Holy Roman Emperors

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded first of all that God is the source of all of our lives, the One Who is the Ruler and Author of all things, the Master of all the whole Universe. He loves each and every one of us, His beloved people, Whom He has called and gathered from among all the nations, from all the ends of the earth, to come and share once again in His joy, to be reconciled to Him through forgiveness of our many sins and wickedness. God had created us all out of His pure and ever enduring love for each one of us, and He has intended to share this love with us if not for our disobedience and refusal to obey His will; which resulted in our separation from Him and the loss of grace, leading to sin and death. But God never gave up on us, and He kept on reaching out to us to help us out of our predicament and to return us all to His loving Presence.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the account of how Isaiah was called by God in a heavenly vision was told to us. Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord seated at His Temple in all His glory, attended by the Angels and surrounded by the mighty Seraphim, who forever adore Him singing the praises of His glory and power. We heard how the Lord is the King and Master over all of these mighty spiritual beings, and hence, from this account we can see how the Lord is truly the Almighty Lord and Master over all of the whole Universe, over all Creation, the One and only True God, the Lord of all. Amidst all these, we then heard how one of the Seraphim came to Isaiah, who was bowed down in fear of the great glory of God, taking the hot coal from the altar of the heavenly Temple and purified Isaiah with it.

Through this action, God was calling upon Isaiah to follow Him and to be His mouthpiece among His people, sending him to be the bearer of words and will to those whom he had been sent to, that is the people of the kingdom of Judah. He was to be God’s prophet, as the one to deliver God’s will and to make His thoughts and desires known to the people who have long erred and disobeyed the Lord. God sent Isaiah to help all those people to find their path once again back towards His love, mercy and kindness. God called on all of the people to embrace His love and mercy, to change their ways for the better, reminding them of their responsibilities and obligations as God’s beloved people to be always committed and dedicated in all things to Him, to be the bearers of God’s light and examples for all the people of all the nations.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding how a student is not greater than his or her master, and He also mentioned Beelzebul, the prince of demons at the same occasion. This was the same Beelzebul which the Pharisees had accused the Lord of colluding with in His performance of miracles and wonders among the people. What He was mentioning is that, if Beelzebul was indeed a prince of demons, far lesser in majesty, power and glory compared to God, and who as a fallen angel was created by God and is still subject under His dominion and power despite his rebellion, thus all the lesser his subordinates and lesser demons would be. He essentially told His disciples and also all of us that we should not be afraid of their power and might, which are truly insignificant against the power of God.

At the same time, the Lord was also likely criticising those Pharisees who were probably present there on their false accusation that He had performed His signs, miracles and wonders by the power of Beelzebul. It was truly a sin against God and the Holy Spirit just as the Lord mentioned in another occasion because they doubted God’s power to forgive sins through His Son, Who has clearly shown Himself to be the One Whom the prophets and messengers of God had been prophesying about. God had made known His salvation to the nations, revealing His Son to everyone, through the many miracles and wonders He had performed before them. But those Pharisees refused to listen to the Lord or believe in Him because they considered themselves better and superior than others, refusing to accept that someone else could have better knowledge of the truth and the ways of the Lord than they did.

Their pride and ego became their undoing as they hardened their hearts and minds through their pride, while their ambitions and desires led them down the slippery slope of disobedience against God, to do things that bring glory, fame and satisfaction for them, but which do not please the Lord and are actually against His commandments and laws. This is why, again we are all reminded today through these readings that the Lord our God is the one and only true God, the one and only true focus and emphasis of our lives, and we should never allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride, ego or any of the desires we have for worldly things and matters, all the temptations surrounding us which can lead us to our downfall, if we are ever to allow these things to mislead us down the path of ruin.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was born into the noble family of the Duke of Bavaria, and as a member of the royal Ottonian dynasty that has provided the Holy Roman Emperors at the time. Eventually he succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria and then after his cousin, the then Emperor Otto III died at a relatively young age without an heir, St. Henry was elected as the King of Germany after defeating several other contenders to the throne. He was also crowned as King of Italy and eventually crowned by the Pope as the Holy Roman Emperor. He developed close and good ties with the Church and the Pope, carrying his duties and responsibilities as Emperor most devotedly, helping out in the process of Church reforms and evangelisation, as contrasted to the later Holy Roman Emperors and other secular leaders who sought to aggrandise and advance their own power and ambitions, even against the Church. St. Henry was also renowned for his great personal piety and commitment to God, and for all these examples and great works he did, he inspired many people even long after he had passed away.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, what we have discussed earlier on and from the examples of the great servant of God, St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, who although powerful and mighty, remained humble and committed to glorifying God through his contributions and efforts to serve Him, let us all therefore also strive to do the same in our own lives. Let us all continue to do God’s will and obey Him in all the things He had told us to do, so that we always keep in mind His precepts and laws, and enthrone Him truly as the one and only Lord and Master over all of our lives. May God be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and deeds, in all of our good works and help us to get ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Isaiah 6 : 1-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings : two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with. They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His glory!”

At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.”

Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the Altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?”

I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each one of us are reminded that each and every one of us have been sent by God to proclaim His truth and Good News, which He has revealed to all of us, so that we may tell everyone of His great kindness and love, and of everything which He has done for our sake, in loving us and in caring for us. All of us have been blessed to be so beloved by God and to be the ones who have received His favour, and hence, we all should follow Him wholeheartedly and do our very best to honour Him and to profess our faith in Him, by our exemplary lives and actions. Through all of these we will allow more and more people to come to believe in God and His truth, and many more will come to be saved. Of course, not everyone may end up believing in Him, but this does not mean that we should not try.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of Genesis we heard of the story of how Joseph, the son of Jacob or Israel, was reunited with all of his brothers, the other sons of Jacob, as we continue on with the discourse of the story of Abraham and his descendants. Joseph, who was at that time the great Regent of all Egypt, the second most powerful person in that land after the ruler, the Pharaoh himself, recognised his brothers who came to Egypt seeking for sustenance and food, during the seven years of great famine and hardships. He tested his brothers and arranged such that they would bring to him his beloved younger brother Benjamin. Thus, that was how Joseph was reunited with his long separated brothers, which happened because of the other brothers’ jealousy that led to them selling Joseph off to the slavers that brought him to Egypt.

God was with Joseph and He guided him, made him successful and great, but he remembered who he was and how God had helped and provided for him. Hence, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and forgave all those who have sold him off to slavery and those who have caused him to experience sufferings and hardships, revealing before them all how God had protected him and been with him all the way, and how He has planned and willed all of these, that the evil intents of Joseph’s brothers had been turned into one of fortune for Joseph and his brothers, for their whole entire families. God sent Joseph into Egypt so that over there he could perform His good works among the people and save countless people and lives from destruction because of the famine and great hardships that would come upon the land.

That sending of Joseph into the land of Egypt was kind of reminiscent of what we later then heard from our Gospel passage today, in which we heard how the Lord sent forth His disciples and followers to go before Him and to do His works and ministry. He sent them all in pairs, two by two, to reach out to the many people that were in need of care and help, and through this, God had shown His most wonderful and amazing love being manifested in the flesh, in reality and truth. God was always with His disciples that even though they encountered many challenges and hardships, rejection and even persecution through many moments and occasions throughout their respective ministries, but by God’s grace all of them continued to thrive and the impact of their works and efforts helped to establish and strengthen the community of the faithful people of God, the Church.

The Lord instructed the disciples on what they should do, and told them what they ought to do if they were welcomed in a certain place or if they were rejected instead. This would indeed come to good use as the Apostles and the many other missionaries, disciples of the Lord embarked on mission works and efforts to proclaim the Good News of the Lord, His truth and salvation. There were many of those who welcomed the disciples and listened to them, following the path that they had set and becoming the followers of the Lord, as Christians. However, there were also those who refused to follow the Lord and resisted the efforts and the works of the Apostles and the many missionaries who had been sent to proclaim the Good News to them, those who persecuted the faithful and oppressed the Church of God.

That is why we are reminded this day that all of us are called to continue the works of the Apostles and the many missionaries and servants of the Lord, in doing the works and efforts of the Lord and His Church, in order to proclaim courageously the salvation of God in the midst of our communities and among the people of God, especially to those who have not yet known Him. All of us have been given the truth, the knowledge and understanding, the Wisdom of the Lord so that we may truly live our lives with faith and to be exemplary in faith, that our every actions, words and deeds may truly be a reflection of our beliefs and our confession of faith, which we have made before Him and others. If we ourselves have not truly and sincerely believed in the Lord, and lived our lives according to our Christian faith and calling, how can we then expect others to believe in Him?

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, the paramount secular ruler of Christendom during the High Middle Ages, who lived and reigned exactly a millennium ago from this day. St. Henry was renowned for his great piety and dedication to God, for his love for the Law and precepts of God and for his obedience to the Church. St. Henry spent a lot of effort and time in caring for the needs of his subjects, and all those who have been put under his dominion, and at the same time, he was also ever active in promoting the cause of the Church and that of the Christian faith, by establishing Church institutions and by giving his full support on the mission of the Church and the work of evangelisation, which saw great success in the continued growth of the Church and more and more pagans being converted to the true faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are therefore called to follow the Lord more faithfully following the great examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, and like that of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, and also the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob, who had obeyed the Lord and entrusted himself to His providence. Let us all therefore do whatever we can in order to walk ever more devoutly and with greater commitment in the presence of God, proclaiming His truth and love at all times. May God bless us all and our every good works and endeavours, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

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.”

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then YHVH sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons; till what he foretold came to pass, and YHVH’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him; set him free; the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Genesis 44 : 18-21, 23b-29 and Genesis 45 : 1-5

Judah then went forward and said, “My lord, allow your servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you are equal to Pharaoh himself. The last time you questioned your servants saying : ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord : ‘We have an aged father who had a child in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his mother’s children. And his father loves him.'”

“Then you said to us : ‘Bring him down so that I can see him for myself, if your youngest brother did not come with you, you would not be admitted to my presence.’ All this we said to our father on returning there. So when he told us to come back and buy a little food, we said : ‘We cannot go down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be admitted to the lord’s presence unless our brother is with us.'”

“Then my father said : ‘You know that my wife had two children. One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces since I have not seen him anymore. If you take this one from me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.'”

Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the presence of all those standing by and he called out, “Leave my presence, everyone!” And only his brothers were with him when Joseph made himself known to them. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh’s house.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer because they were terrified at seeing him. Joseph said, “Come closer,” and they drew nearer. “I am Joseph your brother, yes, it is me, the one you sold to the Egyptians. Now do not grieve or reproach yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to save your lives.”

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Wednesday, 13 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the works of the Lord as He revealed to us His saving grace. He has given His kindness and love to His people and give justice to them. To those who obey Him and His Laws, He gives blessings and graces, protection and help, while those who haughtily and proudly disobeyed Him, remaining in their way and state of sin, were punished and faced consequences corresponding to their sins and faults, as the Scriptures today had presented to us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord as delivered through Isaiah to the people of God in the kingdom of Judah, speaking about the proud and arrogant king of Assyria, whom God would put in his place, humiliate and remind that all of his glory and power were nothing without God’s approval and help. In order to understand the significance of these words and the passage, we have to know the circumstances during that time, when the king of Assyria came to destroy many nations and conquered many countries, including the wicked people of the kingdoms of Israel and Aram in Syria.

Back then, the king of Assyria became proud and arrogant, and thinking that he had all the power and glory in the world, that he went up against the faithful people of God in Judah and Jerusalem. King Sennacherib of Assyria brought his whole massive army to besiege Jerusalem and conquer Judah. Not only that but Sennacherib also boasted before the whole entire people of Jerusalem and Judah, their king Hezekiah, the prophet Isaiah and all assembled that he had conquered many nations and peoples, and how all of their gods and idols could not protect them against his armies, and therefore, God would not have been able to protect Judah and Jerusalem too.

Sennacherib forgot that whatever he had done, all had been made available by God, and in his moment of folly, pride and arrogance, he blasphemed against God and spoke proudly in great sin against Him. Hence, the Lord through His prophet Isaiah spoke to His people offering reassurance for them that He would be with them, and the Assyrians and their king would be humbled and defeated. The blasphemy and wickedness that king Sennacherib had publicly uttered before the Lord and all the assembled people would become his undoing, as later in the history of this Assyrian invasion, it was told that the entire Assyrian forces were wiped out by the power of God.

These are all reminders for all of us that we should not go up against God or in defying Him by following our own ways and paths. Each and every one of us should follow the truth and the path that Christ Himself, the Son of God, has shown us all through His disciples and His Church. In our Gospel passage today, that was what we heard as the Lord Jesus spoke of Himself having come from the Father, revealing to all of us mankind the truth that God has willingly shared with us, so that through that same truth, all of us may find the path and the way to eternal life and true joy in God.

Today, all of us as Christians are challenged to live our lives more worthily and faithfully as Christians, in which we can become inspiration and role model for each other. Today we have the great example of St. Henry, who was not only the Holy Roman Emperor and hence the chief secular authority throughout Christendom, but he was also a devout man and a man of God who lived his life to the best of his ability as a Christian, in helping the efforts and the works of the Church, and in his good governance of those whom the Lord had entrusted to him as the leader and guide.

St. Henry dedicated his rule to be an exemplary ruler and father figure to his people, caring for their needs and also extensively supported the works and efforts of the Church, through his various donations and support, in advancing the cause of the Lord and the Christian truths and teachings over the opposition of the often corrupt nobles and secular leaders at the time. St. Henry and his equally pious wife, who was also later canonised as St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg, were both committed Christians who served the Lord and followed Him wholeheartedly, and did their best to fulfil their Christian mission and calling in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how about us then? Are we also willing to commit and dedicate ourselves to the Lord in the same manner? By reminding ourselves of what had happened to the king of Assyria and his forces, all of us must remind ourselves not to be easily swayed and tempted by worldly desires, pursuits and attachments, and instead, strive to do our best to glorify God by our lives. Let us all be committed to true Christian discipleship and path from now on, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 11 : 25-27

At that time, Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You; because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this was Your gracious will.”

“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”