lord your delight, and He will grant your heart’s desire.

The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. They are not crushed in times of calamity; when famine strikes, they still are satisfied.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. For the Lord loves justice and right, and never forsakes His faithful ones. The wicked instead will perish and their breed will be cut off.

The Lord is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. The Lord helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them for they sought shelter in Him.

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Sirach 2 : 1-13 (Greek Septuagint version – Sirach 2 : 1-11)

My son, if you have decided to serve the Lord, prepare yourselves for trials. Keep your heart upright and remain resolute; do not be upset in the time of adversity. Hold fast to the Lord, do not separate yourself from Him so that you may be successful to the end of your days.

Accept all that happens to you, be patient when you are humbled, for as gold is tested in the fire, so those acceptable to God are tested in the crucible of humiliation. Have confidence in Him and He will take care of you; follow the right path and hope in Him.

You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy and do not turn away lest you fall. You who fear the Lord, trust Him and you will not lose your reward. You who fear the Lord, hope for all good things; hope for eternal joy and mercy. Remember what happened to your ancestors. Who has ever trusted in the Lord and been confounded? Who has persevered in fear of the Lord and been abandoned? Who has called upon Him and not been heard?

For the Lord is compassion and loving kindness; He forgives our sins and saves us in time of distress.

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Tuesday, 24 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded by the Lord and His Church through the Scripture passages we heard today, of the need of obedience and action in order for us to be truly justified and worthy in the sight of the Lord. It is not enough that we should just practice external observances of our faith, but instead, we must embody everything we believe in our own actions and deeds.

This is particularly relevant in the context in how these passages were written. At a time when disobedience against the rules and regulations imposed by the elders and the teachers of the Law were heavily discouraged and punishable, the people of God by then had lost the true meaning of the Law of God, which they had received through Moses, and obeyed them without understanding. And those who imposed them, forced the people to live strictly according to the Law also without knowing the intention of God’s Law.

The Pharisees, elders and teachers of the Law insisted that all the observances of the Mosaic laws must be adhered to, from rules on how a person should observe fasting, how one ought to wash his or her hands before a meal and when entering into another person’s house, as well as the laws regarding Sabbath and the strict instruction to avoid any works on that day, or else those who disobeyed would be expelled from the synagogues and shunned by the rest of their society.

In one count, there are approximately six hundred and thirteen set of laws, rules and regulations which the people had to obey, from the rituals of cleansing and purification, as well as ways to pray and fasting, right to the way for offering sacrifices, and the different purposes of each sacrifices of animal fats, blood, and others. These were imposed on the people, and became a great burden for them, because many of these were not what God intended for His people, but how the people themselves twisted the observances of the true Law, and utilised it to their own purposes.

That was why Jesus revealed to His people, what God actually intended for them, and what God wanted them to do for Him. It was not all the external observations of the laws that is important, but rather whether each person is able to commit themselves to God through the Law, and learn to give Him their love and commitment. It is no use for someone to observe the fullness of the rules and regulations, with the example of the Pharisees who openly displayed their observances before others, and yet God was not in their hearts.

It is pointless if we pretend to be pious, devout and holy, and yet in our hearts we store a greater malice of pride, arrogance and human greed. To want to be seen by others and be praised because of their deeds was the exact reason why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their hypocrisy. They had no God in their hearts, but rather their own ego and selfishness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what God wants from each one of us is simply our love, just as He had loved us first. His laws as summarised by Jesus our Lord is indeed simple, about love, the love of God shown upon mankind, and the expectation that we also love Him back equally, and to put Him at the centre of our lives, so that His love lives inside each one of us, and we therefore may live in Him.

Let us all follow the examples of St. Francis de Sales, whose feast we celebrate today. St. Francis de Sales was a devout bishop and holy man, whose deeds and works were renowned far and wide among the communities of the faithful during and after his time. But when he was young, he was born into a noble family and followed worldly pursuits as what was expected of someone of his class at that time.

However, as he continue through his education in a seminary, and going through various spiritual experiences, he discovered a moment of conversion and change, when he realised that God loves him and each and every men and women. And based on that fundamental truth, St. Francis de Sales dedicated his life to God from then on, and left behind the worldly pursuits and ambitions.

He left behind everything and became a priest, and was renowned from then on by his zeal and faith in God, by the clarity of his sermons and preachings about the faith to the people. And by explaining the love of God which He had shown through the Church, he managed to convince many to repent from their old ways of sin and enter into conversion and change just as he himself had done many years prior.

St. Francis de Sales was renowned for his patience and humility, his loving and caring nature, his gentle attitude, which are all the characteristics of God’s love. Therefore, based on his examples, all of us Christians must also follow in his footsteps, practicing our faith in our own lives, so that we too may have the Lord at the centre of our lives, and be transformed wholly from creatures of sin and wickedness into creatures of love.

Let us all devote ourselves, our time and our efforts to love God in all the things we do, and we can start this by thanking Him for all the blessings and graces we have received, and then sharing them with one another, loving and caring our brethren, and even strangers who are in our midst. Let us live our lives with purpose from now on, that is to obey the will of God, and therefore we will be found worthy when the Lord comes again as He had promised us. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 3 : 31-35

At that time, the mother and brothers of Jesus came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”

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Tuesday, 24 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

I have not locked up in my heart Your saving help, but have spoken about it – Your deliverance and Your faithfulness. I have made no secret of Your truth and of Your kindness in the great assembly.

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Tuesday, 24 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 10 : 1-10

The religion of the Law is only a shadow of the good things to come; it has the patterns but not the realities. So, year after year, the same sacrifices are offered without bringing the worshippers to what is the end. If they had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have felt guilt and would have stopped offering the same sacrifices.

But no, year after year their sacrifices witness to their sins and never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins. This is why on entering the world, Christ says : You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said : “Here I am. It was written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First He says : “Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law. Then He says : Here I am to do Your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the Body of Christ Jesus.

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Friday, 13 January 2017 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the matter of the forgiveness of sins, as Jesus our Lord healed the paralytic man, telling him that He has forgiven him his sins, but the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe that He was capable of forgiveness of sins, as to them, only God could forgive sins, and they did not believe that He is truly God.

This was precisely pointed out in the first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, how two different types of people heard and received the Good News of the Gospel, but they acted differently, and thus different outcomes were recorded. In one group, the people who heard the Gospel believed in the message of the Lord, and they welcomed the truth of God in their hearts, and therefore they were saved.

However, in the other group, they refused to believe, and therefore the Word had no place in their hearts. They closed their hearts against the truth of God, and in their stubbornness, they had brought about their own downfall. God had freely offered His mercy, love and forgiveness, but if those people refused to accept them, then they would not be forgiven their sins and trespasses.

That was why the paralytic man was healed from his afflictions, because of his faith in God, Who made His good works true through Jesus His Son. He had sent His Son into the world in order to save it, and thus through Jesus, He had brought about His healing and forgiveness into the world. The paralytic man had been made whole in body and spirit, healed from his sickness and also forgiven from his sins.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law on the other hand, even though they were perfectly fine in the body, not afflicted by human diseases and weaknesses, but in their hearts, their sins remained. Sin is the disease of the soul, which gnaws away at our very being, and corrupting us from the inside out. This is why Jesus often rebuked them, at their impurities of their interior beings, while they insisted on outward appearances and exterior piety.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask ourselves, are we open to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness? Or are we more like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who in their pride and greed refused to believe in the truth that Jesus our Lord had taught to all of them. They refused to acknowledge their sinfulness and wicked ways, and they adamantly refused to change their ways.

That is the attitude of those who have condemned themselves to an eternity of sufferings. Rather, as Christians, all of us should learn to be more like Christ, our Lord, following Him in His humility and obedience to the will of the Father. We should erase from our hearts all sorts of human pride and all the things that prevent us from finding the grace and forgiveness in God. And most importantly, we should be concerned for each other, helping one another to reject false ways and adhere to the true faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us should also follow the examples of today’s saint, St. Hilary of Poitiers. St. Hilary of Poitiers lived during the waning years of the Roman Empire, with the Christian community troubled by the heresy of Arianism, which had gained much traction amongst the people. The false teachings of Arius had misled many into the wrong paths, and there were many who adamantly refused to see the truth in the orthodox and true faith.

St. Hilary of Poitiers worked hard among the people, through his preaching and outreach to them, telling them the truth about God, and dispelling the falsehoods and the lies of Arianism and the other heresies of the faith. He devoted his time to bring the people who had been lost in the darkness that they may find their way back to the light of God, and to those who were still adamant against repentance, he rebuked them and cast them out from the Church.

He did not have it easy as he worked among the people to bring them back to the Church, as it was often that he faced rejection and ridicule, and he was even persecuted and people plotted against him. He had to endure humiliation and even exile in his life. As Christians, we should follow his good examples, and be inspired by his dedication to the Lord, and be like him in his desire to bring his brethren in faith back to the true way towards the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be good and faithful Christians like St. Hilary of Poitiers, devoting our life to the Lord, believing in Him and placing our complete trust in Him. Let us not be blinded by our pride and let us not be distracted by our human desires, but instead, let us do our best to help one another to remain true to our Lord and to His truth. May the Lord bless all of our endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 13 January 2017 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Mark 2 : 1-12

At that time, 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 ‘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!”