Catholic homilies

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Saturday, 25 July 2020 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great feast of one of the Lord’s holy Apostles, namely St. James the Apostle, also known as St. James the Greater to distinguish him from St. James the Lesser, who was either referring to St. James son of Alpheus or St. James, one of the first leaders of the Church of Jerusalem and brother of the Lord. St. James the Apostle was the elder brother of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, both sons of Zebedee the fisherman.

St. James was called together with his younger brother when they were fishing at the lake of Galilee, likely near Capernaum where the Lord began His ministry after His baptism. Consequently, he was among the first of the Apostles to be called by the Lord, together with St. Peter and St. Andrew, who were also brothers and fishermen. He followed the Lord together with the others who were called and left everything behind, beginning a life of faithful service to God.

St. James was also considered to be among the closest ones to the Lord as showed throughout the Gospels that during many occasions in the ministry of the Lord, he together with St. Peter and St. John, his younger brother, were often by the side of the Lord, during His Transfiguration, during the time when He raised the dead daughter of an official, as well as during the last moments before His arrest during His agony in the Gardens of Gethsemane.

As such, it was not surprising that as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the mother of both St. James and St. John came up to the Lord and asked Him for special favours and positions of honour for her sons. At that time, as it is still today, to be able to sit at the left and right hand side of an important person is truly a great honour, one that is not easily earned or given, and usually is a sign of immense honour or relationship with the person being mentioned.

The other disciples were angry when they heard of this seemingly unfair power-grabbing effort from the two Apostles and their mother, but the Lord firmly revealed what it truly meant to be His followers and disciples, both to the mother of St. James and St. John, to the two Apostles themselves, and to the other disciples. To be a follower of Christ is not like being followers of the other lords, kings and leaders of this world, as the latter sought for power and influence, for fame and glory, and for other worldly pursuits.

The Lord Himself told St. James and St. John, that if they follow Him, then they must be ready to drink from the cup that He was to drink, and at that time, the two of them did not truly understand what the Lord meant by this expression. In truth, this cup is the cup of suffering that the Lord also spoke of again just before He was to be arrested and suffered the pain of crucifixion, the suffering of the rejection of the world, the persecution from those who refused to believe in Him, and the agony of enduring the burden of the sin of the whole world.

And the Lord said to the two Apostles, that indeed, they would share in the cup that He was to drink, and this was a brief but important revelation that to follow the Lord is not meant for the pursuit of fame, influence, worldly glory, power, wealth, and many other things we usually desire when we follow someone. Instead, to follow the Lord meant suffering, to be prepared to endure the sufferings that may come our way, and following the Lord may also mean difficulties and challenges may come our way as we carry out the will of God.

St. James himself was the one who experienced this firsthand at the earliest opportunity, for according to the Acts of the Apostles and also Church tradition, St. James was the first if not among the earliest ones of the Twelve Apostles to suffer martyrdom for the sake of the Lord. In the Acts of the Apostles, it was mentioned that king Herod Agrippa arrested St. James and put him to death in prison, before arresting St. Peter seeing that this action pleased the Pharisees and many among the Jews.

But before St. James was martyred, approximately a decade after the Lord’s death and resurrection, he had managed to do wonderful works for the Lord, and he was credited with the evangelisation of faraway lands, as far away as the Iberian peninsula, what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. St. James’ most famous shrine, the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, was where this Apostle once preached to the local pagans and sowed the seeds of faith among them.

And we see how this Apostle of the Lord had been transformed from a humble mere fisherman, and from a man of the world probably seeking favour and glory of the world, into a faithful and devoted servant of God, who did all that he could do to bring the Good News of God’s salvation, His truth and love to all the people, even in faraway lands, a work that is without worldly honour and glory, and not just that, but also filled with danger and difficulties, and he himself suffered martyrdom for this cause he truly believed in and devoted himself wholeheartedly in. His brother, St. John the Apostle, although was the only one of the Twelve not to be martyred, but he endured decades of trials and challenges, exiles and prisons, for his equally great dedication to the Lord.

What then, is the significance of this to us all, brothers and sisters in Christ? St. James reminds us that each and every one of us have also been called by the Lord to follow Him, and by what we have discussed earlier, following the Lord means for us to walk in His path and put Him at the centre of our lives, and not to seek worldly glory and power, or fame or influence, or pleasure and convenience for us. Instead, following God is indeed not about ourselves, but about how we can serve Him and obey His will through our every words, actions and deeds in life.

Are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of St. James the Apostle? Are we willing to follow him in his dedication to serve the Lord, to evangelise the people we h in life, not just through words, but more importantly, through our every actions and deeds? We need to devote our time and effort to be genuine Christians, not just in name but also in deed, and inspire many others to follow our example, that by our actions and examples, we may bring more and more people closer to God.

May the Lord be with us and guide us in our journey of faith that each and every one of us, that through the inspiration and intercession of St. James the Apostle, we may be stronger in faith and be more Christ-like and be more faithful in our every day living. Let us all be transformed from creatures of desire and greed, of ego and pride, into faithful and devout children of God, from now on. May the Lord bless us and our endeavours, our efforts and good works, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 24 July 2020 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the call of the Lord calling on us to return to Him and to be reconciled with Him, to be faithful and to give ourselves to Him with faith. In our Scripture passages, we heard of the Lord’s promise to His people through His prophet Jeremiah that He would redeem them and gather them in, to be reconciled with them and to be their God once again, and in our Gospel passage we also then heard the explanation on the parable of the sower by the Lord.

In our first reading today, as the prophet Jeremiah spoke of the Lord’s message and will to His people, we heard the Lord calling on His people showing clearly His intent on forgiving them and being reconciled with them, despite the sins that they had committed. He wanted to remind them of the love which He has always showed generously to them, and therefore, called them to return to Him and reject their sinful ways.

At that time, the people of Israel and Judah had veered so far away from the path of the Lord and fell into sin that they had lost the grace and guidance of God as they chose to follow false gods and pagan idols instead of entrusting themselves to the Lord. As a result, the enemies of the people of God had risen up and conquered them, humiliated them and defeated them, including the Assyrians who destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and brought the people off into exile, and later on, the Babylonians would also conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and brought the people into exile as well.

Through the prophet Jeremiah God therefore spoke of how the sins of the people would lead them to destruction and suffering, and reminding them that they needed to resist the temptations to sin, and instead, embrace God’s generous mercy and desire to forgive all of them. And God promised that He would gather them back and return them to their land, and would bless them all once again, and He did all as He had promised, showing His faithfulness.

The Lord in our Gospel passage today explained the meaning of the parable of the sower to His disciples who asked Him about the meaning and purpose of that parable. And the Lord told them all how the seeds that fell in all sorts of different conditions and types of soil, all except those that fell on rich soil did not grow into healthy and fruitful plants. Those seeds that fell on the roadside were eaten up by the birds, symbolising those who had rejected the word of God and His truth, and as a result, the devil snatched the words of truth from them and brought them further and further away into the path of downfall through sin.

Those seeds that fell on the rocky ground were those who had superficial faith, as those people focused only on appearances, treating faith as a mere formality and as a result, they did not allow the faith and truth of God to grow strong, and they did not have genuine and strong love for God. As a result, they are also easily swayed and tempted to sin, and they had no strong foundation of faith and virtue.

Those that fell on the soil among thistles and brambles, thorns and weeds were those who encountered many challenges, temptations and difficulties in their faith life, and instead of enduring and persevering, they allowed themselves to be ‘choked’ with fear, being immobilised by their uncertainties and doubts, and as a result, they faltered and gave up the faith, and chose to turn to other sources of comfort and abandon God when trials and troubles come for them.

This is why all of us are reminded that we need to be like those seeds that fell on the rich soil and grow many fruits and provide bountiful returns, thirty-fold, sixty-fold and hundred-fold. We may be wondering what these phrases mean, and what it truly means for us to bear rich fruits of our faith. Here is when each one of us must realise that before a plant can produce such rich harvest and bountiful returns, it must first grow healthily from a single, small seed.

Unless we provide the seed the nutrition it needs, the right temperature and presence of sufficient amount of water for germination, sufficient sunlight and other efforts, including the removal of weeds and barriers to growth, the seeds will not be able to germinate well, and neither can they grow well into healthy, fruit-bearing plants. In the same way therefore, unless we prime ourselves, our lives and our actions in life to reflect a good condition for the growth of our faith, then our faith will remain dormant, meaningless and dead.

The Lord calls us all to follow Him and to listen to His words, to walk in His path once again and to be reconciled to Him. And if we do so, then in the end, we can be assured of a most fruitful and wonderful life. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is not going to be easy for us to walk this path, and we need to ensure that we nurture a life filled with faith and dedication, a life that is attuned to God and His will, a life that is prayerful and conducive for us to develop further in our relationship with God.

Perhaps then we can be further inspired by the examples of St. Sharbel Makhluf or St. Charbel Makhlouf, a renowned Maronite Christian saint, whose life was renowned for his great personal piety, his prayerful life and dedication to God, and also for the many miracles and wonders that occurred even after his death at his tomb. He was renowned for his piety since a young age, having been brought up in a pious family and eventually joined monkhood.

St. Sharbel Makhluf was remarkable in his life and commitment, leading a life of prayer and cultivating his faith daily, and through his efforts and prayer, many people were inspired by his examples and touched by the testimony of his faith. And then, even after his passing, numerous miracles were attributed to his tomb and incorrupt body, and many became believers after having witnessed such miracles themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Sharbel Makhluf might have just been a simple monk, without worldly power and glory, without the abundance of material possessions and wealth, without earthly fame and influence, and yet, by his life and everything he has done in life, the magnitude of his impact on so many people cannot be understated and underestimated. And thus this is what each and every one of us are also called to do, that we also inspire one another in faith.

Let us not worry that we have no ability or little faith or little knowledge of our Christian faith. Rather, we must realise that it is by our small, little contributions and actions that we will inspire so many more people, by our little actions towards whoever it is that we encounter in life, and these people whom we have touched, they will then in turn influence even more people and that is exactly how we bear thirty-fold, sixty-fold and hundred-fold return in harvest.

May the Lord be with us as we journey together with Him in faith, and may He strengthen our faith and give us the courage and desire to love Him more and more, and let us all be more willing and driven to follow His path, being faithful at all times and be great inspiration to draw others closer to the Lord as well, just as St. Sharbel Makhluf had done. May God bless us always, in our every good deeds and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 July 2020 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we heard just how the Lord had loved us mankind so dearly and yet, He had to face rejection and stubbornness from His people, from those to whom He had tirelessly and constantly sent messengers one after another, servants and prophets to proclaim to them the love of God and His faithfulness.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah the words of the Lord’s sadness and anger at His people for their ingratitude and lack of faith, their constant disobedience and sinfulness, as they proved again and again to be rebellious and unwilling to embrace God’s love and His path, right up to the end of the kingdom in Judah, as how it was in the time of the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered to the people at the end of the southern kingdom just before its downfall.

God has ever shown His patience and kindness, His mercy and compassion through the generations, but the people abandoned Him, betrayed Him and left Him for the comfort and the false allures and pleasures of worldliness, putting their trust instead in the pagan idols and foreign gods like Baal, Ashtaroth among others. They had forgotten the wonders and the love that God had showed their ancestors, and allowed the devil to tempt them and sway them to the false paths.

Thus then it was also how the Lord Jesus as mentioned in our Gospel today stated that even till then, the people were still stubborn in refusing to believe in God, and held on to their flawed and sinful ways. This was when the Lord’s disciples asked Him on why He was often teaching them in parables and speaking in metaphorical terms especially when describing and explaining many of the concepts of the truth He had revealed.

And the Lord told them essentially how the people’s stubbornness and closed hearts and minds truly prevented them from being able to listen, appreciate and understand the love and the truth of God, blinding them to that truth and reason and made them to harden their stance against the Lord and His followers, as showed by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the chief priests and the Sadducees, many of whom often confronted and opposed the Lord in His works.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today through all of these each and every one of us are reminded of just how pride, ego, stubbornness, hubris and greed, all of these can be very great stumbling blocks and obstacles in our journey of faith towards God, His love and salvation. As all these prevented our ancestors from seeing reason and listening to the truth, and instead, leading many of them further down the path towards damnation.

Today, all of us are therefore reminded to turn away from this same path, and instead, embrace the path of renewal and forgiveness, the path of being loved by God and accept wholeheartedly the Lord’s compassionate mercy, and to grow ever more faithful in Him with each and every moments of our lives. And we should therefore look upon the good examples of our good and holy predecessors to help and guide us in our journey.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bridget of Sweden, a great and renowned holy woman and servant of God, known as one of the Patron Saints of Europe remembered for her great piety and commitment to the Lord. And although she was born into one of the richest noble families and could count kings and nobles among her relatives, but she remained humble and committed to the Lord.

Throughout her life, St. Bridget of Sweden worked tirelessly to care for the poor and the sick, and also championed life of prayer and purity, establishing religious orders and congregations that inspired many people to follow her example and faith. By her dedication and commitment, St. Bridget inspired many to turn once again to God and abandon their past, sinful way of life, and this is something that all of us can also aspire towards.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able and willing to follow the good examples of St. Bridget of Sweden in our own lives? Are we willing to seek not for the pleasures of the world and for the glory of this human existence, but rather to grow ever stronger in faith, charity and hope, in our devotion towards God and in our virtues in life? Let us all discern these and think carefully of how we should proceed forward in life, especially in how we are going to act towards one another.

May the Lord, through the intercession of St. Bridget of Sweden and innumerable other holy saints, martyrs and holy servants of God, constantly bless us all and strengthen us, that each and every one of us may grow ever stronger in faith and in our commitment to follow Him and to serve Him with all of our strength. May the Lord be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 July 2020 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, one of the most prominent follower of the Lord and considered as an equal of the Twelve Apostles. Ever since the Year of Our Lord 2016, this celebration which was initially a Memorial in the General Roman Calendar had been elevated to the rank of Feast, and acknowledgement of St. Mary Magdalene as a very important figure in the Church as the Apostle of the Apostles.

This brings us to the question, ‘What is an Apostle?’ The word Apostle itself came from the Greek word ‘Apostolos’ or ‘one that is sent off’ with the emphasis on the action of being sent off for a particular purpose and mission. Therefore, an Apostle is someone who had been called and entrusted with important assignment, and has also therefore been sent forth to fulfil that assignment. This is opposed to the term ‘disciple’ which has the connotation and meaning of a follower, that may or may not have that specific mission of being sent off to fulfil the mission of God.

And this is significant because as we know and which our Gospel passage reminded us today, it was St. Mary Magdalene who first saw the Lord after His Resurrection, and she initially grieved over the fact that the Body of the Lord had disappeared, thinking that the Body had been stolen and not realising that He had risen from the dead. And when the Lord appeared before her, she believed in Him and she did what the Lord said to her, ‘Go to My brothers and say to them, I am ascending to My Father, Who is your Father, to My God, Who is your God.’

That was how St. Mary Magdalene then went to the Twelve Apostles and the other disciples, delivering to them the news of the Lord’s Resurrection, how everything He had said would happen came true. This is why St. Mary Magdalene is the Apostle of the Apostles, as she was the one who delivered the truth and the Good News to the Apostles. She was the one sent off by the Lord to be the first to bear the Good News to others. Through her, the Apostles came to know of the Lord’s resurrection.

This is why St. Mary Magdalene is such an important person and a significant influence in the history of the Church. But this is not just because she had been the first to see the Risen Lord and brought this news to the Apostles, but even more significantly, if we had seen how she had been transformed from someone whom no one would have thought to be worth saving or even worth a look. By Church and Apostolic traditions, St. Mary Magdalene was often associated with the woman from whom the Lord had cast out seven demons, and others also associated her to the repentant prostitute.

Regardless, Church traditions and history agreed that St. Mary Magdalene had been greatly transformed by her faith in the Lord and her life was changed after she followed the Lord and abandoned her past life of sin. Here was a great sinner whom the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would have been very quick in condemning as those who were unworthy and sinful before God. Yet, as we know, she did not just have great transformation in life, but was entrusted to be the first to know the truth of the Lord’s Resurrection.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scripture today and remember the life and contributions of St. Mary Magdalene, we are brought to attention to the important fact that each and every one of us also have the potential and opportunity to be like her, to follow her example and her conviction and desire in serving the Lord. We are also sinners just like her, and regardless whether our sins are great or small, sin is still sin and sin is a stumbling block in our path towards eternal life and true joy in Christ.

But as St. Mary Magdalene showed us, that there is indeed no saint without a past, and no sinner without a future. Saints like St. Mary Magdalene were also sinners just like us, and they were also human and erred just as we have also erred and made mistakes in life. What is important and what truly mattered was that they listened to the Lord and embraced His love and mercy when He called on them, and they turned their back to sin and lived a virtuous and just life from then on.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are therefore called to look through our lives and see how we can follow in the footsteps of St. Mary Magdalene, turn ourselves towards God and sin no more. We are called to be inspired by her faith and love for God, also showed by the other holy men and women of God, the saints and martyrs. Let us strive to commit ourselves to a new life and existence, one that is no longer controlled by sin. And let us also proclaim the love and truth of God by our lives, that more and more people will come to believe in God, just as St. Mary Magdalene helped to inspire faith in the Apostles.

May the Lord be with us and may He help us to get out of the temptation of sin, just as He had once showed mercy and love for St. Mary Magdalene. May He strengthen each and every one of us that we may be able to live in a renewed existence with ever greater faith. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 July 2020 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures in which we are being reminded again of God’s amazing and most generous mercy and His desire to forgive all of us our sins. He has always been loving and kind towards us, but unfortunately it has been us who have been constantly stubborn and refused to listen to Him and His truth. We have ignored His reach towards us in love, and we have ignored His compassion and chose to remain enslaved to sin.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Micah, we heard the words of the prophet Micah uttering a prayer before God, the prayer for God’s love and mercy, for Him to show kindness to His people and forgiveness to the trespasses and the mistakes that they had committed. The prophet Micah was particularly known and remembered for his words calling on the Israelites to reevaluate their lives and to be good and righteous once again in their lives.

That is why the prophet Micah reminded the people of just how kind and loving God has been, how patient He had been throughout all of their history even when they have disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him for so many times and on so many occasions. God has always been willing to be reconciled with us. And through all these, His love for us has been unwavering even to the point of giving Himself for our sake.

God has even then given Himself to us, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Master and Saviour. He, the Divine Word Incarnate, was conceived and born through His mother Mary into this world, and by that, all of us have shared in His humanity, and we became, through our baptism, His brothers and sisters, and members of His Church, the parts of the same Body of Christ, of which Christ Himself is the Head.

In our Gospel today, we are reminded of this fact further as the Lord mentioned before the disciples and the people, how all those who follow Him, obey Him and His father’s will, are His brothers and sisters, parts of His family. This reminds us again and again how all of us are truly beloved by God, for God Himself had adopted us all as His own sons and daughters through Christ, in Whose death we share the death to our past sins and in Whose resurrection, we share the new life of our resurrection into this new existence in Christ.

However, we need to remember again what the Lord said, that those who have done the will of God are the mothers, brothers and sisters of the Lord. This means that each and every one of us are truly called to walk with God, to go forth with Him in faith, to obey Him and His will, and to be genuine and truthful in how we devote ourselves and commit ourselves to the Lord, in each and every moments of our lives.

However, it is important for us to take note that, there are many obstacles and challenges we are facing in our path, as we encounter many temptations, distractions and pressures in life to disobey God, to follow and conform to the accepted ways and norms of the world, the path of sin, of selfishness and evil, those ways that lead us to seek the pleasures of life and the pursuit of material wealth and goods. It is a challenge for all of us to resist these temptations, and remain focused to walk down the right path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we can be inspired by the example and faith showed by St. Lawrence of Brindisi, an Italian priest and member of the Capuchin Franciscan religious order. St. Lawrence of Brindisi was remembered for his scholarly work and contributions to the Church that made him to be recognised as one of the Doctors of the Church. He was remembered for his brilliant talent in language learning and his role therefore in diplomacy at that time, as papal nuncio, emissary and diplomat in various occasions.

However, it was often overlooked that the brilliance of his works was also brought about by the amazing sensitivity and care that he showed to his fellow men, the sensitivity and connection which he had towards his fellow brothers and sisters, that in all of his efforts and works, he always had the Lord and his fellow men first and foremost in his minds and thoughts. His role as a diplomat helped to defuse tensions and troubles between nations and peoples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, all of us heard all these wonderful reminders of God’s love and kindness, and how all of us have been so blessed to be considered as the Lord’s own sons and daughters. But are we willing to commit ourselves to Him as we should? To walk with Him and to devote ourselves to the path that He has shown us? Are we willing to embrace Him fully and to put Him first and foremost in our lives?

Let us all reflect on these as we continue to progress through life. Let us all seek the Lord with a renewed faith and conviction. May the Lord also be our guide and our strength throughout this difficult and challenging journey, that hopefully, we will be able to remain faithful and remain firm in our love for Him with each and every passing moments in life. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 20 July 2020 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the lamentations of the Lord for the unbelief and the stubbornness of many of His people in them not having faith in Him. The Lord through His prophet Micah spoke out His displeasure at the people who seemingly had forgotten the mighty and wonderful deeds by which He has rescued their ancestors and their predecessors, and instead, betraying Him by siding with the pagan gods and idols.

And in our Gospel today, there is yet another example of this stubbornness and lack of faith, as the Lord was confronted by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who doubted Him and wanted to keep on testing Him, asking Him for miracles, signs and wonders. The fact was that they had seen many such miracles and signs as they followed the Lord persistently throughout His ministry, in their futile yet constant attempts to undermine His good works.

They were the most learned and those considered the most intelligent and wisest among all the people, and yet, ironically, they were the ones who were the most stubborn and resistant to accepting the truth of the Lord. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because they were blinded and impeded by their own ego and pride, their own ambition and sense of superiority, their own worldly attachments and concerns that tied them down.

No matter how many signs and miracles the Lord performed before them, it would be meaningless unless they get rid from themselves the pride and hubris, the ego and ambition in their hearts and minds. People had sinned and fallen into sin from time immemorial just as the Israelites in the past had sinned because of this great fault and sin of pride, which had ensnared so many people and prevented them from attaining salvation in God.

That is why it is worth noting the Lord’s mention of the city of Nineveh and Jonah, as well as that of the Queen of the South and king Solomon, in the same Gospel passage today. The city of Nineveh was the great capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire that had conquered hundreds of nations and peoples, and yet, when the Lord sent the prophet Jonah to their midst to proclaim their upcoming judgment and destruction, the whole city and the mighty king humbled and lowered themselves, putting on sackcloth and mourning before God.

In the same way, the Queen of the South, also known as the Queen of Sheba, who was a powerful ruler of a rich and influential country in the time of king Solomon, with vast wealth and great wisdom of her own, humbled herself before God and His chosen king Solomon, when she came to behold the greatness of God showed through Solomon, his wisdom, glory and kingdom. She paid homage to the king of Israel and praised God for His wondrous deeds.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture readings today therefore, we are reminded that pride and ego, ambition and greed, attachments to the world and material goods will earn us nothing but our own failure and downfall. The path to seek the Lord’s salvation and true happiness is by humility and faith, by love for God and by realising that we all need the Lord and need to put Him at the centre of our lives.

This is why we should also seek the Lord and be inspired by one of His faithful servants, our predecessor, namely St. Apollinaris, a bishop and martyr of the Church. St. Apollinaris was one of the earliest Church leaders and was the Bishop of Ravenna in what is today northeastern Italy. St. Apollinaris by tradition was appointed to his position by St. Peter himself and he was remembered chiefly for his leadership of the Christian people during the time when the Church was persecuted by the Roman authorities.

St. Apollinaris remained firm in his faith despite the persecutions and dedicated himself to serve the flock even in situations of danger. He cared for them and continued to minister among them, and his sufferings, arrest and trials, during which he endured many bitter sufferings and persecutions for the sake of the Lord, all these did not hinder him from giving himself to serve the Church and the faithful people of God, even unto martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded by the faithful and good examples of St. Apollinaris and many other faithful servants of God, and through their great inspirations, all of us are called to follow the Lord and to devote ourselves as much as possible, and to entrust ourselves to the Lord, not to be prideful and filled with ego, but rather be humble and to be filled with the multitudes of God’s love and to have genuine faith and commitment towards Him in life.

May the Lord bless each and every one of us, and may He give us all the courage and strength to follow Him faithfully and to devote our time, effort and attention to walk in His path, at all times. May the Lord guide us and lead us into the right path, leading us into His greater glory, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 July 2020 : Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we heard very prominently another parable from Our Lord Jesus in which He told His disciples about the kingdom of God. And in fact, this parable is related to what we have heard in last Sunday’s parable, if we still remember it, on the parable of the sower. Today we heard the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

The Lord kept on using these parables, with various links to the lives of people living then, as farmers, shepherds, fishermen and others because through these stories and parables, they would come to know more about the truth of God even when most of them were uneducated and illiterate. Had the Lord spoken about concepts and teachings that were intellectual and difficult to grasp, no one would have understood Him. Instead, He used terms and words that most of the people would understand.

In our parable today, we heard first of all the parable of the wheat and weeds in the field. In that parable we heard how a sower sowed seeds of wheat in the field and then an enemy quietly came at night sowing seeds of weeds in between the wheat. The wheat represents the good things that have been brought by the Lord, and as the Lord Himself said, also means those who have obeyed the Lord and were faithful to His Law. Meanwhile, the weeds represent the wickedness and the evil brought by Satan, as well as those who have rejected the love and truth of God.

Wheat grows in the field just as weeds also grow in the field at the same time. And there are a few ways how weeds can harm wheat, some of which involve competition for resources and space, as overcrowding leads to poor crop output and gain, as the wheat would not be able to get sufficient nutrition for their growth. The weeds could also strangle the wheat as they grow or damage their roots and stems when they grow, depending on the type of weed involved.

Ultimately, in the end, only the wheat will be wanted and the weeds will be discarded as the parable showed us, which is something that the farmers and most of the people of Jesus’ time would also understand. But as the parable also showed us, when the servants told the master that the weeds had grown along with the wheat, and their roots intermingled together, then the master told the servants not to take out the weeds until the time of the harvest, lest it might kill the wheat prematurely.

In this, we can see how the Lord is so loving and merciful towards us. One of the symbolic representation and meaning of these turn of events is that, He, the Sower and Master of the field gave us the opportunity and time to grow and develop through life, and as another Scripture passage also said, that the Lord let His rain fall and sun shine on the good and the wicked alike, then, all of us mankind are truly equal before God with equal opportunity and chance to be redeemed and be reconciled before it is too late for us.

That is why, all of us must realise just how blessed and fortunate we are that despite our sins and waywardness, God still cares for us and love us each and every minutes and seconds of our living moments. God has shown us His love and desire to forgive us our sins. But are we willing to accept it? Are we willing to be loved and forgiven by God? Are we able to commit ourselves to follow Him and change our ways, rejecting sin and wickedness from now on?

This is where we then need to take note of our second parable today, the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast and flour. Each of these parables spoke of the building of the kingdom of God, and how a small, minuscule mustard seed when nurtured well and properly, would grow into a large, healthy and mighty tree. And with the yeast, when flour is added with yeast in the right condition, then the dough will rise and become bread, increase in multiples in size.

All of these require the right conditions, or else, for example, for the seed, without proper condition like water, the right temperature or presence of oxygen in the air, the seed will remain dormant and not germinate. And without sunlight and further right conditions further on, the plant will not survive and grow well, less still becoming a large and healthy tree. Similarly, if the dough is never sealed and kept in oxygen-less situation, with the right temperature and condition, the dough will not rise at all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through all of these things, we are all reminded that God has given us the seeds of faith, the seeds of hope, the seeds of love, the yeast of wisdom, the yeast of justice, the yeast of virtues among others. But if we want all these to grow and bear fruits, then we must give these the right conditions and put the effort in our lives, in our everyday actions and deeds, in our every words and works.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by living our lives with faith, by spending the time and effort to make ourselves more attuned to God through prayer. If we do not pray regularly or spend some precious time to be with God, how can we expect to grow in faith and be fruitful? A Christian who does not pray and who does not strive and put the effort to lead a more Christ-like life will not be considered as true Christians.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all keep this in mind as we discern our path going forward in life. We have received God’s wisdom, His truth and His grace, and we have also received His love, all that we need to go forth and be fruitful. Let us all realise that each and every one of us have been called to do our best to provide the best condition in which our faith can flourish, by living our lives with faith, by dedicating ourselves to prayer, and by constant and regular reading of the Word of God in the Scriptures and learning more about the teachings of the Church.

God has called on all of us to act, and now it is really up to us to decide whether we want to be the wheat and bear rich fruits, or whether we want to be the weed of sin. The choice is now in our hands whether we want to be righteous, virtuous and obedient to God, or whether we want to remain in sin, to submit to our desires and the many temptations present all around us. Living in faith is not easy, brothers and sisters in Christ, and require from us that genuine dedication and faith.

Let us all turn towards God with a renewed faith and with new conviction, with the desire to follow Him and love Him with ever greater sincere devotion and commitment, to be the builders of the kingdom of God in this world, that by our good examples, we may inspire many others to also be faithful to God and that many more will be inspired to believe in God because of us. And we may be surprised just how great an impact we can have in our community and world today, no matter how insignificant we may think our actions may be.

Each one of us can inspire others around us, and those whom we inspire and touch, those to whom we have shown God’s love and truth, they will in turn, inspire and touch even more people. And that is how we become the ‘wheat’ in the sight of God, and the ‘mustard seed’, to bear rich and bountiful good fruits for the Lord, bearing as what in the related parable of the sower of the last Sunday said, a thirty-fold, sixty-fold and a hundred-fold return in harvest.

Let us all be truly Christ-like in our every actions, words and deeds, and let us all heed the words of the Lord, and embrace His calling for each and every one of us to follow Him, to be faithful to Him and to be dedicated at all times. May the Lord bless us and all of our efforts and works, and may He guide us to the right path and help us to live our lives from now on fruitfully, and to inspire one another at all times. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 July 2020 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us we are reminded of just how fortunate we have been to receive the grace and love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour, Who have come into the world, becoming the salvation and the fulfilment of the many promises and the prophecies that God had spoken to His people. He is the manifestation of God’s infinite and enduring love for each and every one of us.

Sadly, as today’s Scripture readings have also pointed out to us, despite the Lord’s generosity, love and kindness, the people had not been grateful for the generous love and compassion they have received. On the other hand, they had refused to accept God’s love, or that they had instead chosen to follow the path of the devil rather than to follow the Lord’s path. They persecuted His messengers and prophets and continued to live in a state of sin.

In our first reading today, we heard the account from the prophet Micah, one of the many prophets sent to the land of Israel, to remind the people of their God and the need for them to be reconciled with Him. The prophet Micah was among those prophets who had suffered, been rejected and reviled by the people, who refused to listen to them and made it difficult for them to carry out their ministry.

Thus, amidst the call to repentance and the call to walk with God with righteousness as the prophet Micah was famous for, the Lord also warned His people through Micah, that because of their wickedness, their selfishness and sins, they would be punished unless they change their ways, and their lamentations and regret would be as great if not even greater than the voice of their hubris and pride before God.

Unfortunately, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, despite having passed many generations, the descendants of God’s people still had not truly learnt their lesson, as they continued to plot against God and His servants, and that time, they acted against the Lord Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God Himself when they refused to listen to Him and His truth. They had seen the Lord’s many miracles and wonderful works, His great wisdom and the fulfilment of God’s many prophecies, but they hardened their hearts and minds with pride and ego, with greed and worldly desires.

In that same passage, we heard the premonition of what would happen to the Lord, as the rejection of the people who continued to refuse to believe in God, eventually led to them to arrest the Lord, laid false accusations against Him, and betrayed Him over to the Romans to be sentenced to death on the Cross. And yet, then, until the very end, reflecting on all these, we can see just how God is so loving and patient towards each and every one of us, that even from up on the Cross, in great pain and excruciating suffering, He forgave all those who persecuted Him and cried out for His death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some good quality time to reflect upon what we have heard in the Scriptures today. The Lord has always loved us all dearly and we must consider ourselves very fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity to be loved in such a way, that as sinful, imperfect, and terrible we had been, God has always been willing to welcome us back to Him and be reconciled with us.

However, we must also remember that reconciliation and forgiveness also go hand in hand with our desire to be forgiven, our conviction and resolve to reject the past life of sin, to abandon our disobedience and wicked actions and ways of life, and instead, from now on, embracing anew God’s generous love, mercy and compassion. We have to be open to God’s love and mercy entering our lives and existence, that we may be transformed into people of light and be rid of the darkness of sin that have afflicted us for so long.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves anew to God and let us seek Him with all of our hearts, knowing just how much He loves us and is willing to welcome us back and forgiving us our sins. Let us not take His love, kindness and compassion for granted, as we must also remember that if we remain in sin, then there is nothing left for us but eternal death, and eternal darkness, a suffering in everlasting despair out of which we have no hope of getting out from, because we have consciously rejected God’s love.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us with His love. May He continue to bless our work and endeavours, and guide us to the right paths in life. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 17 July 2020 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded through the Scripture readings on the wonders of God’s providence, love and compassion for each and every one of us. Through the Scripture passages, we are reminded how God showed mercy and kindness to His servants, those who asked Him and trusted in Him. He will never abandon those who trust in Him, and He will always be with us no matter what.

In our first reading today we heard of the story of the conversation between king Hezekiah of Judah and the prophet Isaiah, as king Hezekiah suffered from a terrible illness that was incurable and would have led to his death, and king Hezekiah who had been faithful to God and led the people of Judah to return once again to God. King Hezekiah of Judah then begged the Lord to remember what he had done for the sake of His people, His faithfulness and commitment.

God listened to Hezekiah and granted him healing from his supposedly mortal sickness and gave him fifteen more years to live in life. And from then on, king Hezekiah would continue to rule the kingdom of Judah while being faithful in leading the people back towards God. The Lord heard His prayers, and by His will, everything was made good and whole again for the king. And this indeed reminds us of God’s love for each and every one of us.

Then, in the Gospel passage today we heard from the Lord Jesus Who confronted the Pharisees who had criticised Him and His disciples for not obeying and adhering to the laws and customs of the Sabbath. The disciples of Jesus had been walking through a field, picked up the grains in that field and ate them because they were hungry, and the Pharisees immediately took this as an issue and attacked the Lord with accusations.

But the Lord then also immediately rebutted them as He related to them the story of king David when he was still on the run from the authorities as he became King chosen by God in contention with king Saul, his predecessor. David and his men were very hungry and that day was a Sabbath day. Yet, when they sought refuge in the Temple of God, the High Priest did not just give them shelter, but also food in the form of the bread usually reserved only for the priests to eat according to the Law.

What the first reading and the Gospel have told us therefore is that, first of all we must remember that God loves each and every one of us, and this is an undeniable fact and reality which we all must accept. And this love is what made all that we heard in our readings today possible. God’s love for each and every one of us helped King Hezekiah to elude death and extended his life, and God’s love also provided for David and his men when they were in the direst of straits.

That is we must learn from this not to be legalistic over our faith just as the Pharisees had done, as the Pharisees were so engrossed and preoccupied with the text and letter of the Law, the literal meaning and interpretation of the Law of the Sabbath that they had forgotten why the Law was given to us in the first place, that is to help us and remind us to love God and to dedicate ourselves to Him, to direct our hearts and minds to Him just as He has first dedicated Himself to us and loved us.

That is why, first of all, God will never abandon us in the hour of need, and He will definitely always be by our side whenever we need Him, as He has shown to king Hezekiah and king David. We must put our trust in Him and be faithful to Him. We must trust that God’s love for us, His mercy and compassion always endure, and if we keep our faith in Him strong, in the end, we will receive the rich rewards promised to us.

But at the same time, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must then also be careful and take note how the Lord’s will is the reason for everything, and everything occur just as how the Lord wants it to be. We must not think just because king Hezekiah begged the Lord and he got what he wanted then it means that we can bend God to do as we want it. On the contrary, it was by God’s mysterious will, that Hezekiah lived and had his life extended, and perhaps, in the end, that was all already part of God’s design, which we do not know of. We should ask God if there is something we wish, and as long as this is not a wicked desire, but we should not expect to have what we wished or demand that God fulfils what we wanted.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek God with a renewed faith and strength, a new commitment and conviction to follow Him and serve Him. Let us all turn towards God with new dedication and desire to love Him, reflecting on just how fortunate we all have been to be beloved by God, to be considered precious in His sight, and to be the ones to whom God will bestow eternal joy and glory, through our faith in Him.

May the Lord bless us all, and may He strengthen us in faith, and help us that we may be ever more filled with love for our Lord, and place Him at the centre of our lives, that from now on, if we have not already done so, we may walk faithfully, righteously and virtuously with God in our respective journey of life, towards His eternal joy and glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 July 2020 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as all of us gather together to glorify the Lord, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Patroness of the Carmelite religious order, recalling the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, to St. Simon Stock, one of the earliest members of the Carmelites. Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to St. Simon Stock and showed him the brown scapular, two pieces of cloth with holy image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on one side, and on the other side the promise that all who wear the scapular with devotion will be saved from the eternal fire of hell.

This was the promise that Our Lady of Mount Carmel showed to St. Simon Stock, and became the foundation for the famous devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the brown scapular associated with her. Through His mother Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Lord wants each and every one of us to put our faith and trust in Him through her, and to put ourselves in her comforting embrace and care, as our blessed and loving mother, entrusted to us and given to us to be our guide and consolation.

That so many people came to follow in the devotion of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a sign of mankind’s great desire to be healed from their hurts, problems and troubles, that they came to seek the mother of our Lord, for her guidance, her prayer and intercession, for solace and consolation during times of trouble and difficulties, trials and hardships as we are surely aware of, especially during these recent days, weeks and months when we have encountered so many problems and troubles in life.

But at the same time, we must make sure that through our devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we are helped in our rejuvenation in faith, our reconciliation with God. We must not fall into blind devotion or merely hoping for miracles and for good things to happen to us because we demand it and want it. Instead, we must once again come back to the essence of this devotion, that is through the brown scapular, we are reminded of the holy life that each and every one of us are called to, and embrace it fully with our hearts.

Let us all remember that all of us are called to turn towards God in these most troublesome and darkest of moments. And we are called to turn to Him to look forward for a new hope that He is going to bring us, and His mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel is by our side, showing us the way to reach her Son. And we are all called to follow her examples, her dedication and virtues, her commitment and love for her Son that we too may grow in our faith in Him and in our love for Him.

Today, therefore, we have all been reminded that we must neither be afraid or be fearful, for God Himself together with His blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and innumerable saints and Angels are standing by us, amidst the trials and challenges of life, and amidst all the fears, despairs and uncertainties of life. The Lord wants us to put our trust in Him rather than to put our trust in our own strength and in our own designs and powers. And all of us who trust in Him will soon learn that there is truly nothing that we need to fear of.

For in the end, if we are faithful, obedient to the will of God, and have committed our lives to Him, then as the promise of the Blessed Mother of God, Our Lady of Mount Carmel had spoken to St. Simon Stock, that those who have devoutly wore the brown scapular would be safe from the eternal fires of hell. No matter how great the trials and difficulties we may currently be facing and suffering, but nothing can compare to the eternal suffering and punishment to be endured in hell. We must not lose hope in despair of the darkness, but instead be hopeful of the Lord and His light through His mother.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, and by devoting ourselves to His blessed mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, let us all turn ourselves into a new, righteous and virtuous living, rejecting sin and the temptation to sin, persevering in faith and committing ourselves to a new life in God’s grace. Are we able and willing to commit ourselves to this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all discern carefully the path and direction we are going to take in life, that we will not end up in the eternal darkness, but in God’s eternal light and true joy.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us, and may His loving mother Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, our mother, continue to intercede and pray for us sinners, all still struggling in this world, that we may break free of the darkness by her Son’s grace and enter into the wonders of the kingdom of Heaven. Amen.