holy religious

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Saturday, 21 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, all of us have to trust and be faithful to the Lord and believe that He can do everything for us, and not to distance ourselves from Him because of the preoccupation which we have with other distractions and things that can prevent us from truly committing ourselves to His cause in each and every moments of our lives. As Christians we must always lead lives that are truly holy and worthy of the Lord so that we will be great examples for our brothers and sisters around us and that we may live each and every moments with great trust and faith in the Lord as we have always done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth where the Apostle continued on with his discourse regarding the matter of humility before God, and how if one ought to boast of something, then it should be to boast of God, His greatness and wonders, and everything that He had done for us, rather than to boast of our own glory, power and greatness. That is because to boast of one’s own glory and power is vainglory and pride, while boasting of God’s greatness and power, when done in the right manner and with the right intentions, is truly a great expression of one’s unshakeable faith and trust in God, in His Providence and help.

That was why St. Paul decided to share his own experiences and speak of everything which God had done for his sake, in helping him throughout all of his ordeals and all the things that he had done, to proclaim His greatness and wonders, just as he has been told to do by the Lord. He did not want to boast of his own greatness because he himself was aware that despite being an Apostle of the Lord, one of those chosen to be the pillars of the Church and the bearers of God’s Good News, ultimately, he was still a man, a sinner who was in need of God’s love, compassionate mercy and help. Without the Lord, he was nothing and he could not do anything on his own, but with God, everything is truly possible, and he could indeed do all things through the guidance and help of the Lord that strengthened him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and followers that they all should not worry and be doubtful of what God can provide to all of them in their hour and time of need. They should not be afraid because God will always provide for them, for all that they need, and they should be rest assured knowing that there is nothing that can truly separate us from the love and kindness of God. That is why each and every one of us should always hold on to that faith that we have in Him, and not be easily tempted to seek an easier path out, or to follow a tempting distraction from the worldly attachments, ambitions and desires that we may have.

In our world today, so filled with fear, doubts, ambitions and desires of all kind, in a world so full of materialism, of all sorts of hedonism and cravings for pleasures of the flesh, where we are used to the need for instant gratification and happiness, it is unusual for us all to be patient or to wait for the true happiness and joy that truly lasts. Instead, we often seek for instant satisfaction, seeking for good things without considering carefully what the Lord truly wants us to do in our lives. We worry about our lives and what we are to have, and in that meantime, we may end up doing things that hurt those who are around us, especially our loved ones in our pursuit to seek gratification and satisfaction for ourselves, and when we worry about things that we should not be worrying about, and lacking genuine and true faith in the Lord.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a great and renowned servant of God whose life of devoted service to God and great piety and commitment to God should serve as a great inspiration for all of us to follow. He was born into a wealthy and powerful cadet branch of the noble Gonzaga family in Italy at that time, and as the firstborn son he was expected to inherit his father’s and family’s titles and inheritance, but despite his family’s efforts in preparing him down that expected path, God had a different plan for the young St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who was particularly shocked at the lack of virtue and obedience to God as well as the wicked and corrupt behaviour of all those who lived at that time, particularly among the powerful, even among the members of the clergy themselves.

That was why and how St. Aloysius Gonzaga felt the calling from God to be His follower and disciple, in testifying before everyone through his desire to commit himself as a priest and member of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was firm in his decision to do so despite the opposition from his family, especially that of his father, and despite the attempts to tempt him with secular clergy and even a bishopric instead fitting for his family and status, St. Aloysius Gonzaga was committed to follow the path of full commitment to the Lord, eventually relinquishing all of his inheritance and rights, and becoming a member of the Jesuits at last. During his studies and preparation, he faced a lot of difficulties especially health issues, but it did not dampen his determination.

It was during a plague in Rome when St. Aloysius Gonzaga was stricken after he volunteered to help care for the patients of the plague at the hospital that the Jesuits opened to provide care and help for the plague victims. St. Aloysius Gonzaga kept on doing his best to care for the sick and the dying when he himself had been weakened and was eventually stricken by the same plague as well. He was committed to the very end, and died at a relatively young age while still in his preparations for priesthood in the Jesuit order. Nonetheless, his great faith and dedication to God, everything that he had done in the care of the less fortunate around him and the love he has shown to God and to his fellow brothers and sisters are truly inspirational for all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great examples which St. Aloysius Gonzaga has shown us all, and be ever stronger and firmer in our desire to follow the Lord and to do what we can in our daily lives so that the Lord may truly do wonderful and great things in whatever we do and in all of our labours and daily struggles in whichever communities and places that we had been sent to by the Lord. Let us all continue to put our trust in Him and not to worry about anything in life, but committing ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to His cause, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 6 : 24-34

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate one and love the other; or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money.”

Therefore, I tell you, not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food; and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest, and do not store food in barns; and yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more worthy than they are?”

“Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burnt in an oven tomorrow, how much more will He clothe you? What little faith you have!”

“Do not worry, and say : What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or : What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart, first, on the kingdom and righteousness of God; and all these things will also be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

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Saturday, 21 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

YHVH’s Angel encamps and patrols, to keep safe those who fear Him. Oh, see and taste the goodness of YHVH! Blessed is the one who finds shelter in Him!

Revere YHVH, all you, His saints, for those who fear Him do not live in want. The mighty may be hungry and in need; but those who seek YHVH lack nothing.

Come, listen to Me, My children; I will show you how to fear YHVH. If you desire long life; if you want to enjoy prosperity.

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Saturday, 21 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Corinthians 12 : 1-10

It is useless to boast; but if I have to, I will go on, to some visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a certain Christian : fourteen years ago he was taken up to the third heaven. Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. But I know that this man, whether in the body or out of the body – I do not know, God knows – was taken up to Paradise, where he heard words that cannot be told : things which humans cannot express.

Of that man I can indeed boast, but of myself I will not boast except of my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, it would not be foolish of me, for I would speak the truth. However, I better give up, lest somebody think more of me than what is seen in me, or heard from me. Lest I become proud, after so many and extraordinary revelations; I was given a thorn in my flesh, a true messenger of Satan, to slap me in the face. Three times, I prayed to the Lord, that it leave me, but He answered, “My grace is enough for you; My great strength is revealed in weakness.”

Gladly, then, will I boast of my weakness, that the strength of Christ may be mine. So I rejoice, when I suffer infirmities, humiliations, want, persecutions : all for Christ! For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Thursday, 22 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we continue to be reminded of the importance of following the Lord our God in the right manner, and not be divided against each other because of our prejudices and different preferences in ideologies and ways of observing God’s Law and commandments. We are reminded that what is truly important is to truly love God wholeheartedly and to commit ourselves to His ways, through proper understanding and appreciation of His will and teachings, and not to be easily divided because of our personal preferences that can lead us to be pitted one against another, which is exactly what the evil ones want with us, in attacking us and the unity of the Church.

In our first reading today, from the Acts of the Apostles we heard of the moment when St. Peter the Apostle, the leader of the Apostles and the Church stood up in the assembly of the faithful, which would later on be known as the First Council of Jerusalem, speaking in favour of relaxing the demands for the imposition of the whole Jewish laws, rules and customs on the whole Body of the faithful, the Church. The context of such a dispute which need a serious effort at reconciliation and resolution was that there were those followers of the Lord that came from among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were very strict in their interpretation of God’s Law and in their insistence that all of the Lord’s followers must therefore also follow the same laws and commandments in full.

St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who had been sent to minister among the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people like the Romans, Greeks and many other races in the region, protested against this attempt at imposing the Jewish customs and practices on the non-Jewish people, as having experienced their ministry among the Gentiles and also being aware of the cultural differences betweent the Jews and the Gentiles, they knew that such an imposition would have led to great harm to the efforts of the Church’s evangelisation. This is due to the cultural differences and hurdles, such as the great disapproval, disgust and abhorrence that many of the Gentiles held against the Jewish customs and practices such as circumcision and the dietary restrictions they practiced.

That was why, the argued that such restrictions and obstacles should not be placed onto those Gentiles who did agree and desire to seek baptism and becoming therefore members of the Church of God. And that was brought into deliberation by the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, together with the whole assembly of the faithful in the Council of Jerusalem. St. Peter led the whole Church and assembly to discern carefully through prayer and the Holy Spirit, and through the discussions, St. Peter proclaimed the decision of the disciples and the assembly, in maintaining the unity of the Church and also the unity in its beliefs, that this issue would not bring about schism and divisions among the Church and its members.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard the Lord reminding His disciples that they all should remain in His love, as well as continuing to obey the commandments and the will of God the Father, calling them all to follow His path faithfully and devote themselves and their efforts and time to glorify Him always by their lives and actions. As Christians, as the Lord’s followers, this is therefore a reminder for all of us to be always focused on the Lord and commit ourselves to His cause at all times. We must not be divided amongst each other like what we have just heard in our first reading passage today, and we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the many worldly temptations and coercions present around us that may lead to the divisions in the Church.

That is why what the Lord reminded to His disciples is very important indeed and we are reminded to continue to root ourselves firmly on God and His love so that we may not end up falling into the wrong paths, especially with the many experiences that the Church and its long history had provided to us. Throughout history, many times, schisms and divisions had caused great harm to the Church and the faithful, causing many to be lost to God and to the path towards downfall and damnation. However, God was always with His Church, never leaving any of us behind alone, and He has always been faithful to the Covenant which He had made with us, guiding us all patiently along our journey in life, and doing our very best to bring ourselves ever closer to Him and His path to salvation, inspiring others to follow in our journey and way.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Rita of Cascia, a renowned saint and an Augustinian nun, known for her great sanctity and her self-mortification, living an exemplary life dedicated to God. She was married at a very young age of twelve to a nobleman, who was deeply involved in the internecine conflicts between the rival Italian families at that time. Her husband was also a rather immoral and wicked man, whom St. Rita patiently loved and cared for, as she went to raise her children faithfully and obediently. That marriage lasted for a whole period of eighteen years, throughout which St. Rita was an exemplary model of faith amidst the world and her community filled with hatred and violence, which would eventually claim her husband’s life due to the rival families’ bickering.

St. Rita pardoned those who have murdered her husband at his funeral, publicly pardoning them and forgiving them. However, her husband’s brother wanted to continue the feud and tried to goad St. Rita’s young children to take part in the feud to avenge their father. As such, St. Rita according to her saintly tradition, asked the Lord to take her children away from this world, rather than for them to commit sins that would have brought them into their downfall and eternal damnation. The Lord listened to St. Rita’s prayers, and it was told that both of her sons soon fell ill during an epidemic that happened then and passed away. St. Rita thereafter dedicated herself as a widow and becoming a member of the Augustinian nuns, living the rest of her life in great dedication to God and prior to her entering the monastery, she also managed to resolve the feud between the families.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have heard ourselves from the Scriptures today and from the life and works of St. Rita of Cascia, reminding all of us to be always faithful to God and not to be easily swayed by our worldly ambitions, desires and pursuits which may lead us down the path of divisions, disagreements and violence, all of which would lead to more and more harm and destruction as what had happened to the families involved in the feud during the time of St. Rita of Cascia. Instead, as God’s followers and as His holy people, all of us are called to put our faith and trust, our focus and emphasis once again on the Lord our God, dedicating our time and efforts once again to glorify the Lord by our lives. Let us all not be distracted by all these worldly ambitions, but instead focus ourselves wholeheartedly ever towards God, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-11

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”

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Thursday, 22 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 10

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. Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

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Thursday, 22 May 2025 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 15 : 7-21

As the discussions became heated, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that from the beginning God chose me among you so that non-Jews could hear the Good News from me and believe. God, Who can read hearts, put Himself on their side by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them and cleansed their hearts through faith.”

“So why do you want to put God to the test? Why do you lay on the disciples a burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? We believe, indeed, that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”

The whole assembly kept silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas tell of all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jews. After they had finished, James spoke up, “Listen to me, brothers. Symeon has just explained how God first showed His care by taking a people for Himself from non-Jewish nations.”

“And the words of the prophets agree with this, for Scripture says, ‘After this I will return and rebuild the booth of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again. Then the rest of humanity will look for the Lord, and all the nations will be consecrated to My Name. So says the Lord, Who does today what He decided from the beginning.'”

“Because of this, I think that we should not make difficulties for those non-Jews who are turning to God. Let us just tell them not to eat food that is unclean from having been offered to idols; to keep themselves from prohibited marriages; and not to eat the flesh of animals that have been strangled, or any blood. For from the earliest times Moses has been taught in every place, and every Sabbath his laws are recalled.”

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Saturday, 8 March 2025 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained in the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for us to live a holy and worthy life in God, one that is truly in accordance with the ways of the Lord, in tune with what He has revealed and taught to us through His Son and His Church. We must keep ourselves away from the corruptions and snares of sin, striving to seek the Lord and His forgiveness, His mercy and love, allowing Him to forgive us and heal us from this corruption of sin that had afflicted us all these while. We must not be discouraged from a truly holy life that is in harmony with God and His righteous path, and as we continue to progress through this season of Lent, we are constantly being reminded to stay true to this path of the Lord.

In our first reading today, we are called to heed the words from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord spoke to His people through Isaiah, calling upon them all to remove from themselves the yoke of sin and disobedience, for them all to turn away from their rebelliousness and disobedience against Him, all which they had done for the many years of their existence and lives in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. God has always been patient in helping and guiding all of them back to Himself, pointing out the path for them all to follow, sending to His people countless prophets, messengers and others to help and lead them all to the right path. Many of those people had lost the direction in their lives, being swayed by the temptations of worldly pleasures and glory, that they disobeying the Lord and His Law, and even persecuting His prophets.

God wanted to remind all of His beloved people that while He chastised them all for their sins and wickedness, but ultimately, He loved them very much and wanted all of them to find their path to Him, to be reconciled and fully reunited with Him, no longer separated from Him because of their sins and wickedness. He told them that if they were to change their ways and abandon their sins, they would be blessed by Him again, and they shall all be His people once more. God’s love is truly great, and He wants all of His people, that is all of us to be united to Him, but sin and the temptations to sin have always been great obstacles barring our path towards Him. As long as we are corrupted and afflicted by sin, then we will always be separated from God. But God has always been patient in helping us and showing us the path to return to Him, and we should not take this for granted.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist the account of the Lord Jesus speaking to Levi, one of the tax collectors that He encountered in His ministry, and called on this same Levi to follow Him and become His disciple. Levi listened to the Lord and followed Him, leaving behind everything that he had, all of his possessions, money and profession. Not only that, but he also invited the Lord to his place, to have dinner with him and many other tax collectors who sought to know Him and listen to Him as well. This brought about immediate outcry and protest from the Pharisees who were often following the Lord, as those people regarded the tax collectors as being sinners and wicked, and would have nothing to do with them because this was considered as making them ritually unclean.

But the Lord rebuked those Pharisees for their wrong ideas and ways, and told them that it was exactly for this purpose that He had been sent into this world. The Lord came into this world to save us all, His beloved people, and He has reached out to us with His generous compassion and love, calling upon each one of us to follow Him and to repent from our sins. As He told those Pharisees that He came into this world to heal those who were broken and sick, and to gather all of us from the precipice of darkness, preventing us from falling into the darkness. That is why, He reached out to the least and the lost, and to those whom others would have rejected and ostracised, like those tax collectors, prostitutes and others marginalised by the society, and this is an example for all of us as Christians to follow in our own lives.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John of God, a holy man of God and renowned founder of the religious order and institute, the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, which is an institute dedicated to the care of those who are poor, sick and suffering from mental disorders. St. John of God was born in Portugal in the late fifteenth century to an impoverished but pious family of prominent heritage, but met an unfortunate incident early in his life as he was lost from his family at the age of eight, and eventually became an orphan in Spain. He was raised by a farmer who gave the young St. John of God a job as a shepherd. Then he escaped the farmer’s place after he consistently tried to make St. John of God marry his daughter and become his heir, becoming a member of the military.

St. John of God spent some time in the military until he was wrongly suspected of theft of what he had been entrusted to guard, and for the next twenty years, this and many other challenges, uncertainties and difficulties that he encountered in his involvement as a soldier fighting various wars and conflicts, and after periods of internal struggles and spiritual barrenness, and some period of soul-searching, it was told that after receiving an apparition of the Holy Child, the Infant Jesus, St. John of God, whose name of John of God was apparently bestowed on him by the Lord Himself, eventually St. John of God decided to leave behind his past life and work in the military and other fields, and decided to devote himself thoroughly to God.

St. John of God had a profound moment of conversion then, and he began to live his life with the intention to reach out to the less fortunate, the sick and suffering in the midst of the community, gathering like-minded individuals to establish the aforementioned Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God. This community of devout men spent their time and effort to reach out to those who are suffering, those who are sick from various illnesses and maladies, and St. John of God devoted himself and the rest of his life to this ministry for the sake of God’s people. His great faith and dedication to the Lord, while only lasted for about ten years before he passed away, inspired many other people both during his lifetime and afterwards, in putting themselves to make the lives of their fellow brethren to be a better one.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have reflected from the words of the Sacred Scriptures, and also as we have discussed from the life and good examples shown to us by St. John of God, we should be inspired to follow the Lord faithfully in the manner that he and our many other holy predecessors had done. Each and every one of us as Christians ought to be good role models and examples, the ones to show everyone what it truly means for us to live as Christians, as the disciples and followers of the Lord. And in particular during this time of Lent, we are reminded to attune ourselves well to the path of the Lord, reorientating our lives as per necessary if we have strayed away from the path of the Lord, that we may spend more time and effort to benefit all those around us who are in need, those who are poor, sick and marginalised, among others who are in need of our love and care.

Let us all therefore continue to strive to live worthily in the Lord’s Presence, to do His will and to live in accordance with His Law and commandments at all times. Let us no longer remain idle or procrastinate in our efforts to seek the Lord, but do our best to expedite our journey towards the Lord, doing our very best to come to Him with contrite and repentant hearts, seeking His forgiveness and mercy for our many sins, for our most loving and forgiving God will surely forgive us if we are truly sincere in looking for Him and His mercy. May the Lord be with us always, and may He show us all His loving mercy, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 March 2025 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 5 : 27-32

At that time, after Jesus healed a paralytic man, He went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”