Feast of St. John Chrysostom

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Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures in which we are reminded not to be proud, arrogant or egoistic in how we carry on living our lives. Instead, the greater we are, and the more knowledgeable we are, the wiser and the better we are, the more we should be humble and willing to listen to others, especially the Lord Himself in how we should be living our lives. We must not allow our ego and pride to become our downfall and be the serious obstacles and challenges in our path, preventing us from truly being able to approach the Lord and be filled with His grace and love. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those evils and ambitions, and if we harden and close our hearts and minds against Him and against others, then more often than not we may find ourselves falling into the wrong path in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and faithful people of God in Corinth in which the Apostle spoke of the matter about his ministry and how he did not boast about his accomplishments and achievements before everyone. Instead, he highlighted that being Christians, that is as the disciples and followers of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, one must be more humble and focused on the Lord in all things, rather than to be proud and full of oneself. He reminded all Christians to be always vigilant against the various temptations of worldly glory and ambitions, all of which can lead one astray and away from the Lord and His salvation unless we are careful and vigilant in how we live our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers in which He rebuked those hypocrites and those who have been blinded by their arrogance, pride and greed that they failed to see the truth of God and His love. He was clearly referring to the actions and attitudes of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, many of whom had not welcomed Him and in fact opposed Him vehemently, always making a lot of efforts to put stumbling blocks and obstacles in the path that the Lord had taken, opposing His ministry and good works, doubting Him and His authority, sowing seeds of dissension and divisions by their constant and repeated efforts at refusing to follow the Lord and what He has taught and shown to the people of God.

All these likely came about because of their great pride and sense of self-entitlement given their standing in the community of the people of God, as well as their strong sense of superiority against those others whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than they were, so much so that they frequently criticised and condemned many people, such as the tax collectors, prostitutes and those afflicted by diseases, thinking that those people were wicked and unworthy of God, and had been cursed by their many sins. But they failed to realise that they themselves were sinners and by their indulging in their pride, ego and ambition, they have allowed themselves to be led into the path of rebellion against God, and closed the doors of their heart from the Lord.

That was why they were ‘blind’ because they had been blinded by all that pride and ego, all of which kept them from truly being able to appreciate the truth and Good News which the Lord had brought into our midst. This is an important reminder therefore for each and every one of us not to fall into this same trap, falling into the same predicament of hardening our hearts and minds, closing ourselves off from the Lord and His ever generous offer of love and His truth. We should instead be more humble, the greater we are. We must not let all these pride and wickedness of the world to distract us from our true goal in Christ, in His truth and love, His grace and salvation. We must always be willing to let the Lord to come into our hearts and minds, while humbly seeking Him to forgive us all our own sins and imperfections.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John Chrysostom, a great servant of God and bishop, who was honoured afterwards as one of the great and esteemed Doctors of the Church for his many contributions and works, and his commitment to God in the early periods of the Church’s history. St. John Chrysostom was one of the famous Early Church fathers who dedicated himself to his mission of evangelisation and care for the flock of God’s holy and beloved people and who was remembered well for his great courage and determination to stand up for his beliefs and convictions amidst the various challenges and difficulties that he might have to face in the process of his efforts and works, in his commitment as a good and faithful shepherd of the Lord’s people. St. John Chrysostom is truly a worthy role model for all of us to follow in how we ought to live our lives with faith.

St. John Chrysostom was born in a pagan family to a high-ranking military officer who died early in St. John Chrysostom’s life. His mother raised him and gave him good education in various areas of academics and other philosophical pursuits. However, he soon developed strong desire to learn more about God, devoting his time more to his Christian faith and embraced deep learning of theology. He then became a hermit for a while, adopting an ascetic lifestyle, before becoming a deacon in Antioch, gaining great popularity for his great charism and eloquence in his service and dedication, in his wonderful style of preaching and teaching to the people regarding various matters of the faith. Eventually, he was chosen as the Archbishop of Constantinople, a position of truly great influence in the Roman Empire at that time, being the Eastern capital of the Empire.

During his time as the Archbishop and shepherd of the flock of the people of God in Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom had to face a lot of challenges and difficulties, as he soon gained the enmity and the wrath of the powerful nobles, especially that of the Roman Empress Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor Arcadius. The Empress was angry at St. John Chrysostom spoke out courageously against excesses of worldly wealth and also display of feminine elegance and ornamentations, which she presumed to be directed against her. She therefore managed to get him to be banished from his See and persecuted, which led to violent opposition by those who supported St. John Chrysostom, and this, coupled with the omen of an earthquake that struck the very night the man of God was arrested led to him being released and reinstated. However, the troubles did not end there are conflicts kept on going between the Empress and the Archbishop of Constantinople, which led him to be exiled again and persecuted to the end of his life. But all these did not dampen his efforts, and St. John Chrysostom remained firmly faithful to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the faithful examples of St. John Chrysostom, who dedicated himself wholly and thoroughly to God, and that he spoke up courageously against those who abused their power and against all those who acted with pride, ego and arrogance, and who humbly dedicated himself to God and His people despite his status and the prestige that he enjoyed. He did not allow himself to be swayed by the temptations of sin, of pride and ego, of ambition and greed. Each and every one of us should be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to do our best so that we may grow ever stronger in our faith and commitment to God, and we may distance ourselves from all the things that may lead to our downfall and destruction, and keeping us away from God. May the Lord be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and endeavours, to come ever closer to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 39-42

At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”

“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”

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Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6, 12

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, to make the ascent to You.

For YHVH God is a sun and a shield; He bestows favour and glory. YHVH withholds no good thing from those who walk in uprightness.

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Friday, 13 September 2024 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve my reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the Gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.

Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes, who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet, for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run, knowing where I go. I box, but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

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Wednesday, 13 September 2023 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded that each and every one of us should keep ourselves away from worldly temptations and evils, and all the things that usually keep us away from the path of righteousness and virtue in God. Each and every one of us as Christians have been called to do God’s will, to obey His Law and commandments, and to free ourselves from the many temptations and the shackles of evil and sin that have often kept us chained to our desires and all the attachments we have to worldly glory and pleasures, so that we do not remain bound to those wicked and evil thoughts and ways, but receive from God the assurance of eternal life and true joy through our faith and commitment to Him. All of us should do our best so that our every words, actions and deeds are exemplary and full of true and genuine faith in God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians, in which the Apostle told the faithful and the Church community there to remain firm in their faith and to seek to live their lives as best as they could in accordance to the way that the Lord has taught them through the Church and those who have shown them what it meant to be Christians. St. Paul exhorted the faithful Colossians to keep away from immorality and wickedness of the world, from all the impure desires and evils, from the worship of idols and all the other things that could make them to be corrupted by sin and wickedness of the world. They should reject the malice and the evils of worldly ways and customs, and instead, do what the Lord Himself has shown and taught them to do, in loving God and loving one another, with true and genuine faith and dedication.

This is very important indeed as how we live our lives and faith will determine how others perceive this faith we have in God. As long as we do what is right and just according to the Law and commandments of God, keeping ourselves away from wickedness and evils of this world, the various temptations and pressures to disobey God’s Law and will, and as we carry out dutifully our actions and our way of life, in being good examples and inspiration for one another, we are all truly good and worthy Christians, and through us, our words, our actions and our lives, the truth and Good News of God, the love and grace of God are shown unto more and more around us, to those who have not yet known the Lord or experienced His love and grace. We have the capacity and potential either to turn people towards God or to make people to turn away from Him.

That is why, just as we have also heard from our Gospel passage today, each and every one of us are reminded to be like the ideal Christians as described by the Lord Jesus in the famous Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Beatitudes. In that occasion, the Lord revealed to all His disciples and everyone who had heard Him, what it truly means to be Christians, as those who follow the Lord and His path, that they should be living their lives virtuously and worthily according to the guiding principles of the Beatitudes that He has taught and shared with all of them. The Beatitudes highlighted the attitudes and the approach that we ought to have with our lives so that we may know how we can live them with ever greater conviction and with greater faith in the Lord.

As the Lord Himself said, that all of us as His faithful people ought to be poor in spirit, hungry not only for food but also in this context, for the righteousness and justice, and also for the truth of God, and also to be ever faithful amidst all the challenges and trials that they would have to face in the living of their lives with faith in God. Through the Beatitudes, the Lord highlighted and reminded all of us as God’s beloved people, that we should always place Him first and foremost in our hearts and minds, in all of our whole lives. We should not allow the corruption of this world, of the various pressures and coercions that we may have to face in our journey of faith and life to dissuade us from following the Lord and from committing ourselves and our lives to Him, as we should have done according to our calling and mission.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John Chrysostom, who was the famous Archbishop of Constantinople, one of the most renowned leaders of the early Church and well-respected by his contemporaries. He was born into a pagan Roman family, and became a convert to the faith in his early adulthood, having been well brought up academically and intellectually, and eventually for a while, he sought to abandon the world and seek the Lord through very deeply ascetic lifestyle through which he shunned the excesses of the world and sought to learn more about the Lord while deepening his knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. Eventually, his eloquence and charisma, his piety and sanctity led him to be respected by many throughout Christendom, being renowned for his very inspiring and frank homilies that touched the hearts and minds of many, and brought many of them to the faith.

St. John Chrysostom was then appointed as the Archbishop of Constantinople, one of the capitals of the Roman Empire, which was then ascending in its power and glory. He worked hard to minister to his flock and denounced the excesses both among the clergy and the laity, especially those who were in the positions of power. In particular, he was despised by the then reigning Roman Empress Aelia Eudoxia, the wife of the then Roman Emperor Arcadius. The Empress loved to dress and live extravagantly, and those excesses were denounced by the saintly Archbishop, who sought to bring the people back to the path of obedience and purity in God, free from the worldly wickedness and corruptions. This brought him a lot of hardships and trials, leading him to be exiled from his See. However, he continued to persist in his efforts and did not back down from standing up for the faith, right to the very end of his life.

Echoing what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, the experiences faced by St. John Chrysostom, the challenges and trials that he faced in his works and ministry should remind us all that we are also likely to face such struggles, trials and hardships amidst our faith journey throughout our respective lives. Let us all not be discouraged and be disheartened by all those things, but instead, let us be strengthened by the examples and inspirations that our many holy predecessors have shown in their lives, all these while. May the Lord continue to bless our efforts and works, and help guide us in our journey towards Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 September 2023 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 20-26

At that time, looking at His disciples, Jesus said, “Fortunate are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Fortunate are you, who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Fortunate are you, who weep now, for you will laugh.”

“Fortunate are you, when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember, that is how the ancestors of the people treated the prophets.”

“But alas for you, who have wealth, for you have been comforted now. Alas for you, who are full, for you will go hungry. Alas for you, who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Alas for you, when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of the people treated the false prophets.”

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Wednesday, 13 September 2023 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 10-11, 12-13ab

I will praise You, day after day; and exalt Your Name forever. Great is YHVH, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom; and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign, and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures, from generation to generation.

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Wednesday, 13 September 2023 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Colossians 3 : 1-11

So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, reveals Himself, you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, wicked desires and greed, which is a way of worshipping idols. These are the things that arouse the wrath of God. For a time, you followed this way and lived in such disorders. Well then, reject all that : anger, evil intentions, malice; and let no abusive words be heard from your lips.

Do not lie to one another. You have been stripped of the old self and its way of thinking; to put on the new, which is being renewed, and is to reach perfect knowledge, and the likeness of its Creator. There is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, foreigner, slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all.

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Tuesday, 13 September 2022 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures reminding us that all of us have been gathered as one people and one flock by the Lord to be His followers and disciples, and to receive the bountiful gifts of His graces and blessings. The Lord has gathered us all from the nations and from the world, regardless of our background or origins, all equally beloved by God and all equally precious to Him. And through Him, we shall receive the assurance of eternal life, true happiness and joy, and we will find the path to eternal bliss with Him, at the end of time.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth regarding how the Church is united as one body, the one Body of Christ, composed of all believers, not distinguished by anything or by any considerations of their background, be it whether the faithful were Jews or Greek, at the time when the Jewish people were often harbouring prejudice and dislike for the non-Jewish peoples, also known as the Gentiles, most of whom were Greeks and those who were steeped in the Greco-Roman culture and ways, as opposed to those who fervently and zealously kept the Jewish laws and customs.

St. Paul also highlighted the unity of the Church and the faithful although its members came from among the free and the rich, as well as from among the slaves, the poor and the marginalised in the community. All of the people, regardless of their origins, backgrounds and others, who have been called by God and received baptism through Him, have been made sharers of the same Body of Christ and became that one united Body of believers. And amidst the divisions and the struggles that the different factions of the faithful in Corinth experienced back then, this was a truly powerful, important and timely reminder from the Apostle.

This is a reminder that as one faithful people and community of Christians, all of us in the Church should not be prejudiced, biased or divided against each other. We should not let our differences, whether in opinion or whether in our background and status to be stumbling blocks and obstacles in preventing us from achieving true unity in God. We have to remind ourselves that in the Church we are serving the Lord and not our own selfish desires, ambitions and other things. We are God’s servants and followers, and we should focus our attention on Him, our efforts on glorifying Him rather than seeking attention towards ourselves.

Through the Lord we have received the assurance of salvation and eternal life, an existence beyond death, which all of us in one way or another, and which eventually will experience, as all of us are mortal and will not live in this world forever. As highlighted in our Gospel passage today from the story of the widow of Naim, death is something that will claim us all, and we heard of the sorrow that accompanied this, especially the widow who had to see her own son pass away before herself. Yet, the Lord showed that He is truly the Lord and Master of all life, as He raised the widow’s son from the dead, just as He had done so with the daughter of the synagogue official, Jairus, and with Lazarus, one of His close friends.

All of these showed us that while death exists as a punishment for our sins, that came with the taint of sin which entered to our humanity through our disobedience against God, but the Lord in His most wonderful and loving way has extended His most gracious love and mercy towards us, through His Son showing us that death does not hold dominion over us. Not only through the miraculous resurrection from the dead, but even more importantly, through His own suffering and death on the Cross, and then His own glorious Resurrection, Christ conquered sin and death, and presented to us the sure path out of the darkness and into the light and life eternal.

Today all of us are reminded therefore to focus our attention on the Lord, and on the love and truth which He has revealed to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. All of us have been so fortunate to receive this assurance of love, and hence, we should do our best to live our lives worthily as Christians, that is as God’s disciples and followers, in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs, who should be our inspiration and role models. St. John Chrysostom, whose feast we are celebrating today, is one of them. He is the Archbishop of Constantinople, the then capital of the Roman Empire and also recognised later on as one of the great Doctors of the Church.

St. John Chrysostom was attracted to the Christian faith and studied theology as well as experiencing ascetic lifestyle as a hermit before he became a deacon, and later on becoming a great priest in Antioch, renowned for his eloquent and courageous sermons, which stirred the hearts of many people. He placed particular emphasis in the care for the poor and was particularly against the abuse of power and privileges by the rich and the powerful against the poor and those who were marginalised by the community. He preached directly to the people, with simple terms and words which helped him to connect well to those whom he was preaching to, helping him to convert countless thousands to the faith.

Eventually this holy man and servant of God was appointed as the Archbishop of Constantinople, and his works and reforms immediately gained opposition from the members of the rich and privileged, the nobles and the powerful clergy who opposed his more simple and disciplined approach in the Church affairs. It was particularly known that he was the enemy of the powerful Roman Empress Aelia Eudoxia, whose extravagant lifestyle was opposed by St. John Chrysostom, and the former also thought that St. John’s sermons were directed against herself. As such, by the efforts of those opposed against him, St. John Chrysostom had to endure exile from his See, and he was banished not just once but twice, as frictions continued to exist between the Empress and her supporters and St. John Chrysostom and his supporters on the other side.

The holy man of God nonetheless never gave up, and continued to serve the Lord faithfully, dedicating himself to whatever tasks and ministries he could perform, even while in exile, until his death. The dedication and hard works of St. John Chrysostom should therefore inspire all of us to trust in the Lord and allow Him to lead and guide us in our journey of faith and life. We have to remind ourselves that we have to serve God in this life and proclaim His truth and love by our lives. Let us all remind one another that God and His love for us have made us truly blessed and fortunate, for by His love, He has gathered us all from all the peoples and all the nations, to be His one flock, one Body of Christ, the Church.

May the Lord continue to bless us and strengthen us in all things. May He empower and strengthen us to be able to face challenges and trials in life. May He give us the courage and the energy to resist against the temptations of this world, and help us to remember that we are all His people, and that we should always be united in love with each other, and not be divided one against another. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 13 September 2022 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 7 : 11-17

At that time, a little later after Jesus healed the servant of a captain in Capernaum, He went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” The news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.