holy women

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Sunday, 22 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday and Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 12-15

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into the whole truth.”

“He has nothing to say of Himself, but He will speak of what He hears, and He will tell you of the things to come. He will take what is Mine and make it known to you; in doing this, He will glorify Me. All that the Father has is Mine; because of this, I have just told you that the Spirit will take what is Mine, and make it known to you.”

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Sunday, 22 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday and Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 5 : 1-5

By faith we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Him we obtain this favour in which we remain and we even boast to expect the Glory of God.

Not only that, we also boast even in trials, knowing that trials produce patience, from patience comes merit, merit is the source of hope, and hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God.

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Sunday, 22 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday and Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 8 : 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

When I observe the heavens, the work of Your hands, the moon and the stars You set in their place – what is man that you be mindful of him, the Son of Man that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the Angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

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Sunday, 22 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday and Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Proverbs 8 : 22-31

YHVH created Me first, at the beginning of His works. He formed Me from of old, from eternity, even before the earth. The abyss did not exist when I was born, the springs of the sea had not gushed forth, the mountains were still not set in their place nor the hills, when I was born before He made the earth or countryside, or the first grains of the world’s dust.

I was there when He made the skies and drew the earth’s compass on the abyss, when He formed the clouds above and when the springs of the ocean emerged; when He made the sea with its limits, that it might not overflow. When He laid the foundations of the earth, I was close beside Him, the Designer of His works, and I was His daily delight, forever playing in His presence, playing throughout the world and delighting to be with humans.

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Friday, 29 April 2016 : Fifth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from our discourse yesterday, and continuing with the readings from the Holy Scriptures from yesterday, we heard again about how the Apostles were reassuring those disciples of our Lord who were not of Jewish origin, but instead, belonging to the Greeks, or the Romans and the other peoples collectively known as the Gentiles.

Even though at the earliest days of the Church, most of the faithful were Jews, but very quickly many non-Jews also came to believe in the Lord. They came to join the Church in droves in the many cities, particularly in the places where the Church was to be born and which were to be the foundations of the Universal Church in the years to come. Gentiles eventually rapidly outnumbered the Jews in the number of the faithful and the members of the Church.

Thus, as we have discussed and mentioned it yesterday, the ones among the faithful who wanted to enforce strict discipline in accordance with the laws of Moses and the laws in accordance to the Jewish tradition, namely the Pharisees who became the disciples of our Lord, their idea and argument was rejected as this unnecessarily brought burdens to those who want to believe in God.

Instead, the Apostles made it clear that many of those laws were redundant and unnecessary, and it was such as a result of many hundreds and thousands of years of modification and additions to the original Law passed down to them from Moses, and which Moses himself received from God. The extent of such modification and addition was such that the original meaning, intent and purpose of the Law was lost.

That was why Jesus came into the world, besides to save us, He also revealed the truth once again of His love, and how He has given the Law to help guide mankind to Him, to know of His love, and to love Him unconditionally, and do the same to their fellow brethren, without being buried underneath layers after layers of protocols and difficult commitments.

And thus, it comes now to our responsibility and the task waiting ahead of us, as the Lord has laid it Himself for us. The works of the Apostles are not done, and these have been continuing since the days when the Apostles still walked about and roamed around the earth. But the works of evangelisation, the conversion of sinners, and calling people to the presence of God still continue even to this day, and on the days to come, and the task is placed squarely on our shoulders.

There are still many people who await God’s salvation, and there are still many more souls who are waiting for God’s love and mercy, as well as His forgiveness and blessings. There are many who through our works and commitments to helping them, can find their way out of the darkness of the world and into the light of our God, but all these will require us to stand up and be courageous to take up our crosses, the commitments we have as members of God’s Church.

Today we celebrate the feast day of a great woman and a great saint, St. Catherine of Siena, well renowned since her days and even unto today, for her great zeal and piety, and for her many works in bringing mankind and many souls to salvation in God. St. Catherine of Siena was a member of the Dominican religious order, and she together with St. Francis of Assisi are the patron saints of Italy.

She encountered many visions of our Lord Jesus Christ, which propelled her to commit herself to even more good works among the people of God, through prayers and charity, giving away alms and charity to the poor, the sick and the dying, sometimes even causing annoyance to her own family. But St. Catherine of Siena never stopped doing what she thought was right in the sight of God, and indeed, she helped many on their way to God.

She travelled through many places and helped to inspire many people to follow her example, helping others on their way to Christ, and helped to rejuvenate the faith among the people who have fallen along the way and became lost in the darkness of the world. And ultimately, in her most well-known work, she even managed to push and persuade the Pope himself, who was then in a self-exile in the city of Avignon, away from Rome, to return to the city and the place where he should have been, Rome itself.

The many works of St. Catherine of Siena, and her tireless commitments to the people of God, in bringing about salvation of God to them should become our inspiration, and we should walk in her footsteps. Today therefore, let us pray and let us commit ourselves anew to God, and let us all be ever better disciples of our Lord, finding ways to devote ourselves in love to our brethren around us, and of course to the Lord as well, giving all of our heart’s attention to Him. God bless us all in our endeavours and may He always be with us. Amen.

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Friday, 29 April 2016 : Fifth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 12-17

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, “This is My commandment : Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are My friends, if you do what I command you.”

“I shall not call you servants anymore, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learnt from My Father.”

“You did not choose Me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you. This is My command, that you love one another.”

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Friday, 29 April 2016 : Fifth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 56 : 8-9, 10-12

My heart is steadfast, o God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul, awake, o harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, o Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praise to You among the nations. For Your love reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness, to the clouds. Be exalted, o God, above the heavens! Let Your Glory be over all the earth!

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Friday, 29 April 2016 : Fifth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 15 : 22-31

Then the Apostles and elders together with the whole Church decided to choose representatives from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. These were Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers. They took with them the following letter :

“Greetings from the Apostles and elders, your brothers, to the believers of non-Jewish birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We have heard that some persons from among us have worried you with their discussions and troubled your peace of mind. They were not appointed by us.”

“But now, it has seemed right to us in an assembly, to choose representatives and to send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. We send you then Judas and Silas who themselves will give you these instructions by word of mouth.”

“We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided not to put any other burden on you except what is necessary : You are to abstain from blood from the meat of strangled animals and from prohibited marriages. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

After saying goodbye, the messengers went to Antioch, where they assembled the community and handed them the letter. When they read the news, all were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.

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Wednesday, 9 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Sacred Scriptures speak to us about the affirmation of God’s love and devotion to us, and how He cares for us and wanted us to be loved and to be saved from eternal damnation, by bringing us all out of the darkness and into the light, out of wickedness and into righteousness and justice.

He spoke the truth and had shown us the truth through the sending of His own Son, Jesus, into the world, that all those who believe in Him, the Son of God, may believe in the Father also Who had sent His Son, so that we may be saved. Remember the passage, that God so loved the world, that He sent us His only Son, so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but have eternal life? That is exactly what I meant.

He does not desire our destruction or our damnation to hell, although many of us might have think so. As the Scripture says, He does not take pleasure in seeing the suffering of His children, His people, and His beloved ones. And this is why He showed His love in such a way, that He gave us nothing less than the perfect gift of His own Son, to be our Redeemer through even His own suffering and death.

Therefore, as we embark and continue through this season of Lent, it is important for us to take note of this truth and make use of the many opportunities which He had given us, so that we may accept His rich offerings of mercy and forgiveness, and turn back to Him with all of our strength and with all of our hearts. God does not want our destruction, but if we continue in our path in this world as we have often done, then we are risking our downfall and damnation.

If God has shown us such love and tender care, then why should we ignore Him or even reject Him and all the love He had shown us? We have nothing to lose from following God and being obedient to Him, although many of us are easily tempted by the temptations of this world, which Satan and his allies are trying to push onto us, so that we may not be saved and instead fall into sin.

Sin is our great enemy, and it is a great obstacle for all of us who are trying to reach out to God and to His salvation. It is the chains that keep us bound and separated from the love of God. If we want to be freed from this chain, then all of us ought to commit ourselves to change our ways and cast away all of our wicked ways, and find the way to salvation by doing what God had taught us to do, to obey all of His laws and commandments.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Frances of Rome, a woman religious, who devoted herself completely to the service of the Lord. She committed herself to a life of devotion and service to the people of God. Even though she was born to the rich and aristocratic class, but after her husband passed away, she devoted herself to a life of service for the poor, the destitute and the dying.

She allowed her own house to become a hospital for the sick and the dying, opening her doors for those who are suffering and the poor who did not have anyone who cared for them. She experienced many ridicule and challenges throughout the course of her work and dedication, and she faced them all with faith and commitment that all of us can indeed be inspired with. She continued to work hard regardless, and did her best to love those whom had been unloved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, looking at the examples of St. Frances of Rome, all of us should also spend our time during this season of Lent to devote our time to serve the poor, the less fortunate, and help all those who have not been so blessed as we are. We should keep in mind those who are suffering, and do all that we can to help them, and to love them just as God had loved all of us.

Let us all imitate our Lord and His glorious saints, and let us love one another just as He had loved us. Let us reject all forms of sins and wickedness, and commit ourselves to a life of righteousness and justice. God bless us all and be with us always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 March 2016 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 17-30

At that time, Jesus replied to the Jews, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made Himself equal with God, calling God His own Father.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show Him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.”

“As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for He has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and He wants all to honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father Who sent Him.”

“Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in Himself, and He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has empowered Him as well to carry out Judgment, for He is Son of Man.”

“Do not be surprised at this : the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear My voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. I can do nothing of Myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.”