holy virgins

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Thursday, 15 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate a great feast of one of the most renowned and greatest saints of the Church, namely St. Teresa of Jesus, also known as St. Teresa of Avila after her birthplace, where she was born in the city of Avila in the Kingdom of Spain about five centuries ago, and she lived during one of the most turbulent times in the Church, in the midst of the raging, so-called Protestant ‘reformation’.

During that time, across the heart of Christendom, the European continent was rocked by the scandal of heresy and disobedience against the true teachings of the Lord as espoused and taught by the Church that He had established. Many people fell into the trap of their own vanity, personal desire, selfishness and the inability and blindness to the truth and reality which God wanted to reveal to all mankind through His Church.

The Church was split apart by those who have preferred to walk in the path of sin and worldliness. And on the pretext of reforming and helping the Universal Church which at that time was indeed beset with troubles and issues, they waded their own paths and radically tried to pull as many of the faithful and as many souls as possible from the path towards salvation into the myriad paths that lead to somewhere else.

St. Teresa of Jesus was one of the several holy, devoted and committed servants of God who dedicated themselves to help save all those lost souls that had gone astray from the Lord and His Church. She was one of the spearheads of the Church in what was to be known as the Counter-Reformation movement and action, where the Church went on the counteroffensive against the forces of Satan and his agents, and by ceaseless prayers, ministries and works, they managed to stem the tide of heresy and destruction, and called many souls back to God’s salvation.

St. Teresa of Jesus was renowned for her exemplary and incredible piety, the prayer life she led and the spirituality she espoused in her life was truly commendable. She grew to understand the nature of mankind’s sins and wickedness, and how these become barriers and obstacles in one’s journey to attain the salvation in God, and how there is indeed a need for us to subject ourselves to God’s mercy, repenting and changing our sinful ways.

In this, we see the wisdom of God as revealed through Jesus His Son in the Gospel today. In that Gospel passage, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in a series of woes and curses arrayed against them because of their actions and their failures in acting and behaving as those whom God had appointed to be shepherds and guides to His people.

They have not been righteous and true to their faith, and they have fallen on the path of God’s righteousness, and they became people engrossed and obsessed with their own vanity, with their own glory and greatness, and as a result, they became judgmental and oppressive upon all those who have differing views and ideas from them, including the prophets and messengers whom God had sent to remind them to stick true to the way of truth.

They thought of themselves as above the Law and as the only ones righteous and just, and because they thought that by living their lives and observing the Laws as they had done, they were pious, favoured and glorified before the Lord, but in reality, they have veered far away from the path of God and into sin, for they were too deep in their own pride and distracted by the sins.

This was just how it was during the time of the Protestant ‘reformation’, when those who have become haughty and proud in their way, forced it upon themselves and others to follow their way and their methods, disobeying the way of the Lord, and leading others into sin and wickedness. This is what St. Teresa of Jesus had worked all her life so hard in order to reverse, for the sake of the countless souls in the danger of damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to renew our commitment to the Lord in our actions and deeds, and we are all called to become less and less attached to our pride, ego and greed, and instead, grow ever stronger in our humility before God and in our love for one another. Let us be ever more committed to God and His ways, be true to the way He had shown us and commit ourselves to walk in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Jesus and the other holy saints and servants of God.

May Almighty God bless us all in all of our endeavours, and may He keep us ever in His grace, and may all of us come to realise ever more the love and compassion He wants to show us and give to us. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 11 : 47-54

At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, “A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed. So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so? They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!”

“For that reason the Wisdom of God also said : I will send prophets and Apostles and this people will kill and persecute some of them. But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all.”

“A curse is on you, teachers of the Law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering.” As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to harass Him, asking Him endless questions, setting traps to catch Him in something He might say.

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Thursday, 15 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-7a

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord, o Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.

I waited for the Lord, my soul waits, and I put my hope in His word. My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen the dawn. O Israel, hope in the Lord.

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Thursday, 15 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 3 : 21-30a

But, now it has been revealed altogether apart from the Law, as it was already foretold in the Law and the Prophets : God makes us righteous by means of faith in Jesus Christ, and this is applied to all who believe, without distinction of persons.

Because all have sinned and all fall short of the Glory of God; and all are graciously forgiven and made righteous through the redemption effected in Christ Jesus. For God has given Him to be the victim whose blood obtains us forgiveness through faith.

So God shows us how He makes us righteous. Past sins are forgiven which God overlooked till now. For now He wants to reveal His way of righteousness : how He is just and how He makes us righteous through faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our pride? It is excluded. How? Not through the Law and its observances, but through another Law which is faith.

For we hold that people are in God’s grace by faith and not because of all the things ordered by the Law. Otherwise, God would be the God of the Jews; but is He not God of pagan nations as well? Of course He is, for there is only one God and He will save by faith the circumcised Jews as well as the uncircumcised nations.

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Thursday, 1 October 2015 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of Missions (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the greatest saints of the Church, a holy and devoted woman whose name still inspires many of the faithful even unto this very day. She is St. Therese of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Therese Lisieux, a great religious and a great saint, Doctor of the Church for her many writings and contributions to the Faith, and she was made the Patroness of Christian missions throughout the world.

Who was St. Therese Lisieux? She was born from a family of devout Catholics, and Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azelie Guerin were her parents, who themselves are now on the path to sainthood due to their own personal piety and great examples of faith. It was in such a pious environment that St. Therese Lisieux was raised up in faith, and she became a good daughter of the Lord, and naturally, she felt the call to serve God early in her life.

St. Therese Lisieux inherited the great piety and faith of her parents, both of whom wanted to serve the people of God and the Church in a greater way, by joining congregations and reaching out to the less fortunate, but they were barred and prevented from doing so by the numerous challenges and circumstances of that time. Instead, it was through St. Therese Lisieux that their wishes were fulfilled.

She was often sickly in her youth, and she had lost her mother at a young age because of cancer. But this did not dim her desire to serve the Lord in greater capacities, and after one of her older sisters decided to join religious life, she too wanted to do the same, but was prevented from doing so due to her very young age. Nevertheless, she continued to devote herself strongly to the Lord.

And she overcame her problems and challenges at one time in her life, when she became resolved to serve the Lord and join the religious life as one of the Carmelites. Eventually she managed to get her request to join the Carmelites early, and from then on, she devoted everything to the Lord and to His people. And throughout her life from then on, she became a great source of inspiration to many people, through her works and writings, through her prayers and devotions.

She discovered the ‘little way’ which would be famously attributed to her, as the way to reach out to the Lord. In this way, she focused on the frailty and how small human beings are as compared to the greatness of God, and therefore, rather than trying to reach up high and to stumble because we are unable to perform great things that we are unable to do, then she advocated us all to follow the way of simplicity and humility, of complete surrender to the will of God.

St. Therese Lisieux in her many contributions to the Church and to the faithful people of God had brought about much goodness and brought salvation closer to many countless people and souls. This example that she has showed all of us, we should take heed of, and then we should try our best to emulate her as best as we can, so that we too can take part in the effort to bring all people and all souls closer to God’s salvation.

And this is aptly recalled in the Gospel today, where the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples, who argued about who should be considered as the greater or the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus made it very clear that the path of the Lord is not that of pride and of hubris and boasting, but instead, those who lowered himself and kept his humility before the Lord would receive greatness in the presence of God.

This is exactly just as what St. Therese Lisieux proposed in her ‘little way’, that is, if we want to be greater servant of our Lord and receive greater blessing and grace from the Lord, then we should lower and humble ourselves, and not to become attached to worldly things and desires. The greater is our humility, the more we are able to realise what God wants to do with our lives, and the more we can recognise what we can contribute and do for the sake of the salvation of souls.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, by heeding the examples of St. Therese Lisieux, the Little Flower of Carmel, let us all devote ourselves ever more to the Lord our God, and let us all dedicate ourselves ever more to help all those around us who need our help, especially those who have lost their way and do not know the way to go to reach out to God and His salvation.

May Almighty God be with us always, and help us to be more like St. Therese Lisieux, in piety, devotion and deeds, so that in all the things we say and do, we may bring greater glory to God, and help mankind and more souls to attain the salvation of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 1 October 2015 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of Missions (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5

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 lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in My Name receives Me.”

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Thursday, 1 October 2015 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of Missions (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 131 : 1-3

Remember David, o Lord, and all his readiness, how he swore an oath to the Lord, to the Mighty One of Jacob.

I will not enter my house nor get into my bed.

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Thursday, 1 October 2015 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patroness of Missions (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 66 : 10-14

Rejoice for Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Be glad with her, rejoice with her, all you who were in grief over her, that you may suck of the milk from her comforting breasts, that you may drink deeply from the abundance of her glory.

For this is what YHVH says : I will send her peace, overflowing like a river; and the nations’ wealth, rushing like a torrent towards her. And you will be nursed and carried in her arms and fondled upon her lap. As a son comforted by his mother, so will I comfort you.

At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice; like grass, your bones will flourish. For it shall be known that YHVH’s hand is with His servant, but His fury is upon His enemy.

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Wednesday, 12 August 2015 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how Moses looked at a glimpse of the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, the place of his death. Moses finally saw the land to where he was leading the people of Israel for forty years, the fruits of his long labours. However, he was unable to enter the Land because he had not been fully faithful, and on one occasion, he disobeyed the Lord and His will because of his anger against the people.

At that time, the people of Israel grumbled against the Lord and against Moses. They complained because they were hungry and thirsty, and they demanded what they wanted. They refused to listen to the Lord, and Moses was hard pressed by their demands. God commanded Moses to show the people of Israel His power, by speaking to the rock to let water to gush forth out of it.

However, Moses was so angered by the people he had led with much patience and hard work, and he struck the rock with his staff instead of speaking to it. Water still gushed out of the water and the people were able to drink and be satisfied. But God was not happy at Moses because of his disobedience, and as a result, together with Aaron and Miriam, his siblings, who earlier on had also rebelled against the Lord and Moses, they would not enter the Promised Land.

Yet, God who loves those who show their faith and dedication to Him showed Moses His mercy, and He allowed him to have a glimpse of the Land of Promise before he died. And when he died, God took him up to heaven to be with him. It was said by Jewish tradition that when Moses died, Satan was trying to claim him for himself, but God sent His Archangel Michael to wrestle with Satan and prevented him from getting Moses.

In the Gospel today, we heard about how Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the people on how they ought to resolve a problem that arose among them. He spoke to them how to deal with those who have not followed the commandments of God, or otherwise, living in heresy. God did not condemn them directly, or punished them directly if we noticed it. God instead gives them chance.

Yes, it does not mean that God hates sinner through and through, and once we sin we are rejected by God totally and completely. This is a misconception which many of us often have about the Lord and about sin. However, we have to take note that what the Lord despise is not the sinners themselves, but the sin which they have committed.

Thus, what God wants from us is not to punish us or to oppress us, but instead to save us from harm and liberate us from our own desires and our own wickedness. That is why He sent us Jesus to be our Saviour, to deliver us from the certainty of destruction and annihilation that await us had we remained on our path of doom, that is if we continue to live in our state of sin.

What matters is that we have to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, by humbly accepting and acknowledging our own sinfulness and weakness, that is our predisposition to sin and the wickedness that we have committed before God and men alike. We must aspire and seek to change our lives, our way of life, so that our actions are no longer based on worldly things and we no longer commit sin, but repent completely and turn ourselves perfectly to follow the Lord our God.

Today, we celebrate the feast of a saint whose life can be a great inspiration to all of us on how we live our lives. St. Jane Frances de Chantal was a noblewoman who had a normal life as were other nobility at that time, having four children in her family. However, she was widowed early because of an accident, and she eventually devoted the rest of her life to serve the Lord as a religious.

She established a religious order, Congregation of the Visitation, which was unusual among the other religious orders for women at the time, because they were very active in their works and outreach to the poor and the sick, whom they often ministered in many places, as more and more followed the examples of St. Jane Frances de Chantal and her sisters.

In her examples too, we can see the work of God in place in this world. God through her and her congregation, as well as through many other media, is trying to help all of us to liberate ourselves from the allures of this world, and from the entanglements of our sins. We too should also help in bringing one another closer to God and away from our past and present state of sin.

Let us all realise the love and mercy which God had shown us, and which we all should appreciate, because they were very great indeed. Let us all seek God’s mercy and love in all things. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, welcome us all into His kingdom and bring us into everlasting life. Amen.

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Wednesday, 12 August 2015 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Matthew 18 : 15-20

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “If your brother has sinned against you, go and point out the fault, when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother. If he does not listen to you, take with you one or two others, so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

“And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan, or a publican. I say to you : whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.”

“In like manner, I say to you : If, on earth, two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by My heavenly Father; for where two or three are gathered in My Name, I am there among them.”