feast of holy saints

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Wednesday, 6 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishop)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture, telling us about the need for us to stand up for our faith in God, against any opposition that may come our way. In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we heard how St. Paul reminded St. Timothy of the need for the faithful to testify for their faith before others, even though it may lead them to persecution and troubles.

St. Paul made this comment based on his own real experience, as he encountered many oppositions throughout his journey, and having both Jewish leaders and the Gentile pagans struggling against him and his works, all the time. St. Paul had to endure incarcerations in prison many times, and he had to endure humiliation and persecution in public, suffering even physical injuries and pains for his dedication to God.

Yet, St. Paul did not give up the struggle, and on the contrary, he gave everything for the sake of the Lord, and dedicated himself completely, knowing that all the sufferings he experienced, all the struggles and oppositions he encountered, it was because of his faith in God, and not only that, but he was experiencing what the Lord Himself has experienced. St. Paul knew that for all the pains he had suffered and endured, all of them were nothing compared to the suffering that the Lord Jesus had endured.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord encountered opposition from the group called the Sadducees, a very influential and powerful group in the society, who opposed the Lord because of His teachings and the truth He brought, which were against their ideas. The Sadducees were those intellectuals and academics who were pragmatists and progressives in the society.

Just in yesterday’s Gospel passage, we heard how the Lord Jesus encountered difficulties with the Pharisees, another powerful group of priests and intellectuals whose ideas were almost diametrically opposite to that of the Sadducees, with whom they often bickered with. However, both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were united in their opposition against the Lord Jesus and His disciples, because they were great threats against their influence and power.

As mentioned, the Sadducees opposed the Lord because they refused to follow the more mystical and supernatural aspects of the faith, just as they refused to believe in the presence of Angels and spirits, and the concept of resurrection and life after death. They lived for the world and in the world, and they saw the Lord’s promise of a life of eternity after death, as a threat to their authority and beliefs.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, throughout the entire Gospels, and the New Testament, we can see just how there were plenty of opposition against the Lord and His disciples, because of mankind’s refusal to believe in the truth and their refusal to accept what He had taught them. As a result, there were so much difficulty and suffering facing all those who are faithful to God.

Today, we celebrate the feast of one of those faithful servants of God, St. Norbert of Xanten, a renowned German bishop, who was remembered for his great intellect and devotion to the Lord. He devoted himself so thoroughly to the Lord, as an ascetic and holy man, by whose work, many of the people turned towards the Lord.of course, he did not have it easy, and he had to encounter difficulties and troubles, especially from the powerful and influential.

Nonetheless, his dedication, which is similar to the dedication shown by the other Apostles and saints, St. Paul and all those who did the good works of God, is an example for all of us. Now, are we able to dedicate ourselves in the same manner? Are we able to devote our time and attention to God as best as it is within our capabilities? Let us all learn to be ever more faithful, and seek to be ever closer to God, with each and every passing day.

May God be with us, as we walk along this journey of faith, and devote ourselves wholeheartedly, seeking to love Him and our fellow brothers and sisters, following the examples of our holy predecessors. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishop)

Mark 12 : 18-27

At that time, the Sadducees also came to Jesus. Since they claim that there is no resurrection, they questioned Him in this way, “Master, in the Scriptures Moses gave us this law : if anyone dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must take the woman, and with her have a baby, who will be considered the child of his deceased brother.”

“Now, there were seven brothers. The first married a wife, but he died without leaving any children. The second took the wife, and he also died leaving no children. The same thing happened to the third. In fact, all seven brothers died, leaving no children. Last of all the women died. Now, in the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife? For all seven brothers had her as wife.”

Jesus replied, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry, but are like the Angels in heaven. Now, about the resurrection of the dead, have you never had thoughts about the burning bush in the book of Moses?”

“God said to Moses : I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is the God not of the dead but of the living. You are totally wrong.”

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Wednesday, 6 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishop)

Psalm 122 : 1-2a, 2bcd

To You, I lift up my eyes; to You, Whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master.

As the eyes of maids look to the hand of their mistress, so our eyes look to YHVH our God, till He shows us His mercy.

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Wednesday, 6 June 2018 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishop)

2 Timothy 1 : 1-3, 6-12

From Paul, Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of His promise of eternal life, in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy. May grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, the Father, and Christ Jesus Our Lord.

I give thanks to God, Whom I serve with a clear conscience, the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers. For this reason, I invite you to fan into a flame, the gift of God you received, through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of fearfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment.

Do not be ashamed of testifying to Our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in labouring for the Gospel, with the strength of God. He saved us and called us – a calling which proceeds from His holiness. This did not depend on our merits, but on His generosity and His own initiative.

This calling, given to us from all time, in Christ Jesus has just been manifested with the glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light, in His Gospel. Of this message, I was made herald, Apostle and teacher.

For its sake, I now suffer this trial, but I am not ashamed, for I know in Whom I have believed, and I am convinced, that He is capable of taking care of all I have entrusted to Him, until that day.

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Friday, 25 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us to be true to our promises and words, and not to show that our words cannot be trusted or upheld. If our words cannot be trusted, then all the more the Lord Who knows what is in our hearts, will not show us His favour. For the Lord does not want in His presence, all those who lie and are untrustworthy.

For the Lord Himself is an ever-faithful God, Who upholds every single promises He made and truly means whatever He said and is faithful to every words that came out from His mouth. When He promised all of us, that He would save us from certain destruction because of our sins, and give us the Saviour and Deliverer, He did that perfectly, and faithfully, even unto the giving of Himself as the perfect Sacrifice on the Altar of the Cross.

He gave Himself to us so completely, that He was willing to bear the weight of the cross for our sake, and not just the physical weight of the wooden cross, but the true weight of the cross, which is the combined weight of the sins of man, which the Lord bore willingly upon Himself, that we do not have to bear the consequences for those sins which we have committed. That is just how much commitment the Lord has for all of us.

Unfortunately, it is us man, who often break our promises, which we made to God, and which we also made to one another. In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the exchange between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees, on the matter of marriage and its importance, as the latter argued that divorce should be allowed as in the laws of God passed on through Moses, the Lord allowed for a person to divorce his or her spouse, providing a certain settlement had been made.

However, the Lord Jesus revealed the truth about His true intention, and the truth behind God’s laws. He said that the Lord only allowed His people to do as the Pharisees contended, that is the matter of divorce, because they were so stubborn and were so wicked with their adulterous behaviour, that He granted them that permission, so that they would not commit even more sin of adultery than what they had done.

God never intended to allow the practice of divorce, and in fact, reiterated the importance of the vow of marriage and its sanctity. A marriage is a sacrament in the eyes of the Church, where a man and a woman made solemn promises to each other, to remain with each other, in times of good and in times of hardships, and through whatever life may throw at them. A marriage is a contract between a man and a woman, blessed and confirmed by God, and as the Lord Jesus made it clear, that what God had united, no one, no man, should ever dissolve.

Now, let us see the sorry state and reality in our world today, where the institution of marriage and the family is under constant attack. There are increasingly more and more occasions of divorces and broken families, due to various reasons, but primarily, infidelity and adultery between each of the married couples. And increasingly, people become more and more accustomed to see such practices and even allow them to flourish.

In the present world, we take our marriage vows and promises lightly, and are easily tempted by the pleasures of the flesh, and the temptation of materialism and greed. That is why so many marriages ended up being broken, and many children are left abandoned or troubled as a result. But the Lord reminded all of us through the Scripture passages we heard today, that we as Christians, must be faithful to each other, and ultimately to God Himself, just as He had been faithful to the promises He made to all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, let us all reflect on our own respective lives, in all of our dealings and actions, in how we have interacted with each other. How many of us have that tendency to go back on our words and promises, or tell lies in order to gain advantage for ourselves? How many of us do not keep our promises even to our closest ones? I am sure many of us would remember the times when we have faltered in this regard.

The main reason for this is that we cannot overcome our pride, our ego and desire. We want satisfaction and good things to come to us, and it may happen that others suffer because of our pride, ego and desire, and our inability to resist those pressures and temptations. Now, it is important that each and every one of us learn to resist and do our best to overcome these temptations to be unfaithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we remember the memory of a few holy saints of God, namely St. Bede the Venerable, an English monk who devoted himself to his faith in God, and completely entrusted his life to Him, spending his time writing his many works about the faith, many of which still survived through the centuries to this very day. And then, we also remember Pope St. Gregory VII, the Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, remembered especially for the bitter struggle he had with the secular ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Emperor, who wished to impose his power and will over the Church.

This holy Pope refused to give in to the demands of the Emperor, who demanded sovereignty over the bishops in his domains, and defended the rights of the Church, and stayed true to the faith and the commitment, despite the challenges from the Emperor and his nobles. Finally, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was an Italian Carmelite nun who was remembered for her intense dedication to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, spending hours after hours in devout prayer.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should follow the examples of these holy predecessors of ours. We should be more faithful in all of our deeds, and do our best to follow the Lord our God, in all that He has taught us to do. Let us deepen our relationship with Him, and spend more time in prayer. May God be with us always, ever faithful to His Covenant, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 25 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 10 : 1-12

At that time, Jesus then left that place and went to the province of Judea, beyond the Jordan River. Once more crowds gathered around Him and once more He taught them as He always did. Some (Pharisees came and) put Him to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

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Friday, 25 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Psalm)

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

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

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Friday, 25 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

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

James 5 : 9-12

Beloved, do not fight among yourselves and you will not be judged. See, the Judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets, who spoke in the Lord’s Name. See how those who were patient are called blessed. You have heard of the patience of Job and know how the Lord dealt with him in the end. For the Lord is merciful and shows compassion.

Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth, or make a habit of swearing. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you become liable for judgment.

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Monday, 14 May 2018 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the Twelve holy Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is St. Matthias the Apostle, the one who was chosen out of the original disciples of the Lord Jesus who followed Him from the beginning, in order to replace Judas Iscariot, the traitor. St. Matthias was chosen after the Apostles prayed to the Lord asking for His guidance in the decision-making.

Judas Iscariot was called to be an Apostle, but he failed in the process of doing so, as he was unable to resist the temptation of worldly riches and wealth, that he ended up selling off his Lord for just a mere thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave at that time. And not just that, but as mentioned in the Gospels, Judas Iscariot also frequently helped himself to the money which he held, supposedly for the expenses of the Apostles, meaning that he was corrupt in action and mind.

And therefore, as he was unworthy, and refused to be forgiven, by his despair and suicide after having betrayed the Lord, his place among the Twelve Apostles was vacated, and replaced with someone else more deserving and worthy, and God chose St. Matthias to be this replacement. And hence, St. Matthias from then on became a member of the Twelve Apostles, the principal disciples of Christ.

However, we may think that such a position and appointment brought about great honour and glory for the Apostles. Indeed, that was what the Apostles themselves thought, when they were first called by the Lord. They bickered among themselves, wondering who among them was the greatest, and indeed, asking the Lord who would be the one greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And in one occasion, the mother of two of the Twelve, St. James and St. John, came to the Lord Jesus and asked Him to grant her children special favour and position before the Lord. However, the Lord rebuked her and the two Apostles, as well as the other Apostles who were angered by the actions of the two and their mother, because of their pursuit for power, influence and worldly glory.

This then highlights the truth and reality of being Christ’s followers, and foremost of all, His Twelve Apostles, whom He had chosen from among His many disciples to be His closest confidants. They might have come from various backgrounds, from backgrounds some at the time, and even in our present day may consider to be unworthy, as many of them were uneducated and unintelligent, but God chose those whom He deemed to be deserving and worthy.

He empowered them and gave them the strength and courage, through the Holy Spirit He sent to them. He made them to be His great servants, through which many souls have been saved from certain damnation. Many had been called by the Lord through His Apostles, led by the Twelve, including St. Matthias. However, they also encountered great challenges and tribulations. They suffered for the sake of God and His Church, and yet they remained true to their mission.

And the mission which God had given to them has been laid out in today’s Gospel passage, where the Lord spoke to them about the commandment of love. They are told to reflect and imitate the same love that He has with His Father, and this is what He truly wants all of His followers to do, the two important commandments of love, that is loving God and then loving one another, and doing it with all of our ability and strength.

And all of us therefore, as Christians, are called to show the same love in our actions and in how we live our lives. We must first of all, love the Lord our God, and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, regardless of whether things are good or bad for, whether in happy times or difficult and sad times. This may be easier said than done, as many of us can say that we love God, and yet, in our actions, we are always tempted to serve our own desires and wants first, and we relegate God to a secondary importance in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Matthias and the other Apostles showed great dedication and love for God. They had such great such faith and love for God, that when the situation called for it, they did not hesitate to lay down their lives for Him, when they were persuaded, then coerced, forced and tortured in order to give up their faith and save themselves. They rather chose death instead of life, but betraying their Lord.

And they showed this same love to one another, to each and every members of the Church of God. They showed God’s love through their own loving actions, being genuinely caring and compassionate, towards those who are in need, exhibiting the true meaning behind Christian love and fellowship. Through them many people came to believe in the Lord, as they saw what these faithful servants of God had done in their midst.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to do the same with our own lives? Are we able to love the Lord our God, and our fellow brethren in the same way? This is what each and every one of us are challenged as Christians, that we should emulate the examples shown to us by the Apostles. Let us all therefore devote ourselves, wholeheartedly and commit ourselves anew to the Lord. May the Lord be with us all, and through the intercession of St. Matthias and the Apostles, may we draw ever closer to God, each and every day of our lives. Amen.

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Monday, 14 May 2018 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 15 : 9-17

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”

“I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants any more, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father. You did not choose Me; it was I Who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you.”

“This is My command, that you love one another.”