Almighty God

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Friday, 28 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the feast of a great pillar of the Church, one of its original and among the greatest of the Doctors of the Church, because of his numerous and countless contributions to both the Church and to the faithful as a whole, in leading them to Christ. He is St. Augustine of Hippo, a great man and a great saint, and yet with an interesting origin and story of his life, in how he became such a great servant of God.

Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of St. Monica, his mother, a holy woman completely devoted to the Lord and to her family, particularly that of her son, St. Augustine himself. And we have to understand where they came from and what were their lives like, so that we can understand and benefit most from today’s sharing of the Scriptures and the lives of the saints.

St. Augustine of Hippo was born in a noble Roman family, between a rich Roman nobleman named Patricius who was a pagan worshipper, and St. Monica, his mother, who was already a Christian, and one who was truly devoted to the Lord. St. Augustine lived in a family well connected and in position to enjoy all the favours and benefits of worldly life, and therefore, he got the best education and treatment, and grew to be an educated person and a philosopher.

But all these could not satisfy St. Augustine, as he desired for something more to fill the emptiness in his heart. And so, influenced by his peers and friends at that time, he fell into the company of those who believed in the syncretic and pagan religion of Manichaeanism, where he gave in to the Manichaean ways and teachings of hedonism and worldliness, involving himself with various forms of the pleasures of the flesh.

Nonetheless, even though St. Augustine had started on a path towards sin and therefore towards ruination, it was the hard effort and ceaseless tears and prayers from his mother, St. Monica, who eventually turned St. Augustine back into the light. Firstly, his own father decided to be baptised on his deathbed and accepted fully the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, and then St. Augustine himself also realised the errors of his ways and repented.

St. Augustine went on to be a teacher, and growing more and more disillusioned with the ways and falsehoods of Manichaeanism, where he did not manage to find true satisfaction, he eventually gave himself to be baptised as well, as a member of the Church, and the prayers which his mother had made for his sake. And thereafter, St. Augustine dedicated himself to the service of God.

And by his many works, including the publications, the City of God and the Confessions which he had written, as well as various other discourses and traditions passed down to us by the other Church fathers, this once great sinner had indeed been transformed completely by the will and by the grace of God to be a great tool for the salvation of mankind and for the deliverance of mankind from our sins.

In today’s Scripture readings we also heard how Jesus told the people the parable of the five wise women and the five careless and foolish women. Many of us knew this story, but do we truly understand its significance? The wise women and the foolish women represent all of us, while the bridegroom represents the Lord who will come again even as He had promised all of us.

The examples of St. Augustine of Hippo should have shown us that all of us have a choice in this life, and this choice is for us to follow either the Lord and His ways, or whether we follow our own whims and our own heart’s desires. God always gives us opportunities, one after another, for He is loving as well as merciful, and despite all of our sins and wickedness, we still have the Lord on our side, holding us and keeping us against the tides of darkness rising against us.

Nevertheless, we should not take this for granted. The Lord loves all of us, for we are indeed the greatest and the most treasured and loved of all the things that God had created, but this does not mean that He just let us all be with all the things we are doing, or condoning all of our sins and wickedness. He continues to watch over us, and it is painful for Him to see how we continue to live in sin and in direct disobedience and rebellion against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all learn from the examples of St. Augustine of Hippo and many other saints, who were once sinners and then they turned their lives around, and sought out a new life in God. This is also an inspiration for all of us to do the same. No one was born perfect, and no one was blameless, except for our Lord Jesus Himself. All of us made mistakes in some parts of our lives, but what matters, is whether we take those mistakes to task and learn from them.

May Almighty God be our help and our guide, as we walk in the footsteps of St. Augustine of Hippo, that we may also be like him and many other great saints, who took the step to get out of their past sinfulness, repent from those sins, and follow the Lord in all their ways, and by their righteousness, they were brought into eternal glory and life promised by our Lord. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 27 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate the feast day of a saint whom many of us may not be familiar with, as we are likely to be more familiar with her son, St. Augustine the Great, or known also as St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the greatest saints of the Church. But without the actions and the hard works of the holy woman, whose life was dedicated both to the Lord and to her own son, St. Augustine of Hippo would not have been great and so influential.

St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo was a very devoted mother and a faithful servant of God, and it was her tireless and continuous dedication to St. Augustine, her ceaseless prayers for his conversion that has brought about such great merits and good things upon the faithful and upon the souls that were lost but then were brought to the salvation in God.

St. Monica showed us the examples of being a good role model for the faithful, and how mothers should be, devoting themselves to the Lord and to their families, not giving up on any of them should any of them fell into sin and darkness. She continued to pray for his conversion, for St. Augustine in his youth was a great sinner, which fell into the many wicked ways of the world, engaging in debauchery and various sins horrible in the eyes of the Lord.

She prayed for him, and eventually her prayers and her faithful devotion to her son helped him to see the light and helped him to set his path on the path to righteousness and to salvation in God. And from then on, the great sinner was turned into a great tool for the salvation of many, as St. Paul had done before St. Augustine was born.

In this, as we see in the Scriptures today, especially the Gospel, when the Lord Jesus shared the parable on the wise and wicked servants and stewards, whose actions were contrasted to each other, as representative of what we are celebrating today. The master is the Lord, and the stewards represent all of us, and indeed we all have a choice, on whether we should be a faithful and wise servant, or whether we should follow the path of the wicked and lazy servant.

St. Augustine once walked in the path of the wicked servant, filling himself with all the pleasures of the world and disregarded the ways of the Lord, being lost in a world of desire and hedonism, embracing false gods and idols, and lazing himself in a world of ignorance and in pursuit of worldliness. And many of us also walk in the same path, even now, and we are truly heading for trouble, for indeed, the parable reminds us that the master, our Lord can come back at any time, especially at times we do not expect.

And therefore, we should remember that, the lesson which we can learn today, is that God shows His mercy and love in myriads of ways, and one example which He had given is the example of St. Augustine of Hippo, as great saints were once great sinners too. What matters is that, those sinners chose the right path, repented from their sins and walked once again on the path of righteousness towards the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples and by the dedication shown by St. Monica, we too should follow in her footsteps, in how we care for our own brethren who we see around us and beyond. Let us all be concerned about those around us who are still living in the darkness of the world, and who are still like St. Augustine in his youth.

Let us all pray for them, and let us also show them the path to the Lord by our action. May our loving God and merciful Father forgive us all our sins, and help us all to find our way to Him. May God bless us all in our endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 26 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we hear in the Scriptures about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and their attitudes which went contrary to the will of God, and then contrasting these with the works and actions of the disciples of the Lord, as shown by St. Paul and his co-workers in faith, as they laboured and toiled hard in many cities during the early years of the Church.

What is shown here is the contrast between faith that is superficial and faith tat is true and deeply rooted in the heart and soul. The faith of the Pharisees was of the former type, as they put great importance in the external applications of the faith, including the observances of the laws that emphasised on the purity of the exterior, and if we look at the examples found in the Gospels, we see how they criticised Jesus and His disciples because they did not wash their hands, purify themselves before certain events, and many other things, such as the observance of the sabbath law.

Indeed, it is good for one to follow and obey the Law of God in all of its forms, as obedience to the Law helps one to straighten his or her own path, so that in all things, they may always stay close to the way of the Lord. However, when the obedience of the Law becomes an obsession and twisted from its true nature, that is where the danger lies, as fulfilling the Law itself no longer something that is fulfilling inside our hearts, but rather becomes a chore and a mindless and repeated meaningless actions.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were criticised and rebuked by Jesus, because they did all of their actions for show, and for self-glorification, surrendering themselves to the whims of their desires and wants. They had power and influence in the society, and people looked up to them, putting their trust in them. But these so called leaders and shepherds had themselves gone astray, because in their actions they wanted to fulfil what they wish first, even at the expense of others if necessary.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, they sinned because through their actions, not only that they had not been humble before the Lord, and not just that they had shown great wickedness in their selfish actions and behaviours, but also that because in their positions of power and privilege, they have abused these and misled the people of God into sin themselves.

Contrast this to the Apostles and the disciples of Christ, as they did not pursue things for their own greatness and glory, and instead they worked and laboured hard for the greater glory of God. They did not seek to satisfy their own desires and wishes, but instead gave it all to fulfil the will of God, which through all their works were made true in this world.

They showed by great examples, the way to be followers of the Lord, and even though they were persecuted and rejected, they continued to work hard in service to God and to His beloved people. They persevered through all the difficulties and sustained themselves through all the challenges and oppressions, and by their work, they showed forth the true faith they had in them, and many people heeded their call for repentance and conversion to the faith in the Lord.

It is something for us to learn, that just as the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord did not forsake their faith and their Lord in times of difficulty, and as they gave themselves completely to the service of their Lord and God, we too should follow in their footsteps and walk righteously and justly in the presence of our Lord. God rewards all those who are righteous and just, and He will bless all those who remain faithful to Him and have true love and dedication for Him in their hearts, and not just external devotion or appearing to be faithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be faithful to the Lord our God in all things, and let us all seek Him with all of our heart’s strength and might. May we all be closer and closer to His heart and be filled forever with His wondrous love. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 August 2015 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Louis, and St. Joseph Calasanz, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of their lack of true faith and devotion to the Lord as well as their hypocrisy, acting as if they were just and faithful, whereas in fact, they were rotten on the inside, maintaining only good appearances and reputation to be praised and honoured by men, for their supposed good faith.

The clear message which all of us should take note of is that, true faith comes from the inside, and it comes with genuine and sincere dedication of oneself to the Lord, and not just maintaining good appearances and good facade for the sake of viewing, so that others may see us and praise us. That indeed is not something bad, and indeed, it is necessary that we too show the faith in us through how we behave and how we live our lives, but if we have no goodness and faith inside of us, then we truly have nothing.

The first reading today showed us how St. Paul in his interactions with the faithful in the city of Thessalonica explained how he and his fellow disciples of the Lord ministered to the people of God in various means, ministering to them in body and spirit, providing especially consolation and care for the soul, tendering care and provided for them that thy have enough in everything.

We cannot be truly faithful if we do not truly love God in our hearts, and if have no love for one another, which is the essence of the Law which God had given to us all mankind, for us to emulate and to follow. The Law of God should not be misinterpreted, misunderstood and worse, misused, to be a tool of oppression or something of mere monotony by those who fail to understand the true importance of the Law.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during Jesus’ time professed to be faithful because they deemed themselves as the only ones who were able to commit themselves to obey the entirety of the so-called laws of Moses, which is the entirety of the laws and commandments that God had given, but then on top of those, there were many other laws decided and added through the ages to complement what had been given.

But they were so obsessed and focused on those laws that eventually many if not most of them enforced such laws and observed them because they thought that they had to do so. In the end, many of them did not understand what they were doing, and they were blindly following the law as they deemed fit. And worse still, they condemned others when they saw that these others did not follow what they had done.

That is not true faith, and we indeed should take note not to fall into the same situation. Let us all learn from the examples of the two saints whose life and memory we are celebrating today on their feast day. They are St. Louis, King of France, also known as St. Louis IX, one of the few canonised kings, and St. Joseph Calasanz, a holy priest hailing from Spain, known for his dedication to Catholic education.

St. Louis IX was known to be a very good and dedicated king, who put his people above everything else, and who led an exemplary life in faith, supporting the Church and the institutions of the faith, building churches and schools to help the people and especially the poor to be closer to the Lord their God. St. Louis IX helped to strengthen the Church and the faith, opposing many forms of vices and oppositions to the ways of the Lord.

St. Louis IX prohibited sinful and worldly activities such as prostitution, gambling, simony and many other vices that had penetrated deep into the society and even within the Church. He also ensured that justice was upheld in the society, ensuring those who were innocent did not receive unjust punishment and those who were to be blamed, received their just punishment.

St. Louis IX was also deeply devoted in the advancement of the cause of the Faith, and he devoted himself to a faithful Crusade against the godless and the faithless, to help liberate the Holy Land and the Holy City of Jerusalem after he was healed from an illness and made a vow to launch a Crusade should he be healed. Nevertheless, God had other plans, and He called St. Louis IX to His side while he was out there fighting in the Name of God, a faithful servant to the end.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph Calasanz was a Spanish priest who went on to spend most of his time in Rome, the heart of Christendom, where he ministered to the faithful and many of the poor and the less fortunate of the society there. He opened schools and many other institutions designed to help the destitute and all those who had no opportunity at education and those who were ostracised by the society.

St. Joseph Calasanz showed by his numerous works and devotions to the people of God, that there are so many things that we all can do to help our brethren who are suffering around us, and there are even more things we can do to help them in their lives so that they can have a better life. Together with St. Louis IX, they have shown us the way to live as a faithful disciple of the Lord.

Let us all therefore from now on dedicate ourselves anew, to be true followers of our Lord, by showing it in our action and showing deep and genuine faith to the Lord, because we love Him and all that He created, and not just because we seek good appearances or human praise, or because we obey as we were told to do so. Let us all be truly faithful and devoted to the Lord our God in all things. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 24 August 2015 : Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the feast of one of the Twelve Holy Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the principal and greatest followers and disciples of our Lord, who were the ones that helped to establish His Church on earth. And today, we celebrate therefore the feast of St. Bartholomew, also known by his other name of Nathaniel.

He was unique among the Twelve Apostles, for the Lord seemed to have a high opinion of him, when He called him to be His follower. He proclaimed to His other disciples, that St. Bartholomew, then known as Nathaniel, was a true and upright man in Israel, and that there are none other like him. Indeed, this is to show that Jesus called His disciples from various origins, from the humblest and the simplest, to the educated, and the righteous as well as the wicked ones.

But when He called the Apostles, Jesus made it clear to them that He did not call them for a life of privilege, and neither that their lives would be an easy one. They would not be called to a life of privilege and prestige, and the Lord made it clear again from time to time, that they would suffer the same persecution, challenges and difficulties that their Master had also experienced.

And indeed, many of the Apostles and the other disciples and followers of our Lord were harassed, rejected, cast out and had their lives made difficult because of what they believed in, and because of what they were preaching to the people so that these people would come to believe in Jesus and be saved. They would be led to torture places, imprisoned, and then most of them were martyred, that is they gave up their earthly life for the sake of the Lord and their faith in Him.

But all these were the prelude to the eternal inheritance and glory which our Lord had promised to all of them. As in the Gospel today, when Nathaniel, St. Bartholomew expressed his doubt at Jesus because He was from Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus spoke of how they would see great things, and they would see the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, glorified and revealed in His majesty.

This indeed they had seen, and they witnessed it, and they therefore preached about what they have witnessed and seen with their own eyes and felt with their own senses, of the Lord who died and rose from the dead in glory, and by His works, all are made whole and saved. And for that there were greatly rewarded. The clue to this is in our first reading from the Book of the Revelation of St. John.

St. John saw the vision of the new and heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy City that comes down from heaven, with all of its incomparable and unparalleled beauty and greatness, and the city has twelve great gates, on which lies twelve stones on which are carved the names of the Twelve Holy Apostles. Indeed, this is the vision of the fulfilment of Christ’s promise to the Apostles, as in His own words, He had said that the Apostles will sit on the twelve thrones to judge the people of God.

The essence of today’s Scripture readings, and what we have to take away with us today is that all of us have a share in the works of the Apostles, and we are their successors, in terms of the mission which God had entrusted them with. His mission for us is to go forth to all the nations, to all the peoples and preach to them, and be witnesses of His resurrection, and be the bearers of the Good News of His salvation.

There will indeed be challenges and difficulties, and our way forward will not be an easy one, but so had the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord met all kinds of resistance and oppositions during their ministry in this world. But we have to remember that God is always with those who keep their faith in Him. If we keep our trust in Him and place our faith in Him, then we truly have nothing to fear at all.

Let us all be ever more dedicated and devoted to our faith in the Lord, and let us all walk in the footsteps of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, committing ourselves ever more to bring forth the Gospel and the Good News to all the peoples, so that all may be saved together in God. May Almighty God bless us in all of our endeavours and shine His light upon us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 23 August 2015 : Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are faced with the reality and the truth in the Scripture readings which we have heard today. In the first reading we heard about how Joshua, the leader who succeeded Moses in bringing Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land, exhorted to them to remain faithful in the Lord, and then in the second reading, St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians urged people in the family to remain faithful to each other and to remain committed to their vow of marriage, having been united by God.

And then in the Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke of how there will be those who refuse to listen to His words, and refuse to believe in His teachings, because of the doubts in their hearts, and their inability to grasp what the truth of the Lord is all about. He knew that there would be those who went astray and be lost because they refused to believe in the truth.

And yet of course, the Apostles, all save the one who had planned to betray Jesus, all remained faithful to the Lord Jesus, and continued to follow Him even though many others have left Him, and even though these have ridiculed the Lord they followed and served, and even though they must have been pressured and urged to leave behind their Master as well.

All of these would bring us to ask ourselves, about our faith in this ever-changing and ever more difficult world to live in. We know how this world follows its own ways. And often these ways are not in accordance to the ways of the Lord. This we should be aware of, that the world has been under the dominion and power of Satan, the evil and fallen one, ever since he brought sin into the world, and not until the day of judgment that he would be overthrown and the world made anew.

As we heard in the first reading today about Joshua and the people of Israel, Joshua gave a passionate exhortation and reminder to the people of Israel to remain faithful to the Lord, who had done so much wonders for them, and who had brought them and their fathers out of Egypt with might and power, crushing those who have enslaved them and liberated them to bring them to the lands and the bountiful gifts promised to their ancestors.

And yet, if we would read on, and which we should know, we should realise that the people of Israel did not remain faithful. They would revert to their ways of rebellion and disobedience, as they had often exhibited throughout their journey in the desert, beginning with their worship of the golden calf, betraying the Lord for the pagan idols of their neighbours, for statues and idols made of gold, silver and worldly goods.

They would sell their souls and their bodies to the vileness of the world many, many times, and they often became lost in the many temptations of the flesh coming their way. They worshipped the pagan gods of their neighbours and forgot entirely about the Lord who had led them to the lands they occupied then in prosperity. Therefore the Lord reminded them by allowing their neighbours to harass them and oppress them, so that they might know that human power is feeble, and the joy they have in the world is temporary. And everything means nothing if all are not bound to the Lord, the one true God.

Therefore, then we too should reflect on our own lives. Have we been truly faithful to the Lord? And if we say that we are faithful, then do our actions and our words, all the things we do and say, do they all show concretely and firmly that all of us truly belong to the Lord? Or did we instead do things contrary to what the Lord had taught and shown to us? Have we created scandal of our faith by not doing what we profess to believe?

Brethren, there are so many pressures and temptations from all sources and directions around us, from our own communities and societies, for us to abandon what we have believed in the Lord, and for us to betray the Lord, for other pagan and ungodly idols, just as the Israelites had done in the past, and just as they had done again at the time of Jesus, rejecting and refusing to believe in the Saviour who had come upon them in order to save them.

And if last time, they were tempted to worship the pagan gods and idols of wood, silver, gold and other earthly wares, and pushed to give sacrifices to these idols, we may think that in this modern world we no longer have such idols and hence we should be safe from such depredations and corrupted ways of our predecessors. However, many of us did not realise that we live in a world that is filled with idols, that is the new idol of wealth, of injustice, of selfishness and many others.

If we look around us, we would certainly realise how we live in such a commercialised and materialistic world, where money and possessions matter a great deal for many of us, where prestige and position, where fame and acceptance by others matter a great deal for us. If we lack any of these, it is our nature to go forth and seek ways to get more of them, to have more of what we do not have, be it money, or recognition from others.

These are the new idols that can tear us away from the true path and way of the Lord. And this path is the path of selfishness, where all of these lead to the pampering and the glorification of the self, the satisfaction of our ego and selfishness, where we end up closing ourselves up from knowing what others around us need and what we can do to help them.

It is in our human nature to think of ourselves first and even at the expense of others if necessary. And this is why St. Paul in his letter to the faithful in the city of Ephesus reminded them of the importance of the family and its unity, when every member of the family are devoted to each other, and obey one another. When each member of the family give in to their selfishness and the desire to satisfy themselves ahead of others, then it is where the very fabric of the family itself will fall apart.

The institution of the family is the anchor of faith for us all. The family is the basic unit of the Church and the faithful, where faith is disseminated and transferred from one generation to the next, and Satan knows this. This is why Satan is so particular in his efforts to destroy the family and its unity, by playing on mankind’s selfishness and self-satisfying attitudes.

We have to take note of this, brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, as we reflect on the readings from the Scripture which we have heard today, let us all keep in mind our own families, and reflect on whether in our families, we have practiced our faith together as one, and put the family ahead of our own selves. Have we put God at the centre of our family? Have we prayed together and worked together as one?

These are important questions we have to ask ourselves, if we are to help ourselves in resisting the temptations of the world through which Satan is trying to pull us away from the path towards salvation. Let us all work together as one, through our own families, by keeping the sanctity and holiness in our own families, placing God at the centre of our lives, and then working together as the whole Church to help one another in finding our way to the Lord and reaching out to Him.

May Almighty God keep our faith strong and guide us in our life’s endeavours, that in all the things we do, we will always practice what He had taught us, and remember always His mercy and love, which He generously pours upon us. May God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Saturday, 22 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we celebrate this honour which had been accorded to her, the glory and majesty that we accord her due to her unique position, as the Mother of the one and true King of all, the font of all power and authority, none other than Jesus our Lord, King of the Universe.

It is not by her own power and majesty that she was accorded the title of Queen, but it is nonetheless equally great and honourable, because she truly deserves to be called Queen of all saints, as Queen of all angels, as Queen of queens, Queen of Heaven and the Queen of all mankind and all creation. For she is indeed the first and greatest among all creation, being the closest to the throne of her own Son, and dearest to Him in His heart.

In the readings today we heard about the salvation which God had brought about to mankind, and by the sending of His own Son into the world, He made possible what everyone would have thought to be impossible, that is the salvation and liberation of all mankind from the tyranny of sin and evil, and from all the wickedness and vile things that had bound them since the first time they fell into sin.

God brought His Son into the world, by the work through Mary, the one whom He had favoured and blessed among all women and among all the children of Adam. She had been fully participative in the work of God’s salvation, by the full surrender of herself to God’s will, which was made clear to her by the Archangel Gabriel, on the night which we heard today in the Gospel.

Mary obeyed the Lord completely and perfectly, giving the best of her ability to fulfil what God had revealed to her, that she would become the mother of the Saviour of the world. She took full charge of the responsibility placed on her shoulders. She took all the responsibilities seriously and did all she could, to bring up her Son, Jesus Christ, to be the One who would save all mankind from their sins.

Thus, as we can witness from the Scriptures, Mary had been such a great example to all of us, because she showed us all precisely how we ought to live our lives in accordance with the will of God. And because of her great and exemplary faith, and in honour of her unique position as the mother of Jesus our Lord, He crowned her as Queen, as the Queen of heaven and of all God’s creations, over all the angels and men.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this feast of the Queenship of Mary, let us all realise first that all of us has a great ally in Mary, who is our greatest helper, intercessor, friend and protector, for she stands closest to her Son in heaven, always praying for us and interceding for our sake. For we all know that by entrusting His own mother to His disciple, God had made her to be our mother as well, and therefore our Queen, who watches over us all the time, ever concerned about us.

And then, she has also shown us great examples on how we ought to live our faith life, and thus, we should emulate her examples, and act in the way that we also obey the Lord and are considered righteous in all things we say and do. If we are good and are able to walk in the same path that Mary had walked, then the glory which Mary had received, and the honour which she had been accorded, will be ours as well.

This is a reminder for all of us that as we honour Mary, the mother of our Lord and God today, we too should emulate her in all of her actions and exemplary faith, so that we may, by the help of her guidance and intercession, find our way to the Lord, and be not lost again in the darkness of this world. Let us all be aware of our own sins and wickedness, and all the things that had barred us from finding our way to Him.

May Almighty God be with us all, and help us to be more like Mary, His mother, whom He had glorified as the Queen of heaven, the Queen of angels and men, for her piety, great devotion and dedication to the Lord and all of His ways. May all of us be made righteous and just through our actions and deeds which we commit in accordance with the teachings of our Lord and in obedience to His will. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 21 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how a woman of Israel, Naomi, was left all alone after her husband and two sons passed away, leaving her with her daughters-in-law who followed her. One of the two daughters-in-law, Ruth, a Moabite woman, a foreigner in the eyes of the Israelites, refused to leave when Naomi decided to return to her homeland and asked them to go.

This same Ruth would eventually be the ancestor of David, the king of Israel, through whom God renewed His covenant with His people and with all of us. Ruth would go on to meet Boaz, her future husband, and by God’s will, and through Naomi’s faith and perseverance, the foundation of the family of David would be born. And through David, God made secure his kingdom and his family, and through him, the salvation of all mankind was made secure, through Jesus, Son of God, Son of David.

And Ruth as we heard in today’s reading, made the great profession of faith before Naomi, as even though she was a foreigner, a Moabite, usually looked with suspicion and often treated badly and with prejudice by the people of Israel, but her faith shone forth and true, for she proclaimed that Naomi’s God would be her God, and Israel would be her people, counting herself among them. This surrendering of oneself to the will of God is a great example for all of us to follow.

In the Gospel today, we heard about how Jesus explained to the teacher of the Law, who asked Him what the most important commandment in the Law is. Out of the Ten Commandments, and the numerous rules and regulations of the laws as revealed to Moses, the most important Law is indeed about love. It is for love of us mankind that God had revealed His Law, so that all of us may find our way to Him and keep ourselves steady amidst the temptations and challenges of the world.

Indeed, the essence of the Law is to love the Lord with all of our might, with all of our strength, with all of our minds and intellect, and with all of our very beings, that in everything we say, in everything we act and do, we do them for the love of God, for the sake of the Lord, and for the sake of everything that God had made, which includes all creation, and also all of us, mankind, loving one another, our own brothers and sisters in the Lord.

It is the same kind of faith and devotion which Ruth had shown us in the first reading today, the total commitment and devotion which all of us ought to have as well. We have to have this kind of faith if we are to call ourselves true disciples of the Lord. If we truly follow the Lord, then all of us should love Him, and give Him all the best things we have, the best of our attention and focus, our best devotion and commitment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast day of the Church, when we celebrate the feast of one of its greatest saints and holy servants of God, namely that of Pope St. Pius X, the Pope of the Holy Eucharist, defender of the True Faith and defender against the evils and wickedness of Modernism. He is one of the greatest Popes of the modern era, who helped the Church to withstand the forces of darkness gathering and pushing against the Church.

Pope St. Pius X was born a humble and poor boy, by the name of Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, at a time when uncertainties and darkness started to cloud the judgments of mankind and nations. He rose through the occasion by his tireless dedication and strong stance against the sins and wickedness that were eating away at mankind’s heart and soul.

In his position, firstly as a lay person, then a priest, then a bishop, a Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice, and then as the Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, he remained as a beacon of faith and truth, and an inviolable and steadfast anchor of the faith, condemning sins whenever he found it, and helping and showing mercy to sinners whenever and wherever he could.

He helped to reform the Church and made it stronger by codifying a new set of the Canon Law which were crucial to help the Church to withstand the forces of change and corruption that were threatening many of the faithful. He showed by example in many situations, with his great piety and dedication to the Lord. He also tried to bring the faithful closer to God, by championing and pushing for frequent reception of the Holy Communion, which up to then was only done very irregularly.

Through his hard work, he was known to be a saintly Pope even before he passed away, and the push for his beatification and sainthood came immediately after his death. He became an inspiration to many of the faithful, and I hope that through his intercession, he will also become an inspiration to many of us. May all of us show the great faith and devotion to the Lord, as Ruth and as Pope St. Pius X had done. May God be with us in all of our good endeavour. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 20 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how God yet called another, and chose him to be judge over His people Israel, Jephthah, to liberate the people of God from oppression and tyranny of the Ammonites. He called Jephthah and made him the tool of victory against the Ammonites, crushing them and freeing the Israelites after many years of suffering.

But Jephthah made a vow before God, which certainly made him to regret having made such a vow. He vowed that whatever came out of his house, he would sacrifice it to God, and his own daughter became a victim of his own lack of faith and impulsiveness. He made a vow to the Lord, likely because there remained doubt in his heart that he could have done what he was called to do.

Remember that Jesus told His disciples and the people not to swear or make a vow in the Name of God? That is because when one makes a vow, that means actually that the person is not entirely sure or committed to the cause for which he was making a vow for. If one is sure about making a commitment or a decision, and if one is able to make a stand, then surely, a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would suffice.

In the Gospel today, Jesus told His disciples and the people of God the parable of the wedding garment, which is related to what we have heard in the first reading. In that parable we heard how the king held a wedding feast where he invited many of his invited guests, to come and join in the celebration, and yet those invited guests refused to come and continued with their own lives as if ignoring the king and his wedding feast.

The king represents the Lord, and the wedding feast represents the gathering of the people of God who had been invited to the feast, where the King, our Lord, had given us His blessings, to share in the food and drink which He blesses us with. And in this, we see yet another connection with what we have witnessed in the first reading today.

And what is this connection? Jephthah indeed had made such a great vow, and on one side, we can see how he should not have done that. However, the connection that we should see is how Jephthah fulfilled the vow which he had made to the Lord, and gave even his only daughter to God, as a sacrifice according to his vow, and how this is in perfect parallel and harmony to the example of Jesus, the Son of God.

For God Himself had been perfectly faithful to His promise and vow to us, to the covenants which He had established and renewed again and again with us mankind, since the days of Adam, to the days of Abraham and then David, and until the time of Jesus, and until this very day and on the days that are to come. God showed His perfect faithfulness and love, by giving us and not holding back from us, His only Son, whom He sent into the world to be our Redeemer.

And through this God had also invited all of us, His beloved people, to the banquet which He had prepared for all of us. He had prepared for us the banquet, the wedding feast, in which God and mankind are to be reunited again, because the shackles and obstacles of sin had been removed from all of us who heeded His call and join in the feast of the Lord.

The Holy Mass is the banquet of the Lord, where God gives us His own Body and Blood, that we may share in them and therefore, partake of the Lord, and be made holy and just. For the Lord Himself would dwell in us and make us the Temples of His holy presence.

And then, this is where we must take heed of another part of the Gospel today. The man without the wedding garment was taken out of the banquet and cast out into utter darkness. This means that, when we take part in the Holy Mass, and whenever we live our daily lives, we who have the Lord dwelling in us, the Temple of His presence and His Spirit, should act according to what He had shown and taught us, abandon all forms of wickedness and sin, or else risk to suffer the consequences of our Lord’s wrath.

Let us all follow the example of St. Bernard the Abbot, also known as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose feast we celebrate today. He was truly a holy and great man, whose works and devotions to the Lord was fully well known throughout Christendom, and many aspired to follow his examples. He dedicated his whole life in good service of the Lord, preaching the truth about the Lord and calling many sinners to forgiveness and grace of God.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux did not fear trouble or heresy that were threatening the souls of many around him. He waded through the difficulties and challenges, and called out many people out of the darkness and out of the terrible heresies, by his tireless works and commitments, seeking to bring salvation to as many as possible. He preached well into his old age, and trying to advance the cause of the Lord and His Church wherever possible.

May Almighty God help us that we may also follow in the examples of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and become ever more devoted servants of our Lord, and in our words and actions, may all of us be true to our faith and bring love and goodness to each other in all the world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Eudes, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the story related by Jotham, youngest son of Jerubaal or Gideon, the one who saved Israel from the tyranny of the Midianites. This was related by him to the people, to protest against their support for Abimelech, another son of Gideon, who aspired to be king over the people of Israel, and in the process, killed all the other seventy sons of Gideon, except Jotham himself who managed to escape.

The people of Israel had lost their bearings in life, and as later occurrences would tell us, this would repeat itself again when Saul was made the king of Israel, as the people complained that they had no king over themselves, and they wanted the awe of human power and glory, to have someone powerful and mighty to lead them against their enemies and show the power of Israel to all those around them. But it was also the kings who then eventually led them to sin and to all sorts of wickedness that brought about their downfall.

They were buoyed and mesmerised by human power, and they failed to realise that human power and all sorts of good things that exist in the world are just temporary and will not last, whereas if they put their trust in God, they can be assured that they would not be disappointed because God Himself will take good care of them. And God through Jesus wanted to show them this in what we heard in the Gospel today.

In the Gospel, we heard about how Jesus spoke about the parable on the kingdom of God, using the workers gathered by a landlord, who were then paid one silver coin as their reward, to show the people on what the kingdom of God is like, and what they are expected to do. The workers represented all mankind, the landlord is God Himself, and the silver coin reward is God’s promise of eternal life.

God calls us mankind all the time, and regardless of when we decide to respond to His call, whether it is early or late, or even at the hour of death, but as long as inside our hearts, we are sincere about our desire to follow Him, and to abandon all of the past sins that we have committed, as well as all the wickedness in our hearts, and commit ourselves to a new path of righteousness and obedience to God, then all of us will have the path forward opened for us.

God treats all of mankind in the same manner, and all of us are equal before Him, and there is nothing that makes Him favour one of us over the other. This is what Jesus wanted us to understand, when He related the parable of the workers and their pay to the people. Each of the labourers, regardless of the time of their calling, received the same reward. And this shows that all of us regardless of whether we are called young or old, early or late in our lives, as long as we heed God’s call and change our lives in repentance, we will be saved.

And truly, we have to change our ways, from the ways of the people of Israel of old times, to the way that Jesus had shown us, and which we have preserved and received through the Church, passed down to us from the Holy Apostles and disciples of our Lord. This is what we need to do, or else, we will have no share in the inheritance of eternal life and blessings which our Lord had promised to us.

Today, we celebrate the life of a saint, whose examples may be our inspiration. He is St. John Eudes, a holy priest, whose life was entirely dedicated to God, and whose actions were reflections of what Christ had taught us. St. John Eudes was a very dedicated priest who rendered his service and many help to all those who were sick and dying, and all those who were ostracised, unloved and rejected.

St. John Eudes is an example to all of us, because he did not care about himself first, or in selfishness, caring about his own needs. He cared about others first, all those who are around him who are in need for his help. He showed his love to them, the love of God, and he shows how we ought to treat everyone equally, for all are our fellow men, our brothers and sisters before the Lord.

May Almighty God, through the help of St. John Eudes, our intercessor, help us to be more aware of the love which He has for us, and therefore, be stirred to love one another ourselves, and through that love, bear forth much good fruits of love, and bring us closer to Him as a result. God bless us all. Amen.