holy men

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Friday, 9 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that healing and salvation will eventually come upon all the faithful, to all of us regardless of how and what we have suffered from, throughout all these time and moments while we are living in this world. The Lord gave us all His help and providence through various means and from sources and origins that we may not even be familiar with in the first place. Yet, everything will happen according to His will, and in the end, all those who have kept their faith in Him, will be rescued and strengthened, and they will no longer face suffering in the life that is to come, freed and liberated completely from the bondage and tyranny of sin and which He has promised to all of us. This is why we need to learn to have faith in the Lord and to trust in His love and grace.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Tobit, we heard about the culmination of the tale of Tobit and his suffering from blindness, as Tobias, his son, has come together with the Archangel Raphael in disguise of a young man, Azarias, with the healing from God. Thus we heard how not only that God had freed and liberated Sara, the daughter of Ragouel from the assaults of the demon Asmodeus, and gave her to Tobias as wife, but also how Tobit, the righteous man of God was cured of his blindness, and received help from the Lord, Who remembered all the good deeds which Tobit had done and how he had turned to God during his darkest and most difficult moments, praying for Him to help and guide him throughout those difficult moments that he had to face throughout his journey and life.

Through the Archangel Raphael, who silently and secretly gave assistance to both Tobit and Sara, God helped His faithful ones from their respective predicaments, and both therefore were rescued and everything ended well for both of them. Afterwards, the Archangel Raphael would reveal himself to Tobit and his family, and reminding them that God has heard the prayers of His faithful ones, and reminded them to continue observing the Law and commandments of the Lord, to live righteously and justly in the presence of God at all times. This story of the healing of Tobit and the rescue of Sara should indeed serve as a source of great inspiration for all of us as Christians so that we may always live our lives ever more faithfully and devoutly in God’s Presence, and being ever committed to serve Him at all times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we also heard the Lord Jesus in our Gospel passage today, speaking about the coming of God’s salvation, which was in fact referring to Himself as the fulfilment of God’s promises and reassurances for His people, Himself as the Son and Heir of David, but also pointing out that He was not just like any other mere Man, as He was also the Son of God, the Almighty God Himself in the flesh, the Divine Word Incarnate. And His coming into this world heralded the coming of salvation and help for all of His faithful ones, and He reassured all of us therefore that He has always been there for us, providing for us and guiding us, and ultimately, giving us even His own most beloved Son, so that through Him, His Passion and loving sacrifice on the Cross, all of us may be saved from our impending destruction.

Today all of us through whatever we have heard and received from the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that the Lord is always with us, by our side, journeying with us and watching over us. And we are all truly fortunate and blessed that we have such a loving God, Master and Father caring for us, even when we have often disobeyed Him, veered off and walked away from the path that He has shown us, betrayed Him and abandoned Him for other idols, pursuits of life and other distractions and temptations that have kept us away from the Lord and His true path. That is why today all of us are reminded to stay away from all those distractions and temptations, and we are reminded to remain vigilant and strong, to resist and to refuse to follow the lies and temptations of evil.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ephrem the Deacon, a great man of God and servant of God whose life, works and dedications should serve as source of inspiration for all of us as Christians, in how each and every one of us ought to be living our lives with faith, with dedication and commitment to God. St. Ephrem was a Syrian Christian born during the last parts of the Diocletianic persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, and he was baptised in his youth, eventually growing up as a devout Christian and becoming a venerable teacher of the faith, and was ordained as a Deacon to assist in the ministry of the Church in his local region. St. Ephrem spent significant amount time to teach and proclaim the Christian faith, the Good News of God and the Lord’s truth and love to many of the people around the region.

St. Ephrem was also credited in his teaching ministry and in the many works he was working on, in many matters of the faith and in theology, where he became the author of many great and inspirational works which still influenced and helped many future theologians and Church philosophers. St. Ephrem wrote extensively on many issues and he helped many people to come to know the Lord better, in his many songs, proses and many other works through which he helped to correct many of the faithful’s wrong ideas and thoughts, in his famous ‘Hymns against Heresies’ by which he helped many people to stay away from the false teachings of those who sought to divide the Church and harm the faithful people of God, misleading them for their own selfish desires and benefits. St. Ephrem was always hard at work to counter all these. For all of his many contributions and works, he was declared as one of the Doctors of the Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to remember the love and providence from God, which He has always provided for us? Are we willing to make the commitment and to put in the effort to do His will, as how St. Ephrem the Deacon and many others had done in their own lives? Let us all do whatever we can in our own lives, in our own areas of responsibilities so that we may truly be inspirational and good role models for our fellow brothers and sisters, in everything that we say and do. May the Lord also continue to guide and strengthen us in our lives, and empower us all to carry on living our Christian faith with ever greater devotion from now on. Amen.

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Friday, 9 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Mark 12 : 35-37

At that time, as Jesus was teaching in the Temple, He said, “The teachers of the Law say that the Messiah is the Son of David. How can that be? For David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared : The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet!'”

“If David himself calls Him Lord, in what way can He be his Son?” Many people came to Jesus, and listened to Him gladly.

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Friday, 9 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Psalm 145 : 1-2, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, my soul! I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

He sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Friday, 9 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Tobit 11 : 5-17

Now Anna was sitting there, scanning the road along which her son should return. She saw Tobias and Raphael coming in the distance and said to the father of Tobias, “Your son is coming with the man who accompanied him.”

While Tobias and Raphael were still going along the road, Raphael said to Tobias, “I am sure that your father will regain his sight. Rub his eyes with the fish gall and when he feels his eyes itching, he will rub them and the film will come away like scales from his eyes. He will regain his sight and see the light.”

Anna ran to meet Tobias and threw her arms around his neck saying, “At last I have seen you again, my child. Now I can die!” And both of them began to cry. Tobit also got up and, stumbling, arrived at the door of the courtyard. Tobias ran to him with the fish gall in his hand. He breathed on his father’s eyes, embraced him and said, “Father, have confidence!”

Then he spread the fish gall on Tobit’s eyes. Tobias waited. When his eyes began to itch, Tobit rubbed them and with both hands scaled off the film from the corners of his eyes. When Tobit saw his son he threw his arms around Tobias’ neck and began to weep. He said, “Blessed be You, o God. Blessed be Your Name forever. Blessed be Your holy Angels. You have punished me, but You have taken pity on me, and now I can see my son, Tobias.”

Tobias was very happy. After entering the house he told his father about the important things that had happened in Media. He told his father about the successful outcome of his journey, how he got his money, and how he married Sara, daughter of Ragouel, who just then was approaching the gates of Nineveh.

Tobit, happy and praising God, went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gates of Nineveh. All those who saw him walking alone and unaided, were amazed that he could see. Tobit proclaimed to them that God had taken pity on him and cured him. Then he went to Sara and blessed her saying, “Welcome, daughter! May God be blessed for having brought you to us and may your father and mother also be blessed.”

It was a day of great rejoicing for all Tobit’s relatives who lived in Nineveh.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2023 : 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 Scriptures we are all reminded of the sufferings which we may have to face for having remained faithful to the Lord, all the trials and hardships that may be ours if we walk down this path that God has shown us. However, we must not lose faith because God has always been by our side, guiding us and being with us even in our most difficult moments. We are also reminded that in our lives in this world, we may often encounter moments when we are required to make compromises and to do as the world requires of us, as after all, we are still living in this world and are parts of how this world operates and works. We cannot totally and completely separate ourselves from the world, and as Christians, we are all expected to live our lives worthily in this world so as to proclaim by our lives and actions, the truth and glory of God, His Good News and all.

In our first reading today, from the Book of Tobit we heard of the account of how Tobit faced a very unfortunate circumstance of having to endure blindness, of not being able to see anything at all. Yet, despite all that he had to go through, Tobit did not lose heart and remained firmly steadfast in his righteousness and conviction to live honestly, and that caused some friction between him and those who were around him, his brothers and his own wife. Tobit was really suffering, much as another character from the Old Testament had also suffered, namely that of Job. Both Tobit and Job encountered unfortunate incidents that affected even their own flesh and health, with Tobit losing his eyesight while Job had to endure from itchy and painful boils, each of these having negative and debilitating effect on their health and also relationship with others around them.

Nonetheless they both remained righteous, upright and dedicated to God in all things, and they did not let fear or uncertainties to affect or distract them from their faith and trust in the Lord. Indeed, naturally they did waver from time to time, lamenting their conditions and the hardships that they had to face, but they never blamed God for their condition. Instead, they actually blamed themselves for their misfortunes and sufferings, and they convinced others that the Lord alone is the Master and the One Who rule over all things, and He alone is the One Who allows all things to happen, and all of us as His beloved people, as His servants have to follow the Lord and obey Him in all of His Law and commandments, and we must walk in the path that He has shown us. Then, as mentioned, we must also be good and upright in our lives in this world as well, in obeying whatever orders and laws that the worldly authorities around us have for us, as long as they do not directly contradict the Law of God.

In our Gospel passage today, that is what the Lord Jesus mentioned to His disciples and followers, and to those who went to Him to question and test Him, namely the Pharisees and the representatives of the chief priests, as they all tried to test and question Him on the matter of paying taxes to the Roman state and to the Emperor as was required of all those who came under the dominion of the Roman Empire. It was a really difficult situation for the Lord because no matter whether He answered yes or no to the question, He would have faced problem either way. The chief priests and the Pharisees would have wanted to trap the Lord by doing so, as if He answered yes to the question, then they could all accuse and discredit the Lord before the Jewish people, quite a few of whom back then harboured hatred against the Romans and refused to obey the laws and taxes imposed on them.

On the other hand, if the Lord had answered no to the question, then the chief priests and the Pharisees, some of whom had close ties to the Romans, could have then accused Him of disobedience and for trying to incite rebellion against the Roman rule. This was what they would later on accuse of the Lord of doing when they brought Him at the moment of His Passion to the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, of the Lord Jesus claiming Himself to be the King of the Jews. Hence, either way, whether the Lord responded with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to the question, it would have led to serious repercussions to the Lord and to His followers. But the Lord did not do that, and instead, He said that one ought to give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, as the taxes were paid with the Roman coins that ultimately came from the Roman state itself, and one ought to give to God what belongs to God, that is ultimately, ourselves.

Through what the Lord had told His disciples and those who questioned and tested Him, the Lord wanted to highlight that we should live our lives well and obey whatever the law that the land and our states have, so long as they do not contradict the Divine Law and commandments. At the same time, we should also do our part in fulfilling the Law and commandments of the Lord as is expected of us. We should our lives in a righteous and worthy manner as Tobit and other faithful servants of the Lord, our holy predecessors had done. Are we all able to commit ourselves in such a way, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to devote ourselves ever more to the cause of the Lord? These are the things that we should ask ourselves as we continue living up to our Christian calling and mission in life. And we should also look upon the great examples set by our holy predecessors.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Norbert, also known as St. Norbert of Xanten, a German bishop and founder of the religious order known as the Premonstratensian Order of Canons Regular. He was a priest and preacher who was particularly concerned about the lax nature of discipline amongst the priests and the immorality, worldly vices and wickedness that had grown rampant at that time within the Church, among both the clergy and the laity alike. Through his efforts and works, the Premonstre Order of Canons Regular was established, with customs, rules and practices combining aspects of several other more established religious orders, inspiring many people from all origins to come and join his religious order, which soon grew quickly in various places and in different countries.

He was also appointed as the Archbishop of Magdeburg by the Pope, in which role he instituted wide-ranging reforms in his local diocese, in uprooting the many corrupt practices of the Church and the community at that time. Not everyone approved and supported St. Norbert’s actions, and he faced not a few assassination attempts by those who disagreed with him and his reform works and efforts. Yet, all of those did not discourage St. Norbert who continued to carry out his reforms and works, a spirit and commitment that remain inspirational to countless generations of Christians right up to this day. St. Norbert never wavered in his hard work and efforts to lead more and more souls ever closer towards the Lord, and to help many to become more disciplined in how they lived their lives and in how they carried out their Christian actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all therefore reflect on the words of the Scriptures that we have received and the actions and life of St. Norbert that we have just discussed. Let us all always remember to live our lives worthily of the Lord as we should, and learn to discipline ourselves and keep ourselves aligned to the Lord and to His path at all times. Let us all follow the footsteps of the faithful servants of God and be good examples and role models of faith ourselves, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Mark 12 : 13-17

At that time, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees with members of Herod’s party, with the purpose of trapping him by his own words. They came and said to Jesus, “Master, we know that You are truthful; You are not influenced by anyone, and Your answers do not vary according to who is listening to You, but You truly teach God’s way. Tell us, is it against the Law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a silver coin and let Me see it.” They brought Him one and Jesus asked, “Whose image is this, and whose name?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were greatly astonished.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 7bc-8, 9

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

For his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is confident, he needs not fear, he shall prevail over his foes at the end.

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

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Tuesday, 6 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Tobit 2 : 9-14

That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned home. I washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against the wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. I did not see that there were sparrows on the wall of the courtyard and, as my eyes were open, the hot droppings from the sparrows fell into my eyes and formed a white film on my eyes.

I went to find doctors to attend to me for medical treatment but the more ointments they smeared on my eyes, the more blind I became because of the film. Finally I became totally blind. I suffered from blindness for four years. All my brothers were burdened because of me. Ahikar kept me for two years before he departed for Elymiade.

My wife Anna worked hard at a woman’s task, weaving. On the seventh day of the month of March she cut the cloth and delivered it to her employers. They paid her wages and gave her, over and above, a young goat for food. When she returned home the kid began to cry. I said to her, “Where does the little kid come from? Did you steal it? Return it to its owners for we are not allowed to eat anything that is stolen.”

But she said, “It is a gift which has been given to me in addition to my wages.” “I do not believe it. I tell you to return it to its owners.” I was ashamed of her. She replied, “What about your own almsgiving and your good deeds? I have to put up with all this from you.”

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Monday, 5 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded that as Christians, each and every one of us are to remain committed to the Lord, righteous and just, worthy in how we live our lives and in how we carry out our actions so that we may indeed live our lives in the manner that the Lord has always expected us all to live them, to be good role models and inspirations for one another in all things. The Lord has shown us through His servants and by His own examples what they and He Himself had done in glorifying God, contrasting these with those who had disobeyed the Lord for their own selfish desires and those who have given in to the worldly temptations, those who have wickedly carried out their lives and actions, refusing to listen to the Lord and those who have lived selfishly as the Lord highlighted in today’s Gospel passage.

In our first reading today from the Book of Tobit we heard the story of Tobit, an Israelite exile hailing from the tribe of Naphtali, which dwelled in the northern kingdom of Israel after it was separated from Judah under the House of David. Tobit and many others in the northern kingdom were carried off from their homeland by force through the conquest done by the Assyrians who have conquered their homeland and kingdom, destroyed their cities and towns, and then brought them away from their ancestral lands while bringing many other people from all parts of their Empire to dwell on those lands. Tobit and his family was therefore brought to the region of Assyria itself, around Nineveh, where they dwelled, and as we heard in our first reading today, life went on initially as rather normal for them, with Tobit continuing to carry out his life, supporting fellow Israelites in exile in their lives after they had left their homeland.

It was there and then that Tobit faced the harsh reality of the situation when he heard from his son Tobias that one of his fellow Israelites had been strangled and killed, which disturbed Tobit greatly. Tobit went on to bury the man and became distressed, having been a truly righteous and selfless man who had not placed himself and his own desires above that of the rest. We can see that Tobit was truly an upright and just man, who loved others just as much as himself, not caring even about his own reputation, safety and personal matters, and who was also faithful to God despite the faithlessness among most of the people of Israel that had led to them ending up in exile in the first place. Despite the ridicule and the contempt from his neighbours, Tobit still did what he had done because of his faith and principles.

Later on when he became blind by an unfortunate accident, Tobit remained faithful and trusting in God, and sending his own son Tobias to settle matters for his family, God would help them all and bless Tobit and his whole family if we continue to read on the rest of the story of Tobit and his son Tobias. This is a reminder that God never abandons His people, and for all those who are faithful to Him, God will always be with them, guiding them and providing them at the time of their need, giving them His help and assistance through His mysterious ways and at His appointed time, just as He did to Tobit and his family without them all realising at first. Then, linking to what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, we are reminded to be similarly upright in life, and not be like those wicked tenants who were selfish and who allowed themselves to be swayed by worldly temptations and greed.

In that Gospel passage, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples about this matter using a parable, namely the parable of the wicked and evil tenants. It was told that the tenants who had leased a vineyard and its plots from its owner had reneged on their dues and supposed pay for the lease, and they refused the efforts from the master of the vineyard to collect their due payment, even harassing, persecuting and murdering all those servants who had been sent to them to remind them. In the end, they did not even respect or listen to the son of the master who was sent to them, and in fact, they even plotted against him and had evil designs and wicked desires in their heart to seize full control of the vineyard for themselves. It was then that the master therefore struck at those evil tenants and destroyed them.

These are all reminders for us to stay upright in our lives as Tobit and others had done before us, and not to give in to the temptations of worldly desires and greed, all of which can lead us down the slippery slope of sin and evil, that will bring us to our downfall, if we are not vigilant and ever careful. All of us should do our best not to allow all these things to happen to us, and hence, that is why we are always reminded to keep an eye on our actions and way of life, and be willing to listen to the Lord speaking to us, reminding us in our path and journey in life so that we do not end up falling away from the path that He has shown us. We are reminded that we all should also be humble, humble in being able to listen to the words of the Lord speaking in our hearts and minds, guiding us to Himself. And besides that, we also have our holy predecessors, the saints whose lives may inspire us.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Boniface, a great bishop and martyr who had dedicated his life and all of his works for the greater glory of God. He was an English Benedictine monk who was especially remembered for his efforts in evangelising amongst the Germanic people in the northern parts of what is Germany today, proclaiming the Good News and salvation of God to many of the people there who still believed in pagan and false gods and beliefs. He was born in England to a rather prominent family and then against the wishes of his father, learnt theology and eventually became a monk and priest. St. Boniface was then appointed as a missionary to the region in northern part of Germany and what is today Netherlands known as Frisia. In his mission to Frisia, the Pope appointed him as a missionary bishop to establish the Church in that region and to convert the people there to the true faith.

In a story still well-remembered to this day, St. Boniface once persuaded many among the pagans as he chopped a great oak tree held sacred by the German pagans, who revered the tree and the spirits. Miraculously a great wind blew upon the oak tree and the whole tree fell down to the ground. Having witnessed the miracle and the fact how St. Boniface was not struck down by their gods and deities for such a supposedly sacrilegious act, many among the pagans believed in God and gave themselves to be baptised by St. Boniface and other missionaries. He went on to establish many churches and institutions in his mission areas, and continued to labour for the good of the Lord and His Church until eventually he was martyred when he and his entourage was beset by a group of Frisian bandits during his last missionary trip to the region.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the courageous examples of Tobit and other faithful servants of God like St. Boniface and many others of our faithful and holy fellow brothers and sisters, our predecessors should inspire us all to also be faithful to God and to be fully dedicated to Him, to give our time and effort, our attention and more to serve the Lord our God at all times. May the Lord continue to bless us all and our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 5 June 2023 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Mark 12 : 1-12

At that time, using parables, Jesus went on to say, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press and built a watch tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. In due time he sent a servant to receive from the tenants his share of the fruit. But they seized the servant, struck him and sent him back empty-handed.”

“Again the man sent another servant. They also struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another and they killed him. In the same way they treated many others : some they beat up and others they killed. One was still left, his beloved son. And so, last of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said, “They will respect my son.”

“But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and the property will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

And Jesus added, “Have you not read this text of the Scriptures : The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone; this is the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it?”

They wanted to arrest Him, for they realised that Jesus meant this parable for them, but they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him and went away.