holy saints

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 28 September 2014 : Gradual and Alleluia

Psalm 101 : 16-17 and Psalm 97 : 1

Timebunt gentes Nomen Tuum, Domine, et omnes reges terrae gloriam Tuam.

Response : Quoniam aedificavit Dominus Sion, et videbitur in majestate sua.

Alleluja, alleluja.

Response : Cantate Domino canticum novum : quia mirabilia fecit Dominus. Alleluja.

English translation

The gentiles shall fear Your Name, o Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.

Response : For the Lord had built up Sion, and He shall be seen in His majesty.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Response : Sing all of you to the Lord a new canticle, because the Lord had done wonderful things. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 28 September 2014 : Epistle

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians

Ephesians 3 : 13-21

Fratres : Obsecro vos, ne deficiatis in tribulationibus meis pro vobis : quae est gloria vestra. Hujus rei gratia flecto genua mea ad Patrem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ex quo omnis paternitas in caelis et in terra nominatur, ut det vobis secundum divitias gloriae suae, virtute corroborari per Spiritum ejus in interiorem hominem.

Christum habitare per fidem in cordibus vestris : in caritate radicati et fundati, ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis, quae sit latitudo et longitudo et sublimitas et profundum : scire etiam supereminentem scientiae caritatem Christi, ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei.

Ei autem, qui potens est omnia facere superabundanter, quam petimus aut intellegimus, secundum virtutem, quae operatur in nobis : ipsi gloria in Ecclesia et in Christo Jesu, in omnes generationes saeculi saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Brethren, I pray you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity, in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened by His Spirit which might unto the inward man.

That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth. To know also the charity of Christ, which surpassed all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worked in us. To Him be glory in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 28 September 2014 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Psalm 85 : 3, 5, 1

Miserere mihi, Domine, quoniam ad Te clamavi tota die : quia Tu, Domine, suavis ac mitis es, et copiosus in misericordia omnibus invocantibus Te.

Inclina, Domine, aurem Tuam mihi, et exaudi me : quoniam inops, et pauper sum ego.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Have mercy on me, o Lord, for I have cried to You all the day; for You, o Lord, are sweet and mild, and bountiful in mercy to all who call upon You.

Bow down Your ear to me, o Lord, and hear me, for I am needy and poor.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Tua nos, quaesumus, Domine, gratia semper et praeveniat et sequatur : ac bonis operibus jugiter praestet esse intentos. Per Dominum…

English translation

Let Your grace, we beseech You, o Lord, ever go before us and follow us, and may it make us to be continually zealous in doing good works. Through our Lord…

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how the world ridiculed and doubted Christ, our Lord and Saviour, having their own set of prejudices and judgments that they applied to the actions of Jesus Christ and His disciples, as we obviously can see throughout the Gospels, where the world, represented by the Pharisees and the elders of Israel, who were always opposed to the actions of our Lord.

And in the first reading today, in the letter written by St. Paul to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, St. Paul reminded the people of the three greatest virtues and fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is faith, hope and love, and that the people of God should uphold all these values in their lives and stick closely to the precepts of the Lord, abandoning all pretexts of falsehoods and evil in their hearts.

We often lack sight of what is truly important in our lives. We are often distracted by many things in our lives, to the point that we end up focusing on the things that are less important and in fact which may disrupt and distract our attention from the true treasures of our lives. These treasures are indeed faith, hope and love as mentioned, which are the greatest gifts from God to mankind.

It was mentioned by St. Paul that acts without love, faith without love, acts without faith and hope are meaningless, as shown through the example of even the possessions of the gifts and talents of the Holy Spirit are meaningless without love, and without the other virtues mentioned. This means, whatever other talents and abilities we have, if we do not use them in tandem with the virtues we ought to have, then our actions do not bring justification and benefit for ourselves.

Compare this to the popular practice in many ‘evangelical’ and ‘charismatic’ movements and ‘churches’ around the world, of which not few are in fact within our own Church, that is the practice of speaking in tongues, as if the whole congregation is suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit as per the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles.

The conduct of such activity is meaningless, although many in the world today are in awe of such an occurrence. I would say that, when they do such actions, what is first in their mind is not God or His praise, but rather themselves, as they glorified themselves by doing so, and they revel in the satisfaction of such action. But without faith and love, those actions and others are truly empty and nothing before God.

And also for the heretics who believed and indeed still believe today, that salvation can be achieved through faith alone, and that the faith constitutes what had been written in the Bible and the Scriptures alone are wrong. They failed to realise that first, faith alone is insufficient to attain salvation for our souls. Faith is nothing without hope and without love, and so neither is hope anything without faith and love, and lastly, love without hope and faith is also meaningless.

We ought to have all these three virtues working together in tandem within us, that our actions may be truly blessed and be gracious, and we ourselves justified in the eyes of the Lord. We cannot separate the three virtues of faith, hope and love without making each of them meaningless and useless, and in fact may even bring harm to ourselves and others around us.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why mankind even have so much trouble so that St. Paul had to remind even the faithful through his letter? That is because, mankind are bound and prone to their own self-glorification and self-praise, and this is also the reason for the various doubts that the people of God, and the various standards they employed against the prophets and the Lord Himself as we heard in the Gospel today.

Mankind are very difficult to please and satisfy, and even after their needs and wants have been satisfied, it is very common for us to demand even more and want even more. That is why, as Jesus mentioned, that mankind are never satisfied and they will always complained against whatever is around them, just as they had complained against Jesus our Lord Himself.

Thus, all of us should and indeed must anchor ourselves on the three great virtues of the Lord, that is faith, hope and love, which seeds have been placed in our hearts and our souls. But as mentioned, that these are just seeds. If we do nothing to cultivate the faith, hope and love in us, then we are nothing more than just an empty shell, even with all of our talents and virtues.

Why faith? That is because faith is what anchored us in the Lord, in His laws and precepts. We have faith because we believe in the Lord, and we adhere closely to Him and His ways, so that we can live according to His will, and from there gain righteousness and justification. But faith without hope and without love is meaningless, as it means a selfish faith, that is nonsense. Our faith must be complemented by care for our brethren, both through our genuine concern and love for them, practicing what we have been taught by the Lord, and also through our efforts at evangelisation to them.

And why hope? That is because hope is what keeps us going even amidst despair and darkness. And hope itself is intertwined with faith, as faith without hope is also nonsense. We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who has died for us on the cross and who has risen from the dead in glory, and through that resurrection, He brought us new hope in Himself, that is a hope of liberation from sin and the promise of eternal life. This is an integral part of our faith, and it cannot be said that we have faith if we do not believe in this hope.

And lastly, why love? That is because love is the most important of all these virtues, and ultimately is the one that makes all things good and possible. Love allows us to care for one another, and also for us to seek our God who had first shown us the example of what love truly is. Love helps us to have that focus and application for the faith and hope within us. We believe in the Lord, who is love Himself, and through whose love He had brought us to Himself. And then through hope, we have hope in Christ and His love, that He is willing to save us from death and grant us a new, eternal life.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, whose life and works clearly indicated the adherence to this teaching of Christ, in having his life and works founded on strong foundation of faith, of hope and of love. St. Robert Bellarmine was a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and one of the pillars of the defense of the Church through his active role and participation in the application of the decrees of the Ecumenical Council of Trent, in what is known as the Counter-Reformation, in the efforts against the Protestant heresy.

St. Robert Bellarmine was an intelligent and devout follower and servant of Christ, who dedicated his life in a faithful and loving service of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Robert Bellarmine wrote numerous writings and other works on the matter of the faith, and he was renowned for his great works in the defense of the true faith, condemning falsehoods and heresies and reestablished many aspects of the faith in the Church through his various works.

He rose quickly through the Church hierarchy, and eventually was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Nevertheless, he remained humble and devoted to his works, if not even more devoted and zealous in delivering the salvation of God to countless souls. Through his dedication, works and even through the power of his mind and pen, he had brought many of the faithful to be reawakened to the true faith in them, one that is not tainted by human pride and emotions as that of the heretics, and one that is lived out well through loving acts and filled with hope in the Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, following the examples of St. Robert Bellarmine and many other holy saints, today let us all reflect on these words of the Scriptures and the Holy Gospels, that we may grow stronger in our faith, grow deeper in our hope, and grow more gentle and dedicated in our love. Let us all dedicate ourselves more to the works of charity in our world and society. That we may indeed live out our faith, that our faith will not be just merely imaginary and a formality, but a real and living faith for the benefit of ourselves and all those around us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Luke 7 : 31-35

At that time, Jesus said, “What comparison can I use for this people? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain, ‘We piped you a tune and you would not dance; we sang funeral songs and you would not cry.'”

“Remember John : he did not eat bread or drink wine, and you said, ‘He has an evil spirit.’ Next came the Son of Man, eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton for food and wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But the children of Wisdom always recognise her work.”

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 32 : 2-3, 4-5, 12 and 22

Give thanks to Him on the harp and lyre, making melody and chanting praises. Amid loud shouts of joy, sing to Him a new song and play the ten-stringed harp.

For upright is the Lord’s word and worthy of trust is His work. The Lord loves justice and righteousness; the earth is full of His kindness.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people He has chosen for His inheritance. O Lord, let Your love rest upon us, even as our hope rests in You.

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

1 Corinthians 12 : 31 – 1 Corinthians 13 : 13

Be that it may, set your hearts on the most precious gifts, and I will show you a much better way.

If I could speak all the human and angelic tongues, but had no love, I would only be sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, knowing secret things with all kinds of knowledge, and had faith great enough to remove mountains, but had no love, I would be nothing.

If I gave everything I had to the poor, and even give up my body to be burnt, if I am without love, it would be of no value to me. Love is patient, kind, without envy. It is not boastful or arrogant. It is not ill-mannered nor does it seek its own interest. Love overcomes anger and forgets offenses.

It does not take delight in wrong, but rejoices in truth. Love excuses everything, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love will never end. Prophecies may cease, tongues be silent and knowledge disappear. For knowledge grasps something of the truth and prophecy as well.

And when what is perfect comes, everything imperfect will pass away. When I was a child I thought and reasoned like a child, but when I grew up, I gave up childish ways. Likewise, at present we see dimly as in a mirror, but then it shall be face to face. Now we know in part, but then I will know as I am known.

Now we have faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

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Tuesday, 16 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how Jesus healed the son of a widow from Naim, bringing him back from death into life, in which He showed to the people, the loving and merciful aspects of God, who truly loved and cared for all of us. He had pity on the mother who was sorrowful for having been left alone by her son, and brought them back into true joy and happiness in God.

And in the first reading, in the letter written by St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, about the nature of the Church of God, and how in the Church, which is in fact comprised of all of us who believe in Christ the Lord, there exist a certain hierarchy of its members, which allow the Church to function as a body, just as in our body we have various organs and parts that have distinct functions working together in order to achieve certain goals and actions.

St. Paul mentioned how each members and each people in the Church have their own distinct gifts from the Lord, also known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the Apostles and disciples themselves had received during the occasion of the Pentecost day. Everyone had been called by the Lord for a specific purpose and task, and one ought not to think proudly of himself or herself so as to assume that they can gain for themselves the entirety of the goodness and the gifts of the Lord.

Thus, the Church of God, which is centred on our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and we as the members of His Body, has a specific task in order to carry out and continue the good works which Jesus had initiated in this world, that is the works of love and mercy, as He showed through the rising of the son of the widow of Naim from the dead.

The Church of God comprised of many different people, and indeed, different groups of people, from the laity to the ordained ministers, that is the sacred priesthood and those who dedicated their lives in the service of God, and everyone else, including those of us who belong to the group of those who serve the Lord and yet also still live in this world.

And even among the priesthood, we have various roles, such as the bishops and then the priests themselves. Bishops are those who have been given a greater role in the Church, as overseers of a group of priests and the laity, and they are entrusted with the sheep of the Lord’s flock, as the shepherds, who are then led by the chief shepherds on earth, that is the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Christ in this world, the representation of the Chief Shepherd of all, Jesus Christ.

The bishops therefore lead the Church in the works of love and mercy, and are also entrusted with the supervision duty of the body of the faithful in the Church, and they are also entrusted with the management of the Church. That said, there are also many others who are also involved in the management of the Church, both among the laity, as well as those in the priesthood and the ordained ministry.

The priests serve the people of God in various means, that is by providing them a spiritual guidance and protection against the harms of the devil, and in some cases also by providing alms and charity works for them. Then, the deacons, as we heard in the New Testament, were appointed as those who would serve the people of God directly, aid in the works of charity of the Church, to aid the priests and the bishops, so that they can channel to the people of God, particularly the poorest and the weakest, the love of God through His Church.

Yet, it is sad indeed, that many today in the Church aspire to have everything in their greed and lack of faith. Many began to question their roles in the Church and some even fought in the name of what they described as equality. Therefore we have those who proposed such outrageous ideas such as the abolition of the sacred priesthood and the ordained ministry, as well as the ordination of women to the priesthood.

Those who proposed and supported such proposals failed to understand that each of us in the Church have our own unique roles which help to supplement each other and therefore, it makes the Church stronger. To go against this natural law of order would in fact mean to destroy the unity and strength of the holy Church of God and undermine its authority in this world. Every one has been given a specific and particular gift which enables us to have our own roles in the Church to carry out what the Lord had planned for us.

Brothers and sisters, today we celebrate together as the Church the feast day of two great saints, whose life will inspire us to appreciate the beauty of the order and hierarchy in the Church, namely that of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, both holy martyrs of the faith, at the time of the persecutions of the Roman Empire.

Pope St. Cornelius was the Pope and the Vicar of Christ in the middle of the third century after the birth of Christ, during the reign of the Emperor Decius, the great persecutor of the faithful. Then St. Cyprian was his contemporary, as the Bishop of Carthage and the supporter of Pope St. Cornelius’ view regarding the faithful.

The two saints lived in a difficult time, when Christians and all who believed in the Lord were persecuted heavily and when their very lives were threatened by the Roman authorities. And amidst those persecutions, there were those among the faithful who submitted to the will of the state and the Emperor, and gave offering to the pagan idols, essentially an act of apostasy, or leaving the Church of God, who should be thereafter be treated the same as the pagans.

However, some of them repented their sins and returned to the embrace of the Holy Mother Church, and were received back among the faithful as long as they were sincere in their repentance. But, there were those in the Church who were opposed to the return of these so called traitors and apostates and demanded much stricter regulations to even allow them to be readmitted into the Church.

St. Cyprian and Pope St. Cornelius were the champions of those in the Church who would allow the faithful who had gone astray to return to the Church as long as their repentance was sincere. They worked hard among the faithful and among those who had gone astray to bring them back towards the Lord and to heal them from the afflictions of their souls. The laity themselves also played their own parts and supported the works of their shepherds, while they also kept their faith alive and strong despite even great persecutions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these saints, Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, who were both eventually martyred for their faith, had showed us the model of their faith, which showed love and mercy for the least of the society, those who were rejected because of the stigma of their status as apostates and betrayer of their faith. They showed that while in the Church itself there were already many different groups of people, there would always be a space for those who realised their errors and repented for their sins.

Let us all therefore reflect on the Scripture readings of this day, and grow to find in our hearts, the role that we can play as part of the Church of God. Let us all work together to continue the good works of Christ, to bring God’s love to all the peoples, and to heal many from their afflictions, both physical, and even more importantly, to heal the spiritual aspects of many people.

May Almighty God, together with the intercession of the holy saints, Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, bless us this day and guide us, so that we may also follow in their footsteps, to serve the people of God and love one another in the Lord. God bless us all and bring us into His light. Amen.

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Monday, 4 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear in the Old Testament, about the false testimony of Hananiah, the false prophet, who claimed to represent the voice and will of God by telling sweet lies to the people to lull them into a false sense of security and laxity in their behaviour. In the Gospel, meanwhile, we heard the story of when Jesus came to the disciples in a storm at the middle of the lake, to the disbelief of the disciples.

The two stories were seemingly unrelated, but in fact they all are about how we mankind often have little faith in the Lord, and that we prefer to put our trust on earthly things that can often only provide temporary and not a lasting comfort to us. Both of them tell us how if we have little faith, we will sink and fall into the darkness, and therefore end up in agony.

The false prophet Hananiah spoke falsely about the Lord and His will, pretending that the Lord tolerated the wickedness of His people, while the truth was in fact He disdained such wickedness and debauchery among His people. For your knowledge, the time when this happened was when the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel was in the last bit of its life under king Zedekiah, destined to be the last ever king of Judah.

The power of the king of Babylon, what is now known as the Neo-Babylonian Empire under the great king Nebuchadnezzar, who brought that Empire to great prominence. This king conquered many nations, including the Assyrian Empire that had once brought the northern kingdom of Israel to its destruction. And the Neo-Babylonian Empire did not stop there, but continued to expand and seek to conquer more, and their sights came to Judah.

The kingdom of Judah at that time was little more than that of a small kingdom cowering at the power of its neighbours, particularly that of Babylon, after having put to the mercy of its power just a few years earlier when King Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city, and ransacked the Temple, bringing the king of Judah, Jehoiachin and many of the people of God to Babylon. Jehoiachin was the nephew of Zedekiah, and the penultimate king of Judah.

It is against this backdrop that the two prophets clashed to gain the trust of the people, and to gain their attention over what was to come. The prophet Jeremiah, the true prophet of God, spoke of time of trouble and destruction, as well as suffering because of the disobedience of the people of God, while the false prophet Hananiah spoke of comfort and liberation. This cannot be more different, and there is truly no way for God to give His people an entirely opposing message.

Yes, one of the message was true, and that was Jeremiah’s. It is a reminder for all of us that, while God loves us and cares for us, that does not mean our paths will be free from harm and danger. In fact, following the Lord would mean difficulties and challenges to be lined up along the path. This is like a storm that we have to face in life, the storm of troubles and challenges, much like what the disciples encountered in the Lake of Galilee that time.

Our life is truly like the boat, and it is barely floating amidst the stormy seas, which is nothing better than anything else to represent the state of our lives in this world. The prophets we heard of today are like the navigator, who tells the captain what to expect ahead on the ship’s journey. Jeremiah told the truth, that with all the challenges and temptations of the world, and by the fact that we are sinners, the journey ahead would be difficult.

The false prophet told lies about the path ahead, showing that everything would be fine and good. The earlier scenario presented by Jeremiah would have jolted every sensible and good sailor, what a terrible condition they had gotten themselves into, and therefore would prompt them to strengthen their guard to prevent themselves from sinking in the midst of the storm. And the latter scenario would have easily lulled many who would drop their guard and therefore carried greater risks of being blown apart by the winds and battered by the waves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we all be vigilant and reflective in our lives? Shall we heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah and the other prophets, that we would not lose our way in life? It is truly very easy for us to get distracted in life, by many things, including our own fear and uncertainties, our own desires and other things, which precisely are the reasons why Peter lost faith in himself and God, and ended up sinking.

We must have a firm and strong faith, based on a close and vibrant relationship with God, fostered with prayer and devotion, so that our lives, that is the ship, will be anchored strongly in God, a solid rock foundation, upon which our anchor will hold, and our ship will be able to hold even against the strongest of waves and storms. This is absolutely necessary if we are to reach our destination and not sink.

Today we celebrate the feast of a great saint, that is St. John Maria Vianney, also known as the Cure of Ars, the patron saint of all priests and all who devoted themselves in a holy life to God. This simple and holy priest lead a truly simple but very inspiring and exemplary lifestyle, deeply devoted to his calling to be a priest of God, in service of mankind and the people of God.

St. John Vianney was a parish priest, a simple parish priest, and yet he was wholly devoted to the spiritual development of his parishioners and all those who came to meet and visit him. He was also deeply in commitment to bring better life to those who have fallen into sin, committing himself to enforce a high degree of spiritual purity, and emphasized on confession for those who had committed sin in life.

His life and works were an inspiration to many, and more and more people came to know of St. John Vianney, and yet he remained humble as he was, and he continued to work hard for the sake of the faithful and for God, until the very last days of his life. His life was truly an example to all of our priests and all those who had been called to be the servants of the Lord in this world, that they ought to be equally committed and holy in life as this saint had once been.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this however does not mean that St. John Vianney should not be an inspiration to us all as well. In fact, we should also take the examples of St. John Vianney into our own lives, reflecting together with what we had received in the Holy Scriptures today. Let us strengthen our faith in God by following the inspirations and examples of St. John Vianney, that our ship of life will not sink even against the greatest of storms.

Let us all help one another, and pray for one another, that all of us will eventually find our way to the Lord, difficult as it may be, persevering against all forms of challenges and temptations in life, that are all the storms facing us. May God be with us all and bless us forever. Amen.

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Monday, 4 August 2014 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 14 : 22-36

Immediately Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You walking on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?”

As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!” They came ashore at Gennesareth. The local people recognised Jesus and spread the news throughout the region.

So they brought all the sick to Him, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.