holy bishops

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Monday, 2 January 2017 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about those who rejected the Good News of the Lord, those who also purposely led the others astray by the means of lies and false messages. It is a reminder to all of us that we can be easily deceived by wrong messages delivered by false prophets and agents of the devil designed to trick us and to bring us away from the salvation in God.

They have many ways to deceive and mislead us. Some will deny our Lord Jesus Christ while claiming that they serve the Lord and claiming that their way is the truth, while others will tweak the messages and teachings of God and made them to suit their own wicked purposes. And lest our faith is strong, we will easily fall prey into the hands of those who seek after our souls.

That is why we need to stand firm in our faith, by listening to what St. John the Apostle and Evangelist had said in his Epistle, our first reading passage today. He spoke of us all who have been anointed in the Lord’s Name, and indeed, we have also received the Holy Spirit from Him through the Church. We have therefore received the truth of God through what we have received by the Holy Spirit and taught unto us by the Church.

However, it is important that we should hold fast and firmly to these teachings lest the temptations and persuasions of those whom I mentioned, seeking to corrupt and derail our paths to the Lord, would lead us astray from the truth and from finding the way to the Lord and therefore towards our salvation in Him. We have to be strong and be devoted in all of our ways to God, so that we will not be easily swayed by all these.

Let us all look at the inspiring examples of the two great saints whose feast we are celebrating today, who are two of the most important figures and leaders of the Church in its early days particularly in the Eastern portion of Christendom at that time. St. Basil the Great, or also known as St. Basil of Caesarea was the Bishop of Caesarea during the fourth century after the birth of Christ. Meanwhile, St. Gregory Nazianzen was the Archbishop of Constantinople at roughly the same period of time as St. Basil.

Both of them were strong proponents and defenders of the orthodox and true faith as passed down through the Church from the Apostles and ultimately from our Lord Himself. And this was very crucial at that time, when the Church was greatly troubled for many years, and indeed many decades and centuries by the many false teachings, false prophets and all who sought to twist and corrupt the truth in order to serve their own purposes. And many people did fall into their heresies and were lost to the Lord.

St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen were ardent defenders of the true faith, defending important tenets of our faith against those who claimed that Jesus Christ as the Son of God was not equal to God and was a mere creation, as espoused by the Arians. There were also those who claimed that because Jesus had a human body, therefore He was a lower being despite having a Divine soul, a view called the Apollinarian heresy. They defended the true faith, in which we believe that Jesus our Lord is both God and Man at the same time, and He is equal to the Father, having existed before all ages, begotten but not created by the Father.

There were many other false teachings that threatened the souls of many of the faithful and threatened to splinter the Church apart, but St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen fervently and tirelessly worked hard among their own flocks and also with the other faithful bishops, elders and priests of the Church, in order to stem the tide of heresy and to uphold the true faith.

They were influential in the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in the year 381 AD, and their teachings continued to influence the Church for many years to come, and helped the Church to steer itself through the turbulent times, which saw many of the heretics being formally outlawed and removed from the Church, and at the same time, through the good works of many of God’s faithful servants, including St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen themselves, many had been converted back to the Lord and were saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all imitate these holy saints, and follow in their footsteps. Let us all deepen our understanding of our faith, by learning through the Church and through the right channels, seeking help for us to understand what our faith is truly about. And let us all also help one another to persevere in faith and remain true to the truth found only in the Church.

May the Lord bless us all and keep us safe in His grace. And may all of us remain true and devoted to the Lord our God, and not falling into temptations of the world and not listening to the falsehoods and lies of the devil and his agents, but instead putting our full trust in the Lord, Who had revealed His truth to all of us. Let us hold strongly to that truth as St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen had done. Amen.

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Monday, 2 January 2017 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
John 1 : 19-28

This was the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” John recognised the truth, and did not deny it. He said, “I am not the Messiah.”

And they asked him, “Then who are you? Elijah?” He answered, “I am not.” They said, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Tell us who you are, so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. How do you see yourself?”

And John said, quoting the prophet Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness : Make straight the way of the Lord!”

Those who had been sent were Pharisees; and they put a further question to John, “Then why are you baptising, if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?” John answered, “I baptise you with water, but among you stands One Whom you do not know; although He comes after me, I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandal.”

This happened in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptising.

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Monday, 2 January 2017 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth all have seen God’s saving power. All you lands, make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise.

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Monday, 2 January 2017 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 2 : 22-28

Who is the liar? The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is an antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. The one who denies the Son is without the Father, and those who acknowledge the Son also have the Father.

Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you, too, will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise He Himself gave us : eternal life.

I write this to you thinking of those who try to lead you astray. You received from Him an anointing, and it remains in you, so you do not need someone to teach you. His anointing teaches you all things, it speaks the truth and does not lie to you; so remain in Him, and keep what He has taught you.

And now, my children, live in Him, so that when He appears in His glory, we may be confident and not ashamed before Him when He comes.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this last day of the Gregorian Calendar year, and therefore as we approach the coming of the New Year, let us also remember that we are still in the midst of the Christmas season, and we ought to look back at our past year and see in what way have we been faithful to the Lord our God, Who out of His love for us, have come into the world to save us from certain destruction because of our sins.

He has come into the world at Christmas, firstly about two millennia ago, when He was born in Bethlehem, as St. John put it at the beginning of his Gospel, which is our Gospel passage, that He is the Word of God, Who is God and Who is with God ever since the beginning of time. And the Lord has endeavoured out of His love, to bring forth the Word into the world by His will, and assume the flesh of Man. And thus that was how He entered the world, and that was how He became the One through Whom God saved us by His death on the cross.

But as we come to the end of the Christmas season, and as we approach the beginning of another new year, each and every one of us must remember that Christmas is not just about the Lord and Saviour Who had once come into the world. Rather, it is also about the Lord Who has promised us that He will come again at the time of His choosing, and at that time, He shall deliver all of His beloved people, those who are faithful to Him, from the darkness and into the light of His eternal life.

And in the first reading today, St. John the Apostle and Evangelist reminded us all that the hour will come, and we should not assume that we have a lot of time to prepare ourselves for the eventual coming of the Lord. Rather, we should assume that it is indeed the final hour, and every single moment of our lives is a blessing for us, and we should thank Him for all the opportunities we have been given.

And he also warned us that there will be false prophets who had come, and who will come into this world, the antichrists, the agents of the devil and his fallen angels, designed and tasked to confuse us and lead us into the false paths, that we lose our way and fall into temptation, and instead of joining the Lord in His grace, we fall into the eternal damnation of hell with Satan and his angels.

That is why, today, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should commit ourselves to the Lord anew and strengthen our faith in Him so that we will not falter amidst the challenges and the temptations of this world. We should devote some time today and from now onwards to think about what are we going to do to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord when He comes again for us. Are we going to wait and do nothing? Or are we going to take charge of our lives and do what He had asked us to do?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us also look upon the example of Pope St. Silvester I, the saint whose feast day we celebrate today. As the Pope and leader of the Universal Church at his time, he lived during a time of a great change in the. Church and in the world. He reigned as Pope following the reign of Pope St. Miltiades, during whose time the Edict of Milan was proclaimed by the Roman Emperor Constantine, ending centuries long persecution of the Christian faith and the Church.

At that time, the Church was divided between many factions, with many believing in the false teachings and tenets of Arius, who claimed that Jesus our Lord was mere Man and not both God and Man. Arius and many other false prophets deceived many in the Church, and they became heretics who misled others to follow their own path and false ways.

That was why at that time, Pope St. Silvester I and his contemporaries persuaded the Emperor Constantine, who was favourable to the Christian faith and teachings, to convene the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year 325 AD in order to address the issues of these apostates and false teachings, and thus to prevent the false teachings from further dividing the Church and misleading the faithful.

And it was in that Ecumenical Council that the false teachings of Arius and the other heretics were formally condemned, and the same Creed of faith which has been passed down to us from the Apostles and the Church fathers, the Nicene Creed was formulated. And this is also closely linked to the great Solemnity that we are going to celebrate tomorrow, namely that of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God.

If the teachings of Arius had been true, that Jesus was merely a creature of the Lord, a mere Man and not Divine, then Mary would indeed be just a mere mother of man, just like any other women and mothers. But no, Pope St. Silvester I and the faithful bishops and leaders of the Church stood by the true faith, believing in the Lord Who is both God and Man at the same time, possessing two distinct natures which are nevertheless inseparable from each other.

Brethren, what we have heard today with regards to Pope St. Silvester and his life should inspire us all as Christians that we should not take our faith for granted. There are many of those who desire our downfall, and by many means they will do their best to prevent us from reaching the goal of our salvation, either by persuasion, temptation, or even by force and persecution.

We should prepare ourselves for the eventual coming of our Lord, that we make use of this opportunity which has been granted to us, in order to be righteous and just in all of our deeds, so that the Lord will find us worthy when He comes into this world, and all of us will receive grace and everlasting life from Him. Let us all begin a New Year from tomorrow onwards with a new, courageous and determined hearts and minds, desiring to give of ourselves fully to the Lord.

May the Lord help us and guide us, and may He ever strengthen our resolve to live fully in accordance with His will and grace. God bless us all, and may He bless our year ahead with good things and many blessings. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness. John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One Who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.”

From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 95 : 1-2, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name. Proclaim His salvation day after day.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them; let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord.

He Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Saturday, 31 December 2016 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
1 John 2 : 18-21

My dear children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist would come; but several antichrists have already come, by which we know that it is now the last hour.

They went out from us though they did not really belong to us. Had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. So it became clear that not all of us were really ours. But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of you have true wisdom.

I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth.

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Thursday, 29 December 2016 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded by the readings from the Holy Scriptures that we just heard, that in order for us to be disciples of Christ, it is required that we should obey the Lord and fulfil His commandments, and not pretending to believe in Him, and yet in our actions we are corrupt, wicked and contrary to what the Lord had taught us to do.

God Himself has come into the world through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother. And this is the perfect manifestation of His laws and commandments, which are made perfect and fulfilled through Christ. That is because the laws and commandments of God are the commandments of love. And God Himself is love, and through Christ, He has shown each and every one of us what love truly means.

And why is this so? God Himself has become Man willingly out of His love for us. For Him to assume the humble and mere flesh of our humanity is not something that is just insignificant or easily done. How many of us are willing to part with all the greatness, glory and inheritance that we have, for the sake of another person? And how many of us are willing to forsake everything and die for the sake of another person? And indeed, how many of us are willing to do so for the sake of evil and wicked people?

That was what Christ had exactly done. As St. Paul said in his Epistle, very few would have wanted or be willing to die for the sake of another person, even if that person was an upright and good person. Less so would anyone be willing to suffer and die, if that person is a wicked person and a sinner. But that was what Christ had done for us, willingly bearing the cross and our sins, and dying on the cross for us sinners, so that we who believe in Him may live.

And He showed us obedience to the law of God, by obeying the will of His Father perfectly. He did not let His human weaknesses and the temptations of the flesh to bring Him down. He put His complete trust in His Father’s will, and because of that, we are all saved. The chief priests and the elders could not understand why He did not try to save Himself while He had saved many others, mocking Him from below His cross. That was because they were unable to understand His ways, as they were people of this world and had been corrupted by the ways of this world.

And what is that? Perhaps by looking at the life and examples of the great saint whose memory we cherish and celebrate today, we will be better able to understand how we really ought to be living as Christians, and not as the people of this world. St. Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury and thus was the Primate of England and the chief of the Catholic bishops in the kingdom of England, about nine centuries ago.

He was once the chancellor to the king of England, the right hand man of the king, who was entrusted by the king with much power and authority, and was involved in much worldliness and the pursuits of power and the flesh, imitating the behaviours of the nobles and the kings of those days. And everything changed the moment when the king appointed him to be the successor to the Archbishop of Canterbury, expecting him to be as loyal to him as he had been as his chancellor.

But St. Thomas Becket had a great conversion and change of heart, as he became a devout and ardent defender of the faith from then on, to the irritation and annoyance of the king and his nobles. Expecting a submissive and obedient Archbishop of Canterbury and Church, instead, the king got obstacles and challenges as he attempted to undermine the Church and increase his own worldly authority and power.

Tension arose as St. Thomas Becket was increasingly conflicted against the king and his nobles on the other side. But St. Thomas Becket did not fear the world and its opposition, and he held fast to the strong faith he had in the Lord, and when a noble was accused of murdering a man of God, who was indeed a priest, St. Thomas Becket excommunicated the noble despite opposition from the king and the nobles.

Eventually, some nobles, with tacit approval from the king, assassinated St. Thomas Becket, murdered him as he celebrated the Holy Mass. This was met with a huge outcry from the populace and the Church throughout Europe, and the nobles were excommunicated and were forced to undergo penance and carry out service to the Church for many years as penance, and even the king had to publicly shame himself for his role in the murder of this holy saint. But, the legacy of St. Thomas Becket and his examples continue to this very day.

From what he had done in his life, we see how we Christians should be like, that is to reject our worldliness and all the forms of temptations of the flesh, of greed, power, ambition, desire for human glory and fame, all which brought us to corruption and sin, and incompatible with God’s ways. As I have said at the beginning of this discourse today, we must not pay lip service for our faith to the Lord, meaning that we cannot be Christians and yet our actions show contrary to that faith.

Let us all dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord this Christmas, remembering once again what is the purpose of our lives as Christians, to serve God with all of our heart, obeying Him with all of our body, mind, heart and soul just as Jesus has obeyed the will of His Father, and willingly die out of love for our salvation. Let us all remember our Lord Who have come in the human flesh as Jesus our Lord, through Whom we receive every blessings and grace. May God be with us all, and may St. Thomas Becket intercede for us sinners. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 December 2016 : Fifth Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 2 : 22-35

When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the Baby up to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord : Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord : a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law.

Simeon took the Child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, o Lord, You can dismiss Your servant in peace, for You have fulfilled Your word and my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You display for all the people to see. Here is the Light You will reveal to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel.”

His father and mother wondered at what was said about the Child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Know this : your Son is a Sign, a Sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a Sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”