holy men

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Tuesday, 13 September 2022 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 12 : 12-14, 27-31a

As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one Spirit, to form one Body, and all of us have been given, to drink from the one Spirit. The Body has not just one member, but many.

Now, you are the Body of Christ, and each of you, individually, is a member of it. So God has appointed us in the Church. First Apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in tongues? Be that as it may, set your hearts on the most precious gifts.

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Friday, 9 September 2022 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are presented with the reminder that as Christians we should not live our lives with arrogance, pride and ambition in our minds and hearts, and we should instead constantly place the Lord and His truth as the centre and focus of our lives, our works and our every efforts. We should allow the Lord to guide us in our works and journey, while at the same time we should also be fully attuned with Him and recognising our own frailty and vulnerability, our sinful and wicked state which had separated us from the fullness of God’s love and grace.

In our first reading today, we continue to hear from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, in which the Apostle spoke regarding the importance of serving God faithfully and putting Him above all of our own personal agendas and desires, that we may always prioritise Him above all else. All of us should do what we can to make good use of our talents, abilities and gifts in order to glorify God, and we ought to do so because we are inspired to live lives that are worthy of God and are full of commitment and love for Him, so that in everything we say and do, we will always prioritise Him, and be good role models and examples for others to witness so that they may also come to believe in God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus speaking to the people and to His disciples regarding the faith of those who were hypocrites, using the parable of the splinter and the plank, in which the Lord criticised those hypocrites who liked to condemn others and present themselves as better and more righteous than everyone else. The Lord condemned them for their attitude and haughtiness, their pride and arrogance, all of which had led and contributed to the scandal among the people, as those same people who claimed themselves to be righteous and good, and oppressed others for their beliefs and ways, were themselves flawed and wicked in other ways.

The problem is that those people did not realise that they themselves were flawed or wrong, and they thought that they were better than others, and that others deserved to be corrected and it was rightful for them to correct others for their supposed errors without realising and understanding that they themselves were in need of correction as well. They prided themselves in their ways and their misguided observances of the Law of God, and all these had clouded their judgment and blinded them, preventing them from being able to see the truth. They were misguided by their pride and ego, their ambitions and desires, and by the worldly praise and glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these serve to remind us that we should not let pride, ambition, worldly glory, fame, our many desires and greed, all these from distracting us off the path towards God and His righteousness. Each one of us should do our best to prioritise God and His ways above all else, and learn to recognise our own shortcomings and what we need in order to come closer to the Lord. All of us are reminded to distance from evil and wicked ways, and to turn away from those things that can mislead us down the wrong path towards disobedience against God, the wrong path of selfishness and manipulation of others for our own self-benefits and more. Instead, we should do our best to follow the Lord by looking upon the examples of those who have lived their lives worthily before us, the saints, the holy men and women of God.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Peter Claver, a holy and faithful servant of God whose examples hopefully can serve as a good inspiration for us to follow in how we ought to be good and faithful servants of God in our lives from now on. He was renowned for his extensive works among the poor and the slaves, in the areas where he ministered in the then what was known as the New World, in the Americas. He was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who dedicated himself to a life of service to God and His people, spending his whole life in particular for the care of the African slaves, when slavery was truly rampant back then.

He cared for the needs of the African slaves who were mistreated and mismanaged back then, treated horribly and unfairly by their masters and employers throughout the areas of his ministry, and despite the many challenges and trials he had to face, St. Peter Claver never let all those to discourage or prevent him from continuing to struggle for the sake of those slaves. He showed them the love of God and the path towards His salvation, and was credited for the baptism of over three hundred thousand people throughout his lifetime of service, and he heard numerous confessions while also helping to lead many of them to the path of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all that St. Peter Claver had done for the sake of these marginalised and least in the society, all that he had shown for the love of God and His people alike, all these should inspire all of us to live our lives in a similar manner, that we may dedicate ourselves to love the Lord and to reach out to our brethren in need in the same way. St. Peter Claver has shown us that as Christians we have to be caring and loving towards one another and be filled with concern not for ourselves and our selfish desires, but rather to reach out to others who are in need all around us, recognising that there are many of those who need our care and love.

Let us all hence do whatever we can to follow the Lord ever more wholeheartedly from now on, and committing ourselves to love one another more than we love ourselves. May God continue to strengthen us in faith and may He continue to bless us in all of our good efforts and endeavours, and empower us all to walk ever faithfully in His presence. May God bless us in all things, and may the intercession of St. Peter Claver be with us always. Amen.

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Friday, 9 September 2022 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 6 : 39-42

At that time, Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it?”

“How can you say to your neighbour, ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbour’s eye.”

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Friday, 9 September 2022 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5-6, 12

My soul yearns; pines, for the courts of YHVH. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o YHVH of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Happy, the pilgrims whom You strengthen, to make the ascent to You.

For YHVH God is a sun and a shield; He bestows favour and glory. YHVH withholds no good thing from those who walk in uprightness.

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Friday, 9 September 2022 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve my reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the Gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.

Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes, who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet, for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run, knowing where I go. I box, but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all constantly being reminded as we have been this whole week, to entrust ourselves to God’s wisdom and not to human wisdom and ways, to put our faith in God and His providence and not to depend on human ingenuity, power and strength. The Lord has shown us the path forward in life, and we should believe in Him and commit ourselves to His cause, allowing Him to lead and guide us down the right path, and not to allow ourselves to be distracted by worldly temptations and persuasions, all those that are able to cause us to be drawn away from the path towards God and His truth.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth regarding the importance of remaining vigilant against the temptations of pride and desire, of hubris, ego and ambition that can easily mislead them away from the path towards the Lord. The Apostle spoke against those who were divided against each other, being prejudiced against their fellow brothers and sisters simply because they had differences in opinions and thoughts. At that time, the community of the faithful in Corinth were divided among several groups due to the different preferences they had between following the different missionaries and leaders like St. Paul himself, as well as Apollos, the famous Jewish Christian preacher, and others.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Himself speaking to the Pharisees and others regarding the matter of the Law of the Sabbath which the Pharisees found issue with Him and His disciples when the latter were picking the grains of the field to be eaten as they were very hungry. The Pharisees adopted a very strict and rigid view of the Law and they imposed this view and version of the Law on the people, looking down on those who did not obey the Lord the way that they had done it. They criticised others whom they deemed to be unworthy while praising and looking highly on themselves, considering them as the only ones worthy of God.

It was there that the Lord made the same reminder to all of us, that we must not fall into this temptation of pride and desire, the temptation of our ego and greed which can become the source of our downfall into sin. For through their preoccupation and obsession with their rigorous observation of the Law, that had led to them idolising themselves and being self-centred instead of focusing their attention on God. The Lord and His truth no longer became the focal point of their actions and lives, and as such, they became further and further away from God’s path, and dragged many others into the wrong paths in life.

That is why each and every one of us have been constantly reminded throughout this week to guard ourselves against all sorts of temptations found in our world. We should not easily succumb to the pressures and the temptations found all around us, all of which can drag us deep into the trap of sin and evil. We must constantly be vigilant and ready to resist the pleasures and e allures of wickedness, and strive to do our best to be ever faithful to God at all times and in all things. We are all reminded today that each and every one of us have been called to a new, holy existence through God and His Son. And we can do so by looking upon the examples set by the Lord Himself, His Apostles and our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, one of the great Popes, a great servant of God and reformer, who dedicated himself to the greater glory of God. Pope St. Gregory the Great reformed the Church in many different ways, reformed the Roman clergy and also influenced the greater Church community, purifying them from the excesses and corruptions of the world, enforcing a new and more rigorous practice and discipline in the Christian community. Pope St. Gregory the Great also spent his time and effort in expanding the reach of the Church and the Christian faith, sending out many missionaries to spread the Good News of God to more and more people all around the world.

Pope St. Gregory the Great spent a lot of time reforming the way the Church worshipped as well, laying the foundations of what would later be known as the Gregorian Chant, and also regulated the liturgy into a more synchronous form, and also brought the Church liturgy both in the West and the East to be more coordinated and laid the foundations of what today would become the Holy Mass as well as the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Church. He wrote extensively in various letters and also other works, in opposing the various heresies of the day and in helping to guide the members of the faithful to turn back towards the Lord with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to and remember the words of the Scripture and as we remember the great deeds and works, the faith and dedication with which Pope St. Gregory the Great had committed himself, each and every one of us are reminded to live our lives to the fullest, in the path that God has shown us, obeying Him and focusing our attention on Him and not to ourselves, distancing ourselves from the temptations of worldly glory and greatness, and turning away from the allures of worldly excesses and ambitions, of pride and immorality, of hubris and human greed. All of us should guard ourselves against all those temptations and do our best to inspire one another to remain true in faith in God in the way that Pope St. Gregory the Great himself had inspired us.

Let us all therefore seek the Lord with all our heart, committing ourselves at all times to glorify Him by our lives. Let us all renew our commitment to serve Him with zeal and dedication, that we will always put God as the priority and focus of our lives. May the Lord be with us always and may He empower each one of us to live ever more faithfully in His presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 6 : 1-5

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was going through a field of grain, and His disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands for food. Some of the Pharisees asked them, “Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”

Then Jesus spoke up and asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”

And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 144 : 17-18, 19-20, 21

Righteous is YHVH 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.

He fulfils the wish of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. For those who love Him, YHVH has compassion; but the wicked, He will destroy.

Let my mouth speak in praise of YHVH, let every creature praise His holy Name, forever and ever.

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Saturday, 3 September 2022 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 4 : 6b-15

Learn by this example, not to believe yourselves superior by siding with one against the other. How, then, are you more than the others? What have you that you have not received? And if you received it, why are you proud, as if you did not receive it?

So, then, you are already rich and satisfied, and feel like kings, without us! I wish you really were kings, so that we might enjoy the kingship with you! It seems to me, that God has placed us, the Apostles, in the last place, as if condemned to death, and as spectacles for the whole world, for the Angels as well as for mortals.

We are fools for Christ, while you show forth the wisdom of Christ. We are weak, you are strong. You are honoured, while we are despised. Until now we hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed and badly treated, while moving from place to place. We labour, working with our hands. People insult us and we bless them, they persecute us and we endure everything; they speak evil against us, and ours are works of peace. We have become like the scum of the earth, like the garbage of humankind until now.

I do not write this to shame you, but to warn you, as very dear children. Because, even though you may have ten thousand guardians in the Christian life, you have only one Father; and it was I who gave you life in Christ through the Gospel.

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Saturday, 20 August 2022 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard of the words of the Scriptures speaking to us regarding the matter of how we should be following God with faith, committing ourselves humbly in His service, dedicating our time, effort and attention to do His will at all times. Each and every one of us should remember that we are merely the servants of God and therefore in all the things we say and do, we should not be concerned or be focused on our own desires and ambitions, our selfish aims and wants. Otherwise, if we allow those things to distract and tempt us, then we may end up falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin.

In our first reading today we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel regarding the vision of the Great Temple in Heaven, the Sanctuary of God and His Holy Presence. Through Ezekiel, God was showing His people Who it is that they were truly following, and He showed them of His might and everything that He would do for His people, as He would live forever among them. Not only that, but when the Lord mentioned that, He really meant it, as it was truly a prelude of what He would do for them, in sending them the greatest gift of all, the gift of His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Lord and Saviour.

In doing so, He willingly embraced our humanity, and His Divine Word being incarnate in the flesh, taking up our humble human existence, becoming manifest and tangible that now God is no longer distant from us, but approachable and reachable. He made Himself close to us, because He desires to be reunited with us and be reconciled with us. And that action is what God wants each one of us remember, how His love and commitment for us was so great that He willingly lowered and humbled Himself so that through it, each and every one of us may have hope and receive from Him the assurance of eternal life and salvation.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Himself spoke to His disciples and the people criticising the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their attitude, behaviour and way of living their faith, as they had preached loudly and boastfully of the Law of God and how they had piously followed the Lord, and yet, in truth, in their way of doing things, they actually had not truly obeyed the Lord wholeheartedly, and they were really hypocrites and those who levied and imposed very heavy expectations on the people with regards to how they ought to follow the vast extent of the rules and regulations they modified and preferred, but they themselves could not obey or follow.

Those same people prided themselves and boasted of their glory and greatness, their piety and faith before all, parading their achievement and greatness, thinking highly of themselves and not only that, but they also looked down on those whom they disapproved and disagreed with. This attitude is what the Lord disapproved of and criticised those leaders for, in their hypocrisy and in how they made it difficult for the people to come closer to God and find salvation in Him. Their pride, ego, arrogance and ambition became serious stumbling blocks in the path of their journey towards God, and in their discharge of their obligations and responsibilities as leaders of the people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to those words from the Scriptures, we are therefore reminded that we should humble ourselves before God and one another, as first of all, we are truly nothing without the grace and love of God, and it is thanks to God’s providence and mercy, His forgiveness and compassion that we even have hope for the future. His willingness to embrace us and to dwell among us, forgiving us our sins and in reassuring us of His guidance and help, showed us all that we are truly beloved and precious to Him, and because of that, we have gained much in this world.

But we often grew proud and haughty, ambitious and greedy, and we ended up abusing and misusing the opportunities, the gifts, abilities and other things that God had given to us. Instead of using them for the good of everyone, we ended up seeking our own personal glory and ambition, desiring to fulfil our own selfish wants and greed. This is why through today’s readings all of us are reminded to resist those temptations of greed and pride. We ought to restrain those and do our very best to return our focus once again towards the Lord, being truly faithful to Him and distancing ourselves from the path of sin.

Today, all of us can gain some inspiration from our holy predecessor, whose feast we are celebrating this day, namely that of St. Bernard the Abbot, also one of the great Doctors of the Church. St. Bernard was also known as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and he was a Cistercian Abbot remembered for his role in the revitalisation of the Cistercian order and tradition, and the foundation of the famous Clairvaux Abbey. His dedication to the Lord and holy way of life inspired many others, which led to the rapid growth of the Clairvaux Abbey. More and more people, even St. Bernard’s own family came to join the abbey as well.

While St. Bernard had gained much success and gave a lot of inspiration to his contemporaries, at the same time he also suffered trials and challenges, not least from his own fellow monastic monks in the abbey, who resisted his leadership and criticised his way of promoting the Cistercian charism and way of life. Nonetheless, St. Bernard remained resolute in his efforts, and he was also deeply involved with other important Church matters at the time, being involved in the resolution of conflicts and reconciliation of various Church and even secular parties, through his efforts at negotiation and skilful diplomacy. Through his many writings and works, which made him later to be declared as one of the Doctors of the Church, St. Bernard continued to exert great influence and became inspiration for many throughout the many centuries after his passing and till this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the examples set by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, holy Abbot and Doctor of the Church, let us all realise that each one of us are called to follow the Lord and to dedicate ourselves to Him humbly in the way that St. Bernard had done. One of his motto and saying is that of ‘the three most important virtues are humility, humility and humility’ highlighting just how important it is for us to be humble and to be willing to listen to God and to allow Him to guide our path instead of us stubbornly trying to forge our own path in life. Let us reflect on this and see in what ways we can be ever better disciples and more devout followers of God.

May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to empower and strengthen each one of us so that we may live ever more closely attuned to God and follow Him in all things, and be dedicated to Him all the days of our lives. May God bless each one of us in our every good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.