French saints

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Tuesday, 14 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard in our first reading from the Book of Exodus, how after more than four hundred years of suffering in Egypt in slavery, God sent His saviour and liberator to His people Israel, through Moses His servant, whom He designed to be special from all the others of His people. He has been marked since His birth to bring about God’s deliverance to Israel.

And then in the Gospel, we heard about Jesus denouncing the cities of the people of God, namely the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum in Galilee, all the cities where the Jews, the people of God lived. It was in these cities, in these places that Jesus had taught the people and showed His many works and miracles to them. But then why did Jesus rebuke them and criticise them in today’s readings?

That is precisely because even though Jesus had done so many works and miracles among them, the people there indignantly refused to believe in Him and they also refused to listen to His teachings, and instead they continued to live as how they have lived all that while. That inertia and unwillingness to change, even though they have witnessed all the things God had done through Jesus, was what aroused the great anger of God.

The same had also happened in the event of the Exodus at that time, when the people of Israel had seen the might of God, who brought the Ten Plagues to crush the Egyptians and forced the Pharaoh to let them go to the Promised Land. And when he and the Egyptians tried to capture back the Israelites, God opened the Red Sea before His people and made the sea to destroy the Egyptians.

Such was the great power and majesty which God had shown them, that truly, they should have all believed in Him and walked faithfully in His ways. However, as we have witnessed if we read the rest of the account of the Exodus, that the people of Israel, beginning from the worship of the golden calf as their god, and in many other occasions, have refused to believe in God, and constantly rebelled against Him. And to those who continued to be unrepentant, He showed His great wrath and punishment.

This is therefore a lesson for all of us to take note of. Should we linger longer in our ways of sin, the ways of this world and all of its wickedness? Or shall we instead bring ourselves to greater devotion to our Lord and walk faithfully in His ways? The choice is indeed ours, brothers and sisters in Christ, and all of us have eyes to see, ears to listen, hands and limbs to touch and feel, and minds and hearts to discern and understand.

We may not have seen what the Lord had done in His miraculous works and we may not have heard from Him directly His words and teachings, but we believe in Him all the same. Remember what Jesus told Thomas the doubtful disciple after His resurrection when He appeared to him? He said that he believed because he saw Him, but even more blessed are those who did not see and witness anything and yet still come to believe.

Therefore, let us all not walk in the same path as the people of the cities which Jesus had rebuked in today’s Gospel, as even though they witnessed what the Lord had done, but their hearts were hard as stone and their minds closed against the love and truth of God.

In their pride, in their haughtiness, they have walked the same path as that of their ancestors, and they would meet destruction in the end, just like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and even worse, as those people did not see God and His works. The greater is the punishment and anger of God for all those who witness His works and yet refused to believe in Him.

Today we commemorate the feast day of St. Camillus de Lellis, an Italian priest who is a preacher and a faithful servant of God, who ministered especially to the sick and wounded, to the poor and those who have nowhere to go to be treated. He founded the Camillian religious order, named after him, which was also known as the Ministers of the Sick.

He and his many other companions worked together to help many people who were suffering from various maladies. They worked together to bring the people who were sick back to good health, and the joy in them, knowing that they were not abandoned but there would still be some out there who cared for them. This was indeed God at His work, which He exercised through St. Camillus de Lellis and those who followed in his footsteps.

Therefore, having heard the story of the works and dedications of St. Camillus de Lellis, are we all moved in our hearts to also do the same for others who are around us? God works through us, and through us He wants to heal us all and make us all whole once again body and soul. If others see what we have done in the Name of the Lord, they may also be stirred in their hearts to come and believe in the Lord as well.

Hence, today, let us all, in the words that Jesus had once spoken, be no longer an unbeliever but believe with the fullness of our hearts, so that through our faith, we may be justified and be brought into the goodness and glory that He has promised to His beloved and faithful ones. May Almighty God guide us in our path, strengthen our faith and bring us all into His everlasting kingdom. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 11 : 20-24

At that time, Jesus began to denounce the cities, in which He had performed most of His miracles, because the people there did not change their ways.

“Alas for you Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I assure you, for Tyre and Sidon it will be more bearable on the day of judgment than for you.”

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead! For if the miracles which were performed in you had taken place in Sodom, it would still be there today! But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Tuesday, 14 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 68 : 3, 14, 30-31, 33-34

I am sunk in the miry depths where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, swept and engulfed by the flood.

But I pray to You, o Lord, at a time most favourable to You. In Your great love, o God, answer me with Your unfailing help.

But I myself am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity.

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Tuesday, 14 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Exodus 2 : 1-15a

Now a man belonging to the clan of Levi married a woman of his own tribe. She gave birth to a boy and, seeing that he was a beautiful child, she kept him hidden for three months. As she could not conceal him any longer, she made a basket out of papyrus leaves and coated it with tar and pitch. She then laid the child in the basket and placed it among the reeds near the bank of the Nile; but the sister of the child kept at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile; her attendants meanwhile walked along the bank. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to fetch it. She opened the basket and saw the child – a boy, and he was crying! She felt sorry for him, for she thought : “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Then the sister of the child said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and the girl went to call the mother of the child. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take the child and nurse him for me and I will pay you.”

So the woman took the child and nursed him and, when the child had grown, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. And she named him Moses to recall that she had drawn him out of the water.

After a fairly long time, Moses, by now a grown man, wanted to meet his fellow Hebrews. He noticed how heavily they were burdened and he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people. He looked around and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

When he went out the next day he saw two Hebrews quarrelling. Moses said to the man in the wrong, “Why are you striking a fellow countryman?” But he answered, “Who has set you prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must be known.”

When Pharaoh heard about it he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.

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Tuesday, 7 April 2015 : Tuesday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard two stories from the Scriptures. Our first reading, the reading from the Acts of the Apostles showed us how the Church of God was born, through the testimony which Peter showed the people in Jerusalem at the time of the Pentecost, and converted three thousand people who gave themselves to be baptised.

And in the Gospel from the Gospel according to St. John, we heard about the story of how Mary Magdalene, the faithful woman who was among the chief female disciples of Jesus, who grieved because she thought someone had stolen the body of Jesus, only for Jesus Himself to show Himself to her, as a proof that His body was not lost or stolen, but instead He had risen in glory, in Body and Spirit, just as the prophets had foretold about Him.

All these showed us that while once we were unsure of what is to become of us, and while we were once sorrowful and grieving because of our sins and wickedness, but because Christ is risen from the dead, we can rejoice once again, because we now know that death does not have the final say over us. We have no need to fear death, because death is just the beginning of a new life filled with joy and happiness with God, and not the end.

Through baptism, we have died to our old selves, our sinful past and our wicked nature, and we have been brought into a new life founded upon the Law and precepts of the Lord. Through baptism we have shared in the death of our Lord Jesus, cast away all of the impurities of our old selves, and then share in the resurrection of our Lord, reborn anew in a body of grace and filled with the light of God.

But one thing we cannot forget is that, while we all have been saved and made whole, there are many others who are still left behind in the darkness, and many of them do not know the way to go in order to reach the Lord their God. Thus they remain lost in the darkness, condemned and forsaken. Many remained lost and many have not yet heard the Good News of our Lord and His truth. Many remains unloved and uncared for, even rejected by the society for their sins.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John Baptist de la Salle, a French priest who lived a few hundred years ago, who was the founder of the order of the Brothers of Christian Schools, missionaries and people dedicated to the service of God and His people, especially in the field of Catholic education, educating countless masses and people throughout the world.

St. John Baptist de la Salle was from a privileged background and had a wonderful career as a priest and canon of the Cathedral of Rheims, a well-respected position and assured career, but he heard a higher call and decided that there was still so many things he could do in order to help all those people who were poor, lowest and least in the society, many of whom have not been saved due to their sins and wickedness.

And by what he had started then, many people and many souls had been saved from the brink of disaster, rescued from the darkness and brought into the light. We too should follow in his footsteps and realise how much we can do in order to change the fate of so many others around us. We cannot be apathetic to their cause, for we are all brethren in the same Lord.

And did the Lord Jesus not command His disciples to spread the Good News of salvation to all of the world? Yes, this He did, and it is therefore, our duty and obligation, for us to preach the Good News of God and carry it far and wide. Thus, let us make this Easter more meaningful by using it to deepen our faith and devotion, through real action in bringing the Good News of God to those who have yet heard it, so that they too may be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 April 2015 : Tuesday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 11-18

At that time, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside. She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet.

They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answered, “Because they have taken my Lord and I do not know where they have put Him.” As she said this, ahe turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognise Him. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”

She thought it was the gardener and answered Him, “Lord, if You have taken Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will go and remove Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned, and said to Him, “Rabboni!” – which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them : ‘I am ascending to My Father, who is your Father, to My God, who is your God.'”

So Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and this is what He said to me.”

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Tuesday, 7 April 2015 : Tuesday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 32 : 4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

But the Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him, upon those who trust in His loving kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them from famine.

In hope we wait for the Lord, for He is our help and our shield. O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.

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Tuesday, 7 April 2015 : Tuesday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 36-41

Peter said, “Let Israel then know for sure that God has made Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified.”

When they heard this, they were deeply troubled. And they asked Peter and the other Apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?” Peter answered, “Each of you must repent and be baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise of God was made to you and your children, and to all those from afar whom our God may call.”

With many other words Peter gave the message and appealed to them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who accepted his word were baptised; some three thousand persons were added to their number that day.

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Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the Lord Jesus healing the sick, the possessed and the suffering ones, from whom He cast out the demons. Yes, even demons had to obey that Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is not just merely a Man, but also the Lord and Master of all creations. Satan was also once counted among His angels, and so did the other evil spirits, who were cast down from heaven for their rebellion against God.

He had come into the world to set everything straight and to take all things into His own hands, the Lord of all creations and all existences. He came to reclaim us from the clutches of Satan and to free us from the chains of sin and death. Thus, He came through Jesus, who became Man for our sake, and for our sake He laboured and toiled, resisting and fighting the forces of evil wherever He went during His ministry in this world.

And that was exactly what led to His works in this world, His casting out of demons and healing of the sick, so that He might make full again a people who had been torn apart by the darkness of the world, and bring them to the salvation which He had brought into the world. He came to save sinners and rescue those who are lost, the ones who could not find their way, blinded by sin and darkness.

Thus is the love which God has for us all mankind, so great that He was willing to humble Himself to come down to dwell among us as a simple Man, and to suffer for us, bearing all of our sins and the sufferings for those sins, that we may be liberated and brought free, released from the bonds and shackles which Satan has imposed on us, that is sin, the wickedness within our body, heart and soul, the disease of the soul that separated us from our loving God.

Many of us think that we are perfectly healthy, capable of doing many things we want in life, and many of us think of ourselves as unassailable and invincible, and great as well, because of our achievements and many other things. However, do we realise that all of us are truly afflicted with the sickness of sin? All of us without exception, all of mankind save for Christ alone are subjected to sin and corrupted by it in one way or another.

That is why our Lord who loves us, desires that we be brought to Him and be healed from the affliction of sin. He offered nothing else more precious and greater than Himself, as the Lamb of Sacrifice, offered on the Altar of Calvary, shedding His own Blood and offering it with His Body as a pleasing sacrifice to God, so that by that act of ultimate love and sacrifice, He purchased us and freed us from the slavery and bondage under Satan, and paid for our sinfulness in full.

And that is what Satan fears very much, his ultimate and greatest defeat, when mankind was snatched from his grasp and he knew of his ultimate defeat at the hands of the triumphant Lord. Even the devil knows that he has to submit and acknowledge his defeat before the Lord no matter how much he refused to do so and no matter how reluctant he was.

Therefore, today, as we continue to live our lives faithfully, we have to realise that our hope lies only in the Lord, for it is only He who is the source of salvation and life that can deliver us from the hands of the evil one and his allies. We cannot triumph and succeed on our own, but with the Lord on our side, nothing is impossible. Let us all ask the Lord to come to us and heal us from our afflictions of sin, and remove from us this corruption from our souls, minds, bodies and hearts.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers, one of the greatest and most influential early Church father, whose works and teachings still profoundly affect many of the faithful and the Church of God even until today. St. Hilary of Poitiers was born a Roman pagan, but after studying the Scriptures thoroughly, he became convinced of the salvation which only our Lord God can offer, and he and his family converted to the true Faith.

At that time, many of the faithful came under the sway of the lies of the devil, and by the devil’s machinations, many were lost in the heresy as espoused and preached by Arius, now known as the Arian heresy. Arianism swept like wildfire across Christendom and caught many countless souls among its victims. Many went into hellfire and condemnation because they were swayed and tempted by the lies of the devil.

St. Hilary of Poitiers worked hard to reverse all that and saved as many souls as he could from the clutches of the devil. He succeeded in converting many but his path was not easy. It is often that those who have been ensnared in the lies of the devil and who had power, used that power to persecute the faithful ones, including St. Hilary of Poitiers. But St. Hilary never gave up and until the end of his life he continued to minister to the people of God and call them to repent from their sins. This is indeed an example we all should follow in our own lives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all the children of God and the members of His Church commit ourselves anew to reject Satan and all of his false promises and lies. With the intercession and the help of St. Hilary of Poitiers, let us cast aside his sweet words and falsehoods and instead put our complete trust and faith in God alone. Yes, we ought to put our trust in He who had given His all for our sake so that we may be healed and freed from sin. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-first-reading/

 

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-gospel-reading/

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Tuesday, 13 January 2015 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Mark 1 : 21b-28

At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority and not like the teachers of the Law.

It happened that a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are : You are the Holy One of God.” Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!”

The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!” And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/12/tuesday-13-january-2015-1st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-hilary-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/