holy martyrs

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Tuesday, 24 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us who heard of the Scripture readings would know that all of us are faced with the reality of suffering and difficulties to come in the future, as the time is coming again when the world will persecute us Christians for our faith in the Lord, just as we have been persecuted in the past, the faithful people of God, because we do not walk with the world, but rather with the Lord.

In the first reading, the prophet and servant of God, Daniel, interpreted for the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the dream that he had, about a large statue made from amalgamation of many different materials, which represented the many kingdoms and powers of the world that would come throughout history, and how a great stone came and destroyed the entire statue.

That dream has a significant meaning in that it was a vision and foretelling of the future of the world. There would be many kings, kingdoms and powers, and many of these would persecute those who are faithful and righteous in one way or another. The Lord’s people would be in difficulties, and challenges would come their way, as their ways are not in accordance with the ways of the Lord.

And great will be the tribulations awaiting the faithful because the forces of those kingdoms and powers were great indeed. But instead of fearing or succumbing to the pressure from these worldly forces, rather, we all should work together and remain true to our faith, for the vision of Daniel foretold the coming of the true Power that will overcome all the worldly powers and oppressions.

And that Power is the Power of the Lord that would come down, as He had foretold the people, when He revealed about His second coming into the world, just as He told them about the tribulation that would befell Jerusalem. It was a promise that God will uphold, and He will rescue all of the faithful and those who remain true to His covenant and Laws, and by His grace, bring them all into salvation and eternal life.

And for all their grandeur and great strengths, the world cannot overcome the might and glory of God which transcends everything. The worldly powers and the powers of the evil one were broken just as that huge statue was destroyed by the huge boulder with minimal effort. This means that the Lord and His kingdom of justice will triumph, while those who seek the destruction of the righteous will be crushed in the end.

And that is the hope that we are looking forward to, that is to gain eternal happiness, joy, redemption and life through the Lord, after having persevered through the difficult challenges of life. And perhaps the examples of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions in faith and martyrdom will be inspirational to us, and will help us on our path to achieve righteousness and salvation in God.

On this day, we celebrate the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs, St. Andrew Dung-Lac and their companions, who were persecuted grievously for their faith in God, where the worldly and secular authorities were trying to snuff out and destroy the Faith and the Church in Vietnam, and persecuting the faithful and forcing them to betray the Lord and to recant their faith.

Yet, he and his companions never gave up the faith, and mirroring the examples that Daniel and his companions would later show in the Book of Daniel, they persevered through the torture, imprisonment, pain and great suffering, and chose to obey the Lord and die in their faith rather than to live and betray the Lord their God by disobedience and by persuasions of the world.

And in doing so, while they were despised and brought down by the world, the Lord lifted them up high in glory above the earth and into the heavens, and to them, He had granted them the glory and the greatness of the eternal kingdom of Heaven. They died in the world and they suffered in our current world, but in the world to come their rewards are great indeed.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should also emulate the same examples as these holy peoples have done. Let us all also stay faithful and committed to the Lord, and let us not be swayed or be persuaded to betray the Lord our God. Let us all renew our commitment through faithful and loving actions, through which we declare our faith to the world, and make it known that we belong to Him and not to the world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 21 : 5-11

At that time, while some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that it was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, “The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire, all will be torn down.”

And they asked Him, “Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” Jesus then said, “Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming My title and saying, ‘I am He, the Messiah; the time is at hand!’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all these things must happen first, even though the end is not so soon.”

And Jesus said, “Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from Heaven will be seen.”

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Tuesday, 24 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Daniel 3 : 57, 58, 59, 60, 61

All the works of the Lord, bless Him, praise Him, exalt Him forever.

Angels of the Lord, bless Him, praise and glorify Him forever.

Heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him forever.

All the waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him forever.

All the powers of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him forever.

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Tuesday, 24 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Daniel 2 : 31-45

Daniel said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “In your vision you saw a statue – very large, very bright, terrible to look at. Its head was of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

As you watched, a rock cut from a mountain but not by human hands, struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, smashing them. All at once the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold crumbled into pieces as fine as chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind swept them off and not a trace was left. But the rock that struck the statue became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

That was the dream. Now the interpretation. You, o king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given dominion, strength, power and glory, and into whose hand He has placed humankind, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, making you ruler over them. You are that head of gold.

After you, another kingdom inferior to yours will rise. Then a third kingdom of bronze will rule the whole world. Last shall be a fourth kingdom strong as iron and just as iron breaks and crushes everything else, so will it break and smash all the others.

The partly clay and the partly iron feet and toes mean that it will be a divided kingdom, yet it will have some of the strength of the iron, just as you saw iron mixed with clay. And as the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. Just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, the people will be a mixture but will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom never to be destroyed or delivered up to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and put an end to them. And it will endure forever. This is the meaning of your vision of a rock cut from a mountain not by human hands, the rock which struck the statue and broke into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation reliable.

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Thursday, 12 November 2015 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Holy Scriptures which spoke to us about the Wisdom of God, and how that Wisdom is far superior to the wisdom and the intellect of men. The combined might of our intelligence and power, the greatness of our minds and achievements are nothing compared to what God can do.

Many of us think that we are capable of great things and achievements, and indeed we are able to, but lest that we think we accomplished all of them on our own accord and abilities, let us all take a step back to remember that our life is not ours to command, but it has been granted and been given to us by the One who had created us, and it was by His will and desire that we are able to live such a life in this world.

And yet, many of us conveniently forgot about this fact, and many of us thought that our glory and greatness is ours alone. We like to think in this way because for us men, it is often not in our priority to think about the Lord, and even less so to give Him thanks for all the goodness that we have received. We only remember Him when we are in trouble and in need of help, when we beg Him to help us, but otherwise, on other occasions, we forget entirely about Him.

In God lies everything that we will ever need in life, and in Him we will have everlasting and true joy. Yet, many of us are unable to find this joy or see the truth about the Lord beyond the veil of lies and untruths that Satan has placed between us and the Lord. Satan placed many temptations and good things of this world, and he played into our sense of glory and desire, so that he may seize our hearts’ focus and attention, and thus rather than glorifying God, we glorify ourselves.

Satan himself was once a great angel who fell from grace because of his vanity and pride. He was unable to restrain his pride and arrogance, and because he thought of himself as having power and majesty far greater than all the other creatures of the Lord, then he was worthy of the throne of the Creator. Thus, in his pride, Lucifer fell from grace, and instead of greatness, it was damnation and eternal suffering and shame that awaited him.

And in our pride too, and succumbing to our own desires, our ancestors have been fooled and allowed themselves to be tempted by the devil, who played along their sense of greatness and hubris, and by claiming that if they disobeyed the Lord and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would not die but instead would gain glory and greatness by becoming like God.

And they fell indeed, because in their shortsightedness, they had allowed themselves to be corrupted by their own desires, uncontrolled and untamed, and having been taken over by pride and by desire, they realised it too late that they have committed sinful things before the Lord. This is what can happen to all of us as well, and all of us must be ever vigilant in this.

We just have to look at how many people among us mankind who have thought of themselves as better than God through their actions, showing disrespect to the Lord through acts such as murder of life, alteration of Church teachings and morality, and even doubting the existence of God Himself just because they could not see Him and thus prove that He exists.

Thus was mankind fooled by their own feeble and limited intellect and capacity, all these while thinking that they were capable of truly great things on their own. Yet, in our pursuit of glory and greatness, many of us had often forgotten that it was because of God, because of His grace and blessings that we were capable of such great feats.

Let us all therefore look into the examples of today’s saint, St. Josaphat the Martyr, also known as St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, the holy martyr of Russia, and the defender of the true Faith. St. Josaphat was born into the Russian Orthodox Church, which is a branch of the Eastern Orthodoxy that split away from the Holy Mother Church about a thousand years ago out of disagreement and the eastern prelates’ desire for worldly authority, and thus they split away from the authority of the Vicar of Christ in Rome.

St. Josaphat became a religious and eventually rose to become a bishop in the Eastern Orthodoxy, and led a very pious and dedicated life to God, until the opportunity came for some of the Eastern Christians to rejoin in a renewed communion with Rome, with the Pope. He led the faithful in joining the new union with the Holy Mother Church.

But there were many oppositions and resistance from all those who refused to see the truth and follow the example of those who have reunited with the Universal Church in Rome. And over time, the opposition grew more and more vocal and even violent, harassing the faithful and even eventually the bishop, St. Josaphat himself, who in the end suffered martyrdom at the hands of these people.

St. Josaphat was murdered in cold blood by those who refused his authority and who rejected the communion with Rome, preferring to remain in heresy and damnation of their rebelliousness instead. But St. Josaphat never faltered till the end, and he continued to faithfully minister to the people of God, completely entrusting himself to the care of the Lord till the end.

In accordance with the examples that St. Josaphat had shown us, let us all also therefore dedicate ourselves more and more to the Lord, and less to ourselves, and rather than trusting solely in our own human thoughts and intellect, let us learn to put our trust in the Lord. May He bless us all always and guide us on our path. May He continue to watch over us and protect us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 November 2015 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 17 : 20-25

At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, “The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe, and say of it, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.”

And Jesus said to His disciples, “The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man; but first He must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.”

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Thursday, 12 November 2015 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 118 : 89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175

O Lord, Your word stands forever, firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness lasts throughout the ages – as long as the earth You created.

Your ordinances last to this day for all things are made to serve You.

As Your words unfold, light is shed, and the simple-hearted understand.

Favour me with Your smile and teach me Your statutes.

Long may I live to sing Your praise, may Your ordinances always be my help!

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Thursday, 12 November 2015 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Wisdom 7 : 22 – Wisdom 8 : 1

Because Wisdom, Who designed them all, taught me. In her is a Spirit that is intelligent, saintly, unique, manifold, subtle, active, concise, pure and lucid. It cannot corrupt, loves what is hood and nothing can restrain it; it is beneficent, loving humankind, steadfast, dependable, calm though Almighty. It sees everything and penetrates all spirits, however intelligent, subtle and pure they may be.

Wisdom, in fact, surpasses in mobility all that moves, and being so pure pervades and permeates all things. She is a breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; nothing impure can enter her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of God’s action and an image of His goodness.

She is but one, yet Wisdom can do all things and, herself unchanging, she renews all things. She enters holy souls, making them prophets and friends of God, for God loves only those who live with Wisdom. She is indeed more beautiful than the sun and surpasses all the constellations; she outrivals light, for light gives way to night, but evil cannot prevail against Wisdom.

Wisdom displays her strength from one end of the earth to the other, ordering all things rightly.

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Monday, 9 November 2015 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate a great feast day, a great solemnity in commemoration of the dedication of the hreatest church in Christendom. For today we celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral of Rome, the seat of authority of the Bishop of Rome who is the Vicar of Christ and the Leader of the Universal Church, and therefore the principal church among all churches in the world.

Then one may think, that is place is the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican. However, that is not the case, for indeed, while the Papal Basilica of St. Peter is also a very important church, dedicated for St. Peter the first Pope and Vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ, and built above his place of martyrdom and his tomb, but it is second in preeminence to the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

It is in this Archbasilica, that the Pope our Leader has his Cathedra, that is his throne, the throne exceeding all other cathedras, as the primary and chief seat of authority encompassing the whole world and the whole Church of God. This was the very first church that was built after the end of the great persecutions of the faithful, and the sign of the ultimate triumph of the Faith and the Church.

For it was donated to the Pope by the first ever Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine the Great, who enacted the Edict of Milan that ended persecutions against the Faith. This great Archbasilica was thus built, and then dedicated on this day over seventeen centuries ago, and dedicated firstly to our Lord, the Most Holy Saviour, and the saints, St. John the Baptist, His herald, and His Apostle, St. John the Evangelist.

This is reflected in its full official name, as the Papal Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of all churches in Rome and in the world. This designation marks it as the heart of Christendom, and the focal point to which all the faithful in the Church ought to turn themselves to, in obedience to the Pope and the holy traditions and teachings of the Church.

And on this joyous occasion, when we celebrate the dedication of this great Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, we are called to reflect about what is the Temple of God, its significance, the holiness that should be associated with it, and how it is relevant to all of us, as God’s faithful and as He dwell with us, and as we gather and exist in His holy presence. It is important that we take note how we ought to live in accordance to this fact.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? First we have to take note of what Jesus had done in the Gospel today, where He came into the Temple courtyard with His disciples, and seeing how so many merchants, tax collectors, money changers and many other people who performed acts and works contrary to the way of the Lord, where cheating, bribery and love for money were commonplace.

He took a whip and chased out all of the merchants and money changers, and chased their goods and money out with them, that the Temple grounds might be purified from all of the impurities and wickedness that had filled it and defiled it. What Jesus had done, was an example for all of us to follow. He purified the Temple of God, the House of God’s dwelling on earth, so that God who is holy and perfect in all things will dwell in a truly holy edifice without the taints of wickedness of the world.

Thus, before a church, or a cathedral or a basilica can be utilised for the purpose of the Holy Mass and divine worship, they must first be consecrated and made holy first. No Mass can be said on the altar and in the Church before these have been consecrated to God and prepared in holiness. This is how the celebration of today’s memorial of the dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is very important, as this greatest, mother and head of all churches in the world was consecrated on this very day.

And even more importantly for each and every one of us, do we realise that each one of us is also a holy Temple of the Lord, the place of His dwelling on earth? This is because all of us who have been made a member of the Church have been welcomed into the unity in the Lord, cleansed by our baptism, the Sacrament of Baptism, when the holy water and holy oils anointed us and purified us from all of our past sins. We have also been claimed as the children of God, by the seal of the Most Holy Name of the Trinity.

And by the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit Himself dwells in us. And the Spirit dwells in our hearts, and we become the Temple of the Holy Spirit, God Who dwells in us, as St. Paul have elaborated in his letter to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, where he exhorted that all of the faithful should keep themselves pure and holy, for God Himself dwells in us, and if we are unworthy and allow wickedness, darkness and sins to corrupt this Temple, then we are accountable for that.

For we cannot forget that the third of the three important Sacraments of Initiation, namely Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, is God Himself Who had made Himself to take up the flesh of Man, so that by this act, He may dwell in us and be united with us, by the giving of His own Body and Blood, the Flesh that has become His very essence, that God now dwells in all of us who have worthily received Him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

By this, we are even more affirmed in our status as the Holy Temple and the Holy Dwelling and Place of our God, the dwelling He has on this earth, that is in the heart, mind, soul and bodies of all those who are faithful to God and keep themselves holy and pure. If we do not keep ourselves worthy, holy and pure, then we just have to look at the Gospel today of what God will do to us.

He will drive all those who are wicked and unrepentant away from His presence, just as He had done the same towards the money changers and merchants who tainted His House with vile, wickedness in all its various forms and sin. God will not tolerate sin in His presence, and unless we repent and purify ourselves from all of our past wickedness, we will not have a share in His everlasting glory and life.

Therefore today, as we celebrate this great solemnity of the dedication of the greatest Church of Christendom, let us all also remember ourselves as God’s Holy Temples on earth, and how we need to preserve our state of sanctity and purity or else we are actually blaspheming and disrespecting God, for we spurn His Name and holiness by our wicked actions, and we are a scandal to Him.

Therefore, let us remind ourselves and discipline ourselves, so that just as Jesus used a whip to cast out all of the merchants, the money lenders and changers, and all of their animals and vile money, let us all also keep our lives holy, that our Body, the Temple of God and His Residence may remain holy and worthy of our Lord, so that we may always receive God’s grace and blessings, and not instead curses and damnation.

May Almighty God bless us all, strengthen us all in our resolve to live our lives with true faith and devotion. May He bless us in all of our endeavours and shine upon us on our way at all times. God be with us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 8 November 2015 : Thirty-Second (32nd) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this sacred and holy day of the Lord, we heard about the Lord our God Who shows great love and concern for us, the providence which He will give to all those who clung themselves strongly to Him, and He will bless all those who have given their all and devoted their all for the sake of the Lord their God.

And we heard about the story of two poor and suffering woman in both the first reading today from the Book of Kings, and in the poor woman from the Gospel of St. Mark, who gave all the possessions she had, despite herself having difficulties to persevere in her own difficult life. But what Jesus wanted to tell us is that, her gifts and offerings, being given out through times of difficulty is truly a genuine gift pleasing to the Lord.

For Jesus showed rightly that those who are rich, when they gave to the poor or donated money to the Temple treasury, they tried to outdo the other man in our giving to all those who needed them. While they gave what they had, they gave from their plenty and had no concerns or qualms about giving what they had, whereas the woman who had so little, still yet gave from her own pocket, whatever she could give to help the Temple building at that time.

In trying to glorify the Lord by her actions and by her dedication, she has shown all of us true and genuine faith, and a courageous and real commitment to the Lord, by giving all she had without worry or concerns for this world and for whatever she had in this world. She placed her trust completely and entirely in the Lord, and in doing so, she will indeed receive eternal and glorious reward of heaven.

But yet, at the same time, we have to take note that Jesus was not condemning the rich and those who have many possessions and things of this world. For we know of the rich people and those who have much with them, who have generously given from their own coffers to help others who are in need, and for various other good purposes and deeds.

The key here is that when we give to others, and we give something that belongs to us to help other who are around us, we have to be sincere and devoted in our giving, and we cannot give with the expectation that whoever we gave to, we demand them to return the gift in the same manner. And when we give something, let us not be too concerned about the loss we incur because of our giving.

Why is this so, brethren? This is important as it is our tendency to grow too attached to what we have, and we do not like it when we need to lose them or to part ways with them, because it is in our human nature to always desire for more things, to accumulate what we already have to get even more of them. It is this attachment that is so harmful and so dangerous for us, as unchecked, they can bring about ruin to our souls.

The wealth and possessions that we have, they are in themselves not evil or wicked in nature, for they are just objects and tools that can indeed be used for the purpose of evil, as well as for good purposes and for the benefit of all those who are around us. It is in how we use them, that we can effect either good or bad things upon others, and it is in how we look at them and treat these that we can use them for good or evil, and in doing so bringing either blessings or disgrace and condemnation upon our souls.

The Lord wanted us all to know that if we want to love Him and if we want to be truly faithful to Him, then there is truly no greater price to pay than our total devotion and commitment, and the full trust that we all should place in Him, our Lord, Master and Saviour. Just like the widow of Zarephath who suffered greatly from the famine that came over Israel because of their disobedience, she had less and less food, and soon enough, her food stock would run out and she and her son would perish.

But the prophet Elijah came to her seeking for help and food, and when she voiced her concerns, Elijah told her not to worry, for the Lord Who is loving and kind to all those who put their trust in Him will provide all that is needed for sustenance and survival, as well as joy and happiness for His people. He will not abandon them to suffer in need without what they need, and He will in His own ways, bless His people and grant them help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God proved His love and commitment to help His people, by showing His everlasting providence through the flour jar that never finished, and the jug of oil that never ran out. In this, He wanted the widow of Zarephath and all of us to know that if we put our trust and complete faith in Him, then we truly have nothing to be worried about.

Remember on another occasion Jesus told His disciples and the people about how God blessed the beautiful flowers in the field and the birds with colourful feathers and various raiments of colour with much blessings, and how if He has blessed these with such great blessings then we should not need to worry if we put our trust in Him. In one way or another, in His own way, He will take very good care of us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us make use of the opportunities that God has given us, and let us use whatever blessings He has graced us with, we may share the goods and the joys we have with one another. Let us not be greedy or be selfish, in selfishly keeping all the wealth, goods and blessings of God to ourselves. May God awaken in all of our hearts the desire to love one another, so that we may realise that even if we are in unfortunate condition, there are always those who are poorer and who are in greater suffering than us.

Let us all act now, and from now on let us all devote ourselves completely to serve the Lord in all the things we do, and let us all commit ourselves to care about each other, and sharing the joys we have received from the Lord. May Almighty God, our Lord bless our endeavours and keep us always in His grace. God bless us all. Amen.