holiness

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Saturday, 20 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Laurent Imbert, Bishop and Martyr; St. Jacques Chastan, Priest and Martyr; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Corinthians 15 : 35-37, 42-49

Some of you will ask : How will the dead be raised? With what kind of body will they come? You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body of the future plant but a bare grain of wheat or any other seed.

It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die. It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for Glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be with power. When buried it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body.

For there shall be a spiritual body as there is at present a living body. Scripture says that Adam, the first man, became a living being; but the last Adam has become a life-giving Spirit.

The Spirit does not appear first, but natural life, and afterwards comes the Spirit. The first man comes from the earth and is earthly, while the second One comes from heaven. As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the earthly people. As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly. This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One.

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Friday, 19 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about the followers of Jesus, and in particular, the women who followed Jesus through His ministry, some of them, who were once sinners such as Mary Magdalene, healed from her affliction of seven demons, and the wife of Herod’s steward. There were of course other women that also accompanied Jesus which were not included in what we heard today in the Gospel.

Then in the first reading today, in the letter which St. Paul wrote to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, in which he highlighted the belief in the resurrection of Jesus and why those who believe in it will not be disappointed, but will indeed receive their rich rewards at the end, when the Lord comes again in glory to save His people and bring them into the eternal glory of heaven.

Our Lord had shown us the way to escape the trap and the dangers of death, through His own glorious resurrection from the dead. He who had given up His life through suffering, bearing the weight of our sins and our original sins, had opened up a new hope and a new path for us by His rising from the dead. If Christ had indeed remained dead as other men do, then there is no hope for us. But as the facts showed it, that Christ is truly risen, and the proof is none other than in the Church.

For our Church and our faith was founded on Christ Himself, and on the truth of His resurrection from the dead, such that He had triumphed against death and evil forevermore. And upon this solid foundation the Church had remained strong even against numerous assaults and attacks the evil one had marshalled against it through the world.

The holy women who followed Jesus had forsaken their old lives of sin, and they embraced the faith in Jesus, that they placed their trust in the Saviour of all. They followed Him as they knew that He is the One who would save them from their fate that was death and brought them into a new life in God. And that was what Jesus exactly had done unto them, as He brought them from the depths of their sins into new life filled with the joy and love of Christ.

And those who placed their trust in Jesus will not be disappointed indeed, for He had promised all His faithful ones, that He will raise all of us up on the last day, when He will judge us among the righteous ones and receive our due reward. God never disappoints, brethren, because it is in fact we are the ones who always disappoint our Lord, through our rebelliousness and disobedience, and through our unwillingness to listen to Him.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Januarius, a bishop and martyr of the faith, whose life and examples would truly inspire us to put our trust in the Lord and believe in Him totally and completely without any doubt. St. Januarius, also known as San Gennaro, was the Bishop of the Diocese of Naples, which covers the modern day city of Naples, and the famous devotion to his miraculous event takes place there every year.

At the Cathedral of Naples, there exists a holy relic of St. Januarius, which consists of a vial filled with his blood, which has congealed and hardened throughout the long time since his death over seventeen centuries ago. This vial of blood liquefies exactly at every celebration of the saint’s feast day, that is this day, the nineteenth day of September.

St. Januarius himself lived during the late era Roman Empire, at the time when being a faithful is difficult, as challenges and persecutions against them were rampant. Nevertheless, St. Januarius continued to faithfully serve His beloved people, and guided them as their shepherd on their way towards their loving Lord and God. He lived on through the worst years of what is to be known as the Diocletian persecutions, after the Emperor who had persecuted the people of God at that time.

St. Januarius continued to minister to the people of God, even those who had been imprisoned, despite the obvious dangers to himself. He did them out of his great love for God and for His sheep, who had been entrusted to his care as the Bishop. He was indeed eventually captured and imprisoned, and then martyred for his faith. Indeed, though, the Lord never abandons those who are faithful to Him, as He granted this holy and devoted man a place in heaven, and miracles abounded after his death through his holy relics.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Januarius remind us to keep our faith strongly in the Lord and make sure that we practice them in our lives, despite whatever the world is plotting against us. St. Januarius showed us that as the faithful ones of God, we should be courageous in proclaiming our faith in the Lord Jesus, the One and True God, who had died for us and through whose resurrection He had made us whole once again.

May Almighty God therefore continue to bless us this day, and strengthen our faith, so that we may walk in the footsteps of St. Januarius and the other holy saints, in following Jesus our Lord and Saviour, bringing the Good News of salvation to many, so that they too can be saved and together, with all the saints and angels of heaven, praise our Lord together as one people, and one Church. Amen.

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Friday, 19 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 8 : 1-3

Jesus walked through towns and countryside, preaching and giving the Good News of the kingdom of God. The Twelve followed Him, and also some women, who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases : Mary called Magdalene, who had been freed of seven demons; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Suzanna, and others who provided for them out of their own funds.

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Friday, 19 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 16 : 1, 6-7, 8b and 15

Hear a just cause, o Lord, listen to my complaint. Give heed to my prayer for there is no deceit on my lips.

I call on You, You will answer me, o God; incline Your ear and hear my word. For You do wonders for Your faithful, You save those fleeing from the enemy as they seek refuge at Your right hand.

Under the shadow of Your wings hide me. As for me, righteous in Your sight, I shall see Your face and, awakening, gaze my fill on Your likeness.

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Friday, 19 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

1 Corinthians 15 : 12-20

Well, then, if Christ is preached as risen from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is empty and our belief comes to nothing. And we become false witnesses of God, attesting that He raised Christ, whereas He could not raise Him if indeed the dead are not raised.

If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin. Also those who fall asleep in Christ are lost. If it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and He comes before all those who have fallen asleep.

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Thursday, 18 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the First Reading that is the letter written by St. Paul to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, which places the emphasis on the truth and nature about Christ our Lord, who has died and then risen from the dead, in the glory of His resurrection, so that all who believed in His resurrection from the dead will also therefore partake in His divine glory.

Then in the Gospel today, we heard how Jesus encountered both a Pharisee and a sinful woman, likely a prostitute, who met together in a visit of Jesus to the house of the Pharisee. We are then shown what happened in that encounter, when the sinful woman tearfully served the Lord with a jar of perfume, anointing His feet and washing it clean with her tears, while the Pharisee looked upon the action in disgust.

In this we can see clearly the nature of God, that is love and mercy, which He extended to all of His beloved ones, especially to those who are still living in the darkness away from His saving light and grace. Jesus made it clear to the Pharisee, that the Lord never wants to condemn the sinners and those who have erred in their ways. Rather, He wants to call these back into His embrace and love.

When someone like the Pharisee began to put so much emphasis on criticism and condemnation of others rather than on love and mercy, then it will cause them to lose sight on the true focus of our faith. Our faith must be based on love and mercy, and also hope, not just for ourselves but also for those who are around us. We cannot separate them from each other, but they are intertwined closely.

Therefore, we should not follow the example of the Pharisee who was quick to judge upon others, and who condemned and made assumptions on others based merely only on what he saw and thought of others and also of himself. He thought of himself and his fellow Pharisees as the righteous ones, but yet they did not believe in Jesus, and even were brutally opposed to Him, while the woman, a sinful woman, realised the truth in Jesus and did all she can to serve Him and she did all she can to beg for mercy from the Lord.

The Pharisee acted all high and mighty as if he was already saved and guaranteed eternal life in the Lord. However, in fact, as Jesus mentioned, due to his actions and prejudice against others, he was in fact negligent in his faith, and his reward would be little while his punishment great. Meanwhile, the repentant woman would receive great reward for her humility and love for God, and she would be lifted up, for she believed that Christ is the Lord, just as the Apostles have believed it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the key message of this day’s Scripture readings is that we must always seek the Lord in our lives, and love Him with all our hearts. We cannot act as if we deserve salvation just because we consider ourselves righteous, and we cannot act like the Pharisee, who condemned others who he thought as not being as pious as himself.

Let us all come together to a greater realisation that we all need to grow deeper in faith in the Lord, so that we may come closer to His throne of mercy, seeking Him with all of our hearts just like the sinful woman, who in her great sincerity and humility, desired to be reunited with Jesus the Lord and be forgiven from her great sins. Let us all come to greater realisation that we are sinners, and it is through the love and mercy of God that we are made whole once again and be forgiven from our sins.

May Almighty God strengthen us and give us new hope through His own Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who died for us out of His great love, so that all who believe in Him may not die, but live eternal in the grace of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 7 : 36-50

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to share His meal, so He went to the Pharisee’s home, and as usual reclined at the table to eat. And it happened that a woman of this town who was known as a sinner, heard that He was in the Pharisee’s house.

She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and stood behind Him, at His feet, weeping. She wet His feet with tears, she dried them with her hair, she kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.

The Pharisee who had invited Jesus was watching, and thought, “If this Man were a Prophet, He would know what sort of person is touching Him; Is this woman not a sinner?”

Then Jesus spoke to the Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to ask you.” He answered, “Speak, Master.” And Jesus said, “Two people were in debt to the same creditor. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. As they were unable to pay him back, he graciously cancelled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, who was forgiven more.” And Jesus said, “You are right.” And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? You gave Me no water for My feet when I entered your house, but she has washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.”

“You did not welcome Me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing My feet since she came in. You provided no oil for My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. This is why, I tell you, her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because of her great love. But the one who is forgiven little, has little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others reclining with Him at the table began to wonder, “Now this Man claims to forgive sins!” But Jesus again spoke to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

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Thursday, 18 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 117 : 1-2, 16ab-17, 28

Alleluia! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

The right hand of the Lord is lifted high, the right hand of the Lord strikes mightily! I shall not die, but live to proclaim what the Lord has done.

You are my God, and I give You thanks. You are my God, and I give You praise.

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Thursday, 18 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-11

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received : that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.

For I am the last of the Apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how the world ridiculed and doubted Christ, our Lord and Saviour, having their own set of prejudices and judgments that they applied to the actions of Jesus Christ and His disciples, as we obviously can see throughout the Gospels, where the world, represented by the Pharisees and the elders of Israel, who were always opposed to the actions of our Lord.

And in the first reading today, in the letter written by St. Paul to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, St. Paul reminded the people of the three greatest virtues and fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is faith, hope and love, and that the people of God should uphold all these values in their lives and stick closely to the precepts of the Lord, abandoning all pretexts of falsehoods and evil in their hearts.

We often lack sight of what is truly important in our lives. We are often distracted by many things in our lives, to the point that we end up focusing on the things that are less important and in fact which may disrupt and distract our attention from the true treasures of our lives. These treasures are indeed faith, hope and love as mentioned, which are the greatest gifts from God to mankind.

It was mentioned by St. Paul that acts without love, faith without love, acts without faith and hope are meaningless, as shown through the example of even the possessions of the gifts and talents of the Holy Spirit are meaningless without love, and without the other virtues mentioned. This means, whatever other talents and abilities we have, if we do not use them in tandem with the virtues we ought to have, then our actions do not bring justification and benefit for ourselves.

Compare this to the popular practice in many ‘evangelical’ and ‘charismatic’ movements and ‘churches’ around the world, of which not few are in fact within our own Church, that is the practice of speaking in tongues, as if the whole congregation is suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit as per the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles.

The conduct of such activity is meaningless, although many in the world today are in awe of such an occurrence. I would say that, when they do such actions, what is first in their mind is not God or His praise, but rather themselves, as they glorified themselves by doing so, and they revel in the satisfaction of such action. But without faith and love, those actions and others are truly empty and nothing before God.

And also for the heretics who believed and indeed still believe today, that salvation can be achieved through faith alone, and that the faith constitutes what had been written in the Bible and the Scriptures alone are wrong. They failed to realise that first, faith alone is insufficient to attain salvation for our souls. Faith is nothing without hope and without love, and so neither is hope anything without faith and love, and lastly, love without hope and faith is also meaningless.

We ought to have all these three virtues working together in tandem within us, that our actions may be truly blessed and be gracious, and we ourselves justified in the eyes of the Lord. We cannot separate the three virtues of faith, hope and love without making each of them meaningless and useless, and in fact may even bring harm to ourselves and others around us.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why mankind even have so much trouble so that St. Paul had to remind even the faithful through his letter? That is because, mankind are bound and prone to their own self-glorification and self-praise, and this is also the reason for the various doubts that the people of God, and the various standards they employed against the prophets and the Lord Himself as we heard in the Gospel today.

Mankind are very difficult to please and satisfy, and even after their needs and wants have been satisfied, it is very common for us to demand even more and want even more. That is why, as Jesus mentioned, that mankind are never satisfied and they will always complained against whatever is around them, just as they had complained against Jesus our Lord Himself.

Thus, all of us should and indeed must anchor ourselves on the three great virtues of the Lord, that is faith, hope and love, which seeds have been placed in our hearts and our souls. But as mentioned, that these are just seeds. If we do nothing to cultivate the faith, hope and love in us, then we are nothing more than just an empty shell, even with all of our talents and virtues.

Why faith? That is because faith is what anchored us in the Lord, in His laws and precepts. We have faith because we believe in the Lord, and we adhere closely to Him and His ways, so that we can live according to His will, and from there gain righteousness and justification. But faith without hope and without love is meaningless, as it means a selfish faith, that is nonsense. Our faith must be complemented by care for our brethren, both through our genuine concern and love for them, practicing what we have been taught by the Lord, and also through our efforts at evangelisation to them.

And why hope? That is because hope is what keeps us going even amidst despair and darkness. And hope itself is intertwined with faith, as faith without hope is also nonsense. We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who has died for us on the cross and who has risen from the dead in glory, and through that resurrection, He brought us new hope in Himself, that is a hope of liberation from sin and the promise of eternal life. This is an integral part of our faith, and it cannot be said that we have faith if we do not believe in this hope.

And lastly, why love? That is because love is the most important of all these virtues, and ultimately is the one that makes all things good and possible. Love allows us to care for one another, and also for us to seek our God who had first shown us the example of what love truly is. Love helps us to have that focus and application for the faith and hope within us. We believe in the Lord, who is love Himself, and through whose love He had brought us to Himself. And then through hope, we have hope in Christ and His love, that He is willing to save us from death and grant us a new, eternal life.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, whose life and works clearly indicated the adherence to this teaching of Christ, in having his life and works founded on strong foundation of faith, of hope and of love. St. Robert Bellarmine was a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and one of the pillars of the defense of the Church through his active role and participation in the application of the decrees of the Ecumenical Council of Trent, in what is known as the Counter-Reformation, in the efforts against the Protestant heresy.

St. Robert Bellarmine was an intelligent and devout follower and servant of Christ, who dedicated his life in a faithful and loving service of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Robert Bellarmine wrote numerous writings and other works on the matter of the faith, and he was renowned for his great works in the defense of the true faith, condemning falsehoods and heresies and reestablished many aspects of the faith in the Church through his various works.

He rose quickly through the Church hierarchy, and eventually was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Nevertheless, he remained humble and devoted to his works, if not even more devoted and zealous in delivering the salvation of God to countless souls. Through his dedication, works and even through the power of his mind and pen, he had brought many of the faithful to be reawakened to the true faith in them, one that is not tainted by human pride and emotions as that of the heretics, and one that is lived out well through loving acts and filled with hope in the Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, following the examples of St. Robert Bellarmine and many other holy saints, today let us all reflect on these words of the Scriptures and the Holy Gospels, that we may grow stronger in our faith, grow deeper in our hope, and grow more gentle and dedicated in our love. Let us all dedicate ourselves more to the works of charity in our world and society. That we may indeed live out our faith, that our faith will not be just merely imaginary and a formality, but a real and living faith for the benefit of ourselves and all those around us. God bless us all. Amen.