Prayer for Christian Unity

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Friday, 18 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about the exploits and the works of Jesus our Lord, who with His disciples and followers went about from place to place, seeking people who were downtrodden, broken, sinful and filled with darkness, so that He might succour them and bring light unto them. This was what He had done, to awaken the people of God from their slumber of sin and darkness, and from all the allures of the world that kept them from becoming righteous in the sight of God.

Many of us are often distracted from our true goal in life because of the various things and obstacles which Satan had put on the way for us, so that we stumble and fall along the way, and fall back into sin and darkness, losing our way and he hoped that we might be condemned because of our failure to stick to the path towards salvation. That is what Satan wishes for us, and certainly, none of us should want him to succeed in what he had worked for us.

Thus we come to the moment when we heard about how St. Paul mentioned to Timothy how we all ought to live our lives in God, abandoning all sorts of worldliness and all temptations of evil. In that letter which St. Paul wrote to Timothy, he mentioned how there were people who took advantage of religiousity and religions to serve their own purposes and satisfy their wants and wishes.

And this is a clear reference to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who used and manipulated the Law of God, the laws of Moses to serve their own needs. They opened the Temple to the money changers and merchants who filled their coffers with unlawful and sinful silver and money, and they even sold their Lord and Saviour for a mere thirty pieces of silver coin to Judas Iscariot.

These people were concerned primarily about their own status and standing in the society, doing everything they could to preserve their own power and dignity, and in the process, their actions became ever more self-serving and deviating from the path that they were supposed to take. They were unable to resist the temptation of their hearts, falling into the trap of pride and ego, as well as into their greed, for more power, human praise and for more wealth.

We must learn to resist these temptations or else they will grow greater and greater, and eventually they will overcome us and swallow us, bringing us into eternal suffering and annihilation that await the wicked and all those who were not able to resist those allures of the devil. Thus, what we need to do is to heed what the Church is teaching us, that is the truth revealed to us by our Lord Jesus Christ and passed down to us through the Apostles.

The truth is that we have to learn to be content with what we have, as after all, all of us have been blessed greatly by our Lord in many things, even if we do not realise it. It is important for us to resist the temptations that will lead us into ruin if we walk in the same path that was taken by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. We have to learn through our faith, how to be rather humble and dedicated to the Lord through love, by loving Him with all of our hearts and then loving our brethren, all those who are around us with the same fervour and love.

This will not be easy, as all of us by our human nature enjoy to be tempted and our flesh is by nature weak against all these corruptions. We have to therefore make the effort to resist and to win over all these things that are obstacles on our way to righteousness and salvation in God. Let us all deepen our faith in the Lord and strengthen our spiritual lives, so that all of us may grow stronger in faith and be more capable to strive for righteousness just as St. Paul had mentioned in his letter that we heard today in our first reading.

May our loving God and Father be with us always in all things, and bless us that we may always remain in His grace, so that in all things, we may always live graciously and righteously in His presence and be worthy to receive His everlasting inheritance. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 18 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 8 : 1-3

At that time, Jesus walked through towns and countryside, preaching and giving the Good News of the kingdom of God. The Twelve followed Him, and also some women, who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases : Mary called Magdalene, who had been freed of seven demons; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Suzanna, and others who provided for them out of their own funds.

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Friday, 18 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 48 : 6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers ring me round – those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

For no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For redeeming one’s life demands too high a price, and all is lost forever. Who can remain forever alive and never see the grave?

Fear not when someone grows rich, when his power becomes oppressively great, for nothing will he take when he dies; his wealth and pomp he will leave behind.

Though he praised himself in his lifetime, “All will say that I have enjoyed life,” he will join the generation of his forebears, who will never again see the light.

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Friday, 18 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Timothy 6 : 2c-12

Teach and stress these things. Whoever teaches in some other way, not following the sound teaching of our Lord Christ Jesus and true religious instruction, is conceited and understands nothing.

This one is crazy about controversies and discussions that result in envy, insults, blows and constant arguments between people of depraved minds and far from the truth. For them, religion is merely for financial gain.

In reality, religion is a treasure if we are content with what we have. We brought nothing into the world and we will leave it with nothing. Let us then be content with having food and clothing. Those who strive to be rich fall into temptations and traps. A lot of foolish and harmful ambitions plunge them into ruin and destruction.

Indeed, the love of money is the root of every evil. Because of this greed, some have wandered away from the faith, bringing on themselves afflictions of every kind. But you, man of God, shun all this. Strive to be holy and godly. Live in faith and love, with endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith and win everlasting life to which you were called when you made the good profession of faith in the presence of so many witnesses.

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Thursday, 17 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings spoke of how we all have a great debt to the Lord, who have forgiven us our debts and mistakes. All of us had been forgiven from our debts and our trespasses, which would have earned us an eternity in suffering and destruction in hell. God does not want us to suffer this, for His love for us is great and enduring always.

God had given us mankind so much, down through the ages. If we are to count the many blessings which we have received, then surely we should realise how fortunate we are to have someone who really cares about us, even when no one els would care about us. He is always there for us, especially for the sinners like us, and the greater our sins are, the greater too is His pity and mercy for us.

And today we heard the comparison between two sinner, the righteous Pharisee and the wicked female sinner, who judging by the standards and customs of the time, was likely a prostitute, a profession considered as filthy, wicked, sinful and truly undeserving of any respect and mercy. On the other hand, the Pharisee was known as one among the elites of the society, who garnered plenty of respect and great reputation for their piety and devotion to the Lord.

Naturally, the Pharisee, as were many of the other Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during Jesus’ time, would show great prejudice against such woman. They thought of themselves as paragons of faith and virtue, and would not suffer to see others they deemed as less righteous than they considered themselves righteous to be treated well and good. Instead, they treated and judged those deemed wicked very harshly, thinking that they were the ones rightful to judge these.

But, as Jesus has often pointed out, these people were no less sinners than the woman was. All of us are sinners, and we have committed sin before God, be it small or big, less or more sins. And the problem with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law is that because they thought of themselves as righteous, just and faithful, their ego and selfishness prevented them from finding the truth about themselves, that they were sinners too, and in need of God’s mercy, a fact they refused to acknowledge.

The woman had many sins, and therefore she realised how unworthy she was to come before the Lord and to beg for His mercy and forgiveness. And yet, the most important of all, is that she came and took the initiative to seek the Lord and beg for His mercy, lowering herself and not minding herself to look like a slave and a penitent. Yet, it was her humility, her readiness and willingness to repent and change herself that brought her to salvation.

This is a reminder to all of us, that in our faith we should not be proud of our achievements, as our faith is not about ourselves, but about the Lord and our relationship with Him. This is why, we have to be careful not to fall into the same trap as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, because they thought of themselves as righteous and thus closed themselves from being able to recognise their own shortcomings.

Do not be prideful and boastful, and if we want to boast, boast not of ourselves but boast of the Lord, as St. Paul mentioned in one of his epistles. Pride is the same fault that brought about Satan’s fall from grace, and we too shall fall if we are not careful about it. And thus, now let us be inspired by the life examples of today’s saint, St. Robert Bellarmine, whose feast is today.

St. Robert Bellarmine was a renowned servant and leader of the Church during the turbulent time of its history about five hundred years ago, during a time of uncertainty, external threats and internal threats by the division of the faithful particularly by what was known as the so-called Protestant ‘reformation’. Many left the Church and sinned by following the desires of men and by their pride, they refused to acknowledge their wrongdoings.

The Church itself at the time was also tainted with sin, and this was part of the reason why the ‘reformation’ started, as mistaken as it was in reality. And St. Robert Bellarmine was among one of the greatest reformers of the Church, who ensured that the excesses and the sins of the Church at that time were addressed and corrected, and measures were put in place to safeguard the faithful against further intrusion by the forces of the devil.

He helped to clarify many aspects of the faith and Church life, ensuring that there would be no further confusion of what the Church is about, and what it taught in accordance to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and His laws. And by his works and dedications to the Church, many thousands and more of the faithful found their way back to God and into His salvation.

It was not through prideful and boastful proclamations that St. Robert Bellarmine did his works and brought goodness to the world. It was rather by painstaking work and effort, as well as through many hardships that he managed to accomplished what he had done. It is therefore what all of us should do as well, in helping one another to bring all of us together to the Lord and His presence, and share together His salvation and the graces which He promised to all those who remain faithful to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to work more and work more diligently for the sake of each other, and help all those who are on their way to God’s salvation, finding the Lord’s mercy through repentance and humility, and learn to humble ourselves, and remind ourselves whenever we are filled with pride and hubris.

May Almighty God bless us all, keep us free from sin, and help guide us on our way towards His loving grace, the eternal life which is His inheritance and gift to all those who keep their faith in Him strong. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Luke 7 : 36-50

At that time, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to share His meal, so He went to the Pharisee’s home, and as usual reclined at the table to eat. And it happened that a woman of this town, who was known as a sinner, heard that He was in the Pharisee’s house.

She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and stood behind Him, at His feet, weeping. She wet His feet with tears, she dried them with her hair, she kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them. The Pharisee who had invited Jesus was watching, and thought, “If this Man were a Prophet, He would know what sort of person is touching Him; is this woman not a sinner?”

Then Jesus spoke to the Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to ask you.” He answered, “Speak, Master.” And Jesus said, “Two people were in debt to the same creditor. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. As they were unable to pay him back, he graciously cancelled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, who was forgiven more.” And Jesus said, “You are right.” And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? You gave Me no water for My feet when I entered your house, but she has washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.”

“You provided no oil for My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. This is why, I tell you, her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because of her great love. But the one who is forgiven little, has little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others reclining with Him at the table began to wonder, “Now this Man claims to forgive sins!” But Jesus again spoke to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

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Thursday, 17 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 110 : 7-8, 9, 10

The works of His hands are faithful and just, trustworthy are all His precepts, ordained to last forever, bearers of truth and uprightness.

He has sent His people deliverances and made with them a covenant forever. His Holy Name is to be revered!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are those who live by His precepts. To Him belongs everlasting praise.

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Thursday, 17 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

1 Timothy 4 : 12-16

Let no one reproach you on account of your youth. Be a model to the believers in the way you speak and act, in your love, your faith and purity of life. Devote yourself to reading, preaching and teaching, until I come.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift conferred on you with prophetic words when the elders laid their hands upon you. Think about it and practice it so that your progress may be seen by all. Take heed of yourself and attend to your teaching. Be steadfast in doing this and you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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Wednesday, 16 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today what we heard in the Scripture Readings from the Old and the New Testament is that all of us ought to wake up from our lack of wisdom, from our lack of understanding of the will of God, and thus we are unable to discern what is best for us to do in this life, in our actions and deeds, where our confusion resulting in the devil being able to enter into our hearts and minds and tempt us to commit sinful things.

This is what will happen if we do not put our trust in the Lord and instead rely and depend on our own whim and desires. Each of us have our different desires and wants, and when these differ from each other and no one would want to give way to the other, then conflict would arise, and this is the root of many of the sorrows and bitterness in this world, past, present and in the coming future.

Those who trust in the wisdom of men will be disappointed, as they should all realise that the intellect and capacity of mankind to understand the world around them is limited and filled with prejudice and preconceptions. We look at the world through tinted glasses of our human judgment, and as a result, we have the tendency to judge others based on what we see and what we have experienced in life.

Thus, this was why they judged St. John the Baptist and Jesus as they went about seeing what the two had done in their ministry and work in this world. They used their prejudices to think badly of St. John the Baptist as a madman and a lunatic, while of Jesus they thought of Him as a heretic and someone who refused to follow and obey the Law, and preferring to follow His own way.

Yes, these were the prejudices of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, which in what I have often mentioned, they were often so fixated in fulfilling the requirements and rigours of the Law that they forgot about God’s intentions of giving those laws to mankind in the first place. They thought that just because they were educated and filled with human and worldly wisdom, then they were to be esteemed and respected, and they thought that they had the right to judge others based on their judgment.

They were too focused on themselves, and rather than realising what God wanted from them, they became self-righteous, self-serving and filled with all sorts of selfishness and ego that characterised their actions and their deeds, and in how they always worked to undermine the good works of Christ Jesus our Lord. They thought of Jesus as a rival and as someone who would steal their glory and privileges from them, and giving in to their ego and pride, they committed great sins before the Lord.

This is clearly what we do not want to replicate in ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ. Our path forward should be filled with humility and trust in the wisdom and in the will of God, recognising that our opinions and intellect would not provide everything that we need, and that we may commit errors and mistakes, whereas the Lord can never be wrong.

It is just as what was said that those who want to follow Jesus must first die to themselves before they are able to follow Him and walk in His ways. This does not mean a literal death, but rather, the ending of one’s own pride and ego, the ending of the desires and the greed that had been for so long a great obstacle on our path to redemption. We have to first get rid of our selfishness and our self-loving and self-serving attitudes before we can truly serve and follow the Lord our God.

Today we celebrate the feast of two saints, whose lives and examples can hopefully be an inspiration to all of us, so that we too may be able to walk in the same path that they have walked in. It is important for us to remember what Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian had done in their life, in their work to bring greater glory to God, and in their commitment to the people of God.

Pope St. Cornelius was the Bishop of Rome, Pope and Leader of the Universal Church whose leadership was essential to help and guide the faithful during a time when they lived in fear of the authorities and the world, where they were persecuted daily for their sins. He led the people of the faith against the great persecution against the faithful led by the Roman Emperor Decius, who was infamous for his especially bloody and harsh persecution of Christians.

Together with many of the faithful and their leaders, which include St. Cyprian, an influential Bishop of Carthage, they led the faithful through a difficult time, including dealing not just with the external threat of official persecution but also the internal divisions and disagreements within the Church itself. The persecution had caused a great division in the Church, with the faction favouring harsh stance on those Christians who had been known to give way to some demands of the worldly authorities in place of their safety, and those, on the side of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, who favoured mercy and forgiveness on these people.

In this, we can see clearly how the readings today stack up and is repeated once again there, with those favouring harsh persecution and treatment of their fellow brethren in faith as those who were like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in trusting their own human judgment and intellect in coming out with solutions and in how they deal with issues such as the one presented to them.

It does not mean of course, that God tolerated the sins of those who have committed sin and not being faithful to Him. God still despises all of those sins, even to the smallest and least of sins. However, what differentiates everything is the fact that God does not hate us or despise us as a human being, as His creation in any way. He loves us all greatly, and desires nothing else other than for us to repent our ways, to change and to be welcomed back into His grace.

Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian brought the mercy of God to these people, reminding them to keep themselves worthy and pure from sins, and these two courageous and holy men did not fear even the pressures and threats from the world, and bravely embraced martyrdom, dying in defending their faith. They remained true to the end, and rather than placing their own interests, wishes and wants first, they placed God before everything else.

Let us all learn from their examples, and let us all learn to be more committed, devoted and faithful in our ways. May Almighty God help us and guide us on our way, so that we may grow less and less attached to ourselves and grow smaller in our ego, dying to our selfishness, and rise anew as people dedicated to the Lord, filled with His love, caring and loving one another as He had taught us. God bless us all and may He bring us to eternal life. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 September 2015 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 7 : 31-35

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “What comparison can I use for this people? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain, ‘We piped you a tune and you would not dance; we sang funeral songs and you would not cry.'”

“Remember John : he did not eat bread or drink wine, and you said, ‘He has an evil spirit.’ Next came the Son of Man, eating and drinking and you say, ‘Look, a glutton for food and wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But the children of Wisdom always recognise her work.”