holy bishops

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Friday, 4 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Philippians 3 : 17 – Philippians 4 : 1

Unite in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and look at those who walk in our way of life. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. I have said it to you many times, and now I repeat it with tears : they are heading for ruin; their belly is their god and they feel proud of what should be their shame. They only think of earthly things.

For us, our citizenship is in heaven, from where we await the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Lord. He will transfigure our lowly body, making it like His own Body, radiant in Glory, through the power which is His to submit everything to Himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, you my glory and crown, be steadfast in the Lord.

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Monday, 24 October 2022 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the words of the Lord telling all of us to remain faithful and true to Him. We must not allow the wickedness and evils of this world from coming into our midst and corrupt us. If we let those things to mislead and distract us from the path that the Lord has shown us, then many of us will unfortunately likely end up falling down the slippery slope towards damnation. We must remember that as Christians, each and every one of us are called to be righteous, good and full of Christian virtues, that in all the things we say and do, we always bring greater glory to God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus regarding the Apostle’s reminder to the people of God there on how them being the people and children of God, they were all called to a greater new life, full of genuine faith and actions as Christians, and how they should not follow their past ways and wicked path anymore. They were called to a greater new existence, one that was no longer based on the ways of their predecessors and ancestors. Instead, they were all called to follow in the path that God has set before them, and which He Himself had shown to them through His Apostles and His Church.

St. Paul reminded the people of God in Ephesus how the Lord has called on all of them to be holy just as He is holy, and He called on all of them to be virtuous and good in their path, and not to bring scandal to the Lord’s Holy Name and to His Church. As Christians, they were all expected to make a stand against the wickedness of the world, to abandon the temptations of the world and to side with the Lord wholeheartedly. The Lord told them and also to all of us, that we cannot be servants of both God and Money, and that is, we cannot be servant of both the Lord and of the world. If we allow ourselves to indulge in the temptations of worldly glory and power, sooner or later we may end up falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin.

Instead, we are all reminded of what He Himself had done, all the teachings He has given us and all the truth that He has revealed to us, so that through all of those, we may know how we can proceed ahead as Christians in our way of life, in our actions and deeds, in whatever path we follow. That is what we ought to reflect as we recall the message of the Word of God contained within the Sacred Scriptures we have heard today. We heard from the Gospel passage today regarding the confrontation between the Lord and the leader of the synagogue simply because the Lord healed a crippled woman on a Sabbath day.

The Lord had wanted to heal the woman who had been crippled and kept bent and enslaved by the evil spirits for a long period of eighteen years, and He highlighted to His opponents and naysayers, just how ridiculous it was that the woman would have to wait any moment longer just because it was the day of the Sabbath, which according to the Jewish laws and customs back then, was a day when no work was allowed at any circumstances. Meanwhile, the Pharisees and the leader of the synagogue, who likely held the same belief, were most particularly strict and extensive in their efforts to preserve this custom and practice, in enforcing these rules on the people.

However, in doing so they had become elitist and wicked in their ways, as they became self-righteous and prejudiced against all those whom they deemed to be inferior to themselves, which were essentially everyone else, and especially those who were afflicted with diseases like that of the crippled woman herself. Yet, the Lord courageously challenged this action and view of the Pharisees and the synagogue elders, and healed the woman, showing all the people of God what God truly wants from all of us, to be loving and forgiving just as God Himself has shown us His love and compassion, His forgiveness and mercy.

Today we have yet another example who can help us to find our way in living our Christian faith ever more worthily of the Lord. St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the Claretian religious order, was a Spanish Archbishop and missionary, who dedicated himself to a life of ministry to God, first preaching amongst the Catalans in a region that had been destabilised by wars, and was remembered for his great love for his flock, by his dedication in going from one community to another even on foot. He went to several distant areas like the Canary Islands, preaching the word of God there, and calling on many people to return to the Church of God.

As Archbishop of Santiago, in the New World area of Cuba, the Church entrusted St. Anthony Mary Claret with the mission to evangelise to his flock, in caring for the needs of his community, showing them the love of God as shown by his commitment to establish many hospitals and schools for the common folks, in the reorganisation of the diocesan seminary among others. Through his missionary efforts and writings, he inspired many others to follow his good examples, and that helped to lay the foundation of many good deeds. He spent a lot of time caring for the need of the poor, helping them and caring for their needs, and miracles abound in his works and presence, turning even more people towards God. He continued to do many good works even in his later years, dedicating his life to his missions even when he faced many challenges and hardships.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect on all these, and look upon the good examples set by the Lord Himself, and by our faithful and holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs, especially of St. Anthony Mary Claret whose memory we recall and venerate today. Let us all strive to do the will of God in the manner that the faithful sons and daughters of the Lord and His Church had done. And may God be with us always in our journey of faith, so that in our every words, actions and deeds, we will always ever be filled with the righteousness and virtues of God, and strive to glorify God and not seek our own glory in life. May God bless us always in all things, and bless our every efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 24 October 2022 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Luke 13 : 10-17

At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.

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Monday, 24 October 2022 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Monday, 24 October 2022 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Ephesians 4 : 32 – Ephesians 5 : 8

Be good and understanding, mutually forgiving one another as God forgave you in Christ. As most beloved children of God, strive to imitate Him. Follow the way of love, the example of Christ Who loved you. He gave Himself up for us and became the offering and sacrificial victim Whose fragrance rises to God.

And since you are holy, there must not be among you even a hint of sexual immorality or greed, or any kind of impurity : these should not be named among you. So too for scandalous words, nonsense and foolishness, which are not fitting; instead offer thanksgiving to God.

Know this : no depraved, impure or covetous person who serves the god ‘Money’ shall have part in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for these are the sins which God is about to condemn in people who do not obey.

Do not associate with such people. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Behave as children of light.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the immense love and mercy of God through which each and every one of us have received the assurance of eternal life and salvation, all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us must remember how the Lord cares for us and how He treats us as truly precious people, as His own children, so that we will remember that we should remain focused on Him and not on worldly things and all else which can easily distract us in our way and journey towards His salvation and eternal life.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the words of St. Paul reminding all the people of God there of everything that the Lord had done for them, in their great fortune in having been rescued and redeemed by their Lord, Master, Saviour and Redeemer. All of them have deserved death and destruction, damnation and hell, and yet, God had mercy on them and because He is so full of love, and to all of us this reminder serves the same purpose, because God’s love, compassion and mercy are extended to all of us, regardless of our background and how great a sinner we have been in our respective lives.

St. Paul himself highlighted just how fallen and wretched our human nature and existence were, and yet, because of God’s love and mercy, all of us have received a new lease of life, a new hope and liberation from our downwards path towards destruction. St. Paul encouraged all of us just as he did to the faithful in Ephesus, reminding us of just how great and rich God’s mercy and compassion truly are. But at the same time, we must also not take His love and mercy for granted, or else, we will end up spurning these advances of love and mercy by the Lord, as what had happened to many of our predecessors, who were so caught up in their pride, ego and greed that they ignored the Lord and His love and mercy.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that was precisely the reason why so many had faltered in their journey towards the Lord. They all failed to appreciate and embrace the Lord’s approach of love and compassion towards them. They took His love and generosity for granted and ignored and abandoned Him at their own convenience. In the end, they were all condemned not because God did not love them, but because they had little to no faith in Him, and they rejected Him by their own conscious effort and accord. They refused to embrace God’s love and mercy, and preferring to remain in the state of sin, although God has so generously given them His loving compassion and has always offered them His forgiveness.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the example of a rich man who asked Him to judge and support him for his part of the inheritance against his own brethren. The Lord then also mentioned a parable about a rich man who was consumed with worry and preoccupied with his greed and desires, thinking of how he could accumulate more of whatever wealth that he had been gathering up to that point. The Lord concluded that parable and story with the warning of how even that rich man would meet his end, because if God so wills it, his life could end there and then, and nothing of what he had accumulated would accompany him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the Lord want us to learn from these passages today? Through His Church and the Scriptures today, the Lord wants us to know that we should be vigilant with ourselves and with the many temptations ever present all around us, lest we may be tempted to abandon Him and His love for the sake of worldly glory, material wealth, fame, possessions, human praise, status and many other things in this world which often distracted us and dragged us away from the path of God and into the path towards damnation and destruction. We have often indulged in these worldly desires and ended up forgetting about God, about His love and mercy.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the great early Church fathers whose life and works, whose actions and faith can become sources of inspiration for all of us in how each one of us can become ever better and more committed Christians in life. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the early Church fathers and bishops as the successors of the Apostles in the ministry of the Church, and he was the successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch that the Apostle founded, who was dedicated to his flock and the expansion of the Church, for the care and salvation of souls among others.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was and is still greatly revered for his piety and faith in God, for his immense contribution and commitment to the Lord and His Church, as he wrote extensively to the Church, and corresponded actively with Pope St. Clement, the Bishop of Rome and St. Peter’s successor as the Vicar of Christ, and with the other Church fathers, on top of his work and passionate dedication to his local Christian flock. He faced hardships and challenges just as many of the early Christians and the Apostles themselves had faced, and died as a martyr in defending his faith and love for God.

Let us all therefore follow the good examples set by our holy predecessors, by St. Ignatius of Antioch and the innumerable other saints and martyrs, who have shown us what it truly means for us to become Christians, in becoming the holy people of God, called and chosen from this darkened and wretched world. We have been called to a greater and holier existence, to be like our loving and good Father, our Lord and Saviour Himself. Therefore, each and every one of us should strive to purify our lives and to align ourselves to His path and teachings, and reject all the corruptions and other things which sin had brought unto us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in life, that we may ever persevere through the challenges and trials of life, especially when our faith in Him are tested and when we face hardships in life. We should remain firm in our faith and commitment to God, remembering His faithfulness to the Covenant that He had made with us, the love which He had generously given us and the compassion by which He willingly forgives us our sins. Let us all therefore commit ourselves to the Lord anew and endeavour and strive to lead a new life from now on, without sin any more. May God bless us and remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 12 : 13-21

At that time, someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed Me as your Judge or your Attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued, “There was a rich man, and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought, ‘What shall I do, for I am short of room to store my harvest? Alright, I know what I shall do : I will pull down my barns and I will build bigger ones, to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I will say to myself : My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.'”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you. Tell Me, who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches for himself and is not wealthy in the eyes of God.”

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Monday, 17 October 2022 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 1-10

You were dead, through the faults and sins. Once, you lived through them, according to this world, and followed the Sovereign Ruler Who reigns between heaven and earth, and Who goes on working, in those who resist the faith.

All of us belonged to them, at one time, and we followed human greed; we obeyed the urges of our human nature and consented to its desires. By ourselves, we went straight to the judgment, like the rest of humankind.

But God, Who is rich in mercy, revealed His immense love. As we were dead through our sins, He gave us life, with Christ. By grace, you have been saved! And He raised us to life, with Christ, giving us a place with Him in heaven.

In showing us such kindness, in Christ Jesus, God willed to reveal, and unfold in the coming ages, the extraordinary riches of His grace. By the grace of God, you have been saved, through faith.

This has not come from you : it is God’s gift. This was not the result of your works, so you are not to feel proud. What we are, is God’s work. He has created us, in Christ Jesus, for the good works He has prepared, that we should devote ourselves to them.

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Tuesday, 20 September 2022 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Martyr, St. Laurent Imbert, Bishop and Martyr, St. Jacques Chastan, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the words of the Lord reminding us to do the will of God and not to fall into the path of sin and wickedness. Again and again we have constantly been reminded of the dangers of sin and the temptations to sin. Unless we are vigilant and put our conscious effort to reject sin and evil, more often than not we may find ourselves stumbling and falling yet again because we are unable to resist the strong pull and allure of sin which can drag us down the path towards damnation and downfall.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of Proverbs, we are all reminded that the Lord values our actions and obedience to His Law, commandments and will more than our sacrifices and offerings. The Lord honours and blesses the just and the righteous ones, all those who have obeyed His will, followed His ways and dedicated themselves to His cause by their real actions and works, instead of just merely paying lip service or making profession of faith. And yet in our way of life and actions, we are often full of actions that are contrary to God’s teachings and truth, as we often follow the whim of our desires, our pride and ego, the norms and ways of this world among others.

The Lord said that those who were haughty and wicked, who oppressed the poor and the weak, all those who were selfish and proud, and thinking only of fulfilling their own selfish and wicked desires, all of these will not flourish with Him, and will not have part in any of His inheritance and graces. The Lord made it clear that all of us as Christians are called to distance ourselves from wicked ways, and embrace wholeheartedly instead the path of righteousness and justice, of all the good things that the Lord Himself had taught us to do. God had taught us His ways, and showed us all how to live our lives in the right manner, and it is in the end, up to us whether we want to follow Him or to follow our own path.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord when the people told Him that His family members, His mother and other relatives were waiting for Him. The Lord then told them all that His brothers and sisters, His mother are all those who listen to the Lord and do His will. While at a glance it might seem that the Lord had been rude to His mother and family, but in truth, the intention behind those words uttered by the Lord Jesus is that, each and every one of us are equally beloved by God, and all of us who do His will, who are righteous and just, virtuous and good, upright and faithful, all of us will share the fullness of God’s love, grace and compassion. And we should look upon our glorious and holy predecessors how we ought to be just doing exactly that.

Today the Church celebrates the memory of the great martyrs and all those who had given their lives for their faith in the region of Korea, as part of the Feast of the Holy Martyrs of Korea, namely St. Andreas Kim Taegon, St. Paul Chong Hasang among the many other local Christians of Korea who were persecuted for their faith, as well as foreign missionaries such as St. Laurent Imbert, the first Apostolic Vicar to Korea, St. Jacques Chastan and many others who had travelled far and wide, to come to the far peripheries of the world and spread the Good News of God to all those who have yet to hear of Him, and who suffered for His sake.

At that time, the state and the government of Korea was highly hostile and suspicious of Christian missionaries and the Christian faith, considering them all as unwanted foreign influences that could potentially bring harm to the state. To that extent, the state carried out intense official persecution much alike what happened during the time of the Roman Empire in the early Church. The Christian missionaries had to operate in secret, in fear of repercussions from the officials and the authorities, and many of the Christian faithful, both the missionaries and converts alike suffered because of their persistence and perseverance in remaining true to their faith in God despite the oppressions.

St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first local convert Catholic priest in Korea, whose parents were themselves converts, and his father was martyred for his faith. St. Andrew Kim Taegon eventually chose priesthood as his path and finally returned to Korea after years of ministry and studies, during which time then he ministered and preached to his native Koreans about the Lord, having to deal with the intensifying persecution from the government authorities. He was martyred together with thousands of the other Christians who refused to abandon their faith, as he was tortured and beheaded, enduring glorious martyr’s death for the Lord.

Then, I would also like to share the story of St. Laurent Imbert, who was the first Apostolic Vicar to Korea, as the first bishop to establish the nascent hierarchy of the Church in that land. St. Laurent Imbert was a member of the Paris Foreign Missions society or the M.E.P., who together with the other missionary priests clandestinely ministered to the faithful and grew the Church during those difficult years. And it was told that when the officials demanded that he and the other priests surrendered themselves in exchange for the safety of his faithful flock, he willingly surrendered himself and asked his fellow two other priests to do the same as well, saying that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep’, remembering what the Lord Himself, our Good Shepherd, had done for our sake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the numerous stories of great wisdom and courage from the martyr saints of Korea should inspire us all to live our lives worthily and to do our best to glorify the Lord by our lives, actions and works. Each and every one of us should follow God’s will and obey His Law and commandments. Let us all no longer distance ourselves from Him or be ignorant of Him calling on us to follow Him in our hearts and minds. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us all each day, now and always, forevermore. Amen.