holy men

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Thursday, 17 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

James 2 : 1-9

My brothers and sisters, if you truly believe in our glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, you will not discriminate between persons. Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnificently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags. If you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say, “Come and sit in the best seat,” while, to the poor one you say, “Stay standing, or else sit down at my feet,” have you not, in fact, made a distinction between the two? Have you not judged, using a double standard?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, did God not choose the poor of this world to receive the riches of faith, and to inherit the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him? Yet, you despise them! Is it not the rich who are against you, and drag you to court? Do they not insult the Holy Name of Christ by which you are called?

If you keep the Law of the kingdom, according to Scripture : Love your neighbour as yourself, you do well; but if you make distinctions between persons, you break the Law, and are condemned by the same Law.

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Monday, 14 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to keep our faith in the Lord and do not let ourselves be swayed by the temptations of worldliness and vices all around us that we end up falling into the path of doubt and sin just as many of our predecessors had suffered from. We have to learn from their lessons so that we will not end up suffering the same fate as well. Believing in God is something that we have to inculcate in our hearts and minds.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James in which the Apostle St. James spoke of the expectations for all of us as Christians in what each and every one of us should do in our respective lives. As Christians we have to put our faith and trust in the Lord, and not be easily swayed or frightened by trials and challenges of the world, and we have to believe in His providence and wisdom. We have to put ourselves in His hands and not depend only on our own worldly means and power.

For those who have no faith in God, they will be more easily tempted and swayed to follow the whims of their desires and worldly expectations, and they would also easily falter into the path of sin as they would end up closing their hearts and minds to the Lord and His truth as what had exactly happened to many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, all those who worked hard to oppose the Lord and His many good works, all simply because they were too caught up in their jealousy and their fear of losing their worldly privileges and status.

That was why save for Nicodemus and some others among them like Joseph of Arimathea, many if not most of the Pharisees resisted the Lord for a long time, refusing to believe in His signs and miracles, in all of His wonderful works and the truth found in His Wisdom and words, although they were the ones supposedly most knowledgeable about the Scriptures and the Law, and knew the most about the prophets and their prophecies regarding the coming of the Lord, the Saviour of all, which had come to fruition and fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the One Whom they had seen with their own eyes.

And that was why they still doubted Him and asked Him for signs although obviously they had seen many of those signs. They were the ones who allowed their worldly desires and concerns, their desire to hold onto the power, privilege and status they had, to muddle their thoughts and faith, and ended up blinding them to the truth of God. They were the ones who were healthy in their physical vision and yet, blind in their spiritual vision as their own hearts and minds had been closed up tight against God, not allowing Him to enter even as He continued to knock on their doors.

That is why today, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are also reminded of this so that we may be more vigilant and careful in life, reminded that we should do our very best to follow the Lord and to be faithful to Him. We must restrain ourselves and our desires, and be vigilant against the temptations to sin against God. We should not let our worldly attachments to delude us and to distract us from the need for us to be faithful to the Lord. We are called to follow Him wholeheartedly and are reminded of this today through what we have heard from the Scriptures.

Today we can also look upon the great examples set by two of our holy and faithful predecessors, namely that of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the two great servants of God and missionaries of faith, who are also the Patron Saints and Protector of the heart of Christendom in Europe. They were remembered for their dedication and great works in bringing the Christian faith to the people in Central and Eastern parts of Europe, the areas inhabited by the Slavic peoples, which by the efforts of St. Cyril and St. Methodius became Christians, which remain so until the present day.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius dedicated themselves to the Lord and to the mission entrusted to them, and they both spent their lives to minister to the people among whom they had been sent to proclaim the truth of God, and they were also remembered for their role in translating the texts of the Sacred Scriptures into the local Slavic language and in the development of the Cyrillic alphabet which are still in use until this day. Their contributions and hard work were truly inspirational and all of us Christians can do well to follow in their footsteps and heed their examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to be idle any longer? Are we going to ignore our calling as Christians and turn a deaf ear to the Lord’s call and to the plight of our brothers and sisters who are in need of our attention and love? Are we going to continue to be idle in our lives and instead indulging in our own personal desires and ambitions? Let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed faith and conviction, and let us do our best to glorify the Lord by our lives and follow in the footsteps of His faithful servants, St. Cyril and St. Methodius, to walk ever more courageously in proclaiming the love of God and His truth in our community today. May God be with us always and may He bless us at all times. Amen.

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Monday, 14 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Mark 8 : 11-13

At that time, the Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass Him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then His Spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, “Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.”

Then He left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.

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Monday, 14 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 118 : 67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word.

You are good, and Your works are good; teach me Your decrees.

It is good for me to have been afflicted, for I have deeply learnt Your statutes.

Your Law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.

I know, o YHVH, that Your laws are just; and there is justice in my affliction.

Comfort me then with Your unfailing love, as You promised Your servant.

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Monday, 14 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

James 1 : 1-11

James, a servant of God, and of Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. Consider yourselves fortunate, my brothers and sisters, when you meet with every kind of trial, for you know, that the testing of your faith makes you steadfast. Let your steadfastness become perfect, with deeds, that you, yourselves, may be perfect and blameless, without any defect.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, Who gives to all easily and unconditionally. But ask with faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave driven and tossed on the sea by the wind. Such a person should not expect anything from the Lord, since the doubter has two minds and his conduct will always be insecure.

Let the believer who is poor, boast, in being uplifted, and let the rich one boast, in being humbled, because he will pass away like the flower of the field. The sun rises and its heat dries the grass; the flower withers and its beauty vanishes. So, too, will the rich person fade away, even in the midst of his pursuits.

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Thursday, 3 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Word of God being spoken to us through the Sacred Scriptures, we are called to remember the love which God has shown us His beloved people and the mission which he has entrusted to each and every one of us in reaching out to our fellow men and women, and we have to do our part to reach out to others and to proclaim to them the truth of God by our own exemplary actions and life. That is how each and every one of us are expected to do as the Lord’s disciples and faithful followers.

In our first reading today, we heard from the first Book of Kings relating to us the story of the transmission of rule, power and kingship from David, the famous king of Israel to his son, Solomon, whom God had chosen to succeed him in leading the people of Israel. King David reminded Solomon of the obligation and the expectation for him to follow in the path of the Lord and His Law. David reminded Solomon how God has shown His kindness and blessings to the people of Israel and how He has blessed David himself and promised to be with His family and house forever.

The Lord will continue to bless His people and Solomon and his rule and kingdom, just as David has been blessed. But, if they fell into sin and disobeyed God, then they would have to endure the consequences of their sins. God will however forgive them if they are to repent from their sinful ways and desire to return to His loving embrace. He has always loved us and desired for us to be reconciled to Him, sending His servants and messengers to reach out to us and to help us find our way to Him. That is what we have also heard in our Gospel passage today.

For in the Gospel today, we heard the Lord sending out Apostles two by two out to visit the various places that He wanted them to minister in, and often that these were the places where He Himself would come to visit. He sent them to those places just by themselves and told them not to take excessive equipments and preparations with them, and instead asked them to depend on the goodwill of the people they visited because God wanted them to depend not on their own power or might, on their own resources and goods that they could achieve success in their ministry.

Instead, God reminded them all that it is because of Him and His presence guiding them throughout the way, that the Apostles had achieved great accomplishments and successes throughout their work. It was by the power of God that they had healed the sic, cast out the demons and it was by the love and mercy of God that they had touched the hearts and minds of many who had seen the works of God and His servants, answering the Lord’s call that they too have come to believe in Him and became His followers.

Through what we have heard in today’s Scripture readings, we are all reminded that we have been entrusted with the gifts and talents from God, for us to use for the good cause of the Lord and to follow His commandments and Law. We are all called to be righteous like how David reminded Solomon to be obedient to God and righteous in his actions, and just as how the Lord told His Twelve Apostles to do His will and to depend not on their own strength and power, but rather by trusting in God and His love and providence throughout their ministry.

And each one of us have also been entrusted with the same mission by the Lord, to be the witnesses of Our Lord’s truth and resurrection in our communities today. We have been called to follow the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly, and we have a lot of good examples to follow on, based on the inspirations from the saints. We should therefore do what our holy predecessors, namely St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, whose feast day we are celebrating today. St. Blaise was a martyr and bishop of the Church, while St. Ansgar was remembered as a great bishop and missionary of the Church, the Apostle to the Germans.

St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebastea in Asia Minor during the late era of Roman Empire, living during the time of the reforms and upheavals among Christians under the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his successors. The Christian faithful endured a particularly brutal persecution, the last of the great waves of persecutions against Christians, which culminated in the last round of persecution after the time of the Emperor Diocletian, when the Emperor Licinius in his rivalry with the Emperor Constantine the Great persecuted the Christians in his territory, which led to the martyrdom of many including that of St. Blaise.

St. Blaise was a great bishop, wholly dedicated to his flock, spending a lot of time and effort through his virtues and works, and in the many miracles accorded to him, to whom a lot of people flocked seeking physical and spiritual healing. Later on, he was arrested, tortured and eventually martyred by the local Roman governor, beheaded for his faith. Through this martyrdom and his earlier care for the ailments of the people, St. Blaise has been well known to this day for the special ‘Blessing of St. Blaise’ for the ailment of the throat.

Meanwhile, St. Ansgar was a renowned missionary who was sent to the lands of the Saxons in the northern parts of Germany which was then still mostly following pagan ways. He converted many among the pagans through his works and devoted his life to the flock entrusted under his care. He helped to build a strong and firm foundation of the Church in that region, and did a lot of work to reach out to the people who have yet to believe in Christ. His efforts earned rich dividends although he had to endure a lot of trials and challenges in doing so. But he never gave up and kept on doing his best, and many came to God’s salvation through him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by these many good examples and inspiration in faith. Let us do what we can in our daily lives to be role models for each other. May the Lord bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Mark 6 : 7-13

At that time, Jesus called the Twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits, and He ordered them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff : no food, no bag, no money on their belts. They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.

And He added, “In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place. If any place does not receive you, and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.”

So they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.

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Thursday, 3 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

1 Chronicles 29 : 10bc, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd

May You be praised, YHVH God of Israel our ancestor, forever and ever!

Yours, YHVH, is the greatness, the power, splendour, length of days, glory; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours.

Yours is the sovereignty forever, o YHVH; You are supreme Ruler over all. Riches and honour go before You.

You are Ruler of all; in Your hand lie strength and power. You are the One Who gives greatness and strength to all.

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Thursday, 3 February 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

1 Kings 2 : 1-4, 10-12

When David was about to die, he gave his son Solomon this instruction, “I am about to go the way of all creatures. Be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the commandments of YHVH your God and walk in His ways. Keep His statutes, His commands, His ordinances and declarations written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do and wherever you go.”

If you do so, YHVH will fulfil the promise He made to me : If your sons take care to walk before Me faithfully with their whole heart and their whole soul, you shall always have one of your descendants on the throne of Israel.”

Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. David reigned over Israel for forty years : seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father and his reign was firmly established.

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Monday, 31 January 2022 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are all reminded of the Lord’s providence for His people, to His faithful ones, how He has always watched over those who are faithful to Him, provided for them and how He will not abandon them in their time of greatest need. The Lord will reach out to us and lead us to the ultimate victory through Him.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard how Absalom, the son of David, rebelled against his own father and attempted to seize his kingdom for himself. Absalom was a cunning and proud man, as he likely saw himself as the one who was to succeed his father as King of Israel, and he began plotting his rise to power. He managed to gain significant support and eventually began his rebellion, forcing his father, David, the rightful king to flee Jerusalem with some of his trusted advisors and servants.

That time, we heard of the moment when David was at his lowest, beset by all the troubles caused by Absalom and his rebellion, and many of his advisors and servants abandoning him, and even as we heard, a man named Shimei from Saul’s clan used the opportunity to curse David and speak all sorts of ill things and misfortunes to him, thinking that the reign of David, the one who took over the throne of Israel from the family of Saul finally encountered his end. Nonetheless, as we heard, David remained faithful to God to the very end.

David trusted in the Lord and when one of his men, Abishai wanted to attack Shimei, he forbid Abishai from doing so, and he entrusted his fate completely to the Lord. David did not waver in his commitment and dedication to the Lord, and despite the challenges and hardships that he had to endure, in the end, he remained true and committed to God. King David believed that there is nothing impossible for God, and as long as he is faithful to the Lord, he has nothing to fear about. God shall be by his side just as He had done for all his life until that time.

In our Gospel passage today we heard of the account of the moment when the Lord Jesus cast our many evil spirits and demons from a possessed man in the wilderness in the region of the Gerasenes, which was the region beyond the Jordan River on the other side from Jerusalem and Judea. That man had suffered for a long time and had been ostracised from the community due to his affliction and condition, and he had wandered off in the wilderness until that time when the Lord Jesus were passing by with His disciples.

The evil spirits, aptly named Legion for their great numbers, who had tormented the man, recognised the Lord and asked Him what He wanted to do with them. Certainly the Lord would not have let those wicked spirits have their way and torment the man any longer. He ordered them all to go out from the man and freed him from their dominion and power. The man was healed and was completely restored, and while the local populace was terrified of what they had just witnessed and what happened, the man believed in God and wanted to follow Him. The Lord told the man to go back to his community and tell everyone all that he had experienced.

Today, as we listened to these words of the Scripture we are all reminded how God has always provided for us in our time and hour of need, and we have to believe in Him wholeheartedly, if we are to follow Him and remain faithful to Him. In Him alone is our true hope and happiness, and if we can trust Him this way, then we will be able to weather through any difficulties, trials and challenges that may come throughout our lives. We should not allow fear and doubt to come in between us and God, and we should believe in Him the way that King David had done, and knowing how He cared for each one of us as He had done with the possessed man.

Today, we all celebrate the feast of St. John Bosco, one of the famous saints of the Church known and remembered for his works and dedication to youths. Having experienced a difficult youth time himself, and how having inadequate education due to the poverty of his family, he was inspired to be a priest and from then on, to reach out to struggling juveniles and youths, establishing the Oratory in Turin, catering for the needs of those who need guidance and help, caring for the needs of orphans and those who were struggling with life.

He was committed to his work and made great impacts despite the challenges and opposition that he often had to face in his ministry, as there were members of both laity and the clergy opposed to his efforts due to various reasons. But St. John Bosco persevered nonetheless, gathering many others who shared his ideals and desire to serve the people of God, eventually leading to the foundation of the Order of the Salesians of Don Bosco, one of the great religious orders lasting till this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord with faith and commit ourselves thoroughly to His cause from now on. Let us be inspired by the faith shown by our holy predecessors, King David, St. John Bosco and innumerable other holy men and women, all of our role models in faith. May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey through life, and may He empower us to live ever more faithfully in His embrace and love. Amen.