holy bishops

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Thursday, 7 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a

Alleluia! Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. It is better to take refuge in YHVH than to trust in the help of humans. It is better to take refuge in YHVH than to trust in the might of princes.

Open to me the gates of the Just, and let me enter to give thanks. This is YHVH’s gate, through which the upright enter. I thank You for having answered me, for having rescued me.

Save us, o YHVH, deliver us, o YHVH! Blessed is He Who comes in YHVH’s Name! We praise You from the house of YHVH. YHVH is God; may His light shine upon us.

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Thursday, 7 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 26 : 1-6

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah : We have a strong city, He Himself has set up walls and fortifications to protect us. Open the gates! Let the righteous nation enter, she who is firm in faithfulness. You keep in perfect place the one of steadfast mind, the one who trusts in You.

Trust in YHVH forever, for YHVH is an everlasting Rock. He brought down those who dwell on high, He laid low the lofty city, He razed it to the ground, levelled it to the dust. Now it is trampled, the poor and the lowly tread upon it.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the readings of the Holy Scriptures telling us all about the love which the Lord, Our God, has shown us all His people, and the coming of the time when He will bring us into an eternity of joy and grace, no more sorrows and tears, at the time of His own choosing. We believe that this time will come in the future just as He has promised us.

And we see God as a loving and caring God as He is, for He is Our Shepherd, Our Loving Father, Our Master and Creator. God did not create us mankind for no reason or purpose, or just for fun. God created each and every one of us in His image, because He loves us, and He wants to share the love that is in Him, for He is love, with all of us.

God has no need for our love in the first place, because He is already perfect in love. In the Most Holy Trinity He has been united with perfect love, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet, He wants to love us, and thus He created us and the whole world. But unfortunately, we mankind chose to follow the devil’s advice and temptation instead, and fell into disobedience and therefore, sin.

Yet, He still loves each and every one of us without exception. Sin is an obstacle that had to be overcome before we can be reconciled with Him, for sin brings about death, and also separation from Him, Who is the Lord and Master of life. And that is why, as the Lord Himself made it clear in the famous verse from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, ‘God so loved the world that He sent us His Most Beloved Son, that all who believe in Him will not perish but enter into eternal life.’

Thus, it is why a centre tenet of our faith is that God Himself has come down upon us and dwelled with us, as He has prophesied through the prophet Isaiah, that a Son would be born of the Virgin, and His Name will be Emmanuel, or ‘God is with us’. Jesus Christ, Our Lord, is the fulfilment of that prophecy, the Son of God, the Divine Word Who is God, with God since time immemorial, incarnate through His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be the Son of Man.

And through Jesus, God showed His extraordinary love to us, His people, all of mankind. In the Gospel passage today, when the people who followed Jesus were hungry, four thousand men and many thousands more of women and children, He showed compassion and love for them, and wanted to feed them Himself. With seven loaves of bread and some fishes He blessed and multiplied, all the multitudes of them received food and were filled to satisfaction, with much excess to spare.

This, and another occasion of feeding of the five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fishes, and the many other miracles, healing wonders and all that the Lord had done among His people, showed His tender love and compassion for us, as our Shepherd, Who has been saddened by our waywardness, and in fact, He was angry also, at our stubbornness and refusal to believe in Him, as what He showed to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who persistently opposed Him and His works.

God wants us to be reconciled with Him so much, and He desires to love us so much to the point that, as we know, He was willing to lay down His life for us. He Himself said, that there is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for his friends, and that was exactly what the Lord Jesus had done. He accepted death willingly, death on the cross, to suffer torture, whips and lashes, the heavy burden of the cross, bearing all of our sins, and die on that cross, so that all of us may be saved through Him and in Him.

And this, brothers and sisters in Christ, is why we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the birthday of Our Lord Jesus, but it will have no greater meaning should it not be linked to the very reason why Christmas existed in the first place. Why did God choose to be born as a Man? No other gods in other pantheons and traditions, false as they are, chose to humble themselves in this manner. No, only God, the Lord and Master of the universe, Our God, chose to do so. And that is because of His pure love for each one of us as I mentioned.

But sadly, as we have been discussing in the past few days of Advent, in our celebrations and preparations for the celebrations of Christmas, God Himself has often been forgotten and put aside, replaced by the commercial and worldly ways of Christmas celebrations and revelries. We all know of the dramatic commercialisation, materialism and secularism that surround much of our Christmas celebrations today, throughout the world.

That said, there are of course still places where we can see the true meaning of Christmas being celebrated, as there are still those who truly place Christ at the centre of their Christmas celebrations. Yet, the temptations can be truly great for us to conform with the ways of the world, and all the excesses of partying and celebrations, the desires for Christmas gifts, joys and pleasures, forgetting about Christ, the true focus of our celebrations.

Take for example, the extensive commercialisation of the figure now known as identical and symbolic of our modern day Christmas celebrations, namely Santa Claus, whose origins in fact came about from the saint of the Church whose feast day we celebrate today. We always remember Santa Claus as the old man with big belly and dressed in red and white thick sweater, with a matching pointy hat, and a thick white moustache and beard, which is now ubiquitous throughout the world and immediately identifiable with Christmas.

And we see Santa Claus as a figure who delivers presents and gifts for people, especially children, riding on a magical carriage pulled by flying reindeers through the sky, entering through the chimneys of houses to put the gifts discreetly through the fireplaces. But do we all know, that Santa Claus is a horrible misrepresentation of a real person, and one who is a faithful and zealous defender of the faith, St. Nicholas (San Nicolaus – the origin of the name of Santa Claus) of Myra?

St. Nicholas of Myra was a bishop of the church in Myra, in what is now modern day Asian portion of Turkey, and he was known to be a loving and devout old man, always caring for his flock, and also known for his gifts to young children, through which the tradition of Santa Claus eventually came about through folklore and traditions twisted to suit what the world needs. But they choose what they want to see and believe, and not representing wholly who St. Nicholas of Myra truly was.

First and foremost, St. Nicholas of Myra is a staunch defender of the faith, who is a contemporary of the famous heretic, Arius. Arius was a very popular and charismatic preacher, who preached the heresy of Arianism, named after him, which basically stated the belief that Jesus Christ Our Lord, is not equal to God the Father, but was begotten and created by God. He denied the equality between each members of the Holy Trinity, a clear breach and break from the true teachings of the Church.

And unfortunately, many people were swayed to the teachings of Arius, and even quite a few priests and bishops as well. So much so that the heresy of Arianism lasted quite a few hundred years before it was finally defeated completely. And at the time of the inception of this heresy, the Church wanted to settle this issue once and for all, at the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, where the bishops of the Church, including St. Nicholas of Myra gathered to discuss about the many matters of the faith, including the teachings of Arius.

It was told that, when Arius spoke about his teachings and defended his ideas before the Ecumenical Council, St. Nicholas of Myra was so inflamed with zeal and righteous anger, that he went forward and punched the heretic Arius in the face for his blasphemy and false teachings of the faith, which had subverted and caused the loss of so many of the souls of the faithful.

Through what we have seen in the examples of St. Nicholas of Myra, we can see the real Santa Claus, and who he should have been, not the false image projected by the world as ‘Father Christmas’, engineered to further the materialistic attitude and distractions to keep us from finding the true focus and purpose of our Christmas joy and celebrations, that is Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Following in the footsteps of St. Nicholas of Myra, all of us as Christians should rediscover the purpose of our rejoicing and celebration this Christmas and from now on. We should indeed be happy and rejoice, together with our families and friends, but shall we now rejoice with the right purpose and intention, that is to remember just how much God has loved us, that He was willing to give us His only beloved Son, to be our Saviour and Redeemer?

Let us go through this season of Advent with a renewed faith and zeal, and prepare ourselves wholeheartedly, in our hearts, minds, souls, bodies, and indeed our whole beings, that we may appreciate much better from now on, the significance of Christmas to our salvation. For it was at Christmas, that God, Who had willingly made Himself to be like one of us, entered the world, and then later on, offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice on Calvary, on the cross, that through His loving sacrifice, all of us are saved through Him.

May the Lord bless each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us to live in accordance with His ways, so that in everything we do, we may always strive to bring glory to God and His Name. And may He also bless our Advent season, that for each one of us, this time will be fruitful and meaningful, for us to prepare ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually, to have a very wonderful and blessed Christmas in a few weeks time. St. Nicholas of Myra, the true Santa Claus, pray for all of us. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Matthew 15 : 29-37

At that time, from the place where Jesus healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, He went to the shore of Lake Galilee, and then went up into hills, where He sat down. Great crowds came to Him, bringing the dumb, the blind, the lame, the crippled, and many with other infirmities. People carried them to the feet of Jesus, and He healed them.

All were astonished when they saw the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the crippled healed, and the blind able to see; and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I am filled with compassion for these people; they have already followed Me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they may faint on the way.”

His disciples said to Him, “And where shall we find enough bread in this wilderness to feed such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Jesus ordered the people to sit on the ground. Then, He took the seven loaves and the small fish, and gave thanks to God. He broke them and gave them to His disciples, who distributed them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover pieces filled seven wicker baskets.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Wednesday, 6 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Isaiah 25 : 6-10a

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more. The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken.

On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For on this mountain the hand of YHVH rests.

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Thursday, 23 November 2017 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continued with the discourse of the Maccabees rebellion in our first reading today, this time, we heard of how the representatives of the Greek Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to Modein, where the Maccabees family resided, and we heard how the family patriarch, Mattathias, firmly stood his ground and refused to obey the commands of the king, for them to abandon their faith in God and give sacrifices to the Greek gods.

As I mentioned in the previous days, the Jewish people were persecuted and were in a great danger because of their faith, which the Greek king wanted to eradicate, and it resulted in many sorrowful cases of those who were martyred, including yesterday’s story of a mother and her seven sons who refused to listen to the king’s commands and persuasions, and they were martyred one by one.

They would rather suffer for a while and then be worthy of God’s everlasting glory, rather than submitting to the king and enjoying a merely temporary respite of false happiness. That was why they resisted the pressure and the temptations to abandon their faith. All of those things however were not easily done. There were many during the time of the Maccabees who apostasised and abandoned their faith, in exchange of worldly safety and pleasures.

In the Gospel today, we heard about the lamentation that the Lord Jesus made about the city of Jerusalem, because He predicted what would happen to that city under the Roman rule just a few decades after Our Lord’s crucifixion. The city of Jerusalem would be destroyed in the year 70 A.D., by the Roman legions who were sent there to put down rebellion by Jewish zealots and hardliners who rose up against the Romans. The Temple of Jerusalem and the entire city were ransacked and toppled.

All of these, ultimately came about because those people believed not in the power of God, but in their own power, and trusted in worldly matters more than their faith in God. If many of the Jews at the time of the Maccabees surrendered to temptation and abandoned their faith in God, then during the time of Jesus, as Our Lord Himself mentioned, the people refused to believe in Him or listen to Him, and they rejected Him.

What is the lesson that all of us should take note of today? It is that we should expect if we remain faithful to the Lord and are active in living our faith as we should be, we may encounter difficulties and challenges from those who do not agree with our faith, just as what happened in the Scripture passages that we heard today.

Now we have to ask ourselves the question, are we willing to suffer and be persecuted for the sake of Our Lord, that for temporary suffering and pain, and yet, because of our faith, we merit the eternal glory and happiness with God? Or do we rather seek temporary respite and happiness, because we are accepted by the world through our rejection and abandonment of our faith?

Today, we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Clement I, one of the first Popes of the Church, as the successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the Bishop of Rome and therefore, as the most preeminent bishop and leader of the entire Church. Pope St. Clement I lived and reigned as Pope just a few decades after the crucifixion and resurrection of Our Lord. He was known to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers, whose writings were highly significant for our faith even though they were not included in the Bible.

Pope St. Clement I wrote extensively and several of his letters and works survived until this very day. He was a very important leader of the early Church, guiding it through the difficult years that alternate between toleration of the Christian faith by the Roman authorities and persecution by the same authorities. He helped to guide the Church through those difficult times, and remained firmly anchored in his faith.

To this very end, he persevered in faith, and remained resolute in standing up to the truth, even amidst difficult times. He of course had the choice to abandon his hard work and enjoy respite from the world, all the persecutions he had to face. Yet, he chose to be with God. This is an example which all of us as Christians should also follow as well. Let us all renew our faith and our commitment to God, in all the things we do.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He bless all of our endeavours. And may all of us draw ever closer to Him, that we will always endure whatever persecution and difficulty that we may encounter on our way to Him. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 November 2017 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Luke 19 : 41-44

At that time, when Jesus had come in sight of the city, He wept over it, and said, “If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side.”

“And they will dash you to the ground and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognise the time and the visitation of your God.”

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Thursday, 23 November 2017 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Psalm 49 : 1-2, 5-6, 14-15

The God of gods, YHVH has spoken; He summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. God has shone from Zion, perfect in beauty.

Gather before Me, My faithful ones, who made a Covenant with Me by sacrifice. The heavens will proclaim His sentence, for God Himself is the Judge.

Yet, offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfil your vows to the Most High. Call on Me in time of calamity; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.

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Thursday, 23 November 2017 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

1 Maccabees 2 : 15-29

In the meantime, the king’s representatives, who were forcing the Jews to give up their religion came to Modein to organise a sacred gathering. While many Israelites went to them, Mattathias and his sons drew apart.

The representatives of the king addressed Mattathias, and said to him : “You are one of the leaders of this city, an important and well-known man, and your many children and relatives follow you. Come now, and be the first to fulfil the king’s order, as the men of Judah have already done, and the survivors in Jerusalem as well. You and your sons will be named friends of the king and the king will send you gold, silver and many other gifts.”

But Mattathias answered in a loud voice : “Even if all the nations included in the kingdom should abandon the religion of their ancestors and submit to the order of king Antiochus, I, my sons and my family will remain faithful to the Covenant of our ancestors. May God preserve us from abandoning the Law and its precepts. We will not obey the orders of the king nor turn aside from our religion either to the right or to the left.”

When he finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward, in the sight of everyone, to offer incense on the altar that was built in Modein, according to the king’s decree. When Mattathias saw him, he was fired with zeal. His heart was stirred; and giving vent to his righteous anger, he threw himself on the Jew and cut the man’s throat on the altar. At the same time, he killed the king’s representative who was forcing the people to offer sacrifice; and then tore down the altar. In doing this, he showed his zeal for the Law, as Phinehas had done with Zimri, son of Salu.

Mattathias then began to proclaim loudly in the city : “Everyone who is zealous for the Law and supports the Covenant, come out and follow me!” Immediately, he and his sons fled to the mountains and left behind all they had in the city. Many Jews who looked for justice and wanted to be faithful to the Law went into the desert.