Christian sermons

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Friday, 1 June 2018 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us that as Christians, all of us are called to love one another, and all of us must have a living faith that bears fruit, the fruits of our faith and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise our faith is empty, dead and meaningless. We have to then look at the Gospel passage today in order to understand this better.

In the Gospel, we heard of how the Lord Jesus and His disciples travelled and encountered a fig tree, that was found to be without any fruits at all. The Lord cursed the barren and fruitless tree, and went on His way. Eventually, when they all returned to the same place a few days later and saw the fig tree, it had withered and died, the entire tree, showing us what will happen to us should we be found empty and fruitless in our faith.

What does it mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that if our faith is limited to just a formality or merely a religious certificate, and even if we attend the Sunday Masses but merely to fulfil the Sunday obligations without appreciating, understanding and embracing the importance of the Holy Mass, then I am afraid that our faith is still mostly empty, meaningless and dead.

St. James said in his Epistle that faith without good works is dead. This is exactly what I meant by saying that we should not have an empty, fruitless and meaningless faith. Faith that exists just by itself, and not made alive and real through concrete actions and devotions, especially love, is useless and empty. And this is an important matter that all of us as Christians must realise, or otherwise, we will end up leading an empty and fruitless Christian life.

Perhaps, we should follow the examples of St. Justin the Martyr, whose memory we commemorate today. St. Justin the Martyr was a shining example of Christian discipleship and he showed all of us what it truly means to be fruitful in our faith. He was a brilliant man who lived in the era of the pagan Roman Empire, and was a renowned and intellectual pagan philosopher, who was searching for the true meaning of life and wisdom.

However, it ended up that no matter how much knowledge and wisdom he gained, he was unable to satisfy his desire and the emptiness he felt in his mind and heart. Instead, that led him to encounter the Lord through the Christian faith, and after having discussed and debated about the faith, he ended up being persuaded of the truth and the wisdom of the Christian faith, found only in the Lord’s teachings, and became a convert.

Henceforth, St. Justin ministered to many of the faithful, through his great intellect, wisdom and knowledge, spreading the faith to many parts of the Empire. Many souls were saved because of his works and teachings, and he tirelessly spent his effort trying to bring the truth to more and more people. However, he encountered many challenges and difficulties, to the point of being arrested after one of the pagan philosophers who debated with him reported him to the authorities because of his Christian faith.

Despite all efforts spent on trying to make him to abandon his faith in the Lord, and even when his intellect impressed many of his torturers and jailers, including even the Roman Emperor, St. Justin remained strongly and firmly attached to his faith, and remained dedicated fully to the Lord, choosing martyrdom over abandoning his Lord and Master. This, brothers and sisters in Christ, is the kind of faith and dedication that each and every one of us must have, a fruitful and living faith.

Let us all therefore, devote ourselves anew to the Lord, not just through exterior observances of the faith, but also through our love and care for one another, showing true Christian charity, even to those who are suffering around us. It is through this that all of us lead a genuine Christian life, and by loving one another we also love the Lord our God. He Himself showed us a vision of the Last Judgment and said, that whatever we have done to the least of our brethren, we are doing it for the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore turn to the Lord with all of our hearts, and focus our attention on Him from now on. Let us all make the Lord as the centre and heart of our lives. May the Lord be with us all in this journey of life, and may He continue to empower us to live faithfully day after day. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 May 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi. On this day, we celebrate the very important aspect of our Christian faith, and especially the faith as preserved in our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, as we believe that the Lord Jesus, Our God and Saviour, has given us His own Body and His own Blood, for the sake of our salvation.

The roots of this exist in the Old Testament, from the time of the Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt, when the Lord had mercy on His people, stranded and suffering in Egypt under the tyranny of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians who enslaved them and attempted to exterminate them at occasions. At that time, God sent them Moses, to be their deliverer, through whom He performed ten great plagues that struck at the Egyptians.

The last of the ten plagues was the greatest of all of them. The Lord decreed that all firstborn child of the Egyptians shall be destroyed, because of their Pharaoh’s stubbornness and his refusal to let the people of Israel go free. The Lord sent His Angels of death to scour the whole land of Egypt, and many of the children of the Egyptians, right down to their animals perished on that night.

However, the children of the Israelites were saved and spared from death, as the Lord instructed Moses to tell them to prepare an unblemished lamb for each household, and slaughter it, to prepare and celebrate a Passover worthy of Him, the very first Passover celebrated by the people of God. The lamb’s blood was applied on the doorposts and the lintels of the doors, marking the household as those belonging to God’s people.

Seeing the blood of the lamb splashed across the doorposts, the Angels of death bypassed over their houses, and spared them from death. Ever since, the offering and sacrifice of blood of animals became associated with the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God. In fact, since the very beginning, from the time of Cain and Abel, and from the time of Abraham, the people of God have offered animal sacrifices to God. But it was then in the Book of Leviticus that God prescribed the rules regarding sacrifices, that the priests belonging to the tribe of Levi would offer regular sacrifices for the people of God.

Moses slaughtered and offered the blood of animals when he sealed the Covenant which God made with His people, and the blood was sprinkled onto the Israelites, as a sign of the Covenant sealed by the blood of the lamb and the animals. But that Covenant was broken many times by the people, who were unfaithful, and did not remain true to the Covenant which God had made with them. Instead, they worshipped pagan gods and idols, such as the golden calf, and committed what were wicked in God’s eyes.

Thus, they should have deserved death and destruction, as the punishment for sin is death. Ever since the beginning, when mankind first sinned against God, we should have deserved to be annihilated, for Adam and Eve, our ancestors, have disobeyed God and refused to listen to Him. Instead, they chose to follow and listen to the words of Satan, tempting them to sin. However, the truth is that God loves each and every one of us so much that He was willing to give us a second chance.

That is why, He had mercy on the Israelites when they sinned and disobeyed Him. If we read through the Book of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, as well as the subsequent history of the Israelites in the Book of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and the Prophets, we can see just how frequent that the people of God disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him. Yet, God Who punished them also showed them mercy and forgiveness.

The priests of the Lord offered daily and regular sacrifices for the sake of the people, with the animal sacrifices and the blood as prescribed in the Book of the Leviticus, and the same laws and regulations, the practices and the sacrifices were passed down for many years and centuries throughout the history of Israel, right down to the time of the New Testament, that is the time when the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of the world, finally came into the world.

And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, our second reading today, mentioned how the Lord Jesus is the new and the true High Priest, Who came into the world as the perfect fulfilment of God’s long promised salvation, as the Messiah of the whole race of man. And why did St. Paul refer to the Lord Jesus as the one and true High Priest? That is because the Lord did just exactly as what the priests of old had done, offering sacrifices to God for our sake.

But the Lord Jesus did not just act like any other priests, offering the blood of lambs and other animals. Instead, He offered Himself, as the perfect sacrifice, as the One, the only One through Whom the whole race of man could be saved. He alone is worthy, and His Blood alone is good enough to redeem all of us mankind, something that no blood of animals or lambs could have done.

Unfortunately, there are many of those among us who have doubted the Lord, and they doubted that the Lord gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink. There are those among us, who think and argue that the Lord was merely giving us a representation or a symbol of His Body and Blood, instead of the Real and true Body and the true Blood. But Jesus Himself had made it clear in the Gospel of St. John, that unless someone eats of the Body and drinks the Blood of the Son of Man, that is Jesus, they would not have eternal life.

And again, He added that, His Body is real food, and His Blood is real drink. This means that, in the Eucharist, the central focus of our faith, is found the Real Presence of Our Lord Himself, in the bread and wine, transformed in essence and reality into the essence and reality of the Most Precious and Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, respectively. They are not just mere symbols or representations. This is the Lamb of God Himself, the One through Whom God had saved the world.

Through the giving of Himself, Christ has given us all a new hope, one that nothing else in this world can give to us. By dying on the cross and by the outpouring of His Blood, spilled at His crucifixion, He has marked for Himself a people, those who have been called and set aside for God’s purpose, all those who believe in Him and are therefore called as Christians. We believe in Christ Who died on the cross for us, offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us to God, on the Altar of Calvary.

Then, if we look deeper into it, this is why all of us believe that when the priests celebrate the Holy Mass, they are in fact reenacting the same sacrifice performed by Our Lord Jesus Christ. The same sacrifice happens on the Altar, that is exactly the very same sacrifice on the cross of Christ at Calvary. It is not a repeat, or a mere memorial, or merely a celebration, but in fact, by the authority and power that Christ gave to His priests, through their consecrated hands, He has made them ‘Alter Christus’, that is representation of Christ Himself.

At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass therefore, the same singular event of the crucifixion, when the Lamb of God was slaughtered and offered for the sake of our salvation, happened, at every single celebrations of the Mass, and through that, the Body and Blood of the Lord are given to us, a new Covenant which He made with us and sealed with His Blood, and a new Hope that He has granted to us.

Thus, what we see at the Holy Mass, is that the bread and the wine which are brought up and offered by the priests, are transformed, just as the Lord at the Last Supper spoke to His disciples as He passed the bread and wine to them, “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood”. The Body and the Blood of Christ has come unto us, and we receive Christ into ourselves, by the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist, that is Christ’s Body and Blood.

However, let us all now ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us ask ourselves, just how much we truly believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. How many of us lack the proper respect and honour due to the Eucharist, knowing that God Himself is truly present? How many of us receive the Eucharist unworthily while in the state of sin, or receiving Him in the way that we are merely going through the motion?

There are accounts of how people who did not believe in the Real Presence, said that they refused or failed to believe simply because, they saw many of us Christians, who did not believe in the Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. Our words may show that we believe, but our actions show otherwise. How can we then expect others to believe when we ourselves do not truly believe and genuinely believe in the Lord’s Real Presence, in His Most Holy Body and Blood?

What do I mean by all these? Many of us casually went up to receive the Eucharist, without proper honour for the Lord, Who has made Himself so small so as to be present in the bread transformed into His Body. By that action, God wanted us to be saved, through the worthy reception of the Eucharist. However, many of us receive the Lord in a state of sin and as unrepentant sinners.

And thus, there are also many of us who blatantly do not believe that God can be present in the bread and wine transformed into His Body and Blood. Our ignorance and apathy is no different from those who did not believe in the Real Presence. Liturgical abuses and the many abuses of the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist happened, and it scandalised our faith and our belief.

Many of those whose account I mentioned earlier refused to believe in the Real Presence, because they said that if that is truly the Lord present in the bread and wine, they would have prostrated themselves and trembled in fear before the Lord’s presence. That is why our apathy and lack of faith caused many others to lose faith too. And what then, can be done in order to resolve this matter?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi, let us all make a new resolution and commit ourselves to a much greater reverence to the Lord truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist. Let us endeavour to lead a holier and more worthy life, worthy of God, by turning ourselves from sin and embracing what God has shown us and taught us.

Let us all be exemplary in our actions, that by our faith and our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has given us His own Body and Blood, for the sake of our salvation, we may be saved from certain destruction, because of our sins. Let us all draw closer to the Lord, and remember that, because we have receive the Lord Himself, physically and really present in the bread and wine, transformed into the substance and reality of His Body and Blood, we have become the Temple of God’s Holy Presence.

And ultimately, each and every one of us as Christians are part of the Church of God, which He Himself has said to be His Body. The Church is the Body of Christ, made from all of us, who are in Communion with one another. The meaning of Holy Communion itself, therefore stemmed from the fact that all of us who worthily receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, are in Communion with each other and are part of the one Body of Christ.

May God therefore be with us all, and may He give us the strength to live worthily of Him, that we may always keep in mind that we have the Lord Himself dwelling in us, in our bodies, in our whole being. May all of us be ever more faithful, day after day, and indeed, united together as one people, in God’s one Church, become one Body, one Spirit in Christ. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 May 2018 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth, in the mountainous region of Judea, a few months after the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her with the Good News that she would become the mother of the Saviour of the world and the Son of God, hence becoming the great Mother of God.

And today, we celebrate that moment when Mary visited Elizabeth and in that meeting, she recognised her as the Mother of God, as her own son, St. John the Baptist in her womb, leapt and kicked with great joy when Mary came to her house. Through this event, we see the very first time when the coming of the Lord was revealed to the people, as prior to this, only Mary herself was told this truth by the Archangel.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are called to remember the great joy of Mary, who sang the famous hymn ‘Magnificat’, praising God for all the good things that He has done for His people, especially to Mary, whom God had chosen to be His vessel and His instrument for the salvation of the world. Through Mary, God has made Himself incarnate into the flesh, and became Man.

Through Mary, we have seen the great work of God, and the culmination of the long promised salvation that He has promised to all of us. Mary has also herself showed the example of how we ought to be, as a model Christian. She showed us all how to be obedient to God, and how we should walk in the way of the Lord. She entrusted herself completely to the Lord and gave herself completely to God’s will.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are called to follow in the example of Mary, the mother of Our Lord. Mary showed all of us the way forward in our lives, and she showed us the importance of prayer and of listening to God. In the Magnificat, the hymn that Mary sang, was contained in essence a prayer to God, praising and thanking Him, and remembering all that He had done.

How about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Have we led a good and prayerful life? Have we walked faithfully in God’s ways? Have we devoted our time, effort and attention to the Lord and put Him as the focus and the centre of our lives? If we have not done all these, then perhaps we should really spend some time to reflect and reevaluate our actions and lives.

Shall we turn ourselves towards God, and shall we learn to focus more on Him? Shall we spend more time in prayer, contemplation and focus on the Lord, that we, in the midst of our busy schedules and activities, will not lose our focus and our way? All of us are called to a holier and more prayerful life. All of us need to be holy just as the Lord is holy, in everything we say and do in our lives.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower us all to live worthily and filled with faith, every single days of our life. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 30 May 2018 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scriptures speaking to us about our obligation as Christians, to be true to our faith in God, by showing just how much we have understood the faith we have been called to, through our actions and deeds. Faith is as what the Lord Jesus made it clear in our Gospel passage today, what it means to be a follower of Christ.

In the first reading passage, taken from the first Epistle of St. Peter, we heard of how as Christians we have been transformed from our old ways and paths, from the path of desire, greed, pride and worldliness, into the path of love. We have been called to follow the Lord’s own examples in His most generous love, and to abandon behind our old ways of greed, of ambition, and of desire for all sorts of worldly temptations and glory.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord showed us yet again by His interaction with the disciples, beginning with St. James and St. John, who went to Him with their mother, asking Him to grant them special privileges and advantage over the other disciples of the Lord. They were asking for favouritism and jockeying for power in conflict with the other disciples. But the Lord would have none of that.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard how the Lord rebuked His two disciples for their wrong perception and understanding of the faith, and what it means to be His disciples. At that time, they were still thinking and misunderstanding the Lord Jesus as just another one of the worldly rulers, and compounded by the general misconception of the Jewish people of what the Messiah would do, and Who He would be, when He came to His people.

They all thought that the Messiah would come as a great King, much like king David and king Solomon in ancient times. They thought that the salvation of Israel would mean the destruction of all of their enemies and the reestablishment of the kingdom of Israel, which had physically existed hundreds of years before Christ, but was destroyed by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

Therefore, they thought that by following the Lord, Who would be King, then they could amass for themselves power, glory, fame, influence, and many more things. Certainly some of them had this misconception, and they misunderstood what it means to be the disciples of the Lord. Hence, when the Lord saw them bickering over the matter and became angry at St. James and St. John, He rebuked all of them.

The Lord rebuked them for their pride and desire for worldly power, and He showed them that as His followers, as Christians, they must be humbler yet, and they must be ever be ready to serve one another, just as the Lord Himself had shown them. The Lord showed that even He has come into this world in order to love His people and to care for them, and not to be a tyrant over them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to realise that each one of us face the same temptation as the Apostles and disciples of the Lord had faced, however, are we allowing all those wickedness to influence us and to lure us away from God’s path and saving grace? Let us all therefore seek to be ever more committed to the Lord, resisting the temptations to sin, for worldly power, glory, fame and all the things that are obstacles in our way to the Lord.

Let us instead turn ourselves towards the Lord, and place Him at the very centre and focus of our lives. Let us all be genuine Christians in each and every actions we take, and learn to be truly faithful in all things. May God be with us all, and may He bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 May 2018 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded that as God’s faithful ones, as Christians, we have decided to follow the Lord, in the footsteps of the Apostles and the disciples, and we are all called to a transformed and holy life, transcending our past existences and leaving behind all traces of our past unworthiness and sinful lives.

‘Be holy as I am holy’, is what God wants from each and every one of us as Christians. What does this mean? Is it about praying everyday and showcasing our faith before others? Is it about showing off just how holy and devout we are in front of those who do not believe in God or even by chastising those whose faith and dedication are not as great as ours? No, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is not like that.

All the devotion, prayers and all those that we normally consider as holy, are indeed necessary, because these are what helps us in our journey of faith towards God. However, it becomes a problem when we end up just doing all of them, but without the correct focus and intention. This becomes a piety instead of true faith and genuine devotion to God. And instead of a life focused on God, we end up with a self-centred and selfish life.

That was how many of the Pharisees ended up becoming, as they became fixated on the strict enforcement and adherence to the Jewish customs and laws, but failing to recognise God’s truth and works in Christ, when He came into this world and bringing those truth to them. They closed their ears, their minds and their hearts from the Lord, and opposed God’s works and goodness at every possible opportunities.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Gospel passage we heard today, we can find God’s advice on how we ought to live our lives with true and genuine faith. Through the words of the Apostles, we are reminded that as Christians, we often need to make sacrifices and to learn to let go of our worldly attachments. Indeed, it does not mean that we let go of everything, but we must not become attached or obsessed with things in this world that can cause us to lose our way.

For example, many people who have been obsessed with money and material possessions end up losing everything in their pursuit for money, or even fame and glory. They end up causing hurt, pain and sorrow to their loved ones, as people may often even set aside those who are close and precious to them in their pursuit of all these worldly and material goods.

But as Christians, this is not what we should do with our lives. Instead, the Lord Himself has shown us, that the greater we are and the greater we become, we should be ever humbler, following His own examples, that we serve one another, the greater one serving those who are under him or her. And we must centre our lives on the Lord, obeying Him and following Him in all things, so that ultimately, it is His will that shall be done and not ours.

Let us all turn ourselves to God, and let us all devote ourselves more wholeheartedly to Him. May all of us be filled with renewed faith for God, and be true in our faith to Him, every single days of our lives. Amen.

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Monday, 28 May 2018 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about what we need to do in order to follow the Lord genuinely and with faith. In the first reading today, taken from the first Epistle of St. Peter, we heard of how there will be time when we will face challenges and tribulations, temptations and obstacles in our journey.

In the Gospel passage today, then we heard about the Lord speaking to a rich man who asked Him what he needed to do in order to be His follower and earn a place in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord reminded him of the commandments of God as revealed in the Mosaic laws, which the Jewish people including the rich man should be well familiar with.

The rich man said that he had done and fulfilled all that were required of him, however, when the Lord asked him to sell all that he had and leave behind every possessions, he became very sad and went away in great anguish. Then the Lord said that it would be more difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven than it would be for a camel to pass through the eye of a candle.

Why did the Lord Jesus say that? It is because a camel has a long neck that curve upwards, and unless the camel bends its neck and stoops down, it will not be able to pass through a tight passageway. What this shows us, is the symbolic act of humility before God, and the willingness to listen and obey to the will of God. This is unlike the rich man who could not let go of his worldly desires and concerns, and unlike those who are so attached to those worldly matters that they could not devote themselves completely and wholeheartedly to God.

However, it is important that we understand that God does not hate or discriminate against those who are rich and those with many possessions. Ultimately, all the riches and possessions, all the money and goodies we have are not intrinsically evil and we can make use of them either for good purposes or for evil and wicked purposes. In fact, the richer we are and the more blessings we have, the more we will be able to give to others.

What the Lord is concerned about is basically the way we end up being overly attached and concerned about those worldly things, about money and possessions, about pleasurable and joyful things we experience through the world. We cannot afford to let go of our addictions and attachments, when they even come in between us and our love for God. As a result, God is becoming ever more and more sidelined in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is indeed now the time for us to resist those temptations and seek to be less attached to the many worldly attachments and desires that we have. We should place God firmly as the centre and the focus of our lives, and when we have done so, surely, we will find that there is a difference in our lives, as we will no longer be hesitant when the Lord calls upon us. We will be ready to give our whole attention and dedicate ourselves to God.

Let us all therefore make best use of this opportunity given to us by God. He has been so generous in loving us, and it is only right therefore, for us to show Him the same love and dedication which He has shown us. All of us should be ever more dedicated, humble and obedient, as we continue to live our lives out of faith in Our Lord and Master. Let us ask Him to protect us and to guide us always in our path. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 May 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday after the Pentecost, we celebrate the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity or Trinity Sunday. On this occasion, we commemorate one of the greatest mysteries of our faith, the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is what we believe in, and this is our Christian faith, and we believe in God, Who is One, but Who is also Three.

What does it mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? Does it mean that we believe in Three Gods? No, it is not. We as Christians believe in the one and only one True God, Who created heaven and earth, the Creator and Master and Lord of the whole universe and existence. This is our faith and this is what we truly believe in. We believe in one God Who exists in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Many people misunderstood and misrepresented our Christian faith as they failed to see the truth behind this mystery, or that they received the wrong information and misconception from others who also had the same misconception. They thought that Christians worship three Gods, and not one God. They thought that we have blasphemed against God, just as the Pharisees among the Jews charged against the early Christians.

The same Pharisees together with the chief priests were also angry at the Lord Jesus Himself, at several occasions in the Gospels, including at the moment when they condemned Him to death, because He claimed to be the Son of God, and to them, God has no Son, and thus, to them, the Lord Jesus had committed blasphemy and great sin against God. But that is because they failed to understand the truth and refused to believe.

There were also others who accused Christians of polytheism and blasphemy, for the same reason. And many of them refused or failed to listen to the truth. Unfortunately, there are also those among us who do not understand the truth and have the same misconception, thinking that we believe in three Gods, or three different Persons in Godhood, or else, do not understand the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us spend some time to go through the essentials of what is the Most Holy Trinity and why do we believe in this mystery of the Trinity. Indeed, as I have mentioned, being a mystery of our faith, we ourselves and the Church do not have the fullness of understanding of what the Trinity completely entails, but through the teachings of the Apostles and by the words of Our Lord Himself, by divine revelation and all, we have understanding of what the Trinity is.

First of all, as elaborately explained in the famous Creed written by St. Athanasius the Great, as Christians we believe in one God, and not in three Gods. Yet, we also believe in the Father, Who is distinct from the Son and from the Holy Spirit, and vice versa, as we believe in the Son, Who is distinct from the Father and from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit Who is distinct from the Father and from the Son.

Thus, we believe in one Father, one Son and one Holy Spirit, Who together form the inseparable and yet distinct Union, which we know as the Most Holy Trinity. The common misunderstanding that we as Christians have is that God exist just as one Person, but having three different roles. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Trinity is composed of Three co-equal and co-eternal Persons, that are both distinct and yet united as One at the same time.

And for the proof of the existence of the Most Holy Trinity is present throughout the entire Scriptures, right from the very beginning of time, to the very end. In the book of Genesis, at the very first chapter, we saw the account of the creation of the world. In the beginning, there was nothing but God, and nothing was created before time began. And God existed since before time began, for He is eternal, and the Son and the Holy Spirit is equally eternal with God the Father, and not after Him.

This is another part, where heresies and wrong teachings have resulted in wickedness entering the Church and causing divisions among the faithful, as there were those who thought that the Son and the Holy Spirit are not equal to the Father, Whom they see as superior, or even as God that existed in the Old Testament, relating Him with God the Father alone. They proclaimed that the Son was a mere Creation, or was subservient to Him, and the Holy Spirit was explained in the same manner.

But these were wrong, brothers and sisters in Christ, and the truth has prevailed in the end. It is this same truth which I now impart upon you, as shared among us all Christians, believing in the Trinity of Godhood, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. For you see, in the Book of Genesis, if we delve deeper into the words written as recorded in that account of creation, particularly on the creation of man, we will see how God Himself referred to Him as ‘We’ and ‘Us’.

As God created man, He said, ‘Let Us create man in Our image’. And Who are the ‘Us’ and ‘Our’ mentioned in that passage referring to? None other than the One God, in His Three Divine Persons, the Most Holy Trinity. Each of the members of the Trinity work together as One in the work of creation. For God willed the world and all creation into existence, as the Father’s will have it, and by His words, the Word of God, everything came to be.

In the Gospel of St. John, in the first chapter, we heard St. John writing, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. And from there, he elaborated how the Word has ‘become incarnate into Flesh’ that is becoming Man. Through this, and through the teachings of the Church, we associate the Son with the Word of God, He Who has become incarnate through the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, that is Jesus Christ, Son of God.

How about the Holy Spirit, then? The Holy Spirit is in everything and is the Lord and the Giver of life, as we recite it every time we say the Nicene Creed. Through the Holy Spirit, we receive life, just as the Lord breathed life into us, made from mere dust at the beginning of time. Through that, the Holy Spirit entered into us, and gave us life. Through the Holy Spirit, God made the world, just as through the Son, the Word, everything came to be, by the will of the Father. The three members of the Holy Trinity working together, and in perfect harmony.

The Lord Jesus also repeated this act in the Gospels, as He appeared to them after His resurrection. He breathed onto them, symbolising the giving of the Holy Spirit upon them, Who descended upon them and rested on them on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit gave them strength and courage to preach the truth about God, the Most Holy Trinity, and through that, they carried out the mission which the Lord entrusted them with, as He said in our Gospel passage today.

‘Go forth and make disciples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ This is the Great Commission, the great commandment which the Lord Jesus gave to all of us as Christians, who ourselves have been baptised in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Most Holy Trinity. We have been called to share this faith we have, and call all the people, to come and be baptised, and be sealed as the possessions of God, the Most Holy Trinity.

How do we do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Should we go forth and preach with many words in the streets and calling people to listen to the truth spoken through us? No, that is not how we should do it. Indeed, we can convey the truth through words, but we will realise that often, our actions speak much louder than words alone. And in truth, many of us Christians do not act in the manner of what we have said.

We are often divided among ourselves, and we often treat others with contempt and hatred. But that is not what the Lord had shown us and told us to do. Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, the very reason why God created us, is because He loves each and every one of us. He loved all of His creations, and foremost among all that, is all of us, mankind, created in His own image.

God has no need for our love, for He Himself had perfect love in Him. We believe in God Who consists of Three Divine Persons united in perfect love to each other, the inseparable and indissoluble bond of love. God Himself is Love. And He showed us the same love which He has in Him, the love the Father has for the Son. And showed us that love by giving us His very own Son, that through Him, and through His act of perfect and selfless love on the cross, He can show us what it means for us to be Christians. And it is by this, that we call others to be believers just as we are.

It means that all of us must love one another, and show this love in every action we take and in every words we say. A Christian who does not love is not a true Christian, and we should not just love those who loved us, but even those whom we did not know before, and also those who even hated us and persecuted us. This is true Christian love, and if we now have a better understanding of the Most Holy Trinity, and the love that is in God, we too, should show the same love in our daily lives.

For in the end, all of us belong to the same Body of Christ, the Church, where all of us are united in Christ, through love, Christian love and the love which God has shown us. Therefore, we must love generously, and be merciful and forgiving in our actions and dealings with each other. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore, from now on, devote ourselves with a new commitment, to stay true to our faith in God, and to be loving, just as the Lord Himself is love, the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, by Whom everyone who believe are be saved. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture, telling us about the importance for us as Christians, to care for one another, our fellow faithful, our brothers and sisters in the same Lord. St. James told us this, in the Epistle he wrote, that we should pray, pray for our sake and pray for each other.

A good and devout Christian will pray, and pray in order to communicate with the Lord, Our God, the source of our strength, hope and power. And through prayer, we show our concern towards one another, and then, we put ourselves into action, to help lead and guide one another, that each and every one of us are responsible for the well-being of one another in faith.

And this means that, we should not be quick to judge or to cast our brothers or sisters out, just because we think that they were not as faithful as we are, or that they are not doing things the way we want it to be. In the Gospel passage today, we saw how the Lord Jesus rebuked His disciples because they tried to prevent children from coming towards Him. He was angry at them because they tried to impose what they thought was right over others.

And we have to understand this in the context of their actions towards one another. The disciples were often arguing and bickering among themselves on who among them, will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. But in doing so, they are trying to undermine each other, and exclude others from God’s grace and love. St. James and St. John went with their mother to the Lord, asking Him to grant them special favours over that of the other disciples.

But the Lord showed them that it is not the way that He wants from each one of His followers and disciples. Rather, He showed that the Church must be welcoming, especially to little children who want to come to the Lord and know Him. This is important because, those children are still innocent, and are willing to know the Lord with genuine intention and faith.

If we prevent them from reaching out to the Lord, then we have committed a great sin, for we have caused their souls to be lost to Him. And then, if we, through our actions have caused them to fall into sin, because we ourselves have not been faithful and committed what is wicked and sinful before God, then we will also be held accountable for the souls of these little children, as well as anyone else that we have misled into sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we celebrate the feast of St. Philip Neri, a famous holy man and devout servant of God, who was an Italian priest remembered for his great dedication to the Lord, for his missionary work and outreach to many of the faithful, calling many people to repent from their sins and follow the Lord. As a result, many people followed the Lord and turn away from their sins. He has done the Church and the people of God a great service.

Now, each and every one of us as Christians should follow the examples of St. Philip Neri and live in the way that he has lived his life, and in how he has served the people of God. Let us all devote ourselves anew to God, and be exemplary in our lives, by truly living them with faith, through genuine actions, by loving one another and by our guidance towards one another in faith. We hope that through all these, we may help to guide each other, to remain true to our Christian faith, and welcome all those who seek the Lord, especially those who desire His love, like those little children who come to Him.

May the Lord be with each and every one of us, and may He continue to strengthen us in faith, that we will grow to love Him more and more, with each and every passing day of our lives. Amen.

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Friday, 25 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, and Pope St. Gregory VII, Pope and St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests or Popes or Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us to be true to our promises and words, and not to show that our words cannot be trusted or upheld. If our words cannot be trusted, then all the more the Lord Who knows what is in our hearts, will not show us His favour. For the Lord does not want in His presence, all those who lie and are untrustworthy.

For the Lord Himself is an ever-faithful God, Who upholds every single promises He made and truly means whatever He said and is faithful to every words that came out from His mouth. When He promised all of us, that He would save us from certain destruction because of our sins, and give us the Saviour and Deliverer, He did that perfectly, and faithfully, even unto the giving of Himself as the perfect Sacrifice on the Altar of the Cross.

He gave Himself to us so completely, that He was willing to bear the weight of the cross for our sake, and not just the physical weight of the wooden cross, but the true weight of the cross, which is the combined weight of the sins of man, which the Lord bore willingly upon Himself, that we do not have to bear the consequences for those sins which we have committed. That is just how much commitment the Lord has for all of us.

Unfortunately, it is us man, who often break our promises, which we made to God, and which we also made to one another. In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the exchange between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees, on the matter of marriage and its importance, as the latter argued that divorce should be allowed as in the laws of God passed on through Moses, the Lord allowed for a person to divorce his or her spouse, providing a certain settlement had been made.

However, the Lord Jesus revealed the truth about His true intention, and the truth behind God’s laws. He said that the Lord only allowed His people to do as the Pharisees contended, that is the matter of divorce, because they were so stubborn and were so wicked with their adulterous behaviour, that He granted them that permission, so that they would not commit even more sin of adultery than what they had done.

God never intended to allow the practice of divorce, and in fact, reiterated the importance of the vow of marriage and its sanctity. A marriage is a sacrament in the eyes of the Church, where a man and a woman made solemn promises to each other, to remain with each other, in times of good and in times of hardships, and through whatever life may throw at them. A marriage is a contract between a man and a woman, blessed and confirmed by God, and as the Lord Jesus made it clear, that what God had united, no one, no man, should ever dissolve.

Now, let us see the sorry state and reality in our world today, where the institution of marriage and the family is under constant attack. There are increasingly more and more occasions of divorces and broken families, due to various reasons, but primarily, infidelity and adultery between each of the married couples. And increasingly, people become more and more accustomed to see such practices and even allow them to flourish.

In the present world, we take our marriage vows and promises lightly, and are easily tempted by the pleasures of the flesh, and the temptation of materialism and greed. That is why so many marriages ended up being broken, and many children are left abandoned or troubled as a result. But the Lord reminded all of us through the Scripture passages we heard today, that we as Christians, must be faithful to each other, and ultimately to God Himself, just as He had been faithful to the promises He made to all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, let us all reflect on our own respective lives, in all of our dealings and actions, in how we have interacted with each other. How many of us have that tendency to go back on our words and promises, or tell lies in order to gain advantage for ourselves? How many of us do not keep our promises even to our closest ones? I am sure many of us would remember the times when we have faltered in this regard.

The main reason for this is that we cannot overcome our pride, our ego and desire. We want satisfaction and good things to come to us, and it may happen that others suffer because of our pride, ego and desire, and our inability to resist those pressures and temptations. Now, it is important that each and every one of us learn to resist and do our best to overcome these temptations to be unfaithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we remember the memory of a few holy saints of God, namely St. Bede the Venerable, an English monk who devoted himself to his faith in God, and completely entrusted his life to Him, spending his time writing his many works about the faith, many of which still survived through the centuries to this very day. And then, we also remember Pope St. Gregory VII, the Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ, remembered especially for the bitter struggle he had with the secular ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the Emperor, who wished to impose his power and will over the Church.

This holy Pope refused to give in to the demands of the Emperor, who demanded sovereignty over the bishops in his domains, and defended the rights of the Church, and stayed true to the faith and the commitment, despite the challenges from the Emperor and his nobles. Finally, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi was an Italian Carmelite nun who was remembered for her intense dedication to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, spending hours after hours in devout prayer.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should follow the examples of these holy predecessors of ours. We should be more faithful in all of our deeds, and do our best to follow the Lord our God, in all that He has taught us to do. Let us deepen our relationship with Him, and spend more time in prayer. May God be with us always, ever faithful to His Covenant, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 May 2018 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Mary, Help of Christians, Our Lady of Sheshan, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mary, Help of Christians)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the memorial of Mary, Our Lady, Help of Christians, and the Lady of Sheshan, named after the famous Sheshan Basilica in Shanghai, China. On this day, in particular, we remember all those brothers and sisters of ours, who are currently facing intense persecution and difficult time, as they struggle to remain true to their faith in God.

That is why, the Church has designated this day, true to the memorial I just mentioned, as the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. We are praying on behalf of our brethren in faith, who may be undergoing and are indeed, for many among them, facing persecution and challenges just because they identify themselves as Christians, that is as those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and take Him as their Lord and Saviour.

In China today, especially in recent years, there had been increasing intolerance towards Christians in particular, and many of the faithful find it more and more difficult to remain true to their faith. I am sure many of us have heard news of how crosses were forcibly removed from churches, and restrictions put in place on Christian worship, and even, young children were barred from attending the Holy Mass or going to Church.

In all these, we can see how the persecution of Christians that once happened during its early days came back once again, especially in China, but in truth, is happening in many other parts of the world, such as in the Middle East, Africa, in the Western world, the Americas, and even recently in the Philippines, being a Christian, and especially for priests, it can be very challenging and a matter of life or death.

And when I speak about persecution and challenges, it is not just about persecution with lions and gladiators, or with swords and whips and lances, as how it was in the Ancient Roman times. Indeed, such kind of persecutions still exist, but nowadays, persecution exist in many more ways than what we think persecution is truly about. Persecution happened in many areas, in the political world, in the society and the community, through the attacks on Christian values and faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we should spend some time, to think about these suffering brethren of ours, and pray for them, that God will protect them and defend them from their enemies, all the forces of darkness assembled against them. And then, we should also realise just how fortunate we may be, if we have not faced a similar kind of persecution and challenge as these brethren of ours had experienced.

Let us all do our best therefore, to live our lives as true Christians, dedicated and devoted to the Lord, that we show love and charity in our actions, towards all those who are around us. However, most importantly, in order to show our true faith, we cannot forget, that the most important virtue is indeed, love, and love that is unconditional and generous, as the Lord Himself had done.

It is easy for us to be angry at our enemies and to all those who hate us and persecute us. However, if we become angry at them, hate them and strike back at them, then are we not just as evil and wicked as our enemies had been wicked? If the Lord Jesus Himself had forgiven those who condemned Him to death and crucified Him from the cross, and prayed for them? Should we not do the same then?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all be exemplary in our faith, that we become inspiration for one another, and also even strength for those who are being persecuted for their faith, by standing up for the Lord’s sake and living our lives with faith. Let us all pray for our brethren, that God will be with them, and also with all of us, that together, we may in the end, enjoy forever the eternal grace and glory of heaven, having suffered for His sake. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.