martyr saints

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of a holy servant of God, His Vicar on earth, that is Pope St. Callistus I, martyr of the faith and Leader of the Universal Church. Pope St. Callistus I or Pope St. Callixtus I led the Church through difficult times and through challenging moments, when the Church and the faithful went through series of persecutions by the Roman Emperors.

Pope St. Callistus helped lead the flock of God’s people through those turbulent times, and he and many other leaders and elders of the Church helped to build up the foundation of the Church and stabilised it through the time of challenges and troubles. He helped to reunite those who have been wayward in their faith and abandoned their faith to return to the Church through atonement and repentance.

There were some of those in the Church at that time who favoured unconditional punishment and condemnation without mercy for all those who have erred and betrayed the Lord and their faith. And indeed they disagreed bitterly with Pope St. Callistus I, and the happenings at that time almost splintered the Church apart. However, by the grace of God and by his hard work, Pope St. Callistus I managed to keep the Church of God together amidst those turbulent times.

What he proposed was not an open toleration or total ignorance of the sins of those who have fallen on the road to the temptations of the devil, or a total rejection, humiliation and condemnation of those who have fallen aside. Instead, it is a path of mercy and forgiveness that was offered with the need for genuine and clear repentance on the part of those who have erred and sinned.

Thus, in the same way, Jesus also rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their refusal to change their ways, as they liked to judge others and condemn them for the faults, mistakes and sins they have committed, slandering and oppressing them, and using their position and influence to bring about suffering to all those whom they have put the burden on.

These people acted high and mighty, and they acted as if they themselves were pure and blameless from any wrongdoings or sins, but in fact, as the Lord Himself pointed out to them, that they were themselves subject to the wicked and wrong things that they had done, and they were blind to their own errors, which resulted in them leading others to error as well. This is what they had done, and the great disservice that they had brought upon God’s people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this reminder as well as the examples of Pope St. Callistus I and other faithful servants of our Lord are reminders for all of us not to engage in similar behaviour and activity, namely being overly judgmental and condemning upon others based on what they have done, and instead let us all focus on the potential that all men has for change and redemption.

But this does not mean that we and the Church should go soft in dealing with all of those who have erred and sinned. There are many, even in our Church today, who thought that we should give unconditional allowance for sinners to return fully to the Church, giving them allowance, chance and incentives to return to the Church, but ignoring the fact that they have committed often grave sins before the Lord and His people.

Doing this means a great disservice to those sinners, who may then think that they have no need for repentance or the need to change their ways if they want to attain salvation. This will lead to the sinners continuing to live in sin and not strive to change themselves for the better. And truly, if they fall into damnation, the responsibility will be ours for the fate of those poor souls.

We do not peddle or give false mercy that requires no action from those who receive it. Rather, we offer the Lord’s most generous mercy while requiring all those who intend to receive it to embark on a path of total conversion and repentance as the prerequisite for the reception of God’s greatest and ever rich mercy. Without the action from the sinners to change their ways and repent, God’s mercy will not work on them.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves ever more to bring one another closer to the salvation in God, and let us all commit ourselves to call especially those trapped in the darkness of sin to repent, change their sinful ways and follow the Lord once more. May our loving and merciful God be with us all always, now and forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 11 : 42-46

At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisee, “A curse is on you, Pharisees; to the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting those.”

“A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people do not notice them, and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when You speak like this, You insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves do not move a finger to help them.”

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 61 : 2-3, 6-7, 9

My soul finds rest in God alone; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my Rock and Salvation; with Him as my Stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Find rest in God alone, o my soul; from Him comes my hope. He alone is my Rock and my Salvation; with Him as my Stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Trust in Him at all times, my people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is our refuge.

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Romans 2 : 1-11

Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you are, if you are able to judge others. For in judging your neighbour, you condemn yourself, for you practice what you are judging. We know that the condemnation of God will justly reach those who commit these things, and do you think that by condemning others you will escape from the judgment of God, you who are doing the same?

This would be taking advantage of God and His infinite goodness, patience and understanding, and not to realise that His goodness is in order to lead you to conversion. If your heart becomes hard and you refuse to change, then you are storing for yourself a great punishment on the day of judgment, when God will appear as Just Judge.

He will give each one his due, according to his actions. He will give everlasting life to those who seek glory, honour and immortality and persevere in doing good. But anger and vengeance will be the lot of those who do not serve truth but injustice.

There will be suffering and anguish for everyone committing evil, first the Jew, then the Greek. But God will give glory, honour and peace to whoever does good, first the Jew then the Greek, because one is not different from the other before God.

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Saturday, 26 September 2015 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of two saints who were renowned servants of God and martyrs of the faith. They are St. Cosmas and St. Damian, both of whom lived during the time of great persecution of the Church under the Roman Emperors, where the faithful had to hide and they could not openly declare and practice their faith, or else they would face almost certain suffering and death at the hands of the authorities.

St. Cosmas and St. Damian themselves were told to be twin brothers who worked as physicians and doctors in the Asian region of the Roman Empire, in what is today Syria. They travelled around healing the sick and the wounded, those who were down with illness and troubles, and they did these free of charge, especially helping the poor and the downtrodden who had none to help them.

Eventually however, during the climate of persecution of Christians at the time, they went about their work under constant threat of danger. And they were arrested by the authorities after they were found out to be Christians. Under the pain of suffering, torture and death, they were forced to abandon their faith in the Lord, but they refused to do so, and therefore they were martyred in the defence of their faith.

This is related again to how Jesus spoke of the betrayal that men would hand Him, the betrayal that was very despicable and evil, because they have betrayed the very One who had given His all in order to help them to get out of the pit and trouble that they were in. The actions and life of St. Cosmas and St. Damian truly reflected what Christ Himself had encountered in His life, and the same too could be expected from us.

Just like St. Cosmas and St. Damian who went about the many cities, towns and villages as physicians and doctors, healing countless people who suffered from various diseases and illnesses free of charge, then our Lord Jesus also went about healing and curing people from their sickness, and more importantly, lifting up people who have fallen into the darkness, that is into the sickness of sin, into the new light He brought them.

Yes, Jesus Himself told the people, and all those who criticised Him such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, that He came not to seek the righteous and the just, who have already been saved, but those who have fallen along the way and need help. These were the ones who truly needed the help of our Lord, and it was to them that He came. Of course He still at the same time, loves all those who have been saved as well.

And He also suffered rejection, ridicule, curses, and even the lashes and the wounds inflicted upon His flesh, before He was dragged to carry the burden of the cross and be crucified on the hill of Calvary. He suffered on that day and died, so that all of us who shared in His death by our baptism, may also share in His glorious resurrection through the same baptism in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it is a reminder for us that all of us also need to carry our own crosses if we are faithful to the Lord. Difficult times will be upon us and there will be rejection and temptations to leave behind this difficult path, for a shortcut of pleasure and enjoyment of worldly goods and accepting the wicked ways of this world. But then, we truly should ask ourselves, whether we want to have our souls to fall deep into the sickness of sin.

Let us all reflect on all these, and inspire ourselves to walk in the path of St. Cosmas and St. Damian. Let us all not be afraid to help each other and to love one another with the same love that the two saints and our Lord Himself had shown, the true and genuine love that brings about a new hope and life in all those who had been afflicted by the sickness, and particularly the sickness of sin, the disease of our soul.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has laboured out of love for us, so that we may be healed and be restored to full grace and be forgiven from all of our sins. Now, shall we also do the same and help those whom we know as still living in darkness and are still lost and do not know the way to go for them to seek the Lord their God. Let us all help each other, and extend a helping hand, modelling after the examples of St. Cosmas and St. Damian.

May Almighty God be with us all always, and may He plant in us a heart filled with love and grace, that we may be found worthy of the life and the glory He had prepared for us all. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 September 2015 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Luke 9 : 43b-45

At that time, while all were amazed at everything Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Listen, and remember what I tell you now : The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.”

But the disciples did not understand this saying; something prevented them from grasping what He meant, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

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Saturday, 26 September 2015 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Jeremiah 31 : 10, 11-12ab, 13

Hear the word of YHVH, o nations, proclaim it on distant coastlands : He who scattered Israel will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guard his flock.

For YHVH has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror. They shall come shouting for joy, while ascending Zion; they will come streaming to YHVH’s blessings.

Maidens will make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.

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Saturday, 26 September 2015 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Zechariah 2 : 5-9, 14-15a

Raising my eyes again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered, “I am going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.”

As the angel who spoke to me came forward, another angel met him and said, “Run and tell this to that young man : ‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled because of its multitude of people and livestock.’ For this is the word of YHVH : I Myself will be around her like a wall of fire, and also within her in Glory.”

“Sing and rejoice, a daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says YHVH. “On that day, many nations will join YHVH and be My people.”

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings pointed out to us the nature of our Lord, who is the Lord of life and death and the Master of all things. Everything is in His power and under His authority, and to all who love Him, He would also love all back with even greater love, for even before we love Him, He had given up everything for our sake, even to strip Himself of all dignity to suffer and die on the cross for us.

All of these was because of His love for us. God did not create us all for nothing or for Him to gloat over our destruction at the hands of our sins. Death was not intended for us, as we were all intended for eternal life and glory with the Lord our God, in the happiness and pure joy in heaven, just as our first ancestors once experienced in the Gardens of Eden before the day of mankind’s fall into sin.

Death is the consequence of our disobedience, namely our sins, which have sundered us all from the love and grace of God, and because we were sundered from the Lord and Master of life, then we tasted the bitterness of suffering and death in this world. In the Book of Genesis we heard the Lord Himself spoke to Adam and Eve, that as they were born from the dust, they would return to dust again.

This is the mortal death that all of us mortals have to encounter at the end of our earthly lives, when the time came for us and our earthly existence is at its end, and many of us mankind feared death, because we see it as the end of the way, the end of our earthly existence, and separation from all the good things we have in this world. Thus from different peoples and cultures, we see how many people feared death and its unavoidable grip on us, and how we were often obsessed with trying to prolong our own lives.

And today, in the Gospel, Jesus showed all of us, what is meant by truly living, and what the faithful will receive if they keep their faith in Him. He raised from the dead the daughter of the synagogue official, because of his strong faith, placing all of his trust in Jesus, knowing that He could heal her, and brought her from the dead too if He wanted to, just as at the time when Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha from the dead.

What did Jesus told them on that day? He told them that, He is the Life and the Resurrection, and all who believe in Him and place their trust in Him shall not die but have eternal life. It is His right to give and take life from us mortals, and to all those whom He is pleased with, He shall give His life, eternal life filled with perfect joy and happiness, which is what was originally intended for us before we fell into sin.

They doubted at first, and the same happened with all the people who were gathered at the house of the synagogue official, all weeping and wailing loudly, because the girl had died. They thought that she had been lost forever, and they did not believe in Jesus, laughing at Him when He said to them that she was just asleep. Thus, He cast them out of the place because of their unbelief, and raised the girl back to life.

Just as the raising of Lazarus from the dead, this is a foretaste of our own resurrection. Remember what we have heard from Jesus, that the girl was just asleep and not dead? And if we notice that in the Canon of the Mass, after the Consecration and elevation of the Bread and the Wine to be the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, we heard the priest saying, ‘Remember our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep before us…’, then we would see that death is not something to be feared, and it is not lasting, if we truly are faithful to the Lord.

Death is not an end, but in fact is just a transition, from our worldly and earthly life, in this imperfect and sinful world, tainted since the entry of sin into our hearts. It is a transition to the new life which our Lord Jesus Christ has promised all of us, that all those who believe in Him and live righteously according to the will of God, will receive this life everlasting, a life with God, filled with the fullness of God’s love and grace.

And what is the key to all this? Faith, and also hope, and also love, the three cardinal and most important virtues we ought to have. And faith is what the woman with bleeding had, trusting so much in the power and authority of Jesus, that she believed that even by just touching the edges of His cloak, she would be healed. And by her faith she was healed.

The same goes too for the synagogue official, whose faith we have discussed earlier, and many others whose faith Jesus had praised throughout the Gospels, namely the Syro-Phoenician woman, the army captain who said that ‘I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.’ And many other examples, which shows how the faith of these people in Jesus, in our Lord, had brought about salvation to them.

Jesus offered this freely for them, when He died on the cross. By dying on the cross for us, and through all of His suffering, He had borne our sins upon Himself, all the punishment and suffering due for us, which should have been our fate. Indeed, we ought to fear death initially because of our sins, so heinous and evil before God, that the punishment must have been severe and unimaginable, but Jesus took all that upon Himself, and He died for all, even for those who were hostile to Him.

But as long as we refuse to accept His salvation, then this salvation does not come to us and it remains outside of our reach. Faith is how we come to receive this salvation, by believing that Jesus is our Lord and God, and then knowing that we have hope in Him. Yes, we ought to hope in the resurrection, and we know that we will have it if we love Him, and if we have love in us.

Why do we fear death so much? That is because we are by our nature selfish, and we love only ourselves, and the things that make us happy. But this happiness is just temporary and it does not last beyond death. For all the wealth, things and other worldly goods we accumulate and gain in our lives, none of this will be brought with us when we go to the world that is to come.

Remember that Jesus said to His disciples and to the people for them to build not treasures that can be destroyed and perish? But rather to build up for themselves the eternal and true treasures of heaven? What is this treasure? The love of God, and the love which is inside us, the hope we have for His resurrection and the eternal life He had promised all who have faith in Him.

So what do we all ought to bring home today from these readings which we have heard? It is for us to have true and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, our hope and our salvation. To have faith does not mean for us just to say prayers and to say before others that we believe in Him. For we know that our faith is dead as long as we do not have action based on that faith.

If the woman with bleeding just had the faith but did not have the courage to go and approach Jesus through the crowd, her problem would remain with her and no healing would have taken place. If she did not have the courage to admit what she had done, touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak, then what she had done would not be known to us either. And what is the action we all need? Love, my brethren, it is love that we need.

Love our God with all of our heart’s strength, with all of our minds and our fullest attention, and then show the same love to our brethren, our neighbours, to all others who are around us. Our true treasures do not lie in the wealth and possessions in this world, which although they may be good to have, but they do not bring us true happiness. True happiness lies in knowing that we love one another, and God loves us all too because He sees the love that is in us, and therefore we are worthy of the eternal life He had promised all of us who have faith in Him.

Let us all therefore pray, brothers and sisters, that our faith in the Lord will be ever strengthened, that we will always put our trust in He who is the Lord of all, the Lord over life and death. Let us throw away our selfishness and our desire, for all the worldly things that keep us apart from the Lord. Let us be able to move our hands and limbs to love one another, sharing the faith which we have, and so that together, at the end, our Lord will gather us all back together once again to enjoy once again the goodness which He had intended for us from the beginning.

We do not need to fear death anymore for it is a new beginning for us, for an eternal life of joy with God. His life is in us and we rejoice because of this. May God bless us all and be with us, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 June 2015 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 5 : 21-43

At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.”

Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side. Among the crowd was a woman, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a lot at the hands of many doctors, and had spent everything she had, but instead of getting better, she was worse.

Because she had heard about Jesus, this woman came up behind Him and touched His cloak, thinking, “If I just touch His clothing, I shall get well.” Her flow of blood dried up at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her complaint.

But Jesus was conscious that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding around You. Why do You ask who touched You?”

But He kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, aware of what had happened, came forward trembling and afraid. She knelt before Him, and told Him the whole truth. Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of this illness.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 5 : 21-24, 35b-43

At that time, Jesus crossed to the other side of the lake, and while He was still on the shore, a large crowd gathered around Him. Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came up and, seeing Jesus, threw himself at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may get well and live.” Jesus went with him, and many people followed, pressing from every side.

Some people arrived from the official’s house to inform him, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Master any further?” But Jesus ignored what they said, and told the official, “Do not fear, just believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter, James and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house, Jesus saw a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly. Jesus entered, and said to them, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” They laughed at Him. So Jesus sent them outside, and went with the child’s father and mother and His companions into the room, where the child lay.

Taking her by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kumi!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got up at once and began to walk around. She was twelve years old. The parents were amazed, greatly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about it; and He told them to give her something to eat.