holy Popes

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Saturday, 13 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us are going to have to answer for every one of our actions and deeds, as well as our lack of action and work in life, at the end of time, when the Lord will judge each and every one of us. All of us must remember this so that we may always be careful and vigilant in how we live our lives each day, so that we do not end up walking down the wrong path, and that we may continue to be faithful to God in all things, refusing the temptations to disobey God and to sin against Him.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the words of the Lord calling on all of His people to repent from their sins, telling them to turn away from the path of wickedness and evil, as He told all of them of what they were all expected to do as His people, in doing what is right and just according to the Law and the commandments which He had bestowed to them. The people had not been faithful to those Law and commandments, and they often neglected their obligation to fulfil the precepts and expectations of the Covenant which God had made with them and their ancestors.

That is why they had fallen on the wayside in the path towards God, and by their sins they had brought upon themselves the sufferings which they then suffered. During the time of the prophet Ezekiel, many of the people of God had been forced off into exile, brought away from their homeland, had their cities, towns and homes destroyed, and had to endure the humiliation of seeing themselves under the dominion of the Babylonians. The prophet Ezekiel was sent to this exiles in Babylon, to proclaim God’s words to them and to remind them that while their folly and stubbornness had led them to such a state, but God still loved them nonetheless and wanted them to return to Him with contrite hearts.

As the prophet Ezekiel highlighted in the words of God we heard today, that each and every man are responsible for their own sins and faults. He used the example of how a righteous man might have a sinful son, and while the man will be judged well by his righteousness and good deeds, the son will have to answer for his own crimes and wickedness. That is a reminder to all the Israelites in exile, that despite the sins of their forefathers which eventually led them to be in such a terrible state, if they were to return to God and shun the path of sin, then God will forgive them and embrace them all once again by the virtue of their repentance and their good deeds.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard a short encounter between the Lord and little children, who came to Him and were stopped by the disciples. The Lord rebuked His disciples for their actions and welcomed the young children into His presence. He also mentioned how the young children should be welcomed, and how the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are humble like those young children. Essentially what we heard today is a reminder for all of us to imitate the young children in their faith and in how they believed in God with such sincerity and commitment, with joy and energy that others often lacked.

That is because a child’s faith and belief are still pure, unadulterated and not affected by the numerous temptations and desires that many adults and older people often have. All those things became hindrances and obstacles in the path of one’s journey towards God and can end up distracting us from the path towards God’s grace and salvation. And unless we follow the examples of those children, we are likely to end up falling into those temptations and enter into the slippery slope of sin and evil. Our pride, ego, desires and greed often become our undoing as those lead us down the path to ruin, by closing ourselves up from God and His love.

Today, all of us should be inspired to live in the manner of the saints, our holy predecessors, namely that of Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus whose feasts we are celebrating this day. Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus were in fact rivals to the seat of the Bishop of Rome and successor to St. Peter the Apostle as the Pope. While Pope St. Pontian was legitimately elected as Pope, a segment of the Church chose to side with St. Hippolytus instead and chose him as a rival Pope or Antipope. This development had arisen after several years of divisions and disagreements within the Christian community, out of the disagreement with regards to the acceptance of new converts and the penitential rigour required of them.

While the disagreements and conflicts between the supporters of Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus could often become rather strong, but eventually, they were reconciled to each other, and in the face of intense persecution against the Church and the people of God by the Roman authorities, Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus both chose to leave their offices behind, so that a new Papal election could take place and reunite the divided community of the faithful. Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus themselves were arrested during the persecution, exiled and eventually died as martyrs during their exile.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the examples and lives set by Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, we can see how each one of us as Christians should behave in our own lives, and how we should live our lives virtuously in God’s path. We must be willing to listen to God and to follow His will instead of following our own whim and desires. Like Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus who resolved their differences and did things for the good of the Church, we too are called to leave behind the taints of worldly desire and the allures of sin, and embrace wholeheartedly God and His truth, His love and grace, from now on and onwards.

May God be with us always and may He continue to strengthen each one of us in our journey of faith in life, that we may draw ever closer to Him and become sources of inspiration ourselves to one another. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 19 : 13-15

At that time, little children were brought to Jesus, that He might lay His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. Jesus then said, “Let the children be! Do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are humble, like these children.”

Jesus laid His hands on them and went away.

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Saturday, 13 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 50 : 12-13, 14-15, 18-19

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will show wrongdoers Your ways and sinners will return to You.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

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Saturday, 13 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Ezekiel 18 : 1-10, 13b, 30-32

The word of YHVH came to me in these terms, “Why are you applying this proverb to the land of Israel : ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge?’ As I live, word of YHVH, this proverb will no longer be quoted in Israel. All life is in My hands, the life of the parent and the life of the child are Mine. The lives of both are in My hands; so, the one who sins will die.”

“Imagine a man who is righteous and practices what is just and right. He does not eat at the mountain shrines, or look towards the filthy idols of Israel, does not defile his neighbour’s wife, or have intercourse with a woman during her period; he molests no one, pays what he owes, does not steal, gives food to the hungry and clothes to the naked, demands no interest on a loan and does not lend for interest, refrains from injustice, practices true justice, man to man, follows My decrees and obeys My laws in acting loyally. Because such a man is truly righteous, he will live, word of YHVH.”

“But perhaps this man has a son, who steals and sheds blood, committing crimes which his father never did. Will such a man live? No, he will not! Because he has committed all these abominations he will die : his guilt will fall upon him. That is why I will judge you, Israel, each one according to his ways, word of YHVH. Come back, turn away from your offences, that you may not deserve punishment.”

“Free yourselves from all the offences you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, Israel? I do not want the death of anyone, word of YHVH, but that you be converted and live!”

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Wednesday, 18 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures, which remind us of the need for us to remain firmly attached to the Lord, to be connected to Him, the True Vine and the One and only True Lord and Saviour. In our Scripture passages today, we are reminded that as Christians we have to be rooted in Christ, the One in Whom we ought to believe in wholeheartedly and put our full trust in. Otherwise, if we do not do so, then we will easily lose our path and way in life, and we may end up falling into the temptations of worldliness and sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles regarding the matter of the confrontation that arose between the ones who supported a much more rigid application of the Jewish laws and traditions and wanting to impose them on all the faithful, and those who were supporting a more relaxed and welcoming stance to the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people. Both of these groups had contrasting views on how the Church should act and respond in evangelisation towards the many non-Jewish peoples as well as the expectations to be placed on each Christians.

The divisions that existed between each factions were threatening to split the Church apart and that might also lead to the alienation of those who would have wanted to follow the Lord, especially from among the Gentiles when they had to follow the Jewish customs and practices. That is because many of the Jewish customs and practices were abhorred by the peoples like Greeks and Romans among others, and those customs were seen as incompatible with their own culture and customs. Hence, it would have been difficult for them to be Christians and followers of the Lord if they had to abandon their own ways and customs.

As such, we heard in that same passage from the Acts of the Apostles, the very first gathering of the whole Church, the First Council of Jerusalem, in which the leaders of the Church and the elders all assembled to pray and discuss together the direction that the Church would take in going forward and following God together, as one people and as one Church. St. Peter the Apostle spoke up before the assembly of the faithful, presenting to them the facts and also the message and vision showed to him from God, which told him that the Lord wished for all the people, Jews or Gentiles, to be His followers all the same, and the restrictions of the old and former laws and how they were interpreted should not hinder or become barriers for the ones who wanted to follow Christ.

At that time, the Jews tended to have a lot of judgmental attitude towards the Gentiles, dismissing them as being pagans and being unworthy of God and His grace and love. That was why the faction of those who wanted to impose the strict and harsh requirements of the Jewish customs wanted to impose the same conditions to the Gentile converts to Christianity, because they conflated their attachment to the particular ways that they observed the Law with devotion and faith in God. The Lord Himself has criticised those who were too attached to their flawed interpretation of the Law and wanted them to break free from that path.

Hence, St. Peter highlighted the need for all the faithful to follow the true path as shown by Jesus, the True Vine and the One in Whom everyone ought to believe in. Instead of believing and holding fast to their own beliefs and ideas, all of the faithful must put their faith and trust, and derive their faith from the Lord Himself. And God has entrusted His Church at the hands of the Apostles like St. Peter and others, as well as their successors, that they may arbitrate judgments and decide through the Holy Spirit, the path and way moving forward for all the faithful people of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we are reminded through the parable of the True Vine as mentioned, highlighting to us that just as the branches have to remain connected to the main stem or vine, hence, we have to remain connected to Christ if we are to grow and prosper in faith. If we instead follow particular ideologies and refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit and the Lord speaking to us in the depths of our hearts and minds, then we will end up easily losing our direction and path in life, falling prey to the temptations of worldly desires and ambitions that had seen the downfall of so many people.

Today, just as we are reminded to remain faithful to the Lord, we are presented with the great examples from Pope St. John I, a holy Pope and Martyr who remained firmly faithful in the Lord despite him being caught squarely in the middle of political and theological conflicts at the time. As Pope, Pope St. John I led the Church in the time of great turbulence as the Church in Rome and Italy were under the state control of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, whose ruler, Theoderic the Great was an Arian, following a heresy that was in opposition to the true Christian belief and faith.

Pope St. John I was sent as a delegate to the court of the Roman Emperor in Constantinople by Theoderic with the aim to resolve the political and religious tensions existing between the Romans and the Ostrogoths. The Emperor treated and respected the Pope well, although the embassy was unsuccessful in pursuing the Ostrogoth king’s demands. Upon Pope St. John’s return to Rome and Ravenna, the Ostrogothic capital, Theoderic ordered his arrest and it was there that the Pope eventually died from neglect and poor health, dying a martyr to the true Christian faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the examples of Pope St. John I, the many other saints and martyrs, and all those who have dedicated their lives to serve the Lord, all who have kept themselves close to God and remain firm in their full love and dedication to His way. As Christians, let us all be inspiration to one another, and help each other to be committed to God, and not to fall into the path of sin, or to be swayed by other worldly matters. May God be with us always, and may He, the True Vine, keep us all alive with Him in faith, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

John 15 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit.”

“You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you do not remain in Me. I am the Vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing.”

“Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burnt. If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.”

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Wednesday, 18 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 121 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!

Jerusalem, just like a city, where everything falls into place! There the tribes go up.

The tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord’s Name. There stand the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.

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Wednesday, 18 May 2022 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. John I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Acts 15 : 1-6

Some persons who had come from Judea to Antioch were teaching the brothers in this way, “Unless you are circumcised according to the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Because of this there was trouble, and Paul and Barnabas had fierce arguments with them. For Paul told the people to remain as they were when they became believers. Finally those who had come from Jerusalem suggested that Paul and Barnabas and some others go up to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the Apostles and elders.

They were sent on their way by the Church. As they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they reported how the non-Jews had turned to God, and there was great joy among all the brothers and sisters. On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, the Apostles and the elders, to whom they told all that God had done through them.

Some believers, however, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, stood up and said that non-Jewish men must be circumcised and instructed to keep the law of Moses. So the Apostles and elders met together to consider the matter.

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Saturday, 30 April 2022 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us regarding the trust and faith that we must have in the Lord, because even with all the trials and challenges that we may have to face in this world, the Lord is surely with us and He will never abandon us, and He will guide and lead us down the right path, as long as we are willing to follow Him wholeheartedly. The Lord has also called His servants and those among us whom He had chosen to be the ones to care and minister to the needs of the Christian community as we heard in our Scripture passage today from the Acts of the Apostles.

In that first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the conflict that occurred in the early Church in the group called the Hellenists, which signified one of the earliest groups within the early Christian community, a division that was bound to happen due to the diverse nature of the first Christians and the community built by the Apostles. As detailed elsewhere in the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, there were disagreements, divisions and even conflicts between the early Christians who still considered themselves part of the Jewish community and hence vigorously practiced and even pressured others to follow the Jewish practices, and the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people who became believers, and yet there were also the Jewish converts who were sympathetic to the Gentiles and desired to accommodate them, and those were the Hellenists.

Unfortunately, it was likely that those divisions and disagreements between the various parties led to the discrepancy in the distribution of goods and others to the Christian families and communities. As such, the Apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit decided to appoint several men who were tasked with the care of the community, making sure that all of the faithful and their needs are taken care of. These seven holy men dedicated by the Apostles would become the first deacons of the Church and hence became the institution of the Order of Deacons or the Diaconate.

Through those deacons, most renowned of which was St. Stephen, who would become the first martyr of the Church, the love of God and His providence were shown to all the people, as those deacons reached out to the people of God, ministering to them and caring for their needs. They were also at the forefront of the works of evangelisation and in facing the various peoples that they had been sent to, which in the case of St. Stephen resulted in him being persecuted and was then stoned to death by those who opposed him and the Christian faith and truth that he had been speaking about.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord appeared before His disciples in the middle of a great storm in the sea of Galilee. They were in their boat, amidst all the storm and the winds, the waves and others, when the Lord appeared to them while walking on the water. The disciples were all frightened but the Lord reassured them that it was indeed Him that they had seen. The Lord then calmed the storm and the waves to the astonishment of the disciples. And through this, we had seen how God would not leave His beloved ones alone, and He would always take good care of them.

In that Gospel passage we see the symbolism of the Church through the disciples and their boat in the midst of the storm. The boat is the representation of the Church, with the disciples representing all of us the faithful people of God. The storm and the waves represent the many trials and challenges facing the Church, all the opposition, persecution and difficulties that we as the faithful may encounter in our lives as Christians. But we must not be afraid as the Lord will always be with us and He will never abandon us in our time of need. God will always be by our side no matter what.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we have the calling and mission to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, committing our lives to the good works entrusted to us through the Church. We are all the successors of the Lord’s disciples and the ones who are tasked to be His witnesses in our world today. Each and every one of us by our calling have been entrusted with the mission to preach the Good News of God’s salvation to more people all over around the whole world. As His witnesses and disciples we are called to proclaim His light and hope amidst our darkened world.

Today, we should draw inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely Pope St. Pius V, a great and dedicated leader of the Church who led the Church and all the faithful during a particularly difficult period of time in the Church history. He was prominent in his role in the Ecumenical Council of Trent and also his contributions before he even became the Pope and thus leader of all Christendom. He led the Church during the crucial years in which it was fighting both internal divisions and the changes and instabilities caused by the Protestant heresy and falsehoods, among other political conflicts, as well as the external threats from the forces of the Ottoman Turks threatening to conquer the lands of Christendom.

Yet, Pope St. Pius V persevered through all those challenges and entrusted himself and the Church to the Lord. He led the Church to implement the many important reforms and changes made at the Council of Trent, and helped to enforce its decrees on the many segments of the Church, rooting out the corruptions and excesses within the Church, while restoring many of the people who had been misguided and misled by falsehoods back into the truth of God in the Church. He also helped to assemble the great Christian alliance that managed to win a great victory over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the great examples set by Pope St. Pius V and the many other holy saints, holy men and women of God, let us all continue to strive to be faithful to God, to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. Let us all do our best, in whatever way we can, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord and to proclaim His truth and love in our various communities, even through the smallest things we say and do in our lives. May God bless us all and may He empower each one of us to be faithful to Him, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 30 April 2022 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 16-21

At that time, when evening came, the disciples went down to the shore. After a while they got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the sea, for it was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. But the sea was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing.

They had rowed about three or four miles, when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and He was drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but He said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” They wanted to take Him into the boat, but immediately the boat was at the shore to which they were going.