Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita

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Thursday, 8 February 2024 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded this day by the readings from the Sacred Scriptures of the need for all of us to have true and genuine faith in the Lord. We must always ever be vigilant in obeying the Lord and in doing His will, resisting the temptations of the world, and all the coercions and the corruptions of worldly glory and greed, of all the wickedness and evils of this world, which can mislead us down the path of ruin and damnation. We must always hold fast to this faith and trust that we should have in the Lord, and put ourselves in His hands, having that strong and enduring conviction to follow the Lord no matter what, not being easily swayed by all kinds of worldly glory and attachments that had mare so many of our predecessors to fall into sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Kings of the account of the downfall of King Solomon of Israel, who had not remained faithful wholeheartedly to the Lord unlike that of his father, King David. As we heard from the Scriptural account, Solomon was swayed in his old age and tempted by his many wives and concubines, by his greatness, power and glory, that he fell into the path of disobedience and sin. Solomon had been faithful in the early years of his reign and had been blessed bountifully by the Lord for his family’s trust and faith in Him, that the Kingdom of Israel reached the zenith of its might and glorious days under his reign. Unfortunately, he was eventually misled by the many worldly glory and attachments he grew to have, and he was no longer completely faithful to God.

While we did not have much details beyond what was provided to us in the Scriptures, we can guess that it was likely because of his growing attachment to all the riches, wealth and fame he has attained over the years which made him to forget how he reached that height in the first place, and he became more stubborn and refused to obey the Lord. This showed to all of us how even a faithful man and great servant of God could be swayed by the temptations of sin if we allow ourselves to be swayed and tempted by the various temptations present all around us, and most importantly if our faith in the Lord is not strong and vibrant, we may likely be tempted the way how King Solomon had been tempted by his many sources of temptations and distractions in life, be it his wives and concubines, his wealth and possessions, power and glory, and other pleasures of the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we are reminded that faith can be as powerful and even more powerful than the temptations all around us. The Syro-Phoenician woman in the story with the Lord Jesus reminded us that great faith in the Lord is what truly matters for Him, and not one’s status or background. There is that marked irony highlighted in the comparison between what happened in our first reading account of the sin and downfall of King Solomon of Israel and then what was recorded in the Gospel of the interaction between the Lord and the Syro-Phoenician woman. This is because by the time of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, the division between the Jewish people, descendants of the Israelites who inhabited the lands of Judea and Galilee, and those who are not counted among the Jews, like the Samaritans and the Gentiles, had become crystallised and hardened.

At that time, the Jewish people, particularly among the members of the Pharisees, saw themselves as being superior and more worthy than the non-Jewish people, like the Samaritans in Samaria and the other non-Jewish people known as the Gentiles. They deemed themselves as the only ones who were worthy of God, and others were inferior and undeserving of God’s love and grace. This attitude was shown in how they deemed Samaritans and Gentiles with contempt, and did not mingle with them, avoiding them and their dwelling places because by their version and interpretation of the Law of God, that would have made them to be unclean and to sin against God. Yet, in today’s Gospel, as we heard, the Syro-Phoenician woman, who was considered as a Gentile, had more faith than many if not most of the Jews and the Pharisees among them.

Initially as we heard in that same Gospel passage, it might seem that the Lord was being very rude and harsh towards the woman, as He ignored her pleas and cries for help, as she begged the Lord to help her and her afflicted daughter. Not only that, but He even told her directly that He should not give what was meant for the children of God, referring to the Israelites and their descendants, to the dogs, which was an indirect reference to the Syro-Phoenician woman and the other Gentiles. Why did the Lord utter such a despicable set of words? It is truly uncharacteristic of His loving and forgiving nature. This is where we must understand that the Lord was making a point of the folly of the Jews and the Pharisees in particular for thinking that just because they were descended from the Israelites then they had the exclusive and automatic privilege of God’s grace.

That was why the Lord highlighted the absurdity of such way of thinking, and showcasing the great faith which the Syro-Phoenician woman had in Him, that she humbled herself and did not allow herself to be deterred by whatever obstacles in her trust and faith in God. Such faith in God was indeed rare, and the Lord commended the woman for having that kind of great and enduring faith. This is contrasted with the way how many of the Jewish people, especially among the Pharisees, who refused to believe in the Lord, rejected Him and persecuted Him and His disciples simply because what He had brought upon them in this world, were not in accordance to what they all believed and held to be true. Their pride and arrogance, ego and ambitions became serious obstacles in their path towards God.

Today, the Church commemorates the feast of two great saints, whose faith, dedication and commitment to God, piety and exemplary lives have become the source of great inspirations for many people throughout the world since their time up to now. First of all, St. Jerome Emiliani was a man who lost his father early in his teenage years, and eventually joining the army and was captured, and while imprisoned, he had a conversion experience, as he attributed his escape and well-being to the intercession of the Blessed Mother of God. Later on, as a local magistrate, he showed great care for the needy people under his care and custody, establishing orphanages for the orphans, as well as hospitals and care houses for the sick and the suffering. He also established hostels and other places to care for prostitutes and others who needed shelter.

This inspired two priests named Alessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso, who were touched and inspired by the examples and role model shown by this great man of God, and eventually with St. Jerome Emiliani, they would all go on to establish the Congregation of Regular Clerics as a religious society, gathering together all those who share in the passion and desire of St. Jerome Emiliani in reaching out to the less fortunate, to the orphans, the prostitutes, those who are sick and troubled. They are also known as the Somaschi Fathers after their first house and centre in the Italian town of Somasca. St. Jerome Emiliani himself continued to labour for the sake of the people of God for the rest of his life, inspiring many others to follow in his footsteps.

Meanwhile, St. Josephine Bakhita was the renowned freed slavewoman who had very difficult childhood and early years, as she was born in the region now known as Sudan, and was captured, separated from her family in a very young age, enslaved and sold from master to master. Some of those experiences saw her being treated unfairly and she suffered throughout those years, until eventually she was bought by an Italian Vice Consul, who relented to her begging to him to bring him out of Sudan. She then became a nanny to the children of an Italian familu, and eventually, when she returned to Sudan with that family, she had an encounter experience with God and the Christian faith through the Canossian Sisters in Venice, with whom she would eventually associate herself with.

Finally, after some time, when her master tried to bring his family permanently back to Sudan, St. Josephine Bakhita firmly refused to follow them. Eventually, through the help of the Church and the Patriarch of Venice, the courts ruled in her favour, declaring that her enslavement had been unlawful because it had been outlawed by the British who ruled Sudan before St. Josephine Bakhita was even born, and Italian law likewise did not recognise slavery. As a free woman, St. Josephine Bakhita continued to associate herself and live among the Canossian Sisters, where she would spend the rest of her life dedicating herself to God and to her community around her, living a holy and pious life.

For about five decades, a very long period of time, St. Josephine Bakhita dedicated herself to a life of service to help the Canossian Sisters community, as their cook, their sacristan and doorkeeper, and was also involved in caring for the local community for their needs. Her great faith in God, righteousness and piety inspired many people far and wide, and she was well-respected among the Canossian Sisters and in the community, and even when she was sick in her last years, she continued to do her best for the Lord and for her community. Her forgiveness and prayers for her captors and slavers early in her life also inspired many for her kindness, love and compassion.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from what we have heard in the Sacred Scriptures today, as well as from the lives and works of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita, let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment to God, resisting the temptations and wickedness of this world that can coerce and tempt even the righteous into sin, as what had happened to King Solomon and many among our predecessors. Let us all turn away from sin and evil, and let us all strive to be good, worthy and pure in all things like what St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita had done. Let our lives be great examples for others, and let us all be inspiration for them, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 February 2024 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Mark 7 : 24-30

At that time, when Jesus went to the border of the Tyrian country. There, He entered a house, and did not want anyone to know He was there; but He could not remain hidden. A woman, whose small daughter had an evil spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet.

Now this woman was a pagan, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she begged Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus told her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”

But she replied, “Sir, even the puppies under the table eat the crumbs from the children’s bread.” Then Jesus said to her, “You may go your way; because of such a response, the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

And when the woman went home, she found her child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

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Thursday, 8 February 2024 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

Psalm 105 : 3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40

Blessed are they who always do just and right. Remember me, o YHVH, when You show favour to Your people; rescue me when You deliver them.

They mingled with these nations and learnt to do as they did. In serving the idols of the pagans, they were trapped.

Into sacrificing children to demons. The anger of YHVH grew intense and He abhorred His inheritance.

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Thursday, 8 February 2024 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Holy Virgins)

1 Kings 11 : 4-13

In Solomon’s old age, his wives led him astray to serve other gods and, unlike his father David, his heart was no longer wholly given to YHVH his God. For he served Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.

He did what displeased YHVH and, unlike his father David, was unfaithful to Him. Solomon even built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mountain east of Jerusalem and also for Molech, the idol of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

YHVH became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from YHVH, the God of Israel. YHVH appeared to him twice and commanded him not to follow other gods. But he did not obey YHVH’s command. Therefore, YHVH said to Solomon, “Since this has been your choice and you have kept neither My Covenant nor the statutes I commanded you, I will take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.”

“Nevertheless, I will not do this during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will take it from your son. But I will not take it all; I will reserve one tribe for your son for the sake of David My servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen.”

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Tuesday, 8 February 2022 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and to love Him from the deepest depth of our hearts, to be genuinely faithful and filled with love for Him and not just an empty gesture or paying lip service to Him. We have to dedicate ourselves thoroughly and completely to walk in His path, to obey His will and commandments, and to answer His call with firm resolution in our hearts. That is our calling as Christians, what we need to do in our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard the prayer of King Solomon made on behalf of the people of Israel at the time of the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, the great Temple and House that Solomon had built and established for the glory of God and to be His dwelling place among His people. King Solomon had completed the House after seven long years of construction and brought the Ark of the Covenant with great fanfare and celebration, placing it in the Holy of Holies within the Temple, and God’s glorious Presence filled up the entirety of the Temple.

King Solomon prayed on behalf of the people giving thanks to God for His constant love and care for them, and for all that He had done, and for willingly coming to dwell with His people. He humbled himself for the unworthy House that he has built, no matter how grand it might have been, as no House could ever contain the great glory of the Almighty and Infinite God. He asked the Lord for His protection and continued guidance for himself and for the people so that they might remain faithful and dedicated to Him in their lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today we heard of the confrontation between the Pharisees and the Lord as they scrutinised Him and how some of His disciples did not wash their hands in the manner that the Law of Moses had prescribed. They criticised the Lord and His disciples at the apparent failure to obey the commandments which were prescribed for all the people to follow, and which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enforced with great emphasis and even bordering on obsession.

The Lord then reminded them how foolish their preoccupation and obsession with their way of obeying the Law. This must be understood in the context of how the Law of God had grown very cumbersome with plenty of rituals and rules over the centuries as the Law was passed down from generations to generations, and the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law being those who expanded on the rules and requirements of the Law, making them extra stringent on the people of God. They placed a lot of emphasis on the details of the rules and regulations, and with regards to the matter of the washing of hands, they had a certain prescribed manner and steps to wash their hands before they were to eat or to do other activities.

It was not wrong for one to wash their hands prior to a meal, as we all know that hygiene in fact required us to do so. However, the issue was not about the washing of hands, but rather with the obsession and preoccupations which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had on the extensive details and rituals required in each activities and in each of the requirements regarding that washing. All of these distract us from truly understanding why the Law is present in our lives. The people ended up doing the Law for the sake of fulfilling the requirements rather than because they love the Lord.

Today we also have two saints, our holy predecessors whose lives and works can become great source of inspiration for us to follow in how we ourselves should live our faith as Christians. They are St. Jerome Emiliani, a renowned holy man of God who was prominent for his works among the people of God particularly among the sick and the orphans, and then also St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave who became a Christian and who upon her escape and freedom became a member of the Canossian religious order, and was exemplary in her conduct in faith and life.

St. Jerome Emiliani was a very renowned humanitarian, dedicating a lot of time and efforts to reach out to the poor and the orphans. He spent a lot of effort helping orphans and the needy, even taking out from his own expense to help them. St. Jerome Emiliani rented houses for taking care of these people in need, helping them as much as he could, and he inspired many others to join in his efforts, and eventually this came to be the foundation of the Congregation of the Regular Clerics, also known as the Somaschi Fathers who are dedicated for the same work initiated by St. Jerome Emiliani.

Meanwhile, St. Josephine Bakhita was a freed slave, who was abducted from her birth family in what is today Sudan, during her early youth in one of the many slave raids. She suffered throughout her period of enslavement, but by God’s grace, she ended up in the possession of a former Christian who was touched by her life, work and virtuous character, and in the end, both her and her master went back to Europe and St. Josephine Bakhita gained her freedom. St. Josephine Bakhita went to join the Canossians and worked hard for many years in serving the community of the Canossians as well as the local community.

Through the examples showed by St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita we can learn how we should follow the Lord wholeheartedly through our love for our fellow brothers and sisters, through our genuine care for those who are needy, and not to focus only on our own needs and wants, or only on our own personal piety and righteousness, just as how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often spent a lot of their time and effort on. We are all called to be genuine followers of Christ, to be full of love for Him and to have that dedication and commitment to Him.

Let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed zeal and faith, and let us all do our best to follow Him by modelling ourselves on the virtues of our predecessors, and remind ourselves that we are called to be holy. Let us devote our time and effort to serve the Lord and to be exemplary in our actions. May the Lord be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us to walk ever more devotedly in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 February 2022 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

Mark 7 : 1-13

At that time, one day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : ‘This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules.’ You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandments of God in order to enforce your own traditions! For example, Moses said : Do your duty to your father and your mother, and : Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you, someone could say to his father or mother, ‘I already declared Corban (which means “offered to God”) what you could have expected from me.’”

“In this case, you no longer require him to do anything for his father or mother; and so you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

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Tuesday, 8 February 2022 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5 and 10, 11

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! Look upon our shield, o God; look upon the face of Your Anointed!

One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

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Tuesday, 8 February 2022 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

1 Kings 8 : 22-23, 27-30

Then Solomon stood before the Altar of YHVH in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards heaven and said, “O YHVH, God of Israel, there is no God like You either in heaven or on earth! You keep Your Covenant and show loving kindness to Your servants who walk before You wholeheartedly.”

“But will God really live among people on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain You, how much less can this House which I have built! Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of Your servant, o YHVH my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which Your servant directs to You this day. Watch over this House of which You have said, ‘My Name shall rest there.’ Hear the prayer of Your servant in this place.”

“Listen to the supplication of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from Your dwelling place in heaven and, on listening, forgive.”

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Monday, 8 February 2021 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Scripture readings today, after four weeks of discourse from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we begin the series of readings from the Old Testament in our first reading with the account of the creation of the universe as represented in the Book of Genesis, the very first chapter of the entire Bible.

We heard how the Lord created the whole creation, the entire universe and all the things and our world as we know it, and the Lord made everything good as He had created it, willing them into being by His Word, the Word that made everything to be and created everything according to God’s will. This very same Word had become Incarnate in the flesh, as the Son of Man and Son of God, in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our Gospel passage today we heard how the Lord Jesus went about doing His ministry, going from places to places, and many people came to see Him and listen to Him, hearing the words of truth that He has brought into their midst. They also brought their sick with them, and many people with various conditions and sicknesses came to seek the Lord and wanted Him to heal them.

The Lord touched them and healed them, and by His power and the will of God, all of them were made whole again and were cured from their troubles. The significance of this act in relation to the first reading today is such that God Who created this world to be good and perfect, has again done everything in order to restore order and goodness to this world.

Christ has showed us the love of God manifested in Himself and His actions, in showing mercy and compassion to the needy, those rejected and abandoned, ostracised and persecuted. And truly we are all fortunate because of the love that God has lavished upon us, His great patience and the attention He has for us. He has willingly embraced us and called us all to return to Him and to accept His forgiveness so that we may not perish because of our sins, but instead may receive from Him the assurance of eternal life.

Are we grateful and appreciative of all that God has shown us, brothers and sisters in Christ? The Lord has already shown us so much love and kindness, and therefore all of us should appreciate what He has done for us, that He still loved us despite our constant refusal to listen to Him and to love Him wholeheartedly. Today, we should be inspired by the faith and examples showed by two saints, whose lives indeed shine through as great inspiration for us all, namely St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita.

St. Jerome Emiliani was remembered for his great charity and efforts, in caring for the needy, the poor and the sick, all those whom he had encountered, selflessly caring for them and inspiring many others to follow in his footsteps and examples. He built many orphanages and other places where those who need help could be taken care of and loved, just like the Lord Himself has reached out to His people and sought to help us. St. Jerome Emiliani showed us all what it means for us to be Christians, that is to be like Christ in His love.

Then, St. Josephine Bakhita was a former slave who hailed from the area now known as Sudan. As a child, she had already suffered much, captured by slavers and treated horribly as a slave passed on from master to master, one after another. When she had the fortunate chance to escape slavery through her former master, who was touched and converted by her virtuous life, St. Josephine Bakhita eventually found her way to freedom and eventually joined the religious community in which she spent the rest of her life in.

St. Josephine Bakhita never held grudges for her past slavers and masters, all those who had made her life very difficult and painful. In embracing the Christian faith and in dedicating herself completely to the Lord, St. Josephine Bakhita showed many people including us all what it means to be true disciples and followers of Christ. We are all called to love one another just as the Lord has loved us all so generously. Therefore, let us all discern what we all can do, even in little things and ways, to serve the Lord and glorify His Name by our worthy lives and actions.

May the Lord be with us always and may He guide us in this journey of life, that with the same love He has shown us, we too may love Him wholeheartedly and love our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those who are in need of love, care and attention. May God bless us all and our every good and worthy endeavours, now and always. Amen.ignored by the world, those who are in need of healing and consolation. He was making everything good and new again, and through Him, God fulfilled the promises that He had made to us mankind, that He will restore us once again and deliver us from the evil one.

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Monday, 8 February 2021 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Holy Virgins)

Mark 6 : 53-56

At that time, having crossed the lake, Jesus and His disciples came ashore at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognised Jesus, and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside.

Wherever He was, they brought to Him the sick lying on their mats; and wherever He went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged Him to let them touch just the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were cured.