St. Eusebius of Vercelli

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us heard from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures the reminders of God’s great love and mercy for all of us, His beloved people, that He has extended for all of us, the generous love and mercy, compassion and kindness that He has always provided to us all, His children, whenever we disobeyed and sinned against Him. God has also always been patient in loving us, and in providing for us at all times, as our most loving and patient Father, Who has never forgotten and abandoned us especially in our time of greatest need. And that is why we should always strive to live our lives righteously and worthily in accordance to God’s ways, and resist the temptations which may lead us astray in our paths in life, and cause us to commit great sins like what King Herod did in the Gospel today.

In our first reading today, we heard of the instructions of the Lord to His people through Moses regarding the matter of the forgiveness of debts and sins, which occurred every fifty years in what is known as the Jubilee, coming from the term Yobel, referring to the trumpet mentioned in that instruction today, made from a ram’s horn, which was sounded at every celebration of the Jubilee year. This Jubilee year took place every fifty years as it happens on the year after seven times seven Sabbath years, seven being a number considered as a holy number by the people of God, and the year after seven times seven Sabbath years being the fiftieth year. And that year marked the moment when one’s debts are forgiven and when the land was allowed to rest from any kind of planting and cultivation.

This tradition of the Jubilee year also continues today in the Church, which happens every twenty-five years, the Ordinary Jubilee Year which also happens to occur this year, the Ordinary Jubilee Holy Year of 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope. During this year, plenary indulgences are extended to all those who carry out faithful pilgrimages to the four Papal Basilicas in Rome, and also to other local diocesan shrines and pilgrimage sites around the whole world. This Jubilee Year is a reminder for all of us of God’s love and grace, His generous mercy and compassion which He has extended to us through His Church. And it is indeed timely that we heard about this reading during this most blessed Holy Year of the Jubilee, that does not occur every year, so that we may be more encouraged to seek God’s mercy, love and forgiveness.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when St. John the Baptist, the faithful servant of God and the one to Herald the coming of the Messiah, to prepare the way for the Lord, was martyred when he was imprisoned in the court of King Herod Antipas. King Herod Antipas at that time had committed a grievous sin by taking his own brother’s wife, Herodias to be his own wife. Historical evidence showed that Philip, Herod’s brother was still alive at that time, and hence, Herod’s actions in marrying Herodias constituted an adulterous relationship, and was morally wrong and a sinful action, which St. John the Baptist courageously spoke up against, rebuking both Herod and Herodias for their sins.

This led to St. John the Baptist being arrested and incarcerated by Herod, and Herodias had a deep resentment and grudge against him. She tried to find a good opportunity to eliminate him and as we heard from our Gospel passage today, she had an excellent opportunity when Herod was intoxicated in a party and made a solemn oath before his guests to her daughter, likely the daughter she had with her previous husband, Philip, that he would give everything to her even half of his kingdom. And that was how St. John the Baptist ended up being martyred through the actions of King Herod Antipas, beheaded in prison because this king failed to control his temptations and desires, and ended up committing great sin after sin against the Lord. It is a reminder for all of us as well that we should not fall into the same temptations as well in our own lives.

Today, in tandem with what we have heard in our Scripture readings, especially the reading on the Jubilee Year, the year of forgiveness from the Book of Leviticus, it is indeed Divine plan and timing that it coincides with this day, the second day of August, which is also a day of celebration for the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, and the celebration of the Portiuncula Indulgence, a practice that began from St. Francis of Assisi, and was known as such because of the place of Portiuncula being the very place where the Franciscan order originated from, as it was where St. Francis of Assisi began his journey upon listening to God’s call to restore His Church. St. Francis of Assisi, then still young misunderstood this as God asking him to literally restore the dilapidated church that happened to be there at Portiuncula.

What God actually wanted was to call on him to help restore the Church to its holy purpose and intentions, and that was what St. Francis of Assisi eventually did. He left his wealth and possessions, his family inheritance and status, becoming fully dedicated to the Lord and living a life with others who followed his examples and inspiration, becoming the first of the Franciscans. For many years, they all served the Lord faithfully, living in their community and serving the needs of the people around them. And through their loving service and commitment to God, they helped to renew the zeal of Christian living and faith, reforming the Church which at that time had been corrupted by worldly influences and corruptions, all of which had led many, both clergy and laity alike, away from the Lord and caused scandals for the Church.

It was at Portiuncula that the Franciscan community began and then spread, and continued to maintain their presence, and St. Francis of Assisi himself resided at that place, and where that original church or chapel that he was being called by the Lord being restored and made to be the shrine to which many people flocked to every year, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Angels at Portiuncula. And the Church extended a special indulgence known as the Portiuncula Indulgence for all those who visited this shrine on the second day of August on the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, and extended even to all those who visited related churches and prayed for the intention of the Holy Father, along with the other usual indulgence conditions.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard, holy servants of God who had dedicated themselves to the good works of the Lord and the missions entrusted to them. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was born in Sardinia and his father was martyred for his faith when he was still young. He eventually went to Rome and become a lector, before rising up through the Church hierarchy and becoming the first Bishop of Vercelli, a region in Piedmont in northern Italy today. He dedicated himself to his ministry with great zeal and was known for founding a priestly community that dedicated themselves in a monastic way of living, and also at the same time living together with his fellow clergy, inspiring many with his great piety and zeal. He was persecuted in many occasions, and faced difficulties, but this did not stop him from continuing to be faithful to his mission, working hard to oppose the heresies that were rampant at that time, and dedicating himself in these to the end of his life.

Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a French priest who was especially renowned for his great devotion to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament, that as a priest, he inspired many and founded the religious order known as the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and also the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for the women. He dedicated himself in ministry to the poor, the marginalised and all those who have lapsed from the Church and was lukewarm in their faith. He inspired many of them through his great dedication and love, his piety and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and his tireless efforts to reach out to those who have been marginalised and broken by the troubles of this life. St. Peter Julian Eymard truly showed us what true Christian faith is all about by his examples and works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from the lives of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, St. Peter Julian Eymard and St. Francis of Assisi, and being reminded at their commitment to God, their faithful actions and devotions, all the efforts that they had done to glorify God, as well as what we have heard from the Scripture readings today regarding the Year of the Jubilee, which we are very fortunate to experience in this very year, and also the sins committed by Herod Antipas and Herodias, let us all therefore reflect upon our own lives and see how we ourselves may have sinned against the Lord in the actions that we carry out each day. Let us all remind ourselves that as Christians, we are all called to be truly committed to God’s path, to truly love Him and to show that same love in our actions and interactions towards one another, caring for all those whom we love and even also for others whom we encounter in each and every days of our lives.

May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us in our journey, and may He empower us all to live our lives in the best way we can so that our lives may inspire many others to walk in the path of the Lord and that we may be good inspiration to more and more people, being the worthy and shining beacons of God’s light and hope to everyone. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, our every good works, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Matthew 14 : 1-12

At that time, the reports about Jesus reached king Herod. And he said to his servants, “This Man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in John.”

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to Herod, “It is not right for you to have her as your wife.” Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced among the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked for. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist, here, on a dish.”

The king was very displeased, but because he had made his promise under oath, in the presence of his guests, he ordered it to be given to her. So he had John beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother.

Then John’s disciple came, took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 7-8

May God be gracious and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us; that Your way be known on earth and Your salvation, among the nations.

May the countries be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with justice; and guide the nations of the world.

The land has given its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us. May God bless us and be revered, to the very ends of the earth.

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Saturday, 2 August 2025 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests or Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Leviticus 25 : 1, 8-17

YHVH spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai : “When seven Sabbaths of years have passed, that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly. On this Day of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land.”

“Keep holy the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the land. It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall recover his property and go back to his family. In this fiftieth year, your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the aftergrowth, nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year shall be holy for you, and you shall eat what the field yields of itself without cultivation.”

“In this year of Jubilee each of you shall recover his own property. When you sell something to your neighbour or buy something from him, do not wrong one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy it from your neighbour and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he shall sell to you.”

“When the years are many the price shall be greater and when the years are few the price shall be less, for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God, for I am YHVH, your God.”

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Friday, 2 August 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures that we have received today, we are all reminded that we must not be like those hypocrites and our fallen predecessors who have not truly dedicated and committed themselves to the Lord as they should have done. We must be truly faithful and humble in what we do in our lives so that we do not end up falling into temptations of pride, ego and human ambitions, and all other things that may prevent and distract us from finding the true path towards the Lord and His salvation. We must learn to listen to the Lord speaking to us in each and every moments of our lives, heeding His words which He has spoken to us in the depth of our hearts and minds.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the account of the works of Jeremiah amongst the people of the kingdom of Judah is highlighted to us. The prophet Jeremiah was sent by God to His people living in Judah, the southern half of the once united kingdom of Israel. Back then, at that time, the northern half of the kingdom, also known as Israel, had been destroyed and conquered by their enemies, the Assyrians, which destroyed not just their towns and homes, but also uprooted and forcibly moving many of them far away from their ancestral lands, bringing them into exile in distant and far-off lands of Mesopotamia and Assyria. It is this same exact fate which would soon befall the kingdom and people of Judah as well.

Thus, the Lord told Jeremiah to go up to the Temple, the Holy House of God which had been built and established by King Solomon of Israel to be the great and worthy House where God Himself would dwell among His people. However, people of Judah had also disobeyed the Lord and refused to follow and obey His Law and commandments truthfully and wholeheartedly. They allowed themselves to be tempted and swayed by the temptations of the evil ones, and they did not offer their sacrifices and offerings with hearts and minds that were truly focused and centred on God. Instead, they also worshipped other pagan idols and false gods, corrupting the Temple and the worship of God with their attitude and actions. For all those things God therefore chastised them and wanted them to realise that they had to be responsible for their choice of actions in life.

Then in the Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew where we heard of the time when the Lord Jesus went back to Nazareth, to His own hometown where He grew up in. The people of that town refused to believe in the Lord and even openly doubted Him, quoting how He was merely the Son of the village carpenter, namely St. Joseph, the foster father of the Lord. This means that they belittled the Lord and thought that it was impossible for someone of such a humble and lowly stature and status in the society to have been given the power and wisdom as they had heard about the Lord. At that time, as is also often throughout history, jobs like that of a carpenter, while truly essential and important for the community, it was also one that is often looked down upon and be prejudiced against.

Essentially, the people of Nazareth thought that they knew it better, and in their pride, they closed their hearts and minds against the Lord, refusing to listen to Him and to believe in Him despite everything that they themselves might have witnessed, seen and heard, from all the signs and wonders that the Lord Jesus had performed in their midst and in the regions surrounding Nazareth. This was in fact the same attitude shown by the people of Judah at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, in refusing to believe in this prophet of God, preferring to dwell in their own denial and thoughts that what the prophet Jeremiah had told and forewarned them could not have come to reality. It was too late for many of them by the time they realised that Jeremiah was speaking the truth.

This is also a reminder for all of us as God’s followers and disciples that in the course of our lives as Christians and in the midst of our faithful living of our respective missions and works, our everyday living as the faithful and holy people of God we may encounter challenges and difficulties in our journey of faith and life, especially from those who refuse to believe in the Lord and His truth, and also those who have allowed their pride and ego to cloud their thoughts and minds, their judgments and ways. It is also a reminder for us therefore not to be distracted by these same temptations either. We should always keep in mind that we are all called to holy and worthy lives that are truly reflecting our beliefs in the Lord, at all times, and we should be good role models and examples for our fellow brethren as well.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of two great saints, whose life and faith in God should serve as good examples and inspiration for every one of us in how we should live our own lives as Christians, namely that of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, a holy bishop that was one of the great early Church fathers during the time when Christianity was emancipated from its persecutions under the Roman Empire, as well as St. Peter Julian Eymard, a courageous and holy priest who founded two religious institutes and popularised the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, to the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. Each one of them are great inspirations and role models for us all in their own respective ways, showing us what we should do as Christians in each and every moments of our own lives.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli was the Bishop of Vercelli during the time when Christianity had no longer been persecuted by the Roman state, and became increasingly widespread throughout the Empire. He was born in Sardinia, and eventually was elected as the Bishop of Vercelli by the local populace as was the common custom at the time because of his great piety and exemplary life, which according to the tradition of his life led him to be elected instead of the local members of the clergy. He founded a priestly community that lived together and supporting each other, living with great example of piety and faith in God. He was also well remembered for his great stand for his faith in the Lord, in opposing the heretics and all those who sided with them like the Arians and other heresies of the time.

St. Eusebius was even persecuted and made to suffer for this great faith he had in the Lord, refusing to condemn his fellow bishop, the holy and committed St. Athanasius of Alexandria who also stood by the orthodox and true Christian faith against the heretics. St. Eusebius was even dragged through the streets amidst one of these persecutions, but all these things could not dampen his courage and enthusiasm in serving the Lord and proclaiming His truth among the people of God. He also worked hard in trying to bring about reconciliation and reunion between those who been separated and torn apart by all the divisions caused by the heresies of that time. He continued to minister to his flock faithfully and devotedly to the end of his life.

Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard as mentioned was a priest that helped to spread the popular devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, the Real Presence of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. Most Holy Eucharist. He was born in the French Alps region and had been known for his intense devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God since very early on in his life. And after he entered the seminary and eventually becoming a priest, he grew ever stronger in his dedication to the Blessed Sacrament, and eventually leading to him establishing two congregations closely related to the Blessed Sacrament in their charism and works, namely the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for men and women respectively, spreading the devotion and love for the Lord in the Eucharist to many more people, helping many of them on the way to the salvation in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have heard from our Scripture passages today and from the courageous and faithful lives of God’s holy servants, our predecessors, St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard, let us all therefore do our part to continue living our lives with great faith and commitment to God. We should be inspired by the great examples of those who have gone before us, especially during times when we may be facing lots of challenges and difficulties in our journey as Christians, as God’s holy and faithful people. Let us all never be discouraged and disheartened by the persecutions and trials we may have to endure in our lives as the faithful disciples of the Lord. May God continue to bless and strengthen us all in our every moments in life, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 2 August 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Matthew 13 : 54-58

At that time, Jesus went to His hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did He get this wisdom and these special powers? Is He not the carpenter’s Son? Is Mary not His mother and are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas not His brothers? Are not all His sisters living here? How did He get all this?” And so they took offence at Him.

Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.” And He did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

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Friday, 2 August 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Psalm 68 : 5, 8-10, 14

More than the hairs of my head are those who hate me for no reason; mighty are those who attack me, many are my enemies without cause. What I did not steal I am forced to restore.

Since I am held in contempt for Your sake, and shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s sons. Zeal for Your House consumes me, as fire, and those who insult You, insult me as well.

But I pray to You, o YHVH. At a time most favourable to You, in Your great love, o God, answer me, with Your unfailing help.

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Friday, 2 August 2024 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Jeremiah 26 : 1-9

At the beginning of the reign of Judah’s king Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the word of YHVH came to Jeremiah : YHVH says this, “Stand in the courtyard of YHVH’s House and say to all who come from the towns of Judah to worship in YHVH’s House – all that I command you to say; do not omit anything! Perhaps they will listen to you. Perhaps each one will turn from his wicked ways. Then I will change My mind and forget the destruction that I have planned to inflict on them because of their wicked deeds.”

“Tell them : This is what YHVH says : ‘You have not obeyed Me and you have failed to walk according to My law which I have set before you. You have not heeded My servants, the prophets, whom I have persistently sent to you. If you stubbornly close your ears to them, I will treat this House of Mine as I treated the Sanctuary of Shiloh and let all the nations see that Jerusalem is a cursed city.’”

The priests, the prophets and all the people heard what Jeremiah said in YHVH’s House. When Jeremiah finished saying all that YHVH had commanded, he was besieged by the priests and prophets saying, “You are bound to die! How dare you speak in YHVH’s Name telling us that this House will be treated like Shiloh and this city is to become a deserted ruin.” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the House of YHVH.

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Wednesday, 2 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard of the word of God from the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to come ever closer to the Lord and to seek His treasures of truth and love, of His glorious majesty and compassionate kindness, which He has always generously and richly granted to us. All of us as Christians are God’s beloved people, and we have all received His wisdom and truth, through the Holy Spirit that He has imparted upon us. However, many of us still do not realise the importance and the value of these treasures of faith which the Lord has promised us, and which He has shown and revealed to us. Instead, many of us are busy in pursuing worldly treasures and pursuits of worldly glory and pleasures, which truly distracted us from the path of righteousness, virtue and grace, through which we can reach out to the Lord and to His salvation.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard the continuation of the story of what happened around the time when the Israelites were camping at Mount Sinai, the holy Mountain of God, where Moses, God’s servant and the leader of the Israelites went up and gained for the people of God, for all of us, the set of Law and commandments, especially the Ten Commandments which God set over all of His beloved people, to guide and help them to remain true to the Covenant which He had set up with all of them. The Lord has called upon all of His people to follow Him faithfully, as He freed them from the slavery in Egypt. Many of them had grumbled and rebelled against Him, and just right after He gave them His Law and His Covenant, they established and built a golden calf idol to be their god and lord over them, in defiance and betrayal of God’s love and kindness.

But God forgave His people and showed them His most wonderful mercy. Those who were responsible most for the rebellion and the disgraceful pagan worship of the golden calf were crushed and made to suffer the consequences of their sins, while the rest of the people repented from their mistakes. And hence, as we heard, God did not hate us all and instead, He truly loves each one of us, but He detested and despised the sins and wickedness that we have committed in our lives. Each one of us should not take God’s love for granted and we should not spurn the love that He has always generously lavished upon us all these while. Like the people of Israel, who had often been ungrateful of the love of God despite them having been shown the great compassion and love of God in many occasions, and yet, they still grumbled, disobeyed and rebelled against God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the parables that the Lord used in revealing the truth and knowledge of the kingdom of God to His disciples, that is with the examples of the treasures of the field and also the pearl of great price. Those examples represent just how important the great graces and blessings of God can be to us, and how each and every one of us should learn to put the Lord and His truth, Law and commandments as the centre and focus of our attention and our whole lives. We should not allow the worldly temptations and the allure of power, greed and desire to turn us away from the righteousness and salvation in God, just as those had mislead and misguided the people of God in the past, in their inability to resist the temptations of evil and sin, of worldly attachments, of glory and fame, amongst many others. The Lord has always been patient in guiding them all to His path, and sent His messengers to help and correct the people whenever they were wrong.

That is why, today all of us are reminded as Christians, as God’s beloved people, that we should always strive to lead a life that is truly worthy of the Lord as well as exemplary and filled with righteousness and justice. We should not allow the false treasures, pleasures and the excesses of our worldly existence and life to prevent us and to become obstacles in our path and journey towards the Lord. We have to keep in mind that it is only the true treasures and the precious grace of God that will last forever and that will keep us safe and good to the end of days and beyond. No matter how many worldly things and goods we have with us, none of these will be sufficient to satisfy us, and none of them can last forever. No form of worldly glory and fame, of joy and pleasures of the flesh, of the body and all the money and material satisfactions all around us can replace the true joy that we can only find in the Lord alone. Hence, that is why we should strive to resist those worldly temptations and allures, and reorientate ourselves and our lives towards the Lord and His path.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of not just one but two of God’s faithful servant, holy men who dedicated their lives to the Lord, who lived their lives with great commitment and love for God, and the Lord has made them to be great and inspiring role models and examples for many of us, the faithful people of God so that we may follow their examples and inspiration, in their dedication and commitment, their holiness and great actions. St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard are truly blessed and worthy servants of God, His holy and just role models, for us all to follow. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was one of the Church fathers, a Roman bishop from Sardinia, in what is today part of Italy, who was remembered as a great and humble shepherd of the people that were entrusted to his care. St. Eusebius of Vercelli dedicated a lot of his time in living among his priests and flock, and cared for their spiritual needs, helping and guiding them on the way to the truth and salvation in God.

He was instrumental in the efforts of the Church in combatting the heresy and falsehoods of Arianism, the great heresy which had afflicted the Church and many among the people of God at that time. And as part of that ministry and work, he had to endure great challenges and sufferings, as he went up together with those who upheld the orthodox and true teachings and Christian faith against those who sided with the heretics. He had to endure bitter sufferings as he faced the opposition from those who supported the heretics and the false wicked ways. However, he remained firmly true to his faith and commitment to the Lord, and devoted himself wholly to the Lord, to the very end of his life, dedicating himself to guard the faithful against the false and heretical teachings that misled many to their destruction and downfall. His commitment to the Lord and his inspiring examples should be great inspiration to all of us as Christians.

Then, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a great and dedicated priest of the Lord who was renowned for his commitment and piety to the Lord, and for his popularisation of the dedication to the Blessed Sacrament, to the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. He dedicated much of his time and work in reaching out to the faithful and to all those in his ministry and areas of responsibility, who are suffering and in need of both physical and spiritual help. St. Peter Julian Eymard spent a lot of time reaching out to the lost souls and to those who are facing difficulties and hardships of the world, and helped many to find their way to the Lord. His commitment to serve the Lord and his efforts in gathering like-minded men and women in the two religious orders he founded, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, and the popularisation and spread of the effective Forty Hours devotion are truly great examples and inspirations for all of us to follow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the great examples shown by St. Eusebius of Vercelli, St. Peter Julian Eymard and countless other saints, holy men and women of God, all those who have shown us what it means for us to be truly dedicated and committed Christians, servants and followers of the Lord. Let us do our very best to lead a life of virtue that is truly worthy of the Lord, lives that are truly exemplary and great, free from the corruptions of various worldly temptations all around us, and worthy of those whom God had called and chosen, being ever thankful and grateful that He has always shown us such great compassion, tender love and mercy. And may He bless us all and keep us all in His grace, and empower each and every one of us to walk ever more faithfully in His Presence, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Priests)

Matthew 13 : 44-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field. The one who finds it, buries it again; and so happy is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in order to buy that field.”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader, who is looking for fine pearls. Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it.”