Roman saints

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Monday, 26 September 2016 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Scripture passage taken from the Book of Job, the faithful servant of God, whom the devil or Satan had persecuted and troubled, because he was jealous of the great faith and devotion that this man of God is showing the Lord and the world. Satan is told to be our accuser and our enemy before God, casting out our sins and our wickedness, our shortcomings and evils before Him that we will be condemned to eternity with Satan and his angels in hellfire.

Indeed, Satan and his allies desire our destruction and demise, but then we may be confused as to why God would allow the devil then to have his ways on us as he had done with Job, the faithful man of God? After all, he had been faithful all of his life, and then God would allow Job to be tested by Satan, who destroyed all of his possessions, all of his cattle and herds, stole away all of his belongings and even destroyed his beloved ones, his sons and daughters.

It is easy for us all to accuse God of wrongdoing in this manner, that He had deliberately abandoned His servant in his time of need, allowing an enemy to strike at him and destroy him, crushing him with sorrow and despair. However, if we look through the entirety of the Book of Job, we should realise that it was not God Who desired our destruction, and neither would He deliberately allow us to be crushed, as if that was the case, He could have easily just cast Job into hell to be tormented for eternity.

But that was not what God had done to Job, and neither had He done that to any of us mankind. After all, He Who created us all out of love would not have destroyed us without good reason, and there is truly no reason good enough for each and every one of us has that same potential for conversion and change. But no, we all suffer in this world because of none other than ourselves, because of our sins and our disobedience against God which had made us to go astray from the Lord.

In the first place, God created us to enjoy forever the bliss and happiness with Him in Eden, where everything was created good and perfect, and then it was our ancestors’ inability to hold and bridle their desires which led them to disobedience and sin, and as a result, by their own actions they had brought suffering upon themselves, and as a result as well, death becomes a part of our life. Death is the consequence for our sins, but it was not the intention of the Lord to burden us with it.

And our death is not going to last forever, because we who believe in the Lord know that He is the Life-giving Lord, Who blesses all of His faithful ones with the promise of everlasting life, which He Himself had declared through Jesus Christ His Son, by His death on the cross, as well as then through His glorious resurrection from the dead, which led to the hope for each and every one of us, that there is a way out of our suffering in this world.

And that way is through believing in God, putting our trust in Him as Job had done. Job has remained true to his faith in God throughout all those sufferings and difficult years, and even amidst all the persuasions and the pressures from others to do otherwise. He did complained against God as being unjust in dealing with his situation, but nonetheless, he remained truly faithful to the very end.

Because of his obedience and faith, God rewarded Job with much more than what he had once lost, a proof of God’s ever-present love for His beloved people. Indeed He will not abandon us to the darkness, but He will ever love us with ever more and more care and attention, so long as we too learn how to love Him and show Him our faith and appreciation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should also heed the examples of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, the two saints and holy martyrs whose memory we remember and celebrate today. St. Cosmas and St. Damian were told to be brothers who were good physicians who often tended to the sick and to the poor in their community, who often tended to these people without asking for money or payment.

For their great and sincere love for their brethren, many were touched and inspired by their examples, and came to believe in the Lord as these brothers had as well. They have brought many into the embrace of the Lord, and many were saved because of them. But eventually, they were found out by the local authorities, who at that time, at the height of the last great persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, arrested and tortured these two saints, and martyred them.

The good works and the perseverance of these two saints, the obedience and faith of Job should be inspiration to all of us. Let our faith be like that of a child’s faith, pure and true, unbridled and unlimited by our desires and worldly wants, but instead, we should learn to welcome the Lord into our hearts, that just like how Jesus welcomed the children brought to Him, He too may embrace us and welcome us all into His presence.

May God bless us all and keep us in His love always, and may He grant us the gift of grace and life everlasting He has promised to all of us, His beloved and faithful ones. Amen.

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Monday, 26 September 2016 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Luke 9 : 46-50

At that time, the disciples were arguing about which of them was the most important. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so He took a little child and stood him by His side. Then He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My Name, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes the One Who sent Me. And listen : the one who is found to be the least among you all, is the one who is the greatest.”

Then John spoke up, “Master, we saw someone who drives out demons by calling upon Your Name, and we tried to forbid him, because he does not follow You with us.” But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him. He who is not against you is for you.”

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Monday, 26 September 2016 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 16 : 1, 2-3, 6-7

Hear a just cause, o Lord, listen to my complaint. Give heed to my prayer for there is no deceit on my lips.

Let my defence come forth from You. Your eyes see what is right. You have probed my heart, searched me at night, tested me by fire, and You have seen no wickedness in me.

I call on You, You will answer me, o God; incline Your ear and hear my word. For You do wonders for Your faithful, You save those fleeing from the enemy as they seek refuge at Your right hand.

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Monday, 26 September 2016 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Job 1 : 6-22

One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before YHVH, and Satan came with them. YHVH asked Satan, “Where have you been?” Satan answered, “Going up and down the earth, roaming about.” YHVH asked again, “Have you noticed My servant Job? No one on earth is as blameless and upright as he, a man who fears God and avoids evil.”

But Satan returned the question, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not built a protective wall around him and his family and all his possessions? You have blessed and prospered him, with his livestock all over the land. But stretch out Your hand and strike where his riches are, and I bet he will curse You to Your face.”

YHVH said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power. But do not lay a finger upon the man himself.” So Satan left the presence of YHVH. One day, while his sons and daughters were feasting in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said, “Your oxen were plowing, and your donkeys were grazing nearby when the Sabaeans came and carried them off. They killed the herdsmen, I alone escaped to tell you.”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came, “God’s fire fell from the sky and burned all your sheep and the shepherds as well. I alone have escaped to tell you.” He had hardly finished speaking when another messenger arrived, “Three raiding teams of Chaldeans have killed your servants and carried off your camels. I alone have escaped to tell you.”

He was still speaking when another messenger came and said to Job, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the house of their eldest brother when suddenly a great wind blew across the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they all died. I alone have escaped to tell you.”

In grief Job tore his clothes and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshipped, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked shall I return. YHVH gave, YHVH has taken away. Blessed be His Name!” In spite of this calamity, Job did not sin by blaspheming God.

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Monday, 19 September 2016 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings, we heard about the Lord Who reminded each and every one of us that we who are His people ought to show all that we truly belong to Him. And the only way to do it is by really practicing what we believe in, by actually doing and acting out the things which He had taught us to do, that is to love, and love tenderly and generously.

And that was what Jesus our Lord meant when He spoke about having a candle and a light that ought not to be hidden underneath and covered, but instead should be shown for all to see, as the light that illuminate the whole room. This is related to what He also said on another occasion, which we know as the parable of the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

In that parable, Jesus compared and indeed exhorted His disciples to be salt of the earth and to be light of the world. At the core of the message, it simply means that if we do call ourselves as Christians, then certainly we cannot show to the world otherwise, for example, by acting in ways that besmirch and desecrate the holiness of God and His Church, by committing fornication and adultery with improper relationships, as well as many others.

Jesus said that if light is concealed and hidden, that it has no use at all, as light has its purpose to brighten up the place and show the path and give direction for others to see. Meanwhile, if salt loses its saltiness, then it has also become useless, as salt is used to give flavour to the food. Without their respective useful properties, light and salt are meaningless and useless.

In the same manner, we must live our faith with sincerity and genuine intention, showing them through our loving actions, real actions that bring forth the goodness of God’s love and grace in us. In that, then we will have fulfilled what the Lord had asked us to do, to become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It means that we cannot be lukewarm in our faith, and neither can we be ignorant about the many things that are occurring around us on daily basis.

Yes, the fact is that the opportunity for evangelisation is always there for us. We do not have to go far away in order to evangelise. What we need to do is to pay attention to those who are near to us, surrounding us, and see what we can do from there. Before we can do great things, we must know how to do simple things, and beginning from our own families, societies and communities around us, we can truly make a difference, not just for ourselves, but also for those whom we interact with.

Let us all look at the example of today’s great saint, the renowned St. Januarius of Naples, Italy, also known by his name San Gennaro in that place. He was renowned for the miracles that surround the most renowned relic he had, that is a vial of his preserved blood, which liquefies on certain periods of the year, including today, his feast day.

But what made St. Januarius great and such miracles to happen to his relic was indeed his great contribution to the Church and to the faithful, especially to all those to whom he had dedicated himself to. St. Januarius was the Bishop of the region of Benevento in southern Italy during a time when being a Christian often meant committing a crime against the state punishable by death. Persecution was rampant against the faithful then.

It was told that St. Januarius tried his best as the leader of the faithful in his diocese, hiding those who have been found out to be Christians and targeted by the state for punishment and imprisonment. He did this for a few years before he himself was discovered and then put into jail as a result. But he did not falter to the very end, and he continued to put his trust and faith in the Lord, until he was martyred in defending his faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should all heed the examples of St. Januarius, who had worked so hard to serve the faithful to whom he had been appointed as a shepherd and leader. We too in our own ways can contribute to the Church, and also helping one another to live out their lives in faith to God. Let us all reflect on this, and think of the ways in which we can be better Christians, living in accordance to the Lord and His ways. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 19 September 2016 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Luke 8 : 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather he puts it on a lampstand, so that people coming in may see the light. In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret that shall not be known clearly.”

“Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces will be given more, but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them.”

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Monday, 19 September 2016 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5

Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words.

Those who do no harm to their neighbours and cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.

Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.

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Monday, 19 September 2016 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)
Proverbs 3 : 27-35

Do not hold back from those who ask your help, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbour, “Go away! Come another time; tomorrow I will give it to you!” when you can help him now.

Do not plot evil against your neighbour who lives trustingly beside you, nor fight a man without cause when he has done you no wrong. Do not envy the man of violence or follow his example.

For YHVH hates the wicked but guides the honest. He curses the house of the evildoer but blesses the home of the upright. If there are mockers, He mocks them in turn but He shows His favour to the humble. The wise will possess His glory while the foolish will inherit disgrace.

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Friday, 16 September 2016 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and St. Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we become witnesses of the Lord’s Word spoken to us through His Scriptures, where He spoke of how He had brought healing and salvation upon the world, and He did that through His wonderful works, the primary of which is the death of Himself on the cross, and then how He wondrously rose up from the dead, and was risen in glory, defeating and conquering death.

And we are His witnesses of His resurrection from the dead, as those who have been entrusted with the knowledge and the faith in the One through Whom God had justified the whole world, the whole race of mankind. And that is the essence and the core of our faith, that we believe in our loving God, through Whom we have all been saved by His actions, descending upon this world to be one like us, that by sharing our humanity, He may share with all of us as well, the glory of His death and resurrection.

That is the key message which the Scripture passages we heard today are trying to tell us. We as Christians are people of the Gospel, the Good News of the Lord’s salvation. And we all know that Christ had willingly agreed to shoulder the burden of our sins and wickedness, all the consequences and punishments that come with them, so that we may be saved and not perish in the darkness.

But the offer of Christ’s mercy, forgiveness and love will only be fully realised within us if we all accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, and agree to fully walk in His path, that is to become a real and genuine Christian. And what is the relevance of these all to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because, we who follow the Lord as the Apostles and the holy women mentioned in the Gospel today, we are the workers of Christ, those through whose good works, we bring upon many the salvation of the Lord.

That is the mission entrusted by the Lord Himself to His Apostles and disciples before He left them to ascend to His heavenly glory. But He did not leave them behind, for He was indeed still with them, and He sent them the great Helper, the Holy Spirit to guide them and to help them in their missions and works. And we are their successors, the ones to continue the good works of the Apostles of the Lord.

What does this mean to us? It means that all of us as Christians should really value our faith and truly commit ourselves to living as Christians and as how Christians are supposed to be. And that is how we can best preach about the Lord to others around us. If we show how we live as an example to them, then surely through our works and actions, many will come to believe in the Lord and be converted to His cause.

Now the challenge for us is that we are called to do all these, which many of us certainly have not done thus far. We as members of the Church of God and as Christians ought to devote ourselves to the way of our Lord, that many more people would come to believe in Him, and therefore we may together gain the salvation in God and liberation from our sufferings and sins.

Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, the holy saints whom the Church celebrates today, were also devoted and committed in their actions, serving the Lord and His Church to the best of his abilities. Both Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian served the Lord with great zeal, and although they often did not agree on certain matters, as evident in how once they came into a bitter conflict over the matter of the forgiveness and acceptance of those who have abandoned the faith and then later returned, but they were able to come together and resolved their differences for the good of the faithful.

Persecution of the faithful was particularly vicious at that time under the Roman Emperor Decius and his successors. Many of the faithful were under attack and under great trouble because of their faith. And both of these faithful saints were also part of the persecution, exiled to hard labour and to great tribulations. Yet, they never ceased to do great works, writing commendations and encouragements to their flock even from exile, to strengthen them amidst the difficult moments.

May God help us all in these endeavours in following the examples of these great saints. May the Lord help us in our works and commitments to bring our fellow brethren to Him, that all of us may be together saved in Him. May God with His holy saints show us the way to lead many to Him, that eventually all may receive grace and righteousness in God. Amen.

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Friday, 16 September 2016 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and St. Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
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.