Catholic homilies

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Thursday, 24 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of the faithful servants of God who worked hard to spread the Good News and the faith in the region now known as Vietnam. One of them was St. Andrew Dung-Lac, one the first local Vietnamese priests who with many of his fellow Christians, missionaries and priests were put to death and endured great sufferings for their faith in God.

At that time, the regime of the Vietnamese Empire was led by staunchly anti-Christian party, who viewed the faith with an extreme suspicion and dislike, and they were mistakenly seen as collaborators to the foreign forces, and therefore gained the instant opposition from those who were in power. The missionaries and those who helped them were facing great difficulties and were threatened with suffering and even death.

Yet, they did not fear and neither did they back down from the mission which had been presented to them, which is the conversion of souls and redemption of sinners, by the means of evangelisation. And by their hard work and dedication, they had gained many converts to the faith, who themselves had to endure great persecutions and difficulties, as the authorities tried very hard to stamp out the growing Christian community.

And from the local communities rose even more devoted people who took up the cross and the calling of the Lord, joining the sacred order of priesthood as St. Andrew Dung-Lac had done. Many others helped the work of evangelisation in various ways, as priests or religious or the laity. The faith grew and spread quickly, and many more souls were saved, but this brought even greater persecution against them.

And thus that was how many of these faithful were forced to choose between life and death, in either continuing to serve the Lord faithfully and die or to recant their faith and reject their Lord and be allowed to live. Many of the faithful chose to be faithful and remained true to their Lord and Master despite all the threats made against them. And thus they met their end with courage and joy in martyrdom, knowing that their reward in God is great at the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of the Vietnamese Martyrs of the Faith, St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his many companions in faith, the religious, priests and missionaries and even the faithful among the laity should become inspiration for each and every one of us Christians living today, as the reality of persecution and opposition by the world and all those opposed to our salvation in God is indeed true and real.

Yes, even today many of our brethren in faith still suffer the daily effects of rejection, ridicule and persecution by the world, by worldly authorities and all those who do not seek to see us be saved by the Lord Jesus, and many even had to risk their lives in practicing their faith, and often have to practice their faith secretly under the pain of death, and yet they often face the challenges with courage and commitment to God.

We should help one another, brethren, supporting those who are in need of our help. We should pray for one another, and ask the Lord to help and guide us through these turbulent and uncertain times. We should not fear or give in to the demands from those whose intent is our destruction, as we have to hold fast to the promise God made to all those who remain true and faithful to Him, that to them, He will grant the true joy of having everlasting life with Him.

And God is forever faithful and completely trustworthy, brothers and sisters in Christ, unlike us mankind who can be unreliable and untrustworthy. We can put our trust in God without fear or doubt. Now, what we need to do is, look at our own respective lives, look at our actions and deeds, and then think of what we can do and contribute in order to bring ourselves closer to God, fulfilling His will and desires.

May the Lord help and guide us, and may through the intercessions of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions, the holy Vietnamese martyrs, we may grow ever more committed in living our lives filled with faith, and thus in the end of the days, we are worthy to share with them the eternal kingship and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He comes again as King to rule over us forevermore. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reassured yet again by the Lord, that we will never be alone amidst the difficulties and challenges that we may face as those who belong to the Lord. It will not be easy for us to stay faithful and devoted to God, and be a true Christian. If we have not had difficulties and challenges thus far, then perhaps we have not been true to our faith in God, or we might not have practiced our faith as we should have.

There will be clashes and conflicts arising between the ways of this world and the ways of the Lord which we are following. We can already see it clearly in the world we live in today. While this world is inundated with materialism and greed, our faith promotes moderation, charity and compassion for our fellow humanity, helping those who are poor and less fortunate than us. And while this world is filled with hatred and prejudice, the Lord taught us to be inclusive and to love one another without reservation.

And this is where divisions can arise, as the world may at times reject our ways and then act to condemn what we are doing, and rally against us. At times, there will also be ridicule and false charges levied against us, just as the people once condemned and rejected Jesus our Lord. But we must not lose hope, just as our Lord overcome the humiliation of the cross and transformed it into a symbol of triumph, defeating sin and death forever, we too will triumph in the end.

God has given us His words that He will not abandon us to the darkness and to the devil. Opposition will always be there against us, but God will send us His help and providence. He will never left us alone, and if we are faithful, we shall receive the rich rewards of the promise given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise of everlasting life and glory with Him in heaven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate the feast of two saints, Pope St. Clement I, holy Pope and Bishop of Rome during the days of the early Church, and St. Columban, a holy religious and Abbot renowned for his great faith in the Lord. Both of them were devoted servants of our Lord, and of the people entrusted to their care. Both of them were very important in the establishment of the early Church and in the strengthening of the faith of the faithful.

Pope St. Clement I was one of the first successors of St. Peter the Apostle, chief of the Apostles and the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. He succeeded Pope St. Linus and Pope St. Anacletus who in turn succeeded St. Peter, as the fourth Bishop of Rome and Pope, and thus leader of the entire Universal Church. He helped to establish the jurisdiction and leadership of the bishops over the Church, and in his many letters and Epistles, he taught many of the faithful throughout the Church about the faith and how to remain strong in their faith.

Eventually Pope St. Clement I was martyred because of his faith during one of the persecutions of the faithful by the Roman authorities. However, he faced his death with joy knowing that God is on His side, and He will never abandon His faithful ones to destruction, since He would preserve their souls, and although his body and the bodies of the other martyrs would face destruction, but their souls are eternal.

Meanwhile, St. Columban was a renowned Irish missionary and religious who travelled and ministered throughout the region of Gaul, that is now known as France. He worked hard and preached about the faith in many places, establishing religious communities throughout his journey sites in France and also Italy. He helped to bring discipline to the many religious communities at that time, and also strengthen the foundation of their faith.

St. Columban faced many challenges and oppositions throughout his works and travels throughout the land, even against bishops, nobles and kings. However, he was never deterred by these, and continued to work hard and preached the word of God and His truth with zeal and commitment. These are the good examples that we all have to follow and emulate, as we continue to live our lives in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today spend time to reflect and pray, so that all of us will learn to put our complete trust in the Lord, and change our ways and actions so that we will be able to attune ourselves to God and His ways. May the Lord help us and bless us always, and may He keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the apocalyptic messages from the Scripture readings that we heard, about the coming of the end of times, when the Lord will come to judge all of His peoples. But before that, as foretold in the Gospel and in the Book of Revelations, there will be tribulations, challenges, difficulties and all kinds of obstacles on the path of us all, the faithful people of God.

There will be many false prophets who are trying to dissuade us and lure us away from finding our way to the Lord, and these are active out there, spreading lies and sweet promises trying to gain our attention and allegiance to their cause. And it will be difficult to remain true in our faith to God, challenges and obstacles abound and plenty in our path. But God had also foretold this to us through His disciples, and we ought to expect this outcome.

And we do not know of the time of our Lord’s coming, which will come suddenly in the end at the time of His own choosing. When God comes, will He find good on earth? Or will He find plenty of wickedness instead? It is more likely that it will be the latter one, as mankind increasingly forget about their Lord and God, and continued to act in ways that are contrary to His ways and teachings.

We live in this world today at a time when the world increasingly becoming more secularised as well as materialistic. We live at a time when in the hearts and minds of many people, God no longer exists. To many people, God is not a priority for them, and some others even contended that God does not exist at all, and actively seeking to persecute the faithful who are living their daily faith, ridiculing and striking at the holy people of God.

And in the ever more materialistic world we have today, increasingly there are more and more temptations and all the other obstacles placed by the agents of the evil one in order to make us stumble and fail in our journey towards God. We are inundated with messages from advertisements and other forms of communications, with inappropriate conduct and behaviour, with improper persuasions of lust, pleasures of the flesh, greed and other wicked things.

The question that we are facing now is, what are we, as Christians, going to do in the midst of this difficult and troubling times? Do we run away and pretend that we know nothing about what is happening? Should we be ignorant and just carry on with our normal routines and our daily lives? Or should we fall into the line and conform with what the world expects all the people to be like?

There is a better option, brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is to stay faithful and committed to the Lord in all of our ways, as what the holy martyrs and saints of the past had also done. St. Cecilia, whose feast we are celebrating today, is one of those great examples. She was a young noble Roman woman who devoted herself to her faith in God. But she was asked to marry another nobleman.

At her marriage, she sang her heart out to the Lord, telling all who were present that she devoted herself wholly to the Lord, and that is why she is now patron saint for all musicians, all who devoted themselves to the Lord through song and music. She continued to lead a chaste life, devoted in holy virginity to the Lord, and through her many others were inspired to lead a more devout life and existence in the world. Even she convinced her husband by a vision to be baptised as a Christian.

St. Cecilia, her husband and some others of the faithful were martyred for their faith by the Roman prefect, at that time when a great persecution of the faithful was carried out. Yet, their examples and their inspiration continued to inspire many people throughout the centuries. We too should follow the examples of St. Cecilia in how we lead our lives.

May the Lord help us that we may resist the temptations of the world and grow ever more devoted and stronger in our faith. Let us all commit ourselves to God, be true in our ways and never fear, for God will always be with us and reward all of His faithful ones in the end. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 21 November 2016 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remembering and commemorating the moment when the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ was presented to God at the Temple after she was born, much as her Son Jesus, her Firstborn Son was presented to God.

It is likely that she is the firstborn child of her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne. The practice of the offering of the Firstborn has deep roots in the history of our salvation, from the time of the Exodus, when the people of Israel were saved and brought out from their slavery in Egypt. At that time, the Lord showed His might to the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, who refused to let the Israelites go, raining down ten great plagues upon them.

It was the final plague that finally caused the Pharaoh to relent and let the people of God go, when he planned destruction on God’s people by seeking to kill all the firstborns of Israel. But God turned that around into triumph for His people by instead destroying the firstborns of Egypt including the firstborn of Pharaoh. Thus the offering of the firstborn children to God is a reminder of this great and eminent goodness of our Lord for His people.

And at the same time, it is also a reminder of how God saved His beloved creations, His firstborn ones from the assault by Satan and all of his fallen allies, as they sought to bring about our downfall by causing us to be tempted and fall into sin. And that was how Satan brought down Adam and Eve, our first ancestors. But God did not forget about us, and He still loved us, as shown in how He made a promise to them, that He will deliver them from all the ruination that Satan had caused.

And He foretold that a Woman will come to crush Satan and all of his spawns, to be the sign for the ultimate defeat of the evil one which God had foretold from the very beginning. And that woman was again mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, who foretold of the coming of the Messiah through the same woman. And that woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the one who bore the Saviour of the world, Jesus into this world.

If Jesus was presented to the Lord as the Saviour of all, worthy and unblemished, then His mother Mary, who was also conceived without the taint of sin, the Virgin of Immaculate Conception, was presented to the Lord as the worthy and blessed Ark to contain the New Covenant which God was making with His people in Jesus Christ. Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, through which God made into reality the salvation He promised to us mankind.

And Mary is our role model, our greatest intercessor before God, whose actions and dedication to God is rivalled by none. She gave her whole life to God, and she dutifully carried out what had been entrusted to her as the Mother of God and our Saviour. In the Gospel today, we may mistook the idea that Jesus was being rude to His mother if we do not understand what He was actually trying to say. He did not go out to meet His mother and brothers who were waiting for Him, and instead saying to the people He was teaching who are His mother and brothers.

But Jesus was in fact saying that, be like His mother in all things, so that they will be worthy to be called sons and daughters of God. Therefore today, let us all model ourselves after Mary in her great obedience to the will of God, her willingness to have God leading her on the way to salvation, and her commitment without end, even unto following and witnessing her own Son’s death on the cross.

Let us be inspired by her actions and examples, and let us all also ask for her to intercede for our sake, that she will beseech for our sake, we who are sinners, that God her Son will show us His kind mercy and love. O Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us now and to the end of our lives. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 November 2016 : 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Christ the King and Closing of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the last Sunday of this current liturgical year, which the Church has crowned as the great Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, Christ the King, King and Master of all the Universe. On this solemn feast day, we commemorate our Lord Who is the past, present and future, as He was, is and will always be King of all kings, Ruler and Master over all.

All other kings and rulers gain their authority from the Lord, and no ruler has true power or authority unless it has been devolved upon them in one way or another from the Lord, on Whom all authority and power belong. But His Kingship is different from the kingships of the world, and the nature of His kingdom is different from the kingdoms and countries of this world.

Let us all look at the examples of the kings and rulers of this world. The kings and rulers of this world like to dress in the finest clothes and wear the best accessories, have the best vehicles, the nicest looking ones, and in our modern world many even have their own private jets and planes, helicopters and all the gimmicks and luxury of our world today. Many dwell in sumptuous and large palaces and residences, all designed to bring awe to all others who look upon them and witness their power.

And what do all of these bring these rulers and kings of this world, brethren? Many of them did so in order to garner more prestige, honour, praise, fame and wealth for themselves, trying to awe all those who view and witness their majesty. Many even tried to extort and made others to provide for more in order to do these. Yet, the reality behind all of these is that, they felt insecure because they did not have real and genuine power and authority with them.

And our Lord Jesus, Who is the One True King did not need to do all of them, for His authority came from Himself. In fact, He chose to lower Himself and empty Himself of all of His power and glory, becoming one of us as a Man, becoming one of His lowly creations, for one singular purpose in mind, and that is love. Yes, God Who is our King loves all of us without exception, each and every one of us are always foremost in His mind.

And that, brethren, is true kingship. A king and a ruler must always have his people first in mind, and not himself. When kings and rulers abandon this important tenet, that is when tyrants were born, those who oppressed the people and acted in ways that brought about benefits, glory and other goods for themselves at the expense of those over whom they are ruling and governing.

Jesus our Lord showed that by His own examples, going about to care for His people, all of them without exception. He went forth seeking those who had been lost to Him through sin, and that was why He went to seek for the lowest of the lowest in the society, those who have been rejected and ostracised because of their sins, the prostitutes and tax collectors. The Pharisees and the tax collectors failed to see and understand this, the reason why Jesus wanted to be with these people, who they themselves had condemned and cast out of the society.

The Pharisees, the elders and the teachers of the Law represented the elites of the Jewish society at that time, those with power, authority and influence, who were highly jealous of those whom they considered as rivals to their power, and that included Jesus, His followers and His teachings which are often against the ways of these leaders. That is because they have corrupted and twisted the laws to serve their own purpose and not the purpose of God.

But Jesus showed them all, all of the people, and us, His true kingship, as a King truly devoted to His people, and as One Who really show by example of what a ruler should do for the good of his people. He showed us that He is a King Who is also the Good Shepherd, ready to lie down His life for His beloved sheep, so that the sheep, His flock, may be safe amidst the danger around them.

The Kingship of Christ is the Kingship of love, mercy and compassion, and not of pride, hubris or ambition, unlike the kings of this world. His Kingship is the Kingship of truth and justice, as He proclaimed before Pontius Pilate just before He was condemned to die on the cross. He came to proclaim the truth before all His people, the truth about His love and the truth about how we can be reconciled with Him, but truth is not always pleasant to be heard and understood.

Many of us mankind profess to believe in the Lord, and yet, in our actions, we would rather have Satan, the devil as our king. To many of us, we put our human needs and desires often ahead of our responsibilities and duties as Christians, as those who ought to obey the Lord. And yet in how we carry out our lives and our actions, we do not resemble those who are called children and people of our God, our King.

Let us reflect and think of our own actions, and what we have witnessed in this world resulting from our actions, the actions of man. As I have related to you earlier on in this discourse, many rulers and kings of this world act in ways contrary to how the Lord had acted, because they shirked the responsibilities they had over their people, they served themselves and their needs first.

Wars and conflicts raged on in this world to serve the purposes of people’s greed and desires, the futile pursuit of worldly glory, wealth and human fame and praise. For the sake of a piece of land, or for wealth and properties, or even for the sake of hubris, ambition and human pride, mankind and particularly their rules have waged wars and conflicts that brought about pain, sorrow and destruction for many. And this is the sad reality of our human actions, of how flawed our humanity is now.

And today, therefore, as we rejoice and celebrate together this great solemnity and feast of Christ our King, there is that urgent need for us to really devote ourselves anew to our King, no longer with just mere words or paper proclamations alone, but rather with actions and real deeds. We must be truly devoted to Him in our ways and deeds, or else we are not being faithful to Him, and we will face the consequences in the end.

Rather, let us all be like the repentant thief at the side of Jesus, who acknowledged his sins before Him, and how he deserved to die while Jesus Who was innocent did not. Yet, Christ our King willingly laid down His life for our sake, even forgiving and dying for His betrayers and enemies. This is our One and True King, Who has shown us the way forward by His own actions and examples, through which He made known to us His infinite love and mercy.

Now it is the time for us to choose, shall we side with the king of this world, that is Satan? If we treasure and value the goods and pleasures of this world a lot, and spending our time so much on these things, even to the detriment of others around us, then we are siding with the devil. Or shall we instead side with the true King of all, Christ the Lord, Who is Lord even over the devil and all of his fellow rebel angels?

As Christians, we are all called to follow the examples of Christ. Therefore, just as He has shown us how to love, and how to forgive one another our sins and mistakes, we too should do the same. Let us all be good servants and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, our King, the one and only King we have, Whose ways is our ways, and Whose laws is our delight.

May through our works and actions, the Name of our Lord and King will be glorified, and by our own examples, may we reflect His Glory and His truth, that we may be able to find our way to Him, with many others who will be inspired by our examples. O Lord, our Eternal and Almighty King, be with us always and never abandon us. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings all of us are presented with the centre tenet of our belief and faith, that is the promise and faith in the resurrection from the dead, and this means that we believe in the existence of life after death, or the afterlife. We believe that our existence does not simply end upon our death, that is the end of our worldly life in this current world we are living in now.

There are those who were skeptical about the resurrection then as it is now. The Sadducees presented in today’s Gospel is one of the major power parties in the society of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus, representing the intellectuals and the secular power holder, the nobility and the rulers. These are the people who have the most to benefit from the world, and accordingly, by nature, their possession of these worldly goods often led to unhealthy attachment.

They refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead, because they viewed that the only life they know and which matters to them is the life at present, which they were then going through in this world. For them death is an uncertainty, something that should be feared, because they saw death as the definitive end to their privileges and all the things which they have enjoyed in the world.

And this is what sadly many of us Christians are often falling prey to, falling prey to our own fears and uncertainties, our doubts and lack of faith in the Lord and His providence. We become entangled and trapped in the trap of desire, of worldliness, of worldly pleasure and goodness, all the things that keep us away from finding our way to the salvation in God.

And that is the reality of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, that even though many call themselves as Christians, but there are many who place their worldly interests above that of their faith in the Lord. Many of them only believe in the Lord as far as what pleases and suits them, and they would rather preserve their position and state in this world rather than to be truly devoted to God.

It is these people with unsteady and lukewarm faith who will be judged to be unworthy by God at the end of time, when the Lord comes again in His glory. He will not welcome these people who did not have love for Him but for themselves. These people would be easily tempted and pulled away by the lies of the devil, who is always constantly trying to undermine us and bring about our downfall.

This is where we need to make a stand, just as those two holy witnesses of the Lord spoke out against the wicked ways of the world in the first reading today from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle. Persecutions and challenges will come our way from those whom the devil had ensnared in his lies and wickedness, those who followed the path of the Sadducees, refusing to believe in the salvation and the way of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the way forward is not to give up and succumb to these, but instead to remain true and committed to our faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how do we do this then? It is by living our lives filled with faith and commitment to our God that we will be able to fulfil what the Lord expects from each and every one of us. We cannot be lukewarm in our faith, or be inactive and passive. Rather, let our every actions and deeds speak volumes for our sake and for the Lord’s sake, that we may inspire each other to keep up the hope, and that those who have been blinded by darkness and by worldly temptations may see the light and repent their sinful ways.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord, our Risen Lord and Master, He Who has conquered death, and showed us the promise of eternal life, which is the eternity of bliss and joy, true joy and happiness that He will grant to those who remain faithful to Him. Let us not be distracted on this path, and let us no longer fear but believe wholeheartedly, believing that God will be with His people forevermore. Let us not put our trust in the temporary treasures of this world, but seek the true treasures found in God alone. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 18 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter the Apostle and the Papal Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate together the memorial of the dedication of two of the great Papal Basilicas located in the holy city of Rome, dedicated to the two greatest of the saints of Christendom, the pillars of the Church, none other than St. Peter the Apostle, Prince and leader of all the Apostles of our Lord, and also St. Paul the Apostle, the Apostle to the Gentiles and writer of the many Epistles in the New Testament.

Both of them were martyred in Rome, and therefore were seen as the patron saints of the city of Rome, where their tombs were located at, and at that time, Rome was the heart of the Roman Empire, the heart and centre of the secular superpower that was the Roman Empire, and where the Caesars, that is the Emperors ruled with absolute authority, and demanded from all others obedience and also worship.

For the Emperors were worshipped as gods and as incarnation of the gods, and by elevating themselves to the divinity, they deemed themselves as above others, and thus the Imperial Cult of the Roman Empire was created. And against this, came the two Apostles of our Lord, who in their separate ways ended up in the city of Rome, continuing the missions entrusted to them by the Lord.

And they were not chosen by the Lord for their might, their greatness or their talents, unlike the Roman Emperors who boasted of their wealth, or their human and military prowess. Instead, God chose a diverse range of people, and many of them are just like us, common people with our own stories and unique origins. He called His disciples and chose His Apostles from among fishermen, bandits, even tax collectors and others.

And it was not that their faith was great, or that they were as intelligent as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who at that time were those who were educated in the society, knowing the entirety of the laws of Moses. Most of the Apostles were uneducated and even illiterate, and yet, they went on to perform great deeds, some of which were told to us in the Acts of the Apostles. And why is that so? It was none other than because of the Lord and His works on them.

If we remember the passage from the Scriptures we heard today, and what we know of the Apostles, particularly that of St. Peter and St. Paul, certainly, they did not have an outstanding and great faith from the start. Both of them struggled and were troubled in their faith, and were also shaken at certain times, when doubt overpowered them and made them to tremble, and in the case of St. Peter, to sink in the waves, when he tried to walk towards Jesus, because he doubted.

The Apostles were afraid and doubtful when the elders and the chief priests sent guards to arrest Jesus, after He had been betrayed by one of His own Apostles, Judas Iscariot the traitor. The Apostles fled the scene and went into hiding when their Lord and Master was arrested, and we know how St. Peter himself, after having sworn to give his life for the sake of the Lord that very night, denied his Lord and Master three times in order to protect himself from harm.

I am sure that we also know how St. Paul grew up as a zealous and fanatical Pharisee, determined to hunt down as many followers of Christ as he could, arresting them and torturing them as he was misguided by his blind obedience to the false understanding of the Law of God. In fact, St. Peter and St. Paul were just like us, sinners and filled with doubt, indeed as what some of us would say, that we are unworthy of our Lord and His love.

But what made them different? In fact, what made our holy saints and martyrs to be different from us? It is because all of them went through a thorough and wholesome change in their lives, in how they lived their lives and in how they carried out their actions henceforth, and they turned from sinners and into God’s holy and devoted people, His saints.

St. Peter dedicated his whole life thereafter in the service of God, leading His fellow Apostles and the other disciples of Christ, coordinating the immense task of guiding and leading the early Church through moments of difficulties and through good moments when many became believers and therefore had to require new shepherds and guides, new bishops to be appointed to lead these.

St. Paul was converted when God called him on that fateful day when he was on his way to Damascus. God revealed His truth to him, and after having heard the truth and realising how wrong he was, St. Paul made that dramatic turnaround and from one of the greatest enemies of the Lord and His faithful people, he then became one of the Church and the Faith’s greatest champion and defender.

There is something that all of us can learn from this, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we did not choose to become servants of the Lord, but rather, He chose us and made us worthy. The Apostles, saints and many martyrs were ordinary men and women just like us, but they changed their ways of life and followed the Lord with conviction and commitment.

God transformed the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, from their humble and even sinful origins, to become His greatest tools, as His greatest servants in bringing the souls of many of His beloved ones closer to Him and allowing many through them to listen to the truth about His salvation. The same call is now therefore made upon us as well. Each and every one of us as Christians have been called to serve the Lord, and to evangelise and preach the Good News of God to all.

And this is related to our celebration today, remembering the moment when the two great Basilicas dedicated to these two Apostles were consecrated and dedicated, made holy and had incense and the holy oils applied to it and the Altar within the Basilicas, and through the blessing of the Almighty God, these two great edifices became more than just a space, but rather they become a place worthy to house the Holy Presence of God.

Before a church, be it a small parish church, a large church, an important one such as Cathedrals and Basilicas, none of these can be used for the purpose of the celebration of the Holy Mass if they have not been consecrated and dedicated yet. And as I have mentioned in my homily for the Dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran just two weeks earlier, this has implication and relevance for us that we all should know and understand.

Undedicated and unconsecrated, the great Basilicas and cathedrals are just mere buildings, spaces with architecture without meaning. Through the consecration, it has been made into a worthy and holy Residence and House of God. In the same manner, through our own baptism, through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit by our confirmation, and through the reception of the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist, each and every one of us, our bodies, minds, hearts and souls have been consecrated and dedicated to the Lord to be His holy Temples, where He shall dwell in us.

We are the Temple and the House of God, for God Himself has dwelled inside us, inside our mortal bodies and existence. And as a result, we should make sure that we live in accordance to the way of the Lord, obeying His laws and precepts, or else we would defile the sanctity of this Temple and House of God. God has transformed our humble and simple bodies and beings into His glorious residence, as much as those magnificent buildings and edifices has been transformed into the great places of worship.

Let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on this, thinking carefully of what each and every one of us should be doing in our respective lives. We should imitate the examples of the saints in their dedication and commitment, and follow the examples set by the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Do not be discouraged if we think that our faith is easily shaken and weak, for the Apostles themselves were once filled with doubt as well.

Let us all open ourselves, heart, mind, body and soul, that God may come into each and every one of us, transforming us completely from being creatures of the flesh and darkness, into creatures of the light, into sons and daughters of our Lord, worthy of the eternal life He has promised to all of His faithful ones. St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us sinners, that we may be like you and follow in your footsteps. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we listened to the word of God in the Sacred Scriptures, listening to the words of hope given to us by the Lord, Who have triumphed and conquered, defeating the forces of evil and death, by His own death on the cross and then by His glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension in glory into heaven.

Through the readings today, we are reminded yet again that as Christians, persecutions and challenges will be part of our lives, as those who are in power in this world, all those who rely on this world, are against us who believe in the Lord, for the devil wants us all to be lost to the Lord, by disobeying Him and refusing to listen to His laws and commandments, and instead following his lies and temptations.

And that was why throughout history, for the past two millennia, the history of the Church, our Faith and its faithful had been filled with much grievances, sufferings, persecutions and all that had occurred when the faithful were oppressed by those who sought to destroy them and turn them away from the path towards salvation. That was why there were many martyrs and those who suffered and even laid down their lives for the Lord, in the early days of the Church, and even unto this very day.

During the early days of the Church, the faithful had to contend with many oppressions, oppositions to the Lord and to the Church, and they had to hide, hiding in the catacombs and sewers while celebrating the Lord and His Holy Sacrifice, the Holy Mass, or else they would be arrested, put into prison, tortured and even put to death for their faith in God.

If we wonder how they all persevered through all of that without losing hope, it was because of their firm faith in God. They staunchly remained true to their Lord and their faith in Him even when they were faced with the stark option of securing their lives by rejecting the Lord, or to keep their faith and suffer to the extent of painfully losing their lives.

This is a reality that many of our brethren even today, are still living its daily effects. In various parts of the world, from the Middle East, to regions of the Americas, Africa, and in many other parts, being a faithful Christian is increasingly a more and more difficult task for us. Challenges and temptations are abound, and not few of our brethren were tempted and gave up because of various reasons.

But many did not give up because they believe firmly in the Lord Who will be triumphant in the end, as foretold in the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, the content of which we heard today. God will succour all of His faithful ones and bring them into the comfort of His grace and salvation in the end of it all, and death and the forces of evil will not have any power over us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, many of us are able to help our brethren who are suffering in various ways. We should open our eyes, our ears, our senses, and love them in our heart. We must be generous with our charity and be generous with our love. And in this, perhaps, we should follow in the footsteps and examples of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a Hungarian princess who was renowned for her piety and great works of charity. As is the custom of that time, she was married off at an early age to a nobleman, and had a family. But when her husband passed away, during the years of her widowhood, she devoted herself to God and to the poor people around her, contributing a lot to charitable works and helped the weak and those who are in need to meet their needs.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary showed us all what is meant by being a Christian. Being a Christian requires each and every one of us to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, Who came into this world out of His love for us, and to find those who have lost their way and became stranded and separated from Him, that they may also have a hope of redemption and liberation from the curse of sin and death.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive that in this life we have, we may be able to commit ourselves fully to the Lord, renew our faith and commitment to Him, so that through our wholehearted devotion to Him, many others will also be inspired to do the same, and follow our footsteps to seek the Lord and be forgiven from their sins.

May all of us Christians be the bearers of God’s truth and salvation, never fearing what will happen to us if we stay faithful to Him, as we all know that, just as the saints and martyrs had known, that Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Lord, will triumph in the end and bring all those who remain faithful to Him to the glorious eternal life with Him forevermore. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Virgins)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord’s words in the Scriptures, about what we as Christians should do in order to live as true and devoted Christians. We should heed the Gospel passage today where Jesus related to the disciples, the parable of the silver pounds.

In that parable, we witnessed the contrast between the wise and diligent servants who invested the silver pounds and gained back more than what were given to them, and the lazy servant who did not do anything with what he had been given with, but instead, hiding it and therefore gained nothing. This should be understood in relation to our own lives, to how we as Christians should live our lives in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the silver pound represents the gifts of the Lord, God Who is represented in that parable as the lord who became king in a faraway land, as he who had given his servants part of his wealth to be taken care of. Some were given more while others were given less, but they were all entrusted with the silver pounds after all.

God gave us all talents and abilities, different from one to another person. Some has more and some has less, but in the end, all of these are still the precious gifts of the Lord, the greatest of which is this very life and the breath we take in and out every single moment we are alive. He has given us many possibilities, chances and opportunities that come with whatever He has blessed us with, and now, just as the servants in the parable, we are given a choice on what we are to do with these gifts which have been given to us.

Are we going to keep these to ourselves? Are we going to use the gifts and talents we have for our own selfish benefits? Then perhaps we should look on what happened to that lazy servant who kept and hid the silver pound and did nothing to it. In the end, whatever it was that had been entrusted to him was taken away and given to those who had shown that they deserve it more.

In the same manner, if we do nothing that will bring about joy, love and happiness to our brethren around us who need them, we are not growing at all in the sight of God, but stagnant and wicked, and what it was which God has blessed us all with, He will withdraw and give to those who are more deserving of it. This is a reminder to all of us that we as Christians cannot be passive or be lukewarm in our faith. Instead, we have to be truly committed, and we have to really give our very best and dedicate ourselves to love and serve the Lord our God and His people.

Today, we celebrate the feast of two holy women whose lives have been exemplary and good, as model Christians for us all to follow and to be inspired with. St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude has shown us all, and many others in the past centuries, how we all ought to carry ourselves as Christians in the world, and what we should contribute for the sake of our brethren in need.

St. Margaret of Scotland was an English princess who married the King of Scotland and therefore became the Queen of that country, and was renowned for her great piety and devotion to the Lord. She helped to instigate religious reform and renewal in Scotland, and became a great role model on piety and charity among her people.

She spent much of her time in prayer and in charitable works, often spending time with the poor and the less fortunate in her kingdom, and praying at the Holy Mass and other devotional events in many occasions. She helped to guide her husband the King and her sons, three of whom eventually also became the King of Scotland. She helped to ensure that the king ruled with justice and with firm adherence to the faith in God.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude was a great German religious sister, a member of the Benedictine order widely praised and renowned for her great piety and works, through her many visions and mystical experiences, through which she shared with many others, religious and laity alike, how one ought to become closer to God through prayer and devotion, particularly towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as one of its early proponents.

The examples of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude should inspire us all to become ever more dedicated as Christians, that we should give ourselves to the effort to love and care for each other, and be welcoming to our brethren who are coming to seek the Lord, and also to repent from our past and sinful ways, and be thoroughly converted to God.

May the Lord help us all, and by the intercession of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, may God forgive us all our sins, and may He awaken us the strong and unquenchable desire to love Him and to seek Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are given several reminders on what we as Christians are supposed to do in our daily lives, so that we will truly live out our lives as faithful and living Christians, and not just as Christians on paper only or as nominal Christians. We are all called to be good and devoted servants of our God, and as we reflect on the word of God we have just heard, let us think about all these.

First of all, in the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard the Lord calling His people to repentance and to change their ways. We are all sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of us have committed more sins than others and some have committed less, but regardless, we have made mistakes and imperfections on our paths towards God. But this is what the reality of our lives is. And we need to change this direction of our lives.

If we do not spend time to think about this, and reflect on what direction our lives are taking us, then just like a ship with a captain who does not carefully decide the navigation path beforehand, then the ship will end up having a high chance of hitting rocks and obstacles on its journey that will cause it to run aground, capsize and sink. And the same applies to our own lives.

In this journey of life, it is important for us to always spend time to think about our actions and deeds, words and all things we have committed in this life. Have we been faithful to the Lord? Have our actions represent us as those who are worthy of being the children and followers of the Lord? Or have our actions instead bring about contradiction and divisions, scandal for our Lord, for our faith, for our Church and for our fellow brethren? If our answer for these are the latter ones, then we really need to change.

And this then comes to the second point brought up in the Scriptures today. In the same passage from the Book of Revelations, God spoke to us about not being lukewarm in our faith, as if we are neither hot or cold, it is disgusting to Him and He will reject us. What this means is that we cannot be a Christian and profess to be one, and yet doing nothing in order to fulfil that life as a Christian.

A thorough conversion and change of our lives require us to also take an active role in living our lives with faith, through real and genuine actions based on our faith, on what we believe in God. This is real and living faith, the faith of those who are not lukewarm in our faith. We cannot and indeed must not think that faith in God alone can save us, for what is faith without true and genuine devotion? A lukewarm faith is no faith at all, as it is dead.

And in this, we should follow therefore the example of Zaccheus, the tax collector who in the Gospel today, which many of us should be familiar with, where he tried his best, climbing up a tree just so that he could see Jesus due to his short height. He made that conscious effort to seek the Lord, and he found Him. And God, recognising his faith, his genuine effort and devotion, called him, welcomed him, forgave him and made him to be one of His children.

Contrast this to the attitude of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests, most of whom rejected Jesus and refused to believe in Him and His teachings. Instead, they even made life and work difficult for Jesus and His disciples, hounding and disrupting them in almost all known opportunities available to them.

All of us are sinners, but if we harden our hearts as the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests had done, then there will be no way forward for us, as our stubbornness and our refusal to recognise our sins and our wickedness become our undoing. It was Zaccheus, whom in his sincere desire to be forgiven, in his effort to seek the Lord, was forgiven and reconciled with God.

Let us all take these into our minds and spend time to reflect on this, and let us also reflect on the examples of St. Albert the Great, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Albert the Great was a renowned Dominican preacher and bishop, whose actions and works still inspire many people up to this day. He was a humble person, devoting his whole life to the Lord, and he often acted as mediator between conflicting parties, bringing peace and harmony where there were conflicts and divisions.

He always showed with good example, of how a Christian should live his or her faith life, carrying out his responsibilities dutifully as the bishop of his diocese, caring for his flock with gentle and tender love, and with the strong desire to seek their salvation through proper education and instruction in the faith, and by his examples, many followed in his footsteps and were set on the path towards God’s salvation.

Looking at the examples of this holy and devoted saint, we should also follow in his footsteps in living a genuine life filled with strong and living faith. We should spend time with one another, caring for those who have not been cared, forgiving one another our trespasses and faults to each other. We should be role models for one another, living to the best of our abilities to be faithful in all the things we say, do and act.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us renew our commitment to the Lord our God, and be true in our faith and be genuine in our actions. May the Lord help us and guide us on our way to Him, that we may be able to reach out to Him, and by the intercession of St. Albert the Great, may we follow in his footsteps and may God have mercy on us, as He had mercy on that blind man. Amen.