Christian sermons

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Saturday, 16 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the discourses from the Sacred Scriptures speaking to us about two great persona in the Old and New Testament, whom through the revelation of Our Lord Jesus Himself, revealed the link between them. In the first reading, we heard about the prophet Elijah from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote about the wondrous miracles he performed, as well as the miraculous circumstances surrounding the moment when Elijah was taken up into heaven by flaming chariots, as one of the greatest of God’s prophets.

And then, in the Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus spoke about the prophet Elijah, who according to the prophecies of the prophets, would come again, because he did not suffer death but lifted up into heaven by the will of God. And He explained indirectly that the prophet Elijah had indeed come again into the world, but many of the people did not believe in Him, and His disciples deduced that Jesus was referring to St. John the Baptist, who was the Herald of the Messiah.

Whether St. John the Baptist was truly Elijah in person who came down from heaven, was not really known to us, and in one occasion in the Gospel, when the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked St. John the Baptist, whether he was the prophet Elijah, he denied that he was the prophet. However, whatever God has done, is a mystery of our faith, and through the revelations that Our Lord Himself has revealed, our faith indeed has become richer and more meaningful.

For both the prophet Elijah and St. John the Baptist were truly faithful and devoted servants of God with many parallels to their stories. They had to contend with powerful rulers and kings, as the prophet Elijah had to deal with the wicked kings of Israel, particularly the king Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, who led the people into sin of idolatry and pagan worship, while St. John the Baptist had to contend with king Herod Antipas who unlawfully married Herodias, his brother’s wife, as well as with the influential Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

And the prophet Elijah had to flee from the wrath of the king for his works and wander in the desert, for many days, weeks and months, surviving in the wilderness, much like St. John the Baptist who lived in the same wilderness, while working the good works of the Lord, preparing the way for the Lord’s coming. Despite all the challenges and difficulties that these two faithful servants of God faced, they remained true and faithful to the missions to which they have been called to do.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on the lives and contributions that both the prophet Elijah and St. John the Baptist had done in their lives, let us be inspired by their zeal and commitment, in serving God and obeying His will, despite the challenges and difficulties which they had to face day after day, facing rejection and ridicule even from those who are close to them, much like Our Lord Himself.

As faithful Christians, all of us should walk the same path that Christ Himself had walked, the path of the cross, and the great sufferings associated with that cross. Did Christ not say that those who follow Him ought to take up their crosses and follow Him? If we are to be true Christians, then we must be prepared to face the difficulties and challenges which may come our way as we live our lives according to our Christian faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all prepare ourselves thoroughly for the celebrations of Christmas, that we may celebrate it worthily with true joy, rejoicing at the anniversary of the Lord’s arrival into this world. Let us devote our effort, time and attention, to serve the Lord with ever more commitment and faith. May the Lord strengthen our faith, and may He bless us all with His guidance and help, that we may continue to persevere in faith. Amen.

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Friday, 15 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about God and His revelation, that His ways are not like that of the ways of the world. What is acceptable to the world may not be acceptable to God, and vice versa. In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, God mentioned how had the people obeyed Him and listened to Him, they would have prospered and had joy with them.

This was in context of the history of the time, because at the time of the prophet Isaiah, the kingdom of Israel has been divided into two parts, the northern kingdom also known as Israel, as well as the southern kingdom of Judah. And both kingdoms warred against each other many times, and more importantly, they were beset by many enemies surrounding them.

Many people suffered from the repeated invasions and raids, and in just a few years after, the northern kingdom would be conquered by the Assyrians, and its people carried off into exile. This sets up therefore, the context in which the Lord’s words truly rang true, because most of the kings of the northern kingdom and many of the kings of the southern kingdom have disobeyed the Lord and led the people into sin.

That was why the Lord was not pleased with them, because they constantly disobeyed Him and chose to walk down their own paths. They would not listen to His prophets and messengers, and preferred to remain in sin and rebellion against Him. They trusted more in the powers of the world and in worldly matters rather than to put their trust and faith in God.

That is why they also hardened their hearts against the Lord when He came to them, and sent His herald, St. John the Baptist, to prepare them to receive His truth and message. That is because they were not thinking in the same way as the Lord does, and they thought in the way that the world thought. To them, the Lord’s message is weird and unacceptable, as they were unwilling to let go of their worldly ways and affairs, and as a result, they rejected the truth of God, and even persecuted Him and His disciples.

For all of us Christians living today in this world, all of these historical examples and precedents from the time of the prophet Isaiah and from the time of Our Lord Jesus Himself, should be clear reminders for each one of us, that as Christians, we should seek to be faithful to the Lord and follow His ways, even when the conventions and wisdom of the world say otherwise. And there may even be moments when we may be ridiculed and rejected by the world, and even by those known to us when we are faithful to God and do His will.

But we should not be afraid, or be hesitant to be faithful because of all these. If we see the Scripture passages today, we will realise just how much ridicule, rejection and difficulties that the prophets had to encounter, because the people refused to listen to them or to believe in their message. And not least, Our Lord Jesus Himself experienced ridicule, rejection and persecution because of His works among His own people.

This should inspire us to persevere more fervently in living our faith more faithfully in each and every days of our lives. We should spend more time and effort trying to listen to the Lord, and to align ourselves ever more closely to Him. Let us do our best from now on, that we may be able to draw closer to God, and drawing our strength from Him, may we all remain true to our faith despite the challenges and difficulties we may face in this world. May God be with us always, now and forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard again about St. John the Baptist in the Gospel passage today, as Our Lord Jesus exalted this faithful servant of God, in his faith and conviction to serve Him, being the one who has been trusted with the mission of proclaiming the coming of the Saviour of the world, preparing the way for His coming and entry into this world.

He proclaimed the Good News which was long awaited by all mankind, as through the Saviour all of us have been saved from our fated destruction because of our sins and disobedience against God. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, from which is taken our first reading today, we heard God’s promise to His people, that He will help His people and will no longer turn His back against them.

And this prophecy was fulfilled completely and perfectly in the Lord Jesus Christ, Our God and Saviour, by Whose coming and entry into this world, and later on by His death on the cross and glorious resurrection from the dead has delivered us all from death into life, for He fulfilled His promise to those who have faith in Him, that He will redeem them and protect them from their enemies, and gather them as He gathers all of His flock to Himself.

And St. John the Baptist was the important servant of God, who became His mouthpiece and messenger, calling upon the people to repent from their sins and turn back towards their Lord. He revealed to them that the Lord would soon come and redeem His people as He promised, and they should prepare themselves for His coming. That is why St. John the Baptist laboured hard among the people, devoting himself completely to God.

St. John the Baptist is the epitome of the discipleship in Christ, as he obeyed the Lord and His will, and faithfully carried out the mission which he has been entrusted with. He did not sway away from the purpose of his mission, and as we witness in the Gospels, when asked whether he was the Messiah, he could have been tempted to claim that he was the One. Yet, he did not do so, and he humbly mentioned that he was not the One Who was to come after him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we prepare for the coming of Christmas season, we need to heed the examples of St. John the Baptist in his faith, devotion and commitment to the Lord. We should also listen to what he has also preached, calling on us to repent from our sinful ways to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord. For as I have mentioned a few times in the past month, as we prepare for Christmas, we do not just recall His historic birth in Bethlehem, but we should also remember that He will come again the second time, at the time of the final judgment.

Are we ready to welcome Him should He come again at a time we do not expect at all? The coming of the Lord will be sudden and swift, catching many by surprise. Surely we do not want to be counted among those who are caught unprepared if this happens. Then, we should follow the examples and faith of St. John the Baptist, in his humility and commitment to the Lord.

And we should also heed the examples of St. John of the Cross, the saint whose feast day we celebrate today. St. John of the Cross was known as a holy and devout priest, who together with St. Teresa of Avila were remembered for their roles in reforming and purifying the religious order of the Carmelites. Through the reform, both saints sought to return the religious order and its members to a more faithful observation of a devout spiritual life, filled with prayers and devotions to God, deepening their commitments to God.

Through his many works and writings, St. John of the Cross inspired many others to seek a deeper understanding of their faith, and to walk more faithfully in the ways of the Lord. His pious examples and simple lifestyle, and humility echoed that of St. John the Baptist, whose life we just discussed earlier on today. That is how all of us Christians should also be, putting our trust in God, and be ever humble before the Lord, remembering that without the Lord, we are truly nothing.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, as we approach the time of our Christmas celebrations, let us reform our lives, that we throw away the excesses of this world, as well as all sorts of temptations and other things that have become obstacles in our ability to love the Lord and to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. May He continue to bless each and every one of us, that we may draw ever closer to Him, and be found worthy to receive His eternal glory when He comes again. St. John the Baptist and St. John of the Cross, pray for us always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture giving us assurance that if we put our trust in God, we will not be disappointed, that is because He is the only One Who can be completely trusted and depended on, even though we may find His path to be difficult and challenging.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given each and every one of us free will, that we may choose how we are to live our lives, and whether we want to choose Him as Our Lord and Saviour, or whether we would rather follow the devil in rebelling against God’s laws and ways. He has given us this choice, that we may decide whether we want to follow the path He has laid before us, or rather take a different path.

Yet, many of us are not aware of God’s grace and love. We are not aware that He has given us the opportunity to be filled with grace, by walking in His path, and He even invites us all to come to Him, as what the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is the reality and truth which Our Lord wants to present to us.

This means that He wants us to realise that despite the challenges that we may encounter if we remain faithful to Him, but in the end, it leads to an eternity of joy and happiness, rather than an eternity of suffering because of our damnation, if we choose the seemingly easier path of the devil. Yet, unfortunately, many of us willingly chose to follow the path of the evil one, because of the temptations and persuasions he has levelled on us.

Many of us are rather short-sighted in a sense that we would rather experience joy and happiness for the moment that we live in. We do not want difficulties or suffering, and we would rather choose the easy way out, and that is why, we end up being tempted by the devil with false promises of comfort and safety, and we succumbed to those temptations, falling into sin. Only when we have been trapped deep within his traps, that we realise our folly, and it may be then too late for us to get out of the trouble.

Let us instead look up to the examples of our holy predecessors, many of whom have resolutely remained faithful despite the challenges and difficulties they have encountered. Many of them chose to remain faithful despite threats and indeed facts of suffering and martyrdom that they encountered. And thus was the story of St. Lucy or St. Lucia, the saint whose feast we celebrate today, a holy virgin and martyr.

St. Lucy was a Christian woman born to a noble family in Syracuse, and her father died while she was still young. She dedicated her life and consecrated her virginity to God from the time of her youth. However, she had many suitors as she was reported to be very beautiful. She was also arranged in marriage to a pagan nobleman. However, St. Lucy continued in her faith and devotion, giving much of her riches to charity to the poor and the homeless, much to the consternation of the pagan nobleman.

She was therefore denounced before the governor as a Christian, and was ordered by the governor to offer sacrifice to the Roman Emperor as was mandatory, but she refused to do so. She would rather choose suffering and death rather than to abandon her faith, and when the governor tried to defile her sacred virginity in a brothel, miraculously no one could move her from the place where she was at, and in the end, her life was ended with a sword.

The devotion to St. Lucy continues until today, as many people are inspired by her faith and piety, by her commitment and charitable actions, through which she showed her way of following the Lord’s path, which may be filled with challenges, sorrow and difficulties, and yet in the end, only eternal glory awaits her and all those who have chosen the same path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in her footsteps and seek to remain true to our faith, remembering that the Lord Jesus Himself had said that all those who want to follow Him must take up their crosses and follow Him. Let us all therefore, faithfully bear up our crosses in life, with its joys and sorrows, and help one another to persevere on our way to reach out to the Lord. May God be with us always, and bless each and every one of us and our endeavours. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a very popular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who appeared approximately five hundred years ago in the area that is now Mexico, at the site where now a great Basilica built in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe now stands. Today let us reflect on the many wonders which we mankind have received through her intercession.

At that time, during the early years of Spanish America, Our Lady chose to appear to a local native, St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, whose feast day we celebrated just a few days ago. At that time, she made her appearance on a hill known as the Tepeyac hill to St. John Diego, who then related her apparition and message to the local bishop. The local bishop was skeptical of St. John Diego’s account and wanted a proof of her authentic apparition.

Therefore, as Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared again to St. John Diego, she asked him to gather some flowers from the spot she pointed out on the hill, which were miraculous, as those flowers, Castilian flowers, were not existent at that part of the world. St. John Diego gathered the flowers in the cloak that he was wearing, called a tilma, and brought the flowers as a sign and proof to the bishop.

When St. John Diego came to the bishop and presented the miraculous flowers to him, what amazed the bishop much more and to his great surprise was that the very image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was imprinted on the tilma or cloak that St. John Diego was wearing. Many people came to believe in this miracle and apparition, and came to greater devotion to God through His mother, who appeared as Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Pope eventually recognised this apparition as authentic, and great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe had continued ever since.

Today, as we recall this great apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, we should take note how Mary appeared many times to many different people, at Guadalupe, at Lourdes, at Fatima, and at many other places as deemed authentic by the Holy See. And all these apparitions were in fact ways through which Mary, the great Mother of God, is still ever active trying to bring us all, her adopted children, towards reconciliation and salvation in her Son, Our God.

For Mary has a special role in our salvation, and the Church has recognised her as the co-Redemptrix of mankind. It was not that she by her own power has saved mankind, but rather, it was through her that God made His salvation to be able to reach out to us. Her obedience and willingness to be part of God’s plan of salvation for us mankind has brought forth the Saviour into this world, just as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah.

Our Lord Himself has also entrusted all of us mankind to her, symbolically represented as He entrusted St. John the Evangelist to her, and at the same time entrusting her to his care. Through this, all of us have been made to be her children, as Jesus her Son, is also our Brother. As she has now been assumed to Heaven, to sit at the side of her Son, she is the greatest of all our intercessors, constantly praying for our sake. And this is also why she frequently appeared to us, appealing for us to repent from our sins and change our lives.

She loves each and every one of us mankind, just as she loved her Son Jesus with all of her loving heart. Every man and woman who died with sins unforgiven and unrepentant are in danger of eternal damnation, and is sorrowful for her. Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that she was with her Son throughout His Passion, as He walked the path to Calvary, bearing the heavy burden of the cross and our sins. Just as she was sorrowful because of the suffering endured by her Son, she is also sorrowful for all the souls who will endure eternal damnation and suffering because of their sins.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate and rejoice in the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today, let us also then remember to reflect about our own lives and actions. Have we been truly faithful to God in all of our actions? Or have we rather allowed ourselves to fall into sin, and forgetting God and all of His love for us? Many of us have lapsed from our faith, and have not been active in practicing our faith in God, and we have allowed ourselves to be busy with worldly matters and forgetting about God.

In this season of Advent, during this time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas therefore, we need to prepare ourselves, our hearts and minds, our bodies and our souls, our whole beings, to be able to celebrate Christmas worthily and understand better its importance for our salvation. Christmas is the celebration of Our Lord’s birth and entry into this world, as the Light of the world that dawned and pierced through the darkness of this world.

And as the Church teaches us, the best way to reach out to the Lord, Our Light, is through His Mother, Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, who constantly appeared to mankind, in order to guide us all to her Son. It is imperative therefore, that we make whatever opportunity that we have been given, this very life, to reach out to the Lord, and humbly seeks His mercy and forgiveness for our sins, that we may come to be worthy of His eternal glory.

We should follow the examples of our holy and devout predecessors, the saints, in the examples of their lives. And there is no greater example than Mary herself, whose obedience and adherence to God’s will, whose commitment of love for her Son, Our Lord, made it possible for salvation to come to us from God. We are all now called to follow in her footsteps, that she may lead us all down the path towards salvation and eternal life.

May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, and may His blessed mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to intercede for us sinners still living in this world. May all of us strive to be ever more committed to serve the Lord in all of our ways, and repent from our sins, that we may draw ever closer to God and His grace, and be worthy of the glory of eternal life. O Blessed Mother of God, Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Amen.

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Monday, 11 December 2017 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened from the Scripture passages, relating to us about the healing that came from God. The prophet Isaiah in his book wrote about the coming of the Lord’s healing and forgiveness upon His people, shown with miraculous signs such as the opening of the eyes of the blind, loosening of the tongues of the dumb, healing of those who has paralysis and also possession by evil spirits.

All these healings have also been done by some of the prophets of old, but those are healing of the physical body. What the prophet Isaiah prophesied came about in its complete fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour, Who in the Gospel passage today healed the paralytic man, despite the opposition from the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.

Those people were furious at Jesus because He healed the man who had paralysis by saying that ‘Your sins are forgiven’. In fact, Jesus was healing the man in body and in spirit, as He has the just right to do so. They alleged that only God could forgive sins, and by uttering such words, Jesus had blasphemed against God, but that was because they refused to believe that Jesus is indeed God, the Son of God.

This reading has a particular significance for us as Christians, as all of us know that the celebration of Christmas, for which we are preparing this Advent season, is centred on the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, we believe that God Himself has entered into this world, descending from heaven, and through Mary, His mother, He took up the flesh and appearance of Man.

Hence, we believe in Jesus, Our Lord, Who is both fully divine and fully human, through the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God, and His nativity or birth through Mary into the world. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Messiah or Saviour of the world, has two natures, human and divine, but which at the same time, perfectly united in the one person, Jesus Christ Himself.

Thus, if we believe that Jesus is Lord and God, as our faith describes, then we should believe that He is capable to heal our sins, as sin is indeed a disease that afflicts us, corrupting our inmost selves, from the depths of our souls, to our hearts and minds, and of course, our bodies as well. Sin is the very reason for our separation from the fullness of God’s grace and love since our corrupted beings cannot bear to be in the presence of God.

But God is ever loving and merciful towards us. He has always loved us from the very beginning, even though we have often rejected His love and abandoned His laws and precepts. He is willing to forgive us our sins, and He indeed wants to heal us from our afflictions, as He has demonstrated through the many healing miracles He had performed during His earthly ministry, and which is continued by His disciples and the Church He established.

However, the question is, do we want to be healed? Do we want to be forgiven from our sins? God is always forgiving and He will constantly forgive without cease as long as we are willing to be forgiven. Yet, forgiveness cannot be complete without genuine repentance, as in order for us to be completely forgiven, we also need to be truly sorry for our sins and mistakes, and commit ourselves to a new life without sin.

Do we remember what the Lord Jesus did with the woman caught in the act of adultery by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law? We know how the story goes, and the woman was spared stoning because no one was willing to admit that they themselves had no sin on their own, and thus worthy to cast the first stone. But we often forget that Jesus told the woman, that while He does not judge her at that moment, she should sin no more.

Therefore, today, as we continue to progress through the season of Advent, let us all reflect on our lives, and on the fact that each and every one of us are sinners, for whom the Lord has come, and indeed has suffered and died for, on the cross. Whenever we look at the Lord Jesus at the crucifix, let us remember this immense love and mercy He has shown us by laying down His own life that each and every one of us may be healed and absolved from our sins.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Damasus I, a holy Pope who lived in the first millennium after the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pope St. Damasus was renowned for his great piety and exemplary life. He helped to guide his flock to be faithful to the Lord amidst challenges and difficulties that were facing the Church and the faithful at the time. His holiness and many good works for the sake of the Church has saved many souls who repented from their sins and turned themselves back to the Lord.

Therefore, we should be inspired by his examples, as well as the many other inspiring lives by the other holy saints of God. Many of those saints were themselves great sinners, but they allowed the Lord to transform their lives, and their lives were forever changed, from a life of sin and darkness into a life filled with God’s grace. Let us therefore, pledge ourselves anew to the Lord, and devote ourselves, our time and effort to serve Him, to love Him and to help one another to reach out to Him.

May the Lord bless each and every one of us, and may He empower all of us to be able to live faithfully in accordance with His ways. May we draw ever closer to Him, that in the end, we may be worthy of Him and will stand to receive the eternal glory He has promised to all of His faithful ones. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 December 2017 : Second Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this second Sunday in the season of Advent, as we continue our preparation for the celebration of Christmas in a few weeks’ time, we listened to the words of the Scripture in which the focus is placed on the actions of the servant of God, the one who prepared the way for the coming of the Lord, namely St. John the Baptist.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the prophecy speaking about someone who cries out in the wilderness, declaring the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God. This prophecy clearly refers to the time of grace, during which time God finally fulfilled the long awaited promise of a Saviour or Messiah, and His coming was announced and heralded by this faithful servant, St. John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptist as many of us are aware of, is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the relatives of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Since his youth, he has been dedicated to a life of service to God, and he went to the wilderness, wearing simple clothing, and did exactly as what was prophesied in the Book of the prophet Isaiah. He proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, and called on the people to repent from their sins and abandon their wicked ways.

He baptised the people with water, and through that baptism, called many to a conversion of life and a change in their way of life, that they would commit to a life worthy of God, for the kingdom of God was about to come. By doing this, this faithful servant has prepared the way for the Lord, just like that of a farmer tilling and preparing the soil, so that the soil will be ready for the sower to sow the seeds on it.

And what is the significance of what we have heard about St. John the Baptist and his works among the people? What is the importance of these on our own lives? First of all, we should heed the words of St. John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God with the words, ‘Repent! For the kingdom of God is near!’ And reflect on his role as the voice in the wilderness who declares the coming of the Lord, preparing the way for His coming.

This means that, all of us should also spend time to reflect on our own lives, and think of what we have done in our lives thus far. Are we ready to welcome the Lord into our lives? Are we ready to enter into the kingdom of God? We know that the Lord has come into this world, and we have been taught His ways and teachings through the Church, and yet, if we see around us, there are still so many people who lack true faith in God.

And in how we are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christmas, we see for ourselves, how many of us Christians have not remembered the true purpose and meaning of our Christmas celebrations, preferring to follow the secular and worldly ways of celebrating Christmas, having been inundated with plenty of advertisements and temptations of materialistic and worldly celebration of Christmas, with shopping, lots of gifts, sparkling decorations and many other common things we see at Christmas, such as Santa Claus and many others.

But have we not forgotten why is it that we rejoice this Christmas? What is it about Christmas that is so worth to be joyful about? It is the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ which we celebrate every Christmas, but year after year as we celebrate Christmas, have we forgotten this true purpose of our celebration? Have we ended up going through motion as we celebrate yet another holiday? Is Christmas just another holiday period when we enjoy ourselves with parties and revelries, travelling or any other activities, but leaving out the One for Whom we should rejoice for?

It is time for us to look deeper into our second reading today, taken from the second Epistle of St. Peter. In his Epistle, St. Peter mentioned that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, which means that it will be totally unexpected for all of us, and many of us will not be ready for His coming. That is why in this season of Advent, we have a two-fold preparation for us to go through.

First of all, we know that Advent is the season of preparation for Christmas, but it does not mean the time for us to go shopping and prepare for all the gifts and wrappings for those gifts, or planning how we should decorate our houses and conduct our Christmas parties, luncheons and all the sort. All these are secondary to the main celebration of Christmas, and in fact can become a distraction.

Instead, we should spend this time to reflect on the significance of Christmas, and why is it that Christians all over the world celebrate Christmas as one of the most important events of our faith, together with Easter. As I have mentioned last Sunday, Christmas and Easter are inseparably intertwined with each other, and one give meaning to the other. There can be no Christmas without Easter and vice versa. And although Easter is still more important than Christmas, Christmas does give an important meaning to Easter.

For in Christmas all of us celebrate the moment when God Who willingly took up for Himself a human existence, was born into the world, and therefore become the Light to all the nations. As what the book of the prophet Isaiah mentioned, that a people living in the darkness have seen a great Light. For Christ is the Light of the world, through Whom all mankind can finally find their way towards their Lord.

But without Easter, and all that happened preceding it, during the Passion of the Lord in the Holy Week, Christmas would be just the birthday of another person, no different or any special compared to any other birthdays. Instead, understanding the full mystery of Our Lord’s birth, life, ministry and later on His suffering, death and resurrection from the dead makes Christmas truly special, as Christmas marks then the moment when Our Lord’s plan of salvation comes to its fruition.

Let us all then, think carefully of how we should celebrate our Christmas in the coming few weeks. We need to prepare ourselves thoroughly and wholeheartedly in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, that we may embrace the meaning of Christmas in our joy. It is not wrong that we should be happy, to rejoice and to be merry, but we must rejoice for the right reason and for the right purpose.

And as mentioned, our Christmas celebration is not just for us to reflect on the historical birth of Our Lord, but also to prepare for the future second coming of Our Lord, which He has promised to all of us, when He ascended to heaven in glory. He will come again at the end of time, to gather all of His faithful ones towards Himself, and as St. Peter mentioned in his Epistle, we will not know the timing when this will happen.

Are we able to do our best to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord? That is what we should think about, as we go through this season of Advent. Let us prepare ourselves by spending more time with God, through prayer and through charitable works. Let us all devote ourselves and do our best to obey the Lord in all His commandments, that when He comes again, He may find us all ready and prepared for His coming, and we will be worthy to receive the eternal glory He promised to all those who are faithful to Him.

May the Lord bless all of us and our endeavours, that we may draw ever closer to Him, and found to be worthy of Him. May our Christmas celebrations be ever more meaningful and fruitful, as we recognise the true joy of Christmas. May each and every one of us find blessings in all that we do, and receive God’s grace. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scriptures that first of all showed us the nature of our loving God towards us, from the book of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah showed the prophecy of God’s love for His people, in how He will guide all of them back towards His grace, and will no longer be separated from them.

As we proceed through this season of Advent, approaching the time of Christmas, let us all use the time provided for us in order to reflect on our lives and on our actions. Many of us have fallen away from God’s grace and walked in the path of sin. We have not put God as the focus of our lives, but rather, we become distracted with the many temptations of life.

We have become like lost sheep, scattered and having no idea where to go, just like the people described by Jesus in the Gospel passage today, as ‘sheep who are without a shepherd’. And thus, at that time, because there were so many people who had become wayward in their ways and sinned, they have lost direction in their lives and sought the Lord to bring them back to the way of truth.

The Lord Who loves each and every one of His people had mercy on them, and had pity because He saw those people who would be doomed to damnation should they continue in their present path. Thus, if we read through the Gospels, the Lord spent a lot of time teaching the people and calling them to abandon their old ways of sin and embrace God’s ways.

But at the same time, He also mentioned how the labourers are few while the harvest is plentiful. This means that, while there are indeed vast potential for God’s work and grace to be done among the people, with many souls waiting to be saved, yet there are only few people who are willing to step forward and take up the mantle of the hard work of those who serve the Lord and preach His Good News.

What does all these mean for us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that first of all, each and every one of us should do our best to turn towards the Lord, and especially during this season of Advent, we are constantly reminded of the need to prepare ourselves for the eventual coming of the Lord Jesus and also eventually the final Judgment. We should do our best to prepare ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually, by turning away from sin, resisting the temptations to sin, and by doing what is right in the sight of God.

However, that is not all that God had asked us to do. All of us are also called to heed what the Lord Jesus had mentioned in the Gospel passage, ‘Ask the Master of the harvest to send labourers to gather His harvest,’ and also, ‘Go, instead to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.’ All of these are set to remind us of the obligations we have as Christians to reach out to those who have not yet known God, or those who have lapsed in their faith.

How do we do that, brethren? We should not think that we need to do many wondrous and ambitious large-scale works. Rather, we should begin from ourselves, from our immediate family, friends and acquaintances. We should role model our faith through our actions and by devoting ourselves to God in everything. We should help the Church in its works of evangelisation, by becoming beacons of light through which many others can see God and His light through us and therefore believe.

We should also heed the examples of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. St. John Diego or also known as St. Juan Diego was a saint who lived a few hundred years ago in Spanish America, at the place where now the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located at. St. John Diego was a native of the land, a convert from his previous pagan faith, who witnessed the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Guadalupe.

St. John Diego has always been a righteous person, living his life humbly and gracefully. Through him, Our Blessed Mother delivered her messages to the people, calling on them to repent from their sins and wickedness. And when they doubted St. John Diego and his accounts about the apparition, Our Lady showed him a sign through his cloak or ‘tilma’ in the local language.

It was told that Our Lady asked him to gather some flowers at the site of the apparition, and present them to the local bishop. When St. John Diego presented the flowers, which are not local or seasonal to the area, the bishop was amazed as the very likeness of Our Lady herself was imprinted on the cloak of St. John Diego. Many came to believe in this miraculous occasion, and many people repented from their sins and were saved.

The story of St. John Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe should inspire all of us to do what we can in order to be faithful disciples of the Lord, by encouraging one another to live righteously in accordance with God’s ways. Let us all be good messengers of God, delivering the truth of the Lord through our righteous life, that we may convince more and more people, that less and less souls may be lost from God.

Let us be lost sheep no longer and help those who are still lost that they may find their way to the Lord, their Good Shepherd. Let us be His faithful labourers, to help Him gather the rich harvest of this world, that is the salvation of the souls of our fellow brothers and sisters. May God help us in these endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 8 December 2017 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast day of the Church, celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. This occasion commemorates the moment when Mary was conceived without any trace of original sin of man, and hence the Immaculate Conception, which is a dogma of the Church proclaimed by His Holiness Blessed Pope Pius IX a century and half ago.

The Church through its sacred tradition and teachings show that God has given a special privilege to Mary, in that she had been set aside from the rest of mankind, descendants of Adam and Eve. Unlike all men and women since the time of Adam and Eve, Mary was conceived free from the taint of original sin, the mark of disobedience which all mankind have received, from the time when our first forefathers disobeyed God and sinned.

In our first reading today, that was why we heard about the time when Adam and Eve sinned, because they disobeyed God and chose rather to follow the lies and sweet words of Satan, who persuaded them to eat from the fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so that they might become like God. Instead, they received rebuke and condemnation from God, and the truth about the lies of Satan was exposed. Ever since then, mankind had been tainted by the sin of their disobedience, and had to wander and suffer on earth.

That is also why, because of our sins, all of us mankind also faces death at the end of our earthly lives. All of us are to experience death as the just consequence for our sins, because sin has corrupted us, our bodies, our hearts, our minds and our souls, our whole and entire being, and as such, we are not worthy to be with God, as He Who is perfectly good, cannot tolerate sin to be in His presence. But this does not mean that God does not love us, or that He has abandoned or rejected us. Instead, God still loves us as He has always had.

Otherwise, God could have just destroyed us with the mere thoughts of His mind. He did not do so. He allowed us to endure the suffering for our sins and disobedience, but at the same time, He has also prepared the ultimate salvation for all of us, His beloved people, right from the time that we first fell into sin. In our first reading from the Book of Genesis today, God Himself prophesied that while there would be conflict between the descendants of man with the forces of Satan, but God will triumph in the end.

God promised that His salvation will come, and indeed as He mentioned, the Woman will crush the serpent under her feet, a prophecy about the time of salvation to come for mankind. And through the prophet Isaiah, again God made His intention clear, promising the salvation of the world, the Saviour, born of a Virgin, which surely we all know, have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, born of His mother, the Blessed ever Virgin Mary.

In the Gospel today, the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary in Nazareth, bearing the Good News of God’s salvation, which He would fulfil through her. He revealed to her through the Archangel, of the plan of salvation He Himself has long put in place, that the Son of God, the Divine Word of God Himself would come into the world, taking up upon Himself the human flesh, and born of a Woman, Mary herself, which became a reality through her humble obedience to the will of God.

And now, let us link all these back to the reason for our celebration today, that is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Why is it that Mary is so special? That is because God has prepared her to be part of His plan for the salvation of His people, as she was to be the one who would bear the Messiah, Lord and Saviour of the world inside her, as the Archangel Gabriel mentioned, ‘the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and the Son born of you will be called the Son of God.’

For this special role, God is certainly able to give an exception to Mary among all mankind, that for her alone, she was conceived, and born of her parents without the taints of the original sin of man. And this special grace is related to the role she played in our salvation, as the one who bore God within herself. In order to understand this better, we must know that Mary is the New Ark, bearing the New Covenant of God.

The old Ark of the Covenant was built by Moses from precious metals and materials, and adorned to be worthy of bearing the Law of God and His Covenant, and the Ark came to represent God’s presence among His people, so much so that it is hallowed and no one may touch it without dropping dead, as what happened in one occasion when a priest touched the Ark by accident, and he was struck down.

That is why the Ark had to be carried on two poles born by four people. And if this old Ark is made by the hands of man, carved and designed by man, and bearing within it, two slabs of stone upon which the Ten Commandments were written, and was considered so holy and precious, then all the more that the New Ark bearing the New Covenant must be hallowed, pure and holy.

Thus, God has prepared Mary, who is to be the mother of God, and made her holy and pure, clean from any taint of the original sins of man. And this New Ark is all the more precious, far surpassing the old Ark, because Mary, as all men and women are, she was crafted and designed by the Lord Our God. And she bore within her womb for nine months, none other than the Lord Himself, Master of all the universe, Who has willingly come down upon us in human flesh, Jesus Christ, Son of God.

That is why today the whole universal Church rejoice together celebrating this wonderful mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for through Mary, the final defeat of the devil and his forces have been made a reality, as the promises God has made about our salvation has been fulfilled in their entirety. And even more so, in Mary, the devil has encountered a great enemy, who is always thwarting his plans all the time.

That is because Mary is also the greatest of all the saints of God, and she is the one ever closest to her Son in heaven. She is, as the Queen Mother of heaven, a close advisor to her Son, and she is always active trying to help the people of God to return to Him. She appeared several times to us, in various places and ways, appealing to us mankind to repent from our sins.

Through her example of obedience and commitment to fulfil God’s will, walking faithfully in His ways throughout her whole life, Mary has become a great example for each and every one of us, on how we should behave and act in this life, in obedience to God. Ultimately, through our renewed obedience, and by believing in the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved and redeemed from our past sins.

Let us today therefore, by following the examples of Mary, mother of God, conceived without sin, dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord. Let us abandon our sinful ways and put our trust in God from now on, striving to live worthily in accordance with God’s words. May the Lord be with us all, and may our mother Mary intercede for us sinners, that we may find our way towards God and His salvation. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 December 2017 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard from the Scripture passages, of what it means for us to be faithful in God and to put our trust in Him, as opposed to trust in our own human strength, intelligence and abilities and ignoring His teachings. Those who does not listen to God or listened to Him and yet does nothing will be judged by their lack of faith and they will meet their deserved end.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus spoke to the people with a parable, showing them the comparison between two people who built their houses on two different types of foundations. One built his house on a foundation of solid rock, firm and immovable, and no rain, or wind, or wave or any forces were able to dislodge or shake the house from its firm foundation. Jesus compared this with those who listened to the word of God and acted accordingly upon hearing it.

Then, He also mentioned about the one who built his house on a shaky foundation of sand, which has no strength, depth and cohesiveness. As a result, when rain, or wind, or wave, or any forces were exerted on the house, these caused the house to be destroyed and toppled over, because even though the house might be well-built, but no matter how good the house was, the foundation was weak and not firm. And the Lord compared this with those who listened to the word of God and did nothing with it.

The houses those men built represent our own respective lives, our livelihood and everything we experienced in this world. The foundations represent our faith in God, and how strong and steady that faith is. If our faith in God is not strong, then it will be shaky as the sandy foundation, which brought about calamity to the person who built the house on it. Thus, we should indeed spend the time now to reflect what it truly means for us to have a strong faith.

As the Lord mentioned in the Gospel passage today, not those who always call out ‘Lord! Lord!’ will be heard and be worthy to enter into the kingdom of heaven. To do that without a concrete expression of our faith means nothing, as our faith is not alive and existent, but dead. That is why, while we believe that we are saved through faith, it cannot be just any kind of faith, worse still, just something like, ‘Lord I believe in You’, and we are assured of eternal life and salvation.

What God requires and wants from each one of us is true and living faith, not a dead faith. And what constitutes a true and living faith? It is faith made real and concrete through our actions, words and deeds, which support our faith and all that we believe in God. If our actions and deeds are not representative of what we believe in, or worse still, contrary and in opposition to our faith, then we have scandalised ourselves in the eyes of God and men alike.

How do we, then, have a living and genuine faith in us? It is by strengthening the foundations of our faith, through which we resolve to do what the Lord has commanded us to do, which is to love. It may seem easy to be done, as we need just to show love through our actions and deeds. However, as we all know, loving someone is not as easy as what it seems. True love requires commitment from us, effort and the giving of oneself.

We are all called to love the Lord, Our God, with all of our hearts, minds, with all of our strengths and capabilities. This is the first and the most important of all of God’s teachings and commandments. Yet, many of us in our daily lives do not place God as the most important One in our lives. Instead, we tend to put Him aside, and forgot about Him, until the time when the need arise for us to seek Him, because we are in need, and we ask God to help us to get out of our predicament.

And then, we are also called to love one another, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, not just those who loved us back, but all, even our enemies, those who hated us and persecuted us. This is again, not something that can be easily done, as it is in our human nature to bear grudges and to be angry at someone else, to be unhappy with others. Are we able to do what the Lord taught us to do? To forgive our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us?

That is why we should put our trust in God, and follow His examples. There is no better example than Our Lord Jesus Himself, Who has shown His exemplary love. As St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Romans, Christ died for all of us, out of His love for us, while we are all still sinners. He mentioned that few of us would want to lay down our lives for a good friend, less so, an enemy or someone so wicked or unworthy that we would loath to be even near the person.

But that is exactly the very reason why we must put our trust in God. Is it better to trust in men and all worldly things which are unreliable and are doubted in their ability to provide for us? It is indeed better to trust in the Lord, Who is ever loving and have been ever trustworthy, because He is faithful to His Covenant, which He had made with us, His people. Even though we have often been unfaithful, but God is ever faithful. He cannot deny the love that He has for each one of us.

Are we able then to follow the examples of Christ? Are we able to follow the example of His love and obedience to His Father? Perhaps then, we should also heed the examples from St. Ambrose of Milan, the renowned bishop and saint, who was a very influential Church leader at his time, and one of the original four Doctors of the Church, together with his protege and pupil, St. Augustine of Hippo.

It was told that St. Ambrose was born to an influential and Christian Roman noble family, who had an excellent education and upbringing, brought up in the various educations on law, rhetoric and law. Eventually, he rose up the ranks to become the governor of the province and region surrounding the city of Milan, then the effective capital of the Roman Empire in its western provinces. As such, he was a very influential and powerful person within the Empire.

At that time, there was a conflict between the factions of the Church, between those who held on to the Orthodox faith of the Church, and those who were swayed by the false heresy of Arius, the Arians. The dispute arose in deciding who was to succeed the previous bishop of Milan, who was an Arian. The different parties could not agree on a suitable candidate, until St. Ambrose’s name was brought up, and thus he was elected as the Bishop of Milan.

Initially, St. Ambrose was reluctant to take up the office, as at that time, he was not even baptised properly yet and was not a priest less so a bishop. Yet, after he has taken up his office, he pursued a very rigorous and zealous effort to rejuvenate the faith among his flock, devoting himself to many charitable works, and cared for the poor and the less privileged people in his diocese.

St. Ambrose was also known for his staunch defence of the true and Orthodox teachings of the Church, devoting much of his time and effort throughout his episcopacy, in trying to limit the influence of the heretical Arians, who had a lot of support among the Imperial aristocracy, even from the Emperor, Valentinian II and his mother, Empress Justina. He resisted for many years the efforts of the Arians in trying to gain possession of some churches in Milan for their use.

Eventually, after years of resistance, hard work and patience, St. Ambrose managed to steer his flock carefully and lovingly through those years of difficulties and challenges. The influence of the Arians and the other heretics greatly decreased from then on, and many more people repented from their heresy and turned back to the true teachings of the Church. St. Ambrose himself once said, “I am ready to submit (to the Imperial authorities), be it to prison or even to death, but I will never betray the Lord and His Church.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we can see, St. Ambrose of Milan has devoted all of his energy and strength trying to love God and to devote himself to Him wholeheartedly. And he has also devoted his time and effort in loving his fellow brethren, those entrusted under his care as bishop, ensuring that these people did not fall into heresy and sin.

Let us all follow in his footsteps, brethren, and resolve to live our lives more attuned to the will of God, and obeying His commands, trusting in Him, building upon the solid foundation of God and not upon the uncertain foundation of worldly glories and temptations. May all of us draw closer to God, and may He bless us all each and every day, in all of our good and faithful endeavours. Amen.