Feast of St. Francis of Paola

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Saturday, 2 April 2022 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we draw ever closer to the end of the season of Lent and the beginning of the Holy Week which is really just over a week away, we are reminded of the things that the Lord and His faithful ones had gone through in their efforts to bring each and every one of us to the Lord and to help reconcile us with Himself. He has gone through so much opposition and hardships in His efforts to call us back to Himself and to help us to find our way to Him once again. He sent His prophets into our midst to help and assist us, only to have them being rejected and persecuted by those people.

In our first reading today we heard the passage from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah about the persecutions that Jeremiah had faced from the opposition and the enemies he had among the people of Judah. He was sent to the kingdom of Judah with the warnings and reminders of God’s judgment for the people, all that they had committed, the sins and wickedness they had committed, which would lead them to ruin and destruction. The Lord wanted to remind them all that they could still turn back and return to Him.

Unfortunately, the people remained stubborn and refused to believe in the Lord or in His prophet Jeremiah. They persecuted Jeremiah, plotted against Him, accusing him of being a traitor and sought to kill him, and they nearly managed to do so, if not for the help of one of Jeremiah’s few remaining friends who managed to keep him safe, although he had to remain hidden and suffer nonetheless for his dedication and hard works for the greater glory of God. He truly suffered a lot in walking down the path of faith, but he remained fully trusting in the Lord’s providence.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the argument and debate among the members of the Sanhedrin, or the Jewish High Council. That council was composed of the most influential and powerful members of the Jewish community, including the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the chief priests and the elders of the community and many other influential members, who were mostly opposed to the Lord Jesus and plotted against Him. They wanted to find ways to arrest Him and even to condemn Him to death.

There were a few of them who were sympathetic to the Lord, His cause and His teachings, namely Nicodemus as well as Joseph of Arimathea among some others. Nicodemus stood up for the Lord and tried to defend Him, by stating to the assembly that the Lord should have been allowed to state His reasons and present His arguments before they just summarily tried to accuse Him without even listening to the other side first. But Nicodemus was easily overcome by the rest who really were not interested to listen to reason.

They were all carried by their desire to persecute the Lord, out of the fear for their loss of influence and power in the community. They saw the Lord as a great threat to their power, and they refused to let all their privileges and power to go away. They tried to do whatever they could to stop the Lord and to destroy Him, and despite everything they had seen and heard in the Lord’s works, the many miracles He had performed, and all the wisdom and truth He has spoken before them, they closed their hearts and minds to Him, hardening their hearts and being unreasonable, finding excuses to try to persecute Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded how pride and ego, worldly desires and temptations can mislead us down the same path as those people who had persecuted the prophets and the Lord Himself. We must never allow all those things again to distract us and to pull us away from the path towards the salvation and eternal life in God. And we have to be vigilant as we must always remind ourselves that the other destination is eternal damnation, an eternity of suffering away from God.

That is why, during this season of Lent, all of us are called to open our hearts and minds to welcome the Lord back inside, and to come back to the Lord with contrite hearts, seeking His forgiveness for all the faults and wicked things we have done. Let us all then return to the Lord with renewed faith and love, with the sincere desire to be forgiven and to be reconciled with Him. And may God continue to love us all, and continue to show us patience, for us sinners whenever we stumble and falter again in our journey of faith. May God bless us all in our every actions and deeds, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him and to His salvation. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 April 2022 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 7 : 40-53

At that time, many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some wondered, “Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does Scripture not say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David? The crowd was divided over Him. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

The officers of the Temple went back to the chief priests, who asked them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this Man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in Him? Only those cursed people, who have no knowledge of the Law!”

Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, “Does our law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.

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Saturday, 2 April 2022 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 7 : 2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12

O Lord, my God, in You I take shelter; deliver me and save me from all my pursuers, lest lions tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O Lord, my righteousness; You see that I am blameless. Bring to an end the power of the wicked, but affirm the just, o righteous God, searcher of mind and heart.

You cover me as a shield. Oh God, for You protect the upright. A righteous judge is God, His anger ever awaiting those who refuse to repent.

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Saturday, 2 April 2022 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 11 : 18-20

YHVH made it known to me and so I know! And You let me see their scheming. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me that they were plotting, “Let us feed him with trials and remove him from the land of the living and let his name never be mentioned again.”

YHVH, God of hosts, You Who judge with justice and know everyone’s heart and intentions, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have entrusted my cause.

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Thursday, 2 April 2020 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the story of how God established His Covenant with Abram, a man whom He called from the land of Mesopotamia to follow Him into the land of Canaan, which He promised that the land would be the inheritance of Abram and his descendants forever. And even more significantly for Abram, who until then was still childless in his marriage with Sarai his wife, God promised that he would become the father of many nations.

God made a Covenant with Abram, whom was known afterwards as Abraham, and He kept the promises that He had made with him, that through Isaac, the son that Abraham and Sarah had, as well as through Ishmael, another son of Abraham, many nations were born from the descendants of Abraham, principally the Israelites who are Abraham’s direct descendants and chosen race, as well as many other nations related to Abraham through descent.

It is this blood ties and descent that the Jews in our Gospel passage alluded to when they stood by their ground against the rebukes made against them by the Lord, Who showed them the errors of their ways and called them to turn away from their sinful path and disobedience. They proudly asserted themselves to be the children of Abraham, and they took offence at Jesus just because He spoke the truth of God which may indeed be unsettling for some.

They in fact behaved contrary to what Abraham had done in the past. God chose Abraham among all other people of the nations in his time because he had great faith in God, and he followed when the Lord called him, not hesitating or minding even when he had to leave all the comforts of his old life behind as he journeyed far away from his ancestral homeland, to travel to the unknown land of Canaan led only by the faith which he had in the Lord, entrusting his whole life entirely in the hands of God.

Abraham was faithful, even when he was tested by God, at the time when he was asked to offer his own son Isaac as an offering and sacrifice to God. Abraham did not even hesitate, as sorrowful and affected as he might have been, and still devoted himself wholeheartedly in the Lord, and he was indeed richly and doubly blessed by God because of his steadfastness and faith. On the contrary, the people of Judah at the time of Jesus, the descendants of the same Abraham, had not been faithful.

In fact, they doubted when the Lord Himself performed miracles and deeds that had been prophesied by the many prophets sent to the land of Israel, and even after they saw how the Lord performed those miraculous deeds before their own eyes, hearing all the testimonies and words from all those who had been healed, many of them still refused to believe in Him and doubted Him. Some even accused Him of colluding with demonic forces, such as Beelzebul the prince of demons.

We can see here how the people lacked genuine faith in God, and they were stubborn in refusing to listen to reason and God’s wisdom, preferring instead to trust in their own often flawed human judgment and ideals. They had great pride in having such intellect, abilities and power that they have so that they refused to accept that they could be wrong or mistaken, and they refused to listen when they were criticised and provided with feedback on how they ought to improve themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through all these we are reminded to be more like Abraham, our father in faith, and not to follow the examples of those people who had little faith in God. This is also why we are urged to be more humble and be more willing to listen, not to be quick to judge and to temper our pride and desire. We should be careful of our ambitions and hubris, and we should not allow all these to tempt us and bring us to our downfall.

Today, we celebrate the feast of a saint whose life and examples can inspire us to be more faithful to God, namely St. Francis of Paola, a renowned holy man and hermit, a member and founder of the Franciscans inspired Order of Minims. St. Francis of Paola dedicated his life to God in a life of prayer and service to God, caring for the spiritual needs of many people through prayerful life away from the distractions of the world.

Since his youth, St. Francis of Paola had always been attracted to the solitary life in prayer, often seeking secluded places to contemplate and live a life of prayer. He inspired like-minded people to form the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, named after the saint who is St. Francis of Paola’s namesake, and inspired by the humble and obedient charism of the Franciscan order. They all lived in simplicity and practiced rigorous chastisement of the physical body through strict abstinence.

St. Francis of Paola showed us all that it is indeed possible for us to live entrusting ourselves completely to God’s providence and love. We do not need to live our lives in the manner that St. Francis of Paola had done in being a recluse and hermit, although some did follow in his footsteps inspired by that way of life in serving God. Rather, we need to take note how St. Francis of Paola entrusted his life to God in the same way that Abraham had entrusted his life in Him.

Are we able to dedicate ourselves to God in the same way? We are given this perfect opportunity during this season of Lent to turn towards God once again with all of our hearts and devote our whole lives once again to Him. May the Lord be our guide and be our constant source of strength at all times, that we may live ever more faithfully in God’s loving presence, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 April 2020 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 8 : 51-59

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never experience death.” The Jews replied, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets as well, but You say, ‘Whoever keeps My word will never experience death.’ Who do You claim to be? Do You claim to be greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets also died.”

Then Jesus said, “If I were to praise Myself, it would count for nothing. But He Who gives glory to Me is the Father, the very One you claim as your God, although you do not know Him. I know Him, and if I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and I keep His word. As for Abraham, your ancestor, he looked forward to the day when I would come; and he rejoiced when he saw it.”

The Jews then said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old and You have seen Abraham?” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” They then picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the Temple.

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Thursday, 2 April 2020 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 104 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Thursday, 2 April 2020 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 17 : 3-9

Abram fell face down and God said to him, “This is My covenant with you : you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you more and more famous; I will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, kings shall be among your descendants.”

“And I will establish a covenant, an everlasting covenant between Myself and you and your descendants after you; from now on I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you, for generations to come. I will give to you and your descendants after you the land you are living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession and I will be the God of your race.”

God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.”

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Tuesday, 2 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture passages we listened again about the healing and liberation that come from God, as we heard in our first reading passage today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel about the vision he received of the glorious heavenly sanctuary, of the wonderful place and how everything exists in God’s grace and bliss. And then in the Gospel passage we heard another healing miracle of the Lord, as He healed a paralytic man and made him whole once again.

Through all of these passages we have heard today, God wants to remind us all that this Lent, we are called to reflect on our own lives, on how we have lived these lives of ours so far, in our attitudes, actions and life. We are called to remember that our ultimate destination in life is heaven, as God showed to the prophet Ezekiel in the vision. And in truth, heaven is more than just a place, for it is a state of pure bliss and joy of being fully reconciled and reunited with God, where there will be no more sorrow but only pure joy of being with God, enjoying the fullness of His love for eternity.

Unfortunately, all of us mankind have been prevented from enjoying all these things and wonders in this present life, because of our disobedience against God and His will. And the fruits of disobedience are our sins, which have corrupted us and made us to be sick. We are just like the paralytic man who was lying down, unable to move and afflicted at the Pool of Siloam. And no one helped him for the entirety of the thirty-eight years he was there.

And we see how there were many people afflicted by various diseases coming to the Pool of Siloam because of the miraculous healing that happened to all the first person who went into the water when the water was stirred by God’s Angel. But no one bothered to help the paralytic man to go to the water to be healed, and everyone just bothered about their own selves, in wanting to be healed. That was how the paralytic man suffered there for thirty-eight years long.

Jesus knew how long the man had suffered and waited for the day of his healing which did not seem to come at all. But Jesus knew his faith and willingness to be healed, and thus, He approached the man and asked about his willingness to be healed. The man showed that he clearly wanted to be healed, but no one bothered to help him at all in order to be healed. And so, Jesus showed us all an example by reaching out to the man, and healed him even on the day of the Sabbath.

Jesus showed us all what each and every one of us need to do, especially during this penitential season of Lent, a time of renewal and reconciliation with God. First of all, He is calling on us to seek Him for Him to heal us all from our sins. For it is God alone Who is capable of freeing us from the bondage and sufferings of our sins. We cannot heal ourselves from the plight of sin, just like the paralytic man who could not heal himself.

And we know how loving and forgiving God is, that He was so willing to reach out to us, embracing us with His love, and healing us from our pains and sufferings because of sin. That is what each and every one of us can expect, if we are able and willing to turn towards God and seek His forgiveness and mercy. We shall be made whole and good once again, freed from our sins and wickedness, from our pains and trials.

Secondly, which is not less important, is the fact that all of us are not suffering alone in this world. Each and every one of us are equally sinners before God. All of us are afflicted and are corrupted by the taints of sin. And unless we come to seek God’s help and providence, we shall perish and suffer eternal death due to sin. But sadly, many of us are so blinded by pride as well as by selfishness and greed, that we often acted as how the people in the Pool of Siloam acted.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should not turn a blind eye to the sins and sufferings of our fellow brethren. We must instead show the same love and compassion that the Lord has shown to the paralytic man. It is through our actions and our obedience to God that we can inspire others around us to also follow in our examples and good actions, that together we may be saved.

Today, we should also be inspired by the good examples shown by the holy and devout, loving and compassionate St. Francis of Paola, an ascetic friar and hermit who devoted his whole life to God, serving the people through prayer, through humility and plenty of self-sacrifice, by being exemplary in faith and in all of his words and actions. St. Francis of Paola, as well as many other saints whose life we know about, show us how each one of us can become like them in holiness, for they themselves were once sinners, but they sought God’s healing and were healed and transformed.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower each and every one of us that we may live faithfully from now on, and be able and willing to commit ourselves to a life of holiness, virtue and faith. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 2 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 1-16

At that time, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five galleries. In these galleries lay a multitude of sick people : blind, lame and paralysed.

(All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter the pool, after this movement of the water, would be healed of whatever disease that he had.)

There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him, and because He knew how long this man had been lying there, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”

Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and the Law does not allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The One Who healed me said to me, “Take up your mat and walk!”

They asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you : Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was Who had cured him, for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place. Afterwards Jesus met him in the Temple court and told him, “Now you are well; do not sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”

And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because He performs healings like that on the Sabbath.