Christian sermons

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Monday, 18 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are reminded of the great issue that is facing many of us, God’s people in this world, and that is the issue of faithlessness, infidelity and the general lack of faith and commitment that many of us have exhibited and shown in our lives. Many of us have not truly believed in the Lord wholeheartedly, and many among us are lukewarm in our faith life, not living our lives in the manner that we are expected to live them as active and committed Christians. Instead of following God and His path, we chose to follow our own paths.

In our first reading today, we heard from the prophet Micah speaking the words of God to His people, who was ministering to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah during its later years of its existence. The prophet Micah brought the words of the Lord to His people, who have often disobeyed Him, erred in their ways and chose to worship the pagan idols and gods, persecuting His prophets and messengers sent to them to remind them of their wicked ways. Hence, Micah often spoke of the upcoming destruction of both Jerusalem and Judah, and also that of Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel, all due to the people’s lack of faith and sins.

In today’s first reading passage, we heard the Lord admonishing His people for their sins, and reminding them at the same time of all that He had done for them, in liberating them from slavery in the days of their ancestors, all the blessings and graces that He had given them among many other things He did for them, and how they had spurned and rejected that love, preferring to live their lives in their own way, choosing to obey worldly ways and disobeying the Law and commandments that God has placed before them. At the same time, through Micah, God also told His people that He still loved them nonetheless, and was calling them towards reconciliation with Him.

That was when we heard the famous phrase from the Book of the prophet Micah, ‘to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ That in essence, summarised what each and every one of us, as God’s beloved people, need to do in order to walk in God’s path faithfully as we have been called to do. More often than not, it was always our pride and ego which led us to disobey the Lord, His Law and commandments. That was what happened to the people of Judah and also as we heard in our Gospel passage today, to the people of the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry.

In the Gospel today, we heard how the people asked the Lord publicly for miraculous signs, which the Lord replied to with great astonishment and disbelief, because we have to understand that, as the Lord had performed many miracles and signs, throughout all the time that He was going around Galilee and all those places He had publicly shown His power and miracles. However, the people still refused to believe in Him and they would not open their hearts and minds to welcome Him. God had shown them many signs and wonders, but because the people had hardened their hearts and closed their minds against Him, that was why they lacked faith.

It was the same attitude which they had shown the Lord in the past as well. The people to whom the prophet Micah spoke to also hardened their hearts against God, and all of these were because they were too proud to admit their mistakes and imperfections. The people at the time of the Lord Jesus, particularly those belonging to the intellectual and societal elite, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, all were too proud to admit that they could have been wrong, and they constantly asked the Lord to prove Himself, because to them, they had placed themselves in that mindset, that the Lord, His actions and teachings were wrong while they were right.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride and ego, our selfish attitude and more, then it will be easy for us to fall into the wrong paths, as our predecessors had done. That is why through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded to get rid from ourselves all traces of this pride and ego, this attitude which prevented us from reaching out towards the Lord and finding the path towards Him. We have to instead humble ourselves before God and before one another, and cultivate in ourselves the strong desire to love the Lord and to commit ourselves to Him. We have to open our hearts and minds to welcome the Lord into our midst.

Let us hence do our best in our lives, to live our lives full of faith, with virtue and justice, and to walk with humility in the path that God has shown us. Let us allow God to lead us down the right path, and allow Him to bring us into His eternal kingdom, by our exemplary and faithful lives. May God bless us all and our good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 July 2022 : Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are called to remember to trust in God and in all that He has planned for each one of us. We must have trust and faith in Him, because through God alone that there is true hope and way out of our troubles and predicaments. God knew all that we need and all things in our hearts and minds. In how the Lord cared and provided for Abraham, our renowned father in faith, and how He reassured both Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, the Lord showed us that all of us have nothing to fear.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis, the account of how the Lord came to visit Abraham and his wife Sarah in a disguise. The Lord was immediately recognised by Abraham, who welcomed Him into his tent and dwelling place, giving Him the best hospitality that he could provide. The Lord then came and ate of whatever Abraham provided for Him, before telling him the good news that He had come to personally tell Abraham, by saying that what He promised to him when He made and sealed the Covenant, would finally come true at last.

The Lord made a Covenant with Abraham, then named Abram, a middle-aged man who was childless because Sarah, then known as Sarai, was barren and unable to have any children. As such, Abraham was prepared to pass on his inheritance to his servant named Eliezer, as he was without a son. God promised Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars, through the means that God would give him, and despite the age of Abraham and his wife Sarah, everything was possible for God.

Abraham did falter for a while in this, as he listened to the advice and pressure from Sarah, for him to take one of her slaves, named Hagar, to bear for himself a son. That led to the conception and birth of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. Although now Abraham technically had a son then, but the Lord again reiterated and emphasised that the son through whom Abraham would pass on his inheritance would be that of his son with Sarah, to be named as Isaac. And even the name Isaac itself has a deep and profound meaning which may not be immediately apparent to us.

The name Isaac means, ‘the one who laughs’ or ‘the one who rejoices’ which can be a reference to the great joy which Abraham and Sarah must have experienced when their long-awaited child was finally born. At the same time it also refers to what happened after today’s first reading passage, when Sarah heard about what the Lord spoke to Abraham, how Sarah would bear a son within a year, and Sarah, in partial disbelief, laughed upon hearing those words, which the Lord knew about and told her when she tried to deny it, that she did laugh.

We can see from the first reading story of Abraham, Sarah, God and the son promised by God to both Abraham and Sarah, that trusting and having faith in God will not lead to disappointment. Instead, when man tried hard to do things their own way, that would lead to complications that they might not have foreseen earlier on, as for example, the birth of Ishmael, the son between Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s slave eventually became friction and trouble for both Hagar and Ishmael when Isaac, the promised son for Abraham and Sarah was born. Ishmael and Hagar had to be cast out and sent to the wilderness, although in the end, God did provide for them and made Ishmael the father of many great nations too, for he was also a descendant of Abraham.

We see in that how God even made what was imperfect and flawed into ideal, still fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. Not only that Isaac, his promised son and heir became the father of nations, but even Ishmael too, the son born because Abraham and Sarah were impatient with God’s promise. God still showed His love, care and providence for us all, His beloved ones, no matter what. He blesses those who are faithful to Him, and even those who have fallen off the path, God still patiently tried to reach out to and to be reconciled with them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord came to visit the house of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who were all His friends. Mary and Martha welcomed the Lord into their house, and we heard of how while Mary was by the Lord’s side throughout the time, listening to the Lord speaking and teaching to her, Martha was very busy preparing everything for welcoming the Lord, likely busy with the cooking and all the other house chores and works.

And as we heard, Martha became a little irritated that Mary did not help her at all with her work and preparations, and she told the Lord to tell Mary to give her some help. That was when the Lord told Martha that what Mary did was not wrong, as she was truly making good use of the time, and welcoming the Lord not with all the busy preparations and celebrations, but by opening her heart and mind, and by being present there with the Lord, cherishing every single moments of His Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all called to realise just how often we have ignored the Lord and not cherishing His Presence, His love and grace in our lives, all because we are too busy with too many things and preoccupations that we fail to focus our attention and efforts on the Lord. The Lord has always been present in our midst, but many of us are too preoccupied with our worldly desires and other things to be able to notice His Presence.

What Martha did was not wrong. In fact, Martha busied herself because she wanted to give her best to serve the Lord, to be the best provider of hospitality and care, love and attention to Him. She did all that out of love for God, but her way of doing things made her distracted from her main purpose of serving the Lord. And if that action done out of noble and good intention could end up distracting Martha, then all the more if our worldly pursuits and desires ended up distracting and leading us away from God’s path.

In our second reading today, we heard St. Paul writing to the Colossians, in his Epistle to them, regarding the revelation of God’s truth and love to His people, which He had made available to all of us through His disciples, the Apostles and saints, and through His Church. He did all these so that we may come to know Him more, and therefore, will be able to follow Him with greater commitment and dedication. If we do not know the Lord as much, then how can we become close to Him, and how do we know what we need to do in order to be faithful to Him? That is why as Christians we are called to deepen our relationship with God.

And that is also why through our Scripture readings this Sunday, all of us are called to appreciate more the Lord’s Presence in our lives, just in the way Abraham immediately recognising the Lord’s Presence even when He came to him in disguise. All of us often fail to realise that God is ever present in our midst, watching over us, and caring for us. Many of us are too focused on our troubles and trials, or are too preoccupied with our worldly ambitions and plans, our many attachments and other matters that we overlook the Lord’s ever present love and kindness in our midst. God is and has always been there, but we are often too blinded and distracted to notice Him.

That is why we are all called to be committed in our Christian living and work like Martha, but at the same time not forgetting the presence of God and cherishing His presence in our midst like Mary, and like our father in faith, Abraham, we should recognise the Lord and His loving works and presence among us. Each and every one of us as Christians are called to be true and faithful disciples of the Lord in all things. Let us allow God to lead and guide us in every opportunities so that we may grow ever closer to Him, and continue to glorify Him through our lives, our words, actions and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 July 2022 : 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, today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patronal feast of the members of the Carmelites religious order. This day is a celebration of the great patroness of all the Carmelites as well as the Mother of all of us the faithful people of God, who through the apparition she had made to St. Simon Stock, who was one of the founders and early leaders of the Carmelites order. Back then, almost a millennium ago, the Carmelites was the only religious order founded by the Crusaders in the Holy Land, and it was told that some of their members had resided in the vicinity of Mount Carmel, which led to the association with Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

It was told that when St. Simon Stock went to relocate the orders works and property to England from the Holy Land, the Blessed Mother of God appeared to him and handed to him the now famous Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother promised that all those who wear that brown scapular with faith and commit themselves to the Lord will receive grace and help on the hour of their death, and that they will receive the assurance of eternal life. This was the beginning of the now famous devotion of the Brown Scapular wearing, in which many of the faithful wear the brown scapular as a sacramental.

Today, as we celebrate this Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, one of the Marian feasts and celebrations of the year, we are all called to reflect on the examples and the faith that Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel has shown in her own life, in her commitment to God and all that she had done as part of her mission and ministry, in loving her Son, our Lord and Saviour, and not only that, but after He entrusted each and every one of us to be His mother’s own children, Mary, our Lady of Mount Carmel never ceased to reach out to us, appearing before us and providing us with help from time to time, including in encouraging the devotion of the brown scapular.

Through Mary, God has shown us His saving grace, not only that He shows us His love, but through His own mother’s obedience and love all of us have seen the sure promise of the everlasting joy and happiness with God in Heaven. However, we must also accompany all these with real action and commitment to live our lives faithfully according to the path that God has shown us all. Otherwise, faith that is without action and concrete works, will be truly dead and meaningless, as it will in fact hinder the path of one’s journey towards God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, for those who have particular devotion of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we ought to remind ourselves that the sacramental brown scapular itself serves as a reminder and mark for us to keep in mind that we belong to the Lord, marked by His Sacraments, that of Holy Baptism, and for most of us, the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation, among the other Sacraments that we have received. Each and every one of us as Christians are members of God’s Church, and are also expected to do as the Lord had told us to do, and what He had taught us to do in our lives.

Today, as we reflect on the readings of the Sacred Scriptures and on the role of Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the path of our journey towards salvation in God, let us all reflect whether our attitudes in life had been correct thus far, whether we have let our pride and ego, the temptations of worldly power and glory from misleading us down the path of ruin. If this has been the case, then we should begin making the effort to turn back wholeheartedly towards God, and do not allow the devil and other forces from leading us further down the path of ruin.

As I often mentioned, the best example for us to follow is none other than the faith which Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel herself has often shown, in her full obedience and commitment to God’s works and missions, in her love for God and for all of us, and in her righteousness and virtues. Each and every one of us have sinned and erred in one way or another, and some of us have sinned more while others sinned less. Nonetheless, all of us, each and every one of us are called to the forgiveness by God and to be reconciled to Him. Through Mary, our mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we can find an easier and better path towards the Lord, our God and Saviour.

Let us all hence renew our faith in God and devote ourselves to Him ever more through our own devotion to His blessed Mother, the most wonderful Lady of Mount Carmel. Let us all share our faith with one another, and strive to do our best to live a virtuous and exemplary Christian living from now on, obeying the Law and commandments, the will of God at all times. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 15 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures that reminded us again of the great love and compassion that God has for each and every one of us. The Lord has shown His kindness towards us again and again, from time to time, so that through Him we may receive pardon for our sins, blessings and graces that strengthens us and keeps us strong despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure from time to time. Each and every one of us are so fortunate that God has always reached out to us and showed us a lot of His patient and enduring love despite all of our disobedience and wickedness.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the interaction between king Hezekiah of Judah and the prophet Isaiah at a time when Hezekiah fell mortally ill and was about to die, and the prophet himself told the king to get his house and affairs in order as he was soon about to die. The king lamented the shortness of his life and beseeched the Lord to show mercy to him and to spare him the fate of early death, out of compassion for all the faithfulness that he had shown Him, the obedience that Hezekiah as king has sshown the Lord as opposed to the wickedness and disobedience among many of his forefathers.

The Lord heard Hezekiah’s plea and granted his wishes, and the Lord not only cured him from his illness but also extended his life by another fifteen years, as a show of His most generous mercy and love, and also to show that as God, He has the power and control over all things, and hence, Hezekiah should continue to serve Him and to do His will. The Lord showed mercy to Hezekiah and extended His love to His servant in the hour of greatest need. This was what we have heard from our first reading today, detailing to us one example of God’s most enduring love for each one of us.

And not only that, as in our Gospel passage today, we also heard of the Lord confronting the Pharisees who criticised His disciples for plucking the grains of wheat in the field on the day of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was and today is still a holy day that according to the Law of God, ought to be preserved and observed as a day of holiness, the holy day of the Lord in which the people should refrain from doing work and spend the day in honouring and worshipping God. The Pharisees in particular, together with the teachers of the Law observed this Law and interpreted it as strictly as possible, not allowing any kind of work or action at all, even things that are good or beneficial.

Unfortunately, that led to the confrontation in which when the disciples were really hungry and were likely in the wilderness, far away from any places where they could obtain food, the disciples had no choice but to eat of the grains of the field, or else they would be suffering from hunger. The Lord therefore told the Pharisees that their version and interpretation of the Law ran into danger of disregarding the true intention and purpose of the Law, which is to help mankind find their way back to the Lord, and to guide them in the right path that they may become ever closer to God and be more worthy of Him.

Instead, what the Pharisees had done ended up causing great inconvenience and hardships for the people of God, who became overly and unjustly burdened by the Law, and ended up causing more and more people to fall away from the path towards redemption. They closed the gates towards God and His grace by their inflexible and exceedingly strict interpretations of the Law, and they also closed themselves off from listening to the truth that God Himself has willingly revealed to them, through Jesus Christ, His Son, the One Who told them all that the Law of the Sabbath and as well as the whole Law itself was made for mankind, and not the other way round.

It is yet again another reminder of just how fortunate we all are to have been beloved by God, that He continued to patiently showed us the path to His salvation and grace, giving us the blessings and all that allowed each one of us to turn towards Him with faith once again. And therefore, it is only right that we dedicate ourselves to Him with love, and do our very best to follow Him wholeheartedly, all the days of our lives. Today, we should model ourselves through the life and inspiration set by St. Bonaventure, whose feast day we are now celebrating, a truly holy and great saint who should become our role model and example in life.

St. Bonaventure was a holy and dedicated man, who spent most of his life serving the Lord and His Church, as a priest, theologian and philosopher, and then later on as a bishop and Cardinal of the Church, as a close assistant and confidant of the then Pope in governing and reforming the Church of God. Through his many works, he led the blossoming of Christian theological and philosophical studies, and also with his help, the Pope worked towards the reform of the Church, removing the worldly excesses and temptations that had been creeping into the Church, leading more and more people to a more holy and committed existence in their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as St. Bonaventure dedicated his life to God and His Church out of his love for Him, therefore all of us should also remember all the love and kindness that God has shown us, and do our very best to show that same love in our lives, in how we remain firmly faithful in God and in our exemplary living, and in loving one another, in the same way that we love ourselves and God, and not to harden our hearts against Him as the Pharisees and others had done in the past. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us always with the courage to do more, in our lives, in glorifying Him at all times. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love and the consolation that God can give us, and we are reminded of all that God had done for us, His beloved people in the past. Through the Lord alone we can find true joy, peace and satisfaction, and there is nowhere else that we can gain this true happiness except that through God. That is why each and every one of us are called to turn towards Him, placing our trust and hope upon Him. All of us should spend the time and effort to come towards God and to communicate with Him, that we may know His will for us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophet spoke of the prayers and wishes that the people of Judah had made to the Lord, which the prophet gathered and offered to the Lord. The prophet Isaiah beseeched on behalf of the people the Lord’s providence and love, the peace that they desired and the happiness that they sought in Him, when they were distressed and troubled. Chronologically, at that time, the kingdom of Judah where the remnants of the faithful Israelites remained, was surrounded by powerful enemies, especially that of the rapidly growing Assyrian Empire.

The Assyrians then had just recently destroyed and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, as well as other nations and countries surrounding Judah, and for the case of Israel, the Assyrians brought their inhabitants and people off into exile in faraway regions of Assyria and Mesopotamia. They therefore also threatened the existence of Judah, which certainly must have terrified many in that kingdom and country. But the Lord reassured His people and revealed His presence and guidance for them through His prophets, including that of the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah therefore helped the people to communicate with God, for them to know His will and all that He has promised to them, while at the same time, Isaiah also pleaded on behalf of the people regarding their predicament and troubles. The Lord certainly already knew all about the sufferings and trials that His people were suffering from, as He knew everything that happened in the world. However, the petitions and the pleading from the people would have moved Him to come to their rescue, as that showed just how the people were willing to follow the Lord and have faith in Him.

The Lord has called on us to come to Him and to seek His help and love, just as we heard in our Gospel passage today. The Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people the famous words, “Come to Me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” And to this, He also added on that His burden and weight were light, contextually as compared to the other burdens and weights that we will have to bear if we trust instead in other means and ways instead of putting our faith and trust in the Lord.

What this ought to remind us is first of all that, being Christians does not mean that we will have an easy and comfortable life. On the contrary, we may have to suffer and persevere through many challenges and trials as we navigate this world as faithful Christians, in each and every opportunities and moments throughout our lives. There may be a lot of obstacles, more for some, less for others, in our path in life as Christians. But in the end, following the path of the Lord will lead us to the ultimate victory and triumph with God, and in the end, the sacrifices and sufferings we may have to suffer will be well worth it.

Today, let us all discern and reflect on the examples that were presented to us by St. Camillus de Lellis, the saint whose feast the Church is commemorating on this day. St. Camillus de Lellis was a dedicated priest who spent a lot of his time and effort in caring for the well-being of his flock, all those who came to him seeking help, and he cared for them all, making sure that they gained access to physical and medical care and attention, as well as spiritual and mental guidance, to help them to persevere through the many challenges of the world. St. Camillus de Lellis spent a lot of time and effort for the poor, the sick and the needy, and helped them in various ways.

Not only that St. Camillus de Lellis spent a lot of effort to care for the sick, doing what he could to help those who were suffering, but eventually, he was inspired and touched through all of his experiences, to establish a religious order and congregation dedicated to the care of the people who are sick and suffering, which came to be known after their founder as the Camillians, also known officially as the Order of the Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm. Through this congregation, St. Camillus de Lellis called and inspired many people to come and help in the many charitable efforts and works that the Camillians would later be well known for.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do whatever we can to follow the Lord and to entrust ourselves to Him, knowing well that through Him alone there is hope and salvation, true joy and everlasting happiness. Let us all also be called and inspired to follow in the great examples of His saints, like that of St. Camillus de Lellis, in sharing the truth and knowledge of the love and compassion of God in how we interact and deal with one another, in showing genuine care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters, now and always. May God bless us always, and may He continue to guide us and strengthen us through the challenges and trials we may face, in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the works of the Lord as He revealed to us His saving grace. He has given His kindness and love to His people and give justice to them. To those who obey Him and His Laws, He gives blessings and graces, protection and help, while those who haughtily and proudly disobeyed Him, remaining in their way and state of sin, were punished and faced consequences corresponding to their sins and faults, as the Scriptures today had presented to us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord as delivered through Isaiah to the people of God in the kingdom of Judah, speaking about the proud and arrogant king of Assyria, whom God would put in his place, humiliate and remind that all of his glory and power were nothing without God’s approval and help. In order to understand the significance of these words and the passage, we have to know the circumstances during that time, when the king of Assyria came to destroy many nations and conquered many countries, including the wicked people of the kingdoms of Israel and Aram in Syria.

Back then, the king of Assyria became proud and arrogant, and thinking that he had all the power and glory in the world, that he went up against the faithful people of God in Judah and Jerusalem. King Sennacherib of Assyria brought his whole massive army to besiege Jerusalem and conquer Judah. Not only that but Sennacherib also boasted before the whole entire people of Jerusalem and Judah, their king Hezekiah, the prophet Isaiah and all assembled that he had conquered many nations and peoples, and how all of their gods and idols could not protect them against his armies, and therefore, God would not have been able to protect Judah and Jerusalem too.

Sennacherib forgot that whatever he had done, all had been made available by God, and in his moment of folly, pride and arrogance, he blasphemed against God and spoke proudly in great sin against Him. Hence, the Lord through His prophet Isaiah spoke to His people offering reassurance for them that He would be with them, and the Assyrians and their king would be humbled and defeated. The blasphemy and wickedness that king Sennacherib had publicly uttered before the Lord and all the assembled people would become his undoing, as later in the history of this Assyrian invasion, it was told that the entire Assyrian forces were wiped out by the power of God.

These are all reminders for all of us that we should not go up against God or in defying Him by following our own ways and paths. Each and every one of us should follow the truth and the path that Christ Himself, the Son of God, has shown us all through His disciples and His Church. In our Gospel passage today, that was what we heard as the Lord Jesus spoke of Himself having come from the Father, revealing to all of us mankind the truth that God has willingly shared with us, so that through that same truth, all of us may find the path and the way to eternal life and true joy in God.

Today, all of us as Christians are challenged to live our lives more worthily and faithfully as Christians, in which we can become inspiration and role model for each other. Today we have the great example of St. Henry, who was not only the Holy Roman Emperor and hence the chief secular authority throughout Christendom, but he was also a devout man and a man of God who lived his life to the best of his ability as a Christian, in helping the efforts and the works of the Church, and in his good governance of those whom the Lord had entrusted to him as the leader and guide.

St. Henry dedicated his rule to be an exemplary ruler and father figure to his people, caring for their needs and also extensively supported the works and efforts of the Church, through his various donations and support, in advancing the cause of the Lord and the Christian truths and teachings over the opposition of the often corrupt nobles and secular leaders at the time. St. Henry and his equally pious wife, who was also later canonised as St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg, were both committed Christians who served the Lord and followed Him wholeheartedly, and did their best to fulfil their Christian mission and calling in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how about us then? Are we also willing to commit and dedicate ourselves to the Lord in the same manner? By reminding ourselves of what had happened to the king of Assyria and his forces, all of us must remind ourselves not to be easily swayed and tempted by worldly desires, pursuits and attachments, and instead, strive to do our best to glorify God by our lives. Let us all be committed to true Christian discipleship and path from now on, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are presented with the need for all of us to believe and trust in the Lord, and not be easily swayed or concerned, worried or afraid because of the threats and challenges that we have to face in life. We have to keep our faith in the Lord firm and strong, or else we will easily fall into the temptations to sin and to do what are against God’s will, His Law and commandments. As Christians, we should entrust ourselves in the Lord and believe that in Him there is always hope and way out of our predicament, and in the end, we shall triumph together with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah regarding the words that the Lord delivered through Isaiah to king Ahaz of Judah. Back then, at that time, king Ahaz was one of the kings of Judah who was considered as one of the unfaithful and wicked kings, whose lack of faith in God led to the Lord speaking through Isaiah to deliver the famous prophecy of the Virgin who would give birth to a Son, the Saviour of the world, Emmanuel, as a sign for all the people of God to see. King Ahaz’s lack of faith in God made this happen, as God would prove to him and the people that what He said would come true in the end, as we now know it had happened the way the Lord decreed it.

In this occasion mentioned in the first reading today, we heard of the time when the kingdom of Judah was threatened by the combined forces of the northern kingdom of Israel, the forces of the king of the Arameans and all those who worked together to destroy the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem. Israel and Judah, the two halves of the ancient kingdom of David and Solomon had long been locked in a bitter struggle for dominance and control, and this time, it seemed that Judah was doomed because of the forces arrayed against it. Hence, king Ahaz and the people fell into worry and fear for their fates.

God therefore reassured Ahaz and the people of Judah, and chided them for their lack of trust and faith in Him. They preferred to consult with pagan gods, idols and seers, or settle through worldly means and arrangements rather than to turn towards their Lord and God, Who had helped their ancestors and freed them from the land of their slavery, and God Who had also provided for His people, protected them and guided them. He told them of what He would do in defeating the forces of Israel and Aram on behalf of His faithful ones in Judah, and at the same time also warning them that should they themselves fell into the same path of unfaithfulness, they too would endure the same fate.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard the Lord Jesus proclaiming denunciations and rebuke over several cities and towns of Galilee, namely Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida, and He said how all of those cities and towns were where He had performed many of His works and miracles, and where He had also preached and taught the people, and yet many of them still doubted Him and rejected Him, and some even persecuted Him and His disciples for presenting the truth to their midst. As such, when compared with what happened at the time of the old kingdom of Judah, the unfaithfulness of king Ahaz and the people, we can easily see a clear parallel.

What is the significance of all these Scripture passages to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is a reminder that each and every one of us as disciples and followers of Christ, we are all called to believe in God and His truth. All of us have to put our faith and trust in the Lord, and we have to walk ever more carefully and with commitment in His presence. We have to be careful lest we may be distracted and tempted to abandon the Lord’s path because of the efforts and machinations of the devil and his forces, all bent on trying to lead us down the path of ruin and damnation. Each one of us must resist those temptations and always strive to remain true in our faith and love for God.

Let us therefore turn towards God with renewed faith and zeal, and dedicate our whole lives with the aim of serving Him in each and every moments of our lives, in our every words, deeds and actions, so that through them, we may proclaim the truth of God in all things. Let us no longer worry or be afraid of what we will experience and what we will have to endure in our journey, as in the end, God will always be triumphant with us, and if we remain faithful to Him, then we shall share in His glorious inheritance and we shall receive from Him the promise of eternal life and true joy.

May the Lord continue to be with us always, and may He help and guide us to persevere through the many challenges in this world. Let us worry no more and believe in God, and hopefully through our own exemplary faith, many more people will come to believe in God as well. May God bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Monday, 11 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to be truly faithful to the Lord our God, in all of our actions and deeds. Each and every one of us as Christians ought to strive to live our lives and deepen our spirituality, our relationship with God, so that all of us may grow ever better in our Christian living and in our obedience to God. All of us are called and challenged to live our lives full of Christian truth and discipleship, obedience to the Law and commandments of God, in following the Lord wholeheartedly, doing everything as God had told us to. We are all called to be genuine Christians and true disciples of the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the words of the Lord to the people through Isaiah, the warning for all those who have committed sins against God. God warned all of them that their sins were known to Him, and those sins would be their undoing unless they turned away from them and repent from them. The Lord was referring to Sodom, which in fact by that time had been a wasteland for a long time since it was destroyed in the rain of brimstone from Heaven, together with Gomorrah. This reference to Sodom was in fact a reference to the sins of the people, which are just like the sins of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in the past.

Then the Lord also made references to the people’s offerings and sacrifices. This was actually referring to their hypocrisy and lack of faith. They might still be doing their rituals and worship, which they offered at the Temple in Jerusalem, but it had become superficial and lacking in genuine faith and love for God. The people of God had not done what they should have, in loving God wholeheartedly as they had not obeyed His Law and commandments, and merely paid lip service to Him. Their offerings and sacrifices were made with equal sincerity and fervour to God as they did with the pagan idols and gods. They did not truly believe in God with all their heart and might, and were more concerned by worldly matters and desires than to serve God.

Hence, the prophet Isaiah was sent to the people with the message to remind them all to turn back towards God wholeheartedly, and abandon their sinful and lukewarm attitude in following God. This is something that the Lord had always done to His people, giving them reminders and help, encouragement and strength, although He always encountered stiff and stubborn resistance from many of them who were unwilling to walk in the path that the Lord had shown them, and many of His prophets had to suffer rejection and hardships throughout their ministries and lives in the world.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples presenting to them the reality of His coming into the world and how the disciples might have to face sufferings, hardships and persecutions much as how the prophets had faced in the past. This was because contextually at that time, the people generally expected that the coming of the Messiah or the Saviour and Holy One that God had promised to them ought to be accompanied with a lot of rejoicing, happiness and deliverance from the wickedness and evils of the world.

The people often expected that the Messiah, the Son of David would be the One to lead them all in a great campaign and rebellion to free them from the tyranny and dominion of their Roman oppressors and overlords. They expected the Messiah to be a new King over them, ruling over the restored Kingdom of Israel. But the reality is such that, the Lord’s coming would in fact create divisions and tribulations for His followers, all because of the stubbornness and the same resistance that the world had often shown Him and His messengers. The truth that Christ brought with Him to this world would tear even families and friends apart, and that would have caused divisions and struggles, even amongst the most ardent of the faithful.

Hence, through all these each and every one of us are reminded that being Christians is not something that is trivial or easily done. There may often be a lot of sacrifices and efforts needed for us to be truly faithful to God. That is why we are all called to be truly faithful to God and not just merely paying lip service or formality as what the Israelites in Judah had done by the time of the prophet Isaiah. All of us should commit ourselves to a new life dedicated to God, and in our every actions and deeds, we should be genuinely filled with the desire to love God and with the desire to embrace His methods and ways. All of us ought to be exemplary in our lives and actions at all times.

Today, we also can look up upon the examples set by the famous St. Benedict of Nursia, whose feast day we are celebrating this day. St. Benedict of Nursia was the renowned founder of the Benedictine religious order and one of the most prominent proponent of monasticism in Western Christendom. He was renowned for his Rule of St. Benedict and the propagation of monastic life in various parts of Christendom, in which many people were called to a new life and existence, inspiring many people with the search for holiness in life, for prayerful contemplation as one of the many ways to live one’s life faithfully in serving God.

St. Benedict inspired many others through his sincere desire to seek and love the Lord, embracing a life of contemplative prayer and holiness, in a monastic community formed from those who shared the same desire and insight, and hence answered God’s call for them to live their Christian lives most meaningfully and purposefully. St. Benedict and his life examples should therefore also inspire each one of us to seek to live our lives worthily as Christians from now on. We are all called to be faithful witnesses of the Lord and exemplary disciples of His, so that through us many more people may come to believe in God and be saved as well.

May the Lord continue to guide and strengthen us so that each and every one of us may persevere in faith and grow ever closer to Him, through each moments and opportunities we have in life, in serving and glorifying His Name. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 July 2022 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages this Sunday, all of us are reminded of the Law and the commandments that God had put in place and revealed to us. He has taught us His Law and commandments so that through them we may learn how to be true Christians, in all things. Through what we have heard today, we are all reminded to live our lives as genuine Christians should, in devoting and spending our time and effort to act in the manner that the Law of God has shown us, and not merely paying lip service or being outwardly pious and yet, deep inside, we do not have a firm and living faith within us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy, the words of the Lord reminding His people during the time of the Exodus, at that moment when they were still on the journey towards the Promised Land. The Lord told them all through Moses that they all ought to obey the Law and the commandments that He had given them, and they ought to be faithful and to observe what He has revealed and taught to us. At that occasion, the Lord also proclaimed that His Law is not something that is too difficult or impossible to be accomplished, and in a prophetic way, mentioned how the Law has been brought to them, dwelling in their midst, and would later on come even closer to them, through the One Who came down from Heaven.

The Lord back then mentioned to the people that there was no need for anyone to go to Heaven or to reach out to Him, for everything had been provided for them, and the Word of God has dwelled among them. For truly, the Law of God as passed down through Moses is itself a part of the Word of God, which Moses revealed to the people. However, it was not just that, for later on, as we all know that the Word of God has become incarnate in flesh, descending into our midst and dwelling amongst us as one of us, taking up our human nature and appearance, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.

And it was through Christ our Lord that the Law is revealed to us all in its full meaning and purpose, and He revealed to us what the Law is truly all about, what the commandments of God were meant to do for us. Those commandments were meant to help us to learn more on how to love God and to love one another, to grow ever more worthy and to lead a more righteous and holy life and existence so that we may grow ever closer to God, and we may find our way to do His will and obey His commandments and laws in each and every moments of our lives, not merely paying lip service or being outwardly pious, but truly and genuinely filled with righteousness, virtues and love for God and our fellow men.

That was essentially what the Lord mentioned in what we have as our Gospel passage today, regarding the interaction between Him and one teacher of the Law who asked the Lord about who would gain eternal life and how to gain it. The Lord pointed out exactly to the same Law of God, which the teacher of the Law was surely very familiar with. The teacher summarised the whole Law, in what the Lord Himself also mentioned, that the Law is about loving God with all of our strength, might and capacity, and then loving one another in the same manner, showing that love at all opportunities.

It was also then that the Lord told the teacher of the Law what it means to love and to show that love to one’s fellow brethren. Through the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan, which I am sure we are well aware of, the Lord presented the story of a man from Jericho who was beset with robbers who left him almost dead. Then we heard of the three men who came to the place, beginning with a priest and then a Levite, followed by a Samaritan. Among the Jewish people and society, the first two men occupied a very high and respected place among them, as those were the ones whom God had called to be His priests and servants, sanctified and dedicated to God.

On the other hand, the Samaritans were those who lived in the region of Samaria, the old capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, north of Jerusalem and Judea. That region was occupied by a mixture of peoples, descendants of the Israelite remnants and other foreigners that were brought in to replace those whom the Assyrians had exiled during their conquest of Israel and Samaria. Those people had their own customs and traditions, different from the descendants of the Israelites in Judea. As such, the Jewish people and society tended to have a very negative and even hostile opinion on the Samaritans, whom they saw as heretics and pagans.

Hence, it would be indeed most impactful hearing how those two respected men, the priest and the Levite just passed the injured man by and leaving him behind, while the often reviled and hated Samaritan was the one who stopped by and helped the injured man. Not only that the Good Samaritan helped the man, but he even provided for the injured man everything he needed to recover fully, and promised the innkeeper to return and to provide more for the injured man should he have the need for it. The Good Samaritan went the extra mile not only for someone he did not know, but presumably for one belonging to the people who had always hated and despised him and his people, the Samaritans all those while.

And that, brothers and sisters in Christ, is what the Lord told the teacher of the Law and all of us about what true Christian love and obedience to the Law is all about. One cannot be true Christians if he or she had not placed himself or herself after the Lord and that of his or her other fellow brothers and sisters. In this world today, there are plenty of unfaithfulness and wickedness because mankind put themselves before God and others, putting their own selfishness, ego and pride, their desires and greed ahead of the love they ought to have for God and for their fellow brethren. That is how we have caused so much wickedness in this world to happen.

When they begin to seek to advance their own glory and achievements, that would be when man begin to persecute and inflict suffering on others, or that like the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan, they ignore the plight and suffering of others. And some even feed on and grow fat and happy on the exploitation of the poor and the marginalised, those who are unable to defend themselves, those who are vulnerable and weak, and all those who have no means to protest against the exploitations done on them. As Christians, all of us are called to heed on the good examples of the Good Samaritan, and not only that but also that of the Lord Himself.

For the Lord Jesus Himself acted in the same manner as the Good Samaritan. Although each and every one of us have often been disobedient to Him, treated Him badly and with disdain, being sinful and wicked in our actions and lives, and in how we treated Him when He came into our midst bearing His love and truth. Despite all of that, Christ still loved each and every one of us, as our loving Father and Creator, God has shown His love through His Son, His compassion, mercy and patient kindness, which He extended to us by His loving sacrifice on the Cross. He willingly took up the burden of His Cross, battered, rejected, humiliated, tortured and broken for our sake, out of love for us.

He showed us His most generous and selfless love, shedding His own Precious Blood and dying for us, because He loves us all and took the extra mile to reach out to us, just as the Good Samaritan in His story had done. The Lord showed that He did not just speak of love, but He showed it through direct action and dedication, by presenting that love to us in the best way possible. He showed us that His love transcends everything, even our sins and all of our disobedience and evils. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, and God as the Head of the Church according to St. Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians in our second reading today, He is showing us in concrete ways how we all ought to obey the Lord and His Law and commandments.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to follow the Lord ever more faithfully in our lives, from now on. Let us all do our best to walk in the path that the Lord has shown us, putting Him above all else and loving Him with all of our might, and doing the same to our fellow brethren as well. Just as the Lord has loved us so greatly all these while, let us devote ourselves to Him in love as well, and learn to fill ourselves up with the same love in how we interact with with one another. Let us all strive to be holy just as the Lord is holy, to be loving just as He is filled with love, and to do our best to glorify God by our lives. May He continue to guide us and empower us all to be true and devout Christians, following the examples of the Lord in the way the Good Samaritan acted towards his suffering fellow brother. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 July 2022 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the reminder of how precious and beloved each and every one of us are by God. And we are also reminded of Who God truly is, the Almighty and all-powerful King and Lord over all the Universe, the Lord of all the Heaven and the Earth, the One Who rules over all. He is the One Who should be our focus in life, to Whom we should spend our efforts in redirecting our attention and lives towards. God is calling on us to put our trust in Him, and to follow Him wholeheartedly, and not to be swayed easily by the temptations found in this world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, during the reign of king Uzziah or Azariah of Judah, in which we heard of the calling of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was called by God through a great vision of Heaven, and all of the glory of God. Isaiah saw God on His great Throne in Heaven, seated on His Throne attended by the Seraphim and surrounded by innumerable Angels, the Cherubim, Thrones and other spiritual beings. The Lord had shown Isaiah Who He was, and showed Him His great glory and might, and called on Him to do His will and to be His mouthpiece among the people of Israel and Judah.

Thus was how Isaiah was called and he responded with faith, and the Lord Himself reassured Isaiah that He would provide for him and strengthen him, and he would have no need to be afraid or to worry about what he ought to say before the people, for God Himself would inspire him and tell him what to say to the people. The prophet Isaiah henceforth went on to proclaim the words of the Lord, His will and the many prophecies entrusted to him, to the people of God, through which God called His people to repent from their sinful ways and to embrace once again His path of righteousness and truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers regarding the matter of how God truly loved all of His people, and how no one should be afraid of God, and how the disciples and followers of the Lord should not fear persecution and hardships from the world, all because of the fact that the Lord would provide for them and protect them from harm. God treated all of us, His beloved children, with great love and kindness, with compassion and generosity, far more precious than anything else. We can be assured of this after remembering all that He had done all across the generations and throughout our human history.

The Lord told His disciples, and through them to all of us, that each and every one of us, though sinners, are truly important and precious to Him. No one is truly beyond the generous love and compassion of God. God has shown His kindness to us, and He has called on each and every one of us to be His disciples and followers, calling on us to His presence, to enjoy the fullness of His bountiful love and grace. Like the people of God of old, all of us are called to turn away from our sinful paths and from the darkness of this world, in order to embrace the path of righteousness and hope, which we can find in the Lord alone.

As Christians, that means as all those who profess to believe in the Lord, each and every one of us are called by God to follow Him, as He had called Isaiah and His disciples, the many Apostles, saints and martyrs, as well as other servants and messengers whom He had called earlier on. Each one of us should respond to the Lord with faith, and embrace the calling He had made upon us, committing ourselves to go and proclaim His truth and love to the nations. Through our lives, our examples, actions, deeds and words all of us should do whatever we can to glorify God, and to bring more and more people to come to believe in God as well.

Today, we should be inspired by the examples of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his many companions in faith and martyrdom, the victims of the intense persecution and oppression of Christians by the Chinese authorities and all other forces that were hostile against Christian believers at that time. St. Augustine Zhao Rong himself was one of the first clergyman ordained from the native population of China, amidst the rapidly growing Church there at the time, as missionaries came from afar and risked their lives in proclaiming God’s truth to the people. Many became believers, and then many also equally became martyrs and victims of persecutions by the officials and the state which were against Christians and the teachings of Christ.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong and many other Christians, both the laity and the clergy alike were arrested, tortured and forced to abandon their faith or to face death. Many of them had to endure bitter sufferings and painful deaths, but they chose to be faithful to the very end. Many of them became inspirations for other Christians, not only in China but also elsewhere throughout the world. They inspired many more to follow Christ, and to persevere in the challenges and trials that they had to face throughout their journey. Each one of us should also be similarly inspired by their examples, that we may be inspired to take up our crosses too, and follow the Lord with zeal.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and inspire us, together with the inspiration from the lives of the saints and martyrs, from St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions in holy martyrdom, and many other inspirations, that we may always ever be faithful to God, and we may grow ever closer to God, and in our every actions, be ever exemplary and worthy of Him. May God bless us all and every actions and works we do, at all times. Amen.