holy virgins

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Thursday, 11 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are called to turn away from our sins and our wickedness, and once again face the Lord with faith. All of us should do what we can to distance ourselves from the sinful things present in our world today, and resist the temptations to commit such sins and other deplorable actions that are unbecoming and unworthy of us being Christians, God’s own beloved people and children. God also willingly extends to us His forgiveness and grace, but it is really up to us to accept His mercy and forgiveness, and commit ourselves to a new life free from evil and sin.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, we heard of the Lord telling Ezekiel to do His will, in proclaiming His message to the exiles of Israel in Babylon, regarding the fate of their homeland, Judah and Jerusalem, which at that time was in the last days of their existence. Ezekiel and the other exiles were among those whom the Babylonians had brought to exile in that region in an earlier attack on Judah, and back then, the other king that the Babylonians installed on the throne of Judah was rebelling against them, and therefore, the Babylonians came to besiege Jerusalem once again.

The Lord revealed all that those in Judah and Jerusalem would experience, all because of their disobedience, wickedness and sins. The people of Judah had depended on themselves and on worldly powers, on pagan idols and gods rather than on the Lord their God. All these despite whatever God had done for them and their ancestors for a very long time, in taking good care of them and their needs, in protecting them and providing for them. The Lord has been very patient in showing His people His love and kindness, but the people often refused to listen to Him, rejected Him and His offer of kindness and mercy, His compassion and patience in loving them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard about the parable that the Lord spoke to His disciples regarding the servant who was forgiven from his debts and then refusing to forgive another fellow servant the debt that this fellow servant had owned him. The Lord used this parable to highlight first of all, the nature of the Lord’s kindness and mercy, His generosity and love, in His willingness to forgive us all our sins and wickedness, in His desire to reach out to us and to find the way for us to return to Him. The Lord used this parable to also highlight to us the need for us to forgive one another our sins and mistakes to each other, just as God Himself has forgiven us ours.

Related to what we have heard in our first reading today, the Lord has forgiven His people time and time again, as He continued to reach out to them ceaselessly, sending out messengers, servants and prophets to help guide His people on their way back towards Him. He patiently waited on them, hoping that they would repent from their many sins and wickedness, and He called on all of them to turn back towards Him with faith. Although their sins were many and uncountable, but when the people willingly and genuinely wanted to be reconciled with Him, their prayers and petitions would be heard, just as in the parable the master forgave the massive debt of the ungrateful servant.

However, more often than not the people of God had not appreciated or understood the depth of God’s love and mercy for them. The Lord had always been faithful to the Covenant which He had made and established with His people and their descendants, but the people were ungrateful like that of the ungrateful servant in the parable. The ungrateful servant did not follow his master’s example, and chose to persecute one of his fellow servants who owed him a debt much smaller than what he himself had owed his master, much as the people of God chose to walk their own path and lived in wicked ways after the Lord had repeatedly forgiven them their sins.

Today, all of us are therefore called to turn back towards the Lord and reorientate ourselves and our lives once again towards Him. And each and every one of us can do well to follow the example of our holy predecessors that we may better know how we should walk in our path of life, that we do not end up falling down the wrong paths that those people in the past had done. Today in particular, we celebrate the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, one of the early members of the Franciscan religious movement, as a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans. St. Clare was the founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic order founded upon the Franciscan charism and way of life.

St. Clare devoted herself to God from an early age, dedicating herself to pious works and charitable actions from her youth. She was born from a rich and noble family, but she endeavoured to leave everything behind to follow the Lord after encountering St. Francis of Assisi and listening to his sermons. St. Clare left everything behind and her family, and despite her father’s attempt to force her to return home, St. Clare persisted and remained firm in her conviction, and eventually continued with her calling and religious life, establishing the Order of Poor Ladies as mentioned and led her community with great dedication and faith.

It was also told that in one occasion, during the time when tumultuous conflicts caused war and much devastation to ravage throughout the land, in what is now the Italian peninsula, an invading army of the Holy Roman Emperor came to the town and the monastery that St. Clare was living in, and ransacked the town before heading to the monastery itself to do the same as well. According to the same tradition, St. Clare defended the monastery, praying before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and holding up the monstrance containing the Real Presence of the Lord when the soldiers came into the monastery, when a great blinding light terrified the soldiers so much that they immediately retreated and left the town in haste.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the story of St. Clare’s examples and life we can clearly see how God was always with those who are faithful to Him, and how each one of us should live our lives in the manner that St. Clare had done, in being committed to God in all things we say and do. Each and every one of us should do whatever we can to glorify God by our lives and to remain faithful to Him, and to the Covenant which He had generously made with us all. May God be with us always and may He empower us to live ever more devoutly in His presence, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 21 – Matthew 19 : 1

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”

“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!'”

“His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he has paid all his debt. Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord.”

“Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.”

Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.” When Jesus had finished these sayings, He left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.

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Thursday, 11 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 77 : 56-57, 58-59, 61-62

But they challenged and rebelled against God the Most High, and disobeyed His decrees. They were unfaithful, like their ancestors, deceitful and crooked, as a twisted bow.

They angered Him with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols. Filled with wrath, God rejected Israel.

He lead His glory into captivity, His Ark, into the hand of the enemy. He gave His people over to the sword, so furious was He at His inheritance.

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Thursday, 11 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 12 : 1-12

This word of YHVH came to me, “Son of man, you live in the midst of a house of rebels : they have eyes for seeing but do not see; they have ears for hearing but do not hear; for they are a house of rebels. Because of this, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage in their sight, as an exile does; and go as an exile, to another place, in their sight. Would that they might understand, because they are a house of rebels.”

“You will gather your things, an exile’s baggage, by day, to be seen by them; and you will leave in the evening, as for a departure of deportees. While they look on, dig a hole in the wall and leave from there. As they look on, shoulder your baggage and leave in the dark. Veil your face and do not look at the land, for I have made you a sign for Israel.”

I did as I was ordered, gathering my things by day, an exile’s baggage, and, in the evening, I made a hole in the wall with my hand. I left in the dark, in their presence, shouldering my baggage. In the morning, the word of YHVH came to me : “Son of man, did not the Israelites, these rebels, ask you, ‘What are you doing there?’ Answer them on behalf of YHVH : This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites remaining in the city.”

“Say, ‘I am a sign for you,’ for what I have done will happen to them : They will be deported, exiled. The prince among them shall shoulder his baggage in the dark and depart. They will dig a hole in the wall to let him leave by it. He will cover his face because he must not see the land with his eyes.”

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Tuesday, 9 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, listening to the words of God, all of us are called to listen to the Lord calling on each one of us to follow and obey Him, to do His will and to embrace His calling and also the mission He has entrusted to us. Each one of us as Christians have been given the opportunities as well as the responsibilities to be examples for one another, to lead more and more people towards God and His truth, and to bring ourselves ever closer to Him and His salvation. All of us should also humble ourselves and be willing to embrace God wholeheartedly, and be willing to listen to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which God spoke to Ezekiel regarding what He was sending him to do among the Israelites in exile in the land of Babylon. The Lord gave Ezekiel a scroll in the vision, and the prophet ate it, symbolising his willingness to walk in the path of God, and how he was willing to let God guide him in what he was called to do. As God’s prophet, Ezekiel would go on to do great deeds among the people, and he continued to labour hard among the Israelites in exile, calling on them to abandon their sinful way of life, which had led to their downfall in the first place.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples, telling them that unless they become like little children, with regards to their faith, they cannot truly enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and they will not be able to truly appreciate what it really means to be a disciple of the Lord. And He calls on them to welcome young children, as otherwise, if they do not do so, then they are not welcoming Him into their presence either. Through this, the Lord wanted to highlight that in order for Him to lead us down the right path, often we need to open our hearts and minds, to be humble and to be willing to let God guide us in our path.

That is because for us to be welcoming to children in our midst, we have to first learn to listen and to communicate, understanding them and their needs. Otherwise, we will find that it is very difficult for us to engage with the children meaningfully and successfully. One must be humble and be willing to communicate sincerely, and not to impose a judgmental and superior attitude vis-a-vis the children, which in fact is one of the reasons why people fail to connect with the younger generation. Many of us are often burdened with the burden of pride and arrogance, thinking that we know it better and hence, we cannot engage in truly meaningful interaction and conversation with others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through today’s readings, all of us are reminded that as Christians, each and every one of us are called to be witnesses of our Lord’s salvation, His truth and Good News. All of us ought to do our very best in whatever capacity and opportunities that we are in, so that we may help to lead others to God and so that they may find their way back to Him. In the same Gospel passage, the Lord also mentioned how He loves us all and how He would go all the way to rescue His lost sheep, through His story of a shepherd who had one lost sheep among the flock of his hundred sheep.

Just as the shepherd went out all his way just to find that lost sheep, so the Lord Himself has also done the same for our sake, reaching out to us and calling on us to return to Him. He patiently called on us, waited for us to change our hearts and minds, giving reminders after reminders, and assistance along the way so that we may find our way to Him. All of us who have known the Lord and received the promise of His salvation therefore are called to be the witnesses of this truth and promise, and do our very best to evangelise and to do what we can in glorifying God by our lives, and by living a humble, virtuous and good Christian way of life.

Today, we all can and should seek the inspiration from one of our holy predecessors, namely that of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also better known by her name of St. Edith Stein. St. Edith Stein was a Jewish convert to the Christian faith in the early twentieth century, who was drawn by the Catholic faith and decided to be baptised, and was also eventually desiring to be a religious nun, joining the Discalced Carmelite community. She led a devout and virtuous life as a member of the Discalced Carmelites, in the midst of the great hardships which the Church and also the people of Jewish descent faced back then during the intense persecution by the Nazi German regime.

Her faith grew even deeper through the hardships and challenges, and she entrusted herself to her Lord and Saviour. Through the bitterness and hardships of war, St. Edith Stein and many other of the faithful and the martyrs continued to show inspiration and strength for others who were also suffering back then, and for those who lived after her time, and gained inspiration from her patient faith and commitment to God. She was eventually martyred for her faith and commitment to God, when the NAZI regime persecuted and murdered her for the opposition that the Church took against the wicked actions that it had done in Germany and other places.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to follow the path that our holy predecessors had set before us. Let us all humble ourselves before the Lord and do whatever we can to live our lives ever more faithfully in God’s presence, defending His truth and committing ourselves to be witnesses of His truth and love to more and more of our fellow brothers and sisters, and all those whom we encounter in our lives and missions. May God be with us all and may He continue to strengthen us with the resolve to live our lives ever with the commitment as good and devout Christians, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10, 12-14

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in My Name, receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father. What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it, than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”

“It is the same with your Father in heaven. Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.”

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Tuesday, 9 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 118 : 14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

Your laws are my delight, my counsellors who uphold me.

Your law is more precious to me than heaps of silver and gold.

How sweet are Your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Your statutes are my heritage forever, they are the joy of my heart.

I gasp in ardent yearning for Your commandments that I love.

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Tuesday, 9 August 2022 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Ezekiel 2 : 8 – Ezekiel 3 : 4

God said to Ezekiel, “Listen then, son of man, to what I say, and do not be a rebel among rebels. Open your mouth and take in what I am about to say.”

I looked and saw a hand stretched out in front of me holding a scroll. He unrolled it before me; on both sides were written lamentations, groaning and woes. He said to me, “Son of man, eat what is given to you. Eat this scroll and then go; speak to the people of Israel.”

I opened my mouth and He made me eat the scroll; and then He said to me, “Eat and fill yourself with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate it; and it tasted as sweet as honey. He said, “Son of man, go to the Israelites; speak to them with My words.”

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Wednesday, 6 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the words of the Lord reminding us to distance ourselves from sin and evil, and to embrace His path, and to do what He has called us to do. Each and every one of us are called to be missionaries of our faith and witnesses of God’s truth and love to our fellow men. What we have heard in our Scripture readings today remind us that we are all called to holiness and to be committed to our Christian living and faith, in each and every opportunities and moments provided to us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Hosea, who ministered to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel during the last years of its existence. The prophet Hosea came to bring forth the word of God to those people who had rejected Him for so many years, refusing to listen to the advice and words of the prophets who had been sent to them to remind them and help them on their way, in rejecting the kindness and compassion that the Lord had extended to them for a long time, all the patience that He had shown them. Hence, through Hosea and other prophets, the Lord made it known that the kingdom of Israel would be crushed and destroyed.

The pride and haughtiness of the kings of Israel in Samaria and the unfaithfulness of the people would become their undoing, and their wickedness and disobedience would lead to them being uprooted from their lands, crushed and conquered by other nations, scattered and exiled to far-off lands. But at the same time, as we heard from the same passage, God still did not give up on them, and still yet called on them to return to Him, to abandon their stubborn attitudes and wicked actions, and called on them all to follow Him once again and heed His ways. He wanted them all to be saved, and to be reconciled to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard the Lord Jesus and His calling of the Twelve Apostles, as He called on each one of them to be the chief ones among His disciples and followers. Each one of them were called from different places and they had different backgrounds and origins, but all of them were called with a mission, to be the ones through Whom God would perform and continue His many good works among the people, and to establish and allow His Church in this worlds to grow and flourish. They were all imperfect men and people with issues and troubles, whom God called to a new existence and holy life, and gave them the strength and guidance to do so.

Through the calling of the Apostles and the other disciples, whom the Lord commanded with the mission to reach out to all the peoples and to preach to them the Good News of salvation and eternal life, the Lord wanted each and every one of us to be active in contributing to the missions and works of the Church. We are all called to be exemplary in our way of life so that by our actions and deeds, we may inspire others all around us to follow our examples and to believe in God as well. Unless we devote ourselves to God wholeheartedly, and live to the best of our abilities to be virtuous in all things, we cannot then truly call ourselves as Christians.

Today all of us should heed the good examples set by St. Maria Goretti, the renowned saint and martyr, who died in her youth in the defence of her purity and faith. St. Maria Goretti was a martyr of purity and she dedicated her life to the Lord through prayer and devotions from a very young age. It was then that one of the tenants who stayed with St. Maria Goretti, whose young teenage son named Alessandro was enamoured with her and in one occasion when he was alone with her, the teenage Alessandro made advances on St. Maria Goretti and tried to rape her. St. Maria Goretti refused persistently and that made the young man angry, and he stabbed her several times before fleeing.

As she was dying, St. Maria Goretti told her mother and others than she forgave her assailant and prayed for him. Alessandro was arrested and imprisoned, and it was told that St. Maria Goretti appeared to him in prison in one occasion, and all that helped the young man to turn over a new leaf. Ever since henceforth, Alessandro, the one who had given in to his desires and killed St. Maria Goretti, resolved to live his life righteously and spent his life in constant penance and in striving for a more holy life and existence, seeking for forgiveness from the martyr’s mother and doing good works for the Church and the community. He eventually lived long enough to see St. Maria Goretti raised to the glory of the Altar in her canonisation as a saint.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today having heard from the Scriptures and from the lives of St. Maria Goretti and Alessandro, her murderer, and how he turned over a new leaf in life, all of us are called to be good Christians, in abandoning and rejecting our sinful way of life, our past wickedness and disobedience, and embrace God, His love, compassion and mercy from now on. Let us all also not be stubborn anymore but instead do our best to proclaim the Good News of God through our lives and examples. May the Lord be with us all and may He give us the strength and the courage to follow Him from day to day, and to give our best in our mission as part of His Church, always and evermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 10 : 1-7

At that time, Jesus called His Twelve disciples to Him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve Apostles : first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray Him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instruction : “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near.”