holy saints of God

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Saturday, 9 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

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

Colossians 1 : 21-23

You, yourselves, were once estranged, and opposed to God, because of your evil deeds, but now, God has reconciled you, in the human body of His Son, through His death, so that you may be without fault, holy and blameless before Him.

Only stand firm upon the foundation of your faith, and be steadfast in hope. Keep in mind the Gospel you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded by what we have heard from the Book of Ruth, our first reading today, of the faith that Ruth, a woman hailing from the country of Moab, a foreigner, had in the Lord. Ruth stayed on at the side of Naomi, her mother-in-law despite the fact that her husband and all her other immediate family had passed away. She remained faithful to the Lord and followed her mother-in-law back to the land of Israel.

And eventually she was blessed by God for her faith, and she met her future husband, Boaz as she was working in his field. She bore a son whom she called Obed, who was the father of Jesse, and who in turn was the father of David, the famous king of Israel. All of these would not have been possible without the faith which Ruth had shown to God, her dedication and commitment to her newfound faith in Him.

In this we also see how God calls the people of all the nations to come to Him and worship Him, as even among the ancestors of the king of Israel existed the faithful foreigners and pagans who turned away from the path of their own ancestors and chose to follow God’s path instead. In this we see how God loves us all, and how each and every one of us also need to love God in the same manner. That is what God intended for us, that through His Laws, we may love Him just as He had loved us first.

That is what the Lord Jesus spoke of in the Gospel passage today, when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law confronted Him and tried to argue with Him, presumably trying to trap Him in His own words, by asking Him which law is the most important one in the whole Laws and Commandments which Moses had received from God. But those people did not truly understand what God intended to do with His Law, and neither did they practice the Law in the manner He wanted them to do.

They did not understand that God’s laws are truly about love, loving God first and foremost before anything else, and then loving one another, loving our fellow men, our parents, our friends and all those whom we encounter in our lives in the same manner as we have loved God and just as how we love ourselves. Instead, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law became too preoccupied with the formalities and the less important aspects of the Law, focusing on the wrong things and mistaking the true purpose of those Laws.

They reinforced the strict commandment and observances of the Law, but all these were done to advance their own self-interests, that they might be praised for their supposed piety and obedience to the Law. They looked down on tax collectors and prostitutes, and closed the door of salvation to them, thinking that those people were sinners and were unworthy of God. Yet, the Lord Jesus rebuked them and showed them just how genuine and true is the love that those supposed sinners had shown to God.

Just like Ruth, those tax collectors, prostitutes and all those deemed as foreigners, pagans and sinners were able to show greater love, commitment and devotion to the Lord. In that, they have obeyed the Law of God to a far greater degree than what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. They have loved God, and desired the love of God, and as a result, God welcomed them, and forgave them their sins when they sincerely sought Him looking to be forgiven and committed to the change in their lives and actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to do the same as well? Are we able to change our lives in the same way? Are we able to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and love Him sincerely from our hearts? This is what we have been called to do, and what we have been reminded by the Word of God which we have heard in the Scripture passages today.

Let us all look at the examples of the holy saints, St. Louis, the holy King of France, and St. Joseph Calasanz, a holy priest and servant of God, whose feasts we celebrate today. Let us all look at the examples of these holy men who had gone before us, and see how they have dedicated their own lives to God, so that we too may be able to follow their footsteps and walk in the same path.

St. Louis, also known as King Louis IX of France, was a very famous and renowned King of France, known as a paragon of virtue and piety, devoted wholeheartedly to the service of God and to his people, being a model king and ruler, who cared greatly for the well-being of his people, both physically and spiritually. Unlike many other rulers of his time, before and after, he used his power with justice and righteousness, and did not succumb to the temptations of power to abuse that authority which God had granted him.

Instead, St. Louis devoted himself to the improvement of the lives of his subjects and people, building churches and helping to establish the institutions of the Church to bring his people closer to God, and seeking to make peace between the feuding factions among his people, to end the bitter rivalries and conflicts among them, that they might overcome their sinful past filled with wickedness, and turn wholeheartedly towards God.

In the same manner, St. Joseph Calasanz had also shown us how to become a better follower of God as St. Louis had done. St. Joseph Calasanz was remembered for his great works of charity among the poor, even establishing a congregation of the servants of God dedicated to help the poor and ministering to them in their needs. He showed his great devotion and charity to the people who were in need, and in that way, he also dedicated himself wholeheartedly to God.

He helped to establish institutions to care for homeless and neglected children, and offered places for the poor and the homeless to stay in. He helped them to get by with their worldly needs, and helped to provide jobs and work through which they were able to sustain themselves in their needs. He was also credited with bringing peace to feuding factions in the Church, just as St. Louis had done among his people.

In all these examples shown by these two holy saints, all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, are reminded that there are many things that each and every one of us can do as Christians to be good servants and followers of the Lord. We should follow their examples, and also the faith and dedication of Ruth and all those who have given themselves entirely to love and to serve the Lord.

Are we able to commit ourselves in this manner? Are we able to do more in order to serve Him? The one who decide this will be ourselves. We need to decide if we can give more to serve the Lord, to love Him with ever greater devotion and to have an ever greater and living faith in Him. Let us all therefore renew our commitment to Him, and renew our commitment to show the same love we show Him to our fellow men as well. May God bless all our endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Matthew 22 : 34-40

At that time, when the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together. One of them, a lawyer, questioned Him to test Him, “Teacher, which commandment of the Law is the greatest?”

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the most important of the commandments. The second is like it : You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and prophets are founded on these two commandments.”

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Psalm 145 : 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in YHVH their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain.

The Lord is forever faithful; He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord loves the virtuous, but He brings to ruin the way of the wicked. The Lord protects the stranger.

He sustains the widow and the orphan. The Lord will reign forever, your God, o Zion, from generation to generation. Alleluia!

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Friday, 25 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Priests)

Ruth 1 : 1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22

There was a famine in the land during the time of the Judges, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah departed with his wife and two sons, to sojourn in the country of Moab. Naomi’s husband Elimelech died. She was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth.

After living in Moab for about ten years, Mahlon and Chilion also died; and Naomi was left bereft of husband and two sons. Having heard that YHVH had come to help His people by giving them food, Naomi prepared to return home.

But Ruth clung to her. Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law returns to her people and her gods. You too, must return. Go after her.” Ruth replied, “Do not ask me to leave you. For I will go where you go and stay where you stay. Your people will be my people and your God, my God.”

Thus it was that Naomi returned from Moab with her Moabite daughter-in-law and arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest began.

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Thursday, 24 August 2017 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast day of one of the Holy Apostles, one of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord, namely St. Bartholomew the Apostle, also known as Nathanael, which we heard in the Gospel today being called by God to follow Him and to be His Apostle. And therefore, as we celebrate the feast of one of our Lord’s principal disciple, let us all recall what the Apostles had done for the sake of the Church.

The Apostles were called from diverse backgrounds and origins. Some of them were fishermen, while others were tax collectors and sinners, even some were zealots or fighters and thieves. The Apostles were called by the Lord Jesus Who called all of them and made them to become the twelve principal members of His disciples, recalling the twelve sons and tribes of the people of Israel. And they were the ones through whom God made His works in this world evident and true.

The Apostles followed the Lord Jesus and helped Him in His ministry, going ahead of the Lord to establish His presence and to prepare the people and the community for His coming. They prepared the path for the Lord and therefore they are indeed considered the pillars of the Church of God, as the invaluable foundation and key personnel involved in the establishment of God’s Church in this world. If not for their hard work and sacrifices, there would not have been the Church as we know it today.

And after the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and ascended into Heaven, for St. Bartholomew, as was for the other Apostles, he went to various countries and places to spread the words of the Gospel and introduce the Lord to all those who had not yet heard about His salvation. He went to India to preach the faith there and many souls were saved because of his works. And from India, he went on to evangelise in the kingdom of Armenia where he met his death in martyrdom.

It was told that he managed to convince many people to embrace the Christian faith, and in fact St. Bartholomew even managed to convert the king of Armenia by his teachings and efforts. It was then that St. Bartholomew met his martyrdom when the king’s brother led the enemies of the faith and took over the saints and put them to death. By his efforts he had established the foundations of the Church in many communities, and many had been saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how are all these things relevant to us? What is it that the Apostles like St. Bartholomew are able to show us? They showed us the strong devotion and commitment to the Lord, one that is often leading to the moments when they had to choose between safeguarding their own interests and serving God’s will. And they indeed chose to obey the Lord even though they knew that by doing so they had placed themselves at great risk.

All of us are called to walk in the footsteps of the Apostles, as because each of the Apostles have dedicated their whole lives to God. And all of us are the successors of the Apostles, the ones who have been passed the baton which we ought to take up in order to continue the good works of the Apostles. We are called to follow the examples of the Apostles in all that they have done, in their faith and dedication, and in everything they have given up for the sake of the Lord.

There are still a lot of work that the Church has to do, brothers and sisters in Christ. There are still plenty of opportunities in which we can contribute as members of the Church. There are still many out there who are still living in the darkness and in ignorance of God’s truth and ways. And it is by our efforts that the Church will be able to bring these brethren of ours that they will be able to find their way to the Lord and therefore together we will be worthy of Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today renew our commitment to the Lord through our actions, words and deeds. Let us rediscover that zeal which we ought to have for the Lord, that we will be able to devote ourselves in the giving of our time, our efforts and works for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of His people. Let us follow the footsteps of the Holy Apostles, St. Bartholomew and his fellow Apostles that we may advance the good cause of the Lord and bring ever more souls to the salvation in God.

St. Bartholomew, all the holy Apostles and saints of the Lord, all those who have lived worthily in God, pray for us all sinners, all of us who are still struggling daily in this world. May God be with us always and may He strengthen our faith in us, that we will always be close to Him, and may He bless us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 August 2017 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

John 1 : 45-51

At that time, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets : He is Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said of him, “Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.” Nathanael asked Him, “How do You know me?” And Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael answered, “Master, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But Jesus replied, “You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that. Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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Thursday, 24 August 2017 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o YHVH, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom; and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign, and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures, from generation to generation.

Righteous is YHVH in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Thursday, 24 August 2017 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Revelations 21 : 9b-14

And the Angel said, “Come, I am going to show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me up, in a spiritual vision, to a very high mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, from God. It shines with the glory of God, like a precious jewel, with the colour of crystal-clear jasper.

Its wall, large and high, has twelve gates; stationed at them are twelve Angels. Over the gates are written the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Three gates face the east; three gates face the north; three gates face the south and three face the west. The city wall stands on twelve foundation stones, on which are written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

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Wednesday, 23 August 2017 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures, speaking to us about the need to follow the will of God, and to do His works, for all of us have been called by God to be His workers in the plentiful and rich field of this world. This is the essence of what we have heard particularly in today’s Gospel passage, when Jesus spoke to His disciples and the people on the parable of the workers in a vineyard.

In that parable, we heard Jesus speaking about how a master of a vineyard needed workers to work in his vineyard, and therefore he went about, seeking for workers in the marketplaces and the other public places, calling the people to work in his place. In that parable, the master of the vineyard is the Lord our God, and the field or the vineyard is this world where we live in, and where the Lord is also constantly at work.

And all of the workers represent none other than each and every one of us whom God has called to be His followers and servants, to become the workers of the faith. All of us have been called to serve the Lord and to work in the rich harvest of this world, just as He Himself said on another occasion, that while the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.

Why is that so? That is because while there are indeed lots of opportunities for the works of God through His Church to be fulfilled, and then there are also many souls out there who are still trapped in the darkness of sin and in the temptations and in the preoccupations of this world, but there are not many in the Church who are willing to take up the Lord’s challenge and do what we can in order to help His good works.

Many of us are lukewarm, and many of us are not enthusiastic in living our faith life actively and with devotion. And this is not what we should be doing as Christians. As true Christians, all those who have devoted themselves to the Lord, we should be active in reaching out to others who are in need of the salvation of God and also in need for our care, compassion and love.

And at the same time, many of us have become proud with ourselves, to the point of being dismissive or even looking down on others who are in need of salvation. We become like Abimelech, the son of Gideon the Judge, who was proclaimed king of the people of Israel, after having murdered all the other sons of his father in order to secure power, glory and fame all for himself. Jotham, the only surviving son of Gideon from the massacre thus denounced him in the first reading we heard today from the Book of Judges.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not how we should conduct ourselves. We should be humble and accept the will of God and what He has planned for us. Indeed, as the Gospel passage showed us today, those workers who were called to work earlier complained against the master when they found out that those who were called to work at the last hour received the same pay as what they had received. They thought it was unfair for the master to have done so.

But the master was not being unfair, just as the Lord has called each one of us according to His plan and time, at the time of His own choosing, and all of us share the same reward, be it that we have been called to God’s salvation earlier or later. We have received the assurance and promise of life everlasting, true joy and happiness which we can find in the Lord alone.

Let us all not be proud, or be afflicted by greed in our life. Let us instead follow the example of the holy woman, St. Rose of Lima, whose feast we celebrate on this day. St. Rose of Lima is the first saint of the New World, the Americas, and was a devout lay member of the Dominican religious order. St. Rose of Lima devoted herself completely and thoroughly to the Lord, rejecting the pursuits of the world and all the temptations it offered to her.

St. Rose of Lima lived a very virtuous life filled with prayer and commitment to God, and wanted to become a nun, if not for her father’s stern opposition. St. Rose of Lima therefore devoted her whole life, until her death, as a layman member of the Dominican order, spending her time in prayer, and it was told that she even wore a crown of thorns as a reminder of the suffering and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us all commit ourselves to God in the same manner as St. Rose of Lima had done in her life. Let us thoroughly devote ourselves to God through actions, words and deeds, so that in everything we do, we will always be the workers of God’s vineyard and remain faithful to Him in all things. May St. Rose of Lima and her intercession help us on this journey towards the eternal life in God. May God bless us all. Amen.