Christian sermons

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Thursday, 5 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate the great feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four great Major Basilicas of the Church, and the principal Marian shrine of the whole world. We celebrate the moment of its dedication, honouring its dedication to the Holy Mother of God, historically known as Our Lady of the Snows, and also more popularly as the Protectress of the Roman people, the guardian of the Holy City of Rome, Salus Populi Romani. Our current Pope, Pope Francis often visited the famous icon of the Salus Populi Romani at the Basilica of St. Mary Major before and after his Apostolic Journeys around the world.

This great Basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome, dating from the earliest times that churches could be openly built throughout Rome and the Roman Empire. It was built on a place donated by an elderly noble Roman family, who according to the Church history and tradition, wished to give and contribute to the Church, and prayed that they could be given a hint of what they ought to do. The Lord gave them a vision, pointing to a miracle that would happen in the midst of summer back then, when snow fell heavily on a spot, where today the great Basilica now stands.

Therefore, according to tradition, the land was donated by the family to the Church, which then built a great church building dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, as it was told that by Mary, the Mother of God’s intercession and apparition to the elderly couple, that the building and the miracle came to be. That occurrence impressed a lot of people as snow fell in the midst of high summer in August, an occurrence that was truly miraculous.

As we celebrate the memory of the Consecration and Dedication of this Basilica to the Holy Mother of God, our loving mother and intercessor, the greatest of all saints, we are first and foremost reminded of the special role that Mary has always had in our salvation and our lives. Mary is our role model, showing us what it means for us to be committed and faithful disciples of the Lord, as she lived her whole life in total obedience to the will of God.

At the same time, Mary is also our greatest ally in the struggle we encounter daily through sin and its many temptations. She has always watched over us and interceded for us, all the more important for us because she is ever the closest to the Lord, her own beloved Son, in heaven. Who can better champion for our cause other than the Mother of God herself? And this is part of the reason for the strong Marian devotion that is anchored in the popular Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are reminded of Mary’s example of faith and dedication to God, and as rejoice in the anniversary of the Dedication of the great Basilica of St. Mary Major, we are all called to remember that we are all also the living Church, consecrated and dedicated to God through baptism and the rest of the Sacraments of Initiation. We are all the Holy Temples of God’s Presence, as we have shared in His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, His Real Presence, and the Holy Spirit sent down to us, dwelling within us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remind ourselves that we have to strive to lead a holy life, a life dedicated to God and committed to righteousness and goodness in God. Unless we commit ourselves in this manner, we will not be able to come closer to the Lord, and through sin and evil, we may even be led further and further away from Him. And if we defile the sanctity of these Temples, that are our bodies, our hearts and minds, and our souls, then the sins and the wickedness we have done will weigh heavily upon us.

Let us all therefore do whatever we can in order to seek the Lord with a new spirit and commitment, and do whatever we can to glorify Him through our daily actions and deeds, so that in everything we do, we shall always follow Him and the examples set by His mother Mary, and all the multitudes of the holy saints and martyrs, all the blesseds and holy men and women who had gone before us to the Lord, those who were judged to be worthy of God by their virtuous life.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the resolve and courage to live our lives ever more faithfully with each and every passing moments. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest and Patron of All Priests (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called together to recall our Christian calling and mission, as entrusted to us by the Lord, our God, our Master and Saviour. He has called on all of us to follow Him and to be His disciples. As today we celebrate the feast of the great Patron of All Priests, namely St. John Maria Vianney, also known as St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, we are all called to reflect on our own calling and vocation in life.

In our first reading today we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, every men and everyone shall be judged based on their own deeds and actions, and all of them shall be held responsible for their contributions, as well as the failure to act and contribute when they were perfectly able to do so. Those who were righteous and fell into sin would be judged by those sins and also by their righteousness, while those who sinned and then repented, would also have a chance of salvation through his repentance and in abandoning the ways of the wicked.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Who went through to many places, healing the sick and caring for those who needed Him and His guidance, as He ministered to them and showed His love to them. He sent His disciples to spread the same Good News and to do the same good works He had done, and in sending them, He has called and sent forth His servants, those who responded to His call and accept the Lord’s call, and walked in His path, doing whatever they could in order to do His will. And the Lord then spoke of how the harvest was plentiful, but there was a great lack of labourers to collect the harvest.

What does He mean by saying that, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that while there are plenty of opportunities for evangelisation and for the salvation of souls, that is the true meaning of this ‘harvest of the Lord’, but there were few who wanted to participate in the labour and efforts to bring this about. Just as the disciples and the Apostles in the old times, we are all called to be the Lord’s disciples, the witnesses of His truth, His salvation and teachings among the nations. But many of us have not responded to His call, and even some still rejected Him and abandoned Him.

This is why today, we are all called to hearken to the Lord’s call, to be stirred and to be moved to action, that we no longer be indecisive or doubtful, or be filled with wickedness and all sorts of infidelities. Instead, we should take the first step and respond to the Lord’s call, by embracing the Lord’s truth, His teachings and commandments, to our hearts. We are all called to model ourselves after St. John Vianney, in his life, faith and dedication to the Lord, and we also pray for our priests, that they may also be like St. John Vianney in their faith and dedication as well.

St. John Vianney was the simple parish priest of the church in the village of Ars in France. He came from a very humble background, and he almost did not become a priest as his education was stunted and he encountered many challenging moments in the seminary and in his formation. He failed some of the subjects and did not excel in the academics, and yet, this did not deter him from becoming a most dedicated and committed priest and servant of God later on. St. John Vianney became an ordinary and unassuming parish priest of a small and insignificant village of Ars, and yet his life and contributions would soon have a far greater impact on so many.

St. John Vianney dedicated himself to his flock, caring for the needs, especially the spiritual needs of the people under his care. The parish church was dilapidated and many among the people were apathetic to the Church. Their faith had dwindled and many lived in wretched and wicked state. Yet, St. John Vianney never gave up, and on the contrary, he redoubled his efforts even more, as he spent a lot of time in preaching to them and in reaching out to them, and spending long hours in the confessional, where more and more people over time would come to visit him and confess their sins to him.

St. John Vianney remained humble despite his growing popularity, as thousands and more flocked daily to see him and to confess their sins to him, and to seek advice from him. He lived his life in humble dedication to the Lord, spending time to care for the needs of the people of God and to bring them ever closer to Him. Indeed, he is the role model for all of us and especially all of our priests, all those whom God had called and chosen, and who have responded to His call.

Let us all pray that each and every one of us may find our path in life, that we may dedicate ourselves ever more to the Lord in all things, and that we may be ever closer to Him, and for our priests that they may ever be inspired to follow the Lord and the examples of St. John Vianney, the great priest and servant of God. Let us all be the faithful labourers in the Lord’s field, spreading the Good News of God’s salvation to ever more people, that more and more can be saved, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 August 2021 : 18th 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 Lord, speaking to us about the faith that all of us must have in Him, we are reminded that we should not allow our desires and the temptations of the flesh to distract us in our faith and in our way of believing in God. Otherwise, we may end up falling into sin, and ended up like what some of our predecessors had experienced.

In our first reading today, we heard the unfortunate occurrence when the brother and sister of Moses, Aaron and Miriam ended up in a sort of power struggle with Moses, as the two of them grumbled that Moses alone had the opportunity to speak with the Lord and to speak on behalf of all the Israelites and to deliver God’s truth and messages to them. Aaron and Miriam desired that they too could be the ones who spoke of God’s words and truth just like Moses. They did not want to remain in the shadows of Moses and desired influence and limelight.

It was mentioned then that Moses himself was a very unassuming and humble leader, who did not take much of a fuss of things, including these rivalries and the disagreements over who ought to lead the Israelites. To Moses, he served the Lord and did everything for the greater glory of God. And yet, as we heard, there were those who were displeased and unhappy with his leadership, including those who were closest to him, his own siblings no less.

Thus we heard how Aaron and Miriam sought for power and attempted to seize control, only to face God’s wrath as God reaffirmed before all that Moses was indeed His chosen one, and it was not man who chose for themselves to be worthy of God but rather God Who chose those who are considered as worthy. God punished Aaron and Miriam, and yet, Moses asked God to be merciful and to show clemency to his siblings. Indeed, you can really see why God chose Moses to be the leader of His people, for his great virtues, his humility and patience.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the account of the moment when the Lord came to His disciples as they were battered by great storm, by the waves and the wind in the middle of the raging waters, as He went to pray on His own and the disciples were in the boat. The Lord appeared before the disciples amidst the waves, and they were all afraid, thinking that they were seeing a ghost, only for the Lord to rebuke them and to tell them that it was truly Him that they had seen.

Then we heard how St. Peter asked the Lord that if it was really Him, then He would allow him to walk towards Him on the water. And St. Peter truly stepped out of the boat into the water, and walked on the water for a while before beginning to sink, when his fears of the wind and the waves made him to doubt and stumble. The Lord rescued St. Peter and while making comment on his doubt and lack of faith, reassured him and all the other disciples, that He was with them, and calmed the storm before them all.

What is then the significance of the readings that we have heard today, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is to remind us that God chose us among the nations, and called us all to be His disciples. And if we think that we have to be great and worthy, and are capable to be His disciples, or on the contrary that we feel that we are unworthy of Him then we have to remember that God did not call the worthy, and rather, He made worthy those whom He had called to follow Him.

As Christians, we are all called to follow in the footsteps of the faithful servants of God like Moses and the prophets, and to follow His Apostles and the other disciples, all those who have given and dedicated themselves to the cause of the Lord. Are we willing to commit ourselves to the Lord, brothers and sisters? Are we willing to dedicate our time and effort, giving our contributions to God and to our fellow men, to the very best of our abilities?

Let us all therefore reflect on these words from the Scripture and on what we have listened and received today, from the Lord. May the Lord be our guide and may He continue to strengthen us in our journey of life, that we may always be ever faithful to His commandments and obedient to His will. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, from now on, always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened again to the love and kindness of God in providing for the needs of His people, as we heard the stories of God feeding and providing for them in the desert during their Exodus as described in our first reading today, and then the similar story in the well-known miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men and more by mere five loaves of bread and two fishes by the Lord Jesus, Who multiplied the food for them.

In that first reading passage today, we heard how the people were so ungrateful about the love and attention which the Lord had given them. They were complaining that they could not have the cucumber, leeks, garlic and other things that they used to eat in Egypt, a land that was fertile and bountiful, with all available produces, even when they were enslaved by the Egyptians and the Pharaoh. They were complaining that what they had was just the manna, which they detested.

In truth, the manna itself tasted quite fine, but the people were biased against it, despite the truth that it had been an immense honour and grace for all of them to even have any food at all throughout their journey throughout the desert. Instead of being appreciative of how the Lord had sent them manna, and not only just manna, but even flocks of birds daily to supplement their diet, as well as bountiful amount of water in the midst of the dry and lifeless desert, they chose to complain and refuse to obey the Lord.

They gave in to the temptations of their desires, their desire for good and pleasant life, a decadent and free life without restraint, which led them to wander off from the path that the Lord had shown them. They fell into sinful ways, and committed those sins against God. Moses himself, as the leader of the Israelites, was under great pressure all the time, as we can clearly see his distress as we heard in our first reading passage today.

And yet, the Lord was still ever patient with His people, providing for them ceaselessly and guiding them throughout their forty years of journey, even as He chastised and punished them for their sins, excesses and disobedience. God still loved His people very much, and this was why He showed love and compassion to them, and by feeding them as a very tangible and visible proof of this love, providing them with their essential physical and bodily needs.

As therefore we then heard in our Gospel passage today, how the Lord miraculously fed a multitude of five thousand men and many thousands of other women and children, with just five loaves of bread and two fishes, a story that many of us are surely very familiar with. God cared for all of them as they were hungry and were in need of sustenance after following Him and listening to His teachings for many days.

Through all of these, we are reminded that we are truly fortunate to have been beloved by God, Who wants to love us and care for us. Indeed, if it had not been for His love, we would have been crushed, destroyed and thrown into hellfire for our disobedience and sins. That the Lord still patiently tries, even to this day, in calling us to return to Him, sending countless prophets and messengers, and ultimately His own beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus to come and save us, are the ultimate proofs and signs of His everlasting love.

Therefore, all of us should be grateful for the Lord, and strive to do whatever we can to follow Him and obey His Law and commandments, which we can do by following the inspiring examples of the saints whose memories we recall and venerate today, namely St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was the bishop of Vercelli and a ardent defender of the true faith against the falsehoods of heresies which were plenty at his time. Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a holy and devoted priest well renowned for his piety and devotion to the Lord.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli was dedicated to his flock and endeavoured to keep them safe and faithful throughout the various challenges facing them, and he dedicated his time and effort to care for the spiritual needs of the people, living among them and showing true and genuine love for them. He endured trials and difficulties when persecutions and troubles come for the faithful, especially from those who believed in the heresies and followed the tenets of the heretics, and led to the persecution of those who remained true to the true faith. He endured exile and humiliations throughout his ministry, but those things did not deter him from his best for the sake of the Lord and His people.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli worked hard to reconcile the various divided factions of the Church, reaching out to the many people who had been feuding and been separated from one another due to misunderstandings and lack of guidance in faith. He visited many communities, and many were touched by his efforts, which brought the Lord to His people and helped many to turn away from their wrong paths and to be reconciled with their loving God and Father. His dedication and faith are things that we should be inspired to follow.

St. Peter Julian Eymard meanwhile was a faithful and dedicated priest whose devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary, the Mother of God inspired many to follow his examples, as he popularised the Forty Hours devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and established several congregations dedicated to the ministry of the Lord among the people of God. Many followed in his footsteps and committed themselves to the Lord in the same manner, abandoning their previous, sinful ways of life and embracing the path that St. Peter Julian Eymard has shown them. St. Peter Julian Eymard should be our inspiration in how we lived our own lives with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, and be worthy in all of our dealings and deeds, and do our best in all things, to glorify the Lord and His Name at all times. May God be with us all and may He bless us and all of our good endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 August 2021 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us about the love which God has shown to all of us, His generosity and compassion towards each and every one of us that He had revealed and delivered. From the very beginning God had always loved us and cared for us, and we really ought to be thankful for everything that He had done for us, as without Him and His love for us, we should have been cast to oblivion and fall into damnation, for all the terrible things and deeds we have done.

I refer to the sins our forefathers have committed, in abandoning the Lord and in refusing to believe in Him throughout history ever since the days of Adam and Eve, when mankind first fell into sin. They had refused to follow the Lord and instead chose to listen to the devil and his lies, his false promises and allowed themselves to fall into the temptations of human desires and wants, as we heard in our first reading today with the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In that story, we heard how the people of Israel ungratefully rebelled against the Lord and complained against Him for having freed them from the Egyptians.

At that time, despite having themselves seen God’s power and might repeatedly, again and again as God rained down plague after plague on the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, and saved them from the whole might of the Egyptian armies and their chariots, opening the sea before their very own eyes, the people of Israel still refused to believe in God, and still disobeyed Him and doubted Him. Again and again, God had proven His steadfastness and commitment to His people, and yet the people still complained and grumbled, saying that God was leading them to their deaths in the desert from hunger.

They had such little faith in the Lord, but the Lord still loved them all in the end. He Himself showed this as proof, as He sent to the whole nation, every day’s providence and supply, in the form of the manna, the bread from heaven, which appeared every morning without fail except on every Sabbath day. That was how the Lord provided for the people and made them to have enough each and every day for the entire forty years that they were journeying through the desert towards the Promised Land.

And not just that, He also sent them flocks of birds every evening for them to complement their food, and provided crystal clear and good tasting water to drink from the rocks, that the whole multitudes of the Israelites, God’s people, could survive throughout their journey in the desert without the need to worry about their sustenance and survival. For God has always taken care of them and took care of them all the time that they had no need to be worried at all, every single moments of their lives. Those things we have heard and which our predecessors had witnessed in the past were proofs of God’s love for us all.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard about the Lord Who spoke to His people after He had performed the wondrous miracle of the feeding of the five thousand people, in which the large number of people assembled before the Lord all were satisfied and filled with food after they were hungry for many days, having followed the Lord and hearing His teachings. He took the few loaves of bread and little fishes present, gave thanks and blessed the food, and miraculously, out of the little food available, a vast multitudes of supply came about, feeding everyone and made them fully satisfied with plenty of leftovers.

Having heard of all these stories of the Scriptures on how God provided for the need of His people, we are actually reminded that God provides and He is always caring towards us, ever knowing what we truly need in life, be it for sustenance or for guidance and help. God is always ever there, with us and journeying with us. We are all never alone, no matter what. But we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by despair and our human desires, by the temptations of worldly pleasures among other things.

That is why we have to trust in the Lord and to grow in love towards Him, He Who has given Himself so completely towards us, that by giving Himself to us, we may all be saved and gathered together from all the ends of the Earth, and find justification in God. This is what the Lord Himself referred to in our Gospel passage today, as He referred to Himself as the Bread of Life, far greater than the manna that the people of Israel once consumed during the entirety of their Exodus journey. Far greater also than the bread and fishes that the people at the time of Jesus consumed and ate until they were all full.

For the Lord Himself provided all of us with not any form of worldly sustenance, or even any provisions in the manner of the manna of the time of the Exodus. Instead, He did what was unthinkable, and seemingly impossible, that is to give us His own Most Precious Body and Blood, to be shared, shattered and broken for us all. When He spoke to the assembled multitudes as recorded in our Gospel passage today, He gave a premonition and advance revelation of what He would do for the sake of all of us, God’s beloved people.

For it was by His later suffering, rejection, torture, pain and eventually death on the Cross that the Lord had given to us His own Body and Blood, as the sacrificial offering on the Altar of the Cross, and which we then share with one another, as we partake in the Eucharist. The Eucharist, the Most Holy Eucharist, that we celebrate in the Holy Mass, is this very gift of Our Lord, as the Bread of Life, giving us all His own Body and Blood as spiritual and real sustenance.

All of us who have been blessed to receive this gift of the Bread of Life, the Communion in the Eucharist, are those who have received the assurance from the Lord that they will share in the eternal life that has been promised, as long as we partake faithfully in this sharing of the Body of Christ. Through our conscious love for God and for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, we have been called to follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

Are we able and willing to trust the Lord in all things, to give everything to Him, and focus our attention on Him from now on? Let us all be thankful for how beloved and cared we have been by God, all these while, and how He has always watched over us without cease. God Who has given us even His own beloved Son, and offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our sake is truly a most wonderful and magnificent Lord and Master. Let us all commit ourselves to the Lord and to His will and commandments, doing our very best in our every moments in life to be exemplary in all things so that we may inspire many others to follow the Lord as well.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us in faith, that we may be ever more courageous in embracing our Lord with ever greater love and devotion. May we all walk in God’s path and strive for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 July 2021 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us to be faithful to the Lord, in our every day living moments and in all things. We are all called to remember the Lord’s commandments and Law, and the need for all of us as Christians to love God first and foremost, and then to show that same love to our fellow brothers and sisters, to everyone without exception.

In our first reading today we heard of the Lord’s commands to His people as recorded in the Book of Leviticus, detailing the celebration of the fiftieth year or the year of the Jubilee, which was marked as a year of celebration and healing, of reconciliation and love, where people forgave their enemies and those who had been indebted to them from their debts. It is a year set aside to remind the people of God that they ought to give thanks to God and at the same time also show care and love for one another.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the martyrdom or the death of St. John the Baptist in prison, at the hands of king Herod, and at the instigation of his wife, Herodias, who held deep grudge against St. John the Baptist as the saint did not hesitate to rebuke and criticise both king Herod and her due to the adultery they had committed by their marriage when Herod’s brother, Philip, the legal husband of Herodias was still alive.

We all know how Herodias tricked Herod through her beautiful daughter, tricking Herod into ordering the execution of faithful servant of God as likely under the influence of alcohol during a party, and overcome by his lust and desire for pleasure and human beauty, he made a commitment before all the assembled guests that he could not deny or retract. Hence, through that act, he had condemned himself to an act of great sin in murdering a faithful servant of God, even if he did not intend for it to happen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through all these we are reminded that it is not easy for us to be faithful as Christians, to live our lives as those who follow the path of the Lord and obey His Law and commandments. Those who have been faithful may encounter the fate of St. John the Baptist, who was imprisoned and killed for his steadfast defence of his faith, and we may be persecuted and face difficulties for all that we have done for the Lord’s sake. Yet, we should not give up just because of the obstacles we may encounter in our journey.

That is why we should follow the examples of our predecessors, one of whom today can show us what it means to be truly devout Christians, in all things, for the greater glory of God. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a faithful servant of God and the famous founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, which is now the largest of all religious orders and congregations. St. Ignatius of Loyola was once a soldier and nobleman, who had a life-changing experience and decided to follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

Early in his life, St. Ignatius of Loyola sought worldly glory, fame and achievements in life, enrolling as a soldier to get that much sought fame and glory, only to get himself seriously injured during one of the siege battles, where his legs were severely injured in the heat of the battle. During his recuperation period, he had a spiritual encounter with God and a period of discernment, in which he came to realise that the true purpose of his life and true glory came not in the pursuit of worldly glory, fame and ambition.

Instead, from then on, as what would be famously known as his motto and the motto of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola would seek nothing else but the greater glory of God, ‘Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam’ or ‘For the Greater Glory of God’. It is with this spirit that St. Ignatius of Loyola gathered like-minded men and sought the Pope’s permission to establish a congregation dedicated to the mission of the Church, to proclaim the greater glory of God in various opportunities, from missionary efforts to involvement in proper Catholic education.

To this end, St. Ignatius of Loyola and his many fellow Jesuits such as St. Peter Canisius and St. Peter Faber were involved deeply in the Counter-Reformation efforts, establishing schools and seminaries, and other faculties involved in the dissemination of the true essence of the Christian faith. Others like St. Francis Xavier and many others involved themselves in missionary work, travelling far all over the world to spread the Good News of God’s salvation and truth, bringing many more people to the Lord. Many Christian communities today could trace their faith to the efforts of those courageous Jesuit missionaries back then.

This year we mark the five hundredth anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, marking the moment when St. Ignatius of Loyola left behind his former dream of worldly glory and fame, and embracing fully the Lord’s calling to seek for His greater glory, through which countless graces and wonderful things had come about, not least through St. Ignatius’ foundation of the Jesuits, as well as his hard works and efforts all throughout his life for the betterment of the Church and the faithful.

Let us all be inspired therefore by his examples and learn to commit ourselves to the Lord ever more wholeheartedly, resisting the temptations of worldly vices and ambitions, and instead, learning to love the Lord ever more and commit ourselves with ever greater conviction and commitment from now on. May the Lord be with us all and continue to guide us and bless us in all of our every endeavours and good works. May God bless our every good efforts and remain with us always, that we will always strive to do our best for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 30 July 2021 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that we have to seek the Lord and love Him with all of our strength and with all of our capabilities, that we focus our lives and our existence in Him. That is why we heard through the Scriptures those words that remind us of our obligations and calling to be faithful Christians at all times, obeying God’s Law and commandments.

In our first reading today, we heard of the numerous feasts and celebrations as dedicated by the Lord and which He told to His people, the Israelites, through Moses that they ought to keep faithfully and celebrate throughout all the years, on the solemn feasts and celebrations, such as the Day of Atonement, in recalling of one’s faults and shortcomings, and regret for them, the great Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the Passover, remembering the time when the Lord saved His people from their slavery in Egypt, and the Feast of the Pentecost, the Feast of the Tents and many others.

All of these feasts and celebrations were all ultimately meant to celebrate the Lord and remind everyone of all the love that God had given to them, and all that they have been so wonderfully blessed with, in everything that they have received, that they do not forget Who it was that had made everything possible for them. It was a reminder for all of them to be faithful and to focus on the Lord and His truth, to abandon their sinful ways and to atone for their sins when they fell to the temptations to sin, so that in the end, they shall always be God’s people and walk ever always in His path.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord Jesus was rejected by His own people, by His own townspeople, all those who knew Him and recognised Him in Nazareth, His hometown when He came there to visit and teach in their synagogue. Despite having spoken with authority and delivering the undeniable truth and wisdom of God into their midst, the people of Nazareth hardened their hearts and minds, and refused to believe that such a person, the mere Son of the village carpenter, of a poor village at the very fringe of the Jewish world and community, could be the Messiah and Holy One of God.

That was why they rejected the Lord and refused to believe in Him, ridiculed Him and angrily even sent Him away from their midst, in one account wanting to throw Him off the cliff by the village. The Lord was saddened by the refusal of those whom He had known to listen to His words and the truth and love that He has brought into their midst, and all these happened despite the signs and wonders, all the miracles and other great things that He had done and performed among the people all over Galilee, which doubtlessly the people of Nazareth must have also heard.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these that we have heard are reminders for us, that if we allow our own ego and pride, our own false judgments and biases to cloud our thoughts and discernment, we can end up being like those who had rejected the Lord. They could not fathom, or appreciate, or even accept the Lord’s truth and revelation, as they were too deeply ingrained and entrenched in their beliefs and prejudices. And this is what we should not be doing, as we live our lives as Christians, and aspire to do our best to serve the Lord in all things.

Instead, we should look upon the examples of our holy predecessors, the holy saints of God, one of whom we celebrate his feast today. Today we mark the memory of St. Peter Chrysologus, a great priest, bishop and holy man of God, who dedicated all of his talents and abilities, his efforts for the greater glory of God. St. Peter Chrysologus. He was the Bishop of Ravenna and remembered as Chrysologus, or the ‘Golden Worded’ because of his amazing skills at oratory and homilies.

Not only that he was remembered for his great and personal piety, his holiness and upright life, but St. Peter Chrysologus was remembered for his great efforts in reaching out to more and more people through his many sermons and homilies, his speeches and works, explaining the texts of the Bible and the Church teachings most clearly and concisely, using simple language to clearly explain the faith to the people while opposing the falsehoods of the many heresies that were then troubling the Church and the faithful communities.

Many people came to believe in the Lord and returned to the Holy Mother Church through the efforts of St. Peter Chrysologus, and still many more were inspired by his examples, his faith and dedication, many years, decades and centuries after his passing, even to this very day. We too should be inspired by the examples set by this holy predecessor of ours, in how we ought to do our best, in our own ways, to glorify the Lord by our lives and to proclaim the Lord in wherever we are and to whoever we interact with, at all times.

May the Lord our loving God continue to watch over us and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the courage to walk ever more faithfully in His path. May God be our guide and may He be our Hope in this journey of faith through life, that we will always be focused on Him and centre our lives and existence on Him alone, always. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 July 2021 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate the feast of the three siblings, St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, who were featured prominently in the Gospels as friends of the Lord, as well as His close followers and disciples. They were mentioned in various parts of the Gospels, as St. Martha and St. Mary were depicted in the Gospel passage today as having welcomed the Lord to their place, and how both of them later on also had a moment with the Lord when their brother, St. Lazarus passed away from sickness before the Lord resurrected him from the dead.

St. Martha was the one who welcomed the Lord to her place and then made herself busy in preparing all the hospitality, the food and all for the special guest that came to her house, while St. Mary waited by the Lord’s side, listening to Him speaking and teaching her while St. Martha was very busy with her chores and works. When St. Martha saw that her sister was not helping her with her work, and complained to the Lord that St. Mary should be asked to help her in the kitchen with her preparations, the Lord kindly told St. Martha that her sister did the right thing, by choosing to stay by His side and listening to Him.

Both St. Martha and St. Mary loved the Lord and were faithful to Him in their own ways, and it does not mean that each one’s method is better than the other. Rather, the Lord wanted to remind us all through that occasion and example, that we must first and foremost focus our attention to the Lord, to His truth and His love, and then we have to do our labours and work of love for the Lord just as St. Martha had done. But we must be careful not to allow the works and labours to distract us and end up making us fall into the desire for satisfaction and inner pride.

Neither should we allow ourselves forget about the Lord just because we want to do things to glorify Him. This was done to much greater harm by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as they were outwardly pious and faithful, and yet, they spent most of their time and actions, focusing on praising themselves and indulging in adulation and fame, enjoying their popularity and praises from others. It is because of this that they had forgotten what it is that they were charged with, as the guardians of the Law and the faith of the people. In the end, they became elitist and exclusionists, refusing to admit others to their elite faith and devotion to a fault.

St. Lazarus on the other side showed us all the virtue of having faith and staying true to the Lord, Who is the Master of all and the Lord of all, of the living and the dead. Through his resurrection from the dead, the Lord showed His might before all, and how beloved each and every one of us have been, all these while, that God would not let death to claim all of us and destroy us. From the beginning, we have been destined to destruction and suffering due to our sins, our disobedience against God, and yet, God rescued all of us, and restored us through His love.

He promised us all His salvation, which came true through Christ, His beloved Son, sent into this world to be with us and to dwell among us. He revealed His truth and love to us, and called us all to return to Him, to be reconciled and reunited with Him. He told St. Martha and St. Mary not to be worried and to have faith in Him, when St. Lazarus was sick and eventually died before He reached him. The Lord told the two sisters that He is indeed the Resurrection and the Life, the Master of all, in Whom all of us can trust, and hold firm in.

The wonderful faith and interactions between St. Lazarus and his sisters, St. Mary and St. Martha, as shown by the latter’s great sorrow at his passing and their unsurpassed joy at his resurrection are great model and inspiration for all of us in our own Christian communities, among all the faithful people of God. And their mutual love for the Lord, their dedication and commitment to His cause are also great inspiration for us to follow, as those who believe in the Lord and who should be inspired by their faith and commitment, their love for God above others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all seek the Lord with a new heart and spirit, strengthened by this love we ought to have for Him, and let us persevere in each and every moments of our lives, that we may glorify Him by our actions and works, and in all things, we may always aspire to the faith showed by St. Martha, St. Mary and St. Lazarus, holy siblings dedicated to the Lord. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 July 2021 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the Scripture passages, we are all reminded of the wonderful ‘treasure’ that all of us have received from the Lord, the truth and the blessings we have received from God, and all the graces we have been given. We have been blessed with generous love from the Lord and we should appreciate this and thank Him for all that He had done for us, all these while, seeking Him with all of our might and abilities.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Exodus about the moment when Moses returned to the people after having met the Lord face to face within the Holy of Holies of the Holy Tent of Meeting. Moses went into the Holy Tent periodically to meet with God, to converse with Him and to know what it is that the Lord wanted to tell His people. The Lord spoke to Moses directly, and he saw the Lord in person, in all of His glory. Normally, no one would have been able to see the Lord face to face and live, but God gave Moses the special grace to be able to do so.

In that way, the people of God knew that Moses truly spoke God’s words and truth, as the glory of God was reflected and shown on his face whenever he finished speaking with God. That was how God led His people throughout the journey of the Exodus, keeping them in check throughout the many temptations and disobedient attitudes that they had shown Him. God was always ever patient in seeking His people even though they repeatedly again and again abandoned and betrayed Him. He chastised and punished them with justice, but also showed them compassion and guided them to the right path.

That is why we have to consider ourselves so fortunate that God has taken care of us so wonderfully all these time, and He has always ever patiently sought us and wanted us to be reconciled and reunited to Him, and He wants us to be good and to abandon our sinful ways, and that was why He gave us His Law and commandments, and sent us prophets and messengers, one after another in order to work with us, and to reveal to us God’s will and truth, all the truth about His generous love and mercy.

That is why, He sent us in the end, as He promised, the assurance of salvation through Christ, Our Lord, His own only begotten Son. Through Christ, all of us received the fullness of truth, as He revealed to His disciples and to the Church, through the Holy Spirit, the fullness of God’s truth and salvation, which He has brought into this world. And He taught the people through parables and other stories, which He used to explain this truth to them, including what we have also heard in our Gospel passage today.

The Lord told the people about what the kingdom of God is like, likening it to a pearl of great price and value, as well as to a great treasure that lies hidden in a field. The Lord said that just as how one would react upon discovering such a treasure, be it in the sea or on the land, that they would sell everything and leave everything behind and obtain that treasure, therefore it is a reminder to all of us the faithful people of God, that first and foremost, in all things, we have to seek the Lord with all of our strength and might, with all of our efforts and abilities.

The Lord should be the centre and focus of our lives and communities, our actions, activities and interactions. We have to put Him first in all things, and in all that we say and do, we should strive to do His will, in obeying the commandments and the Law which He had clarified and made known to us through the Church. We are all called to follow the Lord with all of our hearts, and today we heard those Scripture readings as reminders for us if we have not done so yet. The Lord has called us a lot of times, but it is often that we have shut ourselves off from Him, all these time.

Let us all therefore learn to trust in the Lord, open ourselves and our hearts and minds to receive the Lord into our midst, speaking with Him and communicating with Him through prayer and silence, just as how Moses once communicated with the Lord. Let us all be thankful of everything God had done for us, in His patience to love us and to forgive us our sins, and His ultimate gift to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, that by His suffering and death, He has set us free from the tyranny and bondage to sin and death, and leading us down the path to everlasting life and glory. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 July 2021 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Scriptures a reminder for each and every one of us to be truly faithful to God and to be righteous in our way of life and deeds, so that we are truly worthy of being Christians, as God’s chosen and beloved people. We have heard the story of Moses from our first reading today, proclaiming God’s love for His people, and all the obligations and commitment that they all need to make as part of the Covenant which God has lovingly made with them, as they were chosen and affirmed as God’s precious ones. And then we also heard the words of the Lord Jesus explaining the meaning of His parable of the weeds which I will elaborate a bit more later on.

In our first reading, we heard of the moment when Moses before the assembled people of Israel as they gathered before the Lord at the Holy Tent, entered the Tent to meet with God, Whose Presence came to reside within the Holy Tent, and Moses came to see God face to face, a privilege which few would ever have. God came to dwell among His people and Moses came to be the one to bear God’s will and commandments, words and advice to His people, a people who have often been wayward and disobedient, who preferred to follow their own paths rather than to follow the Lord and His Law.

We heard Moses then supplicating on behalf of the entire people, proclaiming the regret the people had for their sins, and sought God to be merciful and to forgive the people all of their sinful and wayward actions, which had angered Him and made them to be punished for their intransigence. The whole people were with Moses and worshipped the Lord, all bowing down themselves before Him, after what they had done in past events, as earlier in the week we have heard how the Israelites betrayed the Lord for the golden calf idol, abandoned His Covenant and walked in the path of sin. It was not just once that they did this, but many times, repeatedly over the years, again and again.

Yet, throughout all of that, God was most patient in His love and mercy for His people, as while He did admonish them and punish them to keep them in check and to remind them of what they ought to be doing as God’s chosen ones, He sent them numerous prophets and messengers to guide them and lead them down the right path, prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos among many others. That God was so patient in dealing with His people and leading them to Him despite their rebellious and wayward attitude revealed just how beloved and fortunate all of us have been.

That is why we have to appreciate our blessings and the opportunities we have been given, all these while. The Lord Himself spoke to His disciples, telling them all the meaning of His parable of the wheat and the weeds, as that parable spoke of an enemy who sowed weeds among the wheat, growing together and cannot be separated until the day of harvest. It is a reminder for us all that we have to persevere and resist the temptations to sin, the pressure to conform to worldly desires and wickedness, the allures of evils and sins all around us.

Those things are the ‘weeds’ that are part of our lives and which often cannot be avoided as we live our lives daily. There will be lots of times when we will feel surrounded and even helpless in the face of all the opposition, temptations and evils, and that we may be discouraged and disheartened, weakened and have that wish to give up the struggle. However, the Lord wanted to reassure us all that He is with us, and He dwells among us, being with us, journeying with us. We are never alone throughout the journey, and just as He had been with the Israelites through thick and thin, through hardships and good times, He is also with us too.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord and see in Him a great love and compassion which He has shown to each and every one of us, out of the desire to be reconciled and reunited with us. And therefore, are we all willing to live our lives from now on in a more worthy manner, filled with faith and filled with ever greater love for God? Are we willing to let God guide us and show us the way going forward that we will not end up on the wrong path, and that we may be strengthened and encouraged to keep faithfully the way of the Lord?

Let us all discern these things carefully and consider how we can live our lives in a more Christ-like manner, as genuine and faithful Christians in all things. Let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and with zeal, doing whatever we can, even in our smallest ways, to do the will of God and to be exemplary as best as we can in each and every moments of our lives and be inspiration to one another to remain truly faithful to God. May the Lord be with us all and may He give us the strength and courage to remain faithful at all times. May God bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.