Catholic homilies

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Monday, 6 September 2021 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded to follow the Lord and be faithful to Him, and to play our part as members of God’s Church. God has told us to follow Him sincerely and wants us to understand His path and His commandments well. The Lord has shown us what we have to do, and what we should be doing is to trust in Him and to commit ourselves to this path that the Lord has revealed to us.

However, this is easier said than done, as many of us often preferred to trust in our own judgments and strength, and in our own way of thinking and ideas, not willing to listen to the Lord and trust ourselves in His infinite wisdom. As we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord Himself was confronted by the Pharisees who wanted to test Him and see if He would violate the law of the Sabbath that they held to be sacrosanct. They were often opposed to Him and His teachings, and particularly found offence in the Lord’s activities on the Sabbath.

This was where the Lord strongly rebuked those self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law, by revealing how it is ridiculous for the Law of God to be used to prevent someone from performing something that is good, right and just, and He told them that the Law was not meant to arbitrarily restrict the faithful from doing anything on the holy day of the Lord. Instead, the true purpose and intention of the Law of the Sabbath was to remind the people of God to spend more time in their relationship with God.

And that was why, they were told not to do work or conduct their usual daily business, not because they could not do so or prohibited like as if those things were grave sins. Rather, out of the seven days of the week, if everyone were to do their work on every single day, then there would be no space for God in their hearts and minds. Hence, the Lord instituted the Sabbath and its laws to help the faithful to redirect their attentions and their focus on the Lord, away from the usual busy schedules and activities of their worldly lives.

Yet, this does not mean that the Lord wanted to exclude all of them from doing what they should and could be doing on that day, in doing good things and in showing their faith in the Lord. On the contrary, if one were to purposely ignore the plight of others and the needy during the day of the Sabbath, then they would have committed the sin of omission, in failing to do what they could do, when they were in the right place and opportunity to do so, to show God’s love and compassion to our fellow men.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, this was what the Lord highlighted in His rebuke of the attitude of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. He wanted them to know that obeying the Law is and should not just be a mere formality and a ritual to be done with and to be followed blindly without understanding. Otherwise, it might end up like the Pharisees themselves, who practiced their version and interpretation of the Law, including the rules regarding the Sabbath, and yet, did so with little understanding of its true intentions.

God chose to heal the man without hesitation, and healed the paralytic man, restoring him to full health, to the anger of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who became even more determined to oppose Him and to arrest Him. Yet, through these actions, the Lord wants each and every one of us to know that His love is always all-encompassing, and He is always ready to reach out to us, and loving us once again, in His willingness to love us and in the great patience which He has shown us.

How about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? As we listened to these words of the Scriptures, we have all been invited to reflect on our way of life, on whether we have truly been faithful to the Lord in all of our lives and whether we have truly understood His Law and commandments, or whether we have been spending all these time merely paying Him lip service and treating our Christian life as a mere formality? Have we been living our lives as Christians in the wrong way all these while?

Let us all therefore spend some time to discern carefully what we are going to do from now on, in walking down the path that the Lord has shown us. Let us commit ourselves to Him anew and be ever more genuine and sincere in loving Him, and in loving one another according to His teachings. May God be with us all, and may He continue to guide us all through life, to be ever more faithful Christians, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 September 2021 : Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the all encompassing love of God, as He reassured all those who have placed their trust in Him that He would not abandon them and that He would love them all equally without bias or prejudice, and all are equally precious before Him, as He extends to us His love, His grace and blessings.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard from the prophecy of Isaiah the Lord’s promises to His people that He would one day come and liberate them, opening the eyes of their blind, unbinding and opening the ears of the deaf and the tongues of the mute, making the paralysed and the disabled to walk and move again, and other miraculous deeds and works that the Lord would do amongst His people.

At the time of the prophet Isaiah, the people of Israel had been going through tough times, a time of many challenges and trials, as the once united and great kingdom of Israel under King David and King Solomon were already long passed and gone. The divided northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah had become diminished and were subjected to humiliations from their neighbours and other powers. And just around the time of Isaiah and his ministry as God’s prophet, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered and destroyed by the Assyrians, who brought off most of the inhabitants of the land to exile in far-off Mesopotamia.

At the same time, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah where Isaiah performed his ministry did not fare much better, as they too came under attack from king Sennacherib of Assyria, who brought up a vast army against Judah and Jerusalem, and almost conquered it if not for the timely intervention from God. The people of God had been brought low and suffered, and all these were because of their own disobedience and refusal to believe in God or follow His path, despite the numerous reminders from the many prophets sent to them.

In our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel of St. Mark, we then heard of the account of the miraculous healing that the Lord had done on a deaf and mute man, as He had pity on the man, and by His power, loosened the man’s tongue and opened his ears, allowing him to hear and speak properly once again. He has liberated the man from his troubles and showed God’s enduring love and compassion for each and every one of us. He fulfilled the promises that He Himself had made through His prophet Isaiah, the promises that we have just discussed earlier on.

And this is also a show that God loves everyone without exception, that even those who are often marginalised and prejudiced against, the weak and those afflicted with physical and spiritual ailments, God has reached out to them and healed them, freeing them from their troubles. This particular case mentioned in our Gospel today is significant because the word that the Lord spoke, ‘Ephphata’ meaning ‘Be opened!’ at the time when He loosened the tongue and opened the ears of the man, is also for a long time used in the rites of baptism of the Church, and is still used today in the baptism using the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Through this symbolic act, the priests placed their hands on the ears and the mouth of the person or infant to be baptised, signifying that they performed the rites of the Sacrament of Baptism in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ, opening the ears and the mouth of the one to be baptised that just as the man was healed as mentioned in our Gospel passage, then the person that was to be baptised would also be healed from his or her spiritual bondage to sin and death.

And the opening of the ears and the mouth are also significant because they represent symbolically our willingness by accepting baptism, to open our ears to listen to the truth and the Word of God, and to speak only the words of God’s truth, and not to proclaim things that are contrary to our faith. The Lord had freed us from our bondage and enslavement to sin and evil, and He has healed us from the most terrible disease of all, that is sin and death.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, although we may be physically well and even in best of health, all of us are in fact suffering from the affliction of sin, which corrupts us from within and making us defiled and unworthy of God. God alone can save and heal us from this affliction, and He has shown His willingness to free us and to be reconciled fully with us. All of us, whether we are great or small, rich or poor, influential, famous or unknown, all of us are equally sinners before God, and God loves all of us equally, which is what the Lord wanted to show us through the Word of God we have heard today.

And, in our second reading today, from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard the same message as the Apostle reminded the faithful that the Lord does not discriminate between persons, and he went on to give examples of how the faithful could unknowingly act in ways that promote prejudice and discrimination by treating their fellow brothers and sisters in different ways. It is inevitable that we will have differences in how we interact with different groups of people, and we will certainly be more willing to treat well those whom we love and care about, while ignoring or even treating badly those whom we dislike.

However, the Lord called on all of us to overcome this tendency, and reminded us that if He loves each and every one of us equally, then we as His people should also do the same, and love one another in the same manner. We have to do our best and strive to show care and compassion, forgiveness and the willingness to embrace even those who have persecuted and hurt us, as the Lord Jesus Himself taught us to forgive those who have hated us and pray for those who have persecuted us. He asked us to forgive one another’s sins, just as the Lord, His heavenly Father has forgiven us our sins, one of the key elements of the Lord’s Prayer, the Pater Noster we all know so well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our world today where inequality, prejudice, racial and religious tensions, divisions among people and all the other divisions and disagreements that exist between our communities and peoples, we are all called as Christians to be revolutionary and different. In a world where we are all encouraged to love ourselves and hate those whom we dislike, we are called to love without boundaries and without prejudice, to reach out even to those who hate us and dislike us, to forgive them and to pray for them.

And in a world that is obsessed with appearances, with prestige, power and glory, we are all called to get rid from ourselves these temptations of the flesh, to be filled with God’s love instead, and to be able to listen to His truth and to proclaim His words rather than to listen to the temptations of the devil, the allures of worldly desires and rather than to advance our own goals and ambitions in life. Again, as Christians, we are all called to be loving just as the Lord has been so loving towards us.

Is this easily done for us? Certainly not, brothers and sisters in Christ, and it is truly often much easier said than done. We may think that it is easy for us to love one another, but those of us who have been hurt by others may find it very hard to forgive, and to let go of our anger and insecurities, of our desire for retribution and vengeance. And those of us who have not truly known love will find it difficult to love others, as the many trials and challenges many of us face in this world show us that to be Christians, is by no means a simple and easy feat.

That is why today, on this Sunday, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord called us all and reminded all of us of what being true Christians is all about. It is to love God with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, and then to love ourselves and one another, just as much as we value and love ourselves. This is the true commandment of God, in the Lord Jesus’ own words, that we have to ‘love one another just as I have loved you’, a reminder that even though the challenges may be great, but we have to persevere nonetheless.

And none of us should endure it alone. Instead, we should help and support one another, by doing our best even in the smallest things and showing love for each other, to those dear to us, and even to strangers and those who hate and dislike us, and whom we dislike as well. Let us all slowly allow the Lord to teach us how to love genuinely and truly, in each and every moments of our lives. From now on, let all of our words, actions and deeds be ones that glorify the Lord, that through us, the Lord, His truth and love may come to be known by more and more people.

May God bless each and every one of us, all equally precious and beloved by God, that we may be always strong in dedicating ourselves to serve Him and to follow Him for all of our days, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all reminded of the need for us to be truly faithful to the truth of the Lord and we have to follow Him, obey Him and truly love Him in all that we do in our lives, by the true obedience and commitment to His path. All of us have been called by the Lord to be His disciples, and we are all reminded not to be idle or to pay merely lip service to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard about the reminders from the Apostle St. Paul to the faithful and the people of the Church in Colossae, the Colossians, that they all have been rescued by God from their sinful existence, and God had redeemed all of them. Therefore, as is right and just, they should all commit themselves to the Lord and His path, to be righteous and worthy of God in all things, so that in the way that they lived their lives, they may be truly exemplary.

St. Paul exhorted the Colossians to stand firm in their faith and in the hope that they all have in the Lord. He called on all of them to keep the Gospel and the truth which they had received from the Lord. He called on all of them to live in the manner that they had been expected to live, to be good role models in faith and to be inspiration for many others to follow. He encouraged them all not to be swayed by worldly temptations or by any fears that could prevent them from finding their true path in the Lord.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to Pharisees who asked Him regarding the behaviour of His disciples who picked up and crushed grains of wheat for them to eat during the day of the Sabbath. The Pharisees asked this because the Sabbath day was a day of great importance, and which according to the Law of God and particularly in its interpretation by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in which there should not be any activities or work by the people.

However, as mentioned by the Lord, the true intention of the Lord in giving this Law to the people was not to prevent them from doing all work, but rather to do our best not to allow the distractions of worldly temptations and desires to lead us down the path of hypocrisy and selfishness. The Lord wants each and every one of us to be truly faithful, and appreciate the full meaning and intention of the Law, in it is spirit and not just in the letter of the Law.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for example, observed the Sabbath strictly as were most others at Jesus’ time, and yet, many of them ignored the plight of the sick and the needy, and by using the Sabbath as an excuse, they even criticised the Lord in other occasions for performing His healing miracles, that instead of rejoicing at the wonderful deeds of the Lord, they took pride instead at their way of observing and obeying the Law which they likely valued more than their love for the Lord.

It does not mean that they did not love the Lord or did everything in the wrong way. Instead, what the Lord meant is that, their fixation and overemphasis on the procedures and practices rather than understanding the whole meaning and significance of the Sabbath prevented them from truly observing the Law in the right way. They did what was asked of them superficially, but spiritually, within their hearts, they were lacking true and genuine faith that they ought to have for the Lord.

Now, the question is, are we all doing the same with our own lives as well, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we doing things the wrong way in how we live up to our faith? Are we all following God wholeheartedly or are we merely fulfilling the commandments and rules because of obligation and wanting to do what we have to do? Or are we truly and sincerely being faithful to the Lord? Are we able to commit ourselves with true love and commitment, and are we capable to dedicating ourselves each and every moment with zeal for God?

Let us all devote our time and effort from now on, and let us commit ourselves to walk in the path of the Lord, and be genuine in our deeds and actions, and be inspirational and exemplary so that through us, more and more may be convinced to believe in the Lord, and through us, they may be saved together with us. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless us in our every deeds and in our every endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Friday, 3 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the Word of God from the Scriptures, we are all called to remember that we are part of God’s One Church, the One Body of Christ, which is made from the unity of all those who are faithful to God and believe in Him, and with whom God Himself has established a New Covenant through Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, His Son. He has united us to Himself through Christ, Who became the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Head of the living Church.

In our first reading today, that was what St. Paul highlighted in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Colossae on Christ being the Head of the Church and the One through Whom the Lord had endeavoured to save His people, by His suffering and death on the Cross, His Passion and then His Resurrection, risen from the dead, so that all of us who share in His humanity, and who believe in Him wholeheartedly shall receive from Him the assurance of eternal life and true joy and glory.

However, in order for us to be His true disciples, and to be able to wholeheartedly believe in Him, all of us need to heed what He Himself had mentioned to His disciples as we heard in the Gospel passage today, when He taught them using the parable of the wine and the wineskins, and the cloth and the patches. Through that parable, the Lord wanted to make it clear that following Him would require a fundamental change of heart and attitude, and we have to embrace His truth and teachings with true sincerity and devotion.

Just as the people at that time knew that old wineskin cannot be used to store new wine, and neither can new wineskin be used to store old wine, as they are incompatible, and just as old torn cloth cannot be repaired by new patch of fabric and vice versa, therefore, the Lord’s path and His truth is something that is not compatible with our sinful and wicked ways, the path that the world has shown us. As long as we continue to act in ways that are aligned with the excesses and wickedness of our old, sinful ways, then we cannot be truly worthy of the Lord.

And how is this then related to what we have heard in our first reading today? As the Lord is the Head of the Church and we, as Christians, we are all members of the same Body of Christ, this very Church, then it is imperative that we have to align and harmonise ourselves with the Lord. Otherwise, if we profess to believe in the Lord and yet act in a totally contradictory manner, then are we not causing a scandal for the Church, and not only that, but we are even besmirching the good Name of the Lord? That is why each and every one of us must do our best, as we are reminded today, to be faithful in all things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all willing to embrace the Lord and His path wholeheartedly? Are we willing to commit ourselves to Him and be united with Him not just in mere words or formality, but truly sincerely from the deepest parts of our hearts. Are we willing and able to commit our effort, our time and attention to Him and do whatever we can, even in the smallest of things, to be good and faithful disciples, embracing God’s truth and love in all things, that we may be ever exemplary in our Christian living.

Today, all of us can get the inspiration from a great servant of God whose feast we are celebrating today. Pope St. Gregory the Great was a very well-known Pope, a great Leader of the Universal Church, and a great Reformer of the Church and the faith. The Lord has shown us in this faithful servant of His, what it truly means for us to follow the Lord with all of our hearts, and through his life, Pope St. Gregory the Great also showed us what it means for us to walk faithfully in God’s presence, to be obedient to Him and to be exemplary in our own way of living.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was remembered for his many and immense efforts in advancing the cause of the Church, in reaching out to the pagans and the many peoples who have not yet heard of God, in his many works, writings and letters to various members of the Church and the faithful. He sent many missionaries to places like England and Germany, which helped to establish a firm foundation of the Church and the faith in those places. He was also remembered for his leadership and guidance of the local Roman Church just as he was well-respected for his leadership of the Universal Church.

Pope St. Gregory the Great was also remembered for his role in reforming the Church, its administration as well as its way of worshipping God, by regulating the liturgical practices of the Church, and he was often credited as the one who laid the foundation of the Church music especially in the Western Christendom, of what would be known later on and today as the Gregorian Chant. He helped to reform many other aspects of the Church and helped many parts of the Church to develop and grow spiritually, and through his many efforts and contributions, the Lord’s Church grew greatly and prospered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Pope St. Gregory the Great has shown us all what it means to be a faithful and dedicated Christian, to be committed to the path of the Lord and to adapt a way of life that is compatible to the Lord. Are we willing and able to follow him and his examples? Let us all ourselves this question as we discern how we are going to live our lives from now on. And may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, that we may always strive to do our very best, in whatever we do, to be God’s holy and worthy people. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, all of us are called to live our lives in an exemplary Christian way, and to be worthy of God by following the path that He Himself has shown us. And we are also called to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters, and be part of the Church’s evangelising mission, in calling more and more people to believe in the Lord and His truth, of which the best way is by our living our lives worthily, as true and genuine Christians.

In our first reading today, we heard the words of St. Paul the Apostle as he exhorted the faithful to to lead a lifestyle and to act in accordance with the way of the Lord, that they do not fall into temptations and remain faithful in all things, and to persevere through the difficulties and the challenges that we may face through life. We must be careful and wary lest those difficulties and challenges deter us from doing what we can and should do as Christians, in showing our faith and love for God and our fellow men alike.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when the Lord called some of His Twelve Apostles, as He was at the Lake Gennesaret or the Lake of Galilee, in which the four fishermen had been spending long hours the previous night in order to catch fish without any success. As the Lord saw those fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, and the brothers James and John, He told them to try and reach out for fishes again, despite their fruitless search over the past night.

He told them all to ‘put out into the deep waters’ and lower their nets there. Although they were skeptical at first and told the Lord that they had not found anything despite all night efforts, they obeyed in the end, and immediately, there were so many fishes trapped in the nets that it almost made the fishing boats to sink under their weight. Those four fishermen, amazed by what they had witnessed, believed in the Lord, chose to abandon their fishing trade and followed Him, becoming the first of the Lord’s disciples.

What we have just heard in our Scripture passage today is actually a symbolic representation of what each and every one of us are called to do as Christians, that is to listen to the Lord and to obey His will, by allowing Him to lead us and to help guide us in what we should do, just as He has told the fishermen, the future four disciples and Apostles to reach out and put their nets our into the deep waters. We have to do what the Lord has asked us to do, and trust in Him in the path that He is leading us through.

It is often that we are not able to gain true success in what we are doing, simply because we trust more in our own strength and powers rather than to listen to the Lord. We do things in our own way, and some of us are stubborn even after the Lord has shown us advice and guidance. Instead, we should be like the Apostles who listened to the Lord even though they had reservations and doubts earlier on. They chose to follow the Lord, and they saw the benefit in doing so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the same time we are all also reminded that we should not be afraid to reach out beyond our comfort zone, which is when the Lord mentioned ‘to go and put out in the deep waters’. Too often many of us are hesitant to follow the Lord because we are afraid of the risks and we are more concerned about our safety and needs. And this is also because we did not have enough trust and faith in the Lord. If only we can trust in the Lord more, then surely we can even do many things we might have think to be impossible.

The question is, are we all willing to commit ourselves to the Lord wholeheartedly? Are we willing to entrust ourselves to His care and providence, and are we capable of walking down this path that the Lord has shown us with faith? Each and every one of us have been entrusted by the Lord with specific mission and responsibility in life, and as St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle in our first reading today, all of us are called to lead a life that is worthy of God, to be faithful and committed to Him, and to be exemplary in all things.

May the Lord continue to bless us and guide us in all things, and may He strengthen each and every one of us so that we may always persevere in faith, and will not easily give in to worldly temptations. May He remain with us all and may He bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, at all times, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 September 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to follow the examples set by the Lord in His ministry, in answering to the Lord’s call for us to follow Him, to respond to the vocation and mission that He has entrusted to each and every one of us. As Christians we cannot be idle in our lives, and instead, we have to be active in doing God’s will.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the story of the Lord’s ministry from the Gospel of St. Luke, in which He went to heal the mother-in-law of St. Peter who was very sick, and having gotten her healed, He ministered to all the people who came to hear of the miraculous healing and then brought many sick ones and those who troubles to the Lord that He might heal all of them. The Lord healed their sick and revealed God’s love and ceaseless dedication to His Covenant through all of that.

Then, we heard how the Lord then told His disciples to move on from that place, even though there were still many who wanted Him to stay on and heal their sick there. When the disciples questioned Him, the Lord very clearly said that He was still needed in many other parts of the country, and that He had been sent to the entire people of Israel, the people of God, and not just a small segment of people. He could not stay on there and be comfortable of being the centre of attention, and ministering only to them.

Any other people would have been greatly tempted by the temptations of power and glory, of fame and influence, as the Lord Himself must have also been tempted. But He has resisted the advances of the devil, whom we know had tested Him not just once but thrice with great temptations. The Lord showed all of us that first of all, we have to do the will of God, to be exemplary in our faith and to do whatever we can to be faithful witnesses of His truth and to show care and concern for our fellow brethren.

And then at the same time, we must not forget that everything we do, we do it for the love of God and for the genuine love and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters. We must be vigilant lest we may be tempted to do things for our own personal desires and satisfaction, for our own achievements and sense of pride. If we fall into these temptations, then we must know that even those with noble intentions in the beginning may end up falling into path filled with sin, when one began indulging in their desires and the temptation to be selfish.

As St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Colossians in our first reading passage today, the Lord has given us all the gifts of faith, and has shown us the path that we all ought to follow, and what we all now need to do is to bear fruit and to make good use of those gifts that the Lord has given to us, and which He has planted in us. We have to allow the Lord to show us the way, to lead us down the right path, and guide us the right path, as He certainly will do for us. The question is, are we willing to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ?

It is often a lot of easier to profess our faith by our mouth and by words alone, and yet we do nothing in order to prove that our faith is more than just merely words or formality. We often spend too much time worrying about our worldly concerns and matters, and we are often afraid to venture forth out from our comfort zone, and as a result, many among us did nothing to grow spiritually or to bear rich fruits of our faith, even though the Lord has clearly given us so many gifts and blessings all these while, and all the opportunities He has given to us.

Today, we all also celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which was instituted by our current Pope and Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis, as a reminder for all of us that as we live in this world, we all have the responsibility to take good care of this world as its stewards. Through this commemoration, let us all therefore discern carefully the actions that we can take in order to be faithful Christians, to be men and women for others, to be caring for those who are suffering, for the poor and the sick, and for those who are unloved, and at the same time, also acting and living responsibly in this world. When the world suffers from exploitation and human greed, ultimately it will lead to many more suffering among us mankind, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable among us.

Let us all do whatever we can, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us, the entire members of the Lord’s Church, that all of us, even in the smallest things, may contribute to the great efforts of the Church, in spreading the truth of God and His Good News, and as faithful and good stewards of all creation, for the benefit of all alike. For without care for the creation and the world, then many more of us will come to suffer in the years to come, and this is not what we should be expecting to see.

Let us all do whatever we can to prevent more harm from coming to this beautiful world that God has created for us. May God bless us all, and remain with us always, now and forevermore.

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Tuesday, 31 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, all of us are called to trust in the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly and listen to Him, as we should. As Christians, all of us believe in the Lord and His truth, and we should trust that He will take good care of us and provide for our needs. He shall not abandon us to the wicked, and He shall deliver us from our troubles in the end, and we shall find eternal rest and true joy in Him.

In our first reading today, St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Thessalonica mentioned about the Lord’s providence for His people, how He would care for them as His beloved ones, and they would receive from Him great grace and blessings, as they are the people of the Light, God’s own children. Yet, they also have to be vigilant and alert, lest they may be tempted by the various temptations of the world. They have to place their trust in the Lord and be faithful to His Law and commandments.

In that, through what St. Paul said in the latter part of today’s first reading and our Gospel passage today, we heard how God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be Our Lord and Saviour. He is the One promised by the Lord, through His many prophets and messengers, and He has proved it all by His coming into the world. God has not held back even giving us His Son, to be born into our midst and to grace us with His presence, suffering and dying for us, for the salvation of our souls.

And in the Gospel passage today we heard of the miraculous deeds that the Lord had performed before all the people in Capernaum, just as He had impressed them with the wisdom of His words and the authority by which He had delivered His truth before everyone. He taught in the synagogue and then confronted the evil spirits that possessed a man. The evil spirits told the Lord that he knew Who He really was, and told everyone that the One before them was truly the Holy One of God, the One promised by the Lord through His prophets.

And if we recall the Gospel passage from yesterday, which told us about how the Lord was rejected and cast out by His own townspeople in Nazareth, and their lack of faith and refusal to trust Him, we can see the irony in that it was the evil spirits which were rebels against God that acknowledged Him and spoke the truth about Who He truly was. And this is because although they might have rebelled against God and were still defying Him, but they too were the subjects of the Lord and could not deny the truth before Him, of what they had already known.

Those evil spirits also likely hoped to undermine the Lord’s works of saving His people, by speaking the truth about Jesus’ true identity, which as we had seen from the reactions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law could have caused further frictions and obstacles. But the Lord decisively acted and commanded those evil spirits to leave the man, and those spirits obeyed and had to leave the man, who was then thereafter healed from all of his afflictions and was fully restored.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called to reflect on what we have just heard in today’s Scripture readings. God has shown His love so evidently and so frequently for us, and yet many of us are still in denial of His love, and refused to believe in Him despite everything that we had seen Him doing, all the things that He had proven to us, and for all the blessings and wonders that He had provided for us. Many of us still lived in the state of sin, which is truly unbecoming of our identity as Christians.

Let us all therefore discern our path, that our lives may be more faithful and our actions, words and deeds be more aligned with God and His will. Let us all trust in the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, and believe in Him and His loving providence all the time. Let us no longer doubt Him or ignore His love, and embrace Him and His love with all of our hearts, with all of our strength. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless us all in our every endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Monday, 30 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Scripture, we are all called to remember that even though our journey as Christians may be tough and challenging, we must not give up our faith and hope in the Lord, as the Lord is truly our hope and strength, and through Him alone we can gain the full assurance of eternal life and true joy, in the end, when our faith in Him will bear fruits, a most joyful fruit for each one of us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the description by the Apostle St. Paul to the faithful in Thessalonica how all the faithful shall rise on the last day, at the time of the final judgment of the world, echoing what we may have also read from the Book of Revelations of St. John, how God would take all those who are faithful to Him, and rescue them. We heard from that account by St. Paul, how all, past and present and future, all will rise in body and spirit, and fully reunited with God, to share with Him the eternal glory and joy that He has promised to us.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the moment when the Lord went to His hometown in Nazareth and then read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the town’s synagogue. That very passage proclaimed the Lord’s coming into the world as its Saviour, and as He Himself proclaimed those words, He announced to all gathered that the Lord is truly faithful to His people, loving all those precious to Him and has always fulfilled His words, and the coming of Jesus as the Messiah of the world is the perfect example of that.

The Lord reassured all of us that what He has promised us will come true, just as the Lord has shown His works, all the miracles and healing that He has performed among the people, all throughout Galilee and Judea. The Lord healed many of the sick, cast out many demons, opened the eyes of the blind, and the ears of the blind and the loosened the tongues of the deaf, and taught among the people, revealing God’s truth to them, fulfilling the words of the prophecy of Isaiah as mentioned in the scroll.

Yet, He was ridiculed and rejected, as the people of His own hometown of Nazareth refused to listen to His truth, and in fact were angered by His revelation that He was the One referred to in the prophecy of Isaiah. Those people must have heard about and perhaps might have even seen the miracles performed by the Lord. Then, why did they refuse to believe in Him? That is because they would have seen the Lord when He was still young, as He spent His growing years there.

Therefore, they likely could not believe and accept the fact that a mere local village boy, the mere Son of the village carpenter, could have been the promised Saviour of the people of God, less still the Saviour of the whole world. But it is in this presumption and thoughts which hindered their ability and willingness to listen and to be open to the Lord’s truth, hardening their hearts and minds against Him, and preventing the Lord from doing His works among them.

What is the significance of all of these passages that we have just read then, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is that each and every one of us should trust in the Lord, and listen to Him, and not be swayed easily by the temptations of pride, ego, our human desires and other distractions that may prevent us from finding our way to the Lord. This is why we should spend the time to reflect carefully on the path that we are going to take in life. And we should remind ourselves of God’s love for us, and His faithfulness to the Covenant that He has made and sealed with us.

Let us all grow more in our faith and trust in Him, opening our hearts and minds to welcome Him into them, so that by the Lord’s guidance and strength, we may be inspired to live our lives in ever greater commitment and devotion to Him, and in greater desire to love and show care and compassion for one another, just as we should do as Christians, as God’s beloved people, doing what He has shown and taught us to do, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are called to follow the Lord and obey His will and commandments wholeheartedly, and by this it means that each and every one of us should understand and appreciate the true nature, importance and purpose of the Law and the commandments that we may truly follow the Lord in the right manner, and not fall into the wrong paths as how many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done.

The Law of God had been revealed to His chosen people through Moses, and He made clear what they all needed to do in order to follow Him, by giving them sets of rules and regulations, the Law and the Commandments, centred on the Ten Commandments which highlighted the core tenets of the Law. Those laws and rules were all in fact meant to help the people to remember that they all ought to be faithful to God and to love Him, and to abandon all sorts of evil and wicked ways and practices, that they would not fall into sin and therefore destruction.

Yet, despite everything that the Lord had done for them, the people refused to listen to Him and disobeyed Him, repeatedly again and again falling into sinful ways, into the worship of pagan and false idols, and thus, the Lord imposed those laws and regulations meant to help them to remain true to the path He has shown them, and to stay away from the temptations that could lead them down the path towards damnation. It was never intended to make their lives difficult or to make it a burden for them to follow the Lord.

As mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy in our first reading today, God has told His people through Moses, that they should not add any more or remove anything from the Law and the commandments that He had given them. That they should live in the manner that God has shown them, and called them to do. And this is truly what the Lord wanted from His people, to be righteous, good and virtuous, to be worthy of Him in their actions and deeds. He did not want them to suffer or to be burdened by those laws.

Yet, it was man themselves who misinterpreted and misunderstood His Law, and thinking of them as mere formality and regulations, that were dreaded and which the people found bothersome and unwilling to keep or follow. They also followed the temptations and worldly desires and were unable to keep up with the Law, fell into disobedience and refused to believe in God, fell into sin and suffered for their lack of faith in Him. They refused to listen to the prophets and messengers that God sent into their midst to guide then and help them.

Then on the other extreme, by the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry, many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who imposed a very strict interpretation of the Law, which arose because of long period lasting centuries in which the people interpreted the Law in ever increasing rigidity as they experienced great suffering and the tragedy of the destruction of their nation and the first Temple, when Jerusalem itself was destroyed by the Babylonians, and many of the Israelites were uprooted into exile by the Assyrians and the Babylonians both.

As such, there were those over the centuries who sought to impose the Law strictly on the people, to keep them in toe and to prevent them from suffering the same fate. However, over the centuries, as things developed, some took it to the extreme, as the number of rules and regulations grew beyond what was originally prescribed in the Torah, or the Books of the Law corresponding to the first five books in the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. And those people entrusted with the spiritual leadership of the people and those deemed as experts of the Law ended up making these as a means to gain popularity and influence, and to be praised by the others who saw them.

But what the Lord often rebuked those Pharisees and teachers of the Law was the fact that despite having outwardly observed the Law, all the many rules and customs, but they did not truly love God in their hearts, and instead, they loved themselves and their interpretation of the Law more, as they lost the focus and the true intention of the Law, imposing the rules and regulations that ended up being too inwardly looking and bereft of true spiritual benefits, that they focused more and more on the letter of the Law than its Spirit.

For example, on the matter of the washing of hands before meal as mentioned by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in today’s Gospel passage, the rules stated that the people ought to wash their hands in a particular manner, right up to their elbow and over a few times, and as well as other things to be washed and purified before doing certain things and activities. It was their preoccupation and excessive attention to the details and excessive attachment to the rites and rituals which distracted them from the true intention of the Law and the love of God which the Law was meant for.

And as St. James then mentioned in his Epistle, in our second reading today, we are all called to follow the Lord faithfully in our every actions and deeds, in doing the Law and putting to use the gifts that God has given us, in the Word that He has sown within our hearts and minds. We should not be mere bystanders or idle followers of God, or to be those who profess to be faithful to God and yet in our actions we have no God reflected in them, like how many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law practiced their rigorous version of the Law and yet forgetting the true intention and purpose of what they have practiced and done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these readings from the Scripture, all of us are reminded that as Christians we have to be truly faithful to the Lord, in all things and from all of our entire being. We have to show our love to the Lord in all things, in our love for God in every words, actions and deeds, that all that we say and do, are truly for God and in accordance with God’s will. This is what we are called to do, and what we should be doing as we obey the Lord and do what we can to follow Him. And if we truly love the Lord, then as the Lord Jesus had said, we have to love one another in the same manner as well.

That is yet another reason why the Lord rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, that while they professed to love God, yet, they were lacking in love and empathy for their fellow brothers and sisters, often looking down on those who were deemed as sinners and unworthy, like the prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors, people with diseases and demonic possessions, among others. The Lord was telling all of the people, including those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who were also often listening to Him, reminding them of the truth of the Law of God, the true intention and purpose of what the Lord has given to all of them.

That is why, He came not to abolish the Law and commandments, but rather to make it perfect for all of us. He wants us to rediscover our love for Him, and to practice it in our lives, to believe in Him wholeheartedly and not just being outwardly pious, and profess to be a loving Christian, yet we do not show love to our brothers and sisters, or are being prejudiced and angry at them. Indeed, we are not perfect people, and we make mistakes from time to time, and we do fall into being angry, jealous, prejudiced and biased against others, but what is important is that we must not allow those things to continue to shape our lives and actions.

If we truly love the Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ, then our love for Him must be genuine in all things, and not just being outwardly devoted. Some of us think that by saying long prayers and devotions, we are good Christians, but we ignore our brothers and sisters around us, or worse still, we gossip about one another, talking bad about others whom we encounter at work, at school, or even in our own homes, among our relatives and friends. Is this what is meant for us to be Christians? Certainly not. God called us to be His true disciples, not just in obeying the Letter of the Law, but also in the Spirit.

That is why, all of us should spend some time today and onwards to reflect on our lives and our attitudes. Are we really good Christians in all things, in loving God and in loving one another? Or have we loved ourselves more and been selfish all these while, in desiring recognition and praise, or in wanting God to do something for us and to give us what we want? We have to discern all these carefully, so that from now on, we may follow the Lord with the right intention, with the right love in our hearts, not love that is inwards and selfish, but rather pouring outwards from ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters.

Just like our Lord, Who loved us all infinitely, and Who has given to us His life in exchange for our salvation, by dying on the Cross for us, we have to be life-giving in our every actions and deeds, in our words and interactions with one another. We have to remove from us the poison of ego and pride, of greed and desires for power and glory, all the things that prevent us from truly being faithful to God genuinely, and from loving Him and our fellow brothers and sisters as His Law has taught us.

Let us all obey God’s Law and commandments, brothers and sisters, following what the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit and following the traditions of the faith from the time of God’s Apostles, have given and shown us, in ways how we can lead a most wholesome Christian life, that we may draw ever closer to God and be ever more loving in our every actions, not just to ourselves, but even more importantly to God and to all those who need our love and care, our attention and kindness.

May the Lord move all of us in our hearts that we may walk with Him, in the path of love, of genuine Christian love, in full and true obedience to His Law and commandments. May all of us be ever more courageous in our faith, and seek the Lord for strength whenever we need Him, and provide that same support and strength to one another, when we are struggling and in need of assistance. May God bless us all in our every good endeavours and works, and bring us ever closer to His grace and presence. Amen.

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Saturday, 28 August 2021 : 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, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to remember our calling and mission in life as Christians, as those whom God has called to be His followers, that is to be active in our participation of the living of our faith that we do not just live our lives without meaning and faith, and we have to make good use of the gifts and talents that God has given to each and every one of us.

That is what was elaborated and symbolised by the Lord in the famous parable of the talents in our Gospel passage today, as we heard the Lord Jesus and His teaching to His disciples, making use of that parable of the talents to remind them to commit themselves to the cause of the Lord and to do whatever they can in their capabilities and opportunities to be the bearers of our faith in God. We should be active in our lives and in showing our devotion to God, and not merely just paying lip service to Him.

This parable of the talents highlighted the action of three servants who had been entrusted with different amount of silver talents by their master, talent being the unit used to measure weights at that time, which is why this parable is often known as the parable of the talents. One servant was given one talent of silver, while another was given two silver talents, and the other one five silver talents. Those talents represent the gifts and abilities, the opportunities the Lord has given to us, just as the master represents the Lord Himself.

And as we have heard from the passage and the parable within, the servants treated the entrusted talents differently, as those two who were entrusted with two and five talents respectively invested and made good use of what had been given to them, and when the master came back, those servants were able to present the master not only with the silver back, but even with double returns. Meanwhile, the servant who was entrusted with the one silver talent hid his talent and did not do anything with it, as he said that he was afraid of his master and his exacting nature, and thus, hid the talent.

This showed that he did not trust his master at all, and had no desire to do as he was supposed to do, or to obey his master’s will, and more concerned with his own self-preservation and selfish desires. This is why he refused to do anything with the talent, and we already heard what happened next then, as those who did good with their entrusted silver talents received even more from their master, while the lazy and untrustworthy servant was punished for his actions and also lack of action in making use of the talents entrusted to him.

What is its significance to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is a reminder to us all that each and every one of us are expected to make good use of the talents, gifts, abilities and opportunities that God has given to all of us. We may think that we have nothing special or have little ability to contribute anything, but this is often where we are wrong. Even in the smallest things we do, we can make a great difference. And just like the case of that servant given just one silver talent, it does not mean that if one is given less, then one cannot make good use of what he or she has been given.

On the contrary, all of us are always encouraged to contribute whatever we can, even in the smallest things, that in doing our best for the Lord, we may grow and bear many fruits of our faith in the Lord. The Lord has given us what we need, and now it is up to us to pick ourselves up and begin to do what we can do to follow the Lord and to commit ourselves to His cause, and in doing His will, in our communities and in wherever we have been called to serve and do our part as respective members of the Church.

Today, all of us should also be inspired by the great examples set by St. Augustine of Hippo, the great saint and Doctor of the Church, one of the four original Doctors and revered as one of the most important fathers of Western Christianity, for his many contributions to the Church, and his various writings, of which especially well known being the City of God and the De Trinitatis, the writing on the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, among many others that he had done, as well as in his many contributions to the local and Universal Church.

However, St. Augustine did not always begin with such a wonderful and faithful life. Instead, as we may recall from yesterday’s celebration of the feast of St. Monica, who was St. Augustine’s own mother, we may remember how St. Augustine used to lead a debauched lifestyle and sought worldly pleasures and ambitions, following heresies especially Manichaeanism, and in his many philosophical and worldly pursuits in his youth, before finally, through the unceasing prayers of his mother, and through God’s grace, he turned back towards the Lord and gave himself completely to Him, to His cause and for His greater glory.

St. Augustine dedicated himself henceforth as a most faithful servant of God, making best use of his energy and all of his talents, his abilities in inspiring numerous others to be faithful to the Lord. And he dedicated himself to the very end, doing whatever he could to serve the Lord and His people, both in Hippo, his diocese and especially throughout Western part of Christendom at the time. His many writings and contributions to the Church remained very influential, and many theologians and philosophers of the Church drew inspiration from St. Augustine, his life and his works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have seen how St. Augustine dedicated himself to the Lord and turned away from a life of idleness and sin, and into righteousness and fruitfulness in the Lord. Through his efforts, many great things had happened, many people had been touched and called to follow the Lord, and this is just yet another example of what it means for us to invest in our ‘talents’, that it may grow and provide us with great returns, not in material things but rather in our spiritual growth and closeness to God.

May the Lord continue to guide us and inspire us in our journey of faith through life, and may He strengthen each and everyone of us that we may always persevere in faith from now on. May God bless us always, in all things, now and forevermore. Amen.