holy women

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to be humble and to be committed to God, in the same way that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, had been humble, loving and obedient to His Father even until the very end. The examples which Christ showed us is certainly what we too can follow in our own lives, especially considering the ways that this world have shown us.

Jesus spoke to His disciples regarding how in this world, it is common to see people oppressing each other, especially those in the positions of power and influence, using their power and authority to oppress those who are weaker than them, and those who are less powerful or influential than they are. This is the norms and the customs of this world, a world where the strongest lived on, survived and the weak perished.

And that was what James and John had done, in following the norms of the world. It was just like in our societies, where servants asked for favours from their masters, subordinates asking for more glory, wealth and power from their superiors. That is the way that men thought, and that is how we often lived our lives. It is all about getting more things for ourselves, garnering more praise and attention for our deeds.

But the Lord taught us all that His way is not the way acceptable to the world, for it is indeed different. Where the world championed and glorified those who glorify themselves and seek more power for their own, the way of our Lord is simplicity, humility and selflessness. In order to follow the Lord our God and love Him with all our heart, we must learn to let go of those corrupting desires that kept us away from being able to achieve salvation in God.

Jesus Himself showed by example, as even though He is Almighty, King of all the universe and Lord and Master of all creation, but He came into our world not as a King to be served and to be feared, and instead as a servant and a humble Man, through whose humility and work, the salvation would be brought into the world. And as He has shown us the way, we too should follow Him in His actions.

And today, we celebrate not just one but three holy saints of God, whose own lives have been exemplary, and can indeed be inspirations for us to follow their lifestyle, so that we ourselves may draw ever closer to God. St. Bede the Venerable was a holy servant of God, who was renowned for his many works with regards to the Scriptures and to the teachings of the early disciples and Church fathers.

St. Bede the Venerable was an English monk renowned for his devotion to his work, in bringing the truth of God to greater discovery and understanding by those who have read and viewed his works. He translated many Latin and Greek manuscripts of the faith into English language, and through his many dedications and works, people had therefore discovered the teachings of the Church passed down to them.

Meanwhile, Pope St. Gregory VII was a great leader of the Church, a courageous and committed defender of the Church and the faith against the forces of the world trying to undermine its authority. Pope St. Gregory VII led the Church through a turbulent time in the history of the Church, where conflict peaked between the Church and the secular authority in the person of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry.

The conflict was precisely because of the conflicting interest between the Emperor and the Church of God, led by Pope St. Gregory VII. The Emperor claimed the power and authority over the Church, and at least in the territories he controlled, the Emperor claimed the authority to appoint bishops and the other leaders of the Church.

But the Church and its leader, Pope St. Gregory VII refused to bow down to the demands of the Emperor. The faithful resisted the influences and the coercion by the Emperor and his party of supporters. As a result, the clashes and the conflicts between the Church and the Emperor became ever more violent and resulted in great difficulties and challenges for the faithful servants of God.

Even Pope St. Gregory VII himself was suffering from the tribulations and challenges, and he suffered even from exile and incarceration. He died a lonely and broken man in body, but his spirit was never daunted by the challenges and the difficulties which he had encountered. And in the end, the Church triumphed and the world did not have its way.

And last of all, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was a holy and devoted woman who lived in the region now known as Tuscany in Italy a few hundred years ago. She was a mystic and a Carmelite nun, who has devoted almost her entire life to the Lord. Ever since a very young age, she has practiced meditation as shown by a tutor she engaged, and she received many visions from the Lord, telling her about many things on the matter of faith and about God’s will for the world.

And by her many accounts and works, she helped to rejuvenate the faith in the hearts of many people, and many believed because of her accounts of the Lord, all of her visions and her own piety. And even though she died early in her life, but her inspirational life continues to influence many even unto this very day. Many miracles also accompanied her tomb and her relics, showing the glory which God gives to all of His faithful ones.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after we have witnessed and heard the examples of these holy saints, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord our God following the footsteps of the holy saints. Let us all not be discouraged and be afraid to lead a faithful life filled with true commitment and love for God and His ways. Let us all be the beacons of light for this world, so that through humility and service, we may be like Jesus our Lord, in bringing righteousness upon one another and the whole world.

May God bless us all and keep us, and may He strengthen us our faith, that we may continue to persevere despite the challenges in this life. May He guard us and protect us from harm, and may He keep us in His love forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Mark 10 : 32-45

At that time, Jesus and His disciples were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and He was walking ahead. The Twelve were anxious, and those who followed were afraid. Once more Jesus took the Twelve aside to tell them what was to happen to Him.

“You see we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the foreigners, who will make fun of Him, spit on Him, scourge Him, and finally kill Him; but three days later He will rise.”

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to Him, “Master, we want You to grant us what we are going to ask of You.” And He said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They answered, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, when You come in Your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptised in the way I am baptised?” They answered, “We can.” And Jesus told them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptised in the way that I am baptised; but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant. It has been prepared for others.”

On hearing this, the other ten were angry with James and John. Jesus then called them to Him and said, “As you know, the so-called rulers of the nations act as tyrants, and their great ones oppress them. But it shall not be so among you; whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall make himself slave of all.”

“Think of the Son of Man, Who has not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

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Wednesday, 25 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests, Popes and Virgins)

1 Peter 1 : 18-25

Remember that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver but with the precious Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish. God, Who has known Christ before the world began, revealed Him to you in the last days.

Through Him, you have faith in God Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God. In obeying the truth, you have gained interior purification from which comes sincere mutual love. Love one another, then, with all your heart, since you are born again, not from mortal beings, but with enduring life, through the Word of God Who lives and remains forever.

It is written : All flesh is grass and its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. This Word is the Gospel which has been brought 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 (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate together a great solemnity and occasion, celebrating the mystery of our Lord and Master, Who is One and only One God, and yet, consisting of Three inseparable and equal Divine Persons. This is the mystery of the Holy Trinity of our God, One but Three, Three but One, equal and distinct, and united perfectly through perfect love.

This mystery is one of the most difficult aspects of our faith to be understood, as we have to realise that disagreements about the nature of our Lord and Divine Master had caused numerous divisions in the Church, with countless heresies and peoples claiming their own versions of the teachings to be correct. And most contentious of all was indeed the nature of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

Throughout history, and even until this very day today, there are many peoples and groups who ridicule us Christians, the people of God, because of our believe in the Most Holy Trinity, One God with Three Divine Godheads. They thought that we are those who believe in many gods, like the pagans do. They ridiculed us because they misunderstood our faith, and what we believe, and Who we believe in.

There were those who thought that we were committing sacrilege and blasphemy against God, especially those who refused to believe in the nature of God as a Trinity. They thought that we are committing a great sin by thinking that we have three Gods instead of just one God. But that is exactly because they have failed to understand the truth about our Lord which He Himself had revealed to the world, to us all who believe in Him.

Then I should ask all of you, each and every one of us, to reflect on the Most Holy Trinity, about what we believe in our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do we truly believe in the Most Holy Trinity? And in fact, do we mean what we always say, when we made the holy sign of the Cross? The Sign of the Cross is not just merely a symbol of victory and triumph over evil and death, but it is also the standard of the Most Holy Trinity.

When we mark ourselves with the Cross of Christ, do we feel proud of having been marked as the children and the possession of our God through the cross? Do we feel the pride of telling all that we believe in the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit? Or do we do it in secret, or out of apathy, just doing it for the sake of doing it? We can see it clearly in how we make even in such a basic gesture as making the sign of the Cross.

The belief in the Most Holy Trinity is crucial and essential part of our faith, and it is what distinguishes us from all those who believe in heretical teachings and aberrations, or from the pagans and those who rejected God and His truth. And it is important therefore that we are familiar with all of its aspects, so that if someone is to ask us about it, we will not be embarrassed, and worse, turn people away from salvation because of our failure to show the truth to them.

We do not believe in three Gods, all separate and distinct from each other. Instead, our core belief remains the same as it had been since the days of Abraham and Israel of old. We believe in one and only one God, the one God Who created all creation and all the universe. There is no other God besides Him, and all other gods, pagan or otherwise, are all false gods and idols, and in fact, even demons.

But at the same time, as Jesus our Lord and Saviour had revealed to His disciples, and from them to us, is that that one God, Supreme and Almighty, consists of three Divine Persons, or Aspects, distinct from each other, and yet remained united in a perfect harmony with each other, as the inseparable part of the whole One Divinity, the one and only True God. Without one or the other, the wholeness of the one God is not complete.

Thus, when we talk about the Father, we cannot separate Him from the Son and the Holy Spirit, or the Son from the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. To separate out any of them from the others means to diminish the Lord and the wholeness of His divinity. And when they are working, they work together as one, working in perfect harmony in all things.

When God created the world, His Holy Spirit were all around, hovering over all creations. And by His words, He has willed all thing to be created. And that Word of life, the Word through which God created all life, has descended down upon us, taking up the flesh, and through the Holy Spirit, was made Man, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

At creation, we saw how the Trinity worked together harmoniously as one, with one will and intention. The Father willed all things to creation, which the Son in the Word executed the will of the Father and made all things to be created, and which in the end, the Holy Spirit filled all things and all creation, and gave life to all. As a result, the universe with all of its wonders were created, through the works of the one and only true God, and yet we can see clearly the Three Divine Aspects of God, the Trinity.

And at the moment of the incarnation, God the Father willed the incarnation of His own Son, the Divine Word, part of Himself and the Trinity, to become one like us, as a Man, save for being pure and free from sin. And the Holy Spirit came over Mary and covered her, and by the Holy Spirit, the Lord became Man, just as what we believed and which is part of our Creed.

In all these examples, taken from the Scriptures themselves, we can see how God is indeed One, and even though He consists of the Three Divine Persons, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, but one cannot understand the Father without understanding the Son and the Holy Spirit and vice versa. This is what we must know, and what we must understand with all of our hearts and minds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if someone asks us about our belief in the Holy Trinity, then how should we respond to it? Perhaps then we should tell them about something as simple as a flame. And not just that this is for them to think and discover about the truth of the Trinity, but perhaps for many of us too, who doubted in the Trinity, may now come to believe the fullness of God’s truth.

A flame consists of the visible flame that we are able to see with our eyes, but a flame also consists of the material of the flame that we can touch with our hands, the energies of the flame which made it visible in the first place as the flame. And last of all, a flame can also be felt as we place our hands nearby the flame but not touching it, in the form of the heat that warms our hands and bodies close to it.

We cannot take out the light out of the flame and then still call the remaining object as a flame, and neither can we take out the heat or the matter of the flame and can still call the remaining as a flame. Undeniably, the light and the heat and the matter of the flame are distinct from each other, as they are all different, and yet they are inseparable parts that made up a flame. In the same manner, and even more so, the Most Holy Trinity is similar to this approximation.

Instead of muddling our minds and thoughts in trying to understand the nature of the Lord our God, One but Three, and Three but One, we should rather have faith in Him. If only that we can learn to trust Him and His truth, and learn to accept the truth which He had brought to us. Mankind had refused to believe His truth, often and simply because it was too much for their feeble minds and intellect to understand God and His ways.

Let us all instead work together, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we may find our way to the Lord our God, and work together in the same way as how harmonious the Lord in the Trinity is. Jesus Himself prayed to His Father in the time before His suffering and Passion, that He would make His people to be one, just as He and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were one.

Thus, as we proceed on with our lives in this world, let us all heed the examples of the Most Holy Trinity, our Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that we too may be united in faith, hope and love in our Lord. Let us never be shaken in our faith and devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, believing in the one and only True God, and in His Three inseparable but distinct Aspects, and then show the same love which has united Them as One, so that we too, the faithful people of God, may be united in love and harmony with one another.

May God bless us all and strengthen us, that we may resolve to keep this faith burning strongly in each one of us, and have the love in us, and show that love by caring for each other, devoting our time and efforts to care for our brethren, especially to those who are in the greatest need for our help. May God awaken in each one of us, the love we ought to have for each other. O, Most Holy Trinity, the Triune God, be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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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.