feast of holy saints

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Saturday, 9 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 6 : 1-5

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was going through a field of grain, and His disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands for food. Some of the Pharisees asked them, “Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”

Then Jesus spoke up and asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”

And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”

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Saturday, 9 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 53 : 3-4, 6 and 8

By Your Name, o God, save me; You, the Valiant, uphold my cause. Hear my prayer, o God; listen to the words of my mouth.

See, God is my Helper; the Lord upholds my life. Freely will I offer sacrifice to You, and praise Your Name, o YHVH, for it is good.

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Saturday, 9 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Colossians 1 : 21-23

You, yourselves, were once estranged, and opposed to God, because of your evil deeds, but now, God has reconciled you, in the human body of His Son, through His death, so that you may be without fault, holy and blameless before Him.

Only stand firm upon the foundation of your faith, and be steadfast in hope. Keep in mind the Gospel you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

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Tuesday, 5 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Word of God through the Scriptures, speaking to us about the love and mercy of God, through which He desired to bring us all into reconciliation with Him, that we may be free from the sins and troubles that had kept us from God’s grace. That is what God wanted for each one of us, for us to be redeemed and saved.

And that is why, even though once we lived in the darkness, and were engulfed by the wickedness of the world, now we exist in the light, because God has revealed to us His salvation through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose coming into this world has brought unto us the fullness of the revelation of God’s grace and love. We see all that through the many good works and miracles which He had done among the people.

In the Gospel today, we also witness one of those miracles, when Jesus cast out evil spirits from within a man possessed by the devil. The man had been in the darkness, and was under the dominion of the devil, but God came to free him, casting out that evil spirit from him, and having been freed, therefore, the man came to reconciliation with God and was healed from his afflictions.

That is what the Lord wants for each and every one of us, without exception. He wants the salvation of us all, even to the greatest among the sinners. God gave us His assurance of salvation as long as we ourselves want to be saved, and has that desire to be reconciled with Him, through repentance and genuine regret for our sins and wickedness. And through His Son, Jesus, He has touched each one of us and healed us.

Yet, the good works of God has not yet been completed. As we should be aware of, there are still many people out there who are still lost in the darkness, trapped in ignorance and rejection of the truth of God. There are still many out there who are in need of God’s loving grace and protection, and it is by the works of our hands that God is exercising His power and work among us, we who are God’s Church.

That is why it is just appropriate that today we also celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, the person whom we also fondly remember as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a recently proclaimed saint whose works among the poor, the sick and dying, and the least fortunate among the children of God in Calcutta has been renowned throughout the world. It was her approach and efforts to help the last, the least and the weakest of our fellow brothers and sisters that had inspired many others to do the same.

St. Teresa of Calcutta showed us all that if we are truly God’s followers and disciples, then we ought to be committed to work for the greater glory of God and for the good of His people, our fellow men and women. And St. Teresa of Calcutta exactly did just that, by her selfless giving and commitment, and by her hard work and zeal through which she showed her faith in God via her loving and tender care for her fellow brethren, those who are suffering in this world.

Now, let us all ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we also able to do the same? Are we capable of giving our very best to our fellow men and women? Are we able to walk in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Calcutta and the many other holy saints of God, who had given themselves to the care and love, the service and commitment towards the hungry, the poor, the sick and the dying?

All of us have to realise that there are still so many things which we can do and contribute through our actions in life, in fulfilling what God had taught and commanded all of us to do, that is to love one another just as much as we have loved ourselves. Therefore, let us all, with renewed zeal and desire to commit, seek to bring one another to the salvation in God, by our good works and charity, through every action we do in our lives and through every effort we have made.

May the Lord bless all of us and all of our endeavours. May He empower us all to be ever more dedicated and committed to Him, so that in all the things we do, we will always proclaim His glory and bring ever more souls closer to righteousness and salvation in God. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

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.

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Tuesday, 5 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14

YHVH is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? YHVH is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of YHVH, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His Sanctuary.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of YHVH in the land of the living. Trust in YHVH, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in YHVH!

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Tuesday, 5 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

1 Thessalonians 5 : 1-6, 9-11

You do not need anyone to write to you about the delay, and the appointed time for these events. You know, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people feel secure, and at peace, the disaster will suddenly come upon them, as the birth pangs of a woman in labour, and they will not escape.

But you, beloved, are not in darkness; so that day will not surprise you like a thief. All of you are citizens of the light and the day; we do not belong to night and darkness. Let us not, therefore, sleep as others do, but remain alert and sober.

For God has not willed us to be condemned, but to win salvation, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. He died for us, so that, we might enter into life, with Him, whether we are still awake or already asleep. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, as you are doing now.

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Monday, 28 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to God speaking to the people, condemning the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their hypocrisy in their faith, in how they have not been truly faithful to God, and how they have not obeyed God in His laws and commandments, through their mistaken interpretation and application of the Law entrusted to them as the teachers and the leaders of the people of God.

That is because the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had not been faithful in keeping the commandments, and their duty was to ensure that the people of God obeyed those laws and through those laws learn to love the Lord as He had commanded, and then show the same love towards their fellow men and women. That is the essence of the Law which the Lord Jesus had spoken to His people and revealed to them, as the real intention of the Law God gave to them.

Yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law misused their authority and teachings to suit their own desires and to seek their own personal and worldly glory. They used the Law to suit their own needs and wants, and allowing certain practices that were not in line with the Law, but which brought about convenience to them, as well as benefits. They turned around a blind eye to unlawful practices and wickedness, including those of their own, and yet punished those who genuinely and sincerely desiring to love God.

Yes, they closed the gates of salvation to those who needed it most, by turning away prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners, whom they despised, looked down upon, and sneered on. They themselves did not practice the Law of God and did not have the love of God in themselves, but they wanted to look down on others just because they thought that those people did not deserve to be saved because of their sins.

How is this relevant to all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ? The message of the Scripture passages today is that each and every one of us as Christians must not follow what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. We must not think that all of us are better than others and that certain people are beyond God’s grace and salvation, for it is God’s prerogative to judge the soul of a person and not us.

And these readings we heard today perfectly match the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today, as we remember together the memory of St. Augustine of Hippo, a holy bishop and a well-known saint, known for his many works and writings in various matters of the faith, so much so that he was considered among the four original Doctors of the Church, whose contributions to the Church was indeed immense.

Yet, how many of us know that St. Augustine of Hippo was also a sinner, especially in his involvement with the Manichaean heresy and how he spent his early life in debauchery and wickedness, seeking the glory and the pleasures of the world, and certainly no one would have thought that St. Augustine, then a pagan philosopher whose life was filled with sin and wickedness, would be a Christian one day, less still a saint.

It was by the ceaseless prayers and efforts of his mother, St. Monica, a devout Christian, who prayed daily for his sake, and for the conversion of his soul, that God called St. Augustine to his service. St. Augustine of Hippo yearned in his heart to seek for fulfilment which he was unable to attain through all of his worldly pursuits for knowledge, for worldly glory and power, for the pleasures of the body and others.

Thus, eventually St. Augustine made a complete turnaround in his life, repenting from his past sins, and under the tutelage of another great saint, St. Ambrose of Milan, who would also be counted together with St. Augustine as one of the four original Doctors of the Church, St. Augustine was baptised as a Christian, and henceforth walked on the path that God had set for him.

From what we have heard in the Scripture passages today, and what we have heard in the story of St. Augustine of Hippo, a great sinner turned a great saint, much as St. Paul the Apostle himself was a great enemy of the Church and the faithful before his conversion, we see how God through His Church transformed men and women who were once sinners into saints and holy people, through the transformation of those who were willing to repent wholeheartedly from their sins, and opening themselves to God’s love and grace.

It means that as Christians all of us must not be like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who despised those they deemed to be sinners and unworthy, but instead, we must love them and embrace them, and most importantly, we must call them to repentance and forgiveness for their sins through that sincere repentance.

All of us are also sinners, all in need of repentance and then God’s mercy. Therefore, let us all open our hearts and minds, allowing God to do His work in us, and through us as well, that by our work and effort, we may call ever more souls towards God and His light, delivering them from the darkness of sin and thus saving them from the fires of hell.

May the Lord bless us all His Church, that all of us who are sinners may come ever closer to Him, and have that strong desire in us to sin no more and to repent, wholeheartedly turning ourselves to His way. Let us all also help one another in our journey towards God, that in the end, no one will be lost from God, and all of us will receive from Him, the gift of eternal life. St. Augustine of Hippo, pray for us sinners. Amen.

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Monday, 28 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 13-22

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “But woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You, yourselves, do not enter it, nor do you allow others to do so.”

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ property; and as a show, you pray long prayers! Therefore, you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel by sea and land to make a single convert; yet, once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves!”

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say : To swear by the temple is not binding; but, to swear by the gold of the temple is binding. Foolish men! Blind men! Which is of more worth : the gold in the temple, or the temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure? You say : To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding. How blind you are! Which is of more value : the offering on the altar, or the altar which makes the offering sacred?”

“Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it. Whoever swears by the temple, is swearing by the temple, and by God, Who dwells in the temple. Whoever swears by heaven, is swearing by the throne of God, and by Him, Who is seated on it.”

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Monday, 28 August 2017 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to YHVH a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name; and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For YHVH delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night, on their couches, let the praise of God be on their lips. This is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!