St. Bruno

by

Friday, 6 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 78 : 1-2, 3-5, 8, 9

O God, the pagans have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have given Your servants’ corpses to the birds, and the flesh of Your saints, to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out the blood of Your faithful, like water around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. Mocked and reviled by those around us, we are scorned by our neighbours. How long will this last, o YHVH? Will You be angry forever? Will Your wrath always burn to avenge Your rights?

Do not remember against us the sins of our fathers. Let Your compassion hurry to us, for we have been brought very low.

Help us, God, our Saviour, for the glory of Your Name; forgive us, for the sake of Your Name.

by

Friday, 6 October 2017 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Baruch 1 : 15-22

You will say : May everyone recognise the justice of our God but, on this day, shame and confusion befit the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem – our kings and princes, our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, because we have sinned before the Lord.

We have disobeyed Him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, nor have we followed the commandments which the Lord had put before us. From the day that the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until this day, we have disobeyed the Lord our God and we have rebelled against Him instead of listening to His voice.

Because of this, from the day on which the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, so as to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the evils and the curse which the Lord pronounced by Moses, His servant, have dogged our footsteps right down to the present day.

We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God speaking through the words of the prophets whom He sent to us, but each one of us followed his perverted heart, serving false gods and doing what displeases the Lord our God.

by

Thursday, 6 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Holy Scriptures we are presented with the image of God as a Father, and indeed as our Father. He is the One Who created us all out of love, and we are all His beloved children, each of whom He knew personally. He knows us all by name, and He knows all that we are, everything inside our hearts and minds.

And the point that the readings today want to bring across to each and every one of us is that, if we all who belong to the Lord have been considered as His children, then God Who is the perfect and good Father will know what we need, and He will take very good care of us, and we have nothing to worry about in this life, for He will show us the way, and we need only to follow Him.

Unfortunately, in reality, many of us are often distracted on our way, and therefore we end up falling and failing to achieve our goal that is to follow the Lord our God. We are often unable to restrain ourselves, our human and worldly desires, that Satan and all of his allies are able to come in and persuade us to do things that keep us away from the salvation in God.

The temptations and persuasions of this world are strong, and day after day, we should know just how much we have to work in order to resist these and turn towards God our Father. Many of us do not know and are not aware that God had been blessing us all these while, giving us what we need and caring for us. First of all, this very life is a gift from Him, and our friends, relatives and acquaintances are also His gifts, and through these people, God exercised His works and helped us often without us realising it.

He is our Father, and if fathers know how to take care of their children, then certainly God above all knows how to do so. For those of us who have children ourselves, we realise that a child often asks for many things, and are often curious about many things. Sometimes if they did not get what they wanted, they would then throw tantrum, become angry, kicking and crying, insisting that they wanted what they desired.

But then how do we as parents handle these children of ours then? Do we immediately give in to all of their demands? Well, many parents do so. They gave in to all of their children’s demands, and as a result, they spoilt their children. The children became accustomed to have people submitting to what they wanted, and therefore grew up to become people who are conceited and lacking in self-restraint.

Let us all look at ourselves, we are like those children. From our own actions, many of us when we do not get what we want, we become angry and try our best to get what we want regardless the cost. But God does not want us to grow up to be like this. And that is why He chastises us and punishes us whenever we err and make mistakes, so that we may learn from them and not fall into the temptations of sin and thus fall away from His grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all grow ever closer to the Lord our God and Father, and let us all understand that God wants the best from us, and thus from time to time, He has chastised us so that we may learn very important lessons in this life, that we may remain ever faithful and true to Him. And today, we also can learn from the examples of St. Bruno, the faithful servant of God, a holy and devoted priest who have given his life in service to God and to His people.

St. Bruno was a great evangeliser, a missionary who went forth to preach the Good News of God among the many peoples in the lands now known as France, Germany and beyond, where he visited communities and places, one after another preaching about God, and teaching many others about the faith, revealing to them the truth about His love for us all mankind.

St. Bruno was simple and humble, refusing to be appointed bishop when the opportunity arose, and even when many recommended him to be made one. He went forth in many places to declare the goodness of God, inspiring many people to follow his examples and teachings, helping many souls to find their way back to the Lord, as well as brokering peace between rival factions in the Church at that time.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to follow their examples, the examples of St. Bruno and all the other holy saints of God. May God be our guide as well, and may He, our Father and Leader, help us to find our way in this world, that we may not be lost amidst the temptations, challenges and persuasions of this world. May He remain with us and fill with always with His grace. Amen.

by

Thursday, 6 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.'”

“Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need.”

“And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion?”

“If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

by

Thursday, 6 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Luke 1 : 69-70, 71-72, 73-75

In the house of David His servant, He has raised up for us a victorious Saviour; as He promised through His prophets of old.

Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of our foes. He has shown mercy to our fathers; and remembered His holy covenant.

The oath He swore to Abraham, our father, to deliver us from the enemy, that we might serve Him fearlessly, as a holy and righteous people, all the days of our lives.

by

Thursday, 6 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
Galatians 3 : 1-5

How foolish you are Galatians! How could they bewitch you after Jesus Christ has been presented to you as crucified? I shall ask you only this : Did you receive the Spirit by the practice of the Law, or by believing the message? How can you be such fools : you begin with the Spirit and end up with the flesh!

So you have experienced all this in vain! Would that it were not so! Did God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you, because of your observance of the Law or because you believed in His message?

by

Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about God and His merciful love for us, especially if we are willing to stop and spend some time for the Lord, instead of being busied and occupied with our many preoccupations, concerns and desires. This is a clear reminder that we should put God as a priority for us all, regardless of other things and concerns we may have.

In the Gospel today, we heard about how Martha, a close friend of Jesus was so busy with her chores and work, that the Lord reminded her, that even though her intention of doing so many work to prepare for the Lord and to make His stay comfortable is a good one, but at the same time, she should not forget about the most important thing of all, that is to listen to the Lord and His words.

That was what Mary, Martha’s sister had done. Martha thought that she was being lazy and not doing her part to help her, but she was in fact clinging to the one thing that she will not lose, and she has the assurance of listening to the word of life, and the Lord will not disappoint her. The case of Mary and Martha highlighted to us the importance of getting our priorities right, as it is often that we lose sight of the main goal because we are being preoccupied and distracted by other things along the way.

In the first reading, which was taken from the book of the prophet Jonah, we heard about how Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh about the upcoming punishment and ruin that God would bring about to the whole city of Nineveh and all its people for all the sins and wicked things that they had committed. But what is important for us to take note here is that, these people listened to the words of God spoken through Jonah, and they repented.

We witnessed the transformation and the effort in which they did in order to seek the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord, humbling and lowering themselves before the Lord, being penitent, whole people and the entire city, even to the animals and beasts, and even the nobles and the king. All of them showed sincere repentance for their sins and they begged the Lord for forgiveness.

In this, yet again we see how God rewards the faithful and those who have shown sincerity and ability to listen to His words and turn themselves to the path of righteousness. Had the people of Nineveh went on their usual and daily business, ignoring the Lord’s message through Jonah, they would have met their end in condemnation and destruction just as the Lord had said.

It is the same with all of us mankind. After our ancestors first sinned against the Lord, because of our disobedience, they have been cast out from the grace of God and a judgment and punishment had been declared on them. And these judgments should have been ours forevermore to, that is to roam the earth in suffering and to perish and death reclaim us just as what had happened to our ancestors.

But God showed His mercy and sent His prophets and messengers, to proclaim the coming of the salvation through which He would liberate all of His beloved ones from the tyranny of sin and death, only if they all would listen to Him, to the words spoken by the Saviour He had given us, and act on them, changing our ways from sinful ones to the acts pleasing to the Lord, and listened to what Jesus said just as how Mary did it, then all of us would achieve salvation with no issue.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Bruno, a holy German priest who lived during the time of the high Medieval era about a thousand years ago, also known as St. Bruno of Cologne. He is a truly devoted and dedicated servant of the Lord, who was devoted to the education of the faithful and to prayerful life in service to the Lord and to the faithful, inspiring many others to follow in his footsteps.

St. Bruno dedicated his whole life to the Lord and refused to be entangled in worldly matters. He even refused the offer and persuasion to make him the bishop of the diocese he was working in, as he wanted to devote more of his time to prayer and to serve the Lord’s people without being distracted with the many concerns of the world and with many other obligations that might have disrupted his focus away.

He wrote extensively and many of these writings, the verses and the works remained a source of inspiration for many of those who read them and study them, and his examples and lifestyle continued to become an example for many people to follow as they went on to live their lives in faith. And certainly, we too can do the same and follow in his footsteps.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves all the more to the Lord our God, and commit everything in our heart, mind and body to attune ourselves to the Lord and follow His will. Let us learn to keep our minds and hearts away from distraction just as Jesus our Lord reminded Martha, and let us follow the example of Mary, as well as the example of St. Bruno. May Almighty God bless us and keep us faithful and strong on our way to Him. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Luke 10 : 38-42

At that time, as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

by

Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 129 : 1-2, 3-4, 7bc-8

Out of the depths I cry to You, o Lord, o Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.

If You should mark our evil, o Lord, who could stand? But with You is forgiveness, and for that You are revered.

For with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him full deliverance. He will deliver Israel from all its sins.

by

Tuesday, 6 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Jonah 3 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to Jonah a second time : “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.”

In obedience to the word of YHVH, Jonah went to Nineveh. It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. Upon hearing the news, the king of Nineveh got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes.

He issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh : “By the decree of the king and his nobles, no people or beasts, herd or flock, will taste anything; neither will they eat nor drink. But let people and beasts be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call aloud to God, turn from his evil ways and violence. Who knows? God may yet relent, turn from His fierce anger and spare us.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened upon them.