holy bishops

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Sunday, 2 August 2015 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 16 : 2-4, 12-15

In the desert the whole community of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of YHVH in Egypt when we sat down to caldrons of meat and ate all the bread we wanted, whereas you have brought us to this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation!”

YHVH then said to Moses, “Now I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to gather what is needed for that day. In this way I will test them to see if they will follow My Teaching or not. I have heard the complaints of Israel. Speak to them and say : Between the two evenings you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have bread to your heart’s content; then you shall know that I am YHVH, your God!”

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp. And in the morning, dew had fallen around the camp. When the dew lifted, there was on the surface of the desert a thin crust like hoarfrost. The people of Israel upon seeing it said to one another, “What is it?” for they did not know what it was. Moses told them, “It is the bread that YHVH has given you to eat.”

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Saturday, 1 August 2015 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how God instituted the year of the jubilee, which is celebrated every fifty years, and which was the opportunity for mercy, redemption, atonement and forgiveness for sins. It is on that opportunity that those who had been suffering and enslaved, burdened and troubled were to be freed from their burdens and be liberated.

Meanwhile, in the Gospel, we heard about how the faithful servant of God, St. John the Baptist was martyred for his upright and unyielding devotion to the truth of God, even if that meant standing up against the king and risking his own life. He was martyred for standing up against the sins of the flesh, the wickedness of this world as shown by the adulterous relationship that king Herod had shown with his brother’s wife, Herodias.

How does these two readings relate to each other, brothers and sisters in Christ? How do they make sense to us? These two readings actually invited us to look deep into our own lives and values, into our own actions, words and deeds, and asked us to reflect on the nature of sin, punishment for those sins, and opportunity for forgiveness and mercy.

If we look into our lives and reflect on what we have done and committed in this life, then surely we should be able to see how we truly deserve to be punished and cast into utter darkness because of our actions. Do we realise how much God has loved us and blessed us in all the things we have and do? And yet do we realise how often we have walked astray from the path He had shown us?

From time to time, ever since the beginning of time, and ever since we mankind had fallen into sin, we have been reminded by the Lord through His many servants and messengers whom He sent to pronounce to us the truth about His mercy and love for us, as well as the truth about His righteous anger and justice, which He shows for our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should take note that while our Lord and God loves us all beyond anything else, and although His mercy and forgiveness is offered freely to all without exception, we should not take advantage of it, and cause the Lord to have more reason to show His wrath upon us. For if we walk the same path as the king Herod had done, then surely, we are testing the patience of the Lord.

What is this path? It is the way of wickedness, of succumbing to worldliness and all sorts of temptations and pleasures of the flesh, which brought about corruption to our hearts, minds and bodies, to our entire being. Whenever we let our heart’s desires to overcome us and control us, and whenever we act in selfishness and without regards for others, then we truly have walked astray from the path our Lord had shown us, that is the path towards salvation.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, a bishop and Doctor of the Church, who was most renowned in his role as the founder of the Redemptorists, also known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. This religious congregation devoted themselves, in the model of their founder and patron, to the redemptive salvation and the merciful nature of our Lord.

St. Alphonsus Liguori lived a few hundred years ago during a time when the faith of many were severely tested, both by heresies and heretical thoughts, as well as by the forces of the world, secularism, pleasures of the flesh, simony and many other vile things in the world. St. Alphonsus Liguori decided to devote himself to the service of the Church, to God and to His people by joining religious life.

He saw how many people stumbled on their path to the Lord, were lost and ended up living in sin. Thus, he devoted himself to serve them and help to bring these lost sheep back to the Lord. He and many others who followed him founded the Redemptorists and worked hard to combat the influences of false teachings and worldly temptations on the people they worked so hard to save.

Through his many works, and his many writings, he had inspired many others to follow in his footsteps, either by joining the Redemptorists or any other religious orders and consecrated life, or in their own life as a laity, to help those who have been lost in the darkness of the world. And have our own hearts been stirred as well? We too should be stirred in our hearts to follow in the footsteps of this holy saint.

We have to change our own lives first, in all the things that we say and do, so that we no longer follow the ways of sin, but walk in the righteous path of the Lord. Then, we should also strive to go out and help all our brethren, especially those who have not found their way and been lost in the darkness, and offer our help, by showing them through example, how to be a faithful follower of the Lord.

May Almighty God be with us all, and guide us in this life, that we may find our way to His mercy and love. May He forgive us our sins and wickedness, and welcome us back into His loving embrace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 1 August 2015 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 14 : 1-12

At that time, the news about Jesus reached king Herod. And he said to his servants, “This Man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in John.”

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to Herod, “It is not right for you to have her as your wife.” Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced among the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked for. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but because he had made this promise under oath in the presence of his guests, he ordered it to be given to her. So he had John beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother.

Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went away to bring the news to Jesus.

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Saturday, 1 August 2015 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 7-8

May God be gracious and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth and Your salvation among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice and guide the nations of the world.

The land has given us its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us. May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

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Saturday, 1 August 2015 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Leviticus 25 : 1, 8-17

YHVH spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai : “When seven sabbaths of years have passed, that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly. On this Day of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land.”

“Keep holy the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the land. It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall recover his property and go back to his family. In this fiftieth year, your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the aftergrowth, nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year shall be holy for you, and you shall eat what the field yields of itself without cultivation.”

“In this year of Jubilee each of you shall recover his own property. When you sell something to your neighbour or buy something from him, do not wrong one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy it from your neighbour and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he shall sell to you.”

“When the years are many the price shall be greater and when the years are few, the price shall be less, for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God, for I am YHVH, your God.”

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Monday, 20 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Scripture readings which all talked about one main thing, that is how we all often doubt and do not trust in the power of the Lord which He had shown clearly by signs and even miracles. In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, we see how the people of Israel trembled at the sight of the Egyptians and their chariots chasing after them at the edge of the Red Sea, but Moses reassured them of God’s strength and protection.

In the Gospel, we see also how the people keep asking Jesus for miracles and signs as a proof that He is indeed the Messiah, the Holy One of God promised to come and rescue all of them and bring them into glory. But Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief and lack of faith. These people was truly ignorant and adamant in the heart, stubborn in mind and refused to believe in what they have witnessed in Christ.

The same too often happen to us, as we often fail to see that in many things that God had done for us, we do not recognise His great works being done for our benefit. When we encounter difficulties, challenges and times of trouble, we are often quick to give up and despair, and we often like to complain that no one cares about us, and we complain that the Lord did not do anything to help us. But do we truly know what God has done for us?

What Jesus told the rebellious people was in itself the essence of what God had done for us all mankind. He has led us all His people to safety in the midst of danger, fed us and provided everything we need when we were hungry, thirsty or in need. He rescued us from the darkness and brought us back to the light. And all these He had done even though we often doubted Him, complained about Him and refused to listen to Him.

We are people who are easily awed by miracles and wonders. This is because we have no faith in the Lord and neither in ourselves. We are so doubtful and we allowed fear and uncertainty to fill our hearts and this is why we often act like the Israelites of old. They worried and lacked faith in God, fearing the chariots of Egypt over the power of their Lord who had shown His might through the ten plagues He had sent against the Egyptians.

Jesus told the people how the only sign they will see is the sign of Jonah, of the prophet who went into the belly of a giant fish for a whole three days and three nights, in which He was in fact referring to the very sign that He would show, as a concrete and undeniable proof of God’s infinite and undying love for all of us. That sign is His suffering, death and resurrection from the dead.

Jesus suffered for our sake, our own Lord being scourged and rejected for our own sins, and He died on the cross bearing the punishments and consequences for our faults, and for three days He laid in the earth, descending into hell to free all the captive souls of mankind who were righteous and just, and bring them into the light. Those souls have waited a very long time for the day of salvation, and at that moment, the feeling of joy is indeed the same as the moment when God split open the Red Sea to let His people pass through it to freedom from the Pharaoh’s Army.

Therefore, all of us ought to realise how much God had done for our sake, even though sometimes we may not realise it. He has given us so much opportunity, hope, and goodness that if we still do not have faith in Him, then we are truly blind in our hearts, and we will be counted among those faithless ones of Israel, who during their sojourn in the desert constantly complained and disobeyed the Lord, complaining that God had not done enough for them even though He had given them so much and provided for them.

Can we show gratitude and thanks to our Lord who had done so much for us? We should be thankful that He has blessed us with so much graces that we have enjoyed them so much and benefitted so much. Yet we often act like spoilt children who enjoyed the goods but then do not give proper thanks and gratitude to the one who made it all possible for us.

Perhaps the example of St. Apollinaris, the saint whose feast we are celebrating today can be an inspiration to all of us on how to live our lives faithfully to God. St. Apollinaris, also known as St. Apollinaris of Ravenna was a bishop of that city of Ravenna during the years of the Roman Empire at a time when being a Christian equals a death penalty if discovered by the state.

It was there that St. Apollinaris devoted himself to the flock which had been entrusted to him as shepherd. He and his flock were constantly threatened and persecuted by the Roman Emperors and authorities who hounded them from place to place and even sent them into exile at times. And yet, despite the challenges and difficulties, St. Apollinaris and his followers did not give up and remain faithful to the Lord.

Even in the face of martyrdom and suffering, St. Apollinaris and many others of his fellow contemporaries continued to place their faith in the Lord, for they knew that God was with them, and that no matter what the world threw at them or threatened them with, these ultimately had no power over them. We have to be mindful of what the Lord Himself said that we should not fear those who have no power to destroy our soul, for it is God Himself and only He alone has that power and authority to destroy us if we prove to be an unrepentant and stubborn person.

Based on the examples of St. Apollinaris and the other holy men and women throughout the ages, shall we all reflect on our own actions and deeds? Shall we all look once again at how we have lived our lives? Have we been faithful and obedient to God, putting our trust in Him and be thankful of what He had done for us? Or have we been unrepentant and rebellious, and not realising all the good things He had done for us? If we are truly faithful, no matter times of joy or times of difficulty, we will still be devoted to Him.

May Almighty God our Father awaken in all of us the ability to realise how much He has blessed us and helped us in this life. And may He also strengthen in all of us the love which we all ought to have for Him. May the Lord bless us and keep us in His love forever, now and until eternity. God be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 20 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 12 : 38-42

At that time, some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Jesus answered them, “An evil and unfaithful people want a sign, but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the depths of the earth.”

“At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise with this generation and condemn it, because they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here there is greater than Jonah. At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon.”

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Monday, 20 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Exodus 15 : 1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6

I will sing to YHVH, the Glorious One, horse and rider He has thrown into the sea. YHVH is my strength and my song, and He is my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him; the God of my father : I will extol Him.

YHVH is a warrior; YHVH is His Name. The chariots of Pharaoh and his army He has hurled into the sea; his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

The deep covers them; they went down like a stone. Your hand, o YHVH, glorious and powerful, Your right hand, o YHVH, shatters the enemy.

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Monday, 20 July 2015 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Exodus 14 : 5-18

The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled; then Pharaoh and his ministers changed their minds with regard to the people. “What have we done,” they said, “in allowing Israel to go and be free of our service?” Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. There were six hundred of his best chariots; indeed he took all the Egyptian chariots, each one with his warriors.

YHVH had hardened the mind of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who set out in pursuit of the Israelites as they marched forth triumphantly. The Egyptians – all the chariots and horses of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army – gave chase and caught up with them when they had encamped by the sea near Pihahiroth, facing Baalzephon.

The Israelites saw the Egyptians marching after them : Pharaoh was drawing near. They were terrified and cried out to YHVH. Then they said to Moses, “Were there no tombs in Egypt? Why have you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done by bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not what we said when we were in Egypt : Let us work for the Egyptians. Far better serve Egypt than to die in the desert!”

Moses said to the people, “Have no fear! Stay where you are and see the work YHVH will do to save you today. The Egyptians whom you see today, you will never see again! YHVH will fight for you and all you have to do is to keep still.”

YHVH said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. You will raise your staff and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it to let the Israelites go dryfoot through the sea. I will so harden the minds of the Egyptians that they will follow you. And I will have glory at the expense of Pharaoh, his army, his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am YHVH when I gain glory for Myself at the cost of Pharaoh and his army!”

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Wednesday, 15 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard in the first reading from the Book of Exodus, how God called Moses His chosen servant while he was in exile in Midian, so that He might reveal to him the truth about the mission which He had entrusted to him. It was His will that He would deliver His people from their suffering and oppression by the Egyptians who made them their slaves.

He called Moses in the wilderness, on top of His own holy mountain, Mount Horeb, in a bush burning as if burnt by fire, and yet it is not burnt. It is the Lord Himself who revealed Himself to the world through Moses. This is echoed in the Gospel today, where our Lord Jesus Christ praised His Father in heaven, for revealing the truth and the wisdom of God to simple and humble men, and not to the prideful and the haughty.

If we note, God called Moses not as a mighty prince of Egypt, but as a humble shepherd who lived in simplicity in exile. He called this seemingly hopeless and futureless person who had once fallen from grace and glory, outcast and downtrodden, poor in speech and trembling in the sight of a great challenge which God had placed before him.

But this is exactly what God had done, for His plans and His ways are not like what we always like our think. God’s wisdom and ways are beyond the ways of men, and the mightier and more powerful we are, the less likely we are to understand the ways of our God. Our Lord does not go about as we often do. He does not boast His might over the weak and the downtrodden, and He does not despise those who are poor, unloved and dejected.

Thus He called Moses, His servant, from amongst his sheep and goats, and sending him to liberate a people living in great poverty and oppression as slaves. He sent his servant not at the head of a great and conquering army to liberate His people, but with a stick and nothing more. It may seem ridiculous to most human observers at the time, but God does things in marvellous ways indeed.

Through Moses God did His many wonders, a simple and humble man, a prince no longer but one counted among the slaves, who with his walking stick challenged the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt, one of the mightiest secular rulers at the time. And God raised His hands against Pharaoh and Egypt such that, after witnessing the true power and strength of God, let the people of Israel go.

And in the same way therefore, God had called and chosen us all from among the nations to be His people. We have been called from our various origins, all to be His people and to follow Him hopefully for the rest of our days in faith. And through us God will work His great wonders to the people, as by our actions, words and deeds we will bear witness to our Lord’s might and call many peoples to come to His presence.

On this day, we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a great bishop, preacher and a notable Doctor of the Church, who was a Franciscan Cardinal of the Church, a simple man, who gave himself to a simple life in a life dedicated to the service of the Lord and His people, and yet he was called for something even greater, and through his many works and teachings, which inspired so many people, he was also renowned by his title of the Seraphic Doctor.

St. Bonaventure joined the Franciscans, a religious order renowned for its simplicity, holiness and filled with devotion to God. He would have been content with such a simple, prayerful life, and yet God called him to a greater purpose. He preached against heresies and published many of his writings which became a great source of inspiration in the faith. Eventually, the Church recognised his great efforts and he was made a bishop and then a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, giving him even greater reach and responsibility.

The example of St. Bonaventure shows us that while we are perhaps simple and small in comparison with others we see around us, and even though our achievements seem to be minuscule compared to that of mankind combined together, but it is exactly what God needs. He calls not the mighty and the prideful, but the simple, to be moulded into His tools, for the good of all mankind.

May Almighty God inspire in us and awaken in us the fullness of love and faith in Him, so that we may devote ourselves ever more to His cause just as His servants Moses and St. Bonaventure had been. We may be small and insignificant, but God reveals His wisdom precisely to those like us, so that by our actions and deeds, filled with the goodness and truth of our Lord, we may be deemed righteous and just, and be worthy of the glory of heaven that awaits us. God bless us all. Amen.