holy people

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Wednesday, 5 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Psalm 24 : 2-4a, 4b-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9

In You my God I trust; let me not be put to shame, let not my enemies exult over me. Those who hope in You will never be humbled; those who turn away from You will suffer disgrace! Teach me Your ways, o Lord.

Make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o Lord, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Wednesday, 5 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Tobit 3 : 1-11a, 16-17a

Distressed, I wept and prayed and expressing my sorrow, I said, “You are just, o Lord; all Your actions and all Your ways are merciful and just; Your judgments are always true and just. Remember me, Lord, and look on me. Do not punish me for my sins nor the wrongs I have committed through ignorance.”

“Pardon the sins which my fathers have committed in Your sight, for they disobeyed Your commandments. You have allowed us to be mocked by all the pagan nations among whom we have been dispersed. Ah well! All Your judgments are just when You choose to punish me for my sins and those of my fathers, because we have not accomplished Your will, nor have we sincerely obeyed Your commands. We have not walked before You in truth.”

“Do with me as You will. Order my life taken from me, and turn me into dust, because I prefer death to life. In this way free me and let me return to dust. It is better for me to die than to live, because these unjust reproaches have caused me great distress. Command that I be now released from trials, and let me enter my eternal dwelling place. Do not turn Your face away from me.”

That same day, at Ecbatana in Media, Sara, the daughter of Ragouel, was insulted in a similar way by her father’s young maidservants. Sara had had seven husbands, but the demon Asmodeus had killed each one of them before the marriage had been consummated.

The maidservants said, “It was you who killed your husbands. You have had seven husbands and you have not enjoyed marital relationship with any of them. Why do you punish us? Since they are dead, go and join them. May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”

That same day Sara was so distressed in mind that she went to the upper room in her father’s house. She wished to hang herself. But she thought better of it and said : “If people ever reproached my father and said to him : ‘You had an only daughter whom you cherished and she hanged herself because she was unhappy,’ I would cause my father in his old age to die of grief.”

“It is better for me not to hang myself but to ask the Lord that I may die and not live to hear any more insults.” At that moment she stretched forth her hands towards the window and prayed. The Lord in His glory heard the prayer of Tobit and of Sara and He sent Raphael to heal them both – to give back his sight to Tobit and to give Sara the daughter of Ragouel, to Tobit’s son Tobias, as his wife. Also, Raphael would enchain the wicked demon Asmodeus so that Sara would be the wife of Tobias.

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Monday, 3 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we heard today about the parable of the tenants in a vineyard, which Jesus told to the people, in order to foreshadow His own sacrifice on the cross as the Son of God, and as the Saviour. Indeed, Jesus Christ, who died for all of us, is the person whom Jesus told as the son of the owner of the vineyard, who was murdered in cold blood by the evil tenants who wanted to grab the vineyard as their own.

How does then, this story relates to the salvific mission of Christ in this world? It may be a bit difficult to see at first, but as you can see, that vineyard is none other than our world! It is a representative of our world, told by Jesus in a parable. To us, to whom the Lord had revealed His truth and knowledge, the truth cannot be further than that. Who are we then in that world? We are the vineyard tenants, who had been entrusted with the care of the vineyard by the owner of that vineyard, the owner of the world, that is our one and only God.

We had been entrusted with this world ever since creation, when God created mankind from dust, and to the first men, God had given the earth with all things inside it under our authority and our care, just like how the owner entrusted the vineyard to the tenants, whom he wished that they work hard and toil in the vineyard, producing much fruits, and bring profits to both the owner and of course, the tenants themselves.

But, just as what happened to the tenants afterwards, the same too had often happened in our world. Instead of being responsible and playing their parts as stated in the tenants’ agreement with their owner, that they should give him part of the profits, they abused their power and authority given to them, and therefore, violating the agreement that were in place between them and the owner.

The same too had happened repeatedly throughout the history of mankind. Man, since their first disobedience, in Adam and Eve our ancestors, by disobeying God’s commands, had become sinful and through sin, we had become increasingly abusive of the authorities granted to us. Through our greed and our desire, we become protective of our entitlements and did not give glory to God of what is His due, and instead, glorifying ourselves, and focus on our own human glory.

But in the parable, the owner did not remain quiet, and he sent many servants whom he entrusted with the dialogue between them and the tenants, that they pass to the tenants the message of the owner, desiring to renew that commitment. Who then are these servants in our world? The prophets! Remember the many prophets that God had sent over the history of mankind, and many of them brought the word of God to the people, but the people remained adamant and proud in their rebellious ways.

They even slaughtered God’s prophets and messengers, much as how the tenants of the vineyard slay the servants of the owner, even as more and more servants were sent their way. They remained solid in their rebelliousness and their pride, unwilling to submit to God’s authority.

Then ultimately the owner sent his own son, arguing that because it was his own son, certainly the rebellious tenants would fear and obey him, just as they should have obeyed the owner. That son, as I had mentioned, is indeed Jesus, that is Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of God. God so loved the world, and such is His love that He did not want that we who rebelled against Him be condemned to eternal death in hell with Satan the deceiver.

That is why He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, through whom the world would finally see its salvation. But the people rejected Him, and not only rejection, but they even condemned Him to death, death on the cross. That was exactly how the son of the owner was killed in cold blood by the tenants, because the tenants thought that they would be gaining the inheritance of the vineyard if they killed the son.

The same too happened to us, because in our pride and our stone-hearted nature, many of us rejected Christ and the truth He brought to us. The world itself is against the Lord, because the world is of the evil one, while Christ does not belong to the world, because He is holy as He is perfect. That is why the world also hates those who follow Christ, because those who follow Christ are not like those rebellious tenants. Because by following Christ, we are transformed, from those rebellious tenants in the Gospel we heard today, to the true tenants of the land, by following the way of the Lord.

Life will not be easy for the disciples of the Lord, just as the first reading today told us about Tobit, the Israelite exile, who grew wealthy in foreign lands, but yet, opposition was rampant all around him, and he faced the fact of that opposition directly when his son told him about an Israelite who was strangled on the roadside. That was yet another example on how the world, who represent the rebelliousness of those wayward tenants, hate Christ and those who hear His word and follow Him.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Charles Lwanga, a great missionary, who was also martyred for his faith. He did a lot of great work in evangelisation and conversion in his native Uganda, and was martyred for his conversion of Ugandans, whose king persecuted Christians whom he perceived as a threat to the society of the people at the time. St. Charles Lwanga remained faithful even unto death, and through his death, received the heavenly glory of sainthood through martyrdom.

Be courageous and strong, brothers and sisters in Christ, remember that Jesus told us that the owner will not stay silent, and will rise to destroy the evil tenants. Our God is a merciful and loving God, but He is also a just and good God, who dislikes all things evil. Therefore, the Lord will also rise on the last days, to destroy those whom persecuted God’s people. Remain faithful and remain in God’s grace, and He will reward us. Have the strong faith in God like St. Charles Lwanga had, and remain in His favour.

St. Charles Lwanga, pray for us. May God be with us and give us courage to fight against the evils of this world, and may all of us be good tenants of the vineyard of the Lord, responsible and just in our power and authority over what God has given to us. Amen.

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Monday, 3 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Mark 12 : 1-12

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’s 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.

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Monday, 3 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Psalm 111 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

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.

Wealth and riches are for his family, there his integrity will remain. He is for the righteous a light in darkness, he is kind, merciful, and upright.

It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.

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Monday, 3 June 2013 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Tobit 1 : 3 and Tobit 2 : 1a-8

I, Tobit, have walked in the ways of truth and justice all the days of my life; I have given many alms to my brethren and to those of my countrymen who were deported with me to Nineveh, a city in the country of the Assyrians.

When I returned to my house, my wife Anna and my son Tobias were given back to me. At the feast of Pentecost, the sacred feast of the Seven Weeks, they prepared a good meal for me and I sat down to eat. I saw the many dishes and said to my son : “Go and bring as many as you can find of our relatives who are in need and who remember the Lord. I will wait here for them.”

When Tobias returned, he said : “Father, one of ours has been strangled and thrown into the public square.” Before I ate anything I hurried out and carried this man into the house and waited till sunset to bury him.

When I returned home I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. I remembered the prophecy which Amos uttered against Bethel : “Your feasts will be turned into mourning. All your songs will be turned into lamentations,” And I wept.

After sunset I went out and, after I had dug a trench, I buried the man. My neighbours mocked me, saying : “He no longer fears to be put to death for doing that; he had to flee but look he is again burying the dead.”

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we heard about how the Pharisees and the chief priests doubted the power and authority of Christ, questioning the origins of His authority and works, and in doing so, failing to see the work of God that is in Christ. For all the miracles and the wonders that Christ had done in this world, are the works of the Father, and in doing all that, He did not do it for His own glory, but for the Father who had sent Him.

Why did then, the Pharisees, and the chief priests, who are supposed to be people most knowledgeable in anything related to the Scriptures and the prophecies of the prophets regarding the Messiah failed to see that Christ is the Messiah, and failed even to see the works of God in Jesus? That is, brothers and sisters, because they are blind! They are blinded by their own weaknesses, by jealousy, by hatred, and by prejudice, and the pride they had in their own abilities, in their own intellect, and in their own worldly power.

The Pharisees claimed to serve the Lord and showed this through their external piety, through loud and well-recognised prayers in public places, and by their ultra-orthodox approach to the faith by very strict observation of the Law of Moses, and the norms of the society at the time, even to the little matters such as the washing of the hands prior to meals. But in their strict observation of that Law, they had in fact become corrupted by the power and authority that had been entrusted to them as priests of the people of God.

To them had been granted the authority, the same authority and priestly power as granted to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who became the first High Priest of the people of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. To them had been granted also the responsibility of guiding the people to remain faithful in the path and ways of the Lord, that the people would not falter and stray in their lives, and remain in God’s grace.

Yet, they had, over the centuries, grown to trust men much more than they trusted God. They placed human glory and acclamation ahead of true, heavenly glory that only God can give. They had grown so accustomed to the privileges they had in their position of authority and power, that they themselves began to stray from the path that God has appointed for them and entrusted them to keep the people faithful in. They, the leaders of the people, out of all others had themselves been bought over by the evil one. Indeed, the saying cannot be further than truth, that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In their position of authority, and with the privileges and honour they had grown so accustomed to, the priests and the elders had become arrogant, and jealous against anyone they see as rivals to their own authority and power, even if that rival is in fact the very Messiah that God had sent to save the people of Israel, and all mankind. This defiance against the Messiah was very evident today, given how they questioned the authority of Christ, which as God, has authority over all creation.

However, it is important to note that although it seems that those priests and elders look evil from how they were portrayed in the Gospels, but they themselves were not inherently evil. All mankind are inherently capable of doing what is good, and also what is evil. Ever since our ancestors, Adam and Eve, ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we had been exposed to both good and evil, and therefore, are fully capable of doing both. Whether to do good or to do evil, is entirely within our own decision capacity.

That is why, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we keep our faith in the Lord strong at all times, and anchor ourselves firmly in His love, so that we will not go astray, tempted and bought off by the enticing offers of the evil one, who had in his possession, all the world and all its ‘good’ things, that can easily tempt and seduce those who are weak-hearted, and those without firm faith in the Lord.

Today, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, and from here on, we should always be reminded on the evils of this world, and the dangers that we constantly face in our daily struggles against evil and all that he employed in this world against God’s children. Especially, brethren, if we had been entrusted with positions of authority and power, do not abuse that power that the Lord had entrusted you, and do not let the sheep entrusted to you, their shepherd, to go astray from the truth of God.

But we need not fear, brethren, for Christ is amongst us, and He is always with us, if only that we remain faithful and obedient to Him and do all the commandments that He had given us, we are safe. The devil will have no power over us, and we will truly become God’s children. And instead of jealousy, we will be in complete awe and wonder for the glory of God, and with the angels and saints, we shall glorify Him forevermore when we are reunited with Him once again, in the eternal bliss of heaven.

Today we also commemorate the feast of a great early martyr of the Christian Church, St. Justin the Martyr, who died for the faith in the second century after the coming of Christ, in the early Church times. St. Justin was born a pagan and a philosopher, with a great intellect and quality education, that made him a very well-educated person in the society at the time. St. Justin encountered many believers of Christ in his journeys and travels, and despite being involved in arguments and debates with them, in fact, gradually, it kindled in him the love for God, and the steadfast faith in Christ.

St. Justin, despite his great intellect and knowledge, did not give in to his pride and human weakness, and instead put himself in God’s love and place his full trust in Him. That is why He was glorified in death, out of his steadfast and unfailing faith, even unto death, because, unlike the Pharisees and the chief priests, he did not let human pride and arrogance to get in the way of salvation. May we be able to follow in the footsteps of St. Justin, and become truly the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Justin the Martyr, pray for us. Amen.

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Mark 11 : 27-33

They were once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders came to Him and asked, “What authority do You have to act like this? Who gave You authority to do the things You do?”

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you a question, only one, and if you give Me an answer, then I will tell you what authority I have to act like this. Was John’s preaching and baptism a work of God, or was it merely something human? Answer Me.”

And they kept arguing among themselves, “If we answer that it was a work of God, He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?'” But neither could they answer before the people that the baptism of John was merely something human, for everyone regarded John as a prophet.

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know”, and Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you what authority I have to act as I do.”

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Psalm)

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (First Reading)

Sirach 51 : 17-27

With her help I made progress and I will glorify Him who gives me wisdom, for I decided to put it into practice and ardently seek what is good. I shall not regret it. My soul has struggled to possess her. I have been attentive to observe the Law, and after my faults I have stretched out my hands to heaven and lamented my ignorance of her.

My love of her increased and I found her in repentance. It was through her from the beginning that I learnt to possess my heart. She will not forsake me. With my whole being I sought her; that is why I won what is best. In return for this, the Lord has given me words to praise Him.

Come near, you who are without understanding and join her school. Why do you say you are deprived of all this and that your souls are thirsty? This is what I say : ‘Buy this without money; put your neck under her yoke and let your minds receive instruction; it is very near and within your reach. See for yourselves : my toil has been slight and I found deep rest.’