Christian sermons

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Monday, 31 July 2017 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the story of how the Israelites rebelled against God in the first reading from the Book of Exodus, telling us about that time when the people of Israel chose to build for themselves a pagan idol, a golden calf to be worshipped as god instead of the One and only True God Who had brought them out from the land of Egypt.

They have rebelled against God and forgotten the love and mercy which He had shown them, when He brought them out of the land of their slavery. They suffered grievously in Egypt under the tyranny of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and God remembered them and the promise which He had made with Abraham and their forefathers. God sent ten great plagues upon Egypt which forced the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free, and when he reneged on that and sent his chariots after the Israelites, God destroyed the entire armies of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

But despite the wonders that He had shown them, and despite the guidance and help which He had given them throughout their journey, the Israelites still chose to commit sin by raising up for themselves a pagan idol, a god that they established to be their god and saviour, as the one who brought them out of Egypt, just because Moses went up the Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights to receive God's laws and commandments.

They thought that God had abandoned them, and therefore, they quickly lost faith in Him and turned to alternative sources of comfort and hope, that is in the pagan worship of the false gods and idols, one that they must have been exposed to during their time in Egypt. A golden calf is one among the many deities worshipped and held sacred by the Egyptians, and thus Israel sinned against God.

We may be wondering why did the Israelites do such a thing, that is to rebel against God and to disobey His commandments. But the answer to this is really the fact that the Israelites did not allow the Word of God and His truth to develop inside of them. They witnessed all the miraculous deeds of God and listened to His words and covenant, as delivered unto them through Moses, but they did not allow them to grow in them. Their faith was a superficial faith.

In the Gospel today, Jesus spoke to His disciples about the two parables related to each other, one in which Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven being likened to a mustard seed, which is a very small and insignificant seed, compared to other fruits which have much larger seeds. However, from that very small seed, when placed in a fertile soil and provided with the optimum condition for germination and growth, the mustard seed will grow into a large mustard plant, far larger than what we would normally expect for seed of such a small size.

Then, Jesus continued with the story of another parable, of when yeast is added into three measures of flour shaped into a dough, the yeast will cause the whole dough to rise from a flat and small piece of dough into a large, expansive and soft piece of bread. Yeasts are very small and microscopic in size, and yet under the right conditions, the yeast can cause marvellous works to happen, including the fermentation of grapes into wine, and as mentioned, the formation of the leavened bread.

Therefore, after hearing and discussing all of these, what then, is the message which all of us should take note from today's Scripture readings? There are two key messages which we should take heed of, first of all, it is that we must provide a good condition and environment in our lives, in order for our faith to grow and develop within us. As we see from the parables of Jesus, using the examples of mustard seed and yeasts, mustard seed cannot grow and germinate without sufficient water in the soil, oxygen and suitable temperature, and yeast similarly cannot carry out its function unless oxygen is present.

Similarly therefore, our faith cannot grow without us providing a good condition and environment in which that faith we have can flourish. Otherwise, our faith will continue to remain dormant and will be useless to us. Thus, we have to provide a conducive environment, through love and dedication of ourselves to our fellow men, and through our commitment to God. And it is important for us to develop ourselves spiritually, by having an active prayer life, in which we constantly pray from our hearts, seeking to communicate with God.

And then, the second message is that, it does not matter how small we think our faith may be, even when compared to others who are seemingly more faithful and more pious than us, just like the small mustard seed, as long as it is given the right condition for optimum growth, eventually the seed will blossom and become fruitful. Thus, we ourselves do not need to worry or be concerned that we have little faith, for in whatever little faith we may have, as long as we are genuine in that faith, we will find our way forward.

We should thus begin from ourselves and from those who we are interacting with, from our families and friends. We should live our faith actively and sincerely through our daily actions, by loving our brethren, and showing mercy to those who have hurt us. We should increase our charity and generosity to those who are in need, and be ready to provide ourselves out of love for them.

Perhaps, we all should be inspired by the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, or also known as the Jesuit order. The Jesuits are now the largest religious order in the Church, with enormous contributions in the field of evangelisation and charity works in the Church. But their origins traced to the humble beginnings under St. Ignatius of Loyola and his companions.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born a nobleman into an influential family in what is now Spain, destined to lead a life of privilege, wealth and fame, and he was thus brought up in that manner, seeking for worldly glory and fame, as he became a knight involved in conflicts and wars raging at that time. However, as he lay wounded in one occasion after a great battle, it came to him that whatever glory and fame he sought in the world, whatever valour and honour he sought through battle were meaningless and empty.

Thus St. Ignatius of Loyola chose to leave everything behind and devote himself to the works of the Church. He gathered fellow minded men who desired to spearhead the efforts of the Church in evangelisation and charity. As it happened, it turned out that the religious order that St. Ignatius of Loyola founded went on to become a very important player in the Church's effort of Counter-Reformation in resisting and fighting back the tide of heresy of Protestantism throughout Christendom, as well as in the evangelising works of St. Francis Xavier, another Jesuit and companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

The examples shown by St. Ignatius of Loyola show us that even though we may think that our faith is small, weak or insignificant, but if we have the desire to grow in our faith, and take the concrete steps necessary, we will be able to cultivate the faith we have in us, and we can have truly great and far-ranging effect, as shown in how St. Ignatius of Loyola, once a young nobleman with worldly ambitions and lacking in faith, after he had devoted himself to God's cause, he began the good works which impacts are still felt even to this very day.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all ask St. Ignatius of Loyola to intercede for us, that God may move our hearts which are filled with doubts and indecision, so that we may be more courageous and be more capable of taking concrete actions and steps to be ever more faithful and committed to our faith in God. May the Lord bless all of our good works, and may He give us the courage day after day to serve Him with all our might. Amen.

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Sunday, 30 July 2017 : Seventeenth Sunday 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 Scriptures which called us all to reflect on our lives, and one important question that all of us must ask ourselves, that is 'what is it that is most precious to us?' This is something that many of us ignored or refused to reflect on, but it is actually something that we need to do, so that we can know how we ought to proceed on with life from now on.

In the first reading today, all of us heard the prayer of King Solomon of Israel, son and successor of the famous King David. In his young age and inexperience, King Solomon prayed to God asking for a favour, that He might grant him wisdom, the wisdom to discern what is good from what is evil, the wisdom to make the right decision and judgment. He did not ask for wealth, power, influence or worldly fame; which are all the things that we normally would have desired.

He sought for a greater treasure, one that is far surpassing the treasures of this world. For there is no greater treasure in this world than the treasure of the wisdom and knowledge of God. There can be no greater gift than the gift of the love of God, for His love is eternal and to come to the presence of God is what all of us should be aiming for. His grace and inheritance is everlasting while the goods and glories of this world are fleeting and merely temporary.

This is what the Lord Jesus in our Gospel reading today told His disciples, and which we have heard as well. He spoke about the kingdom of heaven, using a parable, as a way to convey the message of His truth to the people, many of whom at the time were farmers, fishermen, merchants and shepherds. He spoke to them of the kingdom of God as represented by a very valuable treasure hidden in a field, as a pearl of great and exceptional value, and as a great and big fishing net spread out, catching numerous fish of all kinds and sizes.

Through those parables, God wanted to reveal to His people, what a great treasure that they had coming upon them, which He had given them through none other by the revelation of His love through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus did not only come into this world in order to reveal the truth of God to mankind, but He also came to bring all mankind closer to God, to be their Saviour and Redeemer, liberating them from the chains of their sins.

If we reflect deeply on the history of man, and how we mankind ended up living in this world today, we will realise that how mankind had chosen what is lesser in value in terms of the treasures we seek, and threw away the greater treasure that we have once had in the Lord. Our ancestors were created by God and were destined for an eternity of happiness, enjoying the goodness and the fruits of the earth in Eden, in perfect harmony with God. We were intended to enjoy forever a life of true joy and bliss.

However, the devil, Satan, our great enemy, came to tempt us through persuasions, sweet talks and lies, by which he managed to turn the hearts of mankind away from God, beginning from the time of Adam and Eve, when they chose to submit to the temptations of Satan who offered them the knowledge over good and evil, by eating from the forbidden fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge.

Satan was using our humanity's natural curiosity and the desires in our hearts to trick and to tempt us into sin. We are curious to know more, and we desire to have more, and this is part of our humanity. And as Satan used this opportunity to strike at us, it is indeed important for all of us to look up into what each and every one of us value in life, and what we think of as our priorities in this life.

Many of us are often too preoccupied with our work, with our career and our businesses. Many of us work many hours, often at the expense of our relationships with our loved ones, with our families and friends, because we want to accumulate for ourselves more money, more possessions and wealth, as we want to live a more comfortable or even luxurious life. And it does not help us that we live in a world inundated with so many worldly temptations, and with so many commercial materialism.

We often judge and think of others based on their possessions and wealth, or based on their status or influence in the society. We labour hard, hours after hours seeking for more of these, wealth or fame, renown or praise from others. But we have to realise that whatever it is that we have received and gained, it is unlikely that we will be satisfied with whatever we have. It is our human weakness that we are easily tempted to want and to desire for even more of what we have gained.

It is the greed in our heart that cause us to desire for more, and never be satisfied by all the goods and the blessings that we have received. The saying is indeed true that power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts everything. The more it is that we have, in power, wealth and fame, the more that they may corrupt our minds and our hearts, and twist us into committing sin against God and mankind alike.

That is why many kings and rulers of the world, while some were good and just, but many others were wicked and tyrannical in their rule. They oppressed the people and their subjects, levying high taxes on them, and demanding unjust exactions and pressures on them, in order to advance their own interests, to make themselves be more wealthy and powerful, and gain greater esteem and influence among their fellow rulers and kings.

This applies to others as well, because even in little things, we often get into feud and rivalries, conflicts and troubles as we are incapable of letting go of our desires. When our desires and wants come into conflict with each other, we end up in dispute and even infighting among ourselves, and such were the reasons for wars and atrocities that happened in the history of this world. And we will never be happy or be satisfied, for as I mentioned, when we have more, we will want even more.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask ourselves, the same question that I have placed at the very beginning of this discourse, 'What is it that is most precious to us?' or if I rephrase it, 'what is our priority in life?'. Let us ask ourselves what it is that we live for, that whether it is to accrue for ourselves the wealth and treasures of this world? Remember, the Lord Himself said that if we gather up these treasures of the world, all would end up with nothing.

After all, it does not matter how much wealth we obtain, how great a fame and position that we have attained, how far in life we have gone, nothing of these we will carry with us to the life that is to come. We may have attained the wealth and capability to purchase and own the biggest houses, the most luxurious lifestyle and all, but in the end, when we face the Lord in judgment, none of this will be able to help us, less still if we commit vile and wicked deeds in order to attain and gain all those possessions we have.

What King Solomon had done, in asking God for true wisdom in his prayers is something that we all should also do, instead of asking for more power, more wealth, more affluence or fame. As King Solomon has resisted the temptation for all those worldly desires, all of us should do the same as well. Instead, let us all as Christians seek to become ever closer to God, and indeed pray for the wisdom to understand God's will, that He will show us the way forward in how we should live a life faithful to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all not be swayed by the lies and the falsehoods spread by the devil, who is always constantly trying to lure us away from God and to trap us in his insidious traps. Let us strive to do what is right and just in life, turning away from sin and by dying to our pride and selfishness. Let us be humble in life, and instead of seeking personal enrichment and satisfaction, let us be focused on obeying the will of God and be righteous in all that we do. Seek not what can be destroyed by human means, but seek the eternal treasure found in God alone.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters? We begin from ourselves and from those who are around us. Through our little actions and deeds in life, by showing love, care and concern for others, and by sincerely sharing the love and the blessings we receive, especially with those who have little or none, with those who are suffering and those who have no one to love them, we have done what God wants us to do.

Spend our time to do what is beneficial to everyone rather than being too busy with ourselves, with our work or with our businesses. And the Lord Who knows all of our actions and deeds, will give us His everlasting treasure, the eternal glory of heaven. We shall not want again, and we shall be God's people forever. Amen.

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Saturday, 29 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martha (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of St. Martha, one of the close friends and followers of Jesus, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, the man whom the Lord raised from the dead. St. Martha and her siblings followed Jesus and His disciples, and provided for them along their journey. We can witness some of their exploits in several parts of the Gospels.

In one of the accounts, which we heard in the Gospel today, Lazarus the brother of St. Martha was very ill and eventually died while the Lord delayed to come to heal him. St. Martha and her sister Mary were overwhelmed with grief at the loss of their beloved brother. That is just like how many of us are often filled with grief and sorrow because of the death and passing of our beloved ones, be it a member of our families, our relatives or our friends.

And indeed, if we read on beyond the content of today's Gospel passage, we will find the part where Jesus was moved deeply by the love He had for Lazarus, and at how the people, including St. Martha and her sister grieved over the death of Lazarus. And we were told that Jesus wept at the occasion, a proof of just how much God, through Jesus, loves us all mankind.

And it was love which had made everything possible. It was love that had created us, for God is love, and because He wanted to share that love with us, He created us, each and every one of us, and showed us His love. And He intended for us to live with Him in perfect harmony and love. But then, you must be wondering, why is it then that we suffer in this world? Why is it that we have to endure the sorrow of death and separation from those whom we loved?

All of these, brethren, is because of our own disobedience and lack of faith in God. We place our trust in the devil and in his false and empty promises more than we trust the love and providence of God. That is why we end up in such a state of existence, as a consequence for our sins and for our mistakes. But this does not mean that God does not love us, as indeed on the contrary, God has been giving us opportunities after opportunities, chances after chances for us to turn ourselves back to Him and to repent from all of our sins.

If God wanted our destruction, He could easily just annihilate us with the mere slightest effort of His thought and will. Yet, He did not do this. Why? It is simple, because He loves each and every one of us, and although He hates our sins and disobedience, He wants all of us to turn away from those sins and repent from all of our mistakes, therefore going towards God's salvation and grace. And this love God has shown us through none other than, and nothing less than the loving sacrifice which our Lord Jesus suffered on the cross as He died for us.

Through Him, God is willing to make us all His disciples and chosen people, that as we turn away from our sins and as we are absolved from our wickedness, we become worthy of His love, and we may find our peace with Him. He has shown us the perfect and ultimate love, so that we too, who are His disciples, may walk in the same path of love, and show the same love to each other.

How do we love one another, brothers and sisters in Christ? We often think that it is easy to love or show love to another person. However, in reality it is not that simple. We need to show love, care and compassion not just to those who are kind to us and who we know that they can love us back. It is often that in this manner of love, we are expecting to be love back and therefore, we are expecting a return for the love that we give. Our love in this case is a conditional love.

But God did not love us all conditionally. Had He implemented the same standard in showing His love, by expecting all of us to love Him back, He would not have loved us at all, or even gave us any chances. The fact that He was willing to forgive us, and even to lay down His life for us, when we are still sinners and rebels who constantly disobeyed His commands and laws, is proof enough of His unconditional and true love for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are called to love unconditionally as Christ Himself had shown us. Let us not be prejudiced in love, but instead show everyone our love, even to those who have not loved us back or hated us instead. This is something that is easier said and done, and it is often that we will want to hate instead of showing love, especially to those who have caused us much pain and suffering.

Yet, that is exactly what all of us as Christians must do, as all of us are called to give ourselves out of love for others. We must not think that this is difficult to be done, as we should indeed begin from ourselves and start from simple and yet important little acts of love and compassion. If we see anyone around us who are in need of love and care, those who have no one to care for them, those who are ostracised and hated, should we not extend our love to help them?

And should our enemies and those who hate us come to hate us and attack us, should we not tamper their hatred and counter it with love and prayer? The Lord asked us to love our enemies and to pray for those who hate us. And now it is the time for us to do as what the Lord had taught us to do. Let us then be faithful as St. Martha and our holy predecessors had done, and let us emulate the love of God in our own daily lives, through our actions and deeds in life. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 28 July 2017 : 16th 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 Lord in the Scriptures speaking to us about first of all, the ten commandments which He gave to His people, the ten most important laws and ordinances which He had revealed unto us, that we might obey Him and be found worthy of His love and grace. The Ten Commandments was, and is indeed still, and will be the foundations of our belief in God, and in how we ought to carry out our lives in accordance to His will.

We heard then in the Gospel, the parable which our Lord Jesus told His disciples, the famous parable of the sower, in which He told them of the fate of the different seeds spread by the sower, depending on where those seeds fall at. Some fell on the roadside and were eaten up by the birds of the sky, while some others fell on rocky grounds and were scorched quickly by the sun, and still others fell among thistles and brambles, and they were choked to death by those weeds. And some fell on rich soil, where the seeds grew bountifully and provided fruits in many multiples of what had been planted.

The stories and parables from the Scriptures today speak to us about how we ought to listen to the Lord and understand what it is that He wants us to do, so that our lives may be found worthy and good in the sight of God. The Ten Commandments summarised perfectly what we need to do in our lives, which the Lord Jesus summarised even further into a set of two important law and precepts, that is the Law of Love.

First, He mentioned that out of all that we mankind do in our lives, we must first of all love the Lord our God, with all of our strength, with all of our might and capabilities, giving our all to serve and love Him. That is the first and most important of all the laws and commandments, for because if we overlook or ignore this commandment, then the rest of the Law and the Commandments are null and void because the Law exists only for a single purpose, that is to guide mankind to obey the Lord and to love Him with all of their hearts.

However, loving God is easier said than done, brothers and sisters in Christ. Loving the Lord does not mean that we say to Him, 'Lord, I love You, Lord.' and then we consider ourselves of having loved Him and shown our devotion to Him. It is not enough that we say using words or through empty and meaningless promises or commitments, if we do not mean what we say and understand what it means for us to truly love God with all of our hearts.

This is where the second important Law and commandment that Jesus told us came into play, as He told His disciples that we mankind must also love one another just as we love ourselves, loving and caring for our fellow brothers and sisters, this is also easier said than done, as we may think that we know how to love our fellow men, our brothers and sisters, but if we look more carefully into how we have lived our lives thus far, many of us will realise just how difficult it is for us to love others just as we love ourselves.

Our human nature is always calling us to fulfil our own desires and needs first, before we turn and care towards others around us. It is our ego and greed that often drive us in life, desiring to gather more power, more influence, and more happiness upon ourselves, but in the process, we often cause inconvenience and even suffering on others. The simple reason for this is because our desires and wants will inevitably overlap one another, and for us to gain what we want, we often have to cause others to suffer a loss.

This is the cause for much sorrow and pain in our world, both past and present. Many atrocities and evil deeds have been caused by human greed and ambitions, which led to us focusing on ourselves and acting selfishly for our own self-preservation and personal glory, without regard for others. This is when the Word of God cannot grow in us and the faith in us perish, as the Gospel today spoke of those seeds that failed to grow properly or bear fruit because they were not given the right conditions to grow in.

When we fill ourselves with greed and selfishness, ego and pride, we smother the Word of God and the seeds of faith which God had given to us. It is much easier for us to follow the path of greed and ego, for these satisfy our desires and give us pleasures in life. However, this path leads us towards downfall and towards damnation, as because of those sins we have been made unworthy before God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we are all called to turn away from this path towards our destruction, and God calls us to turn towards Him with all of our hearts, and this is the time for us to do so. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to do so, but begin to turn towards God, beginning from ourselves, from our actions and deeds in life. We should conduct our lives with love, showing mercy and compassion on those who are around us.

Let us no longer be egoistic or greedy, but instead open ourselves to God's infinite love. Just as He has loved us first with His unconditional love, we too should appreciate this love and show Him the same love, which saw Him bearing up the cross, filled with the burdens of our sins and punishment, and died for our sake. There is no greater love than for one to give up his life for his friend, according to the words of Jesus Himself. Thus, let us all die to our pride, ego and desire, and let us be ever more generous with our love to one another instead.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He guide our footsteps, so that we may draw ever closer to Him, and find the way to His salvation. Let us all love the Lord with all of our strength and abilities, and be ever more worthy of His grace. Amen.

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Thursday, 27 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard from the Book of Exodus in our first reading about how the people of Israel came into the new covenant which God established between Himself and all of them at Mount Sinai. A covenant is a formal act of commitment made between two parties, where each parties solemnly promised to fulfil their part of the covenant to each other.

God had made the covenant with His people, beginning from Abraham, who was called by God to be His servant. Abraham showed a very dedicated and committed faith, through which he lived his life, following the will of God in how He wanted his life to be, and obeyed God in all of His will and commandments. And God Himself was always faithful to His covenant and promises, and thus God fulfilled what He had told Abraham, that his descendants would be a great nation and God would be their God.

Yet, if we read on through the accounts and history of the people of Israel, just right after God established His covenant with Israel, the people of Israel betrayed Him and left Him behind for other, pagan gods. Just because Moses went up the Mount Sinai for an extended stay there with God, Who used that opportunity to relay His laws and commandments to him, then the people rose up against Moses and God, and lifted up a pagan idol over them, a golden calf.

In the Gospel today, we heard about the Lord Jesus and His disciples, at the moment when they asked Him why He was teaching and speaking to them and to the people in parables. A parable is a story which is an approximation and a representation of what actually happened in the real life, which Jesus used for His teachings to deliver the truth to the people in a way that is more understandable and easier to be accepted.

Why is this so? That is because Jesus liked to use parables related to farming practices, such as the parable of the sower, the parable of the fig tree and others, which farmers and those who were working in the agricultural field could appreciate and understand. In addition, Jesus also liked to use parables related to fishing and shepherding, where many of the people also were shepherds and fishermen. Through all these parables, our Lord wanted to enlighten our minds with the truth and help us to comprehend the great mystery of God.

Yet, even though the Lord had shown His people through words, through parables and stories, and through miracles and wonders, many of His people refused to listen to Him or believe in Him. They refused to believe even after having seen how Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, curing the deaf and the mute and casting out the evil spirits from those who were possessed by those wicked and evil spirits. It was the same with their ancestors, who refused to believe in God and constantly rebelled against Him even though they have frequently witnessed God's power and wonders firsthand.

Their faith was a superficial faith, and the faith did not have strong roots in them. They were easily amazed and attracted by the great wonders and miracles of God, and were awed by what they had seen, but this did not equate to a strong, living and genuine faith inside of them. They were easily tempted by worldly temptations of power, of greed, of desire and all those that the devil had placed as obstacles in their path. They stubbornly hardened their hearts and refused to open themselves to the Lord.

This is a reminder for all of us, that our faith in God cannot be like that of the Israelites. Our faith must be real and living, and we must have sincere devotion and commitment to God. In that way, then we will be able to truly be God's people, and we will be able to follow Him wholeheartedly without any reservations. This is what we need to do, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we need to take real actions and steps to ensure our commitment to the Lord and His ways.

How do we do this, then? We have to begin from ourselves, by looking deep into ourselves and think in what manner that we are able to contribute to the good works of the Church, and how we can be better disciples of the Lord. When we are faithful to the Lord, all that we do and say will give glory to God, and God will reward our faithfulness and commitment with His everlasting love and grace.

Let us all from now on be true disciples of the Lord, so that in all of our lives we may always seek to become closer to God, and strive to obey Him in all of His commandments and laws, that we will have true faith in Him, and not just merely superficial faith that is easily shaken by the worldly temptations and challenges we encounter. May the Lord be with us and may He continue to guide us in our path. Amen.

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Wednesday, 26 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to two stories from the Sacred Scriptures, namely the story of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, and how the people of Israel grumbled and rebelled against God in our first reading today taken from the Book of Exodus. Then, in the Gospel today we heard about the parable which our Lord Jesus mentioned, the parable of the sower, in which He told His disciples about what happened to the various seeds which were scattered and fell onto different types of soil.

In the first reading, we heard how the people of Israel journeyed through the desert, after they had been liberated from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, and after they had witnessed firsthand the great and mighty power of God, Who crushed the Egyptians with ten great plagues and opened the Red Sea right before their very eyes, allowing them to walk safely and dry-footed through the sea itself. But despite all of these things they had seen, they became stubborn and complained against God.

They complained that in Egypt, they would at least have food and drink to satisfy themselves rather than what they endured then, walking through the desert without sight of food or drink, and the sight of the endless desert discouraged them and made them to lose faith in God. That was because their faith in God did not have a strong root in them, just as what the Lord Jesus mentioned in today's Gospel passage, the parable of the sower.

In that parable, the Lord mentioned how some of the seeds scattered fell onto the roadside and were picked up by the birds of the sky. And some others fell onto the rocky grounds and were not able to grow deep roots, ending up scorched and destroyed by the sun. The seeds represent the Word of God which became the seeds of faith inside each and every one of us, but as all farmers and those who have planted a plant before, a seed will not germinate without the right conditions.

The Israelites were showing exactly this kind of attitude, the failure to allow the faith to grow in them, and as a result, the devil came to snatch away the Word of God from them, just as the birds came to snatch away the seeds that fell by the roadside. And like the seeds that fell on the rocky ground, the stubbornness of the people of Israel and their adamant refusal to trust in the Lord and in His providence made it difficult for the Word of God and for faith to grow in each one of them.

They refused to believe that God would care for them and provide for them what they needed as they journeyed through the desert. That is again because of their lack of faith. They trusted much more in what mankind could provide, to the point that they would rather suffer at the hands of their former Egyptian slave masters, who could provide them with bread to eat and water to drink, rather than to trust in God.

That was when God showed again His power and might, by proving His people wrong, those who doubted His ability to provide for them. He sent them countless birds as food, and gave them clear and sweet water to drink in the middle of a vast desert, flowing out from the rocks itself, and ultimately He also gave them bread from heaven, the manna, coming to them daily in the morning from God.

If only that the people could find in themselves the courage to have faith in God, and not to fall into the temptation to seek alternative sources of comfort and happiness. That moment when the people veered away from the Lord because of their lack of faith and trust in God, is when they fell away into sin and become lost to the Lord. Certainly, this is not the fate which we want to happen to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us must instead strive hard to provide the best conditions and situations in our respective lives, that through our efforts, we may find ourselves to be a rich soil for the Word of God to grow inside each one of us, that we may become fertile grounds for the Word of God and our faith to blossom within us. And we have to make a conscious effort to ensure that this happens.

Today, all of us celebrate the Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. St. Joachim and St. Anne brought up the Blessed Virgin Mary since her birth and young age, and it was under their tutelage and guidance that she grew up into a fine, faithful and devout young woman whom we knew in the Gospels, betrothed to St. Joseph and eventually became the Mother of our God and Saviour.

St. Joachim and St. Anne had shown Mary how to be a faithful and devoted follower of God, and taught her all that they knew about the faith. They inculcated the faith in her and allowed it grow by giving her the most appropriate environment in which that faith could grow, that is the environment of love and care. It is through this that the faith and the Word of God could grow well and produce bountiful harvest of fruits.

That is what all of us can do as well in our own respective lives, by doing what the Lord had taught us to do, providing loving and caring environment. We ought to show love and care for our fellow brethren, and kindness to all of our fellow men. It is through actually living out our faith that we can help one another to live and persevere in faith, so that in all that we do, say and act, we will always bring glory to God.

May the Lord bless us all and may He empower us to live our lives with commitment and be able to give our all to Him, trusting Him and placing ourselves under His loving care. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 July 2017 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together with the entire Church the great feast of the Holy Apostle St. James, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord. He was the brother of St. John, also Apostle and one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels, the sons of Zebedee. They were once fishermen working at the lake of Galilee, together with St. Peter and St. Andrew, whom the Lord called to follow Him and henceforth were counted among His principal disciples.

The Apostles of the Lord were the pillars of the Church, which foundation is St. Peter, the Rock, on which God had established His Church, and whose head is the Lord Himself, represented on earth by the Apostles and their successors. It was the Apostles who continued the good works of the Lord and established the strong structures and foundations for the early Church, which faced many persecutions and difficulties from those who wanted the Church destroyed and the faithful scattered.

The Lord Jesus Himself had reminded His Apostles in various occasions, including in what we heard today as part of our Gospel passage, telling His disciples James and John, that suffering would be the part of their lives for having followed the Lord and obeyed His commandments. He mentioned it as He said to them, that if they were to follow Him, they would have to drink from the same cup that Christ would drink from, the cup of persecution and suffering.

But the two Apostles did not understand this at first, and neither did the other Apostles. What we heard in the Gospel today, is how we mankind often respond in our own respective lives. When we are presented with the opportunity to gather for ourselves power, influence, fame, glory and honour, or even wealth and possessions, we will be tempted to do whatever we can in order to secure these for ourselves, and for our own benefits.

That was exactly what the Apostles St. James and St. John did, as they were brought by their mother to the presence of the Lord. The mother of the two Apostles asked if the Lord Jesus would be able to grant them special privileges above that of the other Apostles, by granting them positions of honour on His left and right. For that time, to be at the left and the right hand of a ruler such as a king, is an extremely honourable and great position to have.

If we look through the history of man, through many nations and peoples, we will then realise just how much mankind were willing to go in order to satisfy their own needs, wants and desires. It was the desire for more power and influence that had caused much sorrow and bickering among the peoples, even to the extent of going to wars and conflicts in order to accumulate more power for themselves, not minding the suffering those conflicts caused upon others.

And many of these were done by the leaders of the people, who themselves had had power and influence, wealth and possessions. One might be wondering that those people already had plenty of those, be it money, wealth, fame, and all other forms of worldly glory, but if we look deeply into ourselves and study our history more closely, we will quickly realise just how difficult it is to satisfy our desires and our greed.

We mankind are by our nature greedy and selfish, and we always want to seek what we do not have, and what we think will be good for us to possess. If we already have them, then we will be craving for even more, for whatever we have tasted and received, will soon be not sufficient for us to satisfy our ever growing greed and desire, especially for power, fame and material wealth.

That is what the Lord Jesus wanted to warn us against, that all of us Christians must not walk that path, but instead take an entirely different path. We are very familiar with the path I have mentioned earlier, that the greater the power we have, the more we desire power and glory, and the more we want our needs and desires to be served. Yet, the Lord showed us the meaning of our Christian virtues and what we Christians must do in order to follow Him faithfully.

The Apostles were called not to a position of honour and glory in the traditional sense of how honour and glory are seen by the world. They do not come to be served but to serve others with all of their might. The greater they become, the humbler they are called to be, and the more they are called to do for the sake of those who have been entrusted under their care.

And the Lord Jesus Himself showed by example, that even He, Who is the Lord, God and Master of all, were willing to serve His disciples, caring for them and humbling Himself before them, particularly at the Last Supper when He performed the washing of the feet on them, a job reserved only for the slaves, the lowest strata of the society at that time, those who have no power and dignity at all, and yet, God allowed Himself to do what He deemed was right.

Yes, and it was right according to the Lord, that all of us Christians should let go of our ego and pride, our desires and greed, and all those things that have in fact become great obstacles on our path to seek the Lord and His salvation. We must listen to the Lord and obey to Him, and follow Him in this path that He has shown to all of us, the path of the cross.

What does it mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that all of us must realise that as Christians, we are continuing what the Apostles have begun before us, the task which God had entrusted to them, which are not easy tasks, but very difficult assignments, considering just how much the Apostles had to suffer in order to carry out their missions. They had to endure rejection, ridicule, persecution, torture, imprisonment, and they even have to literally shed their blood and lay down their lives for the sake of the Lord.

That is the cup of suffering that they have to share with the Lord, and the cross that they had to bear. The Lord said that all those who are faithful to Him and who wants to follow Him must take up their crosses and follow Him, walking with Him along the path of suffering. This is what we all also need to share together, that we have to persevere despite the challenges and obstacles from the world. We cannot give up, for what is at stake is none other than the salvation of our souls and those who are around us.

There are still many things left undone, which the Church is continuing to do, shouldering the same burdens and works entrusted to it by the Lord. The Apostles had shown us all the way, that to go greater in the sight of God, we do not do as what the world has always taught us to do, but instead, we become greater through humility, through selflessness and love for our fellow brethren, for all those who are suffering, that we show mercy and love to them.

Let us all therefore, follow the footsteps of St. James the Apostle, and work hard in our own ways to contribute to the Church. It was told that St. James went to many places including to what is today Spain, where his principal shrine at Santiago de Compostela is located at. Let us have the same fervour to bring the Word of God to our fellow men, by practicing our faith actively through actions and deeds, that we may become the bearers of the light of Christ to our brothers and sisters. May the Lord bless us always and may St. James intercede for our sake before Him. Amen.

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Monday, 24 July 2017 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the account of the liberation of Israel from the Book of Exodus, at the time when God brought His people to the Red Sea, pursued by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, intent on reclaiming the Israelites who had once been their slaves. But God certainly did not want to see His people to be enslaved once again by the Pharaoh, and therefore, He showed forth His might, opening up the Red Sea before His people and destroyed the chariots and armies of Egypt in the middle of the sea.

That was the sign which God had shown His people, who trembled and complained at the seashore as they saw the chariots and armies of the Egyptians coming upon them. They still did not have faith in God, even though they had seen many times, how God sent ten great plagues against the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, while the people of Israel were safe from all those plagues and troubles.

God had showed His signs and wonders many, many times, and yet they still refused to completely place their trust in Him. They still trusted in their own human intellect, wisdom and power instead of trusting in the power of God's love and providence. The very same attitude was shown by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as we heard it ourselves in the Gospel passage today.

They demanded signs from Jesus, to show them and to make them believe that He was indeed the One, the Messiah promised by God. But those same people had been observing what Jesus had done, and they had even followed Him and encountered Him in many places, witnessing what He had done among the people, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, and casting out demons from those who were possessed.

And despite having seen and witnessed all of these occurrences, which mankind, all their intellect and knowledge were incapable of explaining the rationale for those miracles performed by the Lord, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe in Jesus, continuing to doubt Him and in harassing Him and His disciples, asking for more signs and miracles. In fact, they even accused the Lord of having cast out the demons and performing those miracles by the power of the princes of demons.

In all these, we can see how if mankind hardened his heart against God, no matter what they have witnessed and seen before them, all those miraculous experiences and wonders will not sway them to believe or stir them to have faith in God. The Pharaoh himself had seen how mighty God's power was and how great the terrors and sufferings which had been imposed on him and the Egyptian people, and yet, because he hardened his heart before God, he ultimately refused to back down and chased the Israelites right to the Red Sea.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were blinded by their pride, their trust in themselves and in their ways, believing that only their ways and methods were correct. That was why they were not able to bring themselves to believe in what Jesus had taught and preached. Despite all that they have seen, they still thought that it was impossible for them to be mistaken in their ways.

Now, brethren, let us now look into ourselves and find out how our lives have been thus far. Have we been truly faithful to God and place our trust in Him? Or have we been stubborn in our lives, refusing to listen to God? He has showed us all His love and kindness, through all of His works, and culminating in nothing less than His own crucifixion, the time when He died on the cross. That is the sign which He mentioned to the Pharisees, the sign of Jonah, and as He gave to us the ultimate gift of His love, He is calling us into a new life, blessed with faith.

Through His death on the cross, He became and example to all of us, showing us just how much God had done for our sake, for our liberation from our sins and wickedness. Instead of being stubborn and refusing to appreciate God's love, as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, we should embrace God's love, and allow Him to come into our hearts, in order to transform us completely, from beings of hatred and darkness, into beings of light and love.

Let us be humble before God and seek to serve Him through all the things we say, act and do. This is what all of us as Christians must do in our respective lives. And therefore, it is perhaps good that we should heed also the examples of St. Charbel Makhlouf or St. Sharbel Makhluf, a holy saint and servant of God whose feast day we celebrate on this very day.

St. Sharbel Makhluf was a Maronite Christian, who lived in a place now known as Syria in the present day. St. Sharbel Makhluf was inspired by the examples of some among his family who devoted themselves to the Lord as priests and religious, and he followed suit in his own devotion to the Lord. He entered the monastery and led a truly righteous and devout life.

He was renowned for his holiness and dedication to the Lord. He inspired many other people to follow in his footsteps and to persevere in their faith, even in the face of persecution and temptation to abandon their faith in God. And therefore, God made him an example to many people, not just during his lifetime, but even also after his death. Many miraculous deeds and amazing, unexplainable things happened at his tomb, and many miracles were attributed to St. Sharbel Makhluf, a holy servant of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on have no more reservations or doubts in our hearts, but give ourselves wholeheartedly to God, as St. Sharbel Makhluf had done. Just like him, if we give ourselves completely and trust the Lord fully with sincere devotion, then the Light of God Himself will shine through us, and we will rejoice because we have found our true joy, none other than God, Who provides us with everything we need.

May the Lord empower us all to live faithfully in accordance with His will. And may He help us to remain humble and to remain open to His love, and not to be filled with greed and pride, that we will not end up being stubborn and resisting God's love because of all the ego and the temptations which the devil is actively trying to place in our path towards the Lord. May God be with us all, and may St. Sharbel Makhluf intercede for our sake before Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 23 July 2017 : Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, all of us heard the message of the Scriptures, telling us all to be righteous in all of our ways, heeding all that the Lord had taught us to do, by obeying the laws and rules of the Church, and by living a genuine life of faith, filled with love for God and with love for our fellow men. This is what all of us as Christians have been called to do, to be true disciples of our Lord in all of our words and deeds alike.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard how Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples in parables, and then revealed to them the meaning of those parables. Through those parables, God through His Son, Jesus, wanted to reveal to us, the truth about Himself and how we all ought to strive to achieve our salvation through Him, that is by obeying Him and by walking righteously in His path. This is where we should indeed take heed of what we have heard from the Word of God in the Scriptures today, that we may know how we ought to go forward from now on.

First of all, we heard about the parable of the weeds, in which a sower sowed good seeds in a field, and hoped to see good plants and crops growing in due time, only to see weeds growing amongst the good crops because an enemy had come in the dark and sowed the seeds of the weeds amongst the crops. The enemy surely wanted the crops to fail, and the weeds were scattered among the crops in order to compete against the crops for nutrients, and for the whole crop to be less desirable as a whole.

This parable showed us the works of God amongst us mankind, for God Himself is the sower, who sowed good seeds, that is the seeds of faith in our hearts. The field itself is the world, encompassing all of us mankind, in whom God planted His goodness, His Spirit and presence in all. However, the enemy, that is the devil, is out there, actively trying to undermine the good works of God, by spreading the weeds among us, that is sin and the temptations to sin.

But did God in the parable of the sower immediately ordered all of the wheat crops to be thrown away with the weeds? No, He did not do so. He allowed the wheat to grow first, and mature into mature wheat crops with bountiful fruits, and the weeds also grew alongside them. That is because all of us mankind, who have been tainted by sin ever since our forefathers disobeyed God and His commandments, are still ultimately beloved by God, our Lord and Creator.

He wanted to give us all a second chance, the opportunity for us to redeem ourselves, and that was why, He allowed us to continue to grow and develop in this world, with all of our imperfections in us, all the good and evil within us. What we all need to take note of, is then, what the Lord Jesus then continued to tell His disciples, comparing His heavenly kingdom with the parable of the mustard seed and the rising bread.

The Lord mentioned that the kingdom of Heaven is like that of a mustard seed, very small compared to the other seeds and fruits of more noticeable trees and crops. However, that very small seed, when planted in a good soil, will grow into a large tree, larger than many other trees and scrubs, certainly much larger than what people would normally think such a small seed would grow into.

There are many symbolisms in this particular parable, as the mustard seed represents the faith in all of us. The faith might have begun as a small seed, which we ourselves often do not realise that we have with us. However, given the right conditions, when planted in a good soil, meaning that when we realise that gift of faith present in each one of us, and then doing what we can to cultivate that faith, through our actions in life, through the love which we show to God and to our fellow men, and through our justice and righteousness, we will allow the faith to grow in us.

And indeed, as in the other parable not mentioned in today's readings, the parable of the sower, the seed that fell onto the rich and good soil bear its fruits a thirtyfold, a sixtyfold and even a hundredfold and more! That means, if we are truly faithful to the Lord, and truly practice what we believe in our lives, we are allowing ourselves to grow in the sight of the Lord, like a growing stalk of wheat that is healthy and bountiful.

Otherwise, if we do not do what the Lord had told us to do, but instead preferring to follow the temptations of the devil, we are like those wheat crops that were outcompeted by the weeds and whose life is choked out of it by the wheat. That is the reality of sin, brothers and sisters in Christ. The devil is always trying to tempt us with sin, and indeed sin can often feel very pleasurable and enjoyable. It is easier to do what is considered as sin before God, rather than to obey the will of the Lord.

But if we do not make an active effort to resist the encroaching allures of sin, we will often end up falling into those temptations and commit sin before God, and in the end, as the sower and master of the field ordered his servants to collect all the weeds and burn them in the fire, He will also collect all the unworthy wheat, all those corrupted and destroyed by the weeds, and throw them into the fire, for they are useless and meaningless as a harvest.

We need to ask ourselves, and look deep into our lives, brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we doing what the Lord wants us to do? Or are we instead too busy with our wants and desires, with our busy daily schedules and preoccupations in life to take note of what it is that God really wants us to do with our lives? If we are not providing the best condition for God's good works to be realised in us, then how will our faith in God grow and develop?

Just like in the parable of the flour rising as a dough when yeast is added to the flour and mixed in it. All those who have baked before will know that yeast cannot cause the rising of the dough into a fluffy and soft, spongy bread without the proper condition. It requires a seal from outside air, since yeast will only cause fermentation of the flour and creating the fluffy texture of the bread in the absence of oxygen.

Similarly, if our lives are not devoid of all of its wickedness and all of the sins which we have committed, and if we do not make the conscious and active effort in order to turn ourselves away from those sins, how will we then grow closer and more devoted to God? We will only draw further and further away from Him, and when the time of judgment comes upon us, we shall end up on the wrong side of the judgment. Do we want to end up in the eternal torment prepared for the devil and all of his fellow fallen angels? Do we want to be counted among those rejected by God?

Now, indeed, it is the right time for us to do something with our lives. Many of us often like and prefer to delay and to put off doing what we can in fact do now, at this very moment, beginning from this minute. But, do we realise that our lives are at the mercy of God? Do we all realise that we may just meet the end of our lives at any moment that God wishes it? Should we wait until it is too late for us and then regret about it?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all begin from this moment on, in every little things we do in our respective lives, to be faithful to God in all of our ways. In this manner, slowly we are providing for ourselves a rich and fertile soil for the seeds of faith inside each one of us to germinate and to grow, providing rich fruits of the Spirit inside us. And the Lord, Who knows all that we are thinking and doing, will reward us in the end.

Let us all make it a habit to do what is good according to God's will, by loving our brethren, by showing mercy and forgiveness to those who have caused us hurt and suffering. Let us all show our faith by example, and not just by mere words alone. Let us all be ever more devoted and committed disciples of the Lord, so that in the end, all of us will share the eternal joy and glory of our Lord in His kingdom in Heaven. May God bless us all forever and ever. Amen.

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Saturday, 22 July 2017 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene, a woman who was prominently featured and mentioned in the Holy Gospels, as one of the women who accompanied Jesus our Lord in His earthly ministry. It was told through the accounts of the Scriptures and by tradition, that St. Mary Magdalene was the woman from whom our Lord Jesus cast out seven demons, and who was also often associated with a former life as a prostitute and sinner.

In the story of St. Mary Magdalene, we saw the great story of conversion, from her former life filled with sin, wickedness and evil, into a new life filled with faith, devotion and commitment to God. As we can see and witness for ourselves, St. Mary Magdalene was henceforth after her conversion, a true disciple of the Lord, often accompanying Him on His journeys, and even walking alongside Mary, the Mother of our God, to the foot of the cross at Calvary.

She was also the one who witnessed the Lord's Resurrection firsthand, being the first one to whom Jesus our Lord revealed Himself after He had risen from the dead. St. Mary Magdalene therefore occupied a great position of honour among the saints and the disciples of the Lord, for her dedication to the Lord and for her faith. She is for us, an example and inspiration, of how all of us mankind, the people of God, can become, if we are truly changed by our interactions with the Lord.

All of us often forget this simple fact, as we reflect on the life and works of St. Mary Magdalene, that God wants from us conversion and change, a sincere repentance and turning back, away completely from our sins and from all of our past failures. We often thought that God is loving and merciful, and that He would forgive us all our sins. But is that the truth? No, God is indeed loving and merciful towards us, because He loves us, but He despises our sins, wickedness and disobedience.

He wants us to be wholly and thoroughly changed, by our conversion and change in attitude, as exemplified by St. Mary Magdalene in how God transformed her life. Jesus our Lord has also often mentioned to the sinners He had healed and encountered, to 'sin no more' and also to obey the Lord from then on. This is what many of us often overlooked, that in order for us to be thoroughly healed from our sins and to be reconciled with God perfectly, we must embark on the painful and difficult path of conversion, where effort is needed for us to remain true to the Lord in faith.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us spend some time to reflect on ourselves, on our lives and on how we have lived our lives thus far. Are we walking in the same path that St. Mary Magdalene had walked through? Or are we instead distancing ourselves further from God because of our sins and our refusal to turn away from those sins? It is time for us to realise that unless we do something with our lives, we are always at risk of falling into eternal damnation and the suffering prepared for the devil and all those who have been deemed unworthy by God.

God has given us many opportunities in order to redeem ourselves and find our way back to Him. He has shown Himself to St. Mary Magdalene first before all other of His disciples, in a very deeply symbolic meaning of the resurrection, which He shares with all of us who have decided to leave behind our life of sin and darkness behind, and embrace the new light of Christ, His love and mercy.

Through our baptism, we have been made to share in the death of Christ, as our old and past selves are forever cast away through water that destroyed our old lives filled with sin, and then the same water of baptism bring with it a new life, as life-giving water which God gives to us, sharing in the resurrection of our Lord as we receive this new life granted to us. St. Mary Magdalene had accepted her part, and we should also do the same as well.

We should find in ourselves the courage and the strength to do as St. Mary Magdalene had done, in her desire to love and to follow the Lord with all of her heart. We should be sincere and genuine in our faith, not just through mere words alone, but indeed through actions and deeds. We must seek out the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our efforts.

Let us all draw therefore, closer to God and to His love. Let us embrace the loving sacrifice with which God had endeavoured to save us, through the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. And let us not forget, that there are many more people around us, who are also like Mary Magdalene before she was rescued by the Lord. Let us, through our faithful actions, bring the light of God and His salvation to them. May God bless us and remain with us always. Amen.