Medieval Italy

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are given a clear warning, one that is really true and genuine by our Lord Himself, who is thoroughly concerned with our safety and well-being. He did not lightly condemn the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum and the other cities of Israel and Galilee, but He did so because of the constant opposition and rebelliousness which the people showed Him.

These people, particularly represented by the factions of the Pharisees and the Scribes, or the religious, as well as the Sadducees or the ones in power, constantly and viciously were always following Jesus to try to disturb and disrupt His works, in particular the former group. They persuaded and bribed the people to act against Jesus and His disciples, and for all these rebelliousness, Jesus rebuked them as we heard in the readings today.

The Lord truly meant good for His beloved people, and He did not curse without reason. For in the first reading, God gave His reassurance to the people beleaguered and attacked from all sides without hope, and delivered them from the way of harm into salvation. God meant good for all of them, but they often did not appreciate or show gratitude for such love which God had shown them, and instead they betrayed Him and His love by worshipping other gods, pagan gods and idols.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is easy for us to think that because we live in an age and time where paganism is no longer prevalent or existent then we are safe from this problem. As a matter of fact, even in this day, this kind of disobedience still exists in our world and in our society. When the pagan gods of the natural elements, stone and gold went away, come the gods and idols of wealth and possessions, such as money, career and consumeristic behaviour.

Our world today is filled with them, and its people filled with endless desires and greed for these, and they are never satisfied, their desires and wants ever growing. These are the new idols of this world, which feeds on the desire of mankind, and grow on mankind’s endless desire and quest to gain more and more happiness in this world, even though the happiness that they seek is nothing more than really the pleasures of the flesh.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a great saint and thinker in the Church, whose works were so numerous and amazing that he was given the title of the ‘Seraphic Doctor’. He was once also a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Chyrch, chosen for his intellect and great leadership qualities, which he showed clearly in his life. He was of the Franciscan religious order and his numerous works, together with that of St. Thomas Aquinas, his contemporary, had helped to develop the teachings of the faith enormously.

St. Bonaventure was truly brilliant in his writings and works, and through his writings many aspects of the faith become clearer to us today. But he was not just merely an intelligent and excellent writer of the faith, as he was also a contemplative thinker and a faithful servant of the Lord, whose thoughts are always aimed and focused on the Lord alone. He was a champion of maintaining a balance and relations between reason and faith, showing how reason can complement faith, and how faith can truly be a guidance to men.

St. Bonaventure also shows how the ways of this world is not always necessarily evil, provided that we take precautions and be careful in our life. If we stay unceasingly and solidly obedient to our Lord and God, definitely there will be no difficulty in doing this. Challenges and difficulties will still be on our way, but nothing will be impossible if we stay close to the Lord, as St. Bonaventure had once done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we from now onwards reject Satan and all of his false promises? Shall we turn away from the rebelliousness of our ancestors and turn to God alone? Let us pray to St. Bonaventure, asking for his intercession, that he may ask the Lord to strengthen the faith in us, that our faith will be a strong and vibrant one, and will not be easily affected or corrupted by this world and the evil one’s influences.

May God bless us all, and continue to guide us in our works, that we may serve Him to the best of our abilities. Amen!

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 11 : 20-24

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities, in which He had performed most of His miracles, because the people there did not change their ways.

“Alas for you Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I assure you, for Tyre and Sidon it will be more bearable on the day of judgment than for you.”

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead! For if the miracles which were performed in you had taken place in Sodom, it would still be there today! But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom, on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 47 : 2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8

Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise in the city of God, His holy mountain. Beautifully elevated, it is the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, heavenly mountain, the city of the great King. Here within her lines of defense, God has shown Himself to be a sure fortress.

The kings assembled together, advanced toward the city. But as soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they panicked and took to flight.

Seized with fear, they trembled, like a woman in travail, or like the ships of Tarshish, shattered by a strong wind from the east.

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Tuesday, 15 July 2014 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 7 : 1-9

When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, king Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, laid siege to Jerusalem but they were unable to capture it.

When the news reached the house of David, “Aram’s troops are encamped in Ephraim,” the heart of the king and the hearts of the people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble before the wind.

YHVH then said to Isaiah : “Go with your sin A-remnant-will-return, and meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. Say to him, “Stay calm and fear not; do not lose courage before these two stumps of smoldering firebrands – the fierce anger of Rezin the Aramean and the blazing fury of the son of Remaliah.”

“You know that Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted against Judah, saying : Let us invade and scare it, let us seize it and put the son of Tabeel king over it. But the Lord YHVH says : It shall not be so, it shall not come to pass. For Damascus is only the head of Aram and Rezin the lord of Damascus. Samaria is only the head of Ephraim and Remaliah’s son is only the lord of Samaria.”

“Within fifty-six years, Ephraim will be shattered and will no longer be a people. But if you do not stand firm in faith, you, too will not stand at all.”

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Monday, 26 May 2014 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, following the Lord means to have a profound and complete conversion of ourselves, in particular that of our hearts and minds, so that we reflect the will of God and be true children and servants of our God. The God-fearing woman from the first reading, who listened to the word of God through the Apostles and chose to give her all to God and commit herself to Him, is an example for all of us.

Through baptism she had been saved and granted great grace from God, and so we too have been saved through our baptism, and our faith. But this must be living, a living faith, as I have often mentioned. Yes, in continuation of yesterday’h catechesis, this faith must be a growing faith and inspired by the Holy Spirit. We must be fruitful, bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit with all of our actions.

Today we honour and celebrate a saint, whose life can be a great inspiration to all of us in following the Lord and in committing our lives in the service of God and our fellow men. St. Phillip Neri is this saint, a holy man and a dedicated servant of God who lived in Italy a few centuries ago, during the era of the Renaissance. St. Philip Neri took part in the great campaign and push to rediscover the passion and energy in the faith, and establish stronger faith in the people of God through his works.

St. Philip Neri worked hard for the sake of the faithful and the people of God, giving himself to a life of service, and he helped to build up a congregation of the faithful and secular peoples, to serve the Lord better, as well as to reform the Church which at that time was notorious for its worldly corruptions and wicked ways. St. Philip Neri was essential for the rejuvenation of the faith following the horrendous and disastrous so-called Protestant Reformation, which is a terrible heresy of the faith.

St. Philip Neri was utterly dedicated to his cause, and he tirelessly worked to refocus the people’s attention towards Christ, and to throw away the excesses of life which had characterised the faithful, the Church, and the society in general at that time, when material wealth and possessions became a symbol of status, privilege and discrimination between peoples, which should not have happened as we are all truly equal before the Lord.

We too have to follow in his footsteps, in keeping pure our hearts and minds, away from the corruptions of this world, that we would not walk in error or in the darkness, and risk falling into the trap the devil had set on our path. We always have to be ready and vigilant that we keep ourselves aware and alert against all these lies of the devil. Let us remain faithful to God.

Since our baptism, we have been marked and sealed with the Most Holy Name of the Holy Trinity, and we have been made children of God, and cleansed of our past injustices and past unworthiness, being made into children of the light. Our spirit therefore, had been strengthened, and is strong. But remember what Christ said at the Garden in Gethsemane just before, that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak? Yes, our flesh is weak, and our bodies and physical self are always tempted on daily basis by the devil, and we must be ever ready.

Let us all be profoundly changed in our ways of life, that in all things we may now be affirmed in the Lord and in His grace, that we may always be blessed and worthy, and when He comes again at the end of time, He may see us and find us truly worthy children of His, and reunite us with Himself. God bless us all, and be with us always. Amen.

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Monday, 26 May 2014 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 26 – John 16 : 4a

From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth. When this Helper has come from the Father, He will be My witness, and you, too, will be My witnesses, for you have been with Me from the beginning.

I tell you all this to keep you from stumbling and falling away. They will put you out of the synagogue. Still more, the hour is coming, when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God; they will do this, because they have not known the Father or Me.

I tell you all these now so that, when the time comes, you may remember that I told you.

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Monday, 26 May 2014 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in His Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips. This is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Monday, 26 May 2014 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 16 : 11-15

So we put out to sea from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace Island, and the next day to Neapolis. From there we went inland to Philippi, the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. We spent some days in that city.

On the sabbath we went outside the city gate to the bank of the river where we thought the Jews would gather to pray. We sat down and began speaking to the women who were gathering there. One of them was a God-fearing woman named Lydia from Thyatira City, a dealer in purple cloth.

As she listened, the Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. After she had been baptised together with her household, she invited us to her house, “If you think I am faithful to the Lord come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us to accept her invitation.

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Thursday, 22 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the love of God is eternal, and it is non-discriminatory, for God loves all, without looking at whether we are this or that certain race or upbringing or background. He knows all of the things inside our hearts and minds, and He knows all of us perfectly, and thus to those whom He know that we are obedient and true to His will, He will grant us His love and grace.

The Apostles in the first reading, revealed to the people, how the Lord loved all without differentiating between them, and how He loved the Gentiles as much as He had loved the Jews, so long as they believe in the Lord, and trust in His ways. The Lord blesses all who put their trust in Him and walk in His ways. He shows His favour to all of them.

Brethren, this is why it is essential for us to listen to God’s will and be with Him in all our dealings and actions in the future. We must adhere to the commandments and precepts of the Lord that we may always remain in the favour of God. Focus on the obedience of our hearts and minds more than the obedience of our bodies. This is because as I mentioned yesterday, the purity of the heart matters much more than mere purity of the exterior.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, a holy, pious and fervent religious who was also a wife and a mother, who decided to join the consecrated life to God after the death of her husband and her sons. St. Rita of Cascia is truly an example to all peoples through her actions, as although she had a very wicked and immoral man as a husband, and enduring the torture and abuse that her husband heaped on her, she managed to convert him through her exemplary actions and deeds, which brought about a conversion in her husband into a much better man.

St. Rita of Cascia had quite a difficult life, as she lived through a period in Italy when feuds were very common among leading aristocratic families in different city-states of Italy. The feuds claimed the life of her husband, and while her husband’s family desired for revenge and they encouraged her sons to take revenge for their father, but St. Rita of Cascia tried in vain to persuade them not to do so.

She prayed to God to take her sons away rather than seeing them commit a mortal sin in their revenge and risk falling into hell. Her prayers were answered by the Lord who took them away when they died of dysentry just a year after that. In that, they were taken away to God’s presence and did not commit a sin that would have resulted in them falling into hell.

St. Rita of Cascia devoted herself to God after all that, and in her love, she united and reconciled the feuding families that had been involved in the death of her husband and many others in the city where she lived. She lived as a religious nun faithfully until the end of her life on earth. She received in a vision, the mystical and spiritual wound of Christ, the stigmata of our Lord Jesus Christ, on her forehead, at the site where the Lord wore His crown of thorns during His Passion.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Rita of Cascia showed us, that we have to love, and propagate that love, and also promote forgiveness of others, especially those who had hurt us and caused troubles for us. We too should ask for forgiveness from others whom we have hurt and caused troubles for. We must not discriminate between peoples, but love all equally, for we are all children of the same God.

Let us now therefore pray, and with the intercession of St. Rita of Cascia that we may be genuinely transformed into beings of love, who follow the Lord in all His ways, seeking to love and to forgive, that we may ever bring goodness into this world. May God be with us and keep us in His grace, always. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 9-11

As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.