Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order

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Tuesday, 17 February 2026 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, isters in Christ, all of us are reminded today as we are about to enter the time and season of Lent tomorrow, that each and every one of us should always be vigilant, prepared and ever ready to resist the temptations of sin and other worldly desires and ambitions, all of which can be the reason for our downfall and destruction. We should always put our trust and faith instead in the Lord, and do our best as Christians to live righteously and worthily in accordance to the ways and paths that the Lord Himself has taught and shown us, through His Church and all that He has revealed to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. James, we heard the words of the author highlighting about how sins and wickedness came about because of our own inability to resist the temptations to commit such sins, and not because God gave us the temptations. It is a reminder for each and every one of us not to allow ourselves to be easily swayed and tempted by the allures of sin and evil all around us, all of which can easily turn us away from the path of God and His righteousness into the path of downfall and damnation. Each and every one of us are called as Christians to be good role models and inspirations to one another in following God’s will and doing our best to live virtuously in accordance to what the Lord has told and shown us to do.

And we should not do it by our own strength alone, as it is often that we fall into temptation and fail to resist its allures whenever we depend only on our own strength and power. With God however, we can have the strength, courage and fortitude to resist the temptations and we can therefore walk ever more courageously in the path that He has called us to follow and which He has set our feet upon. If we put our faith and trust in the Lord, therefore, we shall we guarded and given the strength to persevere the journey of faith and life. The question is then, do we trust the Lord enough and do we put our faith in Him in all of these? Do we listen to Him and allow Him to guide us carefully in our paths in life?

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples after He has performed miracle of the multiplication of the loaves of bread, showing the power of God and the love which the Lord has always had for those whom He has loved and were precious to Him. He warned them all about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod, that they do not end up falling into the same trap, using yeast as a metaphor to represent the sins and faults of those Pharisees and those in the court of Herod and the king himself, each of whom had been harbouring in them sins and faults that prevented them from truly believing in the Lord.

This metaphor of yeast is used in the context of how unleavened bread were used for the celebration of the Passover, and that was because back at the time of their Exodus from Egypt, there was no time for them to let the dough to ferment and grow into the bread through the agent of yeast, which took some time and place. Thereafter, yeast was used in some of the symbolisms to represent the impurities and corruptions of the world which had corrupted the purity of mankind, that is none other than sin. And with regards to the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod, these yeasts represent the sin of pride, ego and arrogance for the former, and the sin of lust and greed for the latter.

The Pharisees were those religious and intellectual elites of the community of the Jewish people at that time, and composed one of the major factions within the Jewish High Council or the Sanhedrin. They took great pride in their status and achievements, and it was likely their ego and arrogance which prevented them from listening to reason or accepting the Wisdom of God. Meanwhile, Herod was the king that ruled Galilee at that time, the son of Herod the Great, who lived in an immoral way, living in adultery with his brother’s wife, Herodias, and living in a court filled with greed and lust, among other sins. That was why the Lord warned His disciples, followers and the people listening to Him of these ‘yeasts’ of the Pharisees and Herod.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us should follow the good examples set by our holy predecessors as we celebrate their feast day today, namely the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. These seven holy men of God, known by their names of Bonfilius, Alexis, Manettus, Amideus, Hugh, Sostene and Buonagiunta of Florence. All of them found each other in a bond of spiritual friendship which then grew on and having received a vision from the Blessed Mother of God, they were resolved to leave behind everything and followed God, marking the foundation of the Servite Order.

The seven holy founders worked hard and dedicatedly through the Order of the Servites, caring for the poor and the needy, those who were abandoned and without any proper attention and care. They all were dedicated with the care for the physical and material needs of those people, of whom the Lord Himself had said to us, that we have to show love and care for the least of our brethren, to the poor and those who had no one to love them and care for them. The seven holy founders of the Servites did their best within their capacity to care for these people. They are indeed good examples and inspirations for all of us to follow in how we should live our own lives with virtue and faith in God.

May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us all in our journey and life, so that in everything that we say and do, we will continue to walk ever more faithfully in the path that God Himself has called us to walk through. May God bless our every good works and endeavours, and help us to be the shining beacon of His truth and wisdom in our world today. May all of us ever be more courageous to live our lives well as Christians, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 February 2026 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Mark 8 : 14-21

At that time, the disciples had forgotten to bring more bread, and had only one loaf with the in the boat. Then Jesus warned them, “Keep your eyes open, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” And they said of one another, “He saw that we have no bread.”

Aware of this, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about the loaves you are short of? Do you not see or understand? Are your minds closed? Have your eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves among five thousand? How many baskets full of letfovers did you collect?”

They answered, “Twelve.” “And having distributed seven loaves to the four thousand, how many wicker baskets of leftovers did you collect?” They answered, “Seven.” Then Jesus said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

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Tuesday, 17 February 2026 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 93 : 12-13a, 14-15, 18-19

Fortunate the one You correct, o YHVH, the one You teach Your Law; You give them relief from distress.

YHVH will not reject His people, nor will He forsake His heritage. Justice will return to the just; and the upright will follow, in its wake.

No sooner did I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your kindness, o YHVH, held me up. The more worries and trouble assailed me, the more You consoled me.

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Tuesday, 17 February 2026 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

James 1 : 12-18

Happy are those who patiently endure trials, because, afterward, they will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him. No one, when tempted, should say, “This temptation comes from God.” God is never tempted, and He can never tempt anyone. Instead, each of us is lured, and enticed, by our own evil desire. Once this desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Light, in Whom there is no change, or a shadow of a change. By His own will, He gave us life, through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of offering to Him, among His creatures.

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Monday, 17 February 2025 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened from the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for us to keep our faith in God and to do what is right according to the Law and commandments of God. We should not allow ourselves to be easily tempted and distracted by the various desires of the world around us, all the jealousy and pride in our hearts, all of which can easily lead us down the path towards our downfall. That was what the Scripture readings today had highlighted and warned us with, reminding us that we should be vigilant lest the evil one may tempt us with the allures of worldly glory and ambitions that make us to forget what is the most important thing in our lives, that is our foundation and centrality of our faith in God.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Genesis in which the moments after the downfall of mankind into sin and their exile from the Gardens of Eden were told to us. We heard the well-known story of the interactions between the two sons of Adam and Eve, namely Cain and Abel, both of whom were born to Eve after both her and Adam had been cast out of the Gardens of Eden for their disobedience and sin against God. And as we heard, Cain became jealous at Abel because his offerings of the first harvests of the land had been rejected by God while the offerings of Abel, the offering of the unblemished lambs that he shepherded was accepted by God. This led to the seeds of jealousy and anger to be sown in Cain’s heart and mind.

However, Cain in truth disobeyed the Lord’s commandments, when the Lord had cursed the earth that time because of the sins our ancestors committed. And by offering the fruits of the land, he was not offering what the Lord asked of him, and hence, it was for this disobedience and refusal to obey God that Cain’s offering had been rejected. Yet, Cain did not humble himself or admit his mistakes, and instead, he allowed himself to be swayed by the temptations of his pride and ego, and in his growing jealousy and anger, he raised his own hands against his brother, his own flesh and blood. This resulted in the murder of Abel, which Cain initially denied and tried to evade when the Lord came and questioned him about the deed. But eventually, he admitted the wicked deed because the Lord knew everything, and he was punished for his sins.

This is an important reminder for us all that if we give in to our ego, greed and other worldly desires we have, it is easy for us to end up being led down this slippery path of sin, and as Cain had done, we may even commit heinous things that is truly unbecoming for us all as Christians, in how we even cause hurt, pain and sufferings for others, like how Cain murdered his own brother out of his jealousy and anger. This is a reminder for all of us that we should always strive to keep ourselves and our hearts, our minds and indeed our whole beings free from the corruptions and temptations of sin. If we allow sin to direct our lives’ paths and directions, then we may end up losing our way to the darkness, and we may never attain the salvation and eternal life in God, to our eternal regret.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Mark the Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus encountered some arguments with the Pharisees who were arguing with Him and disagreed with Him on some matters. They were asking for Him to show them miraculous and heavenly signs, but the irony and truth is that they had all actually seen plenty of those signs and wonders which they asked for. After all those Pharisees had often followed the Lord and His disciples wherever they went, and they always shadowed Him throughout His ministry and works, and no doubt they had seen many of His miracles and wonders, which were more than enough proof for them for the signs that they kept on asking from the Lord.

Then why did those Pharisees continue to ask the Lord for such signs? And why did they not believe in the Lord and His works, His miracles and signs? Shouldn’t the Pharisees be the first ones to believe in the Lord because they were the ones supposedly the most knowledgeable and best to understand the Law and the Prophets? But that was exactly where this superiority and knowledge became their undoing, because this led them to pride and ego, arrogance and hubris, thinking that they were better than others, knowing and understanding the Law of God and the prophets better than everyone, and they therefore refused to reconcile what they had seen, heard and witnessed with their knowledge of the Law of God and the prophets. They kept on thinking that the Lord Jesus was a fraud and a false Messiah, and hence, despite His many signs and wonders, they kept on doubting Him and trying to discredit Him before the people.

This is hence the important reminder yet again for all of us as Christians that we should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly desires and ambitions, all of the things which can mislead us into the path of rebellion against God and then into eternal damnation. We must instead resist those temptations and strive to be humble before God, realising our imperfections and shortcomings, and ask Him for His guidance, help and encouragement constantly in our daily battle and struggle with sin and evil. We must not let ourselves be dragged into the path towards damnation simply because we are unable to resist the many temptations of the world around us, and we should also be good role models and inspirations for others, in how we live our lives as Christians.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. These seven Holy Founders of the Servites, namely Bonfilius, Alexis, Manettus, Amideus, Hugh, Sostene and Buonagiunta, all of whom were men from the city of Florence that were called by the Lord and they all bound themselves in strong and lasting spiritual friendship that eventually became the foundation of the Servite Order, in their strong faith in the Lord as well as in the intense devotion which they all had for the Blessed Mother of God. All of them led holy and devout lives, committed wholly to God, and they all became great source of inspiration for their fellow men and women, many of whom were drawn to follow their examples as well. They led a life that is truly centred on God and resisting the temptations of the world, something that is really admirable.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all have discussed earlier on from the readings of the Scriptures and the message that those words of the Lord presented to us, and also inspired by the good examples and the life of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, as well as our many other holy predecessors, let us all therefore commit ourselves from now on to a new life and existence that is truly attuned to the Lord, focusing not on ourselves and on our own personal ambitions and desires, but instead being focused as always on the Lord Himself, so that in everything that we do, we will always seek the greater glory of God and not our own. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us all in our resolve and faith, in our commitment to follow Him, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 17 February 2025 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Mark 8 : 11-13

At that time, the Pharisees came and started to argue with Jesus. Hoping to embarrass Him, they asked for some heavenly sign. Then His Spirit was moved. He gave a deep sigh and said, “Why do the people of this present time ask for a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.”

Then He left them, got into the boat again and went to the other side of the lake.

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Monday, 17 February 2025 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 49 : 1 and 8, 16bc-17, 20-21

The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, He summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

What right have you to mouth My laws, or to talk about My covenant? You hate My commands and cast My words behind you.

You speak ill of your brother, and slander your own mother’s son. Because I was silent while you did these things, you thought I was like you. But now I rebuke you and make this charge against you.

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Monday, 17 February 2025 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Genesis 4 : 1-15, 25

Adam had intercourse with Eve his wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. She named him Cain, for she said, “I have got a man with help from YHVH.” She later gave birth to Abel, his brother. Abel was a shepherd and kept flocks, and Cain tilled the soil.

It happened after a time that Cain brought fruits of the soil as an offering to YHVH. Abel for his part brought the firstborn of his flock, and some fat as well. Now YHVH was well pleased with Abel and his offering, but towards Cain and his offering He showed no pleasure. This made Cain very angry and downcast.

Then YHVH said to Cain, “Why are you angry and downcast? If you do right, why do you not look up? But if you are not doing what is right, sin is lurking at the door. It is striving to get you, but you must control it.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go to the fields.” Once there, Cain turned on his brother Abel and killed him. YHVH said to Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” He answered, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

YHVH asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now be cursed and driven from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood that your hand had shed. When you till the soil, it will no longer yield you its produce. You will be a fugitive wandering on the earth.”

Cain said to YHVH, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. See! Today You drive me from this land. I must hide from You and be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will so happen that whoever meets me will kill me.” YHVH said to him, “Well then, whoever kills Cain, will suffer vengeance seven times.” And YHVH put a mark on Cain to prevent anyone who met him from killing him.

Adam again had intercourse with his wife and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth; for she said, “YHVH has given me another child in place of Abel since Cain killed him.”

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Saturday, 17 February 2024 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we are all reminded that we should indeed free ourselves from the dominion and bondage of sins and evils, wickedness and all the temptations present all around us, all of which can become very serious obstacles that prevent us from truly attaining righteousness and grace in God. We are reminded of the need for all of us to remove from ourselves all the corruptions of sin, and all the attachments to those sins which had led to so many of us falling into the path of sin all these while. And God has always been full of kindness, mercy and compassion towards us, which is something that we really need to appreciate and be thankful for, as if not for the Lord, we would have been damned, crushed and destroyed because of our many sins and wickedness.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord spoke to His people in the southern kingdom of Judah about the matter of the repentance of the people from their many sins and wickedness, from their rebellions and disobedience, all of which had caused them to endure trials and sufferings, difficulties and humiliations because of their enemies and all those who had gone into conflict with them. At that time, the prophet Isaiah was sent to the kingdom of Judah when their northern neighbour, the kingdom of Israel that ruled over most of the ten out of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, had been subjugated, destroyed and conquered by the mighty Assyrian Empire.

That same kingdom of Israel had persecuted countless prophets and messengers of the Lord that had been sent to them in order to remind them and to help and guide them all back towards God. Despite this, the Lord still patiently reached out to all of the people, His beloved ones whom He wanted to be reconciled with. Yet, they still remained stubborn and chose to do things in their own way rather than to put their trust and faith in the Lord. The people chose to worship the pagan idols and the false gods rather than to believe in the Lord Who has delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, blessed and protected them throughout their whole journey from Egypt through the desert, defended them from their enemies and made them prosper.

Hence, that was why they ended up in their downfall, as they continued to put their trust in their own strength and their own power, in their false idols and all their worldly power and glory rather than to listen to God. They allowed their pride, ego, ambition and desires to be stumbling blocks and obstacles in the path of their return towards the Lord. This was why the Lord sent Isaiah amidst His people to remind them to turn away from this foolish path, which was also affecting the people of Judah, so that they would not end up facing the same fate of destruction and hardships. Those who lived in the northern kingdom were not humiliated just because they have lost their kingdom and nation, but also because many among them were forcefully brought out of their lands and exiled in the lands of Assyria, scattered in far and distant places, while pagans and foreigners were brought in to dwell in the lands which the Israelites had lived in earlier. Something like this unfortunate fate will be ours as well, if we fail to believe in the Lord and keep our faith in Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord calling to Levi, the tax collector, in which He gained a new and close follower and confidant, as Levi willingly left behind everything that he had in order to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The Lord had come and saw Levi at his tax collector’s booth, and He called on the latter, knowing the faith which this man had for God, and all the great things which he would do later on for the sake of God, His glory and His people. At that time, many of the people, especially among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they had a rather negative view and strong prejudice against the tax collectors, whom they considered as wicked, unworthy of God and sinful, because of their actions and work in collecting the taxes on behalf of the Roman overlords and also that of the local kings and rulers like the Herodians.

Hence, this prejudice led to the tax collectors being persecuted and ostracised from the general community, as they were generally disliked and even hated because of the work they carried out, and some even considered them as traitors to the people for having colluded and worked with those who conquered the lands and the nation of the Israelites. Yet, this led to those same Pharisees and the teachers of the Law commonly having a self-righteous and selfish personality, in thinking that they were superior, better and more worthy than those whom they deemed to be inferior, sinners, corrupt and wicked, like the tax collectors and prostitutes. Nonetheless, the Lord called one of His Twelve Apostles from among these tax collectors, recognising that such prejudice was nonsense.

In fact, as the Lord Himself mentioned elsewhere, that the tax collectors and the prostitutes were closer to the Lord and His salvation than the self-righteous and arrogant Pharisees as the former were aware and repentant over their sins and wickedness, and desired to seek the Lord for forgiveness and for reconciliation with Him, and through God’s generous mercy and love, they were all indeed forgiven and empowered to live and enter into a new life blessed by Him. But the latter persisted in their sins because they were too proud and haughty to realise and recognise their errors and mistakes, and thus, continuing to persist in their waywardness and lack of true and genuine faith in the Lord. This is a reminder for all of us that we ourselves have to be humble and willing to listen to God, and get rid from ourselves all pride, haughty and self-righteous attitudes.

Today, the Church also celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. These seven Holy Founders of the Servites, namely Bonfilius, Alexis, Manettus, Amideus, Hugh, Sostene and Buonagiunta, all of whom were men from the city of Florence that were called by the Lord and they all bound themselves in strong and lasting spiritual friendship that eventually became the foundation of the Servite Order, in their strong faith in the Lord as well as in the intense devotion which they all had for the Blessed Mother of God. All of them led holy and devout lives, committed wholly to God, and they all became great source of inspiration for their fellow men and women, many of whom were drawn to follow their examples as well.

Through the examples shown by those holy men of God, the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, all of us are shown what it truly means for us to be genuine and faithful Christians in all things, in all that we say and do, and at all opportunities. We should be inspired by their good role models and examples, their actions and deeds in doing what God had told and commanded them all to do. Let us all be the worthy and faithful bearers of God’s light and truth, His Good News and His teachings, so that like Levi, who would later be known as St. Matthew the Apostle, a great evangelist and servant of God, and like the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, we too may live our lives in each and every moments ever more faithfully and that we may draw ever closer to God.

May God be with us always and may He continue to guide and strengthen us in the path which we are walking in, in doing what is right according to His teachings, ways and to our Christian beliefs and faith. May God bless our every good efforts, endeavours and our faithful observances and actions in this blessed penitential season of Lent, so that we may continue to do what God had entrusted to us to do, and be ever more worthy and faithful, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 17 February 2024 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 5 : 27-32

At that time, after Jesus healed a paralytic man, He went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.”