holy bishops

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Thursday, 22 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. He told them and taught them what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, the perfect prayer composed by none other than our Lord Jesus Himself. It was a prayer of pure intention and faith showing obedience, the desire to glorify God and to thank Him for all the blessings and graces He had given to us His beloved ones.

We may think that it is kind of unnecessary for the Lord to teach His disciples how to pray, but this is in fact His way to show us all, His people, how to truly pray from the heart, to be able to communicate with the Lord, that is the essence of what a prayer is. That is important because, many of us Christians, might have forgotten what it truly means for us to pray.

At that time, the people of God followed the ways that were shown to them by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in the way they themselves prayed before the Lord. Those people prayed long prayers in the public places, making themselves seen by everyone, who praised them for their piety and devotion. Yet, their long prayers were empty and meaningless, since the focus of their prayers were upon themselves, upon their own vanity, and not upon God.

That is how we ourselves also might have often done with our prayers. We pray for the purpose of our own selfish desires, wishing to gain something for our own benefit. And many of us have that mistaken concept that God is One Who we can depend on for everything, and that whatever we ask of Him, He will give them to us. But that in fact is making God as if He is a servant to us, and we are demanding Him to do something for us, which is not right.

That is exactly why many people in fact had turned away from the Lord, because they were unable to get rid of their human ego, their desires which they had allowed to lead their way. When they prayed, they said litany of requests, desires and even demands, asking God to grant them what they wanted. I am sure that many of us had done something similar to this, at one or more points in our respective lives. And when He did not grant what we wanted, we became angry at Him and turned our back from Him.

How many of us will be able to realise that what many of us had done might not have been right? Many of us have placed ourselves, our desired and our selfish wants above that of our obligation to love and to serve the Lord our God. It is often that we are not able to let go of our desires, or to lie down our human pride, and as a result, we ended up doing what is disgraceful and sinful in the sight of God and men alike.

That was what the actions and examples of the holy saints and martyrs whose feast we celebrate on this day ought to show us the way forward. St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More were the saints and martyrs of the English reformation, at which time, the persecution was against all the faithful when the faithless king of England, Henry VIII, for his own personal reasons and refusal to obey the will of God through His Church, broke the communion between the churches in England from the Holy Mother Church.

St. Thomas More was the Chancellor of the King, the position akin to that of Prime Minister in our present day world. He was a person of great influence and power, having a position of great prestige and honour. And yet, when the king asked for all of his officials, advisers, and members of the English Church to declare their oath of obedience to him and break away from the obedience to the Holy Mother Church, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, who was one of the holy bishops of the Church, refused to do so.

Even though the king lavished worldly honour and privileges on all those who would recant their faith and devotion to the Church, and especially on St. Thomas More, who was the trusted Chancellor and chief adviser to the king himself, but St. Thomas More chose to remain true to his faith and did not get swayed by all the temptations and pressured heaped on him to make him change his mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints and martyrs had given us their examples for us to follow, in their devotion and zeal, and in how they lived their lives in accordance with the will of God, and not according to their own human desires. Had they succumbed to their desires, their pride and ego, they would have given up their faith and betrayed the Lord for worldly happiness instead.

This is what all of us Christians must do, from now on, that all of us become true disciples and followers of the Lord, not just in name or formality only, but through real action, commitment and work. Let us all follow in the footsteps of our good and holy predecessors, and strive to do our best in our everyday life, to be good and worthy children of our God. Let us all have a genuine and healthy prayerful life, that we are always in constant communication with God, knowing what it is that He wants us to do in our respective lives. May the Lord bless us all in our endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Matthew 6 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do; for they believe that, the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.”

“This, then, is how you should pray : Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name, Your kingdom, come, Your will be done on earth, as in heaven. Give us today, our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.”

“If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you.”

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Thursday, 22 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 7-8

Alleluia! I thank YHVH with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of YHVH are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; YHVH is merciful and kind.

The works of His hands are faithful and just, trustworthy are all His precepts, ordained to last forever, bearers of truth and uprightness.

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Thursday, 22 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
2 Corinthians 11 : 1-11

May you bear with me in some little foolishness! But surely you will. I confess that I share the jealousy of God for you, for I have promised you, in marriage, to Christ, the only Spouse; to present you to Him, as a pure virgin. And this is my fear : the serpent that seduced Eve, with cunning, could also corrupt your minds, and divert you from Christian sincerity.

Someone, now, comes, and preaches another Jesus, different from the One we preach, or you are offered a different spirit from the One you have received, with a different gospel from the one you have accepted – and you agree! I do not see how I am inferior to those super Apostles. Does my speaking leave much to be desired? Perhaps, but not my knowledge, as I have abundantly shown to you in every way.

Perhaps my fault was, that I humbled myself, in order to uplift you, or that, I gave you the Gospel free of charge. I called upon the services of other churches, and served you with the support I received from them. When I was with you, although I was in need, I did not become a burden to anyone. The friends from Macedonia gave me what I needed. I have taken care, not to be a burden to you in anything, and I will continue to do so.

By the truth of Christ within me, I will let no one in the land of Achaia stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

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Tuesday, 6 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Gospel passage when the Lord Jesus spoke to St. Peter and His Apostles, about the matter of obeying the human laws as created by the rulers of the time, particularly that of the Roman Empire, which collected taxes from all the people who were under its dominion. The matter was whether one should obey such human and civil laws or whether one should obey only the Law of God.

In another separate occasion, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law tried to trap and frame Jesus by using similar example, in order to trap Him with His own words and hopefully to allow them to discredit or arrest Him. They tested Him by asking Him whether one should pay taxes to Caesar, the Roman Emperor or not. In this manner, had the Lord Jesus told them that they must not pay taxes to him, then it would be tantamount to a declaration of rebellion, and the Jewish elders could hand Him over to the Romans citing His desire to defy the will of the Emperor.

On the other hand, had the Lord Jesus told them to pay the taxes to the Roman Emperor, then the elders could also discredit Jesus, for the Roman rule at the time, and particularly the taxes which the Romans imposed on the Jewish people, told to be particularly heavy, was very unpopular. That also explained why the tax collectors were very reviled and hated by the society in general, because the people saw them as traitors to their people and their country.

Thus, if Jesus had told the Pharisees and the people that they should pay taxes to the Emperor, then those enemies of the Lord would then immediately discredit Him and make the people despise and hate Him in the same manner as they hated the tax collectors. But the Lord knew what those people had plotted in their hearts, and He instead gave the perfect answer, which is also a guide for us in how we ourselves as Christians should carry out our lives and responsibilities.

Jesus told them that one should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. That was the perfect answer, to which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had no answer or reply to. That is because, it is indeed true, that all wealth, all worldly possessions, and all gold, silver and the goods of this world belong to this world, and therefore does belong rightly to the rulers of this world. That is why it is perfectly fine to obey such requirements, if they are just and reasonable.

However, it does not mean that we should obey the rules of the world in just about everything. Why is that so? That is because we have to remember that, all of us are obliged to give to God what belongs to God, just as we have to give to the world what belongs to the world. And what is it that we have which belongs to the Lord? It is first and foremost, our life, which is sacred and given to us by the Lord.

Therefore, all of us as Christians must first and foremost, keep all life sacrosanct and holy. When there is threat to the sanctity of life, through such matters as deliberate causing of loss of life, be it murder, or abortion of unborn infants and children, or be it the abuse of children or any other human being, the destruction of the sanctity of marriage and family life, all of us as Christians must be ready to defend what is rightful to God, that what truly belongs to God, belong to Him and not to be taken over by the world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our best to participate actively in our Church life and work, to proclaim to all the truth of God, and give the Lord the best we can of our commitment and devotion. Let us all be inspired by the holy saints who have preceded us, in their commitment and hard work, to ensure that everything that belongs to God, namely all of us, our lives and our souls, will truly belong to the Lord and not snatched away by Satan into damnation.

Let us look at the life of St. Norbert of Xanten, who was a very devout and committed servant of God, a holy bishop thoroughly devoted to his mission as a preacher and a religious, leading an ascetic and pious lifestyle and gathering many more who would also like to lead the same lifestyle. They devoted their lives completely, in prayer and in hard work, and in preaching the good news to the people and leading them in faith to the Lord.

If they were all able to lead such a life devoted to the Lord, all of us should be able to do the same as well. Shall we commit ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ? Shall we be ever closer to God, in all of our ways? Shall we seek to love Him ever more and do our best to serve Him with love. May the Lord bless us and help us in our good works. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Mark 12 : 13-17

At that time, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees with members of Herod’s party, with the purpose of trapping him by his own words. They came and said to Jesus, “Master, we know that You are truthful; You are not influenced by anyone, and Your answers do not vary according to who is listening to You, but You truly teach God’s way. Tell us, is it against the Law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a silver coin and let Me see it.” They brought Him one and Jesus asked, “Whose image is this, and whose name?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were greatly astonished.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 7bc-8, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

For his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is confident, he needs not fear, he shall prevail over his foes at the end.

He gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Tobit 2 : 9-14

That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned home. I washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against the wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. I did not see that there were sparrows on the wall of the courtyard and, as my eyes were open, the hot droppings from the sparrows fell into my eyes and formed a white film on my eyes.

I went to find doctors to attend to me for medical treatment but the more ointments they smeared on my eyes, the more blind I became because of the film. Finally I became totally blind. I suffered from blindness for four years. All my brothers were burdened because of me. Ahikar kept me for two years before he departed for Elymiade.

My wife Anna worked hard at a woman’s task, weaving. On the seventh day of the month of March she cut the cloth and delivered it to her employers. They paid her wages and gave her, over and above, a young goat for food. When she returned home the kid began to cry. I said to her, “Where does the little kid come from? Did you steal it? Return it to its owners for we are not allowed to eat anything that is stolen.”

But she said, “It is a gift which has been given to me in addition to my wages.” “I do not believe it. I tell you to return it to its owners.” I was ashamed of her. She replied, “What about your own almsgiving and your good deeds? I have to put up with all this from you.”

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Monday, 5 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the person Tobit, an Israeli exile at the time of the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom, who was among the many descendants of Israel carried off to the exile in Assyria and in faraway lands. And even though many of the people of the northern kingdom abandoned the Lord and worshipped the pagan gods, but Tobit and his family remained faithful to the Lord God of Israel.

Indeed, Tobit was righteous and just in his actions, obeying the Lord and all of His commandments. He gave alms and cared for his fellow countrymen in exile, many of whom were suffering in poverty and slavery. Yet, in today’s reading, we heard also the reality of life, how people were persecuted and even killed because of their race, or because of they were weak and powerless, as what happened to the Israelites at that time, persecuted and scattered among the nations.

Such was the degree of human greed and desire, that they would even exploit others and made others to suffer in order to satisfy their own selfish needs and wants, and achieve their own personal glory. That is what the Lord Jesus wanted to show through the parable which He taught His disciples, what we heard in our Gospel today about the evil tenants who refused to pay their due to their landlord and master.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the evil tenants represent all those people who were wicked and who were controlled by their desires and greed. They should have paid their due to the landlord and master, who is none other than the Lord our God, Who has given them all the opportunity to live and to prosper from all His graces and blessings. Yet, they disobeyed Him and refused to listen to Him, even hurting and killing all those whom the Master had sent to them to remind them about their obligations.

This is representative of how mankind itself reacted to the Lord, as He constantly reminded them through His messengers and servants, whom He sent to be among His people, in order to call them to repent from all of their sinful ways, from all of their selfish deeds that brought about suffering and difficulties to their fellow men, and from all that they had done which were wicked in the sight of the Lord and men alike.

But many of those people turned a deaf ear and persecuted all those who had been sent to remind them and guide them. And thus the messengers, prophets and servants of God had suffered and died, and last of all, as Jesus Himself prophesied through His parable, they would even kill the son of the master, Who is representative of Jesus, the Son of God.

They rejected Him, ridiculed and mocked Him, and then arrested Him, putting Him under false charges and accusations made by false witnesses. They made Him to bear the burden of the cross, and condemned Him to death, death on the cross. And yet, as we all know, the Lord Jesus had transformed that suffering to grace, by obeying perfectly the will of God, His Father. That means, when the people had been unfaithful, His faith and obedience has become a great light that led the people from the darkness.

That was what the Lord had taught us all, His disciples and followers to do in our own respective lives. The Lord has shown us all by His own example, on how all of us ought to live in accordance with His will, helping to guide all those who have been swayed and corrupted by the evils of greed and desire, by telling them with gentle and yet firm words of reminders.

That means, all of us as Christians ought to do what the holy saints and martyrs had done, as they lived upright life and led an example for the rest of the people, all of whom had been struggling under the weight of their sins and wickedness. All of the saints themselves had been sinners like us as well, for everyone had committed sin at least once in their lives. And yet, they turned towards the Lord, and endeavoured to show others the way to do the same.

St. Boniface, the saint whose memory we remember today, did exactly just that, brothers and sisters in Christ. He was a bishop appointed to serve the people living in the areas and regions which now comprise the northern part of Germany, which at that time had not yet received the words and truth of God, as paganism was still the norm for the people living in those places, living in state of sin and wickedness, and doing what were abhorrent in the sight of God.

Yet, St. Boniface took up the challenge and set out to preach to those people, bearing to them the message of truth, as he patiently and courageously went about from towns to towns, from villages to villages, to proclaim God’s ways and calling on the pagans to repent from their sins and turn towards the Lord, their true God and Master. Yes, he was persecuted and faced many challenges, but he never gave up.

It is his conviction to help all those who were still separated from the love of God, be it because of ignorance or because of the temptations of the world, so that all those people would not end up in hell, damned because of their sins. He called them out of the darkness and into the light, through all of his hard work and commitment. This is what all of us Christians have to do in our own lives, as St. Boniface carried on doing his duty, even until he was martyred in the midst of his ministry, as told that he was attacked by brigands and was martyred defending his faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, all of us are called to be the messengers of God’s truth, that we may not end up becoming like those evil tenants who were swallowed by their greed and desire for personal glory and power. We should help one another, especially our brethren who are still struggling in their journey towards the Lord, not by great and marvellous deeds, but beginning from ourselves, from our own actions and deeds in life.

Brethren, let us all show exemplary actions and deeds in life, so that through all the work that we have done, and through all of our dedication, by loving tenderly and sincerely, and by showing genuine care and concern for all those who have fallen along the way, we may convince more and more people to repent and to turn themselves completely and wholeheartedly towards the Lord, their God. So that, ultimately, all of us will rejoice together in the end, enjoying together as one people, the heavenly glory the Lord promised to all those who keep their faith in Him. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 5 June 2017 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Mark 12 : 1-12

At that time, using parables, Jesus went on to say, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press and built a watch tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. In due time he sent a servant to receive from the tenants his share of the fruit. But they seized the servant, struck him and sent him back empty-handed.”

“Again the man sent another servant. They also struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another and they killed him. In the same way they treated many others : some they beat up and others they killed. One was still left, his beloved son. And so, last of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said, “They will respect my son.”

“But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and the property will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

And Jesus added, “Have you not read this text of the Scriptures : The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone; this is the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it?”

They wanted to arrest Him, for they realised that Jesus meant this parable for them, but they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away.