holy priesthood

by

Saturday, 2 February 2019 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day for Consecrated Life (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Malachi 3 : 1-4

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

by

Thursday, 29 March 2018 : Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 61 : 1-3a, 6a, 8b-9

The Spirit of the Lord YHVH is upon Me, because YHVH has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to the captives, freedom to those languishing in prison; to announce the year of YHVH’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God; to give comfort to all who grieve; (to comfort those who mourn in Zion) and give them a garland instead of ashes.

But you will be named priests of YHVH, you will be called ministers of our God. I will give them their due reward and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed.

by

Monday, 1 January 2018 : Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Theotokos, World Day of Prayer for Peace (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 6 : 22-27

Then YHVH spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and say to them : This is how you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say : May YHVH bless you and keep you! May YHVH let His face shine on you, and be gracious to you! May YHVH look kindly on you, and give you His peace!”

“In that way they put My Name on the people of Israel and I will bless them.”

by

Friday, 4 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest, Patron of All Priests (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard first of all the reading from the Book of Leviticus, in which God dictated to His people the important dates and feast throughout the entire year, a constant reminder that God is always with His people, and we who have been loved by God and blessed by His graces, must also love Him and dedicate ourselves, our efforts and indeed, our entire beings to Him.

Yet, many of us tend to forget these obligations that we have to Him. We do not recognise the work of God among us, and His presence among us. In the Gospel today, all of us have heard how the people of Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus rejected Him, just because they thought that He was a fraud and a trickster, Who because of His humble family origin as the Son of a carpenter, Joseph, His foster father, then He could not have done all the wondrous things which He had done.

That was despite all the miracles and wonders He had performed among them in the neighbouring areas of Capernaum and Bethsaida. But the people of Nazareth preferred to give in to their human pride and ego, to their human intellect and wisdom, and to their limited understanding of the divine truth. They refused to accept the fact that One Who have walked among them and One Whom they had seen growing up from a mere Child, could be the Messiah and Saviour of the whole world, and less still, God Himself, Divine Incarnate.

They have hardened their hearts against God and forgot their obligation to Him. Yet, He still wanted to absolve them their sins, and therefore, He showed forth His mercy and love through Christ, by His merciful and loving works among us, and by His ultimate loving sacrifice on the cross, through which He opened wide for us all, the path to eternal life and glory, if we are to be reconciled with Him and be faithful in Him, walking in His path.

That is why, He, as our Good Shepherd, wants us all His sheep to be reunited with Him, and He therefore awakened in many of His followers, the desire and the calling to follow in His footsteps as shepherds to His flock, to help and guide those sheep on their way to their one and only True Master, Jesus Christ our Lord. They are the successors of the first shepherds, the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, whom God had appointed to be His holy priests.

Today, all of us celebrate together the feast day of the patron of all the holy priests of God. He is St. John Maria Vianney, also known by his nickname, the Cure of Ars. St. John Vianney was known far and wide, even until today, as a holy and devoted priest, who was pious in all of his deeds, and utterly dedicated to the Lord and to His people, among whom he had performed many wonders and miracles, tending to the poor and the sick, both those who are physically and spiritually afflicted.

It was told that thousands upon thousands came to see St. John Vianney, to confess their multitudes of sins, to confide themselves to his care and love, and to seek to be forgiven from their trespasses and wickedness. Many were healed of their afflictions and even had the evil spirits cast out from them. He encountered many difficulties throughout his mission in the parish church of Ars, where he was assigned to, and from which he gained his fame as the Cure of Ars, the caretaker and guide of the people entrusted to him.

Many people came to him seeking God's love and mercy, and St. John Vianney faithfully and patiently fulfilled his duties and obligations, as part of his vocation of priesthood. He showed all of us the exemplary role of a priest, whom God had called and chosen from among His followers and disciples, to be His representatives in this world, as our priests have been ordained and given the same power that God had given to His disciples, to forgive sins and to bring His blessings upon the people.

And they are the links that God had established between Himself and us. The holy and devout priests are those who have shown the concrete love and presence of God among us, through their tireless dedication, commitment and piety, by which they imitated the High Priest of all, Jesus Christ. For Christ Himself had served His people, loving them and caring for them even when those same people rejected Him, ridiculed Him and refused to allow Him to love them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on this, on the life and commitment of St. John Vianney as I have just mentioned, and the love of Christ our Lord for us. Let us then strive to be ever more committed and faithful Christians, no longer lukewarm in our faith, or acting as the people of Nazareth had done, in turning away from the Lord and trusting more in their own human wisdom and power. Let us all walk ever more faithfully in God's path, following the footsteps of the holy saints and guided by our holy priests.

And for those of us whom God had called to be His priests, let us all discern well and carefully in our hearts, that we may be able to make a carefully thought and planned choice, that there will be many among us who will walk in the footsteps of St. John Vianney, holy priest and Patron saint of all priests. Let us all learn from his examples, and make ourselves ever more devoted and committed servants and followers of our God. St. John Vianney, pray for us all, God's beloved people. Amen.

by

Friday, 4 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest, Patron of All Priests (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 13 : 54-58

At that time, Jesus went to His hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, "Where did He get this wisdom and these special powers? Is He not the carpenter's Son? Is Mary not His mother and are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas not His brothers? Are not all His sisters living here? Where did He get all these things?" And so they took offence at Him.

Jesus said to them, "The only place where prophets are not welcome is his hometown and in his own family." And He did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

by

Friday, 4 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest, Patron of All Priests (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 80 : 3-4, 5-6ab, 10-11ab

Start the music, strike the timbrel, play melodies on the harp and lyre. Sound the trumpet at the new moon, on our feast day, when the new moon is full.

This is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob, a statute He wrote for Joseph when he went out of Egypt.

There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I, YHVH, am your God.

by

Friday, 4 August 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest, Patron of All Priests (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Leviticus 23 : 1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37

YHVH spoke to Moses, "Then there are appointed feasts of YHVH at the times fixed for them, when you are to proclaim holy assemblies. At twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month is YHVH's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of this month it is YHVH's feast of Unleavened Bread."

For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day there will be a sacred assembly and no work of a worker shall be done. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH and on the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly and do no work of a worker."

YHVH spoke to Moses and said, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them : When you enter the land that I will give you and you reap its harvest, you will bring to the priest a sheaf, the first fruits of your harvest and he shall wave the sheaf before YHVH for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."

"From the day after the Sabbath, on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. The day after the seventh Sabbath will be the fiftieth day and then you are to offer YHVH a new offering. The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to YHVH."

"The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tents for YHVH, lasting seven days. The first day you shall hold an assembly; you must do no work of a worker. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to YHVH. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and you must offer a burnt offering to YHVH. It is a day of solemn assembly in which you shall do no work of a worker."

"These are the appointed feasts of YHVH in which you are to proclaim holy assemblies for the purpose of offering offerings by fire, burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings to YHVH, according to the ritual of each day."

by

Friday, 14 July 2017 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard two reassurances, from two different accounts in the Sacred Scriptures, which God gave to His people, to His faithful ones, telling them not to worry for He would take care of everything, and all would be well since they were under His guidance. In the first reading, from the Book of Genesis we heard how God spoke to Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel, and then in the Gospel we heard about the moment when Jesus sent out His disciples ahead of Him to prepare His way.

In the first reading, Jacob was reassured by God to go to the land of Egypt, bringing his entire family and possessions from the land of Canaan to Egypt. At that time, he was surprised to hear the news that Joseph, one of his beloved sons was actually still alive in the land of Egypt, and not perished as he thought. His elder sons plotted against Joseph and sent him into slavery in Egypt, only for Joseph to be rescued by God and made Regent over all Egypt.

It must have been difficult for Jacob to leave behind his ancestral homeland, the land where Isaac, his father, Rebecca, his mother, and Abraham and Sarah, his grandparents had lived in for many years. But God was telling him not to worry, or be concerned, since He would guide him and his descendants, as He was always faithful to the covenant which He had established with Abraham, His servant, and which He renewed with Isaac, Jacob’s father, and then reaffirmed to Jacob himself.

And thus was Jacob reunited with his long-lost son, Joseph, by God’s love and providence. God reassured that He would be with them, and indeed, that was what the Lord had done. In the same manner, He also reassured His disciples in what we heard in our Gospel passage today. He reassured them that He would be with them no matter what happened, and if they would remain faithful, they would receive the fullness of God’s grace.
Yet, at the same time, we also heard that the Lord reminded His people of what they ought to expect should they choose to follow Him and walk in His ways. There would be strife, rejection, ridicule and even persecution, but we as those who believe in the Lord should not be disheartened or give up our faith in God. As we have just heard, God Himself will guide us on what we ought to do, and He will help us and protect us. He will show us the way to go forward.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us should reflect on this, and ask ourselves honestly, whether we have completely placed our trust in God and walked faithfully in His path. Have we instead been burdened with worries and concerns, so much so that we ended up being blind to the love and care with which God had provided us?

It is often that we worry about our personal well-being, that we ended up turning to other means in order to preserve ourselves, and this often lead us astray from the Lord. But perhaps, we need to learn to trust in the Lord, and to remain strong in our faith, for let us all remember, that while the path of the Lord may seem to be difficult and challenging, but at the end of that path, is the eternal glory and joy which God promised to all of His faithful people.

Let us all also learn from the example of the holy saint, whose feast we celebrate on this day, namely St. Camillus de Lellis, a holy priest of God, who was renowned for his great piety and trust in the Lord. He was especially remembered for his many good works caring for the sick and for all those who suffered from difficulties and challenges in life.

St. Camillus de Lellis was renowned for his many charitable works and works of mercy in caring for all those who are in need of his assistance. He reached out to the sick and gave his care to them, and he even continued his work in a greater scale by gathering together people who were called to the same calling as his, establishing a religious order committed to the service of the poor and the sick.

What St. Camillus de Lellis had done in his life should be an inspiration to all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all called to do the same with our lives as well. For instance, rather than worrying and being overly concerned about our well-being in life, we should instead open our eyes and look at all those who are around us. It is often that as we worry about ourselves, we end up turning a blind eye towards all our brethren who are even less fortunate than us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be trusting in our relationship with God, and knowing that He will provide us all that we need, let us instead turn our efforts in order to assist all those who are indeed not so fortunate as us, all those suffering from illnesses and diseases, all those who are sorrowful in heart, and all those who are persecuted because of their faith in God.

Let us all give them our companionship, and let us comfort them with our presence, so that God may make His good and loving works evident through us, His people. May the Lord help us so that we will always grow stronger in our faith and devotion to Him, and may He continue to empower us all, so that we may grow ever closer to Him and be ever more worthy to receive His grace. Amen.

by

Friday, 14 July 2017 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Matthew 10 : 16-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of Me, so that you may witness to them and the pagans.”

“But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father, speaking through you.”

“Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, you will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

by

Friday, 14 July 2017 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

Trust in YHVH and do good; dwell in the land and live on it. Make YHVH your delight; and He will grant your heart’s desire.

YHVH watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. They are not crushed in times of calamity; when famine strikes, they still are satisfied.

 Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. For YHVH loves justice and right, and never forsakes His faithful ones. The wicked, instead, will perish, and their breed will be cut off.

YHVH is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. YHVH helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them, for they sought shelter in Him.