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Tuesday, 17 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear the long preaching by St. Paul in the first reading, on the criteria required of one to be the overseer of the people of God, that is in the more contemporary language, means to be bishops and leaders of the Universal Church, including the Pope himself, our leader and the Vicar of Christ.

Just as not anybody can become the ordained ministers of the Lord, that is priests and deacons, therefore, the higher ordained orders demand even greater requirements and even stricter criteria. That is important because, just as the Pharisees and the chief priests had led their people into ruin, the leaders of the Church and their capabilities are essential to lead the people of God into the right way, that is towards the Lord.

If the bishops are improperly chosen, and if the early Church had not carefully decided on whom should be the overseers, there would certainly be chaos and divisions within the Church, damaging the unity and structure of the Church of God. Bishops should be upright men, who placed the Lord first before all other things, and avoid any form of fornication or impurities that may cause them to deviate from the path of truth.

Bishops, the overseers of God’s work, did not have it easy brethren, as they certainly had much oppositions, and also heavy demands and expectations on their shoulders. That was why, St. Paul was very strict in his criteria of who should be chosen as overseers, as bishops of the Church, especially the Pope, the bishop of Rome, whom all believers look up to, as their moral authority in this world, representing Christ Himself.

The people look up to them as teachers and leaders, and uprightness and righteousness are important priorities for the selection criteria, those with commitment to the Lord and dedication to doing good for the sake of others, and for the sake of God, and those with the heart and dedication for service of the Lord and for His people in the Church. Certainly not someone who desires the position because they desire power, money, and privileges attached such positions.

Yes, brethren, we need someone who is truly dedicated and devoted to his position as leaders and shepherds of the faithful. We need good shepherds, modelled after Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, who gave His all to His sheep, that is all of us, fully dedicated to us, and most importantly filled with love for us, those who had been entrusted to Him. The same too, therefore, ought to be expected of those who had been entrusted with positions of authority in the Church.

Yes, loving in the same way that Jesus had loved His people, the people of God, especially those who are suffering, those who are unloved, and those who are rejected by the society. Today, He showed His love to the widow of Naim, who had just lost her son to death. He showed His love to her and to everyone, by exercising His authority over life and death, bringing the son of the widow back to life.

He was so moved with compassion over the sorrow of the widow, who had lost the only one she had possessed in this world, her beloved. The Lord truly understood that feeling. Imagine, brethren! How would the Lord feel, with each one of us lost day by day, to sin and damnation, that is to be separated for eternity from He who loves all of us, without exception. If we suffer from such separation, imagine the wounds that cause to the loving heart of our God.

Therefore, we truly need good and dedicated and loving leaders in this Church of God, to be the ones leading us in our approach towards the Lord. We need someone who follow the Lord and His love for those entrusted to Him, and not someone who will immediately run away at the first sign of trouble, or someone who do not love the sheep and do not put all of his heart and effort to his ministry. For those are the false and bad shepherds, the hired men who care not for those given to them.

However, brethren, this should not just be limited to just our bishops, our priests and those in the position of leadership. It is also important for us, to also follow in their footsteps, emulating the examples of the Lord, and become role models and leaders for one another. It is important for us that we help one another and support one another, that we help each other in our journey towards salvation, guided by our chosen leaders, the priests, and particularly the bishops.

Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, a great religious and leader of the Universal Church, as both a Jesuit and a Cardinal. He lived at the era of upheaval in the Church, where heresies and rebellion against the faith were commonplace. St. Robert Bellarmine was appointed to positions of influence and entrusted with much responsibilities. Yet, he did not remain idle, and instead plunged himself into the work, totally committed to his vocation in life, that is to serve the people of God and uphold the truth of the faith.

St. Robert Bellarmine wrote extensively on the matters of the faith, contributing greatly to the advancement and enrichment of the faith in the Church. Through his works and contributions, many people returned to the faith, and his valuable writings remain widely studied even until today. St. Robert Bellarmine supported the Church’s attempt to counter Protestantism through the Countet-Reformation, working hard to protect the Holy Mother Church.

May the Lord continue to shower us with His love, and especially to our leaders, that we all will continue to reflect Christ and His love, love for all of us,  and the love He had once shown to the widow of Naim. Let us be loving and compassionate to our fellow men, showing them the care Christ had shown to us.

Inspired also by the examples of St. Robert Bellarmine, who committed himself fully to his appointed mission, and through his passionate defender of the faith, let us not be ignorant of the suffering of others, but let us empathise and open our hearts to those who need our love. And do not forget to always pray for our priests! Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

1 Timothy 3 : 1-13

If someone aspires to the overseer’s ministry, he is without a doubt looking for a noble task. It is necessary that the overseer (or bishop) be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, responsible, judicious, of good manners, hospitable and skillful in teaching.

He must not be addicted to wine or quarrelsome, but gentle and peaceful, and not a lover of money, but a man whose household is well-managed, with obedient and well-mannered children. If he cannot govern his own house, how can he lead the assembly of God?

He must not be a recent convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must enjoy a good reputation among the outsiders, lest people speak evil about him and he fall into the snare of the devil.

Deacons, likewise, must be serious and sincere and moderate in drinking wine, not greedy for money, they must keep the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Let them be first tried and, if found blameless, be accepted as deacons. In the same way the women must be conscientious, not given to gossip, but reserved and trustworthy.

A deacon must be husband of one wife, and must know how to guide his children and manage his household. Those who serve well as deacons will win honourable rank, with authority to speak of Christian faith.

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Thursday, 1 August 2013 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 13 : 47-53

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish in buckets, but throw the worthless ones away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just, and to throw the wicked into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. So He said to them, “You will see that every teacher of the Law, who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder, who can produce from his store things both new and old.”

When Jesus had finished these parables, He left that place.

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Tuesday, 14 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter, Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in less than a week’s time, Easter season will be drawing to a close with the feast of the Pentecost, when we celebrate the birthday of the Church, that is when the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles and marked the official ‘beginning’ of their ministry in spreading the Good News to all over the world, to all nations and to all mankind.

But Easter does not end here and at that time, my dear brothers and sisters, for indeed, the mission Christ had entrusted to the Apostles still continues today, that is to baptise all the nations in the name of the Holy Trinity and to make disciples of all the nations. That is the charge placed by God upon us, and we should then do something in order to fulfill this mission.

Remember that we too are disciples and apostles of the Lord, apostles and witnesses of Christ in our own times and in our own places, bearing witness for the Lord in our own societies and in our own neighbourhoods, among our own friends, our own family, and our own surroundings. We reflect Christ through our own words, our thoughts, our actions, and how we interact with others, especially whether we have reflected the love of God in all that we do.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Matthias, one of the Twelve Apostles. But, St. Matthias was in fact not in the original Twelve, which include Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus in their number. After Judas had betrayed Jesus, he was filled with the sense of regret for having sold his Master for a mere thirty pieces of silver and that he had betrayed innocent blood. Alas, it was way too late for him. He was condemned and his place was taken by another.

Yes, that was because he was unworthy of being one of God’s disciples, and therefore was cast off and replaced with someone who was more worthy of that honour, and St. Matthias was chosen by God to fill up that role. St. Matthias was also one of the longest followers of Jesus but was not included in the Twelve until after the Lord’s death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Yet he is equally as good as any of the remaining Eleven Apostles of the events surrounding the salvific mission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That clearly shows that the work of evangelisation and conversion of the world to the cause of Christ is not yet done, and will always continue, that is until the second coming of our Lord into this world. This world is still bathed in darkness, and much of mankind with it, without seeing the light of Christ. We, the disciples of the Lord, who have received the faith from the teachings of the Church and thus the Apostles, therefore have the duty to continue the mission that has been entrusted to us.

St. Matthias carried out his task with fervour and strong love for God, evangelising the faith to the people in the distant regions of Asia and met martyrdom in the region now known as Georgia. He was martyred while in the midst of working in the fields of God, spreading the seeds of faith on the soil of mankind. Many did heed his call and became believers, but there are many too who rejected the faith and also caused St. Matthias’ own martyrdom.

In our world today, there are many who had drifted away from the light of Christ. Many of them were even former believers in Christ, but drifted away due to various reasons, many of which involve the worldly temptations and developments that took them further from the words of God. The loud noises made by the world has shut the Lord’s voice from them, that they can no longer listen to Him in their hearts and minds.

It is therefore up to us, brothers and sisters, to bring the words of the Lord back to them, to show them once again the true path to salvation that Christ had revealed to all of us. Let us follow in the example of St. Matthias and the Apostles in evangelisation, in order to bring the Good News of the Lord to the ends of the earth, and to all mankind, that they all may live. Amen.