Feast of St. Elizabeth of Portugal

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Wednesday, 4 July 2018 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the message of the Lord through the Scriptures, telling us first of all from the prophet Amos, who was the prophet sent to the northern kingdom of Israel. At that time, the people of the kingdom of Israel have disobeyed God and worshipped the pagan gods and idols of their neighbours, and desecrated His law and commandments.

The Lord was calling them to repent from their sins and from their disobedience through the prophet Amos. But they hardened their hearts and shut off their ears from the word of God. They continued to sin against God and persecuted His prophets, one after another. And that was how the Lord Jesus was also treated by the people, rejected and shut out by His own people.

The state of the people of God was indeed like the two men possessed by the evil spirits. In the Gospel passage we saw how the Lord Jesus healed the two men beset and enslaved by the evil spirits, casting those evil and wicked spirits out of them into the pigs. The men possessed by the evil spirits were cast out from the society and they wandered off in the wilderness, like how the Israelites themselves had wandered off in the desert for forty years because of their sins, and how they endured decades in exile because of their disobedience.

The people of God, like the two possessed men, had been cast out from the grace of God, and while the two men were in the physical desert where the Lord Jesus encountered them, the rest of the people were in the state of a spiritual desert where God was far away in their lives and He was not having the first and foremost place in their hearts and mind. They had shut Him off and distanced themselves from Him.

What we should realise from today’s readings, is that we are also sinners like them, who have, at times, fallen and stumbled along the way in the journey. We are now also in the midst of this spiritual desert, lost and struggling in this journey of life. But what we must also realise is that as we heard in the Gospel today, that God cares for each and every one of us.He went to seek those who have been abandoned, those who have sinned and been corrupted by sin. He went to heal the sinners, the prostitutes and tax collectors, and call them to repentance just as He cast out demons and evil spirits from those who were possessed. Therefore, God is also looking for our salvation and liberation from the sins and wickedness which have chained and enslaved us all thus far.

Now, the question is, how willing are we to receive God’s healing and mercy? God offers us His forgiveness and love very generously, and He will not withhold them from us. He is ever generous in giving, and especially because He had created us out of love, and He does not want even a single one of us to be lost or separated from Him. Yet, there were still many of us who stubbornly refused to accept the Lord’s offer of love, mercy and compassion.Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is often due to our stubbornness and pride that we fail to seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness. We cannot bear to bend down and humbly recognising our sinfulness and shortcomings before us. Many of us would rather perish in sin rather than to lower ourselves and humble ourselves before God. A very sad state of life indeed!

This is perhaps the time for us to emulate the example of the holy woman whose feast we celebrate today, namely the feast of St. Elizabeth of Portugal. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was a renowned queen of Portugal, who was remembered greatly for her piety and faith, her charity and generosity, her holiness in life and her exemplary and inspirational life. Many of the people were touched by her during her life and they repented to the true faith in God.

Now, are we able to live our lives in the same manner as St. Elizabeth of Portugal? She may be a royalty and born a noble, but in her heart and mind, she got her priorities right, by focusing on the Lord and putting Him at the centre of her life. Shall we all also follow in her footsteps, and seek to accept the will of God for us in our lives, and embrace His rich and generous mercy?

May the Lord open our hearts and minds, so that we may come to the fullness of understanding of the love and mercy of God. May He continue to bless us each and every day of our lives, that we may be able to do our best to love Him more, and to commit ourselves more closely to Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 July 2018 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 8 : 28-34

At that time, when Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, He was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged Him, “If You drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

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Wednesday, 4 July 2018 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 49 : 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17

“Hear, o My people, for I am speaking. I will accuse you, o Israel, I am God, your God!”

“Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.”

“For I own all the beasts of the forest and the animals of My thousand hills. All the birds of the air I know; all that move in the fields are Mine.”

“I need not tell you if I were hungry, for Mine is the world and all that it contains. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?”

“What right have you to mouth My Laws, or to talk about My Covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.”

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Wednesday, 4 July 2018 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Amos 5 : 14-15, 21-24

Seek good and shun evil, that you may live. Then YHVH, the God of hosts, as you have claimed, will be with you. Hate wickedness and love virtue, and let justice prevail in the courts; perhaps YHVH, the God of hosts, will take pity on the remnant of Joseph.

YHVH said, “I hate, I reject your feasts, I take no pleasure when you assemble to offer Me your burnt offerings. Your cereal offerings, I will not accept! Your offerings of fattened beasts, I will not look upon! Away with the noise of your chanting, away with your strumming on harps. But let justice run its course like water, and righteousness be like an ever-flowing river.”

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Tuesday, 4 July 2017 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard from the Sacred Scriptures the tale about God’s providence and help for those who are faithful to Him. In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis, we heard about how the Lord rescued Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were known to us as places where hideous and grievous sins had been committed by the people there, but Lot and his family were righteous in the sight of God, and God wanted to rescue them from harm.

To that extent, God sent His Angels to Lot and his family, warning them about the impending catastrophe, protecting them from the wrath of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and led them out of the city into the wilderness so that they could escape the destruction and live. This was what He has also done for His disciples as they laid in fear in the middle of the lake, battered by strong wind and waves. He chastised the waves and the wind, and all quietened down.

In the end, God helped His faithful ones and saved them from their distress, but it is we, His people, who have often panicked and became worried, having doubts in the Lord’s providence and love for us. The disciples panicked and became worried in the boat, worried that the wind and the waves would knock the boat off and cause it to sink. They were worried because they feared for their lives, and their faith in the Lord were shaken.

In a similar manner, as Lot and his family fled in a hurry away from Sodom and Gomorrah, while they were specifically instructed by the Angels of God not to look back towards the city, the wife of Lot hesitated, and looked back at the city, and ended up turning into a pile of salt, a punishment for her disobedience. Why did she do so? It was the same with that of the disciples’ reasons for their fear and panicking in the boat rocked by the wind and the waves. They had fear in their hearts, and attachment to worldly things that they were not able to overcome.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, have we acted in the same manner as the wife of Lot and as the Apostles had done? Certainly at some points in our lives we have done so. It is in our human nature for us to worry and to think about our lives, and therefore, we end up losing sight of God’s providence and protection for us all His faithful ones. We are entangled amidst our worldly concerns and worries, and we cannot detach ourselves from those concerns.

How many of us, for example, spent so many hours busily working and preparing for our daily schedules and careers? And then how many of us spent so much time in our daily busy schedules that we end up spending close to nothing or indeed nothing for the Lord? Can we not even spend some time with the Lord, for all that He has done for us, for all that He has blessed us with?

Our Lord has done so much for us, that even though we are sinners and unworthy of Him, He resolved to make us worthy again through reconciliation with Him. Do we realise this fact? Do we realise that He has done so much for us to the point of bearing the cross and suffer great injustice and persecution, just so that through His suffering and death, all of us may have new life in Him?

Perhaps all of us should follow the example of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, the holy woman and saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was the Queen consort of the kingdom of Portugal, who was remembered for her great piety as queen and mother for her people, caring for the poor and the sick, giving herself to a prayerful and charitable life, dedicated to the service of God and to His people.

She maintained peace between the feuding factions in her family and in her country, at the time when a civil war broke between those factions. She made the feuding parties to reconcile with one another, and in other occasions, ensuring the peace between the nobles and the lords of the nation. And when her husband, the king of Portugal passed away, St. Elizabeth of Portugal decided to devote the rest of her life joining the religious nuns in a convent, and continuing to do what she had done for most of her life, caring for the people of God who are in need.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Elizabeth of Portugal should remind us that each and every one of us, whom God had called to become His children and His people, all of us are beloved by God, and God will protect us from harm, and provide for all of us in our times of need. However, all of us need to devote ourselves in the same manner that God had devoted Himself to us, by loving Him with all of our hearts, and therefore by loving one another, fellow brethren in Christ.

Shall we follow in the footsteps of St. Elizabeth of Portugal and all of our holy predecessors? Shall we walk in their path, which God had shown them and now also show us, so that we may come closer to Him, and thus making us ever more beloved children of His? Let us all commit ourselves anew to God, and seek to do His will in our respective lives and actions. May God continue to love us and bless us, and may He continue to give us His grace and protection. Amen.

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Tuesday, 4 July 2017 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Matthew 8 : 23-27

At that time, Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed Him. Without warning, a fierce storm burst upon the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

The disciples woke Him up and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!” But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then He stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.

The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of Man is He? Even the winds and the sea obey Him.”

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Tuesday, 4 July 2017 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Psalm 25 : 2-3, 9-10, 11-12

Prove me, o YHVH, put me to the test; examine my soul and my heart. For Your love is ever before my eyes, and I live in truth and faithfulness.

Let me not share the fate of sinners, nor lose my life with the violent; their hands are guilty of crimes, their right hands are weighed down with bribes.

But I will walk in integrity, redeem me, o God, be gracious to me. My foot stands firm in the straight path, I will praise You, o YHVH, in Your assemblies.

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Tuesday, 4 July 2017 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)
Genesis 19 : 15-29

At daybreak the Angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and two daughters who are here, lest they perish because of the sin of the town.” As he hesitated, the men took him by the hand and his wife and two daughters with him, because YHVH had mercy on him. And they led him outside the town.

When they were outside, the visitors said to him, “Flee for your life and do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountain lest you perish.” But Lot replied, “My lords, your servant has found favour with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.”

“See, there is a town near enough for me to flee to and it is a small one. Let me flee there : it is very small (that is why the town is called Zoar). So I will be safe.” And the Angel answered, “I grant you this favour as well by not destroying the town you speak of. But flee fast for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot reached Zoar. Then YHVH rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur out of the heavens from YHVH, and He completely destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the towns and everything that grew there. Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.

Early next morning Abraham returned to the place where he had stood before YHVH. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley and he saw smoke rising from the earth like the smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the towns of the plain He remembered Abraham and made Lot escape from the catastrophe while He destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly the prophecy of the prophet Hosea, who came to pronounce the words and the will of God at a time of great turbulence. At that time, the kingdom of Israel had been divided into the northern kingdom also called Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. And the people of the northern kingdom, to whom the prophet Hosea had been sent to, had become corrupt and wicked, revelling in the pleasures and the goods of the world, as they lived in prosperity and wealth.

The prophet Hosea often rebuked the people for their debauchery and wicked ways, but at the same time, as what we have heard in today’s first reading, he also spoke of the coming of the time of God’s forgiveness and redemption of His people, as a hope for those who chose to keep their faith in their one and only true Lord and Master. Those who would abandon their past obstinate attitude and embrace fully God’s love and mercy would receive the rich fruits of God’s mercy and love.

And this has been proven in what we have heard in the Gospel today, the well known story of how Jesus healed the woman with bleeding issues, and how He raised the daughter of the synagogue official from death and back into life. We saw through these examples, that if we have faith in God, everything will be made possible for us. And God will not abandon all of His faithful ones to despair and hopelessness.

Because the woman had faith in Jesus, and she dared to seek Him to heal her from her afflictions, God saw her faith and praised her for the faith which she had, and healed her from the sickness that had troubled her for so many years. And because the synagogue official believed in Him, and sought for Him when his daughter was in trouble, and in fact had died, because of this Jesus healed the daughter and returned her to life.

From all these, we heard that faith in God is what saves us all. If we do not have faith in Him, then there is no way that we would achieve salvation. After all, Jesus Himself had said that only through Him that salvation can be achieved, and beyond Him there is no hope for salvation, for He is the Bridge, the Way to the Lord our God, the One Who linked us between ourselves and God our Father.

Let us then look at the example of the holy and faithful St. Elizabeth of Portugal, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was once a Spanish princess who married the King of Portugal and hence became the Queen of Portugal. As Queen, she was devoted to her people, and committed many charitable works that made the people’s livelihood better.

She was a pious person, and she devoted her life to God. She was a great servant of God and tried her best to show the people how they ought to live as the people of God, by having true faith in Him, by loving one another. And she was indeed leading by example, doing as much charity as she was able to. And after her husband, the King of Portugal passed away, she left behind her life as queen, and devoted herself to God by entering the religious life.

And yet, even so, she still committed herself to many good works, including to broker peace among the kingdoms at the time which were rife with rivalry and warfare. She made peace among the fighters and warmongers, and won for the people of God the peace and harmony through which more good works of God’s salvation could be done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Elizabeth of Portugal had great faith in God, and for that great faith she was rewarded with the glory of heaven. And even after she passed away, her examples and works in life still continued to inspire many others, and indeed, became a source of courage for many of those who were unsure and uncertain about following God.

Shall we too do the same as those people had done? Shall we also follow in the footsteps of the holy saints of God, the woman whose faith healed her from her bleeding affliction, and the synagogue official whose faith restored her daughter back to life, even from death? It is our choice now, brothers and sisters, and we must now choose, whether we are going to be faithful to God, or whether we are going to abandon Him for some other things.

Just as at the time of the prophet Hosea, there are many temptations in this world. And as we progress on, there are going to just be more and more temptations along our path, be it wealth, possessions, fame, human glory and praise, as well as many others.let us ask ourselves, are we able to resist these temptations? Are we able to be truly faithful to our God without being overly attached to all the things I had just mentioned?

May God strengthen our faith for Him, and enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love, that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find salvation and succour in His presence, and be worthy to receive the promise of eternal glory and praise He had promised to all those who believe in Him and keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John the Baptist, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.” Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples.

Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, My daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him. But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.