holy religious

by

Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (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 are all reminded that each and every one of us are truly beloved by God, He Who has always been patient in loving and caring for us, and Who has always reached out to us to help bring us back from the darkness into the light of His grace. God has always been kind to us, in sending to us His guidance and providence, through all those servants, messengers and helpers that had assisted us in our journey back towards Him all these while. And while He did chastise and punish us whenever we erred and made mistakes, He did all these not because He despised or hated us, but instead, His love for us truly endured, so much so that He wanted us all to be redeemed and forgiven from the many sins we have committed, which is what He despises.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea in which God after having told His people of the coming destruction and sufferings that they had to face, the punishments and hardships that they would have to endure for their sins and wickedness, their disobedience and refusal to follow the path which He has shown them, He then told them of the mercy and love which He, as their loving God and Father, has for each and every one of us. The Lord told His people, the Israelites, that they would be brought back eventually from their misery and sufferings, just like how they had once been rescued from their enslavement and sufferings in the land of Egypt, under the rule and yoke of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

God highlighted to them all His frustrations and all the problems that His people had caused Him, that despite all the things which He had done for them, in patiently instructing and guiding them, they kept on getting further and further away from Him, abandoning His Law and precepts, worshipping and following pagan idols and false gods rather than obeying Him and worshipping Him alone. Nonetheless, despite this, God kept on caring for His beloved ones, and still watched over them, sending His servants again and again to help them on their paths. He never gave up on them, and later on, afterwards, He gathered them back from their exile and helped them to return once again to their homeland, fulfilling all the promises and predictions He had spoken to them through the prophets like what we heard in today’s reading from the prophet Hosea.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples and followers, as He instructed them all on what they should be doing in the missions and works that He has entrusted to each and every one of them. He sent them out two by two to the many towns and villages that He Himself would be going to, and He encouraged them all that whatever sufferings and challenges that they might have to face, He would be with them and He would guide and strengthen them, and they should not depend on their own means or power in achieving what they had been sent out to do, or else, they might end up forgetting the purpose and reason why they were all sent out in the first place, that is to minister and to proclaim the Good News of God.

That was why He told them all not to bring too many things with them, and in fact just what they barely needed to survive upon themselves, and that they should instead depend on the good will and kindness of the people that they had visited and ministered amongst. He sent them all to proclaim His words and Good News, to show His truth and love, by granting them the power over evil spirits and the power of miracles so that through their works, they might heal many people who have been afflicted and troubled by various maladies and difficulties, especially from that of sin. Through these things we have heard from the Lord Himself, all of us are reminded that first of all God’s love for us is truly great and universal, and then, each and every one of us as Christians, we have the same mission to reach out to our fellow brethren, to proclaim and show the Lord to all of them.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the great and renowned St. Benedict, also known as St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder and initiator of Western monasticism. He was born in Nursia, in what is part of Italy today, into a family of Roman nobility just right after the downfall of the Roman Empire in the West and in Italy itself. He and his twin sister, St. Scholastica was brought up during this turbulent time, and for St. Benedict, he was initially sent to Rome to study and be an academic, however he found the academic life in the city of Rome to be disappointing, and this eventually led to him discovering a community of hermits in Subiaco nearby the town of Enfide outside of Rome. He became a hermit for about three years and as he grew and mature in his faith and wisdom, he eventually grew to appreciate monastic life.

St. Benedict therefore slowly went on the path of religious life, and despite facing challenges and difficulties along the way, it did not dissuade him from his path and commitment, and it was told from his hagiographic story, how miracles happened to St. Benedict and in one of them a jealous priest named Florentius tried to harm and poison him with a poisoned bread, only for a raven to snatch the bread from St. Benedict after he prayed and said blessing over the bread. This and many other miracles that happened inspired many people who came to visit him in Subiaco and later on in Monte Cassino where he established a great Benedictine monastery, the first of the many Benedictine monasteries, where the rule of St. Benedict eventually became popular among all other monastic traditions. Many people flocked to the monasteries and the Christian faith thanks to the efforts and the holy life led by St. Benedict.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore now spend some time to reflect upon our lives and our path in walking down this life, on whether we have truly been faithful to the Lord or whether we have allowed ourselves to be tempted and swayed by the temptations of this world, of pleasures and human greed, the desires for power and worldly fame, glory and ambitions, all of which could mislead us away from the path towards God’s salvation and grace. Instead, let us all be committed to the Lord wholeheartedly like how St. Benedict had done in his life, and let us also be good examples ourselves in our own lives, so that we may truly embody the light of God’s grace and salvation, now and always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 10 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

“And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.”

by

Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 79 : 2ac and 3bc, 15-16

Listen, o Shepherd of Israel, You, Who sit enthroned between the Cherubim. Stir up Your might and come to save us.

Turn again, o YHVH of hosts, look down from heaven and see; care for this vine, and protect the stock Your hand has planted.

by

Thursday, 11 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 11 : 1-4, 8c-9

I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called My Son. But the more I have called, the further have they gone from Me – sacrificing to the Baals, burning incense to the idols. Yet, it was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; yet, little did they realise that it was I Who cared for them.

I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as One Who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them. My heart is troubled within Me and I am moved with compassion. I will not give vent to My great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst; and I do not want to come to you in anger.

by

Friday, 21 June 2024 : 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 Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that we are all called to focus our attention and our whole lives upon the Lord our God, Who should be the sole focus and reason of our existence. We should not easily allow ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations, coercions, pressures and desires present all around us that we lose our focus and sight on what is truly important, and forgetting that as Christians, we are God’s holy and beloved people, and we should always strive to be worthy of Him at all times, in all of our words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions and commitments in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Second Book of Kings of Israel and Judah in which the story of the usurpation done by Queen Athaliah of Judah was told to us, at the time when the Queen Mother Athaliah attempted and successfully managed to seize power in the kingdom for herself after her son, King Ahaziah of Judah was killed by Jehu, the new King of Israel appointed by God. King Ahaziah perished partly because of his sins, in his failures to bring the people of God to obey God’s Law and commandments, but his mother Athaliah committed an even greater sin and wickedness before God and man alike, as we ourselves had heard in our first reading passage today, in how she attempted to eradicate the entirety of the descendants of her son, and the extended family in order to secure power for herself.

Through all of that, Athaliah had committed a truly grave sin before God, for the murders that she had carried out not just one but so many innocent people, not sparing even women and children on this. Why did Athaliah do so? While the full reason and details were not highlighted in the records in the Scriptures but based on other comparable events and similar actions by other figures throughout history pointed to greed and desire for worldly power, glory, fame, ambition for more personal gains among other things. It was likely that Athaliah had one of these as her motive to carry out such heinous acts and wickedness. But through what we heard in these series of events today, we are all reminded that God would always be with His beloved and faithful ones, and while challenges might come upon them, but they would be triumphant in the end.

That was how we heard of the survival of Joash, one of the descendants of the late king and helped him to survive the massacre when all the other relatives and members of the royal family were purged and massacred. Joash was protected by God, saved and helped to be prepared as future king under the guidance of the priest Jehoiada, whom we heard then eventually orchestrating the return of the House of David to power. Through the support of the people and others who disliked Queen Athaliah’s authoritarian rule, that was how Queen Athaliah met her ignominious end, overthrown and punished to death for all the wicked deeds which she had done all those years ago. King Joash of Judah ascended to the throne and restored the rule of the House of David just as God intended it.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord told and warned His disciples not to seek and gather for themselves the treasures of this world, but rather to gather the heavenly and true treasures which they should instead be aiming for. The Lord reminded all of His disciples because some if not many among them might have the wrong idea and aim in following Him, thinking that by walking in His path and gathering around Him, they could gain worldly glory, fame and power, greatness and pleasures of the world. The Lord told them that all the glory, pleasures and ambitions of this world, all of the allures of greatness and wealth cannot truly satisfy us, and they will not last forever, as they will eventually be destroyed and we will not bring them to the life that is to come for us.

It is why each and every one of us should seek to reevaluate our lives and reconsider how we have focused our lives thus far. If we have not been truly faithful to the Lord, and if we have allowed the allures of worldly glory, of pleasures of the flesh and other ambitions to tempt and mislead us, then perhaps it is time for us to abandon all those wicked and evil pursuits, and instead renewing our commitment to live our lives once again worthily of the Lord, by embracing God’s Law and commandments wholeheartedly, and by doing whatever we can so that we may come ever closer to God, and to avoid all those things which had misled and tempted so many of our predecessors, like that of Queen Athaliah, that they all ended up falling into sin and destruction. This is what we must not end up doing, and we must always strive to be ever more faithful to God.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a great servant of God whose life and faith, while may be relatively short compared to many of us, but he has shown us and many of our predecessors what it means for us all to live for the Lord and to be truly faithful to Him. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was born into an illustrious cadet branch of the powerful and famous House of Gonzaga in the area of what is now northern part of Italy, and as the eldest son of the family, he would have been guaranteed to gain the great inheritance of his family’s assets, fortune and titles, which were indeed quite substantial. But God had a different plan for St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who was called by God since his rather young age, being touched and inspired to follow the path of the Lord rather than all the wickedness and decadence he had witnessed while he was growing up.

He was increasingly called to be a missionary and to embrace God’s calling, living a righteous and virtuous life amidst the commonly practiced way of life among those of his background and class at the time. St. Aloysius Gonzaga spent his time teaching catechism and guiding the younger boys in the faith. He met lots of opposition especially from his father regarding his decision to join a religious congregation, particularly that of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. Despite the many pleas, persuasions, coercions and pressures, none of these could dissuade the young St. Aloysius Gonzaga, and even the tempting promise of secular priesthood and even episcopate, to be a bishop with all of its worldly riches and glory, those things could not change the mind of St. Aloysius Gonzaga.

And thus, St. Aloysius Gonzaga chose to abandon and sign-off his inheritance and all worldly glory, and became a member of the Jesuits. During his formation years as a Jesuit, St. Aloysius Gonzaga continued to life a virtuous and holy life, and was committed to care for the sick and the poor, which eventually led to his early death at the young age of twenty-two. At that time, there was a plague raging in Rome, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga got sick from the plague while he was ministering to the sick. And even so, he still pushed himself and forced himself to continue to care for the sick despite his own condition. Eventually his condition worsened, he was administered the Last Rites and passed away. His courageous actions and love for others have truly shown all of us what it truly means for us to be Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do our best so that our lives may truly be holy and worthy of God, focusing on Him and not on the many temptations of worldly pleasures and all the other things which may tempt and distract us away from the path towards salvation and eternal life in God. Many of our predecessors had fallen into this path, as the earlier example of Queen Athaliah of Judah had shown us. God has given us all the means and the help to lead us towards righteousness in Him, and we should therefore follow the examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, so that we may truly be good role models and inspirations for one another in our Christian faith and life. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless our every efforts and endeavours in life, and grant us His grace, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 6 : 19-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “Do not store up treasures for yourself here, on earth, where moth and rust destroy it; and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.

For where your treasures are, there, also, will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

by

Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

YHVH swore to David a promise, and He will remain true to it : “I will keep your descendants on your throne.”

“If your sons keep My Covenant and the decrees I have taught them; their sons, too, will sit forever upon your throne.”

For YHVH has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling : “This is My resting place forever; this I prefer; here, will I dwell.”

From here, a Saviour shall come forth, a Son of David; here, shall shine forever, the lamp of My Anointed. In shame will I clothe His enemies, but upon His head a crown shall shine.

by

Friday, 21 June 2024 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Kings 11 : 1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom.

Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the house of YHVH for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the house of YHVH. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king’s son.

The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do; and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of king David which were in the house of YHVH. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the house of YHVH.

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king’s son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the house of YHVH.

The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, treason!”

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, “Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her.” He gave this order, because he thought, “She should not die in the house of YHVH.” They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king, by the horses’ entrance, there, they killed her.

Jehoiada made a Covenant between YHVH and the king and the people so they would be the people of YHVH. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar. Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the house of YHVH.

All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king’s palace.

by

Wednesday, 22 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures we are all reminded that as Christians, God’s people and followers, we must always strive to put our faith and trust in the Lord above all the other things, and we must not let ourselves to be swayed or distracted by the many temptations of worldly glory, ambitions and desires, all of which can lead us astray and bring us away from the path of God’s righteousness and grace. If we allow ourselves to be swayed by those temptations, we may end up falling into the path towards eternal damnation and destruction.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Apostle St. James in his exhortation to the faithful people of God, in which he told them all that they must not be so busy worrying and preparing for their plans in the world, with all their preoccupations and all the busy things they carried out to prepare for the next day, for the next week, the next month, and even for the next few years. All these things can prevent us from truly following the Lord faithfully and wholeheartedly, as they may end up dragging us down the path of the pursuit of worldly ambitions, fame and glory.

When we focus so much on our lives in this world and our desires for all sorts of worldly goods and matters, it is easy for us to get distracted and to abandon our faith in God, as we may end up putting our trust more in those worldly things and attachments that we have, such as money, wealth, possessions, worldly pleasures, glory, fame among many other things. Throughout history, it has been proven that many in the Church and among the faithful fell into the path of evil and wickedness because they gave in to those temptations, even those high in position within the Church, corrupted by the worldly desires and temptations.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Mark in which an occasion when the Lord and His group encountered a person who was driving out demons by using His Name, and the disciples complained about the person to the Lord, Who told them that they should not go against the person, or make complaints, as in the end, if the person was doing good works of the Lord, in accordance to the manner that God had done and taught us all, then all those works are equally valid and worthy, and God may have indeed called the person to do His will too, without us knowing about it.

What is significant from this event is that the Lord made it clear that salvation is truly meant for everyone, even if not necessarily those belonging to the group, as there might be cases and occasions when there are people whom not by their fault or deliberate action, not fully belonging to the group of the Lord’s followers. Back then, the disciples of the Lord must have been jealous and unwilling to let the others to have the same gifts, abilities and opportunities to do what they themselves had been entrusted to do. Essentially, the attitude and actions of the disciples were based on worldly desires and jealousy, and that was wrong.

This is therefore a reminder to each and every one of us that we should not allow all sorts of worldly temptations, our ego and pride, our desires for pleasure and for worldly things to sway our decisions and distract us in our path towards God. We must always be resolute in our efforts to resist those temptations and pressures, which are usually always ever present around us, so that we may continue to walk faithfully in God’s path and be the worthy and ever faithful bearers of God’s truth and Good News at all times. Through our lives and examples, we should always strive to proclaim the Lord to everyone whom we encounter in our journey throughout life.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Rita of Cascia, who was a great and holy woman, dedicated in her efforts to live a worthy and good life that is in accordance to the path of the Lord. St. Rita of Cascia was married at a young age to a nobleman despite her desire to join a convent and become a religious sister. Her husband was also known to be immoral and ill-tempered, but despite all that, St. Rita of Cascia lived her life with virtue and zeal for the Lord, and became an exemplary wife and mother to her children, amidst the then challenging landscape of the political and inter-familial rivalries rampant at that time.

One such dispute led to the husband of St. Rita of Cascia to be stabbed to death, and his grieving family desired that the sons of St. Rita of Cascia ought to follow in their father’s footsteps and continue the feud, avenging their father’s murder by the rival family. St. Rita of Cascia tried to dissuade her sons from committing such actions, which would only perpetua and worsen the conflict ever further. When she could not do so, she earnestly prayed to the Lord to take her own sons away from her, as that would have been better than to have them falling into eternal damnation because of the sins that they would commit otherwise.

God listened to her prayers, and eventually in short succession, her sons were taken from her through disease and other means, and this widow and mother eventually entered a monastery, continuing to live her life with great piety and dedication to God, caring for the well-being of the people around her, and showing truly great faith and commitment to God as well as genuine love for her fellow brothers and sisters. Not only that, but through her continued and ceaseless efforts, eventually she also managed to help resolve the feud between the rival families that had led to the murder of her own husband earlier on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the examples and commitment showed by St. Rita of Cascia, we can see how we can also commit ourselves so that we can continue to live worthily in the path that the Lord has shown us, by distancing ourselves from worldly ambitions and pursuits, and placing our focus in life on the Lord and on doing His will rather than pursuing glory and greatness, which as we have seen from the life of St. Rita of Cascia, to be rather pointless, meaningless and futile, and which often lead us only down the path of destruction and damnation instead of the path of righteousness and virtue.

May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey, and may He continue to bless us all, empowering us to live faithfully as His good and devout servants, proclaiming His Good News and salvation to everyone. May the Lord bless our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He guide us always in our paths through life, now and always. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 22 May 2024 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Mark 9 : 38-40

At that time, John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone who drove out demons by calling upon Your Name, and we tried to forbid him, because he does not belong to our group.”

Jesus answered, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My Name can soon after speak evil of Me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”