holy men

by

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of their lack of true faith and devotion to the Lord as well as their hypocrisy, acting as if they were just and faithful, whereas in fact, they were rotten on the inside, maintaining only good appearances and reputation to be praised and honoured by men, for their supposed good faith.

The clear message which all of us should take note of is that, true faith comes from the inside, and it comes with genuine and sincere dedication of oneself to the Lord, and not just maintaining good appearances and good facade for the sake of viewing, so that others may see us and praise us. That indeed is not something bad, and indeed, it is necessary that we too show the faith in us through how we behave and how we live our lives, but if we have no goodness and faith inside of us, then we truly have nothing.

The first reading today showed us how St. Paul in his interactions with the faithful in the city of Thessalonica explained how he and his fellow disciples of the Lord ministered to the people of God in various means, ministering to them in body and spirit, providing especially consolation and care for the soul, tendering care and provided for them that thy have enough in everything.

We cannot be truly faithful if we do not truly love God in our hearts, and if have no love for one another, which is the essence of the Law which God had given to us all mankind, for us to emulate and to follow. The Law of God should not be misinterpreted, misunderstood and worse, misused, to be a tool of oppression or something of mere monotony by those who fail to understand the true importance of the Law.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during Jesus’ time professed to be faithful because they deemed themselves as the only ones who were able to commit themselves to obey the entirety of the so-called laws of Moses, which is the entirety of the laws and commandments that God had given, but then on top of those, there were many other laws decided and added through the ages to complement what had been given.

But they were so obsessed and focused on those laws that eventually many if not most of them enforced such laws and observed them because they thought that they had to do so. In the end, many of them did not understand what they were doing, and they were blindly following the law as they deemed fit. And worse still, they condemned others when they saw that these others did not follow what they had done.

That is not true faith, and we indeed should take note not to fall into the same situation. Let us all learn from the examples of the two saints whose life and memory we are celebrating today on their feast day. They are St. Louis, King of France, also known as St. Louis IX, one of the few canonised kings, and St. Joseph Calasanz, a holy priest hailing from Spain, known for his dedication to Catholic education.

St. Louis IX was known to be a very good and dedicated king, who put his people above everything else, and who led an exemplary life in faith, supporting the Church and the institutions of the faith, building churches and schools to help the people and especially the poor to be closer to the Lord their God. St. Louis IX helped to strengthen the Church and the faith, opposing many forms of vices and oppositions to the ways of the Lord.

St. Louis IX prohibited sinful and worldly activities such as prostitution, gambling, simony and many other vices that had penetrated deep into the society and even within the Church. He also ensured that justice was upheld in the society, ensuring those who were innocent did not receive unjust punishment and those who were to be blamed, received their just punishment.

St. Louis IX was also deeply devoted in the advancement of the cause of the Faith, and he devoted himself to a faithful Crusade against the godless and the faithless, to help liberate the Holy Land and the Holy City of Jerusalem after he was healed from an illness and made a vow to launch a Crusade should he be healed. Nevertheless, God had other plans, and He called St. Louis IX to His side while he was out there fighting in the Name of God, a faithful servant to the end.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph Calasanz was a Spanish priest who went on to spend most of his time in Rome, the heart of Christendom, where he ministered to the faithful and many of the poor and the less fortunate of the society there. He opened schools and many other institutions designed to help the destitute and all those who had no opportunity at education and those who were ostracised by the society.

St. Joseph Calasanz showed by his numerous works and devotions to the people of God, that there are so many things that we all can do to help our brethren who are suffering around us, and there are even more things we can do to help them in their lives so that they can have a better life. Together with St. Louis IX, they have shown us the way to live as a faithful disciple of the Lord.

Let us all therefore from now on dedicate ourselves anew, to be true followers of our Lord, by showing it in our action and showing deep and genuine faith to the Lord, because we love Him and all that He created, and not just because we seek good appearances or human praise, or because we obey as we were told to do so. Let us all be truly faithful and devoted to the Lord our God in all things. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 23 : 23-26

At that time, Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything, but then you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith. These you must practice, instead of neglecting them. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside too will be purified.”

by

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 138 : 1-3, 4-6

O Lord, You know me : You have scrutinised me. You know when I sit and when I rise; beforehand You discern my thoughts. You observe my activities and times of rest; You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is formed in my mouth, You know what it is all about, o Lord. From front to back You hedge me round, shielding me with Your protecting hand. Your knowledge leaves me astounded, it is too high for me to reach.

by

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

1 Thessalonians 2 : 1-8

You well know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. We had been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi but, trusting in our God, we dared announce to you the message of God, and face fresh opposition. Our warnings did not conceal any error or impure motive, no did we deceive anyone.

But as God had entrusted His Gospel to us as to faithful ministers, we were anxious to please God who sees the heart, rather than human beings. We never pleased you with flattery, as you know, nor did we try to earn money, as God knows. We did not try to make a name for ourselves among people, either with you or anybody else, although we were messengers of Christ and could have made our weight felt.

On the contrary, we were gentle with you, as a nursing mother who feeds and cuddles her baby. And so great is our concern that we are ready to give you, as well as the Gospel, even our very lives, for you have become very dear to us.

by

Monday, 24 August 2015 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the feast of one of the Twelve Holy Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the principal and greatest followers and disciples of our Lord, who were the ones that helped to establish His Church on earth. And today, we celebrate therefore the feast of St. Bartholomew, also known by his other name of Nathaniel.

He was unique among the Twelve Apostles, for the Lord seemed to have a high opinion of him, when He called him to be His follower. He proclaimed to His other disciples, that St. Bartholomew, then known as Nathaniel, was a true and upright man in Israel, and that there are none other like him. Indeed, this is to show that Jesus called His disciples from various origins, from the humblest and the simplest, to the educated, and the righteous as well as the wicked ones.

But when He called the Apostles, Jesus made it clear to them that He did not call them for a life of privilege, and neither that their lives would be an easy one. They would not be called to a life of privilege and prestige, and the Lord made it clear again from time to time, that they would suffer the same persecution, challenges and difficulties that their Master had also experienced.

And indeed, many of the Apostles and the other disciples and followers of our Lord were harassed, rejected, cast out and had their lives made difficult because of what they believed in, and because of what they were preaching to the people so that these people would come to believe in Jesus and be saved. They would be led to torture places, imprisoned, and then most of them were martyred, that is they gave up their earthly life for the sake of the Lord and their faith in Him.

But all these were the prelude to the eternal inheritance and glory which our Lord had promised to all of them. As in the Gospel today, when Nathaniel, St. Bartholomew expressed his doubt at Jesus because He was from Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus spoke of how they would see great things, and they would see the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, glorified and revealed in His majesty.

This indeed they had seen, and they witnessed it, and they therefore preached about what they have witnessed and seen with their own eyes and felt with their own senses, of the Lord who died and rose from the dead in glory, and by His works, all are made whole and saved. And for that there were greatly rewarded. The clue to this is in our first reading from the Book of the Revelation of St. John.

St. John saw the vision of the new and heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy City that comes down from heaven, with all of its incomparable and unparalleled beauty and greatness, and the city has twelve great gates, on which lies twelve stones on which are carved the names of the Twelve Holy Apostles. Indeed, this is the vision of the fulfilment of Christ’s promise to the Apostles, as in His own words, He had said that the Apostles will sit on the twelve thrones to judge the people of God.

The essence of today’s Scripture readings, and what we have to take away with us today is that all of us have a share in the works of the Apostles, and we are their successors, in terms of the mission which God had entrusted them with. His mission for us is to go forth to all the nations, to all the peoples and preach to them, and be witnesses of His resurrection, and be the bearers of the Good News of His salvation.

There will indeed be challenges and difficulties, and our way forward will not be an easy one, but so had the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord met all kinds of resistance and oppositions during their ministry in this world. But we have to remember that God is always with those who keep their faith in Him. If we keep our trust in Him and place our faith in Him, then we truly have nothing to fear at all.

Let us all be ever more dedicated and devoted to our faith in the Lord, and let us all walk in the footsteps of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, committing ourselves ever more to bring forth the Gospel and the Good News to all the peoples, so that all may be saved together in God. May Almighty God bless us in all of our endeavours and shine His light upon us always. Amen.

by

Monday, 24 August 2015 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One that Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets as well : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.”

Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.” Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

by

Monday, 24 August 2015 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, and Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

by

Monday, 24 August 2015 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Revelations 21 : 9b-14

And one of the seven angels said, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me up in a spiritual vision to a very high mountain and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel with the colour of crystal-clear jasper.

Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve angels. Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west.

The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

by

Friday, 21 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how a woman of Israel, Naomi, was left all alone after her husband and two sons passed away, leaving her with her daughters-in-law who followed her. One of the two daughters-in-law, Ruth, a Moabite woman, a foreigner in the eyes of the Israelites, refused to leave when Naomi decided to return to her homeland and asked them to go.

This same Ruth would eventually be the ancestor of David, the king of Israel, through whom God renewed His covenant with His people and with all of us. Ruth would go on to meet Boaz, her future husband, and by God’s will, and through Naomi’s faith and perseverance, the foundation of the family of David would be born. And through David, God made secure his kingdom and his family, and through him, the salvation of all mankind was made secure, through Jesus, Son of God, Son of David.

And Ruth as we heard in today’s reading, made the great profession of faith before Naomi, as even though she was a foreigner, a Moabite, usually looked with suspicion and often treated badly and with prejudice by the people of Israel, but her faith shone forth and true, for she proclaimed that Naomi’s God would be her God, and Israel would be her people, counting herself among them. This surrendering of oneself to the will of God is a great example for all of us to follow.

In the Gospel today, we heard about how Jesus explained to the teacher of the Law, who asked Him what the most important commandment in the Law is. Out of the Ten Commandments, and the numerous rules and regulations of the laws as revealed to Moses, the most important Law is indeed about love. It is for love of us mankind that God had revealed His Law, so that all of us may find our way to Him and keep ourselves steady amidst the temptations and challenges of the world.

Indeed, the essence of the Law is to love the Lord with all of our might, with all of our strength, with all of our minds and intellect, and with all of our very beings, that in everything we say, in everything we act and do, we do them for the love of God, for the sake of the Lord, and for the sake of everything that God had made, which includes all creation, and also all of us, mankind, loving one another, our own brothers and sisters in the Lord.

It is the same kind of faith and devotion which Ruth had shown us in the first reading today, the total commitment and devotion which all of us ought to have as well. We have to have this kind of faith if we are to call ourselves true disciples of the Lord. If we truly follow the Lord, then all of us should love Him, and give Him all the best things we have, the best of our attention and focus, our best devotion and commitment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast day of the Church, when we celebrate the feast of one of its greatest saints and holy servants of God, namely that of Pope St. Pius X, the Pope of the Holy Eucharist, defender of the True Faith and defender against the evils and wickedness of Modernism. He is one of the greatest Popes of the modern era, who helped the Church to withstand the forces of darkness gathering and pushing against the Church.

Pope St. Pius X was born a humble and poor boy, by the name of Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, at a time when uncertainties and darkness started to cloud the judgments of mankind and nations. He rose through the occasion by his tireless dedication and strong stance against the sins and wickedness that were eating away at mankind’s heart and soul.

In his position, firstly as a lay person, then a priest, then a bishop, a Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice, and then as the Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, he remained as a beacon of faith and truth, and an inviolable and steadfast anchor of the faith, condemning sins whenever he found it, and helping and showing mercy to sinners whenever and wherever he could.

He helped to reform the Church and made it stronger by codifying a new set of the Canon Law which were crucial to help the Church to withstand the forces of change and corruption that were threatening many of the faithful. He showed by example in many situations, with his great piety and dedication to the Lord. He also tried to bring the faithful closer to God, by championing and pushing for frequent reception of the Holy Communion, which up to then was only done very irregularly.

Through his hard work, he was known to be a saintly Pope even before he passed away, and the push for his beatification and sainthood came immediately after his death. He became an inspiration to many of the faithful, and I hope that through his intercession, he will also become an inspiration to many of us. May all of us show the great faith and devotion to the Lord, as Ruth and as Pope St. Pius X had done. May God be with us in all of our good endeavour. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Friday, 21 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test Him with this question, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one very similar to it : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments.”