Christian sermons

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Sunday, 6 November 2016 : 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as this Sunday marks the occasion of being two Sundays away from the Solemnity of Christ the King, which marks the end of our current liturgical year, if we noticed, many of the Scripture readings have been taken from the passages of the Scripture referring to the end of times, such as from the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Apostle, as well as references to the life in the world that is to come, including what we have heard today, as the resurrection from the dead is a central theme of our faith.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus our Lord have made us all who share in His death and resurrection, to have the hope of eternal life, as when He descended into this world to save us, He shared in our humanity and became Man just like us. Through His death on the cross, not only that He had shouldered the burden of our sins, but He also shared with us His suffering and death, that we are also dead to our past lives of sin.

Then, by His glorious resurrection, He lifted us all up together with Him into a new life. Had the resurrection of the dead been false or absent, then our faith the Lord would have been wasted and useless, meaningless and we would have no hope. But we believe in this, and by our faith, we know that at the end of our earthly lives, in fact it is not the end of everything, but the beginning of a new, blessed life with God and with our righteous brethren, which we shall enjoy for eternity.  This is our faith and what we believe in.

In the Gospel today, Jesus our Lord spoke to a group of Sadducees who questioned Him about the matter of the resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees were one of the two major power and influential groups at the time. They were those who were influential, rich and powerful, close to the rulers and the kings at that time, the educated and intellectual class, opposed to the Pharisees, the other major group, who were also influential, but of different sort, since the Pharisees dealt more with matters of the Jewish faith and customs.

And thus, as opposed to the Pharisees’ extra-zealous observation and imposition of the tenets of the Jewish laws and customs, which the Lord Jesus had frequently condemned throughout the Gospels, the Sadducees on the other hand were very secular, and did not believe in supernatural matters such as Angels, spirits, and of course, the resurrection of the dead. They rejected all these, thinking that there is nothing after death.

They were indeed those who lived for the moment, enjoying the worldly pleasures and goodness, as they did not believe that there is resurrection after death, and they presumably would fear death, as death was therefore seen as a horrible end to the worldly life, from which there is nothing. They thought of the world, and therefore followed the ways of this world.

And because they treasured life more than anything else, they would do whatever it is that can please the demands of the world, even if that means opposing the works of God as they have done against Jesus. For Jesus came and rebuked them as well for their stubbornness and refusal to believe in the truth about the resurrection of the dead. They argued using the example of the seven brothers and their wife to push their argument about the impossibility of the resurrection.

In the two readings we heard, one from the Book of the Maccabees and then the Gospel, we can see the relation and the contrast between the two readings about this matter of the resurrection. The Sadducees were thinking in worldly terms, worrying about what would happen after the death of man, whether they would be able to carry on with their earthly life in the same manner as how they have lived it. This is evident as they asked Jesus what then would happen to the wife shared by the seven brothers.

Meanwhile, the seven brothers in the Book of Maccabeus faithfully upheld their faith in the Lord without fail, even when they were faced with great suffering, torture and certain death if they rejected the advances and offers from the king. As a little background explanation of what happened then, the Greek King of the Seleucids, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled over the region of Judea, where the Jews then lived under his rule. At that time, that king was trying to enforce the Greek customs and ways to the Jews, including pagan worship and also the obliteration of the Jewish laws.

The king made many people to choose between obeying his commands and thus betraying the Lord, or to stand fast to their faith and suffer grievous consequences, even death. If they valued their lives more than their faith, then surely they would choose the side of the king, for after all, if they rejected the king’s orders, there was to be no hope for them, but death.

Yet, because they knew that there is indeed life beyond death, due to the promise of the resurrection of the dead, they did not fear the king and his threats, and even in the face of great tribulations, torture and persecution, they stood fast to their faith, to the very last brother, and the mother who witnessed it all, proud that all of her sons had acted in the way they did.

The king offered them high positions in his court, guarantees of success and wealth if they only would abandon their faith in the Lord, and their lives would have been prosperous and good. But at what cost? Jesus our Lord Himself said in one occasion, about how foolish it is for someone to gain the whole world but at the cost of losing one’s soul. It would have been better for someone to preserve his soul even though he suffers in this world.

Why is this so, brethren? That is because whatever we have in this world is transient and temporary in nature. All the things we obtain now in this world will not last forever. They are means for us to have a sustainable life, for us to survive in this world, and yet we should not let them to take over us with desires, untoward greed and unbridled wants, which then lead us into the temptations of this world, that eventually will lead us into sin.

The choice facing the seven brothers was clear, either to sin and live comfortably in this world, or to remain pure and holy although they might suffer in their earthly bodies and perish. Yet, God Who is the Lord and Master of life will bless them and grant them a new life, one that will never end, filled with true joy and happiness of having been reunited with God. Those who sided with the king and threw away their dedication to the Lord will indeed also have a new life, but instead of what the faithful received, they will receive the eternity of damnation and punishment.

The same faced the martyrs and all those who have been persecuted in the early days of the Church, when the Roman authorities, and in some cases, the Persian Sassanid authorities oppressed the Christian faith, and forced many of the faithful to choose between life or death. For those who did not understand and appreciate how important is the resurrection is for us, they would have thought that it was foolish for the faithful to choose death over life, if that would mean that they could keep their faith in God.

But that was exactly what happened then. There were indeed those who were unable to resist the temptation and abandoned their faith, but there were still many more who stood fast to their belief in the Risen Lord, and faced great sufferings and persecutions, and yet, at the end of the day, when the Lord comes to reward His faithful ones, they indeed deserve to receive great rewards from Him.

And persecution of the Church and the faithful ran throughout time and ages, even until this very day. I am sure that we are all quite aware of the challenges facing the Church and the faithful in several if not many areas in the world today. There were many opponents and enemies of the Lord and His Church, who ridiculed us for our faith, who despised us and attacked us, who made our lives very difficult and riddled with obstacles. But then, brothers and sisters in Christ, do we then give in to the demands of the world?

It does not mean that we should seek violence or revenge, for after all, Jesus Himself taught us to pray for our enemies and forgive those who have hurt or injured us. But it means that we should not be lukewarm in our faith, but instead be truly devoted in our words, actions and deeds, so that all those who see us may know that we truly believe in God, the Living God.

And in doing so, we are building for ourselves the true wealth and treasure found only in our God. We should not be obsessed with what is present in this world, but instead make use of what we have, especially if we have more of them, to help the needy, to alleviate the suffering of those who are lacking in certain areas, such as food, clothing, and even love.

If we remain faithful to the Lord, keep our faith strongly firm in Him, and doing whatever is right and just in His eyes, even though those whom we know and even those who are close to us may disapprove, then just like the seven brothers martyred in what we heard from the Book of the Maccabees, rich will be our reward in the world that is to come.

It is easy for us to fall into the temptation, and indeed, it is easy for us to become like the Sadducees as described in the Gospel today. Many of us have doubts in our lives, and indeed our faith are often far from perfect. Many have abandoned the faith because they do not have the love of God in their hearts, and because their faith were weak. It is a lot easier for us to just succumb to the temptations of this world and do things as it expects us to do, but remember, that if we live for the moment and do what the Lord abhors, we are inviting for ourselves an eternity of damnation.

Therefore, let us all in the Church, all members of the same Body of Christ, help one another to be closer to God, and put our hope in Him, Who have given us this life, and Who have sent His own Son into this world to die for our sins, and by sharing in our humanity, He has therefore shared with us His death, that we all die to our past sins and wickedness, and then as He rose from the dead in glory, we too may rise in glory with Him, and keeping our faith in Him strong and alive, we may receive the true joy and the crown of everlasting glory in the end of it all.

Let us pray, brothers and sisters in Christ, for the sake of our persecuted brethren throughout the world, in areas where it is very dangerous to live as Christians, and yet there are still those who proudly and openly carried themselves and proclaimed themselves as Christians. And let us all be thankful if we have had a good life, and pray that we may be ever more moved to do more for the sake of our suffering brethren, giving them support be it in material or in love and attention.

May the Lord, the Master and the Giver of life bless us all, and may He Who have conquered death dispel the doubts in our hearts, that we have no more of the doubt of the Sadducees, but instead, put our full and complete trust in our Risen Lord, Who is our hope and our aim in life. God be with us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded yet again by the word of God written in the Sacred Scriptures that we should not allow ourselves to be controlled by money, possession, greed and all the materialistic culture which this world is espousing and spreading to all the people, lest we lose our path and focus, as God reminded us that we cannot be servant both to Him and to money.

First of all, it does not mean that we should sell off all our belongings and shun all forms of earthly possessions. Wealth, money and possessions are in themselves neutral in nature, as they are just tools that can be used either for good purposes or for wicked and selfish purposes. Wealth can be used to bring happiness and relief to others, when we are charitable enough to share what we have more with those who have less, but it can also lead to sorrow, pain and suffering when in our obsession for it, we caused harm upon others.

It is when we become enslaved and serve money and all forms of worldly possessions that we end up falling into the deep trap set up for us by the devil and all those seeking our destruction. These have enticed us to continue to desire for more of what we have, and even to jealously guard our possessions from others, thinking that we alone deserve to have what we have. That was the attitude shown by the Pharisees at that time, for which our Lord rebuked them.

As Christians, we are called to be less selfish and show more care and concern for our brethren in need. We cannot be closed off within ourselves or be selfish, not thinking about those brethren of ours around us, whose life can be helped even with just a small charity and compassion from us. And that is the challenge that we as Christians should take on, in how we can devote ourselves ever more to love and care for our suffering ones and for those who are poor and needy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the ways of this world are selfishness, pride, arrogance, greed and filled with ego, but the ways of the world are selflessness, humility, prudence and generosity, filled with love, care and compassion for our needy brethren. And this is the reality of what we should realise, that we have been given the means and the opportunities to do many good things, and we should therefore make use of these opportunities given to us.

After all, our true treasure, one that we ought to seek, is not in this world. We gain nothing by accumulating treasures of money, wealth, properties, buildings or any other worldly goods and standards of success. Many if not most of these are transient and temporary, and they can be destroyed by the forces of this world in the blink of an eye. Instead, our true treasure can be found in God alone.

And how do we build up this true treasure of ours? It is by showing charity, mercy and compassion to the sick, to the poor and the ostracised, to one another, giving ourselves out of love to those who need our love. It does not have to be always contributions of wealth, money or material goods that can bring about one’s happiness, but also our presence, filled with love and concern for those who need these.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all ready to take up this challenge? Are we ready to show care and love for our brethren? Are we willing to be selfless and to share our joy and blessings with those who have less or none? We are the ones whom God had empowered and blessed to be His children and His people, and thus it is just right for us to share these blessings and goodness with those who need them.

May the Lord bless us and keep us in His grace always. And may His love flourish within us, that filled up with His love and joy, we may always become source of joy and grace for all the peoples. God be with us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Luke 16 : 9-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.”

“So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.”

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Saturday, 5 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Psalm 111 : 1-2, 5-6, 8a and 9

Alleluia! Blessed is the one who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. His children will be powerful on earth; the upright’s offspring will be blessed.

It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever.

His heart is confident, he needs not fear, he gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour. 

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Saturday, 5 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Philippians 4 : 10-19

I rejoice in the Lord because of your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me before, but you had no opportunity to show it. I do not say this because of being in want; I have learnt to manage with what I have. I know what it is to be in want and what it is to have plenty. I am trained for both : to be hungry or satisfied, to have much or little. I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.

However you did right in sharing my trials. You Philippians, remember that in the beginning, when we first preached the Gospel, after I left Macedonia you alone opened for me a debit and credit account, and when I was in Thessalonica, twice you sent me what I needed.

It is not your gift that I value but rather the interest increasing in your own account. Now I have enough and more than enough with everything Epaphroditus brought me on your behalf and which I received as “fragrant offerings pleasing to God.” God Himself will provide you with everything you need, according to His riches, and show you His generosity in Christ Jesus.

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Friday, 4 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today our Lord Jesus Christ presented to His disciples the story of the dishonest steward, whom the master fired over his dishonesty, and as we knew in this well known story, the steward began finding ways to preserve himself and ensuring his own well-being after he was fired, by using his skills and persuasion, in order to do even more dishonesty, which is the way that he was familiar with, to secure for himself a good life afterwards.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is then the point of this story? It is in fact a reminder for us that if we treat of ourselves as those who belong in this world, we will then act in ways acceptable to the world, in all of its tenets and ways, just as the steward, who served himself and his greed for money, did all sorts of dishonesty in order to ensure his life’s well-being. But then, although he may indeed secure for himself a comfortable life after, how about the accountability of all that he had committed?

Truly, the ways of this world can indeed make us go far in this earthly life. Many people are working very hard and even trying to outdo each other in order to secure for themselves promotion, fame, and praise from their superiors and underlings alike. They gathered for themselves much money, possessions, and even power and influence. All of these would indeed ensure that they have a good life in this world. But then again, what will all these worth in the world that is to come?

In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the faithful and the Church in the city of Philippi in Greece, he spoke of us being transfigured, changed and transformed by Christ, as Christians who truly devote ourselves and put ourselves in the company of the Lord our God, obeying His ways and commandments. It is linked to what we have heard in the Gospel, that whoever live by the ways of the world, shall likely depend on these, but these while they are good for this world, they are not what can guarantee our salvation in the afterlife.

The ways of this world are often opposed and contradictory to the ways of our Lord. As such, what made us prosperous in this world may not bring us to prosper when the Lord calls upon us to return to Him and to give an account of our lives, of what we have done in that life. If we truly belong to the Lord, then surely we should have committed and done what the Lord had asked us to do?

Unfortunately, many of us are not even aware of what the Lord expects from us. Many of us think of our faith as something of a mere formality, and many of us do not even actively practice our faith! If our actions show that we are contradicting the teachings of the Lord, through our selfishness, through our lack of love and devotion to God, through our hatred and acts that brought about pain and sorrow, we have in fact desecrated the good and holy Name of our Lord.

We cannot be hypocrites in our faith, brethren, and neither should we be lukewarm or ignorant in it. Our faith must be real, genuine, filled with real action and commitment, that we all may then be truly be worthy of the Lord, and in accordance with what St. Paul said in his Epistle, that we should be transformed and changed by the Lord, that in all of our words, deeds and actions, we endeavour to bring glory to God.

And perhaps, in this matter, we should look at the example of St. Charles Borromeo, the famous saint whose feast we are celebrating on this day. St. Charles Borromeo, or San Carolus Borromeo was born into a very influential family of nobles, who at that time, a few centuries ago, had great influence and power in the society. As such, St. Charles Borromeo had been destined for great things from the beginning of his life.

As his relative became the successor of St. Peter and leader of the Universal Church as Pope Pius IV, St. Charles Borromeo at a young age was entrusted with great matters of the Church state and even was made as a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, a practice common at that time. And yet, despite such privileges and such great influence wielded by his family and relatives, he lived frugally, with austerity and enforced strict spiritual discipline on all who worked with him and lived with him.

St. Charles Borromeo was very influential and impactful in his works in the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation, together with his contemporaries, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Peter Canisius and many others, resisting and combatting the evil influences of the so-called false Protestant ‘reformation’, the great heresy which had seized millions and many more of the souls of the faithful into damnation due to its lies and false teachings.

He helped the Church to reform its practices, and helped it to impose much stricter discipline on its teachings and ways, purifying the corruptions that had troubled it for many years previously. In the same manner, after he was appointed as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Milan, one of the most influential dioceses in the world, even then as it is today, he helped to enforce the reforms to renew and rejuvenate the faith against the heresies of Protestantism and against the excesses of the Church.

St. Charles Borromeo often led by example, living as what the Lord had taught him to do, and we should do the same as well. We should walk in his footsteps and follow what he had done, practicing our faith through real commitment and actions. May the Lord help us all to do so, and may He awaken in each one of us the strong desire to be truly faithful to our God. May God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 4 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Bishops)
Luke 16 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, “What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question. ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.”

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Friday, 4 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White (Bishops)
Psalm 121 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” And now we have set foot within your gates, o Jerusalem!

Jerusalem, just like a city, where everything falls into place! There the tribes go up.

The tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord’s Name. There stand the courts of justice, the offices of the house of David.

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Friday, 4 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Bishops)
Philippians 3 : 17 – Philippians 4 : 1

Unite in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and look at those who walk in our way of life. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. I have said it to you many times, and now I repeat it with tears : they are heading for ruin; their belly is their god and they feel proud of what should be their shame. They only think of earthly things.

For us, our citizenship is in heaven, from where we await the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Lord. He will transfigure our lowly body, making it like His own Body, radiant in Glory, through the power which is His to submit everything to Himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, you my glory and crown, be steadfast in the Lord.

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Thursday, 3 November 2016 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God speaking to us from the Sacred Scriptures, telling us about the conversion of sinners, and how we should not leave behind our brethren who are in trouble, sinners and delinquents who are in need of our help. There is a hope for everyone, and as Christians we should also help in this matter.

The Lord spoke of those who have lost a silver coin and another who lost a sheep from among his flock. And He told His disciples and the people the great extent and effort which they, as the owners of the respective lost items, would go in order to retrieve what was lost from them. Surely we ourselves have experienced this too, brothers and sisters in Christ? Surely we have known the feeling of how painful and discomforting it is for us to lose something that is precious to us?

Therefore, just imagine that if we can be so discomforted by losing our precious items, our own possessions, all the more God Who owns all of us will be distraught over the loss of even a single one of His beloved children, that is when even one of us disobey the Lord and does things that are contrary to His ways, meaning that he or she has sinned before the Lord.

And sin has been the main culprit of our sundering and separation from God. It has been the thorn on our side ever since Satan tempted our ancestors to disobey the Lord our God and His commandments. And throughout time, again and again, we mankind have fallen into his persuasions and lies, and committed sins which separated us further from the Lord and His salvation.

God loves us all very much brethren, and no one is beyond the scope of His love, unless we ourselves have turned our back of that love and defiantly rejecting His overtures of mercy and kindness. He is our loving Shepherd and we are His sheep, the sheep of His flock. We are His wonderful treasures, which He treasures and if any of us are lost from Him, He will look for us.

Unfortunately, it is we ourselves who often rejected Him, because we prefer to follow the ways of the devil rather than listening to the words of God. We continued to commit sin after sin, and the state of our souls are in great danger. And yet, God never gave up trying to bring us back into righteousness and grace, and He sent thus many prophets, messengers who brought the word of God to us all.

And one of them was St. Martin de Porres, whose feast day we celebrate today. He was a member of the Dominican order, working in the place he was born, in Peru in what was then Spanish Americas. He devoted himself to work for the poor and the less fortunate in his community, and he himself grew up in poverty and faced many challenges in his life.

He faced great discrimination due to his mixed heritage, having been an illegitimate son of a Spanish father and a freed slave mother. By the law at that time, he was counted among those who were barred from joining the religious life fully as a member, and were therefore consigned to be the lowest member of the Dominican order, enduring discrimination, difficulty and even rejection at times.

Yet, all these did not dampen the spirit of St. Martin de Porres, who devoted himself all the more to works and pursuits of mercy and compassion to the poor, the weak, the oppressed and those who suffer because of various reasons. He cared for them and helped them in various occasions, because of his genuine love and commitment for them, living out the Gospel which he was preaching to the people by his own dedications.

This is the kind of example which each and every one of us should also heed and follow, the example of how we should live our lives filled with faith from now on. We are called to show mercy to those who have sinned against us, allowing them to have a renewed faith in God and to repent from all of their sinful and wrong ways. But have we done these in our lives? Have our lives been actively devoted to such good works?

Many of us have thought only of ourselves, and it is often that we selfishly acted in order to preserve ourselves and fulfil our desires. As a result, our eyes, ears and senses are often dulled against the cry of those who are lost, who are struggling, suffering and encountering difficulties, whom we actually can save and help, but because we turned our backs to them, we often have left our brethren to fend for themselves.

Shall we from now on renew our commitment to our faith and that faith we have in the Lord by devoting ourselves anew to look for and help our brethren in need, the lost sheep, whom the Lord wants to save and reunite with Himself, just as He had done with us? Let us all help one another, that in the end, as many as possible can receive the salvation from the Lord our God.

May St. Martin de Porres be the source of our inspiration in living out our faith, and may he intercede for our sake, praying for us all, that our hearts may be stirred and our passion and desire to help others in need can be awakened within us. May the Lord help us and bless us on our way, and may He remain with us forevermore. Amen.