holy religious

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Wednesday, 8 February 2017 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Virgins)
Genesis 2 : 4b-9, 15-17

On the day that YHVH God made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on earth any shrub on the fields, nor had any plant yet sprung up, for YHVH God had not made it rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.

Then YHVH God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive with breath. God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there He placed Man whom He had created. YHVH God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat, also the tree of life on the middle of the garden and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

YHVH God took Man and placed him in the garden of Eden to till it and to take care of it. Then YHVH God gave an order to Man saying, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die.”

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Tuesday, 17 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture passages we heard first of all from the Epistle to the Hebrews, which urged everyone to remember God’s promise and covenant, which He had made with His people out of His love for them. We are all reminded of God’s faith in us, and we are all called to place our trust and hope in Him.

He has sworn by Himself, to assure us that He will deliver us from our sins and from our troubles. He Himself has assured us that He will deliver us and free us from the chains and bondage to sin. We have nothing to fear but to trust completely in Him, because while the world and its words are untrustworthy, and while mankind are untrustworthy in our dealings, but God alone can be completely trusted, for He is honest and just, and having sworn by Himself, He cannot deny Himself.

But it is rather us mankind who had not been faithful as I have mentioned, because we always try to find excuses and other alternatives, instead of obeying God. We ended up trusting in our own human instincts and judgments, rather than obeying and listening to the Lord our God. That was why in the Gospel passage today, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were rebuked by Jesus, as He had also done in various other occasions throughout the Gospels, because of their refusal to believe in what He had to tell them, that their ways were wrong.

They were the guardians of the laws of God as passed down to them from the time of Moses, down through many generations. But throughout those times, the essence of the Law became lost, and people became servants to the laws of God, not knowing what they were all about. Instead of obeying the Law because it was right to serve and please the Lord with their obedience, many of them enforced the laws and follow them for the sake of doing it.

For example, on the well known issue of the day of the Sabbath and its observance among the Israelites. The Sabbath was instituted by the Lord at the time when Israel went out from Egypt and were travelling through the desert towards the Promised Land. It was meant as a holy day dedicated to the Lord, as a day when all the people of Israel should focus themselves and their whole attention to the Lord.

And why was that so? That is because those Israelites have not been faithful to God in many occasions, they grumbled and disobeyed His laws and commandments as soon as after God had liberated and brought them out from the land of Egypt. God wanted to save them from their rebelliousness, and He wanted to discipline them by the means of those laws, but never had He intended for them to be oppressed by those measures.

Unfortunately that was what the Pharisees did, burdening the people with the many observances and obligations to the Law, by one count approximately six hundred and thirteen of them in total, and yet, many of these were human made laws that did not bring about greater understanding of the true meaning of God’s Law, which in fact was about God’s love for us all, so that He gave us those guiding oaths to help us in our path.

That was why Jesus told them all about how the king David in the past broke the law of the Sabbath because he and his soldiers, his followers were hungry. He ate the bread that were supposed to be offered for the Lord, as a form of sustenance to support them after their long journey. And the high priest then, Abiathar, allowed them to do so, even though that was supposedly against the Law.

It is because the Law was indeed meant to help mankind and to assist them on their path towards salvation, and not to oppress them. As Jesus mentioned, it was the Law which was made for man, and not man for the Law. It was because of love that God had given His instructions to mankind, in order to save them and to liberate them from the wrong paths they were following.

That is why, in all things, as Christians, all of us ought to remember that first of all, God wants each and every one of us to be saved. He wants us all to live and not to perish. We must not close the path towards salvation to those who are in need of it, by looking down on sinners and by refusing to welcome them back when they come to seek God’s forgiveness and grace. Let us remember that we ourselves are sinners and are in need of God’s mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today reflect on the examples and the life of St. Anthony the Abbot, the famous saint and religious who was known also as St. Anthony the Great, a renowned monk and religious from the Roman era Egypt known to be the father of monasticism and one of the first to commit himself in a contemplative life filled with prayer and devotion to God.

St. Anthony left behind everything in his former life, and he spent the rest of his life in contemplative prayer and commitment to God. He lived in the wilderness, much as St. John the Baptist had done in the past, shunning the comforts of life and leaving behind all worldly concerns. He also ministered to the people by helping the poor and the communities nearby where he lived, and called them to a life of holiness and devotion to God.

The devil often tempted St. Anthony, and it was told that he even tried hard to undermine all of St. Anthony’s works, and attacked him in various occasions, and yet St. Anthony persevered through all of them via a life committed to God in devotion and prayer. He overcame the devil by the power of prayer and piety, committing his whole being to God. From all of his examples, we truly should be inspired by his dedication and discipline in his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we all live in a world filled with many temptations, many of which are trying to keep us away from attaining God’s salvation. The devil is always at work, trying to undermine our progress and by pulling us away with his lies and falsehoods. This is where we need to be careful, that we should not fall into his traps. We must learn to resist the temptations of this world and commit ourselves in the same way as the holy saints, including that of St. Anthony, had done.

May the Lord help us in all of our endeavours, so that through all of our good and committed works, we may put the Lord as the focus of all our actions, and indeed, as the focus of our lives. May the Lord bless us and keep us, and may He strengthen in our hearts, the faith which we ought to have for Him, and help us to be faithful to God, just as He Himself had been truly faithful to us. Let us all help one another on our path to the Lord, and keep ourselves worthy of Him at all times. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Mark 2 : 23-28

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus was walking through grainfields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”

And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”

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Tuesday, 17 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 110 : 1-2, 4-5, 9 and 10c

Alleluia! I thank the Lord with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of the Lord are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; the Lord is merciful and kind. Always mindful of His covenant, He provides food for those who fear Him.

He has sent His people deliverances and made with them a covenant forever. His holy Name is to be revered! To Him belongs everlasting praise.

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Tuesday, 17 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 6 : 10-20

God is not unjust and will not forget everything you have done for love of His Name; you have helped and still help the believers. We desire each of you to have, until the end, the same zeal for reaching what you have hoped for. Do not grow careless but imitate those who, by their faith and determination, inherit the promise.

Remember God’s promise to Abraham, God wanted to confirm it with an oath and, as no one is higher than God, He swore by Himself : I shall bless you and give you many descendants. By just patiently waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.

People are used to swearing by someone higher than themselves and their oath affirms everything that could be denied. So God committed Himself with an oath in order to convince those who were to wait for His promise that He would never change His mind.

Thus we have two certainties in which it is impossible that God be proved false : promise and oath. That is enough to encourage us strongly when we leave everything to hold to the hope set before us. This hope is like a steadfast anchor of the soul, secure and firm, thrust beyond the curtain of the Temple into the sanctuary itself, where Jesus has entered ahead of us – Jesus, High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2016 : 34th 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 we are reassured yet again by the Lord, that we will never be alone amidst the difficulties and challenges that we may face as those who belong to the Lord. It will not be easy for us to stay faithful and devoted to God, and be a true Christian. If we have not had difficulties and challenges thus far, then perhaps we have not been true to our faith in God, or we might not have practiced our faith as we should have.

There will be clashes and conflicts arising between the ways of this world and the ways of the Lord which we are following. We can already see it clearly in the world we live in today. While this world is inundated with materialism and greed, our faith promotes moderation, charity and compassion for our fellow humanity, helping those who are poor and less fortunate than us. And while this world is filled with hatred and prejudice, the Lord taught us to be inclusive and to love one another without reservation.

And this is where divisions can arise, as the world may at times reject our ways and then act to condemn what we are doing, and rally against us. At times, there will also be ridicule and false charges levied against us, just as the people once condemned and rejected Jesus our Lord. But we must not lose hope, just as our Lord overcome the humiliation of the cross and transformed it into a symbol of triumph, defeating sin and death forever, we too will triumph in the end.

God has given us His words that He will not abandon us to the darkness and to the devil. Opposition will always be there against us, but God will send us His help and providence. He will never left us alone, and if we are faithful, we shall receive the rich rewards of the promise given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise of everlasting life and glory with Him in heaven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate the feast of two saints, Pope St. Clement I, holy Pope and Bishop of Rome during the days of the early Church, and St. Columban, a holy religious and Abbot renowned for his great faith in the Lord. Both of them were devoted servants of our Lord, and of the people entrusted to their care. Both of them were very important in the establishment of the early Church and in the strengthening of the faith of the faithful.

Pope St. Clement I was one of the first successors of St. Peter the Apostle, chief of the Apostles and the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. He succeeded Pope St. Linus and Pope St. Anacletus who in turn succeeded St. Peter, as the fourth Bishop of Rome and Pope, and thus leader of the entire Universal Church. He helped to establish the jurisdiction and leadership of the bishops over the Church, and in his many letters and Epistles, he taught many of the faithful throughout the Church about the faith and how to remain strong in their faith.

Eventually Pope St. Clement I was martyred because of his faith during one of the persecutions of the faithful by the Roman authorities. However, he faced his death with joy knowing that God is on His side, and He will never abandon His faithful ones to destruction, since He would preserve their souls, and although his body and the bodies of the other martyrs would face destruction, but their souls are eternal.

Meanwhile, St. Columban was a renowned Irish missionary and religious who travelled and ministered throughout the region of Gaul, that is now known as France. He worked hard and preached about the faith in many places, establishing religious communities throughout his journey sites in France and also Italy. He helped to bring discipline to the many religious communities at that time, and also strengthen the foundation of their faith.

St. Columban faced many challenges and oppositions throughout his works and travels throughout the land, even against bishops, nobles and kings. However, he was never deterred by these, and continued to work hard and preached the word of God and His truth with zeal and commitment. These are the good examples that we all have to follow and emulate, as we continue to live our lives in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today spend time to reflect and pray, so that all of us will learn to put our complete trust in the Lord, and change our ways and actions so that we will be able to attune ourselves to God and His ways. May the Lord help us and bless us always, and may He keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2016 : 34th 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 21 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Before all these things happen, people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison, and for My sake you will be brought before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

“So keep this in mind : do not worry in advance about what to say, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.”

“But even though, because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone, not a hair of your head will perish. By your patient endurance you will save your souls.”

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Wednesday, 23 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Psalm 97 : 1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9

Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, His holy arm, has won victory for Him.

The Lord has shown His salvation, revealing His justice to the nations. He has not forgotten His love nor His faithfulness to Israel.

Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy.

Before the Lord, for He comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Revelations 15 : 1-4

Then I saw another great and marvellous sign in the heavens : seven Angels brought seven plagues which are the last, for with these the wrath of God will end. There was a sea of crystal mingled with fire, and the conquerors of the beast, of its name and the mark of its name stood by it.

They had been given the celestial harps and they sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb : Great and marvellous are Your works, o Lord, God and Master of the universe. Justice and truth guide Your steps, o King of the nations.

Lord, who will not give honour and glory to Your Name? For You alone are holy. All the nations will come and bow before You, for they have now seen Your judgments.

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Thursday, 17 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we listened to the word of God in the Sacred Scriptures, listening to the words of hope given to us by the Lord, Who have triumphed and conquered, defeating the forces of evil and death, by His own death on the cross and then by His glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension in glory into heaven.

Through the readings today, we are reminded yet again that as Christians, persecutions and challenges will be part of our lives, as those who are in power in this world, all those who rely on this world, are against us who believe in the Lord, for the devil wants us all to be lost to the Lord, by disobeying Him and refusing to listen to His laws and commandments, and instead following his lies and temptations.

And that was why throughout history, for the past two millennia, the history of the Church, our Faith and its faithful had been filled with much grievances, sufferings, persecutions and all that had occurred when the faithful were oppressed by those who sought to destroy them and turn them away from the path towards salvation. That was why there were many martyrs and those who suffered and even laid down their lives for the Lord, in the early days of the Church, and even unto this very day.

During the early days of the Church, the faithful had to contend with many oppressions, oppositions to the Lord and to the Church, and they had to hide, hiding in the catacombs and sewers while celebrating the Lord and His Holy Sacrifice, the Holy Mass, or else they would be arrested, put into prison, tortured and even put to death for their faith in God.

If we wonder how they all persevered through all of that without losing hope, it was because of their firm faith in God. They staunchly remained true to their Lord and their faith in Him even when they were faced with the stark option of securing their lives by rejecting the Lord, or to keep their faith and suffer to the extent of painfully losing their lives.

This is a reality that many of our brethren even today, are still living its daily effects. In various parts of the world, from the Middle East, to regions of the Americas, Africa, and in many other parts, being a faithful Christian is increasingly a more and more difficult task for us. Challenges and temptations are abound, and not few of our brethren were tempted and gave up because of various reasons.

But many did not give up because they believe firmly in the Lord Who will be triumphant in the end, as foretold in the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, the content of which we heard today. God will succour all of His faithful ones and bring them into the comfort of His grace and salvation in the end of it all, and death and the forces of evil will not have any power over us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, many of us are able to help our brethren who are suffering in various ways. We should open our eyes, our ears, our senses, and love them in our heart. We must be generous with our charity and be generous with our love. And in this, perhaps, we should follow in the footsteps and examples of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a Hungarian princess who was renowned for her piety and great works of charity. As is the custom of that time, she was married off at an early age to a nobleman, and had a family. But when her husband passed away, during the years of her widowhood, she devoted herself to God and to the poor people around her, contributing a lot to charitable works and helped the weak and those who are in need to meet their needs.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary showed us all what is meant by being a Christian. Being a Christian requires each and every one of us to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, Who came into this world out of His love for us, and to find those who have lost their way and became stranded and separated from Him, that they may also have a hope of redemption and liberation from the curse of sin and death.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive that in this life we have, we may be able to commit ourselves fully to the Lord, renew our faith and commitment to Him, so that through our wholehearted devotion to Him, many others will also be inspired to do the same, and follow our footsteps to seek the Lord and be forgiven from their sins.

May all of us Christians be the bearers of God’s truth and salvation, never fearing what will happen to us if we stay faithful to Him, as we all know that, just as the saints and martyrs had known, that Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Lord, will triumph in the end and bring all those who remain faithful to Him to the glorious eternal life with Him forevermore. May God bless us all. Amen.