holy bishops

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Wednesday, 3 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

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

2 Samuel 24 : 2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people that I may know how many they are.”

Joab gave the total count of the people to the king : eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah. But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to YHVH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, o YHVH, I ask You to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”

The following day, before David awoke, YHVH’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, “Go, and give David this message : I offer you three things and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.” So Gad went to David and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give Him Who sent me.”

David answered Gad, “I am greatly troubled. Let me fall into the hands of YHVH Whose mercy is abundant, but let me not fall into human hands.” So YHVH sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba.

When the Angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, YHVH would punish no more and said to the Angel who was causing destruction among the people, “It is enough, hold back your hand.” The Angel of YHVH was already at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

When David saw the Angel striking the people, he spoke to YHVH and said, “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let Your hand strike me and my father’s family.”

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Tuesday, 26 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Sacred Scriptures speaking to us about the Lord Who sent His disciples to precede Him, to go before Him and prepare the way for Him before He came to the places where He would perform the good works of God and save the people of God. Today we heard the Lord Jesus reminding those disciples about what they should expect about the mission they were to embark on.

The Lord spoke of a harvest, and the labourers for the harvest, that how the harvest and all the crops are truly plentiful but there were few if any workers were available to help harvest all of the rich crops and goods. This was what the Lord used to show the reality about the works that He had established on earth, that while there are ample opportunities and chances available to bring salvation to God’s people, but there had been few of those who took up the mantle and took part in the works of salvation in God.

The field represented this world and all of its people, which presents to us, even more so in this time and era, a rich and vast ocean of opportunities, where many people are awaiting the fruits of the good works of God’s salvation, and yet they were unable to receive them and be saved, simply because there were no workers to collect them. Those workers are all of us, God’s faithful people and God’s faithful followers.

The Lord needs workers for His field, and who else but all of us could rise up to the call of the Lord? It is our duty and responsibility to take up what God had entrusted in us. Otherwise, the rich harvest would be wasted, and all the good crops and plants would be destroyed, which symbolises the loss of the potential of all those who should have received God’s salvation through us.

Now, our world today is a difficult world for us if we want to be faithful to the Lord and be committed to Him. There are simply way too many distractions and temptations for us, through which the devil and his allies are constantly trying to lure us all away from the path leading towards the Lord our God. And in the eyes of many, the path of dedication and commitment to God had become difficult and unappealing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this world is in ever greater need for those who responded to the Lord’s call and devoted themselves to His service, those in the religious life and even more importantly those who have devoted themselves into the order of sacred priesthood. There are ever increasing attacks and troubles facing these faithful servants of our Lord, and there is also an ever growing need for more young people to take up the challenge and follow the Lord.

Let us all heed the examples of the two saints whom we are celebrating today, namely St. Timothy and St. Titus, both of whom had letters addressed to them by St. Paul, enshrined in our New Testament in the Sacred Scriptures, where they were encouraged and strengthened in their works and commitments to the cause of the Lord by St. Paul and his courageous and faithful devotion.

St. Timothy and St. Titus were among the first bishops of the Church, those who were appointed to lead the Church in the local communities, and help to guide the faithful to reach out to the Lord. They were those who were entrusted with the leadership and the guidance of the people of God, in finding the way to salvation. Their duties were many, and their works were not easy, as challenges and obstacles always came their way.

And yet, they did not give up or became distracted in their mission, and both St. Timothy and St. Titus continued to faithfully serve the people of God under their charge. This is an example that all of us should take note of, and especially the young ones among us should heed, that if the Lord calls us, we should be ready to take up the cross and lead the way so that through us, God’s work of salvation can be made ready and true for many people who need it.

May God bless us all in our works, and may He awaken in all of us the heart for service, so that all of us will realise how important it is for us to do the will of God, and to walk in His path faithfully, realising whatever roles we can play in helping to bring God’s salvation to one another. May God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Tuesday, 26 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you.”

“Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house. When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Tuesday, 26 January 2016 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

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. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His Name.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

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Sunday, 24 January 2016 : Third (3rd) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour: Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened the message of the Holy Scriptures speaking to us about the mercy and the deliverance which our Lord had brought to us all through Jesus His Son, as He entered into the world and brought us all a new hope, a new hope and light amidst the despair and darkness filling up our world.

In the first reading from the book of the prophet Nehemiah, we heard about how after the people of Israel were allowed to return from the land of their exile in Babylon and beyond to the land promised to their ancestors, they were allowed to rebuild all that had been destroyed, the Temple of God and all of their homes and dwellings, and the priest and prophet Ezra was also among them.

When the people heard about the Law and all of its tenets being read to them, they lamented and became very sorrowful and sorry, as they would have heard what the Lord would do with all those who have disobeyed His commandments, walked away from His laws and teachings, worshipped pagan gods and idols and lived in wickedness. Their portion would have been rejection and condemnation, but God would say otherwise.

Indeed, as the prophet Ezra had said, that as long as the people of God sincerely wanted to repent from their past sins and atone the wrongdoings of their ancestors and of their own, then the path forward for them will be open, as God will show His mercy and love to them, and He will bless them once again, and a people once forsaken by God for their sins will rejoice once again.

Through our sins and disobedience against God, we have indeed been sundered away from God’s love and grace, and we have been cast out of the inheritance promised to the faithful, but through our Lord’s great love for us all, He is giving us a new chance and opportunity for us to be redeemed from our fate of destruction, and give us the hope and the promise and the assurance of the entry into the eternal life found only in Him.

In the second reading we heard a long discourse by St. Paul who wrote to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth of the Church of God which he compared to a body, and how it works as compared to how a body actually works. This is because the Church is the Body of Christ, and it is in union with Christ Who is the true Head of the Church, and by which unity the Church exists in grace and doing the good works which Christ had initiated in this world.

Separated from the Lord, the Church can do nothing, and indeed, therefore, the Church serves the Lord and does His good works, and because of that, all of us are also called to do the same, because each and every one of us who have believed in the Lord and followed Him through baptism, have been made members of God’s Church, His own Body, the Body of Christ.

Yes, just as the limbs, the organs and all parts of the body, our body are all united in our one body in each one of us, then all of us are also part of the Church, and we all should be united and function as one, just as all the parts of the body should work in tandem together. If one part of the body is missing or is taken out, then the whole body itself cannot function properly as a part is missing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us in the Church, as different we are in the background and in our personalities or categories, we are all together in this as one people, and as one functional body together. We should not let our differences or our personal desires and emotions to come in the way, as it is easy for us to succumb to those desires and instead of working together, we undermine the good works and the stability of the Church.

Most of us are the laity, those who continue to live our own worldly lives while we profess our faith in the Lord and doing His good works. Meanwhile, those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord in a life of chastity and commitment, they are the priesthood, our priests, bishops and the Pope who represent Christ the true Head, as the representatives of the Lord in this earth.

Each cannot work on its own, having own agendas or plans that especially came in contrast to each other. If this happens, then just as Jesus had said to the Pharisees in His rebuke of them when they accused Him of using the power of demons against demons, that when a kingdom or nation is divided, then the same will also happen to the Church of God, which when divided, it shall be hampered in its works of grace for the sake of the people of God.

And thus we are all brought to the reality of how divided the Church is today, where since ages past, there had been so many people who thought themselves as better than the Apostles and the Church fathers, coming up with their own teachings and innovations to the faith, leading many into heresy and separation from the Church of God.

As they bicker and fight amongst themselves, refusing to return to the true teachings of the Holy Mother Church, the Catholic Church, they weaken the unity and the good works of the Church in saving the people of God from harm and damnation. In the Gospel, Jesus our Lord had laid out the things that He had promised to bring into this world, which through His hands and continued by those who work through His Church, has made that promise a reality.

How shall we bring mercy and love to the poor and those who have fallen on the path, if we ourselves are bickering amongst ourselves? I am not just referring to the division that existed between the Church and those who have willingly and openly rejected the teachings of the Church, but also even within the Church itself, where factions and peoples are in conflict against each other, disagreeing and grumbling against each other.

That is why, on this day, as we continue to progress through this week of prayer for Christian Unity, let us all pray together as one Church, that all the divisions and disagreements may cease, and unity may be restored in good harmony to all those who have been divided and separated from the love of God in the Church, and we pray that those who have willingly and openly rejected and separated themselves from the Church will repent and return to the unity of the Body of Christ in the Church.

May God bless us all in our endeavours, and may He strengthen our resolve to reunite all the divided splinters of the Body of Christ, the Church. Let us all be reunited in the Lord, as one people divided no longer, but in perfect obedience to all the teachings of the Lord as kept in the Catholic Church, that we may together give praise to Him and glorify Him, and bring His good works and salvation to more people throughout the world. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 January 2016 : Third (3rd) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour: Green

Luke 1 : 1-4 and Luke 4 : 14-21

Several people have set themselves to relate the events that have taken place among us, as they were told by the first witnesses who later became ministers of the Word. After I myself had carefully gone over the whole story from the beginning, it seemed right for me to give you, Theophilus, an orderly account, so that your Excellency may know the truth of all you have been taught.

At that time, Jesus acted with the power of the Spirit; and on His return to Galilee, the news about Him spread throughout all that territory. He began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised Him. When Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the Book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”

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Sunday, 24 January 2016 : Third (3rd) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour: Green

1 Corinthians 12 : 12-30

As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.

The body has not just one member, but many. If the foot should say, “I do not belong to the body for I am not a hand,” it would be wrong : it is part of the body! Even though the ear says, “I do not belong to the body for I am not an eye,” it is part of the body. If all the body were eye, how would we hear? And if all the body were ear, how would we smell?”

God has arranged all the members, placing each part of the body as He pleased. If all were the same part where would the body be? But there are many members and one body. The eye cannot tell the hand, “I do not need you,” nor the head tell the feet, “I do not need you.”

Still more, the parts of our body that we most need are those that seem to be the weakest; the parts that we consider lower are treated with much care, and we cover them with more modesty because they are less presentable, whereas the others do not need such attention.

God Himself arranged the body in this way, giving more honour to those parts that need it, so that the body may not be divided, but rather each member may care for the others. When one suffers, all of them suffer, and when one receives honour, all rejoice together.

Now, you are the Body of Christ and each of you individually is a member of it. So God has appointed us in the Church. First Apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of tongues.

Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in tongues?

Alternative reading (shorter version)

1 Corinthians 12 : 12-14, 27

As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit. The body has not just one member, but many.

Now, you are the Body of Christ and each of you individually is a member of it.

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Sunday, 24 January 2016 : Third (3rd) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour: Green

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever. The judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o Lord – my Redeemer, my Rock!

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Sunday, 24 January 2016 : Third (3rd) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour: Green

Nehemiah 8 : 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Ezra brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all the children who could understand what was being read. It was the first day of the seventh month. Ezra read the book before all of them from early morning until midday in the square facing the Water Gate; and all who heard were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Ezra, the teacher of the Law, stood on a wooden platform built for that occasion. He opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; and when he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra blessed YHVH, the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, “Amen! Amen!” And they bowed their heads to the ground.

They read from the Book of the Law of God, clarifying and interpreting the meaning, so that everyone might understand what they were hearing. Then Ezra, the teacher of the Law said to the people, “This day is dedicated to YHVH, your God, so do not be sad or weep.”

He said this because all wept when they heard the reading of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine and share with him who has nothing prepared. This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of YHVH is our strength.”

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Wednesday, 13 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hilary, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the calling of the boy Samuel, who would become a great prophet and servant of God one day in his lifetime, who would be the one to anoint the first kings over Israel and also led the people of God during a time of turmoil and uncertainty, and also go against even the king Saul when he had erred in his judgment and no longer following the will of God.

Samuel was still very young when he was dedicated to the Lord at His House, when his mother Hannah whose prayer for a child had been answered by God, gave him to be the possession of the Lord forevermore. And then, as he grew up under the tutelage of Eli, the then judge over Israel, he grew in spirit and in faith to the Lord. And when the time was ripe, even though he was still also very young then, God began to speak to him, revealing the intention He had for him, and also for His people Israel.

In the Gospel today, we heard about Jesus our Lord Who healed the mother-in-law of His disciple Simon Peter, Who cast out from her the sickness and made her whole once again, and then we also heard how He healed many others who were sick and cared for those with afflictions, casting out evil spirits from them and brought them back from the depth of the darkness and into the light.

And Jesus also said to His disciples, how many of the people in other places also had need of Him, and He could not just stay in one place only serving the sick and the destitute of that area alone. He was sent into the world to bring about the salvation and the liberation of all of the peoples of God, and to that extent He would make Himself available to heal all those who seek for His help.

And in the same way Samuel had been called by the Lord even in his youth in order to serve a greater purpose. One might have thought that someone like Samuel would have become a servant in the household of Eli and as a servant in the House of the Lord, but God called him to be His mouthpiece and to be the one who would reveal His truth to the multitudes of the Israelites and to their neighbours alike.

Today we commemorate also the feast of St. Hilary, also known as St. Hilary of Poitiers, a holy saint renowned for his devout life and for his purity of life, and as a faithful servant of God, as the Bishop of Poitiers, he opposed the move and the attempt by the heretical Arians from their trying to subvert and lure away the people of God from the salvation in the Church.

St. Hilary of Poitiers tried his best to defend his flock from the depredations of the Arians, and despite their opposition, even which caused him to be exiled from Poitiers to the the other far ends of the Empire, he continued to labour hard for the sake of the Lord, and for his true faith in Him. He never gave up even despite all the oppositions and the challenges he had faced.

And when he managed to return to his own diocese after a few years, he continued the good works which he had started and continued on to sow the seeds of good faith amongst the people of God, and this resulted in many who were prevented from falling into heresy, and many others repented and returned to the true faith in the Lord.

In all these, we see the courage and the faith exhibited by St. Hilary of Poitiers, the kind of faith that all of us should have as well. We must have the same kind of zeal and faith, in following God and heeding to His call as the prophet Samuel had also once done. Only when we actively live out our faith and dedicate ourselves fully to the Lord, then we shall be blessed and made the sharers in our God’s inheritance.

Let us all from now on be more committed in our faith and dedicate our lives to serve the Lord in all things, so that through all that we have done, we may glorify God and bring much grace and blessings to all of us. God bless us all. Amen.