holy saints of God

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Friday, 26 May 2017 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 18 : 9-18

One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are Mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.

When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the court. And they accused him, “This man tries to persuade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”

Paul was about to speak in his own defence when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your complaint. But since this is a quarrel about teachings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it yourselves : I refuse to judge such matters.”

Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it. Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

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Monday, 22 May 2017 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are all reminded that as Christians, all of us must remain united with the Lord, and we cannot be separated from Him in our faith. We must remain truly and firmly rooted in Him, the One and only True Vine, out of which all truth and graces come from. If we are separated from Him, we shall perish.

That is the fundamental truth which all of us Christians must be aware of, that we have to cling to the truth which the Lord had revealed to us, and He has established a vessel through which all of these can be done, namely through the Church He had founded upon the foundation of the Apostle St. Peter and with the assistance of the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord.

It is through the Church that God had done many of His wonderful works in this world, even though He no longer physically walks among us in this world as He had done at the time when He was still with His Apostles and disciples prior to His Ascension into heaven. Yet, God Who ascended in glory to heaven never left behind His Church and His people, and He is always ever with them through good times and bad times alike.

And as Jesus mentioned in the Gospel today, the world needs to know about our Lord Jesus, about the love which He had shown His Father, our Father and Creator. For Jesus is the Son of God, Who had assumed the flesh of mankind, that by sharing in our humanity, He might show all of us the meaning of true faith and devotion to God, the meaning of perfect obedience and submission to the will of God.

That is the mission which Jesus our Lord had given to His Apostles and disciples, as He entrusted it to them before He ascended in His glory to heaven. This is the primary mission of the Church, the salvation of all souls, that all may be freed from the darkness of their sins and wickedness, and come into the light of the Lord. It is important for us to remember this as we are all parts of the Church, and as the members of God’s Church we have our responsibilities and obligations.

We cannot overlook or ignore this obligation, as without us, then who will be the ones to bear forth the word of God and tell the world of His salvation? It was because of the Apostles and their dedication to their given mission, which had brought about the birth and the growth of the Church. They have laboured hard for the propagation of the Good News of God’s salvation, and many had been saved through them.

In the same manner, many of the holy saints and devout servants of God throughout the ages and history have dedicated themselves, their lives and their efforts in the good works of the Lord, bringing salvation upon many souls, not least of all, the saint whose memory we remember today, namely St. Rita of Cascia. St. Rita of Cascia was a holy religious, an Italian widower, who was renowned for her great piety in life.

And she was also a devoted wife and mother, who was known to persuade her husband to get rid of his violent and abusive lifestyle, often getting into conflict with rival families and groups. Unfortunately, it ended with him being murdered by his enemies, leaving St. Rita of Cascia a widow and her children without a father. During those turbulent times, where rivalry and vengeance were common, St. Rita of Cascia strongly dissuaded her children from seeking vengeance.

As it was inevitable that her children would end up committing sins by the blood feud and vengeance that her larger family plotted, it was told that St. Rita of Cascia begged in her prayers before the Lord, that her sons should be spared the fate of eternal damnation, by calling them up to heaven early. It was told that, precisely that was what the Lord granted to her, by their death through dysentery in the same year.

After that, she joined the monastery, but the nuns feared her husband’s families’ feuding that would affect the community. As a result, she was allowed to join on a condition that she should help to resolve the bloody feud among the noble families. St. Rita of Cascia managed to do just that, through her hard work she made it possible for the feuding families and nobles to be reconciled with each other and ceased all forms of hostilities.

The examples of St. Rita of Cascia, her great piety and devotion to the Lord, her exemplary lifestyle and commitment to her faith should be inspiration to all of us. All of us should be more and more inspired to follow in her footsteps, in how we ought to live our faith life, and therefore, fulfilling our obligations as the members of the Church, as I mentioned earlier in this homily, to bring the people of God closer to God, and get them out of the darkness and into the light, through our actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all pray that the Lord will give us strength, courage and commitment, so that we will be able to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, the holy saints and martyrs, especially the holy woman, St. Rita of Cascia, so that by our good works and deeds, we may bring more and more souls towards the salvation in God. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 22 May 2017 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
John 15 : 26 – John 16 : 4a

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “From now on the Helper, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.”

“Peace be with you! I give you My peace; not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not be troubled; do not be afraid. You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, but I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would be glad that I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

“I have told you this now before it takes place, so that when it does happen you may believe. It is very little what I may still tell you, for the prince of this world is at hand, although there is nothing in Me that he can claim. But see, the world must know that I love the Father, and that I do what the Father has taught Me to do. Come now, let us go.”

“I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit. You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you.”

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Monday, 22 May 2017 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints! Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance to praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips; this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Monday, 22 May 2017 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 16 : 11-15

So we put out to sea from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace Island, and the next day to Neapolis. From there we went inland to Philippi, the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. We spent some days in that city.

On the sabbath we went outside the city gate to the bank of the river where we thought the Jews would gather to pray. We sat down and began speaking to the women who were gathering there. One of them was a God-fearing woman named Lydia from Thyatira City, a dealer in purple cloth.

As she listened, the Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. After she had been baptised together with her household, she invited us to her house, “If you think I am faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us to accept her invitation.

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Friday, 12 May 2017 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs and St. Pancras, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded that if we follow the Lord our God, even though on our life’s journey we will encounter, and indeed, had encountered many forms of tribulations, sufferings and troubles, all the challenges we have to face, but in the end of it all, God will reward us with His everlasting grace and love.

This is the promise which God Himself had made through His Son Jesus, Who revealed the perfect love of God to all of us. He has revealed that all of those who are faithful to Him, remain faithful and true to Him despite the temptations and the challenges from the world, will be rewarded, and places have been prepared for all of them in the glorious heaven.

This is why we believe that saints and holy martyrs are present, and they are with God, praying for our sake. For it is this belief in the resurrection from the dead, and the hope of a glorious everlasting life with God, in the bliss of heavenly glory and joy, that make us to have faith in God and believe in Him, because of the saints and martyrs that had preceded us, all those who had to even give their lives for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.

If they had not believed in the glory in the life that was to come to them, then it would indeed have been foolish for them to die as they had done, or to suffer as they have suffered. Yet, those faithful people continued to believe in God, and resisted the efforts by those who wanted them to abandon their faith in the Lord Jesus. That is because they believed in the promise of God, which is indeed not just a mere promise, but already a reality in waiting for those who keep their faith in Him.

That is what the holy martyrs whose memory we celebrate today had done in their lives. St. Nereus and St. Achilleus were martyrs of the early Church, among the earliest of the known martyrs, who lived during the years, as told by the tradition of the Church, of the Roman Emperor Domitian, who was known to persecute the Church and the faithful. And at that time, being a Christian meant difficulties, challenges, and they could even be arrested for being known as Christians.

Yet, St. Nereus and St. Achilleus were among those Christians who did not let the difficulties of the time to hamper their zeal and devotion to the Lord, as many other martyrs had also done. And when the other saint, St. Pancras or St. Pancratius, who lived during the years of the great persecution under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, was found out to be a Christian, he did not give up his faith, despite all that the enemies of the faith were trying to do in order to subvert them.

For example, when the Roman Emperor Diocletian tried to persuade St. Pancras to abandon his faith in the Lord, as he was impressed with his wisdom and intellect, St. Pancras refused to do so, even when he was offered good life and safe conduct by the Emperor, in exchange for his abandonment of the Lord and the Church. St. Pancras would rather choose to suffer and to perish rather than to follow what the world wanted him to do, because he had faith in the Lord and His promise.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now the question comes to us. Do we believe in God and in His teachings? Do we truly believe what He had promised all of us who are faithful to Him? Do we really believe in all that we have come to believe through the Church? If our answers to all of these are yes, then we must remember the examples of our predecessors, the holy saints and martyrs in particular, in how they lived their lives and also in how they encountered persecution and rejection.

Let us all be inspired by their examples, and strive to follow their examples in how we lived in our lives and in how we should be faithful to the Lord. May the Lord also give us strength to live our faith with commitment, and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. May God empower us to become ever more devoted disciples and followers of His will. Amen.

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Friday, 12 May 2017 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs and St. Pancras, Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
John 14 : 1-6

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not be troubled! Trust in God and trust in Me! In My Father’s house there are many rooms; otherwise, I would not have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to Me, so that where I am, you also may be. Yet you know the way where I am going.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

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Friday, 12 May 2017 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs and St. Pancras, Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 2 : 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

“Behold the King I have installed, in Zion, upon My holy hill!” I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to Me : “You are My Son. This day I have begotten You.”

“Ask of Me and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall rule them with iron sceptre and shatter them as a potter’s vase.”

Now therefore, learn wisdom, o kings; be warned, o rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and fall at His feet; lest He be angry and you perish when His anger suddenly flares. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

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Friday, 12 May 2017 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs and St. Pancras, Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)
Acts 13 : 26-33

Paul said to the Jews in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, “Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent. It is a fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognise Jesus.”

“Yet in condemning Him, they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath but not understood. Even though they found no charge against Him that deserved death, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. And after they have carried out all that had been written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.”

But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days thereafter He showed Himself to those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They have now become His witnesses before the people. We ourselves announce to you this Good News : All that God promised our ancestors, He has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm : You are My Son, this day I have begotten You.”

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Wednesday, 3 May 2017 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast of not just one, but two of the Lord’s very own Twelve Apostles, namely St. Philip the Apostle, and St. James the Apostle, or St. James the Greater, to distinguish him from the other St. James, the Lesser, the half-brother and relative of the Lord. The Apostles were all those whom God had chosen to be His principal disciples, those whom He had entrusted great tasks in carrying out the Good News and its preaching to the many nations, and also as those who would lead the Church that He had established in this world.

It was told in the Acts of the Apostles that St. Philip converted the official of the Queen of the Ethiopians, who was travelling home from Jerusalem to his homeland. St. Philip taught him the truth about what the prophets, particularly that of the prophet Isaiah, had spoken out about the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of the world. He explained to him how Jesus is the Messiah and the perfect fulfilment of God’s long promised salvation for His people.

St. Philip explained with such great clarity and zeal that the official believed in him and the truth which he had heard. As a result, the official asked to be baptised as a Christian, and St. Philip agreed to do so. The official then went on his way to home, carrying the truth of God and the message of the Gospels to his own people. This was told to be the beginning of the Church and the Christian faith among the Ethiopians.

St. Philip and also St. James went to various places, from town to town, and from places to places, spreading the Good News of God to the people, preaching about the salvation in Jesus Christ among the Jews, among the Samaritans and among Gentiles, the Greeks and other foreign peoples. Many converted to the faith and believed in the Lord, having heard the testimony of the faith of the Apostles, and after having seen the miracles of God performed through them.

St. Philip went to many places, throughout what is now Greece and Turkey, helping to establish many early Christian communities in those places. St. James meanwhile was told to travel to many places throughout the Roman Empire, and ended up in Spain, then called Hispania, preaching the Gospel of Christ there and helping to establish the first foundation of the Church in that remote area of the Empire.

Both St. Philip and St. James would encounter great persecutions, rejections and sufferings during their ministries and works. St. James himself was among the first of the Apostles of the Lord to suffer martyrdom, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. St. James was arrested by king Herod, king of Galilee, who then proceeded to put him to death in order to please the Jewish leaders.

St. Philip, meanwhile, met great resistance in some of the places he went to, and eventually was put to death in the Greek city of Hierapolis by the local governor, who persecuted the Christians there and rejected the teachings of Christ. It was told that St. Philip, together with the other Apostle, St. Bartholomew, were crucified upside down, but they met their end in martyrdom with joy, knowing that God was with them all the way to the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of the holy Apostles St. Philip and St. Bartholomew should be inspiration for each one of us, in how we should live out our faith life. There are still many people out there who have not yet heard the Good News of the Lord, and still lived in the darkness of ignorance and sin. If we do not do anything, then these brethren of ours may fall into eternal damnation in hell, and surely, we should not allow such a thing to happen.

All of us should be courageous in our faith, and be strong in our commitment to the Lord as they had done. Let us all commit ourselves to God more faithfully and with more zeal and strength, as we listened to the truth and the story of the Apostles today. We have to continue the good works they have started, for the salvation of all mankind. Amen.