Thursday

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Thursday, 2 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyr)

2 Timothy 2 : 8-15

Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, Son of David, as preached in my Gospel. For this Gospel I labour and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. And so I bear everything for the sake of the chosen people, that they, too, may obtain the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus and share eternal glory.

This statement is true : If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we endure with Him, we shall reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are unfaithful, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.

Remind your people of these things and urge them in the presence of God not to fight over words, which does no good, but only ruins those who listen. Be for God an active and proved minister, a blameless worker correctly handling the word of truth.

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Thursday, 26 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the words of our Lord spoken to us through His Apostle Peter, whom in our first reading today spoke about all of us as the people of God, children and followers of our God, and how we ought to act as truly a child of God, as the possession of our Lord. St. Peter has shown us in his Epistle how grateful and thankful all of us should be, for having been chosen by God to be His people.

And in the Gospel today we heard about how Jesus healed the blind man because of his faith, as he showed the commitment and devotion that had saved him, as God saw in him a genuine faith, and a genuine desire to love Him, to turn back away from the darkness of the world, and by his faith thus he had been healed and made whole once again.

But in this, there is a danger, brothers and sisters in Christ, as some among us would certainly be led to think that once we have faith, then we do not need to do anything, as our faith have saved us after all. And even, there are those, who think that believing in salvation through good deeds and works is false and against God. Yet, the reality is that this is the truth, and faith alone is not sufficient for us to guarantee our salvation in God.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that while we may have faith in God, but faith alone is meaningless if our lives do not show the faith which we profess or claim to have in God. In fact, if we say that we have faith in God, and yet our actions and deeds prove to be otherwise, then it is not just that it is not faith, but also that it will scandalise our faith.

How will people believe in us, and in what we are teaching them about our Lord if we ourselves did not practice what we have preached and spoken to them? And worse still if our actions directly contradicted what we have preached to them. Then we become no better than the hypocrites, like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of old, who preached about the Law of God and yet did not practice them on their own.

Our faith grows and develops through active and frequent cultivation of the good deeds which we did in the Name of God, obeying His will and commandments. It is not a dead and stagnant faith, but instead a living and evolving one, where our love for the Lord is constantly tested and growing, as we live our lives and as we commit ourselves each and every day to God and His ways.

The blind man did not give up even though he was ridiculed and scolded when he called upon the Lord Jesus to heal him. In fact, the more they tried to prevent him to speak, the more and the louder he shouted. In the same way, all of us should do the same as what the blind man had done. We need to put in effort to live faithfully as God’s people, and we cannot be complacent or be inactive, lest the second coming of our Lord catch us red-handed without genuine love and faith for our God.

Perhaps, we should heed the examples of St. Philip Neri, the holy saint and servant of God whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Philip Neri was a renowned priest and preacher, who for his works and dedications to the people of God were remembered for many generations, and he was also known as the Apostle of Rome because of his works in Rome, at the heart of Christendom.

He was the son of a noble and rich merchant family, who was educated in in a Dominican monastery, intended to inherit the great wealth of his family. However, God’s will was that St. Philip Neri should lead a different path in life, abandoning all the luxuries and possessions accredited to him, and instead choosing the path of service and devotion, as God’s calling grew strong in his heart.

He entered the religious life and devoted his life to serving the poor and the less fortunate ones in the society, particularly those who have erred and sinned in their path towards the Lord. He was particularly concerned about those who have fallen into sin, and tried his best to help and rescue them. He worked among prostitutes and others rejected by the society, and helped them to correct their ways.

He also established the Confraternity of the Oratory, as well as other religious organisations, through which he devoted his life and time, and inspired many others, even unto the current generation, to follow in his footsteps. By looking and understanding about the examples of St. Philip Neri, we ourselves can also be inspired to do more for the sake of the less fortunate around us, and give our love to those who are unloved and ostracised.

In all these, linking back to what we have discussed just earlier, we can see that the faith shown by St. Philip Neri is truly real and genuine, as shown through his works and commitments, and not just through empty proclamations and claims to faith. Thus, we too should show our faith through devotion and commitment. We should learn to obey the Lord through action and through good works obeying what Jesus our Lord had told us all to do.

May God bless us and keep us, and may He strengthen us, and give us the courage to lead a life true and devoted to God, amidst all the temptations of this world. Let us all dedicate ourselves to God and follow His ways in all things we do and say. God be with us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Mark 10 : 46-52

At that time, Jesus and His disciples came to Jericho. As He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus was sitting by the roadside.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to call out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying, “Take heart! Get up, He is calling you!” He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!”

And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.

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Thursday, 26 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 4, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Thursday, 26 May 2016 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

1 Peter 2 : 2-5, 9-12

Like newborn children, seek eagerly for the pure milk of the Word that will help you grow and reach salvation. Did you not taste the goodness of the Lord? He is the living stone rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to Him; set yourselves close to Him so that you, too, become living stones built into a spiritual temple, a holy community of priests offering spiritual sacrifices that please God through Jesus Christ.

You are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings, a consecrated nation, a people God has made His own to proclaim His wonders. For He called you from your darkness to His own wonderful light. At one stage you were no people, but now you are God’s people, you had not received His mercy, but now you have been given mercy.

Beloved, while you are strangers and exiles, I urge you not to indulge in selfish passions that wage war on the soul. Live a blameless life among the pagans; so when they accuse you falsely of any wrong, they may see your good works and give glory to God on the day He comes for them.

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Thursday, 19 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, first we heard about the rebuke which St. James placed on those who have been dishonest in their dealings, those who manipulated others and gained profits from the sufferings of others. That was the norm of that time, and in fact, if we realise, it is still very much the norm of today’s society.

How is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? We just have to look at what men can do in order to get what they need, especially in the matters of money and possessions. Our societies and communities today are increasingly becoming ever more hedonistic, materialistic, and indeed, obsessed with all sorts of worldliness, with all sorts of glory and pleasures that are derived from the possession of those things we often desire in this life.

We often witness how men can even trick other men or women, just so that they could get profit out of their actions, not considering the expense that it is causing those poor fellows. Unbridled capitalism and the desire for ultimate profit has caused mankind to forget about who they really are, about what they are supposed to do for the sake of their brethren. Instead, they have been reduced to mere slaves of these desires that they had.

I am sure that many if not most or all of us can relate to this fact, on how we often think of ourselves first before the needs and the plight of others around us. And that is why we are so easily tempted by the many lies and the sweet temptations that Satan, the evil one, and his fellow fallen angels are offering us and tempting us with. In many occasions, we are simply too gullible and too easy to tempt, to the point that we end up falling into the darkness through sin.

And in the Gospel today, we heard how Jesus spoke to us about casting off our body parts that made us to sin. It may be quite scary for us to hear such a suggestion made by Jesus, but what He meant was not in reality, for us to literally take His words literally and do away with our body parts, although it may indeed help if we do so.

Instead, rather than doing this, what Jesus suggested to us is that, we should strive to remain pure in all things, in our hearts, in our minds, and in all of our actions and dealings. The body itself is often not at fault, since the body acts in the way that the heart, the mind and the soul are wishing it, and corrupt heart and a corrupt mind will inevitably lead to a corrupt being.

Thus, we all have to realise that the way to God is through hard work and through many challenges, as often we may find ourselves pitted against our very own selves, against our desires and wants, against all that our mind or our heart is asking for. If we give in to our desires, then that is what has led us to sin before the Lord our God. This was exactly what has led mankind to act in the way that St. James had deplored in our first reading today.

It is not wrong for us to have our desires and wishes, and it is not wrong indeed to have a desire in life, as long as these desires do not come into conflict with who we are as Christians, who ought to be living a good and worthy Christian lives, obeying the laws and commandments of our Lord. Let us all therefore, commit ourselves to reject the selfish ways of the world, and from now on, ensure that our actions are done in consideration of the needs of others around us.

Let us not be ignorant of the needs of the poor, but instead let us all keep our hearts and minds open to hear and listen to their plea. Let us not manipulate our brethren for the sake of mere profits, but help one another so that each and every one of us may have a decent and comfortable living in this world. May God help us in this endeavour, and may He awaken in us the love which we ought to have for Him. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 9 : 41-50

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples, “If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and bear His Name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward. If anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a great millstone around his neck.”

“If your hand makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand, than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes out. And if your foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot, than with both feet to be thrown into hell.”

“And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell, where the worms that eat them never die, and the fire never goes out. The fire itself will preserve them.”

“Salt is a good thing; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.”

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Thursday, 19 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 48 : 14-15ab, 15cde-16, 17-18, 19-20

This is the fate of people trusting themselves, the future of those who rely on their strength. Like sheep led to the grave, they have death as their shepherd and ruler.

Quickly their firm will be consumed in the world of the dead, which is their home. But God will rescue my soul from the grave by receiving me unto Himself.

Fear not when someone grows rich, when his power becomes oppressively great, for nothing will he take when he dies; his wealth and pomp he will leave behind.

Though he praised himself in his lifetime, “All will say that I have enjoyed life,” he will join the generation of his forebears, who will never again see the light.

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Thursday, 19 May 2016 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 5 : 1-6

So, now for what concerns the rich! Cry and weep for the misfortunes that are coming upon you. Your riches are rotting and your clothes eaten up by the moths. Your silver and gold have rusted and their rust grows into a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire, for having piled up riches in these the last days.

You deceived the workers who harvested your fields but now their wages cry out to the heavens. The reapers’ complaints have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived in luxury and pleasure in this world thus fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have easily condemned and killed the innocent since they offered no resistance.

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Thursday, 12 May 2016 : Seventh Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Nereus and St. Achilleus, Martyrs and St. Pancras, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard about the moment when St. Paul was brought in front of the assembly of Pharisees and Sadducees in Caesarea, where they wanted to accuse him of wrongdoings and even through false charges. But St. Paul did not fear this and he fought back, showing just how weak and false the arguments laid against him was, as his many enemies and opponents could not even work together or find a common ground to accuse him of wrongdoing.

And in the end, he was saved from their persecution, which would likely have seen him brought up in chains to Jerusalem, and perhaps likely to suffer martyrdom there without the chance for further evangelisation. Instead, as the events went on, he managed to convince the governor to allow him to appeal to the Roman Emperor, and thus he went to Rome, and on the way, he stopped by several places where he helped to establish the Church in those places by his works.

In all these, we see that God will not abandon those who are faithful to Him. He will always be there for all those who obey His will and commandments, and also those who keep His ways faithfully. He will bless and guard these with jealous love, not allowing the forces of darkness and evil to harm them. These forces may challenge the servants of the Lord, bring tribulations and difficulties to them, but they will not bring harm to their eternal souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we see how much God has loved us and cared for us, so much so that He sent to us His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, that the Divine Word assumed the flesh, our flesh, and became Man like us. And by His works, the trials and tribulations which He faced for our sake, by His entreaties and prayers, made as what we heard in the Gospel today, He beseeched the Father to forgive us our sins, and made His petitions for our sake.

How great indeed is the love which God has shown for us. He is always loving and ever merciful to us. He is slow to anger and rich in kindness. He shows us His compassion from time to time, and He is willing to forgive us, but as long as we ourselves are also willing and wanting to be forgiven. If we do not act in the way that is pleasing to God and continue to act wickedly and in disobedience to God, how would we expect to be forgiven?

God will keep us and guard us as He has always done. He is forever faithful, but how about us? Are we faithful to God and committed to His ways? Let us ask ourselves how often it was that we have acted in ways that are not in accordance with God’s ways. How often is it that we have been angry with our brethren, our neighbours around us, or even resenting them or being jealous with what they had and what we did not have?

How often is it that we have been ignorant of the need of others who are around us, who need our help, and yet we did not even lift a finger to help, and pretend not to notice their sufferings? These are the questions we should ask ourselves, and indeed, we should also reflect on the lives of the three great saints and holy martyrs whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Nereus, St. Pancras and St. Achilleus were told be the martyrs of the great persecution of the Emperor Diocletian, who was known for his especially vicious and harsh persecution against the Church and the faithful during the turn of the fourth century after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The faithful were greatly oppressed, and the Roman government and officials openly showed hostility against Christians of all backgrounds.

The three martyrs were told to be among those who were arrested and tortured at the time of the great persecution of Christians. And yet they refused to recant their faith in God, and they adamantly rejected the call to abandon their Lord and God and worship the Emperor as god instead. They courageously stood by their faith, even though they knew that by doing so, it means almost certain death at that time.

They did not compromise their faith and their life with submission to the world and its demands just in order to safeguard themselves. Rather, they totally surrendered it all to God, and went on knowing that doing so would mean facing death and painful sufferings. From their examples, each and every one of us should be aware that as Christians, we cannot be just passive and ignorant of things that we need to do, and indeed which we can do, for the sake of those who are around us, and for the sake of the Lord our God.

Let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and let us be filled with strength and with the courage to carry out our lives in good faith and commitment to God, so that in all the things that we say and do, we will always bring forth the glory of God. May God bless us and keep us, and may He remain with us all forever. Amen.