holy bishops

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Wednesday, 22 June 2022 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (First Reading)

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

2 Kings 22 : 8-13 and 2 Kings 23 : 1-3

At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of YHVH.” And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it. Then Shaphan went to the king and said, “We have gathered the money in the House, and this has been turned over to the caretakers of the House to make the repairs.”

And Shaphan added, “The priest Hilkiah has turned over a Book to me.” And Shaphan read the Book to the king. When the king heard the contents of the Book, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Shaphan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the following, “Go and consult YHVH about the threats in this Book which you have found. Consult Him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this Book says nor its ordinances. This is why the anger of YHVH is ready to burn against us.”

The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. Then he went up to the house of YHVH, followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests with the prophets and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the Book of the Law found in the house of YHVH.

The king stood by the pillar; he made a Covenant in the presence of YHVH, promising to follow Him, to keep His commandments and laws, and to respect His ordinances. He promised to keep this Covenant according to what was written in the Book with all his heart and with all his soul. And all the people promised with him.

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Friday, 27 May 2022 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the joy that will come to us as disciples and followers of our Lord, even if we may have to encounter hardships, trials and challenges along the way. We must realise that as we walk along this path shown to us by God, we are never alone, and God will always be with us, guiding us and strengthening us on our way, helping to get through whatever persecutions and oppositions that we may have to endure as we continue to be faithful and dedicated Christians, in each and every days of our lives.

In our first reading today, as we heard from the Acts of the Apostles, the story of St. Paul and his continued ministry and journey is recounted to us, as he went on to the region of Achaia in what is now modern day Greece. Back then, he had encountered significant persecutions and hardships, had been plotted on and arrested on several occasions, attacked by his opponents and enemies, and was left almost dead in some of those instances. But God was with St. Paul and his companions, and we heard in our reading today that the Lord continued to encourage and strengthen St. Paul as he continued his missionary work.

In Achaia, St. Paul would encounter even more opposition and challenges to his mission, as the local Jewish community, likely siding with the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin against St. Paul and the Christian missionaries, plotted to have him arrested and punished. They made all sorts of false accusations against him, much like how the Lord himself was treated when He was rejected, persecuted, arrested and eventually condemned to death. St. Paul suffered similar persecution, but fortunately the Roman governor was not convinced by the Jewish community and did not arrest St. Paul. St. Paul was free then to continue with his mission there and elsewhere.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus encouraging His disciples as He told them that while they would have to face persecutions, sufferings and challenges but there would be time when they would enjoy a reprieve and time of gladness in the end, when their sufferings will end and everything will be good once again, and the Lord will never abandon His faithful ones, as they will always be precious to Him, no matter what. Hence, the disciples should continue to put their trust in the Lord and allow Him to guide them wherever He would send them to, just as how St. Paul followed the Lord and continued his missions regardless of the challenges that he faced.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have heard in our Scripture passages today should remind us all as Christians that we have been called to follow the Lord and to do His will, to carry out the mission of evangelising to the people. We often have doubts and reservations in doing so, or are ignorant of the calling and the vocations that we have been called to by the Lord. Many of us as Christians have been idle and passive, not living our faith in the way that we should live them. Hence, that is why we should herd these callings and also the examples as shown by St. Paul and the other faithful servants of God.

Today, we also mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury, a dedicated servant of God, a courageous missionary and bishop who has spent many years as missionary in England to establish the Church and its structure and foundation there. His examples and good works should and can inspire us all to follow the Lord in the same sense. St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent from mainland Europe by Pope St. Gregory the Great, another great saint of the Church, to reestablish the Church in England after over two centuries that it was ravaged by the Anglo-Saxon invasions, and the Church there was isolated from the rest of Christendom.

St. Augustine of Canterbury laboured for many years in England, establishing a firm foothold for Christianity in southern and eastern parts of England, becoming the first bishop of the See of Canterbury. He converted many of the pagans and even their kings to the Christian faith. St. Augustine spent all those years ministering to the faithful and many others, despite the hardships and challenges that he had to face from those who refused to believe in the Lord. His good works and all that he had done for the sake of God and His Church should inspire each one of us to do the same as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we remember the glorious memory of St. Augustine of Canterbury, his actions and works, and St. Paul and the other servants of God, let us all continue to commit ourselves to the Lord in our own ways, and endeavour to live actively our Christian faith from now on. We should no longer be just idle onlookers or to be on standby mode anymore. As Christians we are all expected to follow the Lord faithfully and to spend our effort and time to glorify Him more and more each days, now and always. May God bless us all and strengthen us that we too may do great things like what the saints had done, for the glory of God and the salvation of all people. Amen.

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Friday, 27 May 2022 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 20-23a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy : a human being is born into the world.”

“You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice; and no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask Me anything.”

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Friday, 27 May 2022 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 46 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Clap your hands, all you peoples; acclaim God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared; He is a great King all over the earth.

He brings peoples under our dominion and puts nations under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us – the pride of Jacob whom He loves!

God ascends amid joyful shouts, the Lord amid trumpet blasts. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

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Friday, 27 May 2022 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 18 : 9-18

One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”

Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint. But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.”

Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

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Monday, 2 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are presented with the nature of our faith, this faith that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour. Each and every one of us as Christians are called to proclaim the Lord and His truth through our lives and actions, in everything we say and do. We ought to do what the Apostles and all the holy men and women of God had done before us, in proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the One from Whom the salvation of the world had come from.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story of the time when St. Stephen, one of the seven first deacons of the Church, was confronted by the opponents of the Church, those who refused to believe in God and His truth as revealed through the Lord Jesus and His Apostles. The Sanhedrin and all those who have arrested and oppressed the Apostles tried a lot of effort to suppress the rapidly spreading Christian teachings and faith. And in order to do that, they even chose to employ false witnesses and other methods to try to persecute the disciples of the Lord like St. Stephen.

Hence, St. Stephen encountered great difficulty in going against the plots of those who sought to destroy him, against the authorities with the power to persecute him and who turned the people against him. Yet, he remained firm in his faith and convictions, not fearing the repercussions and threats against himself, but instead, inflamed by the Holy Spirit, encouraged and strengthened, he preached about the Lord and Saviour, openly proclaiming Him before the people, revealing all that God had done to them through His Son, Whom they had recently persecuted and gave to the Romans to be crucified, died and then risen in glory for the salvation of all the people.

Those false witnesses employed against him tried to bring St. Stephen down, and they used increasingly desperate means to discredit him, and yet, the great wisdom and courage that St. Stephen had shown would overpower whatever wicked means and plots arrayed against him. The Lord was working through His servant, and now, many years after his martyrdom, we are still inspired by the great courage and dedication that St. Stephen had shown, in facing even persecution, suffering and death squarely in the face, never once flinching or giving in to his fears and doubts, because he trusted fully in the Lord and His providence.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and the multitudes of people who had followed Him and tried to follow Him wherever He went. They followed the Lord and He pointed out that they followed Him because of their desires to be satisfied and fulfilled, by the amazing miracles that He performed, particularly that of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and many more. The Lord knew that in the hearts and minds of those people, there were still yet doubts and lacking in genuine faith, and hence, He wanted to convince and persuade them to truly believe in Him and His truth, and not just superficially showing their faith.

This reminds all of us of the very important mission that God has entrusted to us as Christians, that each and every one of us ought to proclaim the Lord, our God and Saviour, His love and compassionate mercy, His kindness and His truth to all the people, to everyone we encounter throughout life. We are all called to be the ministers of God, following in the footsteps of St. Stephen, the Apostles and the many other saints and martyrs, all those who have devoted their time and life, who have often suffered for the sake of the Lord, His Church and His people. We are all called to continue their efforts and works in our own ways.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Athanasius, the great and renowned Church father and Doctor of the Church, who was especially remembered for his dedication in defending the orthodox and true Christian faith and teachings against the dangerous influence and the falsehoods of the many heresies and false teachings that were running rampant during his time and ministry, threatening to destroy the unity and harmony within the Church, and also threatening to mislead countless souls down the path towards damnation. Against this, St. Athanasius persevered faithfully, committing his time and effort to go against those who proclaim those falsehoods, much like how St. Stephen himself had courageously proclaimed the Lord before those who persecuted him.

St. Athanasius was the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria whose tenure of work and ministry happened after the important Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. He led the Church in Alexandria and beyond against the heresy of Arius, the popular preacher who initiated the Arian heresy and controversy, who amassed a large following and support even amongst the bishops and the powerful rulers of the Roman Empire. However, that did not deter St. Athanasius from persevering in his efforts to bring the people of God and the Church out from the erroneous teachings of heretics like Arius among others, and even though he had to endure about seventeen years in various exiles from his See due to the opposition against him, he endured in his faith and struggle to the very end.

In what he would later be well known for, St. Athanasius was credited with the authorship or as the inspiration for the later codified Athanasian Creed, the expanded version of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed that emphasised heavily on the true nature of God, the relationship of the Members of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, against the erroneous heretical teachings, particularly that of Arius and his Arian heresy and which is recited especially on this day, his feast day. St. Athanasius showed all of us, just as St. Stephen had done, what being true Christians is all about, to stand up for our faith and proclaim the truth of God, faithfully and courageously even amidst opposition and oppression.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to commit ourselves in the same way as St. Athanasius, St. Stephen and the many other holy servants of God had done? Are we able and willing to follow the Lord faithfully and wholeheartedly, and making use of the various talents, gifts and opportunities that He had provided for us, so that we may glorify the Lord by our lives, by our words, actions and deeds? Let us all reflect carefully on how we can be ever better and more committed disciples of His, from now on. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us that we will remain faithful and true to our calling, and be courageous in proclaiming our faith in our respective lives, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 22-29

At that time, the next day after Jesus fed the five thousand men, the people, who had stayed on the other side, realised that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples; but rather, the disciples had gone away alone.

Bigger boats from Tiberias came near the place where all these people had eaten the bread. When they saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Master, when did You come here?”

Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, you look for Me, not because of the signs which you have seen, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for He is the One on Whom the Father has put His mark.”

Then the Jews asked Him, “What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?” And Jesus answered them, “The work God wants is this : that you believe in the One Whom God has sent.”

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Monday, 2 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 118 : 23-24, 26-27, 29-30

Although princes conspire against me, Your servant will observe Your decrees. Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.

When I explained my ways, You responded; instruct me then in Your precepts. Explain to me all Your ordinances, and I will meditate on Your wondrous deeds.

Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your law. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart upon Your laws.

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Monday, 2 May 2022 : 3rd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 6 : 8-15

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, ‘We heard him speak against Moses and against God.’ So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the Law; they took him by surprise, seized him and brought him before the Council.

Then they produced false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against our Holy Place and the Law. We even heard him say that Jesus the Nazarean will destroy our Holy Place and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.” And all who sat in the Council fixed their eyes on him, and his face appeared to them like the face of an Angel.

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Monday, 4 April 2022 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded of God’s kindness and love, His mercy and compassion, and at the same time we are also being reminded of the dangers of sin, and how those sins can lead us down the path of ruin as proven by our predecessors, and from what we have heard earlier today in our first reading taken from the Book of Daniel. Now that we are almost at the end of the season of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, we are all invited to come ever closer to the Lord and to His throne of mercy and love.

In our first reading today, as mentioned, we heard from the Book of Daniel of the story that happened with Susanna, the daughter of a renowned Israelite exile in Babylon, who was beautiful in appearance and tempted two of the elders of the people who saw her and were mesmerised by her beauty. They were tempted with desire and lust, and gave in to their temptations, plotting to impose their will on her and lay on her. Despite being the elders and therefore supposedly as the role models for the entire community, they allowed themselves to be easily swayed by those temptations and fell into sin.

And not only that, after having attempted to do the wicked deed and failed, as Susanna refused to be forced or coaxed into the sinful act against God, they tried to destroy her and have her sentenced to death in order to silence her and remove her as a living testament to their own failures and wickedness. They acted in self-preservation, selfishly trying to protect themselves and for their own personal gains over their duties and responsibilities as the custodians and elders of the people of God, as those who should have shown good examples for the rest of the people.

They almost managed to get the entire assembly to condemn Susanna to death by making use of their position, respect that they had within the community and other leverages that prevented Susanna from even defending herself, as no one would have believed her over the two elders, given the vile plots that those elders had against Susanna in making false accusations against her. But God protected her and provided for her in the time of her greatest need, by sending His Spirit into Daniel, who was still a young man then, and through the Wisdom that God imparted to him through His Spirit, Daniel managed to overturn the judgment of the two elders.

Indeed, he did not only cause Susanna to be spared from the false accusations and death, but he also revealed the wickedness of the two elders’ actions, showing the inconsistencies of their false accusations and words, eventually revealing by their own words, their vile intentions and their sins. And thus, God helped those who have been faithful to Him, while those who have failed to resist the temptations to sin and even indulge in it, would be punished accordingly. They would be judged according to the sins and faults they had made, and through the vile intentions they had against the righteous.

We heard something similar in our Gospel passage today as well, in what we have also heard in our Sunday Gospel passage just yesterday, on the well-known story of the Lord Jesus and how He forgave the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had made use of her to be an example and also as a trap for the Lord, asking Him on what to be done with her. We have to understand that the Lord often worked among the marginalised, sinners and all those who have been considered as unworthy and corrupted by others.

Therefore, if the Lord had directly said to the woman that He forgave her, then the Pharisees could have persecuted or even arrested the Lord there and then under the charge of disobeying the Law of God or even in blaspheming by claiming to be able to forgive sin, or at least they could severely undermine and discredit the Lord by saying that He was a sinner Himself for siding with sinners against God’s Law and commandments. On the other hand, if the Lord were to say that she ought to be stoned to death, then the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law could have also discredited the Lord by saying that He was merely a copycat, following the examples of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

Thus, what was truly wicked is the intention that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had in bringing the adulterous woman before the Lord, in not only wanting to persecute her, but even in making use of her for their own self-advantage and benefits, in trying to destroy the Lord, which was not much different from what happened between Susanna and the two elders from the time of Daniel. But the Lord through His great Wisdom told them firmly that should anyone in the assembly then had no sin, then he or she was the one who had the right to cast the first stone at the woman.

And since everyone knew that they were sinners, without being able to admit or pretend that they did not have any sin, hence, they left the Lord and the woman alone. We have to take note that as the Son of Man, the Lord Himself was without sin, and He as the Lord also at the same time have the power and authority to judge the woman for her actions, to condemn her according to the Law. Yet, He gave her the opportunity to change herself, allowing her to turn away from the path of sin, and giving her a new lease of life. He told her to sin no longer and embrace His righteousness and truth from then on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have heard from these readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the dangers of sin and our own desires and all the things that often mislead us into the path of sin, as the example of the elders, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law have shown us. We must not let those things from undermining our progress towards God and His saving path. But it will not be an easy path for us to follow, as challenges, temptations and obstacles will be in our path going forward in life.

That is why we should follow the good examples of St. Isidore, the saint whose feast day we are celebrating today. St. Isidore, also known as St. Isidore of Seville, was a renowned scholar, philosopher and theologian who was also the longtime Archbishop of Seville. His many works in defending the faith and in spreading the Gospels had been very inspirational to the many people both in his lifetime and afterwards. His dedication to the reform of the Church practices and eradication of heresies and false teachings are also crucial not only to his local Church but also to the wider Christendom.

His dedication and commitment to the Lord should be source of inspiration for all of us to follow, that we may also strive to purify ourselves from the temptations to sin, and reject the false ways of the devil and all the forces of evil, which are all arrayed against us, in trying to prevent us from finding our way to God and His salvation. Let us all follow in the footsteps of St. Isidore and the many other holy predecessors, our brothers and sisters who had devoted their lives to God and lead exemplary and good Christian lives so that we may ourselves be good inspiration for one another in faith.

May God bless us all in our every efforts and good deeds, and do our best to walk in the path that He has shown us. Let us commit ourselves anew to Him, and be faithful as we should, to the Lord, at all times, sinning no more and striving to lead a better and holier way of life, from now on and always. Amen.