St. Henry

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Monday, 13 July 2026 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to be truly faithful to the Lord our God, in all of our actions and deeds. Each and every one of us as Christians ought to strive to live our lives and deepen our spirituality, our relationship with God, so that all of us may grow ever better in our Christian living and in our obedience to God. All of us are called and challenged to live our lives full of Christian truth and discipleship, obedience to the Law and commandments of God, in following the Lord wholeheartedly, doing everything as God had told us to. We are all called to be genuine Christians and true disciples of the Lord, showing our faith at every moments of our lives, in everything that we say and do.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the words of the Lord to the people through Isaiah, the warning for all those who have committed sins against God. God warned all of them that their sins were known to Him, and those sins would be their undoing unless they turned away from them and repent from them. The Lord was referring to Sodom, which in fact by that time had been a wasteland for a long time since it was destroyed in the rain of brimstone from Heaven, together with Gomorrah. This reference to Sodom was in fact a reference to the sins of the people, which are just like the sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in the past. But before we misunderstand those sins as implicating a certain group of people or sexuality, we must realise that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were truly one of maltreatment of guests, dishonour and ostracising of those whom they deemed as foreigners like Lot and his family.

Then the Lord also made references to the people’s offerings and sacrifices. This was actually referring to their hypocrisy and lack of faith. They might still be doing their rituals and worship, which they offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, but it had become superficial and lacking in genuine faith and love for God. The people of God had not done what they should have, in loving God wholeheartedly as they had not obeyed His Law and commandments, and merely paid lip service to Him. Their offerings and sacrifices were made with equal sincerity and fervour to God as they did with the pagan idols and gods. They did not truly believe in God with all their heart and might, and were more concerned by worldly matters and desires than to serve God.

Hence, the prophet Isaiah was sent to the people with the message to remind them all to turn back towards God wholeheartedly, and abandon their sinful and lukewarm attitude in following God. This is something that the Lord had always done to His people, giving them reminders and help, encouragement and strength, although He always encountered stiff and stubborn resistance from many of them who were unwilling to walk in the path that the Lord had shown them, and many of His prophets had to suffer rejection and hardships throughout their ministries and lives in the world. And all these are reminders for each one of us that we must not think that our paths and journey will be smooth and easy going forward because we have been faithful to God, but instead expect that difficulties and obstacles will likely be in our path. Otherwise, we will quickly lose faith in God when troubles come for us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples presenting to them the reality of His coming into the world and how the disciples might have to face sufferings, hardships and persecutions much as how the prophets had faced in the past. This was because contextually at that time, the people generally expected that the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour and Holy One that God had promised to them ought to be accompanied with a lot of rejoicing, happiness and deliverance from the wickedness and evils of the world. That was the general understanding among the people regarding Who the Messiah would be.

The people often expected that the Messiah, the Son of David would be the One to lead them all in a great campaign and rebellion to free them from the tyranny and dominion of their Roman oppressors and overlords. They expected the Messiah to be a new King over them, ruling over the restored Kingdom of Israel. But the reality is such that, the Lord’s coming would in fact create divisions and tribulations for His followers, all because of the stubbornness and the same resistance that the world had often shown Him and His messengers. The truth that Christ brought with Him to this world would tear even families and friends apart, and that would have caused divisions and struggles, even amongst the most ardent of the faithful.

Hence, through all these each and every one of us are reminded that being Christians is not something that is trivial or easily done. There may often be a lot of sacrifices and efforts needed for us to be truly faithful to God. That is why we are all called to be truly faithful to God and not just merely paying lip service or formality as what the Israelites in Judah had done by the time of the prophet Isaiah. All of us should commit ourselves to a new life dedicated to God, and in our every actions and deeds, we should be genuinely filled with the desire to love God and with the desire to embrace His methods and ways. All of us ought to be exemplary in our lives and actions at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, the paramount secular ruler of Christendom during the High Middle Ages, who lived and reigned exactly a millennium ago from this day. St. Henry was renowned for his great piety and dedication to God, for his love for the Law and precepts of God and for his obedience to the Church. St. Henry spent a lot of effort and time in caring for the needs of his subjects, and all those who have been put under his dominion, and at the same time, he was also ever active in promoting the cause of the Church and that of the Christian faith, by establishing Church institutions and by giving his full support on the mission of the Church and the work of evangelisation, which saw great success in the continued growth of the Church and more and more pagans being converted to the true faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are therefore called to follow the Lord more faithfully following the great examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, and like that of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, living our lives with purpose and clear intention to serve the Lord and to glorify Him through our daily living and actions, by our every interactions and way of living our lives virtuously in the manner that God Himself has shown and taught us. May we continue to touch more hearts and minds by our good works and efforts, and bring more people ever closer to the Lord, our most loving God, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 13 July 2026 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 10 : 34 – Matthew 11 : 1

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.”

“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.”

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

When Jesus had finished giving His twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and proclaim His message in their towns.

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Monday, 13 July 2026 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Psalm 49 : 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me. I need no bull from your stalls, nor he-goat from your pens.

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

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. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.

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Monday, 13 July 2026 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Isaiah 1 : 10-17

Hear the warning of YHVH, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah. “What do I care,” says YHVH, “for your endless sacrifices? I am fed up with your burnt offerings, and the fat of your bulls. The blood of fatlings, and lambs and he-goats I abhor, when you come before Me and trample on My courts. Who asked you to visit Me? I am fed up with your oblations. I grow sick with your incense.

Your New Moons, Sabbaths and meetings, evil with holy assemblies, I can no longer bear. I hate your New Moons and appointed feasts. They burden Me. When you stretch out your hands I will close My eyes; the more you pray, the more I refuse to listen, for your hands are bloody.

Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from My sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness and learn to do good. Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded first of all that God is the source of all of our lives, the One Who is the Ruler and Author of all things, the Master of all the whole Universe. He loves each and every one of us, His beloved people, Whom He has called and gathered from among all the nations, from all the ends of the earth, to come and share once again in His joy, to be reconciled to Him through forgiveness of our many sins and wickedness. God had created us all out of His pure and ever enduring love for each one of us, and He has intended to share this love with us if not for our disobedience and refusal to obey His will; which resulted in our separation from Him and the loss of grace, leading to sin and death. But God never gave up on us, and He kept on reaching out to us to help us out of our predicament and to return us all to His loving Presence.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the account of how Isaiah was called by God in a heavenly vision was told to us. Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord seated at His Temple in all His glory, attended by the Angels and surrounded by the mighty Seraphim, who forever adore Him singing the praises of His glory and power. We heard how the Lord is the King and Master over all of these mighty spiritual beings, and hence, from this account we can see how the Lord is truly the Almighty Lord and Master over all of the whole Universe, over all Creation, the One and only True God, the Lord of all. Amidst all these, we then heard how one of the Seraphim came to Isaiah, who was bowed down in fear of the great glory of God, taking the hot coal from the altar of the heavenly Temple and purified Isaiah with it.

Through this action, God was calling upon Isaiah to follow Him and to be His mouthpiece among His people, sending him to be the bearer of words and will to those whom he had been sent to, that is the people of the kingdom of Judah. He was to be God’s prophet, as the one to deliver God’s will and to make His thoughts and desires known to the people who have long erred and disobeyed the Lord. God sent Isaiah to help all those people to find their path once again back towards His love, mercy and kindness. God called on all of the people to embrace His love and mercy, to change their ways for the better, reminding them of their responsibilities and obligations as God’s beloved people to be always committed and dedicated in all things to Him, to be the bearers of God’s light and examples for all the people of all the nations.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding how a student is not greater than his or her master, and He also mentioned Beelzebul, the prince of demons at the same occasion. This was the same Beelzebul which the Pharisees had accused the Lord of colluding with in His performance of miracles and wonders among the people. What He was mentioning is that, if Beelzebul was indeed a prince of demons, far lesser in majesty, power and glory compared to God, and who as a fallen angel was created by God and is still subject under His dominion and power despite his rebellion, thus all the lesser his subordinates and lesser demons would be. He essentially told His disciples and also all of us that we should not be afraid of their power and might, which are truly insignificant against the power of God.

At the same time, the Lord was also likely criticising those Pharisees who were probably present there on their false accusation that He had performed His signs, miracles and wonders by the power of Beelzebul. It was truly a sin against God and the Holy Spirit just as the Lord mentioned in another occasion because they doubted God’s power to forgive sins through His Son, Who has clearly shown Himself to be the One Whom the prophets and messengers of God had been prophesying about. God had made known His salvation to the nations, revealing His Son to everyone, through the many miracles and wonders He had performed before them. But those Pharisees refused to listen to the Lord or believe in Him because they considered themselves better and superior than others, refusing to accept that someone else could have better knowledge of the truth and the ways of the Lord than they did.

Their pride and ego became their undoing as they hardened their hearts and minds through their pride, while their ambitions and desires led them down the slippery slope of disobedience against God, to do things that bring glory, fame and satisfaction for them, but which do not please the Lord and are actually against His commandments and laws. This is why, again we are all reminded today through these readings that the Lord our God is the one and only true God, the one and only true focus and emphasis of our lives, and we should never allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride, ego or any of the desires we have for worldly things and matters, all the temptations surrounding us which can lead us to our downfall, if we are ever to allow these things to mislead us down the path of ruin.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was born into the noble family of the Duke of Bavaria, and as a member of the royal Ottonian dynasty that has provided the Holy Roman Emperors at the time. Eventually he succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria and then after his cousin, the then Emperor Otto III died at a relatively young age without an heir, St. Henry was elected as the King of Germany after defeating several other contenders to the throne. He was also crowned as King of Italy and eventually crowned by the Pope as the Holy Roman Emperor. He developed close and good ties with the Church and the Pope, carrying his duties and responsibilities as Emperor most devotedly, helping out in the process of Church reforms and evangelisation, as contrasted to the later Holy Roman Emperors and other secular leaders who sought to aggrandise and advance their own power and ambitions, even against the Church. St. Henry was also renowned for his great personal piety and commitment to God, and for all these examples and great works he did, he inspired many people even long after he had passed away.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, what we have discussed earlier on and from the examples of the great servant of God, St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, who although powerful and mighty, remained humble and committed to glorifying God through his contributions and efforts to serve Him, let us all therefore also strive to do the same in our own lives. Let us all continue to do God’s will and obey Him in all the things He had told us to do, so that we always keep in mind His precepts and laws, and enthrone Him truly as the one and only Lord and Master over all of our lives. May God be with us all and may He continue to bless us in all of our efforts and deeds, in all of our good works and help us to get ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 10 : 24-33

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them!”

“There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of Him Who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”

“For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid : you are worth more than many sparrows! Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven. Whoever rejects Me before others, I will reject before My Father in heaven.”

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Psalm)

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

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Saturday, 13 July 2024 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (First Reading)

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

Isaiah 6 : 1-8

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of His robe filled the Temple. Above Him were Seraphs, each with six wings : two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with. They were calling to one another : “Holy, Holy, Holy is YHVH Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with His glory!”

At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said, “Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, YHVH Sabaoth.”

Then one of the Seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the Altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?”

I answered, “Here I am. Send me!”

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each one of us are reminded that each and every one of us have been sent by God to proclaim His truth and Good News, which He has revealed to all of us, so that we may tell everyone of His great kindness and love, and of everything which He has done for our sake, in loving us and in caring for us. All of us have been blessed to be so beloved by God and to be the ones who have received His favour, and hence, we all should follow Him wholeheartedly and do our very best to honour Him and to profess our faith in Him, by our exemplary lives and actions. Through all of these we will allow more and more people to come to believe in God and His truth, and many more will come to be saved. Of course, not everyone may end up believing in Him, but this does not mean that we should not try.

In our first reading today taken from the Book of Genesis we heard of the story of how Joseph, the son of Jacob or Israel, was reunited with all of his brothers, the other sons of Jacob, as we continue on with the discourse of the story of Abraham and his descendants. Joseph, who was at that time the great Regent of all Egypt, the second most powerful person in that land after the ruler, the Pharaoh himself, recognised his brothers who came to Egypt seeking for sustenance and food, during the seven years of great famine and hardships. He tested his brothers and arranged such that they would bring to him his beloved younger brother Benjamin. Thus, that was how Joseph was reunited with his long separated brothers, which happened because of the other brothers’ jealousy that led to them selling Joseph off to the slavers that brought him to Egypt.

God was with Joseph and He guided him, made him successful and great, but he remembered who he was and how God had helped and provided for him. Hence, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and forgave all those who have sold him off to slavery and those who have caused him to experience sufferings and hardships, revealing before them all how God had protected him and been with him all the way, and how He has planned and willed all of these, that the evil intents of Joseph’s brothers had been turned into one of fortune for Joseph and his brothers, for their whole entire families. God sent Joseph into Egypt so that over there he could perform His good works among the people and save countless people and lives from destruction because of the famine and great hardships that would come upon the land.

That sending of Joseph into the land of Egypt was kind of reminiscent of what we later then heard from our Gospel passage today, in which we heard how the Lord sent forth His disciples and followers to go before Him and to do His works and ministry. He sent them all in pairs, two by two, to reach out to the many people that were in need of care and help, and through this, God had shown His most wonderful and amazing love being manifested in the flesh, in reality and truth. God was always with His disciples that even though they encountered many challenges and hardships, rejection and even persecution through many moments and occasions throughout their respective ministries, but by God’s grace all of them continued to thrive and the impact of their works and efforts helped to establish and strengthen the community of the faithful people of God, the Church.

The Lord instructed the disciples on what they should do, and told them what they ought to do if they were welcomed in a certain place or if they were rejected instead. This would indeed come to good use as the Apostles and the many other missionaries, disciples of the Lord embarked on mission works and efforts to proclaim the Good News of the Lord, His truth and salvation. There were many of those who welcomed the disciples and listened to them, following the path that they had set and becoming the followers of the Lord, as Christians. However, there were also those who refused to follow the Lord and resisted the efforts and the works of the Apostles and the many missionaries who had been sent to proclaim the Good News to them, those who persecuted the faithful and oppressed the Church of God.

That is why we are reminded this day that all of us are called to continue the works of the Apostles and the many missionaries and servants of the Lord, in doing the works and efforts of the Lord and His Church, in order to proclaim courageously the salvation of God in the midst of our communities and among the people of God, especially to those who have not yet known Him. All of us have been given the truth, the knowledge and understanding, the Wisdom of the Lord so that we may truly live our lives with faith and to be exemplary in faith, that our every actions, words and deeds may truly be a reflection of our beliefs and our confession of faith, which we have made before Him and others. If we ourselves have not truly and sincerely believed in the Lord, and lived our lives according to our Christian faith and calling, how can we then expect others to believe in Him?

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry, also known as Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, the paramount secular ruler of Christendom during the High Middle Ages, who lived and reigned exactly a millennium ago from this day. St. Henry was renowned for his great piety and dedication to God, for his love for the Law and precepts of God and for his obedience to the Church. St. Henry spent a lot of effort and time in caring for the needs of his subjects, and all those who have been put under his dominion, and at the same time, he was also ever active in promoting the cause of the Church and that of the Christian faith, by establishing Church institutions and by giving his full support on the mission of the Church and the work of evangelisation, which saw great success in the continued growth of the Church and more and more pagans being converted to the true faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are therefore called to follow the Lord more faithfully following the great examples of our holy predecessors, like that of St. Henry, Holy Roman Emperor, and like that of the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, and also the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob, who had obeyed the Lord and entrusted himself to His providence. Let us all therefore do whatever we can in order to walk ever more devoutly and with greater commitment in the presence of God, proclaiming His truth and love at all times. May God bless us all and our every good works and endeavours, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 July 2023 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Matthew 10 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go, and proclaim this message : The kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a travelling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick : workers deserve to be compensated.”

“When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.”

“And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.”