holy Popes

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Tuesday, 31 December 2024 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and as we continue to progress through this time and season of Christmas, the time of great rejoicing in celebrating the birth and arrival of the Saviour of the whole world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the true reason of our Christmas joy and celebrations, we should always hold onto the fullness of truth, hope and reassurances that we have received from God Himself. All of us as Christians must be the bearers of the Good News of God’s salvation in how we live our lives each day and in how we celebrate Christmas, so that everyone may come to know more about the Lord through them. This Christmas is truly a great opportunity for us to tell everyone about the Lord and His salvation.

Unfortunately, the reality is such that many people around the world do not celebrate Christmas in this manner. Many people focused on all the excesses of worldly pleasures and desires, all the temptations of glamour, glory and merrymaking that cause us to indulge in those pleasures instead of rejoicing in the manner that we should have done. Christmas has often become so secularised and commercialised in many parts of the world that even Christians themselves had forgotten and overlooked the very reason why we all gather together and rejoice during this time and season of Christmas, that is to be joyful at the coming of the Lord’s Salvation into our midst and to thank Him for all the love that He has shown us.

Many celebrations of Christmas focused instead on the details about the festivities, all the food, drinks and gifts that we partake and share in. Those things became the focus and emphasis in many of our Christmas observances and celebrations, while the One Whom we all ought to be celebrating about was overlooked and forgotten. We can see clearly all around us during this time of Christmas festivities, how many of those celebrations and decorations actually include and depict the Lord and His Nativity, as compared to the focus on the gifts and grandeur of our celebrations, and all other things which may easily distract us away from the Lord and His righteous path. And unless we are vigilant, we may also fall into this same path, sometimes without us even realising it.

That is exactly what our first reading today from the Epistle of John the Apostle spoke strongly about the antichrists and the false prophets, all of whom proclaimed words and gospels that were different from what the Lord had revealed and spoken to His people. Even at that time during the early days of the Church, there were already those who tried to subvert the truth and the Good News of God to suit their own selfish purposes and desires, or trying to gain more popularity and power for themselves. St. John spoke of the need for all the faithful to reject the temptations of Satan, and to continue to uphold the righteous path which has been shown and taught to them by God through His Church.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the well-known and powerful revelation, testimony and declaration on Who the true identity of the Lord Jesus is, He Who is not just merely a Man and Son of Man, but Who is also the Divine Son of God, the Word of God incarnate in the flesh, appearing before all of us and dwelling in our midst just as He has promised to us, and which He has revealed through His prophets and messengers. Through this first chapter of the Gospel of St. John that revealed the nature of the Incarnation of the Word and the Divine Son of God, we are all reminded very clearly of what it is that we truly celebrate this Christmas, this time of glorious rejoicing and festivities, all made possible because God has come into our midst.

The Incarnation of the Word of God, and Him being conceived in the womb of Mary His mother, all of these came to fruition with the birth of this same Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, which happened in Bethlehem over two millennia ago. Christmas celebrates this very important moment of the Nativity of the Lord, the moment when the Lord was born into this world, which became the tangible, approachable and visible sign of God’s saving works, as He Himself has come into our midst to dwell among us, to be God Who is with us, Emmanuel, just as it has been prophesied by the prophets like Isaiah in the past. Through the historical coming of the Lord, and eventually His return in the future, all of us have received the renewal of hope and strength, courage and power through the love that the Lord has always had for each one of us.

Today, on this last day of the whole entire year, we are reminded of a great saint and man of God, this day being the Feast of Pope St. Silvester I, one of the Popes of the early Church. Pope St. Silvester I ruled as the Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ for a long period of about twenty-one years, during the time of great changes and renewal for the Church. He became Pope succeeding his predecessor, Pope St. Miltiades shortly after the groundbreaking Edict of Milan, decreed and promulgated by the Roman Emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius, who then triumphed over their enemies and became the rulers of the Roman Empire. Both of them issues this Edict proclaiming toleration of the Christian faith and the ending of the official persecutions of Christianity that had taken place for centuries.

Pope St. Silvester I led the Church during this time of great change, overseeing the great liberation of the Christian worship in Rome and other parts of the Roman Empire, the establishment of many churches and basilicas from the strong support by the increasingly pro-Christian Emperor Constantine the Great. Halfway through his pontificate, another great event in the Church history also took place, namely the First Ecumenical Council, the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. While Pope St. Silvester I himself did not attend the Council personally, he sent his representatives and legates to take part in the proceedings, and helped the Church to formulate the official codification and standardisation of the faith and teachings, rooting out false teachings and heresies. He performed many other great contributions and works to the end of his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon what we have just discussed earlier on and from the life and ministry of Pope St. Silvester I. As we continue to progress through the celebration and festivities of this current Christmas season, let us all continue to stay focused on the Lord and put Him at the centre of all things and of all our celebrations and festivities. And as we are about to end this current year and begin a new year tomorrow, let us all strive to live a new life truly attuned to the Lord and be firmly faithful in all of our ways, so that by our every words, actions and deeds, we may reveal the Lord, His truth, His Good News and love to many more people around us, and inspire them all to come towards the Lord. May God be with us all, and may He continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 December 2024 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 1 : 1-18

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. Whatever has come to be, found life in Him; life, which for human beings, was also light, light that shines in darkness, light that darkness could not overcome.

A man came, sent by God; his name was John. He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but a witness to introduce the Light; for the Light was coming into the world, the true Light that enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, the very world that did not know Him.

He came to His own, yet His own people did not receive Him; but to all who received Him, He empowers to become children of God, for they believe in His Name. These are born, but not by seed, or carnal desire, nor by the will of man : they are born of God.

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father : fullness of truth and loving-kindness. John bore witness to Him openly, saying, “This is the One Who comes after me, but He is already ahead of me, for He was before me.”

From His fullness we have all received, favour upon favour. For God had given us the Law through Moses, but Truth and Loving-kindness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God-the-only-Son made Him known : the One, Who is in and with the Father.

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Tuesday, 31 December 2024 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His Name. Proclaim His salvation day after day.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them; let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before the Lord.

He Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Tuesday, 31 December 2024 : Seventh Day within Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 18-21

My dear children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist would come; but several antichrists have already come, by which we know that it is now the last hour.

They went out from us though they did not really belong to us. Had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. So it became clear that not all of us were really ours. But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of you have true wisdom.

I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Scriptures, we are all reminded that God is the source of our Hope, comfort and joy, and it is in Him alone that we shall find true satisfaction and liberation from our many troubles and challenges, difficulties and hurdles in life. Unfortunately many of us often do not realise this and we do not perceive His love and compassion for us enough, and many of us sought comfort and satisfaction in worldly things instead of putting our trust and faith in God. This is why we are reminded through these readings from the Scriptures so that we do not end up going down the wrong path in life and seek the false pleasures and satisfactions that came not from God but from the evil ones.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord through Isaiah in which He lamented how the people had not realised that they had been taken care of, given attention and help by the Lord all the way at that time, and yet, those people still complained and refused to believe in Him whenever He gave them His help, love and providence. They often hardened their hearts and minds, and closed them off to the Lord, Who had often come to them offering His help and guidance. And yet, the Lord still patiently cared for them and loved them even as He constantly chastised them for their sins and wickedness, like a loving Father who cared for his children while disciplining them.

The Lord has repeatedly shown His love and kindness to His people, that even though they had always been rebellious and stubborn in their attitudes and ways, but He has never given up on them. Instead, He kept on sending them His messengers and guides, the prophets and many others to help them to find their way back towards Him. He reassured all of them that despite all the sufferings and difficulties that they might be facing, but His might, power and love transcend and surpass all those challenges and trials. As long as they remain firm in their faith in Him and put their faith in Him then He will provide for them, bless them and strengthen them, and they shall share in His glorious promise and inheritance, all the good and wonderful things that He had intended for them.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of reassurance from the Lord Jesus to His disciples and all of us, that all of us can come to Him and we will have rest in Him. He offers us all a yoke that is lighter and more manageable than the yoke of the world. Truly, this is just as what I had just mentioned earlier, how God is truly like a loving Father Who truly cares for all of us His beloved children. Each and every one of us are precious to Him, and that was why He sent to us all His beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour so that through Him we may see and witness His love manifested to us in the flesh, in Christ, Who is tangible and approachable by us all.

And the Lord’s words are important reminders for all of us that as Christians we must also be prepared to expect challenges and hardships, difficulties and obstacles in our path. That is why the Lord referred to the presence of His yoke, which is lighter than that of the yoke of the world. If we become Christians and expecting that we will have good and smooth, easy and comfortable lives, then we may be easily disappointed once we realise that there are likely plenty of challenges, oppositions and labours that we may have to endure throughout our lives and journeys as God’s faithful people. In fact, the more committed we are to the Lord’s path, the chances are that we may encounter even more challenges and difficulties in our journey because this world that has been corrupted by sin and evil, it will be in opposition to the Lord and His righteous path.

However, we must remember that we do not go through this path and journey alone. The Lord is always by our side, guiding and helping us whenever we need His help and guidance, and He will never abandon or leave us alone in our time of greatest need. We may indeed have to suffer and endure hardships, but in the end, we will be triumphant with God and He shall justify us all and bring us all into the true happiness and everlasting glory that we have been promised. In fact, His yoke is indeed lighter and better for us not because it may seem to be easier or less challenging, but rather because it does not lead us into the path towards downfall and eternal damnation. As a comparison, the alternative paths offered by the world may seem to be easier and better, lighter and less challenging, but they give us false hope and delude us into this path of darkness.

Today the Church also celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Damasus I, one of the Popes of the early Church. Pope St. Damasus I was the leader of the Universal Church as the Pope and Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff in the middle of the fourth century. Pope St. Damasus I was born into a family of a priest in Rome and that eventually inspired and led him to be a priest in turn, rising up to the position of the Archdeacon of Rome under Pope Liberius and when the latter was exiled by the Roman Emperor, it was the future Pope St. Damasus I that helped to take care of the governance and the issues of the Roman Church. Later on, he was elected as Pope to succeed Pope Liberius after the Pope’s death, during a time of strive in the Church. 

At that time, he had to contend with rival claimant and candidate to the Papacy, a popular deacon named Ursinus who became an Antipope for a short time and whose supporters and Ursinus himself continued to oppose Pope St. Damasus I’s election as Pope. Nonetheless, despite the challenges and the difficulties that Pope St. Damasus I had to face, he managed to gain a lot of important achievements in successfully navigating the Church through the difficult period at that time filled with divisions within the Church and conflicts, opposing quite a number of serious heresies that affected many in the Church such as Arianism, Apollinarianism, Macedonianism and many others. He also led the Church courageously through such difficult moments and helped many people to remain strong and firm in their faith.

The great examples shown by Pope St. Damasus I should inspire each and every one of us in our own faith in God, and remembering how even this great servant of God had suffered and endured many challenges in the midst of his ministry throughout his years in service to the Lord, as priest, archdeacon and then as Pope and leader of the Universal Church. He remained firmly faithful to the Lord and did not allow all those difficulties and challenges to stop or dissuade him from continuing to do what God had entrusted to him, and he continued to serve the Lord ever more faithfully in his ministry. This is something that we all as Christians should be doing as well. And therefore, let us all reflect upon these and discern carefully our path forward in our respective lives.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to help and bless us, and strengthen us all with the courage and inspiration to continue to do what He has entrusted to us to do. May He continue to love us all and patiently lead us all into His embrace, that we may be always firmly faithful in Him despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure in our journey towards Him. Let our actions and efforts continue to be good examples and inspiration for one another to follow, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For My yoke is easy; and My burden is light.”

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2024 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Isaiah 40 : 25-31

To whom, then, will you liken Me or make Me equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see : who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one of them is missing.

How can you say, o Jacob, how can you complain, o Israel, that your destiny is hidden from Me, that your rights are ignored by YHVH? Have you not known, have you not heard that YHVH is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, His knowledge is without limit.

He gives strength to the enfeebled, He gives vigour to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in YHVH will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagle’s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the coming of the end of times and the need for us to continue to have faith and trust in God, no matter what sufferings or hardships we may encounter in our respective paths in life. We must always trust that God will have our back and that we will not be disappointed if we put our faith in Him. At the end of time, we will be raised body and soul to be truly and fully reconciled with God 

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John, as we continue to hear the series of revelations received by St. John the Apostle during his exile and persecution in the Island of Patmos and in that vision, we heard of how the Lord will send to His people and to this world two great witnesses who then went on to proclaim the Word of God and His truth amongst the many people who have abandoned and rejected Him and His salvation, choosing instead to obey and follow the Devil, the one who is foretold to try to rise up against all of us at the end of time, persecuting all the ones who are faithful to the Lord. But God will not abandon us and through His servants, He will continue to show His love and encouragement.

Then, as we heard in what will happen next, those two servants are protected from all those who will seek to destroy them, up to the appointed time, when the forces of the evil one will come up and strike at those servants of God. And yet, in the end, the Lord raised them all up to His Presence, as His Spirit of Life descended upon them, striking fear against all those who have persecuted, oppressed and attacked them. It also showed how not even Satan, all sorts of evil forces, sin and death can triumph against God and His power. Ultimately, God will be triumphant against all those who are against Him, Satan and all his fellow fallen angels and demons, and all those who sided with them, while all those who are faithful to Him shall be vindicated and shall share His glorious triumph.

In our Gospel passage today then, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we heard of the discussion between the Lord and some of the Sadducees who were there and wanted to question Him regarding the matter about the Resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees were one of the two most powerful and influential groups within the community of the Jewish people at the time of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, together with the Pharisees. The Sadducees were powerful and the ruling group of the Jews, those who were chosen as the High Priest and the other chief priests, the religious and secular elites of the community. And many of them were worldly in their views and beliefs, seeking to preserve their worldly influence and power above all else.

And hence, they were among those who refused to believe in the resurrection from the dead and any other spiritual matters and beliefs, as opposed to the Pharisees, who were intellectual elites and the teachers and preservers of the Law, who believed firmly in all things spiritual and the resurrection after death. Thus, as the Lord often spoke about life and existence transcending death, the Sadducees were strongly opposed to the Lord on this matter, and questioned Him about this belief in the resurrection. Their example quoting the seven brothers who shared a wife, as per the Law of Moses which dictated that the wife be taken care of by a man’s brothers should he die without a child, was an example of their lack of understanding and appreciation of the teachings and belief in the resurrection and life after death.

The Lord made it clear that life and existence after death should not be compared to our lives in this world, and it will be different from our lives here on earth which is full of desires and imperfections, corruptions and the temptations due to sin that has afflicted each and every one of us. Those who have passed on from this life to the world that is to come, and eventually after the Last Judgment, all of them, and all of us shall share in the fullness of God’s glory and rejoice together with Him in eternity of true happiness and bliss. We who will share in the joy of the Lord will no longer have desires for worldly matters, possessions, attachments and all the other things that those Sadducees and many among us may be desiring. That is what each and every one of us as Christians must realise as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints, holy men of God, whose lives, faith and dedication to God should be great source of inspiration for all of us to follow in our own respective lives. They are Pope St. Clement I, a holy and dedicated Pope and Vicar of Christ, as well as St. Columban, a renowned Abbot and holy man. First of all, Pope St. Clement I was one of the first Bishops of Rome, the successors of St. Peter the Apostle who was the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. He is the fourth Bishop of Rome, succeeding St. Peter the Apostle, Pope St. Linus and Pope St. Anacletus. According to Apostolic tradition and Church history, Pope St. Clement I was the first among the Apostolic Fathers, the successors to the Apostles who continued their work and ministry among the people of God.

Pope St. Clement I was very active in his ministry as bishop and the leader of the Church, caring for the spiritual needs of the people of God, showing great leadership and governance of the flock of the Lord. He wrote many letters and epistles to the faithful, some of which survived in the writings of the early Church fathers, exhorting the faithful people of God to remain committed to Him despite all the challenges, trials and difficulties that they all had to face and endure amidst the persecutions and oppressions from the Roman state that was common at that time. He continued to work hard to the very end, eventually suffering prison and exile, and in the end, according to Apostolic tradition, like most of the other early Popes, died as a martyr of the Church.

Meanwhile, St. Columban, also known as St. Columbanus, was an Irish missionary priest who dedicated himself to the service of the Lord, in his missions in mainland Europe, in what is today parts of France and beyond. St. Columban spread the word of God to many of the people, and established schools and institutions that drew many people who seek to gain greater knowledge and understanding of their faith. However, despite the great and growing popularity of his schools, St. Columban preferred the solitude of the mountains, after many rounds of conflicts and disagreements with the bishops in France and Italy, eventually settling down in northern Italy on the land bestowed on him and others to establish a monastery, over which St. Columban became an abbot. He continued to dedicate himself to the Lord and His people to the very end of his earthly life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from our Scripture passages today, and also from the good examples and lives of Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban, we are all reminded that as Christians, we are all called to be truly obedient to God and to put our full trust and faith in Him at all times, striving at all times to do whatever is pleasing to Him, to obey Him, His Law and commandments. May the Lord, our most loving and compassionate God continue to help, strengthen and empower us all in our journey in life, and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and endeavours to glorify Him in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 November 2024 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.'”

“Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact, all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when He called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare to ask Him anything else.