Pope St. John XXIII

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Monday, 8 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly the story of how Solomon, the king of Israel, the son and heir of David, God’s faithful servant, finally established and built the house which his father had wanted to build for the Lord. And today we heard in our first reading, how that great Temple in Jerusalem, also known as Solomon’s Temple, was inaugurated, dedicated and consecrated to God.

We heard how Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, bringing the Ark of the Covenant which was filled with the two stones on which were written the Lord’s Ten Commandments, and also the manna, the bread from heaven, and the staff of Aaron, the proofs of God’s loving works on His people, and as the sign of the Covenant which He had established with them. And therefore, with the entry of the Ark, the glory of God filled His Temple and He was therefore present there.

How is this relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Surely it was some historical event that had happened a long time ago in the past, but which has little to no significance for us. Well, if we look deeper into what had happened, we should realise that what we heard about the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem is indeed linked to what we heard in the Gospel today, and therefore to ourselves.

How is this so? In the Gospel today, we heard about our Lord Jesus Christ, Who went about from places to places, ministering to the sick and dying, to all those who are afflicted in their bodies and in their souls, healing them from their afflictions and restoring to them the health either in their bodies, their souls, or both at the same time.

In it, we saw how God made Himself manifest even more so than what He had done at the time of king Solomon. If God had descended to dwell in an earthly Temple built by Solomon and dwelled there for a time, but in Jesus Himself, God Who was once invisible had made Himself tangible and visible to all of us. He had made Himself to assume the flesh of a Man, so that by that action, and by His offering of the perfect sacrifice of Himself, He might dwell among us forever, and reunite all of us with Him in love.

What does this mean? It means that as Christ had given Himself in His Body and in His Blood to all of His disciples, and from them to all of us, thus, all of us who share in the Body and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, have received the Lord Himself Who comes to dwell among us, and inside each and every one of us, the faithful ones of God.

And therefore, as St. Paul also iterated in one of his letters to the faithful, we are all, our bodies, our minds, our hearts and our souls are the Temple of the Lord’s Holy Presence, and in each and every one of us, God is dwelling within us, and this body we have, is His Temple and His House. And if king Solomon had gone such a great length and put so much effort to make sure that the Temple he had built for his God was properly inaugurated and started, thus we too have to make the same effort.

This means that if we commit things that are not in accordance with what He had taught us, committing things vile and wicked in the sight of God and men alike, then it is a scandal for us, for the Lord Himself dwell within us, and yet we did not make the conscious effort to make sure that this Temple that is our body, our minds, hearts and souls are worthy to receive Him in us.

Today, we commemorate the feast of two saints, whose examples hopefully can become a source of inspiration for all of us, on how to live our faith and our lives meaningfully, so as to be faithful and be true to the Lord and His will in all the things we do and act. They are St. Jerome Emiliani, a famous preacher and servant of God, and St. Josephine Bakhita, a freed former slave who became a convert to the faith and a devout religious.

St. Jerome Emiliani was an Italian man who was also known as Gerolamo Emiliani, who often showed mercy and compassion on many people who were destitute, suffering and dying, especially at times when there were famines and diseases raging amongst the people. He served the poor and cared for them, and together with other faithful laymen and religious, he founded hospitals and places where these people could be cared for.

Meanwhile, St. Josephine Bakhita was a former slave originating from a region now known as Sudan. After having learnt of the faith, and after experiencing the call of the Lord, she was converted to the faith, and vowed to follow the Lord for the rest of her life. She even managed to convert and helped her former employer to return to the Lord after leading a wayward life for a long time.

She eventually joined the religious order, and from then on, devoted herself to a life of work and prayer, committing herself also to the people of God, through prayer and charity. Eventually her examples inspired many others to also follow in her footsteps, growing ever closer to God and dedicating themselves to serve others just as she and many other saints had done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all also follow in the footsteps of the saints and do what we can to help others who are in need, dedicating ourselves in faith to the Lord our God, and also to our brethren. So that, by our actions made through our faith, we may be found worthy, and that the Temple of our bodies, minds and souls will always be pure and worthy of the Lord our God, as the place of His dwelling.

May God sanctify us and may He purify our bodies, minds, hearts and souls, so that we may be ever worthy of Him and be reunited with Him in love. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, 8 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Mark 6 : 53-56

At that time, having crossed the lake, Jesus and His disciples came ashore at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. As soon as they landed, people recognised Jesus, and ran to spread the news throughout the countryside.

Wherever He was, they brought to Him the sick lying on their mats; and wherever He went, to villages, towns or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged Him to let them touch just the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were cured.

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Monday, 8 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Psalm 131 : 6-7, 8-10

Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!

Arise, o Lord, and come to Your rest, You and the Ark of Your might. May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

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Monday, 8 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

1 Kings 8 : 1-7, 9-13

Then Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, as well as the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH from the city of David, which is Zion.

All the Israelites assembled near king Solomon in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests carried the Ark of YHVH and brought it up together with the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent.

After the priests and Levites had brought them up, king Solomon with the entire congregation of Israel that had assembled before him and were with him before the Ark, sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could neither be counted nor numbered.

Then the priests laid the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH in its place in the inner sanctuary of the House – the Most Holy Place – underneath the wings of the Cherubim. The Cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark, providing a covering above the Ark and its poles.

There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, where YHVH made a Covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, such a cloud filled YHVH’s House that the priests could not continue to minister. Indeed, the glory of YHVH filled His House.

Then Solomon said, “YHVH has said that He would dwell in thick darkness. So the House I have built You will be Your House, a place for You to dwell in forever.”

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Sunday, 7 February 2016 : Fifth (5th) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the urgings from the word of God in the Sacred Scripture, through which the Church had brought to our attention, of the need for us all to embrace the calling of the Lord, if He calls us to take up the cross and follow Him in the way that He had laid out for us. The words of the Scripture spoke of the examples of the faith of those whom God had called, and now they have responded in kind.

In the first reading, we heard about the vision which the prophet Isaiah saw at the beginning of his calling and ministry to be a servant and messenger of God, where He saw the glory of God Himself, enthroned on the Cherubim and guarded and served by the mighty Seraphim. And Isaiah felt unworthy to stand before the presence of God, for he was a sinner just like many others. But God purified him and made him worthy, and Isaiah answered God’s calling and accepted it.

Then in the second reading, we heard from the Apostle, St. Paul, who preached to the people of God, the testimony of his faith, just as what he had received through the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge which was passed down to him from the other Apostles and from the Lord Jesus Himself. He spoke of the Lord Jesus Who died and rose from the dead for our sake. And in doing so, he stood up for his faith and called many others to also follow in his footsteps.

If not for his dedication and commitment, and if not for his hard work for the sake of the Lord and for the spreading of His Good News, then the word of God would not have reached the ears, the minds and the hearts of countless souls, who would then remain in the darkness and lost to the Lord. But it was because of the faith and the devotion of St. Paul and of the other Apostles that the works of God were made evident.

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus told Simon Peter to go out into the deep waters and spread his fishing net there. Despite a whole night of no fish being caught at all, he obeyed the commands of the Lord, and as a result, so many fishes were caught that even two fishing boats could not contain them. After that, Peter and many of his other fellow fishermen, future St. Andrew, St. James and St. John the Evangelist believed in Jesus and followed Him.

In this again we see the emphasis that is placed on God’s calling and how we ought to respond to that call. We remember in another passage from the Holy Gospels, when Jesus mentioned about the harvest of the field of the Lord, and how even though the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. The field represents the world, and the workers are all of us the faithful ones of the Lord.

This means that even though there are so many opportunities for many people and many souls to achieve salvation, but because there are so few of those who made themselves available to bring God’s salvation to them, in the end it means nothing, and nothing good came out of it, and many souls were still left to suffer in the darkness of ignorance and sin.

We have to remember that God did not call people who were great, talented or mighty in worldly deeds and power, or those who had great intellect, smart and excellent in their works. Instead, God called not because He saw the great abilities and talents that were in each of those people whom He had chosen, but because He saw the heart, and He knew those who truly love Him and were able to devote themselves to Him.

For to God, all of our worldly greatness and achievements mean nothing to Him, as all these pale in comparison to what one who love God with all of his or her strength and might could give. God desires not the hubris and the showcase of men’s pride and their achievements, but He desires the same love which we ought to give Him, just as He had loved us first.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us today are called to think about our own lives, and reflect upon our actions and deeds, all the things that we have done in the past until now. Have we been faithful disciples and followers of our Lord? Or is our faith merely superficial and not real? Did we just profess our faith in mere words or did we attempt to mean what we say when we profess our faith for God by showing it through real work and real action?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have to realise that being a Christian is a calling and also a commitment. We cannot call ourselves Christians and yet our actions, words and deeds speak volumes in denying what we profess. If our actions show that even though we claimed to believe in God but our actions proved otherwise, then we are no Christians!

A true Christian, someone who profess themselves as those who belong to God and believing in His laws and obeying His commandments should have the courage in them to live out their lives in accordance to their Christian faith. This means that we ought to go and put out into the deep, just as Christ Himself had ordered Simon Peter to do.

If we remain idle and not doing whatever is within our capacity and responsibility to do, then the good works of God will remain dormant, and no good fruits will come from it. As members of the Church, all of us have to realise that each and every one of us must work together and contribute to the advancement of God’s mission and work to save mankind from sin, and to bring all back to the loving embrace of God.

And we do not have to look far or think that we need to do enormous tasks. Instead, through our own daily lives, through our own actions and dealings with one another, within our own families, neighbours to one another, within our community and society we should do our best to be faithful in how we say and do things, and we should inspire others to follow our footsteps and the footsteps of the faithful who had gone before us.

Let us all, the modern day disciples of our Lord be strengthened in our faith, and may courage grows in our hearts, that in all the things we do, we may be courageous to proclaim God’s Good News to the world, and to seek out lost souls in the darkness, our own brethren in the Lord, that all may receive God’s everlasting life and salvation in Him. God bless us all and all of our endeavours. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 February 2016 : Fifth (5th) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 5 : 1-11

At that time, one day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around Him listening to the word of God, He caught sight of two boats, left at the water’s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull our a little from the shore. There He sat and continued to teach the crowd.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if You say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

They signalled their partners in their other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking. Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed Him, leaving everything.

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Sunday, 7 February 2016 : Fifth (5th) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 15 : 1-11

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received : that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.

For I am the last of the Apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

1 Corinthians 15 : 3-8, 11

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received : that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; that He was buried; that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

Afterwards He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. Then He appeared to James and after that to all the Apostles. And last of all, He appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

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Sunday, 7 February 2016 : Fifth (5th) Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your holy Temple and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

O Lord, all kings on earth will give You praise, when they have heard Your words. They will celebrate the ways of the Lord, “Great is the glory of God!”

You save me from the wrath of my foes, with Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Sunday, 7 February 2016 : Fifth (5th) Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 6 : 1-2a, 3-8

In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings.

They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His Glory!” At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke.

I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.” Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

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Saturday, 6 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Sacred Scripture regarding firstly, in our first reading from the Book of the prophet Samuel, about the young king Solomon who had just inherited the throne and the kingdom from the king David, his father. As a young and inexperienced king, who had inherited all the great inheritance, wealth, renown and glory from his father, he was at a juncture when he was unsure of what he was to do in his reign.

And when God asked him for something to be granted to him due to the faith of his father and family, Solomon humbly submitted before God in great humility, and instead of asking for power, glory, wealth, affluence or any other worldly things and desires, he instead asked for wisdom, the wisdom to discern and the intellect to make good judgments and the wisdom of knowledge of the ways of the Lord.

His choice was a good one, since the choice of wisdom allowed him to deal good judgments and lead as a good and responsible king, as a righteous king who deal kindly and justly to his people. Instead of wealth and power that drive greed and desire, and corrupt the heart and mind, Solomon chose the humble gift of wisdom, the gift of understanding, so that his young mind and inexperience shall no longer be a hindrance.

He entrusted himself fully to the Lord, God Who in the Gospel today revealed Himself as a God of love, Who loves all of us, His beloved people. This was evident in how even though He and His disciples were tired and exhausted after long sessions of ministering and teaching to them, but as He saw many more people who sought to listen to Him and who were like sheep without a shepherd, He showed pity and mercy on them.

He loved them greatly and did not want them to be lost, and that was why He offered Himself as a great gift, the greatest gift of all, which even the gift that God had given to Solomon cannot compare. For wisdom is nothing compared to love, and the love of God is perfect love. And while Solomon and his wisdom failed as he grew old and his judgments clouded by the distractions and temptations of his many wives and his wealth, God’s love will never fail.

And today, we celebrate together the feast day of great saints and martyrs of the Church, who had given themselves totally to God, entrusting themselves, their fates and their lives to the Lord, even amidst harsh and torturous pains caused by the great persecution levelled against them. They were the Japanese martyrs and saints, St. Paul Miki and his companions.

St. Paul Miki was a convert to the Christian faith, who eventually became a renowned priest and preacher, whose efforts caused the conversion of literally thousands and more people who decided to become members of the Church. But at that time, the increasingly anti-Christian government grew ever more intolerant of the Faith, and persecutions against the faithful began and then proliferated.

St. Paul Miki and many other faithful were arrested and brought to the Imperial capital of Japan in Kyoto to be sentenced, and as they refused to recant their faith, they were sentenced to death, and were made to march the great distance from that city to Nagasaki, a distance of about a thousand kilometres, a forced march to their deaths. But they did not fear, and indeed, they became ever more resolute and committed in their faith.

The examples of St. Paul Miki and his companions who bravely welcomed their death in the midst of harsh persecution and torture should be examples enough for all of us to also act in the same manner as they had acted. All of us should put our trust in God and not to worry in anything, even if the whole world itself is against us, as God will always be with us at our side.

Let us all therefore not be disheartened, but have courage in the Lord, that our faith in Him will always remain strong amidst the persecutions of the world and amidst all the challenges and difficulties we encounter in life. Let us all recommit ourselves to God and be ever more faithful to Him. Let us leave behind our old life of sin, and begin a new life blessed by God. May God bless us all. Amen.