holy men

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Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we are all called to focus our attention and our whole lives upon the Lord our God, Who should be the sole focus and reason of our existence. We should not easily allow ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations, coercions, pressures and desires present all around us that we lose our focus and sight on what is truly important, and forgetting that as Christians, we are God’s holy and beloved people, and we should always strive to be worthy of Him at all times, in all of our words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions and commitments in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Second Book of Kings of Israel and Judah in which the story of the usurpation done by Queen Athaliah of Judah was told to us, at the time when the Queen Mother Athaliah attempted and successfully managed to seize power in the kingdom for herself after her son, King Ahaziah of Judah was killed by Jehu, the new King of Israel appointed by God. King Ahaziah perished partly because of his sins, in his failures to bring the people of God to obey God’s Law and commandments, but his mother Athaliah committed an even greater sin and wickedness before God and man alike, as we ourselves had heard in our first reading passage today, in how she attempted to eradicate the entirety of the descendants of her son, and the extended family in order to secure power for herself.

Through all of that, Athaliah had committed a truly grave sin before God, for the murders that she had carried out not just one but so many innocent people, not sparing even women and children on this. Why did Athaliah do so? While the full reason and details were not highlighted in the records in the Scriptures but based on other comparable events and similar actions by other figures throughout history pointed to greed and desire for worldly power, glory, fame, ambition for more personal gains among other things. It was likely that Athaliah had one of these as her motive to carry out such heinous acts and wickedness. But through what we heard in these series of events today, we are all reminded that God would always be with His beloved and faithful ones, and while challenges might come upon them, but they would be triumphant in the end.

That was how we heard of the survival of Joash, one of the descendants of the late king and helped him to survive the massacre when all the other relatives and members of the royal family were purged and massacred. Joash was protected by God, saved and helped to be prepared as future king under the guidance of the priest Jehoiada, whom we heard then eventually orchestrating the return of the House of David to power. Through the support of the people and others who disliked Queen Athaliah’s authoritarian rule, that was how Queen Athaliah met her ignominious end, overthrown and punished to death for all the wicked deeds which she had done all those years ago. King Joash of Judah ascended to the throne and restored the rule of the House of David just as God intended it.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord told and warned His disciples not to seek and gather for themselves the treasures of this world, but rather to gather the heavenly and true treasures which they should instead be aiming for. The Lord reminded all of His disciples because some if not many among them might have the wrong idea and aim in following Him, thinking that by walking in His path and gathering around Him, they could gain worldly glory, fame and power, greatness and pleasures of the world. The Lord told them that all the glory, pleasures and ambitions of this world, all of the allures of greatness and wealth cannot truly satisfy us, and they will not last forever, as they will eventually be destroyed and we will not bring them to the life that is to come for us.

It is why each and every one of us should seek to reevaluate our lives and reconsider how we have focused our lives thus far. If we have not been truly faithful to the Lord, and if we have allowed the allures of worldly glory, of pleasures of the flesh and other ambitions to tempt and mislead us, then perhaps it is time for us to abandon all those wicked and evil pursuits, and instead renewing our commitment to live our lives once again worthily of the Lord, by embracing God’s Law and commandments wholeheartedly, and by doing whatever we can so that we may come ever closer to God, and to avoid all those things which had misled and tempted so many of our predecessors, like that of Queen Athaliah, that they all ended up falling into sin and destruction. This is what we must not end up doing, and we must always strive to be ever more faithful to God.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a great servant of God whose life and faith, while may be relatively short compared to many of us, but he has shown us and many of our predecessors what it means for us all to live for the Lord and to be truly faithful to Him. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was born into an illustrious cadet branch of the powerful and famous House of Gonzaga in the area of what is now northern part of Italy, and as the eldest son of the family, he would have been guaranteed to gain the great inheritance of his family’s assets, fortune and titles, which were indeed quite substantial. But God had a different plan for St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who was called by God since his rather young age, being touched and inspired to follow the path of the Lord rather than all the wickedness and decadence he had witnessed while he was growing up.

He was increasingly called to be a missionary and to embrace God’s calling, living a righteous and virtuous life amidst the commonly practiced way of life among those of his background and class at the time. St. Aloysius Gonzaga spent his time teaching catechism and guiding the younger boys in the faith. He met lots of opposition especially from his father regarding his decision to join a religious congregation, particularly that of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. Despite the many pleas, persuasions, coercions and pressures, none of these could dissuade the young St. Aloysius Gonzaga, and even the tempting promise of secular priesthood and even episcopate, to be a bishop with all of its worldly riches and glory, those things could not change the mind of St. Aloysius Gonzaga.

And thus, St. Aloysius Gonzaga chose to abandon and sign-off his inheritance and all worldly glory, and became a member of the Jesuits. During his formation years as a Jesuit, St. Aloysius Gonzaga continued to life a virtuous and holy life, and was committed to care for the sick and the poor, which eventually led to his early death at the young age of twenty-two. At that time, there was a plague raging in Rome, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga got sick from the plague while he was ministering to the sick. And even so, he still pushed himself and forced himself to continue to care for the sick despite his own condition. Eventually his condition worsened, he was administered the Last Rites and passed away. His courageous actions and love for others have truly shown all of us what it truly means for us to be Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our best so that our lives may truly be holy and worthy of God, focusing on Him and not on the many temptations of worldly pleasures and all the other things which may tempt and distract us away from the path towards salvation and eternal life in God. Many of our predecessors had fallen into this path, as the earlier example of Queen Athaliah of Judah had shown us. God has given us all the means and the help to lead us towards righteousness in Him, and we should therefore follow the examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, so that we may truly be good role models and inspirations for one another in our Christian faith and life. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless our every efforts and endeavours in life, and grant us His grace, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 6 : 19-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not store up treasures for yourself here, on earth, where moth and rust destroy it; and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.

For where your treasures are, there, also, will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

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Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

YHVH swore to David a promise, and He will remain true to it : “I will keep your descendants on your throne.”

“If your sons keep My Covenant and the decrees I have taught them; their sons, too, will sit forever upon your throne.”

For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”

From here, a Saviour shall come forth, a Son of David; here, shall shine forever, the lamp of My Anointed. In shame will I clothe His enemies, but upon His head a crown shall shine.

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Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Kings 11 : 1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom.

Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the house of YHVH for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the house of YHVH. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king’s son.

The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do; and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of king David which were in the house of YHVH. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the house of YHVH.

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king’s son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the house of YHVH.

The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, treason!”

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, “Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her.” He gave this order, because he thought, “She should not die in the house of YHVH.” They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king, by the horses’ entrance, there, they killed her.

Jehoiada made a Covenant between YHVH and the king and the people so they would be the people of YHVH. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar. Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the house of YHVH.

All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king’s palace.

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Thursday, 13 June 2024 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us ought to obey the Lord our God, listen to Him and His words, walking in the path that He has shown to us. All of us as God’s beloved and holy people had been called to a life that is truly full of His grace and love by living our lives each day with the desire to be righteous, full of virtue and truly being worthy of the Lord. All of us have been called to be like God Himself, full of love, compassion and mercy towards each other, just as the Lord has always been loving and compassionate towards us in each and every moments of our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the First Book of Kings of Israel and Judah of the continuation of the story of the life and ministry of the prophet Elijah that happened during the reign of king Ahab of Israel, the wicked and unfaithful king who had led the people of Israel down a path of rebellion and disobedience against God. At that time, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel had long been disobedient against God, refusing to follow His Law and commandments because of the kings that had been wicked and stubborn in their ways, promoting pagan worship and the establishment of pagan idols and abominations, altars and sacrifices that were not directed to the Lord, their one and only true God.

And king Ahab brought this to a new low by his wicked actions and further disobedience against God. He persecuted the prophets and messengers of God, slaughtering and destroying them, refusing to listen to the words of premonition and warning which these prophets had spoken in reminding the people of the consequences of their wickedness and their sins against God. Elijah was the only prophet of God who remained active and alive back then, and he had to endure many hardships amidst his ministry. Elijah spoke of a great drought and famine that would strike against the whole land of Israel, and everything indeed happened as he had said, as rain did not come towards the land of Israel for several years.

In what we have heard in our first reading today was the moment when God through the prophet Elijah was showing His power to king Ahab of Israel. He showed to Ahab just how He had withheld the rain from coming over the land for years, He also brought the rain back over the land. By doing this, He essentially showed that He is truly in charge of all things, and just as He has also shown His might at Mount Carmel earlier on, bringing down fire upon the sacrificial offerings of Elijah while Baal, the god that king Ahab and the Israelites worshipped failed to do so, all these served to further highlight to the king and to the people of Israel of their folly of not obeying the words and the Law of God, their Lord and Master. The people have sinned because they preferred to follow their own ways and did not truly believe in God as they should have done.

In our Gospel passage today, we are all also reminded of this by the Lord Himself, Who told the people to be truly and genuinely faithful to the Lord, and to believe in Him in a way more genuine and appropriate than those of the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. The Lord has mentioned this because those teachers of the Law and the Pharisees had been opposing Him on various occasions, doubting and questioning Him and His disciples because they disagreed on how the Lord and His disciples had been observing and practicing the Law of God. However, the reality was such that those teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were so focused and even obsessed with trivial details and rituals, the way how the Law and the commandments ought to be observed that they ended up failing to understand the true purpose, importance and significance of the Law of God.

What does this mean? It means that they observed the Law more with their external appearances and actions, but it was often not accompanied by genuine obedience and understanding of the Law and the commandments of God. This means that they often merely paid lip service and were doing everything that they had done in fulfilling the commandments and rules of the Law more so that they could feel proud of their accomplishments and their sense of superiority against others around them whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy than them in their way of observing God’s Law and commandments. Essentially they have also made idols out of their preoccupation and obsession with the way how the Law should be observed in their minds, and like those of king Ahab and the Israelites in the past, all these distracted them from their faith to the Lord.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a great and renowned saint whose faith and life was truly inspirational and are good examples for us all to follow in our own lives, in how we should dedicate ourselves to serve the Lord at all times. St. Anthony of Padua was born into a wealthy family in what is now Portugal, and he was called by God to be His servant and follower, dedicating himself to be a priest and missionary of God. He became a member of the Franciscans and was ordained a priest. However, his dream and desire to go forth in missionary works was prevented by sickness, and instead, St. Anthony of Padua chose to continue his missions and works among the people of the places he ministered in.

St. Anthony of Padua was well-known for his great eloquence and wisdom, his care, love and concern for the poor and the needy. That was why through the works of St. Anthony of Padua, many people were touched in their lives and came to believe in the Lord, and they were also touched by the loving words of St. Anthony of Padua who had revealed to them the truth and love of God. St. Anthony of Padua dedicated his time and effort to care for those who have been neglected by the world, and he has also put the effort to reach out to everyone, finding those who have been lost from God and helping them all to come back towards Him. His inspirations and help for us have inspired countless people throughout history and even right up to this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all therefore be reminded of the need for each and every one of us to renew our faith and commitment to the Lord. Through the words of the Lord and the life and actions of St. Anthony of Padua, all of us are reminded that as Christians, each and every one of us must indeed centre and focus our whole lives, our attention and all of our efforts on the Lord. May the Lord our loving God continue to strengthen us in faith and in our conviction so that by our every words, actions and deeds we may continue to glorify Him and proclaim Him and His Good News to all the people around us. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 June 2024 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 20-26

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.”

“Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister, ‘Fool!’ deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.”

“Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.”

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Thursday, 13 June 2024 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 64 : 10abcd, 10e-11, 12-13

You water the land and care for it, enriching it with natural resources. God’s stream is filled with water.

So You prepare the earth to give us its fruits. You drench the furrows in the land and level the ridges; You soften the soil with showers and bless its crops.

You crown the year with Your goodness; abundance flows everywhere. The deserts have become pasture land, the hills are clothed with gladness.

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Thursday, 13 June 2024 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Kings 18 : 41-46

Elijah then said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for the sound of rain is rushing in.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. Elijah, in the meantime, went to the top of Carmel, bowed to the ground and put his face between his knees.

Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look in the direction of the sea.” The man went up, looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then Elijah said, “Go again;” and seven times he went. At the seventh time, he perceived a little cloud, the size of a man’s hand, rising out of the sea. Elijah told him, “Go, tell Ahab : Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”

A little later the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a strong rain fell. Ahab was riding on his way to Jezreel. As for Elijah, the hand of YHVH was on him, and tucking his cloak in his belt, he ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

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Thursday, 6 June 2024 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He has given to all of us, as He grants us all the most wonderful graces and blessings, constantly reaching out to us and showing us His love throughout all of history. He has loved us all from the very beginning, and He has indeed created us all out of His ever enduring and patient love. He spared us from destruction and eternal damnation because of this same love, and gave us all the perfect gift of love, manifested in His only begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are reminded this day that we should not take God’s love for granted, and we are also reminded that we have to love Him and our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy, we heard of the words of the Apostle speaking about the salvation which the Lord has shown all of us, and which He has generously and constantly promised to us, and renewed that promise through all that He had done, through the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, by Whom the whole world has been shown the sure path to God’s grace and eternal life. This is what St. Paul wanted to remind all of us, the faithful people of God, of just how wonderful God’s love has been, and how fortunate we truly are for having been beloved in such a manner.

This is why all of us are reminded of this great love of God, and what we all as Christians ought to be doing henceforth, in loving God, our Lord and Master, and in loving one another, our fellow brothers and sisters, at all times. We have truly been very blessed to be in God’s love and favour, and we must never squander the opportunities and the great generosity that God has shown us all these while. Otherwise we may lose sight on what truly matters for us in life, especially if we allow ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations and pleasures of the world around us. This is why we must remind ourselves always to be ever committed to the Lord, to His love and kindness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard another similar reminder through the interaction between the Lord Jesus and a teacher of the Law who was asking Him about the commandments of the Law and which among them were the most important of all. Contextually, there are about six hundred and thirteen commandments and rule throughout the Law of God that was revealed through Moses to the people of Israel, and the teachers of the Law were those who were particularly strict in following and enforcing the Law and commandments of God, and the teacher of the Law who was asking Jesus might have indeed genuinely be curious on which of all those laws were truly most important one among them.

This is where we must also understand that the teachers of the Law were among those who were so particular and strict in their enforcement of the Law of God, that they were at times very inflexible and rigid in their application, and some among them even took pride and becoming haughty at their supposed better understanding and knowledge of the Law of God and all of its precepts and rules. But in doing so, they actually forgot the true significance, meaning and purpose of the Law of God, which is to bring the people of God closer to Him, and to show them all how to love Him and how they ought to love one another in the same way, which was exactly what the Lord Jesus told to the teacher of the Law.

It is a reminder for all of us that for us to be truly faithful to God, we must be filled first and foremost with love for Him. We must put the Lord at the very heart and centre of our lives, and dedicate ourselves wholly to Him. We cannot be truly faithful to Him unless we can do this, and we have to strive to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, by observing His laws and commandments, obeying Him and glorifying His Name. And we cannot fully do so if we do not also love our fellow brothers and sisters, whom the Lord Himself has loved in the same manner that He has loved each one of us. How can we love God wholeheartedly if we have not also loved all those whom He loves as well?

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Norbert, a great bishop and servant of God whose life and service to the Lord can truly inspire us on how we ourselves can be truly faithful to Him. St. Norbert, also known as St. Norbert of Xanten, was a servant and missionary of the Lord, who was very committed to his ministry of preaching among the people of God throughout various parts of Western and Central Europe, where he proclaimed the Lord and many people followed the Lord through his efforts. He was particularly also concerned about the declining morale and discipline among the clergy throughout the many places that he visited and ministered in.

St. Norbert dedicated himself to help reform the Church and its clergy, in his many attempts to help uproot all the corrupt practices and way of living which many Christians and the clergy at his time had done, in efforts to stem the declining moral and virtues among the people of God and the Church. As part of these efforts, he founded the Canons Regular of Premontre, also known as Norbertians after their founder. He gathered those who were called by the Lord to seek a holy and virtuous life, dedicating themselves to a life of prayer and service. More and more people were inspired by St. Norbert and joined his congregation, and many great fruits were produced of his works in reforming the Church and opposing various heresies in the Church then. And later on as Archbishop of Magdeburg as appointed by the Pope, St. Norbert would continue to carry out his mission and reform works among the people entrusted to him, to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the great examples showed by St. Norbert and his life, let us all be inspired to follow the Lord ever more faithfully and to commit ourselves thoroughly to His cause. Let us all remind ourselves and one another not to be swayed easily worldly temptations and desires, but as we recall the ever enduring and generous love which God has always had for us, let us all continue to love Him first and foremost and do our very best so that we may truly be committed to God at all times and be the good and worthy role models for our fellow Christians, our fellow brothers and sisters around us, whom we also ought to love and care for, as much as we can. May God be with us always and may He bless us all in our every endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Thursday, 6 June 2024 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Mark 12 : 28b-34

At that time, a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved of this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.