holy men

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Thursday, 4 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 14 : 7-12

In fact, none of us lives for himself, nor dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Either in life or in death, we belong to the Lord; It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again, to be Lord, both of the living and of the dead.

Then you, why do you criticise your brother or sister? And you, why do you despise them? For we will all appear at the tribunal of God. It is written : I swear by Myself – Word of the Lord – every knee will bend before Me, and every tongue shall give glory to God. So each of us will account for himself before God.

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are called to reflect on our lives in this world as Christians, as those who belong to the Lord and who have been called to live a good and devout life worthy of God. We are all called to do what is right according to the Law and the commandments of the Lord, distancing ourselves from evil and wicked deeds and things that may end up leading us into our downfall and destruction in hell.

In our first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, we heard the Apostle speaking to the faithful through his letter regarding the commandments of God, the Law that God has placed in our midst to govern us and how we ought to be living this life in obedience to God. We have to do as commanded by the Lord, to love Him first and foremost above any other things, and to love one another in the same way that we love ourselves.

St. Paul mentioned this in his Epistle to remind the people of God there in Rome of their obligation as Christians to love, loving God and loving one another. Otherwise, they will not be truly faithful to the Lord and whatever faith they had will be meaningless and empty. For in another occasion, St. Paul also said that, we may have received many gifts, talents and abilities, the gift of speaking in tongues, of prophecy and even miracles and healing, but unless we have love in us, then everything we have is meaningless.

Love indeed lies at the centre of our faith and existence as Christians, as the Law of God and the rules and regulations set by the Church are all meant to help and guide us in our journey towards the Lord, to help us in redirecting our attention to Him, to love Him and to be able to show that love which God Himself has shown us, in our lives and in how we interact with one another. As Christians, we are all called to love and love generously, to show care and concern, compassion and love to everyone, and especially to those who need them the most.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, as we heard the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples, we heard how He told them what it truly means to become His disciples. He told them that they ought to be ready to leave everything behind, every attachments, every other desires and put the Lord and His cause first and foremost, or else, we may get our priorities wrong. However, we must not interpret this as the Lord is asking us to leave behind our family members and relatives, our loved ones. God did not call us to be people who are irresponsible.

On the contrary, what He wants us to do is to reorientate our lives and change our focus from one that is centred on ourselves to one that is centred in God. Our families and relationships should also be framed in the presence of God and His path, and that is essentially how we lead a more wholesome and holy Christian life. We have to live our lives with true love, love for God and love for our fellow brothers and sisters, and not just selfish love and desire for ourselves and our own needs and wants.

The Lord then went on to speak regarding the plans one ought to go through before building a house, and the considerations and plans that kings must have prepared before they marched out to meet other kings for war and battle. What the Lord meant with this is that, all of us have known what is due for us at the end of the journey, and therefore, we are all called to discern carefully how we are to live our lives from now on. Are we going to continue living our lives in the manner as wretched and sinful as they may be, or are we going to embrace the Lord and His path?

We know that following the Lord will also likely include plenty of obstacles and challenges, and many occasions where we may have to make sacrifices and endure the trials and tribulations of being faithful to God, of standing up to our Christian faith and remaining resolute in living our Christian calling in each and every moments of our lives. But it is possible for us to do this if we put our faith and trust in God, and allow Him to lead us in the path that we traverse through life.

And we should also follow the great examples of our holy predecessors, the saints, holy men and women of God who are our role models in faith. Today, in particular we celebrate the feast of St. Martin de Porres, who was a renowned religious and member of the Dominican Order as a lay brother. He was renowned for his great personal holiness and dedication to the Lord, his care and love for his fellow men and women, especially all those who have suffered oppression and prejudice just as he himself had experienced and suffered from.

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima in Peru as the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman with his freed slave, and as a mixed race or mestizo person, he was accorded like many others a second class treatment below that of those with European descent or came directly from Europe, the latter of which which had the highest prestige and position in the society. He lived his early life in poverty, and as a descendant of the Native Americans, he was barred by law from becoming full member of the religious orders, although he desired to become a priest and religious.

As such, St. Martin had to beg the Dominicans to be allowed to join as a lay brother, who dedicated his life from then on to do the many works of the Order, supporting the religious brothers and the community. It was a lot of hard work, and was sometimes looked down upon by the members of his own community and by the priests, some of whom looked upon his descent and ancestry with disdain, as well as the illegitimacy of his birth.

Nonetheless, St. Martin de Porres dedicated himself all the harder to serve his community, and he dedicated himself to the Lord all the more, especially in the Blessed Sacrament. He ministered to the poor and the sick as part of his works, and for many years, cared for many of the people in his community, as well as within the Dominican religious community. His dedication and faith eventually earned him great respect and support by the time of his passing. Many attributed miracles to him and his tomb also exuded great fragrance and other signs of holiness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if St. Martin de Porres had been able to commit himself and his life despite his difficult background and conditions, to love the Lord and also to love his brothers and sisters, even those who despised and made his life difficult, then why can’t we, most of us with much better condition than he was, dedicate ourselves in the same way too? Are we too complacent and lazy to follow in the same path that this holy saint had walked? Are we not courageous and faithful enough to follow the Lord in the same way?

Let us all discern our path in life carefully then, so that all of us may hence learn to live our lives with greater devotion from now on. May God be with us always and may He guide us and strengthen us so that we may be more willing to follow Him with ever greater sincerity, just as St. Martin de Porres had shown us, in being true and genuine Christians as we should. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 25-33

At that time, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, “If you come to Me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not follow Me, carrying his own cross, cannot be My disciple.”

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you, have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you : ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become My disciple, if he does not give up everything he has.”

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 4-5, 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears YHVH, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

He is for the righteous a light in darkness; He is kind, merciful and upright. It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty.

He gives generously to the poor; his merits will last forever; and his head will be raised in honour.

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Romans 13 : 8-10

Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another : Love. The one who loves his or her neighbour fulfils the Law. For the commandments : Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not covet, and whatever else, are summarised in this one : You will love your neighbour as yourself.

Love cannot do the neighbour any harm; so love fulfils the whole Law.

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Saturday, 23 October 2021 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Capestrano, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us having heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to be truly faithful to God in all things, dedicating our whole lives to He Who has shown us the path forward in life, that is the path towards righteousness and goodness. Through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, God had made His salvation and love for each and every one of us clear and visible, making Himself real and tangible, bringing forth His truth into this world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, we heard him speaking to them regarding this matter, reminding all of them that they have been saved through Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour. St. Paul the Apostle reminded the people that as they had been saved by the Lord, called to follow Him and received the gift of His grace and the Holy Spirit that has been given to them, therefore, all of them ought to follow Him wholeheartedly and obey Him, and no longer walk in the path of the flesh, that is the path of sin and darkness.

St. Paul made it clear that those who have chosen to follow the Lord have chosen to walk in the new path shown by the Spirit, and this new path is a revolutionary path that seeks to glorify the Lord through obedience and through our virtuous life rooted in the faith. We cannot be Christians that are professing to be faithful and devoted to God, and yet, in our behaviour, actions and interactions, we act in the same way as unbelievers are doing. We must not be hypocrites in our faith, and we have to be genuine in our way of living our faith.

Then linking what St. Paul then said with what the Lord had said to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, essentially, all of us are reminded that the path of sin and darkness leads to nothing else but ultimate destruction and annihilation. Those who died through sin shall be judged by those same sins and shall be held accountable for their actions. Their disobedience against God, their refusal to listen to Him and obey His Law and commandments will be held against them on the last day, at the moment of the Final Judgment. Meanwhile, those who hold fast to their faith and remain firm in their love for Him shall be rewarded in the end.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have heard from the Sacred Scriptures today are kind reminders from the Lord through His Church, how sin can lead us to destruction and how we have been freed from the tyranny of those sins, by the loving sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour on the Cross. As such, we should strive to resist the temptations to sin and to disobey the Lord. There would be many such temptations all around us, persuading us, coercing us and forcing us to change our ways to suit the way of the world and to follow the corrupting path of sin.

As Christians, all of us are called to resist those temptations and to stand by our faith in God. Such is our calling and expectation as fellow servants and disciples of Our Lord. And God has given us many examples for us to follow, those saints, holy men and women, all those who have given themselves to serve the Lord faithfully. Today, we remember one of them, namely St. John Capestrano, also known as St. John of Capistrano, was a Franciscan friar and priest, who have been remembered for his great holiness and dedication to the Lord, for his zeal in defending the faith and for courageously preaching the truth of God.

St. John Capestrano was a very passionate preacher and missionary, who went from places to places as a friar and priest, to oppose the heresies that back then were being widespread in parts of Christendom. He worked hard, writing theses and other works against the teachings of heretics, while personally reaching out to many communities, in defending the true faith and the true traditions and magisterium of the Church. He was sent by the Pope as emissary and spokesperson to various Christian courts and rulers, while continuing his efforts against those who sought to corrupt the truth of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the many efforts and the great courage with which St. John Capestrano has shown us in how he lived his life with faith should be source of inspiration for us as well. All of us should commit ourselves to the Lord and devote our time, effort and attention, in the manner that St. John Capestrano and many other saints, our holy predecessors had done, all these while. Let us all turn towards the Lord from now on with renewed zeal, faith and love for Him, and do our best to be exemplary in faith and to be inspiration for one another, that we may be beacons of God’s light and truth in this world.

May God bless us all, in our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He empower all of us to walk faithfully in His presence from now on. May God be with us all and may He strengthen us each and every moment, through His light, His truth and love for us. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 October 2021 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Capestrano, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 13 : 1-9

At that time, one day, some people told Jesus what had occurred in the Temple : Pilate had had Galileans killed, and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this? No, I tell you. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish, as they did.”

“And those eighteen persons in Siloah, who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you : no. But unless you change your ways, you will perish as they did.” And Jesus continued, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree, and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it continue to deplete the soil?’”

“The gardener replied, ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertiliser; perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it does not, you can cut it down.’”

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Saturday, 23 October 2021 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Capestrano, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Saturday, 23 October 2021 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Capestrano, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Romans 8 : 1-11

This contradiction is no longer exists for those who are in Jesus Christ. For, in Jesus Christ, the Law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The Law was without effect, because the flesh was not responding. Then God, planning to destroy sin, sent His own Son, in the likeness of those subject to the sinful human condition; by doing this, He condemned the sin, in this human condition.

Since then, the perfection intended by the Law would be fulfilled, in those not walking in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit. Those walking according to the flesh tend toward what is flesh; those led by the Spirit, to what is Spirit. Flesh tends toward death, while Spirit aims at life and peace. What the flesh seeks is against God : it does not agree, it cannot even submit to the Law of God.

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He Who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit Who dwells within you.

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Tuesday, 19 October 2021 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to reflect on our actions and readiness in life to follow Christ, Our Lord and Saviour as His faithful disciples and servants, to be exemplary in all of our actions and deeds so that through all of us, imitating the faith that Christ Himself has shown us and living the truth that He has revealed to us, all of us may come to be beacons of His light to many others who have not yet known Him.

Today in our first reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, we heard the Apostle reminding all the faithful of the role that Christ has played in redeeming all of us from our sins, and how God had fulfilled His promise to release and liberate us from all bondage and enslavement to sin and evil through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all, Who chose to take upon Himself all of our sins and wickedness, and bore the burden of those sins upon Himself.

He obeyed His Father perfectly, as St. Paul said, so that by His obedience as the Son of Man and the New Adam, the old disobedience and sins of mankind from the old Adam may be overcome. Through His incarnation in the flesh, He has united all of our humanity to Himself, and by His obedience, He opened to us the floodgates of God’s mercy and grace, and by offering Himself, His Most Precious Body and Blood, of the Lamb of God, as the perfect and worthy sacrifice for our sins, He reconciled us all with God, our loving Father and Creator.

And then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples with regards to the readiness that all of His disciples ought to have, as He Himself repeated it several times, how they must be ready to welcome their Lord and Master at the moment of His coming, so that they would not be caught unprepared and unaware, when the Lord comes as He promised, at the day of Judgment. Essentially, He reminds all of them to be vigilant and to do their best in how they live their lives so that they may always be faithful in all things and do not allow wickedness and evil to gain roots in their hearts.

We are all therefore called, as those whom God had chosen and revealed His truth to, to be the ones who live with this knowledge and understanding of the truth, and to be the bearers of God’s light to the nations. We must not allow sin to rule over us again and influence us, just as the Lord has freed us from its bondage and power. Yet, the allure and attraction of sin can be very powerful and corrupting, and we have to be careful lest we fall again into its clutches. Many have failed to resist its temptations, and like our forefathers, they have fallen back into the path of sin.

What should we do then, brothers and sisters in Christ? We should follow the example and obedience of Christ, in His love for us and in His steadfastness in devoting Himself to the plan of salvation that He has brought upon us. And we should also follow the good examples set by our holy predecessors, all those who have given themselves in commitment to God, those who have shown us that it is possible to be faithful to the Lord in this world and to lead a good Christian life that is just and worthy of God.

Today, we celebrate from the Feast of the Holy Canadian Martyrs, also known as the Jesuit North American Martyrs, as well as that of St. Paul of the Cross, a great Italian mystic and priest who founded the Passionists religious order. All of them are great role models for us in how we can lead a better Christian life and in following our respective calling in life as Christians so that we may learn on how we can contribute even in the smallest things for the sake of the glory of God and for the success of His works in this world.

The Holy Canadian Martyrs were St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and their companions in martyrdom, who were members of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits during the years of early exploration of the New World, particularly in the exploration of North America, in regions that are now part of Canada. These courageous missionaries responded to the Lord’s calling and embraced their missionary works, in revealing God’s truth to those who have not yet known Him, the native peoples of North America.

Many of these missionaries had to brave through harsh conditions and bitter winters, as well as opposition and rejection from those to whom they had gone to. While some of the natives were open to the Lord’s truth and were willing to listen to the missionaries, but there were also equally many and even more of those who refused to listen to them, and even persecuted those missionaries. As such, those missionaries endured a lot of bitter moments and struggles, in the service of God and His people.

Yet, St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and his courageous fellow martyrs faced all those challenges with faith, committing themselves to God without fear, continuing to minister to those who have willingly embraced the faith and given themselves to be baptised as the first native Christian societies in those remote areas. They persevered and even when many of them faced great suffering and martyred by the attacks of those who were hostile to the faith, their efforts became the foundation of the Church that lasts till this very day in those regions and communities.

Meanwhile, St. Paul of the Cross dedicated his life as a priest and servant of God in ministering to his fellow brothers and sisters, being called by God to establish a new religious community dedicated to a life of prayer and evangelical zeal, which would become the Passionists he founded. St. Paul of the Cross gathered like-minded men who wanted to serve the Lord more wholeheartedly and formed his community, and worked hard to gain the Church approval for his efforts.

St. Paul of the Cross and his community of priests went around from places to places and preached about the Lord to many people in those communities, spreading the Word of God and the truth of His Gospel to more and more people, and together with his many works and writings, of which numbering over two thousands at least, he and his fellow workers of the Lord managed to bring many people closer to God, and helped many who were on the brink of the path of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by these holy predecessors of ours, who had shown us what it truly means for us to be Christians. Let us all follow in their footsteps and do whatever we can in order to glorify the Lord by our lives and actions, by our exemplary actions and by doing our best to follow the path that the Lord has revealed before us. Let us also strive to resist the many temptations to sin, and commit ourselves from now on to walk in the path of the Lord. May all of us be inspiration as God’s children and as the beacons of His light and truth, now and always. Amen.