holy bishops

by

Tuesday, 24 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings tell us that as Christians, all of us must always be vigilant and be ready for the Lord, as He will indeed come again just as He has promised to us His faithful ones. And when He comes again, it will be at a time we least expect, and many of us will be caught unprepared.

And if we do not take heed of the Lord’s reminders, we may end up at the wrong side when the Lord judges all of creation. Do we want to be counted among those whom God will reject and condemn? If that happens to us, we will only have regret with us and by then it will be too late for us to change anything.

We have to realise that God has given us every opportunities available in each of our lives, giving us the chance to be righteous and do what is good in our lives. He has shown us the way forward, and yet, many of us have not followed in His footsteps. Instead, many of us continue to dwell in the darkness and refuse to come into the light, by doing what is sinful and wicked in God’s sight.

Sin is the great disease affecting all of us mankind, and sin is the fruit of disobedience against God. Ever since Adam and Eve, our ancestors had sinned by their disobedience against God and followed instead the devil’s words, sin had become a part of mankind’s history, corrupting all of us by its wicked nature.

But God Who loves each and every one of us did not want us to fall into damnation in hell, for the very simple reason that He loves us dearly. He created us for a single purpose, that He may love us and may share the perfect love He has in Him, that all of us may also be like Him in everything, and forever may enjoy the heavenly bliss of our God.

That is why He sent to us our Redeemer, in Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son, through Whom He gave us the only way out of our predicament. For without Christ, all would have perished because of their sins, and all would have fallen into the eternal damnation in hell. It was the loving sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus on the cross which had brought us a new hope, the hope of salvation and forgiveness for our many sins and trespasses.

As mentioned in the first reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, Christ has become the New Adam, as compared to the first and old Adam. By His perfect obedience He has shown us how each and every one of us should act in our lives, fully attuned and in full obedience to God’s will, just as Jesus was obedient to His Father, even unto accepting death on the cross.

While from the old Adam we have been corrupted by sin, from the New Adam, that is Christ, we have received the hope of eternal life. As such, if we want to have a way forward in this life, we must reach out to the Lord and seek His salvation. And how do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by turning ourselves from the path of sin towards the path of God, by obeying Him and following His examples in our own lives.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the Claretians also known as the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a religious order of people devoted to God, following the vision of their founder, who was a great preacher and priest, spending time preaching and teaching about the faith to the people of God. Many people followed him and listened to his preachings, and were converted.

He did not have it easy, as there were many who were not pleased at his works, and thus opposed him. Yet, St. Anthony Mary Claret did not let these to trouble him, and continued to work among the people of God, and even when he was appointed as Archbishop of Santiago in Cuba. In his new capacity, he expanded the missionary efforts as well as establishing numerous infrastructures such as seminaries for the proper education of priests, as well as hospitals and schools for the benefit of his flock.

By seeing the examples of St. Anthony Mary Claret, we see just how in many things all of us Christians can follow from the examples of this holy saint, both for our own good and for the sake of our brethren. We should turn away from sin, repent and change our ways, doing what God wants each one of us to do in our lives, and then help one another in our path towards God.

May the Lord help us and bless us in our journey, that we may be thoroughly converted to the cause of the Lord. May He empower and give us all the courage needed to say no to sin and to the temptations of the devil and the world. May all of us draw ever closer to Him and receive from Him the promise of eternal life. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 24 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Luke 12 : 35-38

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open the door to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes.”

“Truly, I tell you, he will put an apron, and have them sit at table, and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants, if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!”

by

Tuesday, 24 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 39 : 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this, You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o YHVH, I did not seal – You know that very well.

But may all those who seek You, rejoice, and be glad in You; and may all who love Your saving grace continually say, “YHVH is great.”

by

Tuesday, 24 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Romans 5 : 12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21

Therefore, sin entered the world through one man; and through sin, death; and later on, death spread to all humankind, because all sinned. All died, because of the fault of one man, but how much more does the grace of God spread, when the gift He granted, reaches all, from this unique Man, Jesus Christ.

If death reigned through the disobedience of one and only one person, how much more, will there be a reign of life, for those who receive the grace, and the gift of true righteousness, through the one Person, Jesus Christ. Just as one transgression brought sentence of death to all, so, too, one Man’s good act has brought justification and light to all; and, as the disobedience of only one, made all sinners, so the obedience of one Person, allowed all to be made just and holy.

But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, and, as sin caused death to reign, so grace will reign, in its own time, and, after making us just, and friends of God, will bring us to eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

by

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord Who rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their behaviour, in how they were so engrossed with the purity of the exterior and maintaining their appearances that they ended up forgetting the purpose of their faith. They focused on the exterior applications of the faith, and all the details that they forgot what it is that they need to do in their lives as followers of God.

In order to give us all some perspective and background on what happened, we must understand how the social class and group of the Pharisees came about. At that time, as the kings of of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were long gone, and ever since the Jewish people returned from their exile in Babylon, the most influential members of the community were the priests and all those who were devoted in maintaining the laws and customs of the Jews.

They preserved the laws and customs as passed down to them through the many generations of the Israelites ever since the days of Moses, when God first gave the Law to His people. But, as time passed, the laws and customs have lost its true meaning and purpose, as they became things of formality and intertwined with the many worldly concerns and regulations.

And the Pharisees were those who believed that the people of God must live strictly according to those laws, as in the earlier times, many of the people had abandoned the Law and lived immorally, as we can read in the Book of the Maccabees, detailing what happened approximately one hundred and fifty years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus, when many Jews followed the Greek customs and those who obeyed the Lord were persecuted.

While the intention was initially good, but in its implementation, the Pharisees lost the focus of their actions, and they ended up, by the time of Jesus, doing their activities, their prayers and public exposition of their faith, not for the greater glory of God, and neither for the good of the people, but rather, for their own self-aggrandisement and glory, and to be praised by the people for their piety.

Therefore, that was why the Lord was angry at them and rebuked them, because while outwardly they might appear to be good and faithful, yet, in their interior, in their hearts and minds, God did not have a place, for they were filled with pride, with desire and greed for fame, for worldly glory, and all the other things that God told us, we should not have with us.

Let us all reflect on our own lives and actions, and think if we have been truly faithful thus far. Have our faith been greater than that of the Pharisees? Not in terms of the outward expressions, but rather in the greater picture, in the entirety of our faith. If we do not have God at the centre of our lives, and do everything for the sake of God and not for our own self-benefit, or for our own glory, then no matter how much it is that we do, it is useless and meaningless.

Ultimately, all of our words, deeds and actions should be made for the greater glory of God, for the purpose of serving Him and His people. And in this manner, we should learn from the faith and commitment of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the holy saint and martyr whose feast we celebrate today. St. Ignatius of Antioch was the second bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Peter the Apostle who founded the diocese at Antioch, and was one of the important early Church fathers.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was crucial in his role of developing the early Church structures both in Antioch, within his diocese, as well as beyond. He led the people of God through difficult times, when being Christians equate suffering and challenges from the Roman state. He was arrested by the Roman authorities and was sent to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, where he was placed into the Colosseum, facing great beasts.

Yet, through all these suffering and the martyrdom at the hands of the lions and beasts, St. Ignatius of Antioch remained strong in his faith, and rather than surrendering himself and abandoning his faith to God, he remained true to the faith he held, and inspired many others to do the same, despite the persecutions and tortures he faced. God is always first and foremost in his heart and mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves anew to the Lord, following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Antioch and the other holy saints. May the Lord help us and guide us in our path, by sending His Spirit to empower us and to give us the courage, to remind us that He is truly the Centre of our lives, and that we should do our best to commit ourselves, through our actions, every single days of our lives, to the Lord, our loving God. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 11 : 37-41

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to have a meal with him. So He went and sat at table. The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not wash His hands before the dinner.

But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He Who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.”

by

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on, throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

by

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Romans 1 : 16-25

For I am not ashamed at all, of this Good News; it is God’s power, saving those who believe, first, the Jews, and then, the Greeks. This Good News shows us the saving justice of God; a justice that saves, exclusively by faith, as the Scripture says : The upright one shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness, and injustice, of those who have silenced the truth by their wicked ways. For everything that could have been known about God, was clear to them : God Himself made it plain. Because His invisible attributes – His everlasting power and divinity – are made visible to reason, by means of His works, since the creation of the world.

So they have no excuse, for they knew God, and did not glorify Him, as was fitting; nor did they give thanks to Him. On the contrary, they lost themselves in their reasoning, and darkness filled their minds. Believing themselves wise, they became foolish : they exchanged the glory of the Immortal God, for the likes of mortal human beings, birds, animals and reptiles. Because of this, God gave them up to their inner cravings; they did shameful things and dishonoured their bodies.

They exchanged God’s truth for a lie; they honoured and worshipped created things, instead of the Creator, to Whom be praise forever. Amen!

by

Saturday, 14 October 2017 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callixtus I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are given the messages of encouragement through the Scriptures, that as the followers and disciples of Christ, all of us will not be forgotten or be abandoned, but instead will receive the fullness of the fruits of everlasting joy and grace that will be the lot of those who have kept their faith in God.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, we heard the words of God through His prophet giving strength and encouragement to the people of the kingdom of Judah, as it was possible that the prophet lived during the time of the exile, when the people of God were exiled from their homeland in distant Babylonia after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

At that time, it was a time of great humiliation, as the people of God had to endure scorn and shame as a conquered people, having their kingdom, their city and the holy Temple destroyed by the Babylonians under king Nebuchadnezzar. God had allowed their enemies to have power over them because the people of God had not been faithful, and they had been wayward in their lives, worshipping pagan idols and performing all sorts of acts that are wicked in the sight of God.

Therefore, God spoke through the prophet Joel, giving encouragement to His downtrodden and demoralised people, that if they would turn back to Him and to abandon their sinful ways, showing genuine regret and sorrow over their mistakes, then He would succour them and protect them, and He would bless them once again, He would be their God and they would be His people.

God is always faithful to His promises, to the Covenant which He had established with each and every one of us. To that extent, He gave us His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Mediator of the New Covenant, which He sealed by His sacrifice on the cross, through the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood and the offering of His own Most Precious Body as the perfect sacrifice for our reconciliation and as the atonement for our sins.

Yet, many of us failed to recognise this love which God has for us, and we ignored the care and love He has shown for us. We chose to walk on our own path, and disobeyed His laws and commandments, just as much as how the Israelites of the past had done. They had abandoned God and sinned before Him, and therefore, because of their sins and refusal to repent, they have been rejected and condemned.

In the Gospel today, Our Lord Jesus made it very clear to us, that all those who listened to the Word of God, will be blessed by God, and God will be with them. If only that we obey the Lord wholeheartedly, God will grant us all that we need, and provide for us every single moment of our lives. But it is indeed not easy to become a faithful disciple and follower of the Lord, for at every juncture in our lives, there will be temptations, challenges, and even persecution and oppression.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that was what Pope St. Callixtus I, the saint whose feast we celebrate today, have experienced in his life. Pope St. Callixtus I lived during the time of the early Church, and became the Pope and leader of the Universal Church at a time when there were great persecutions against Christians and the Church, and when becoming a Christian or being known as Christians would equate a fate of great suffering and even martyrdom.

Pope St. Callixtus I encountered these difficulties throughout his life, having to endure exile, prison and torture from time to time, and as he led the Church as the Pope, he encountered even more troubles and challenges. Yet, he did not give up the fight, and continued to remain faithful to God despite the odds and challenges. He was faithful to God, and obeyed Him in all of His laws and commandments, showing a great example to the people of God entrusted under his care.

Although eventually Pope St. Callixtus I was martyred for his faith, yet, his examples, his courage and bravery, the devotion and faith which he had in the Lord continued to inspire many throughout the ages, who saw his examples and became believers in God. Therefore, all of us should also follow in their footsteps, walking faithfully just as our holy predecessors had done, living righteously and devoutly in God’s presence.

May the Lord through His holy saints and martyrs, their lives and dedications continue to inspire each and every one of us as Christians to live in accordance with God’s ways, and be obedient to Him in everything, despite the challenges and difficulties we are likely to face as part of our faith. May He empower us to live ever more closely related to Him in all the things we say and do. Amen.

by

Saturday, 14 October 2017 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callixtus I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”