Four Great Doctors of the Church

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Saturday, 13 September 2014 : 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 we celebrate the feast of a great saint of the Church, one of the Four Great Doctors of the Church, and one of the most brilliant minds ever to come from the Church in the Eastern parts of the Roman Empire at the time. St. John Chrysostom is this saint, who was the Archbishop of the great See of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire during the early fifth century after the birth of Christ.

St. John Chrysostom was born from a relatively unknown parentage, and it was disputed whether his mother was a pagan or a Christian. In any case, St. John Chrysostom was baptised when he entered adulthood, and it was discovered that he had a great intellectual mind, and he easily went through his studies of literature and philosophy.

However, as time progressed, St. John Chrysostom turned more and more towards the Lord and dedicated his life to His service. His sermons and speeches were greatly influential and inspirational, based on the deep understanding and comprehension of the Gospels and the fundamentals of faith, through which he gained his title of Chrysostomus, which literally means ‘golden-mouthed’.

St. John Chrysostom preached in many parts of the Empire, and in one occasion his sincere and passionated plea to the pagans who were accused of the defilement of the statues of the Emperor in the city of Antioch brought thousands and more to see the error of their ways, and thus, they were received into the Church and was spared both the punishment and persecution by the Emperor, and even more importantly, they evaded the punishment and destruction of the soul by receiving the salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Even after St. John Chrysostom had been appointed as the Archbishop of Constantinople, one of the most prominent position in the Church, in fact just second after the Pope in Rome himself, St. John Chrysostom remained humble and dedicated in his service to the people of God, the sheep entrusted to him. St. John Chrysostom rejected the extravagant and lavish ways of the society at the time and pushed for a true Christian community founded on love.

He did not fear even to oppose the mighty and the powerful. When the Empress Aelia Eudoxia lived extravagantly, he greatly criticised her for her way of life and actions. Together with his enemies, the Empress plotted together and managed to cast St. John Chrysostom into exile, which would indeed have ended his works for the Church, but the people of God were incensed, and divine wrath itself soon manifested in a great earthquake and fire that devastated many parts of the capital.

But even after St. John Chrysostom was recalled back to his mission in the Church, the Empress continued to defy the way of the Lord, as she continued to live extravagantly and even installed a silver statue of herself near the cathedral of St. John Chrysostom, purposely to provoke him into action. And indeed, St. John Chrysostom denounced the Empress again, and as her punishment, she died during childbirth.

But St. John Chrysostom continued to suffer as his enemies continued to plot against him and persecuted him. He was sent again into exile and died before he was able to return to shepherd his sheep again at Constantinople. Nevertheless, his legacies lasted long after him, even until today. He was credited for his many works and sermons that inspired many of the faithful and even many saints who came after him.

And his works also resulted in one of the rites used in the Eastern Church even until today, as the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, one of the most solemn liturgical rites of the Church, designed solely for the glorification of the Lord. Thus, this holy man and servant of God is the one whose life and actions we celebrate on this day as we gather together.

How is this related to the readings of the day? Very much related indeed. This is because as Jesus said in the Gospel, that good fruits can only be produced by good and healthy trees, vice versa. Bad and rotten trees can only produce bad and rotten fruits. Thus, St. John Chrysostom, that good tree, produce only good fruits for the benefits of the faithful. Similarly this is also the case for the other saints, the holy servants of God.

And he listened to the word of God intently, placing them into the depths of his heart, and most importantly, he acted on them, and from there brought about much good for the Church and for the faithful ones in the Lord. Thus, his actions were the representation of the man who built his house on solid rock foundation, and therefore had no need to fear the storms or any forces arrayed against it.

On the other hand, those who refused to listen to the word of God were like those who built their houses on unstable ground, on weak foundations that are easily swept away by winds and waves, and therefore representing the actions of the wicked ones opposed to the works of St. John Chrysostom, namely the Empress and his rivals, who were engrossed so much in the ways of the Lord, that they failed to even see that what they were doing was their own undoing.

And St. Paul in his letter to the faithful in the city of Corinth clearly and zealously stated that we who are faithful ought not to have any share in the communion with demons, that is with Satan and his allies, the forces of darkness in the world. Instead, we who are the children of God should be like St. John Chrysostom, in how he worked hard with zeal to bring the word of God to many of God’s people so that they may achieve salvation.

How do we know if we have made a communion with the Lord or with the evil one? It is basic and simple indeed. We have to first be aware that all of us who are in the Church of God are part of one Body, that is the Body of Christ, which is the union of all who shared in the Body and Blood of Christ, who had worthily become part of the Body of Christ, Christ is in them and they are in the Lord. It is inconceivable that a part of the Body of Christ should be flawed with the darkness of evil.

Thus if we commit evil, just as what those people mentioned earlier had done, in preserving their own vanity, concerned only for their own prosperity and in slandering others, worse that is to even put an obstacle on the works of the servant of God. In doing these evils, they committed sin before the Lord, and therefore entered into communion with the devil. For the devil too, rebelled against the Lord because of his pride and vanity.

Therefore, as we are part of the Church of God, and we have become the children of God, let us all realise that all of us must act therefore as how a child of God should behave. Listen to the Lord, work on what we believe in and practice our faith in our lives. Love one another and love the Lord just as much as we love ourselves. If we do all these, we will be surely be granted favour by the Lord.

May Almighty God therefore grant us His grace, that He may empower us to live according to what St. John Chrysostom had once done. Let us all treasure this communion we share with one another, the communion and unity as the one Body of Christ, those who have received the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Keep us, Lord, on the path towards salvation, and let us not to fall into evil. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 43-49

Jesus said, “No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit. And each tree is known by the fruit it bears : you do not gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles.”

“Similarly the good person draws good things from the good stored in his heart, and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.”

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what the one is like, who comes to Me, and listens to My words, and acts accordingly. That person is like the builder who dug deep, and laid the foundations of his house on rock. The river overflowed, and the stream dashed against the house, but could not carry it off because the house had been well built.”

“But the one who listens and does not act, is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. The flood burst against it, and the house fell at once : and what a terrible disaster that was!”

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Saturday, 13 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 17-18

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord. I will carry out my vows to the Lord in the presence of His people.

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Saturday, 13 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 10 : 14-22

Therefore, dear friends, shun the cult of idols. I address you as intelligent persons; judge what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion with the Blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not a communion with the Body of Christ?

The Bread is one, and so we, though many, form one Body, sharing the one Bread. Consider the Israelites. For them, to eat of the victim is to come into communion with its altar. What does all that mean? That the meat is really consecrated to the idol, or that the idol is a being.

However, when the pagans offer a sacrifice, the sacrifice goes to the demons, not to God. I do not want you to come into fellowship with demons. You cannot drink at the same time from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons. You cannot share in the table of the Lord and in the table of the demons.

Do we want, perhaps, to provoke the jealousy of the Lord? Could we be stronger than He?

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us like to deny the Lord and those who had worked hard to bring God closer to us through their teachings. Instead we often let ourselves be swayed by the forces of this world, that we end up following the ways of the world instead of the ways of God. We doubt the presence of God in us, and put our trust instead in the weakness of men and the pleasures of the world.

Indeed, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we deal with the theme of the authority of teaching of the faith, and the truth about what had happened as the Lord had done, when He once came into this world as man, Jesus Christ our Lord. This truth had been told across generations through the prophets, before the Lord came, and after His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, by the Apostles and the countless saints who stood up for their faith in God.

These saints and holy people stood up for the Lord, defending the faith they have in God, protecting the deposit of the faith that is in the one and only Church of God, the Catholic or Universal Church. These teachings were passed down to us today through the bishops and the priests who succeeded the Apostles and the other leaders of the early Church, through whom they passed down whatever had been revealed to them by Christ Himself and by the Holy Spirit.

These saints testified for the Lord who had come to save the world, and through their testimony and their teachings, again passed down to us through the Church. Through these teachings we are brought close to the Lord, and it is revealed to us what the Lord wants from us, that is to follow Him and be saved. But the devil certainly did not stay quiet and let everything go smoothly according to the Lord’s plan.

Just as he had tried so much to undermine the good works of the Lord by tempting Him directly, and when that failed, by opposing Him in every turns and corners, questioning His authority and teaching through the Pharisees and the scribes, and many other ways that he had employed to keep mankind away from salvation in God.

Satan opposed the Lord and all of His faithful ones, by sowing the seeds of dissension, jealousy, pride and arrogance in the hearts of the enemies of Christ. As in the Gospel today, the Pharisees and the scribes questioned the authority of John the Baptist, that is under whose authority he did all the baptisms and the teachings about the coming of the Messiah. They should have known about the coming of John the Baptist as the herald of the Messiah, because after all they are the learnt ones, the ones who knew the Scriptures inside out in their heart.

They instead gave in to their human vulnerabilities, that is they let Satan into their hearts, and they in essence, become the tools of Satan through which he tried to undermine the works of our Lord to save us. Such an irony indeed, and sad indeed, that the very leaders of the people, the supposedly pious and educated ones at that, were the very ones that betrayed the Lord.

This is because they gave in to vanity and human greed, the greed for authority, power, as well as the jealousy of human heart and desire, which is for power and influence within the society, within the society of the people of God. They resented those who they perceived to be undermining their own teaching authority, for the Pharisees and the scribes advocated a very strict observation of the laws of Moses and did not entertain any kind of dissent against what they taught.

And as you know, the Pharisees and the scribes continuously harassed Jesus and His followers, and right up to when they delivered the coup de grace, condemning Jesus to death with false witnesses, testimonies and accusations that led to the crucifixion of Jesus. And Satan surely rejoiced at that moment, for he thought that he had undermined the Lord’s plan to save us. And yet, what he had done was merely part of the Lord’s salvation plan, made fulfilled through the death of Jesus on the cross.

After that defeat, Satan did not give up. He continued to try to deceive the people  of God through his lies spread through many false prophets he sent to the world. Today we celebrate the feast of two great saints of the Eastern Church, who were brave and courageous defenders of the faith, fighting constantly against the heresies of the faith in the Church spread exactly by these false prophets.

They are St. Basil the Great, also known as St. Basil of Caesarea, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, also known as St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Both of them were renowned theologians and leaders of the faithful, living at the time of the fourth century after the birth of Christ, after Christianity had become the majority faith of the people of the Roman Empire.

A preacher named Arius spread unorthodox and heretical teachings about Christ. That Jesus Christ is not equal to the father as the Son of God. Instead of the true faith and teaching that God the Son is equal in all aspects to the Father and the Holy Spirit, one in unity and essence, existing before all ages, Arius preached that the Father is superior to the Son, and Jesus was created rather than existing with the Father, being begotten not created.

Arius’ teachings spread wildly across many parts of the Roman Empire, converting many people to this heretical teaching of the faith. He was wildly popular and swayed many to sin by believing in the falsehood of the devil. It was St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen who led the people of the true and orthodox faith in the campaign against the heresy of Arius, also known as Arianism.

We were warned by St. John the Evangelist on the presence of false prophets who would lead the people astray in their path towards the salvation in God, and the example of Arius had proven just to be the case, as much as many other heretics and false prophets who appeared both before and after him. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen tirelessly championed the cause of the true faith, often in opposition even to the people whom they were shepherding and leading, who had been corrupted by the false teachings of Arius.

Yet they did not fear and continued to work hard, at times even they have to suffer persecution and suffering, as well as rejection and mockery by those who supported the false faith and the lies of the devil. Nevertheless, they continued to move on, and on, and on, until their death, they never ceased to work hard to purify the faith from these lies of the devil and all the seeds of falsehood that he has planted in the hearts of the Lord’s faithful through his false prophets.

Even today, brethren, false prophets can be abound, numerous, and we often may not know who they are. That is why, it is important for us to deepen the knowledge and understanding that we have of our faith in God. We cannot be idle or lest we risk to fall into the corruption of the lies of the evil one. Hold firmly on the deposit of faith, and the richness of the teachings that had been handed down to us from the Lord and His Apostles, through the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen to pray for us, that we will be protected by the Lord and His angels, so that we will not easily fall prey to heresy or succumb to the lies and temptations of the evil one. Let us also help one another, that we can keep all the faithful ones in God to remain faithful, now and till the end of time. God be with us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 19-28

This was the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John recognised the truth, and did not deny it. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”

And they asked him, “Then who are you? Elijah?” He answered, “I am not.”

They said, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Then they said to him, “Tell us who you are, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. How do you see yourself?” And John said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness : Make straight the way of the Lord!”

Those who had been sent were Pharisees; and they put a further question to John, “Then why are you baptising, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” John answered, “I baptise you with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know; although He comes after me, I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal.”

This happened in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptising.

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 22-28

Who is the liar? The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is an antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. The one who denies the Son is without the Father, and those who acknowledge the Son also have the Father.

Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you too, will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise He Himself gave us : eternal life.

I write this to you thinking of those who try to lead you astray, you received from Him the anointing, and it remains in you, so you do not need someone to teach you. His anointing teaches you all things, it speaks the truth and does not lie to you; so remain in Him, and keep what He has taught you.

And now, my children, live in Him, so that when He appears in His glory, we may be confident and not ashamed before Him when He comes.