holy men

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Tuesday, 31 January 2017 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard from the Scripture passages about how the people doubted Jesus our Lord, when they made Him and His works very difficult, as they ridiculed Him, rejected Him, and refused to listen to Him. They had not believed in Him, but doubted Him and even laughed at Him, as what we witnessed when He healed the daughter of the synagogue official and brought her back to life.

It is not easy to have faith in God, and certainly our first reactions will be like that of the woman’s. The woman was fearful and unsure, even though she believed that Jesus would be able to heal her from her afflictions. That was why she did not openly approach Jesus, and chose to try to approach Jesus quietly, hoping that no one would notice what she had tried to do.

In this we also see our own fears and our own insecurities, as the woman was probably trying to hide her own conditions. At that time, such a bleeding condition in a woman would have been considered as a curse, and the people would have judged the woman, thinking that she had her condition because of her sins. But nonetheless, despite of her fears and uncertainties, she went forward regardless, and touched the cloak of Jesus.

It was her great faith that allowed her to be healed and saved from her miseries. It was the same with the synagogue official, whose faith in Jesus also saved his daughter. Had he not been faithful and called Him, and had the woman with bleeding not had such a great faith, nothing in her condition would have changed. Her faith allowed God to do His wonderful works in her, and she was saved. The same applies to the synagogue official and his daughter.

Now let us ask ourselves, how many of us have been courageous enough to be like the woman whose faith had healed her? How many of us are aware of our own sinfulness, and how wicked we are, to have that desire in us to be healed? For if the woman wanted to be healed from her bleeding affliction, each and every one of us man have even greater affliction in us, that is sin, for sin is the disease of the soul and of the whole being.

But many of us are unaware just how sick we are from all of the sins inside us, and therefore we do not take the necessary steps to seek healing and forgiveness from God. And therefore instead of being like the synagogue official or like the woman with bleeding, we instead became like the people who were bystanders in the official’s house, who did not understand what Jesus was about to do, and what Jesus was indeed capable of doing, laughing at Him when He told them that He would raise the dead girl back to life again.

Are we like them, brothers and sisters? Are we doubting the Lord and His love? Are we too busy to notice our own foolishness and weaknesses? It is important that we understand this or else we will end up losing our way amidst the darkness of this world. Today, as we celebrate the feast day of St. John Bosco, a holy priest and saint of God, perhaps it will be good for us to look into the life of this holy saint, and look for things which can help us in our journey towards the Lord.

St. John Bosco was a renowned priest and holy man, who devoted his life to the service to the people of God. He served among the people of the city of Turin, who was filled with many poor people, as a result of rapid industrialisation. He was particularly worried and disturbed seeing many of the youths prior to adulthood who fell into crime and got themselves arrested, without proper jobs and had to struggle for their lives.

Therefore, St. John Bosco helped to establish institutions meant to help these young people to renew themselves and to equip themselves with the education and the skills to help themselves persevere and survive in life later on. He established shelters for young boys who were orphans and jobless, taking them out of the streets to have a decent and disciplined life under his care and watch.

Eventually several of those who have been helped by St. John Bosco would go on to follow in his examples, and established the congregation now known as the Salesians, which now have inspired many countless others, both men and women to follow in the footsteps of the holy and devout saint. St. John Bosco is also our inspiration, and therefore, let us all also follow in his footsteps.

There are many people out there who are in need of our help, not only for material help but even more so, for spiritual guidance and help, those who have been sickened by sin, corrupted by the darkness. Instead of ridiculing and condemning others because of their sins, let us instead help each other, for after all, each and every one of us are sinners before God, Who have received the full offer of mercy from God Himself, Who through Jesus had revealed to us His salvation.

May the Lord help us all that we may persevere through our lives in faith, and that we may be able to commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and devote ourselves more completely to Him. Let us all strengthen our zeal and our faith, and in our actions, may we all proclaim the glory of God, and show love to our brethren in need, that everyone will be touched by the Lord, and be healed of their afflictions. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 January 2017 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus then crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, but instead of getting better, she was worse. Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around you. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old). The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

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Tuesday, 31 January 2017 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28, 30ab, 30c-32

I will fulfil my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him.

Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.

My soul will live for Him. My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”

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Tuesday, 31 January 2017 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the Founder of our faith, Who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus Who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Saturday, 28 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about faith in God, and what our predecessors have shown to us regarding that faith which they had. Beginning from the days of our early forefathers, from the days of Abraham, to his son Isaac and then to the latter’s own son Jacob, and down to the days of the Apostles, when Jesus was with them.

In the Gospel today, we heard the well known story of how Jesus calmed the waters and rebuked the storm. The disciples were in the same boat as the Lord, and while He was sleeping calmly in the boat, the disciples, seeing the strong winds, terrible thunderstorms and the strong waves feared for their lives and became panicked. They were afraid that the boat would be overturned and then they would sink into the lake and die.

Their faith in the Lord was then not strong, and they were wavering. They were having so many concerns about themselves that they were not able to think rationally and they were not able to appreciate what they have amongst them, the Lord Himself, Whom they could really trust. But they instead worried and panicked, and they doubted. This was where Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith.

If only that they would look and remembered at how God had cared for His people in the ages past, with mighty deeds, then they would not have panicked, or doubted, or be worried about themselves, because God Himself will not abandon His people. Throughout time, again and again, even when we mankind had been unfaithful to Him, He is always ever faithful, as He was, and as He will ever be.

During the days of Abraham, when many had not yet known the Lord, for many who saw and witnessed what Abraham did must have been a folly and crazy deed indeed. After all, what would a man gain by leaving his entire family, possessions, inheritance behind? What would Abraham, then known as Abram, gain by leaving his ancestral lands of Ur behind and travel to Canaan as the Lord had instructed him?

Certainly, his own family, his own friends and all those he knew must have laughed at him, mocked and ridiculed him for what he had done. And all others who heard his tale must have also thought that he was out of his mind. After all, in the reckonings of this world, who in his or her right mind would just abandon all of the earthly goods he or she had, or what he or she was bound to receive?

And on top of that, he and his wife Sara had been barren without a child. This would have been considered a curse for a people at that time, as a sign of divine displeasure and wickedness. But I am sure that all of these must not have deterred Abram from obeying God and listening to His will. He ventured on to the land which God had showed him, and listened to God as he went along with his life.

We know the rest of the story. God did not just give him a child as He had promised, even through Sara who was already at an advanced age. In the Psalm today, taken from the Gospel of St. Luke we have the Magnificat, the song of Mary, who thanked the Lord for His great graces, having blessed Elizabeth her cousin with a child at her own very advanced age, and the greatest of all, God Himself had been willing to enter into this world through her.

Those who are faithful will never be disappointed by God, for He is ever faithful. Abram, whom He renamed Abraham, did not just get a new name, but also a new life, as the father of many nations, and also as our father in faith. He was blessed among all the nations, and from a man, certainly ridiculed by his friends and relatives, who was barren without a child, had come a great and many nations, blessed and chosen by God to be His people.

Without Abraham’s faith, there would not have been Israel, and without Mary’s faith, the work of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ would have been thwarted. And no salvation would have come into this world, and we would all have no hope. It was because of God’s faithfulness, and our human responses and readiness to accept that faith which allowed God to work His great wonders among us.

Today, we also commemorate the feast of the great and renowned saint, St. Thomas Aquinas, the great confessor, theologian par excellence and Doctor of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas was truly known for his brilliant and intellectual mind, through which he did many works and writings trying to explain to us the nature and the love of God.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a devout and truly committed person, teaching many others about the Lord and about having faith in Him. This is the perfect opportunity for us to read up more about this holy and devout saint, a role model for all of us, just as our holy forefathers had shown us how to be faithful to God. Having faith in God is not such an easy task, as even the disciples themselves wavered in their faith in the midst of great difficulties, but it is possible if we have the will and the strength to have that faith in God.

Now, what we all need to do is ask ourselves, have we been faithful to God? Have we all been faithful to God even though the world may be against us, and even when they may be mocking us, reviling us and humiliating us for believing in God, and keeping our faith in Him? Let us never forget what God had done for Abraham, our father in faith, for Israel, when they were enslaved in Egypt, and for ourselves, when He chose to send His own Son to us to be our Saviour.

Let us be ever faithful in all of our ways, and grow ever stronger in the way of faith. Let us inspire one another and help guide each other so that we will always remain true to our faith in God, and be completely devoted to Him in all of our ways. Let us also ask for the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas, that his devotion and dedication to the Lord will inspire us all to do the same as well in our own lives. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 28 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 4 : 35-41

At that time, on that same day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

So they left the crowd, and took Him away in the boat He had been sitting in, and other boats set out with Him. Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat, so that it was soon filled with water. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

They woke Him up, and said, “Master, do You not care if we drown?” And rising up, Jesus rebuked the wind, and ordered the sea, “Quiet now! Be still!” The wind dropped, and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?”

But they were terrified, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

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Saturday, 28 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72, 73-75

In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.

Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy covenant.

The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.

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Saturday, 28 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 11 : 1-2, 8-19

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived as a stranger in that promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the Architect and Builder.

By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that He Who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Death found all these people strong in their faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and travellers on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy for them to return, but no, they aspired to a better city, that is, a supernatural one; so God, Who prepared the city for them is not ashamed of being called their God.

By faith Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so he who had received the promise of God offered his only son although God had told him : Isaac’s descendants will bear your name. Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.

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Thursday, 26 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast day of two of St. Paul’s followers and fellow leaders of the early Church, St. Timothy and St. Titus, who accompanied him during certain parts of his apostolic journeys, and with whom he kept correspondences, which are then compiled and become part of the New Testament of our Sacred Scriptures today.

These two were among those whom the Apostles had appointed as the episcopi, overseers or bishops among the people of God. They have been chosen to help in the works of the Apostles, and to be their successors to continue the works that the Apostles had started. From them too, came forth many more successors and bishops, who followed on through time, as those who have given themselves to the service of the Gospel for the sake of mankind’s salvation.

And in the Gospel, Jesus our Lord also appointed seventy-two disciples in addition to the twelve Apostles He had chosen. The seventy-two disciples are those whom God had chosen to assist in the good works which the Lord had appointed them to do. They had been instructed by the Lord to go to every places He was to go, to prepare His way for him, and to bring the Good News to the people in those places.

All of us Christians have also been called to do the same, as Jesus Himself had aptly said, that while the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. The harvest refers to the richness of opportunities in this world for evangelisation and conversion, of many people who have yet to receive the Good News of God, and the many people who are still living in sin and darkness, in the ignorance of the light of Christ.

The labourers of the harvest are all those whom God have called to help gather His harvest, namely those who have answered His call and accepted their new role as the devoted servants of God. They are our priests and bishops, those in the holy orders and religious life, who have given themselves and their whole lives for service to God, in the same manner as St. Timothy and St. Titus, and many other holy saints had been.

There are many things that these servants of God had to do, preaching the Good News, healing the sick and caring for them, as well as for all those who are without hope, downtrodden and rejected by the society. And they will also be accepted in places, but rejected in even more places. There will be many of those who refuse to listen to them, and instead of obeying their precepts, continued to live their old and sinful way of life.

In all of this, we should look upon the examples of St. Timothy, St. Titus and all the holy saints who have devoted their life to God. They went from places to places, ministering for the people who need them, both in physical and also spiritual, but more importantly, they provided for them the sustenance of their faith, showing them examples of how they ought to live their lives in good faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all called to serve the Lord in our different capacities and opportunities, that as Christians and thus members of the Church, we may be true bearers of the message of God’s Holy Gospels, and awaken in many others, the faith that have laid dormant in their hearts. Let us all inspire one another, and help guide each other on our journey of faith towards the Lord.

May the Lord bless us all, and awaken in us the desire to serve Him, so that some amongst us may be stirred when He calls us, to be His servants, to take up the cross and follow Him, and support and continue the good works of the Apostles and disciples, and their successors. May the Lord help us all and be with us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid, do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”