St. Monica

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Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we must always be truly and genuinely faithful to the Lord our God, and we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the sin of hypocrisy, of professing to believe in a certain way and yet acting and carrying out our lives in the manner that is truly different from what we professed to believe in. If that is how we live our faith as Christians, then we truly have not lived our lives genuinely as those whom God had called and chosen, and we are no better than the hypocrites whom the Lord had frequently criticised and rebuked during the time of His ministry.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica, we heard of the continuation of the Apostle’s exhortation to the faithful people of God there, who had been faithful and true to the teachings of the Apostle and the other Christian missionaries. Earlier on in this Epistle, St. Paul praised the faith of the Thessalonian Christians as compared to the lack of faith and difficulties which he and the other missionaries had been encountering in Philippi, in the nearby region of Greece. Nonetheless, as we heard in that passage today, the Apostle still reminded them to remain true to the teachings of the Church as they have received through the Apostle and the missionaries.

This is because it is easy for any one of us to be easily swayed by the many temptations, pressures, coercions and all the trials and challenges that we may have to face in our journey. And if we are not careful, we may end up falling into this trap and be dragged down the wrong path in life, and hence, this is why we should continue to remind ourselves to be ever more faithful to the Lord in all the things that we do in life. Despite all the temptations and challenges present all around us in this life, we should still strive and do our best to live our lives in each and every moments, in our everyday living to be truly good examples of our Christian faith and discipleship, in being the worthy bearers of God’s truth, Good News and love to everyone around us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the continuation of the series of criticisms and rebuke which the Lord Jesus presented against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law before His disciples and all the people who were listening to His teachings. We have heard in the past few days of everything that the Lord spoke up against those supposed elders and elites of the Jewish community, who were highly respected and even feared by the people of God. Those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were the ones that were the most knowledgeable about the Law of God and the teachings and prophecies of the Lord’s prophets, the intellectual elites of the community.

And yet, they did not recognise the Lord and His miracles and wonders, all the signs which He had performed that in fact fulfilled all the prophecies which the prophets had spoken about the Messiah or the Saviour of the world. They were supposed to be the first ones to recognise the signs and miracles of the Messiah, and yet, they hardened their hearts and refused to believe in Him. Not only that, but as we have heard in that same Gospel passage today, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law often were hypocritical in their way of living their faith, as they were like whitewashed tombs and bones, looking good on the outsides but they were truly empty inside. This means that in them can be found no true and genuine faith or love for God.

While it is then easy for us to attribute the blame to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, let us all not be quick to point fingers to them, as we should all look upon ourselves and our own actions in life first and foremost. Have we ourselves lived the lives we have in this world in the manner that the Lord has taught and wanted us all to live them, or have we instead lived our lives in the similar way as those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, in hypocrisy and in self-serving, self-righteous attitudes, lacking for true and genuine concern and care for others around us? This is precisely why the Lord criticised those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their selfishness and lack of concern and love for those around them, in them being biased and prejudiced against the less fortunate in their midst.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Monica, who is well-known for her being the mother of another great and famous saint, St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the Church’s most famous early Church fathers. St. Monica was a Christian married to a pagan Roman nobleman named Patricius in the fourth century in the region of northern Africa. St. Monica was a pious Christian who was caring and loving towards others around her, giving alms and other efforts for the less fortunate, and spending time in prayer, amidst her own turbulent family life, as her pagan husband had a violent temper and immoral habits. Their son, the future St. Augustine of Hippo grew up in worldly ways as well, and as he was educated in rhetoric and philosophy, he pursued worldly matters and became a Manichaean, to the great distress of his mother.

But St. Monica continued to have faith in the Lord and in her family, and she ceaselessly prayed and made efforts to help her son and husband to be reconciled with her and with God. Eventually, her prayers were answered as first, her ailing husband eventually accepted the Lord and was baptised as a Christian, repenting from his prior wayward way of life, and then, her son, St. Augustine of Hippo, eventually came to seek the Lord as well, abandoning his past hedonistic and materialistic way of life, which included even having a child outside of marriage. St. Monica’s great love for her family members is truly an inspiration for all of us as Christians in how we ourselves should show love and concern, care and compassion to our loved ones, and also to others whom we encounter daily in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great faith and love which St. Monica has shown us all so that we too may truly be loving and genuine Christians in all things, in truly loving God with all of our heart and might, and then to do the same with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to those whom we love and who are dear to us and also to those whom we encounter daily in life. May the Lord be with us all in our journey in faith and may He strengthen and help us to continue living our lives in the manner that is truly both worthy and faithful, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 27-32

At that time, Jesus said to the people and to His disciples, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful in appearance; but, inside, there are only dead bones and uncleanness. In the same way, you appear religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets, and decorate the monuments of the righteous. You say : Had we lived in the time of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the blood of the prophets. So, you, yourselves, confess to be the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.”

“And now, finish off what your ancestors began!”

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Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 138 : 7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab

Where else could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I flee from Your presence? You are there, if I ascend the heavens; You are there, if I descend to the depths.

If I ride on the wings of the dawn, and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, Your hand shall guide me, and Your right hand shall hold me safely.

Shall I say, “Let darkness hide me, I prefer the night as my light?” But darkness, for You, is not dark.

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Wednesday, 27 August 2025 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Thessalonians 2 : 9-13

Remember our labour and toil; when we preached the Gospel, we worked day and night, so as not to be a burden to you. You are witnesses, with God, that we are holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe. We warned each of you, as a father warns his children; we encouraged you, and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God, Who calls you to share His own glory and kingdom.

This is why we never cease giving thanks to God for, on receiving our message, you accepted it, not as human teaching, but as the word of God. That is what it really is, and, as such, it is at work in you who believe.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures where we heard about the continuation of the discourse on the woes of the Pharisees in our Gospel passage today as the Lord continued on His criticism and rebuke on the Pharisees, the religious elite of the Jewish community who often opposed the Lord in His ministry and works, as well as the exhortation by St. Paul to the faithful people of God in Thessalonica on how they ought to stand firm to their faith in God, not allowing themselves to be easily swayed by falsehoods and temptations around them, to prevent them from falling into sin. Through all these, we are all reminded that we should continue to be faithful as Christians in all of our lives and actions, to be truly faithful to God and not merely be outwardly pious but having no love for God in us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica, in what is now part of Greece, continuing from what we heard in yesterday’s passage, the Apostle reminded the people of God not to be easily swayed and tempted by various false messages and misleading details which might tempt them to give up their faith in God. That is why the people of God must have strong and enduring faith to persevere amidst the various challenges, trials and temptations surrounding them. There were a lot of misleading teachings and messages going around even since the very earliest days of the Church as evidenced in that Epistle that St. Paul wrote and sent to the Thessalonians. There were quite a few of those who tried to appropriate Church and Christian teachings to suit their own agenda.

That was why they mixed parts of the Christian teachings and truth with their own misinformation and ideas, which resulted in not few among the Christians to be swayed into their erroneous and heretical paths. St. Paul was working hard against all those heretics and all the false prophets and messengers, all those irresponsible and wicked people who sought to lead the people of God into the wrong paths for their own selfish agenda and benefits. He persevered through the challenges to slowly and patiently guide the people of God to return back once again to Him, and to return to the path of virtue and righteousness, abandoning whatever wrong and misguided ideas that they had been exposed to through those false leaders and heretics.

In our Gospel passage today, as mentioned earlier we heard from the we heard the continuation of the woes and criticism, rebuke and words that the Lord Jesus had against the Pharisees, who were the religious elites of the Jewish community at that time. The Pharisees often looked down on others around them and considered themselves as superior in matters of faith and piety, as the guardians of the Law and commandments of God. They also adopted a rather strict interpretation of God’s Law, the Law revealed through His servant Moses, and this brought great difficulties upon the people as many of them had to face tough challenges and hardships amidst obeying the many precepts and tenets of the Law of God.

What the Lord harshly criticised and rebuked the Pharisees for is their inconsistency in applying the rules of the Law, which were meant to advantage and benefit themselves. The Pharisees liked to parade their piety and obedience to God, their prayers and practices, but they themselves did not truly obey and follow the Law of God faithfully and sincerely as they should have done. Worse still, they also made it difficult for many others to follow the Lord and closed the doors to many of those whom they judged and deemed to be unworthy, being prejudiced and biased against those like the prostitutes and the tax collectors, those afflicted with diseases and possessed by evil spirits among others.

All these people were ostracised by the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish community, but the irony is that they were the ones who were seeking the Lord the most earnestly and hence were closer to the Lord’s salvation than the Pharisees themselves. Those Pharisees were blinded and misguided by their own ego and pride, by their own mistaken knowledge and understanding of the Law, which is similar to what St. Paul had warned and advised the faithful in Thessalonica against, that they must not fall into this wrong path, to the path that does not lead towards God. This is why we are also reminded not to walk down this path, and we should indeed spend more time to connect ourselves well to the Lord and to renew our faith in Him. We should also help one another to remain true to our faith in God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Monica, the mother of the well-known St. Augustine of Hippo, and who is the patron saint of mothers. St. Monica is a truly great saint who can be our great inspiration in how we should live our lives as faithful and holy people of God, in her tireless commitment to her son, her prayers and patience in guiding him towards the Lord. St. Monica was a Christian married to a Roman pagan influential man, and her son, St. Augustine of Hippo was a brilliant young man, but he was easily influenced by the many debauched and wicked influences of his time, and became a Manichaean, indulging himself in all sorts of wicked behaviours and even fathered a child out of wedlock. One can only imagine the frustrations that St. Monica might have to experience.

And yet, St. Monica went through it all patiently, always there to pray and support her son, praying for his conversion and change of heart. Slowly but surely, this impacted the members of her family, beginning from her husband, who converted to be a Christian before he passed away, and then St. Augustine of Hippo himself, who was called by God and then, under the tutelage of St. Ambrose of Milan, finally embraced the Christian faith and the Lord fully, abandoning his past wicked way of life. St. Monica was by her son’s side throughout the whole entire journey, and has always shown her love to him, reminding us all what it means for us to be a Christian and a disciple of Christ, in how we ought to love one another and to help one another in our path towards the Lord’s salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to do our best to proclaim the Lord ever more faithfully in our whole lives, and do our part as Christians to be good role models and inspirations for everyone around us. May the Lord, our most loving God and Father continue to bless and guide us in our journey, strengthening us all to walk ever more faithfully in His path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 23 : 23-26

At that time, Jesus said to the people, “Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not forget the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you demand the tenth of everything; but then, you forget what is most fundamental in the Law : justice, mercy and faith! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup, with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them. Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.”

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 95 : 10, 11-12a, 12b-13

Say among the nations, “YHVH reigns!” He will judge the peoples with justice.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Thessalonians 2 : 1-3a, 14-17

Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, and our gathering to meet Him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.

To this end He called you, through the Gospel we preach, for He willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who has loved us, may God Our Father, Who, in His mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.

May He encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

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Tuesday, 27 August 2024 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

2 Thessalonians 2 : 1-3a, 14-17

Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, and our gathering to meet Him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.

To this end He called you, through the Gospel we preach, for He willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, Our Lord, Who has loved us, may God Our Father, Who, in His mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.

May He encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

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Saturday, 27 August 2022 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, each and every one of us have been reminded that we have been called by God to be His servants, and to follow Him to whatever and wherever He sends us, in our respective and various areas of responsibilities, in whatever opportunities and moments we have been given, to be the evangelising and missionary witnesses of His truth. Each and every one of us have been given by God unique talents, abilities, opportunities and gifts, and it is really indeed up to us whether we want to embrace these gifts from God and do what God had called and commanded us to do.

In our first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the Apostle speaking regarding the Lord and how He called and chose those from the world that might not be in accordance to the expectations of the world. While the world often sought the rich, the powerful and the mighty, the intellectual and those who are considered worthy and good, but the Lord called on all those who are considered ordinary and plain, those whom the world does not consider to be good or worthy, to be the ones to carry out His will and to do His works. God called on all these to be the instruments of His will.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard another story, that of the parable of the silver talents, in which a master gave three of his servants several amounts of silver talents while he was going away for a while. Entrusting those silver talents to them, the master left on his matter, and the three servants acted differently on the silver talents given to them. The one who had only one silver talent chose to hide his silver talent and did nothing to it, while the ones who had received five and two silver talents respectively chose to put their silver to good use, invested in them and made good returns from them.

We heard how then the master chastised and was angry against the servant who was lazy and did not do anything to his one silver talent, while praising those servants who had done what they could to the silver entrusted to them. Through what we heard in our Gospel passage today and linking to what we have also heard in our first reading today earlier, we can see the clear parallel and comparison, between that of the silver talents and the servants with our calling and responsibilities as Christians, in serving the Lord, our Master and King. The Lord entrusted to us various talents, gifts, abilities, opportunities and others just as the master in the parable entrusted the silver talents to his three servants.

Yes, linking with what we heard earlier from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, God called us all to follow Him, and bestowed on us various gifts and talents, opportunities as each one of us have received and experienced throughout our lives. Each one of us have unique experiences and diverse gifts, all of which should be put to good use for the purpose which the Lord had given these to us. Sometimes we may not be sure what we should do with those gifts and blessings, and that is why it is important for us to discern carefully what our respective calling in life as Christians are, as we are all called to different vocations and purposes in life.

God called on us all from our diverse backgrounds, bestowing on us various things, blessings, abilities and more so that we may make good use of them, and be fruitful in our actions throughout life. As Christians, our actions, words and deeds should be life-giving and bear testimony to our Christian faith and to the Lord, our God and Saviour. But sadly, many Christians throughout the world are still lukewarm about their faith, and many did not do anything more than the minimum required obligations and responsibilities placed on us as Christians, and many more are even Christians in name and formality only.

That is why today all of us are reminded of this duty and obligation that each and every one of us as Christians have in being obedient to God and in doing His will, making good use of whatever God has given us to do His will. And unless we make the effort to do so, then we are likely to continue to ignore the Lord and His truth, and may end up falling into the slippery slope of worldliness and sins. We have to remind ourselves to be genuine in our faith and to be truly dedicated to God in all things. We can be inspired today from the story and the life of St. Monica, a great saint and woman, and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most renowned and famous early Church fathers, servant of God and Doctor of the Church.

Back then, St. Monica was married to a Roman pagan nobleman and had a child which was to become St. Augustine. St. Monica had to put up with her husband’s often violent temper and then her son’s immoral behaviour in his youth. St. Augustine was a wayward child and teenager, and spent his life in hedonistic pursuits and also fell into the Manichaean heretical teachings and influence. St. Monica never ceased to pray for her son and continued to patiently care for him, and after her many tearful nights being concerned and worried about him, eventually her prayers and the Lord brought St. Augustine to be converted to the true faith.

St. Monica might have just been an ordinary woman, a normal mother with all the issues that mothers often face even up to this day. Yet, in all of that ordinary living and things, we see how God turned what was ordinary into extraordinary. St. Monica lived her life with faith and righteousness, and did all that she could to obey the Lord and to care for her loved ones, and that led to the conversion of her son, who was to become one of the greatest of the Church fathers, and whose own contributions and works led to the many other good things and the salvation of so many other souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after hearing all that and discerning on the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to not be afraid to be extraordinary through God, although we may seem to be ordinary in our lives and appearances. It is God in the end Who will make us worthy of Him, as He had done with St. Monica and countless other saints, holy men and women of God who have inspired us with the stories of their great faith and deeds. It was God Who made all those things possible. That is why, we should answer God’s call with faith and conviction, and do our best to invest our time and effort in doing whatever is within our means, in living our lives for the greater glory of God.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to guide us and bless us in all of our good efforts and endeavours, and may He continue to lead us down the path of righteousness, and bestow us His blessings and graces that we may make good use of them to glorify His Name all the more. Amen.