holy kings

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Saturday, 28 September 2024 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr, and St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 89 : 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17

You turn humans back to dust, saying, “Return, o mortals!” A thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.

You sow them in their time, a dawn they peep out. In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.

So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart. How long will You be angry, o YHVH? Have mercy on Your servant.

Fill us at daybreak with Your goodness, that we may be glad all our days. May the sweetness of YHVH be upon us; may He prosper the work of our hands.

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Saturday, 28 September 2024 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr, and St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) 11 : 9 – Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth) 12 : 8

Rejoice, young man, in your youth and direct well your heart when you are young; follow your desires and achieve your ambitions but recall that God will take account of all you do.

Drive sorrow from your heart and pain from your flesh, for youth and dark hair will not last. Be mindful of your Creator when you are young, before the time of sorrow comes when you have to say, “This gives me no pleasure,” and before the sun, moon and stars withdraw their light, before the clouds gather again after the rain.

On the day when the guardians of the house tremble, when sturdy men are bowed and those at the mill stop working because they are too few, when it grows dim for those looking through the windows, and the doors are shut and the noise of the mill grows faint, the sparrow stops chirping and the bird-song is silenced, when one fears the slopes and to walk is frightening;

Yet the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is fat and the caperberry bears fruit that serves no purpose, because man goes forward to his eternal home and mourners gather in the street, even before the silver chain is snapped or the golden globe is shattered, before the pitcher is broken at the fountain or the wheel at the mill, before the dust returns to the earth from which it came and the spirit returns to God Who gave it.

Meaningless! Meaningless! The teacher says; all is meaningless!

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Friday, 16 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are all reminded of God’s great love and mercy towards us, as He constantly sought us out, reaching out to us with His great and ever enduring love although we have often disappointed Him, turning away from His Law and commandments, disobeying Him and not listening to Him and His words. God has sent His many messengers, the prophets and many other servants to remind and help them in their journey, calling upon them to embrace His love and grace once again, and while His people constantly rebelled against Him and even persecuted His prophets and messengers, He still loved them all nonetheless, and while chastising and punishing them for their sins, He still opened the path to forgiveness and reconciliation for His beloved but wayward children and people.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel we are reminded of the time when the Lord showed His people through Ezekiel how He still loved them all despite all the wicked things that they had done, despite all the evils and the betrayals which they all had done to Him, all of which had caused them to be sundered and separated from His grace and love, and brought them to their downfall. God listed down all the wickedness they had done, how they had tainted themselves with wickedness and corruptions of the world, and how they had spurned and rejected His love, His kindness and patient care. Yet, He still wished to heal them from their troubles, to bless and endow them with all the good things and blessings which He had given to them earlier on, to show just how precious and beloved they all are to Him.

Then in our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples and some of the Pharisees who were there, who asked Him about the matter of divorce, and how the Law of God as revealed through Moses, or the Mosaic laws did allow for divorce to happen under certain conditions and arrangements. However, the Lord pointed out that this was not actually what God intended for His people to do, but merely what He allowed them to do through Moses because of their stubbornness and constant disobedience. It is at least a lesser evil compared to letting them to persist in their sinfulness and in refusing to follow other tenets and precepts of the Law of God. God wanted them all to know that His Law and commandments, the rules and regulations that He had put in place was meant to keep them away from immoral living and from all sorts of sins which could further jeopardise them and their souls.

Essentially, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lord our God has shown His ever present and consistent love, in His desire to lead us all from the path of darkness into the light. It has always been His desire to see us all freed and liberated from the bondage of evil and darkness, from the corruption of sin and of all other human and worldly temptations that have often led many of us astray in our path in life. He wants us all to realise that we have been created in His image and meant to be all good and perfect, holy and worthy of Him, just as He has always intended it. He never intended us to suffer the consequences of our sins and evils, but it is by our own conscious choice that we have chosen the path of darkness, sin and rebellion against our most loving God and Father, Who has always constantly been so loving and generous towards us.

That is why, today, as we all listened to these readings from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded constantly and greatly by what we have received and heard so that in all the things we do in our respective lives, in our choice of actions and the path that we consider to take and stride forward in, we should always strive to do what God had shown and taught us to do, to be righteous, good and worthy in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions and connections with one another. As Christians, God’s holy and chosen people, and as His disciples and followers, all of us should be good role models and inspirations for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, in doing whatever we can so that by our lives, our every examples, many more people may come to know the Lord through us.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Stephen of Hungary, a renowned King of Hungary and a great man of God whose life and actions are truly great inspiration for each and every one of us to follow, a noble and virtuous king whose commitment to God and dedication to his people should be great examples for us to follow in our own lives. St. Stephen of Hungary was originally the Grand Prince of the Hungarians from the House of Arpad, who ruled over all the Hungarian people, and was the first in his family to be a devout Christian, a courageous and most faithful follower of the Lord, affirming the trend of conversions of the Hungarians to Christianity which had begun before his time, and which accelerated under his rule, which was truly notable and enlightened, and also marked by his strong support for the Church.

He was crowned shortly after as the first King of Hungary, and ruled for almost four decades, in a rule that was filled with great noble deeds, in caring for the needs of those within his kingdom, in increasing the stature of the Hungarian nation amongst the kingdoms and rulers of Christendom at that time, and for his support in establishing many Church infrastructure and dioceses, spreading the Christian message and truth to many more people, leading to many people embracing God as their Lord and Saviour, abandoning their previous pagan faith and beliefs. St. Stephen also embarked on many important works and projects to improve the livelihood for his people, creating a stable and strong kingdom, united and growing ever more prosperous under his care and reign, and also those of his successors. He committed his life to the very end for the good of his people, entrusted to him by God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the great examples which St. Stephen of Hungary has shown us ought to remind each and every one of us to be good and worthy in our own lives and actions as Christians as well. We must always strive to do our best, to be ever more faithful, committed and loving towards God in all things, to embrace God’s ever loving kindness, mercy and forgiveness so that we may walk ever more steadfastly in the path that God has shown to us, and that we may no longer be lost to Him into the darkness and corruptions of sin. Let us ask St. Stephen of Hungary to intercede for all of us, and may the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in all the days of our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 16 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 19 : 3-12

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus. They wanted to test Him and asked, “Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read that, in the beginning, the Creator made them male and female? And the Creator said : Therefore, a man shall leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Let no one separate what God has joined.”

They asked him, “Then why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?” Jesus replied, “Moses knew the hardness of your hearts, so he allowed you to divorce your wives; but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore, I say to you : whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The disciples said, “If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry.” Jesus said to them, “Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. There are eunuchs born so, from their mother’s womb. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it.”

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Friday, 16 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me.

You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation. Then you will say : “Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.”

“Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done, let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Friday, 16 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Ezekiel 16 : 1-15, 60, 63

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its sins. You say on My behalf : Your beginning was in Canaan; there, you were born. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day you were born, your cord was not cut; you were not bathed in water to make you clean; you were not rubbed with salt, nor were you wrapped in cloth.”

“There was no one to look with pity on you; or compassionate enough, to give you any of these attentions. You were left, exposed, in the open fields; because you were looked upon with disgust, on the day you were born. But I passed by; and saw you, immersed in your blood. I said to you, in the midst of your blood, ‘Live!’”

“I made you grow, like a plant of the field. You grew up and became tall; and were becoming of marriageable age. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; but you were naked and exposed. I passed by later, and saw, you were at the age of love; and spread part of My garment over you, to cover your nudity. I made a Covenant with you with an oath – word of YHVH – and you were Mine.”

“Then I bathed you in water; I cleansed you of your blood and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth and put soft leather sandals on your feet. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your arms, a necklace around your neck and a ring in your nose. I gave you earrings and a magnificent crown for your head.”

“You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You were fed on finest flour, honey and oil; you became very beautiful and rose to be queen. Your beauty was perfect; and your renown spread through the nations, because of the splendour I had given you – word of YHVH.”

“But you relied on your beauty; you trusted in your fame; and you began to give yourself to every passerby, like a prostitute. But I will remember My Covenant with you in the days of your youth, and, make in your favour, an eternal Covenant, so that you may remember, be ashamed, and never open your mouth again, because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

Alternative reading

Ezekiel 16 : 59-63

For thus says YHVH : “I will treat you as you deserve; you, who despised the oath and broke the Covenant. But I will remember My Covenant with you in the days of your youth, and, make in your favour, an eternal Covenant. You will be mindful of your ways and be ashamed, when I take your sisters, both the elder and the younger; and give them to you as daughters, without prejudice to My Covenant with you.”

“For I will uphold My Covenant with you; and you will know that I am YHVH, so that you may remember, be ashamed, and never open your mouth again, because of your humiliation, when I have pardoned you for all you have done,” word of YHVH.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded first of all that God is the source of all of our lives, the One Who is the Ruler and Author of all things, the Master of all the whole Universe. He loves each and every one of us, His beloved people, Whom He has called and gathered from among all the nations, from all the ends of the earth, to come and share once again in His joy, to be reconciled to Him through forgiveness of our many sins and wickedness. God had created us all out of His pure and ever enduring love for each one of us, and He has intended to share this love with us if not for our disobedience and refusal to obey His will; which resulted in our separation from Him and the loss of grace, leading to sin and death. But God never gave up on us, and He kept on reaching out to us to help us out of our predicament and to return us all to His loving Presence.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the account of how Isaiah was called by God in a heavenly vision was told to us. Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord seated at His Temple in all His glory, attended by the Angels and surrounded by the mighty Seraphim, who forever adore Him singing the praises of His glory and power. We heard how the Lord is the King and Master over all of these mighty spiritual beings, and hence, from this account we can see how the Lord is truly the Almighty Lord and Master over all of the whole Universe, over all Creation, the One and only True God, the Lord of all. Amidst all these, we then heard how one of the Seraphim came to Isaiah, who was bowed down in fear of the great glory of God, taking the hot coal from the altar of the heavenly Temple and purified Isaiah with it.

Through this action, God was calling upon Isaiah to follow Him and to be His mouthpiece among His people, sending him to be the bearer of words and will to those whom he had been sent to, that is the people of the kingdom of Judah. He was to be God’s prophet, as the one to deliver God’s will and to make His thoughts and desires known to the people who have long erred and disobeyed the Lord. God sent Isaiah to help all those people to find their path once again back towards His love, mercy and kindness. God called on all of the people to embrace His love and mercy, to change their ways for the better, reminding them of their responsibilities and obligations as God’s beloved people to be always committed and dedicated in all things to Him, to be the bearers of God’s light and examples for all the people of all the nations.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding how a student is not greater than his or her master, and He also mentioned Beelzebul, the prince of demons at the same occasion. This was the same Beelzebul which the Pharisees had accused the Lord of colluding with in His performance of miracles and wonders among the people. What He was mentioning is that, if Beelzebul was indeed a prince of demons, far lesser in majesty, power and glory compared to God, and who as a fallen angel was created by God and is still subject under His dominion and power despite his rebellion, thus all the lesser his subordinates and lesser demons would be. He essentially told His disciples and also all of us that we should not be afraid of their power and might, which are truly insignificant against the power of God.

At the same time, the Lord was also likely criticising those Pharisees who were probably present there on their false accusation that He had performed His signs, miracles and wonders by the power of Beelzebul. It was truly a sin against God and the Holy Spirit just as the Lord mentioned in another occasion because they doubted God’s power to forgive sins through His Son, Who has clearly shown Himself to be the One Whom the prophets and messengers of God had been prophesying about. God had made known His salvation to the nations, revealing His Son to everyone, through the many miracles and wonders He had performed before them. But those Pharisees refused to listen to the Lord or believe in Him because they considered themselves better and superior than others, refusing to accept that someone else could have better knowledge of the truth and the ways of the Lord than they did.

Their pride and ego became their undoing as they hardened their hearts and minds through their pride, while their ambitions and desires led them down the slippery slope of disobedience against God, to do things that bring glory, fame and satisfaction for them, but which do not please the Lord and are actually against His commandments and laws. This is why, again we are all reminded today through these readings that the Lord our God is the one and only true God, the one and only true focus and emphasis of our lives, and we should never allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride, ego or any of the desires we have for worldly things and matters, all the temptations surrounding us which can lead us to our downfall, if we are ever to allow these things to mislead us down the path of ruin.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was born into the noble family of the Duke of Bavaria, and as a member of the royal Ottonian dynasty that has provided the Holy Roman Emperors at the time. Eventually he succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria and then after his cousin, the then Emperor Otto III died at a relatively young age without an heir, St. Henry was elected as the King of Germany after defeating several other contenders to the throne. He was also crowned as King of Italy and eventually crowned by the Pope as the Holy Roman Emperor. He developed close and good ties with the Church and the Pope, carrying his duties and responsibilities as Emperor most devotedly, helping out in the process of Church reforms and evangelisation, as contrasted to the later Holy Roman Emperors and other secular leaders who sought to aggrandise and advance their own power and ambitions, even against the Church. St. Henry was also renowned for his great personal piety and commitment to God, and for all these examples and great works he did, he inspired many people even long after he had passed away.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, what we have discussed earlier on and from the examples of the great servant of God, St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, who although powerful and mighty, remained humble and committed to glorifying God through his contributions and efforts to serve Him, let us all therefore also strive to do the same in our own lives. Let us all continue to do God’s will and obey Him in all the things He had told us to do, so that we always keep in mind His precepts and laws, and enthrone Him truly as the one and only Lord and Master over all of our lives. May God be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and deeds, in all of our good works and help us to get ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Isaiah 6 : 1-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings : two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with. They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His glory!”

At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.”

Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the Altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?”

I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”