compassion

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Sunday, 7 August 2016 : 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the message of the Holy Scriptures is very clear and vivid, telling us all about faith, the true faith which all of us ought to have for the Lord our God, just as our father in faith, Abraham, had that great faith and commitment for the Lord. Faith is not just about saying that we believe in the Lord or making empty promises and dedications, but instead, is a living and active commitment.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, the Lord made it clear to His people that He has established that covenant with their ancestors, and He will stand by it, so long as they themselves also show the same faith and commitment to the same covenant. Otherwise, if they are unfaithful, then they shall have no part in the inheritance and in the greatness that God had promised those who keep their part of the covenant.

In the Gospel today, Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples about the parable of the five wise women and five unwise women, as well as the parable of the faithful steward and the unfaithful and wicked steward. In both these occasions, we clearly see that there is a choice for us to pick from, either for us to be faithful to the Lord in His ways, and be ever prepared and be ready to welcome the Lord when He comes and prove our faith to Him, or for us to ignore Him and not doing what He has asked us all to do.

Indeed, it is much easier for us to follow the second path, that is not to do what the Lord had asked us to do, ignore His missions and ways, and continue on with what we and the world think is right. But such a path may lead us into the wilderness of the darkness of the world, and thus we may be lost, and forever lost indeed from the guidance and the light of God.

The devil and all of his allies are not willing to see us prosper and be happy in our saved state in the Lord. They would not stay silent and do nothing while we go on towards our salvation and eternal life in God. Instead, they will do all that they can in order to disrupt us, distract us and pull us away from the way to God, and bringing upon us many temptations and lies, they hope to lure us into our downfall, that we may fall together into oblivion with them.

But we are far better than that, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the examples of Abraham, our father in faith as told by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, whose life was wholly and completely dedicated to the Lord our God. He was a rich and influential man who lived in the region far away from the land now known as Israel, but God called him one day and he heeded the call, leaving behind everything he knew of and abandoned his past life, and with all of his belongings, travelled to where God had led him to.

And in times of difficulty and uncertainty, God stayed with him, and he also stayed faithful to God. When it was asked by God that he should sacrifice to Him his own beloved son, Isaac, who was none other the son whom God had promised him, Abraham did not hesitate, and he went up the mountain to sacrifice his own son, only to be stopped by God, Who had seen his great and undying faith, and thus blessed him all the more.

The example of Abraham, our father in faith served us in the sense that through him we see and we have a witness of how God rewarded His faithful servants. God blessed His servants, from Abraham to Isaac, from Isaac to Jacob, and then to Moses and the judges, and king David and Solomon the faithful ones, and many other good servants, prophets and all those who kept their faith in the Lord.

But those who had rejected Him or ignored His warnings, had nothing other than contempt and condemnation. Those wicked ones refused to obey the Lord and they had had their fill. They will face the final judgment and receive eternal damnation as their share, since while God had given them many opportunities and even blessed them profusely, they still refused to acknowledge His love and instead betrayed Him for the pagan idols and their sinful ways.

Then how is this relevant to us? Let us ask ourselves then, are we following the examples of Abraham, our father in faith, or do we follow instead the examples of the wickedness of the people of Israel over the ages? Do we follow their rebelliousness and refusal to obey the Law of the Lord instead of the faithfulness of the prophets and the servants of our Lord?

All of us have a choice, and this choice is a very important one indeed, for what is at stake is none other than the fate of our very own souls. Do we choose to be like the wise women and the faithful steward who did all they can in order to prepare themselves to welcome the Lord and His coming? Or do we rather choose to be like the unwise women and the wicked and lazy steward who were lazy and were rather distracted with merrymaking rather than obeying their Master?

Let us all understand the importance of this matter, especially with regards to the time and opportunities that we have in this life. If we think that we can delay and wait for the time when we will finally change our ways, then know that God is our Master and He is the Master over all of our lives. He alone knows when our earthly life will come to an end, not us.

There are many things that we can control in our life, however we have no control over our life. We cannot extend our lives longer than it has been decreed by the Lord. If we wait until this time is up, then we have no more chance for ourselves. Let us ask ourselves, would we rather live in the eternal glory of God while at the moment suffering temporarily the persecution and the challenges by the world? Or would we rather live for the moment, but then forsaking the chance at eternal glory?

May God help us to discern our path well, that we may eventually be able to find our way to Him, and not to be distracted and be lost in the darkness. May the Lord help us to find our way to Him, and may He bless us in this forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 6 August 2016 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate one of the great feast days of the Church, celebrating the moment when our Lord Jesus Christ was transformed in His glory and majesty, revealing for the first time to the whole world, the whole truth about His existence and nature, Who He was, and what it is that He was going to do in the world, His mission and intentions.

This moment is known to us as the Transfiguration of our Lord, when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born through the Virgin Mary, having assumed the flesh and form of Man, revealed Himself and allowed that divinity to shine forth through, and showed His disciples Who He really is, as not just a mere Man or Prophet, but as God Himself, the Divine Word Incarnate.

And there are truly many symbolisms in what we heard in the readings from the Holy Scriptures today. In the first reading, we heard from the prophet Daniel, who recorded what he saw in a great vision of heaven, where God showed Him the glory of Heaven, and then Himself, the One of Great Age, and His Son, the Son of Man, Who would come to take His place in the world, as the Father has granted Him the dominion over the whole world.

Indeed, He came into the world, as the fulfilment of God’s long promised salvation of the world and all of His beloved people. He has promised that He would send His Saviour to gather all of His beloved ones from the places where they had been lost in, gathering them all from all the four corners of the world, from the dark places and bring them into the light.

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus showed Himself in His full glory and majesty atop the mount Tabor to three of His disciples, St. Peter, St. James and St. John. Mount Tabor was one of the holy mountains on which important events in the history of salvation had taken place, and thus the significance of such an event happening at Mount Tabor is also linked to how Moses in the Book of Exodus had ascended up the other holy mountain Horeb, meeting up with God and receiving the Law of God from God Himself.

And there, up that mount Tabor, again as I have mentioned, Jesus showed His divinity, by being transfigured into a Being so pure and great, that no pureness can match the dazzling white garment He is wearing. This is the first important thing we have to take note in this Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord, that we believe and worship the Lord Who in His nature is both God and Human at the same time.

And He came forth into the world in order to fulfil what the Law and the Prophets had said about Him, to fulfil completely and perfectly the Law and the Covenant which God had brought upon His people, and to fulfil the promises and guarantees of salvation preached through His faithful prophets and servants. And that was why we saw Moses and Elijah, each of whom represented the Law, that is Moses, and the Prophets, that is Elijah.

That is the second thing which we ought to take note of, that God has endeavoured to fulfil His promise to us, and He is ever faithful to His covenant, which He has established with us all, for our sake and our benefit. But are we also faithful? If we look at how we mankind acted towards the covenant we have with our Lord, we should realise just how unfaithful we are to His covenant, preferring to walk on our own ways and disobeying His rules and laws.

But last of all, what we need to heed from the readings today is the most important of all, as it is telling us what we as Christians and as members of the Church need to do from now on. After Jesus had revealed His glory, His disciples wanted to stay on there in that moment of bliss and they did not want to leave all that for the world below.

Yet, that was exactly what Jesus did, and the Father reminded His disciples to follow the way which His Son followed. He left the glory behind and walked down the mountain, determined to go on to Jerusalem, even though He fully knew that the Pharisees and the elders in Jerusalem were plotting to bring about His death. And that was that act of courage and commitment to His cause which eventually led to the great saving work of our Lord, as He went up the hill of Calvary bearing His cross and eventually was crucified and died for our sake.

In the same manner, let us all ask ourselves, are we all too comfortable in our own respective comfort zones? Are we too caught up in our comfort and in all the happy and pleasurable things we have in life that we may have forgotten our true purpose in life? Such is the danger that all of us are facing, that Satan and his allies may just tempt us and persuade us to remain aloof and indifferent amidst the challenges and the mission which we have been entrusted with by the Lord?

And what is that, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is just as Jesus Himself had said, that we ought to take up our crosses, leave behind all the fetters of worldliness, and follow Him as He walked through the way of the cross. And that means, as Christians, we should not be satisfied with just the status quo, and neither can we sit back and enjoy, while in reality there are still so many things that we can do.

Let us ponder on this matter and reflect deep in our hearts. Let us all not be hesitant any longer, but from now on embrace our roles as Christians with zeal and vigour, that in all the things we do from now on, we may bring greater glory to God, proclaiming Him through our deeds and actions, that more and more people may come to His salvation and receive the gift of eternal life.

And thus, at the end of it all, we may enter into the glory of heaven promised to us all, which glimpse we saw at the Transfiguration itself. Let us all be thoroughly transfigured with our Lord Jesus Christ, and be glorious and be worthy of God’s grace. Amen.

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Saturday, 6 August 2016 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 28b-36

At that time, Jesus took Peter, John and James, and went up the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the aspect of His face was changed, and His clothing became dazzling white. Two men were talking with Jesus : Moses and Elijah. Appearing in the glory of heaven, Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about His departure from this life, which was to take place in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had fallen asleep; but they awoke suddenly, and they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. As Moses and Elijah were about to leave, Peter – not knowing what to say – said to Jesus, “Master, how good it is for us to be here! Let us make three tents, one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

And no sooner had he spoken, than a cloud appeared and covered them; and the disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then these words came from the cloud, “This is My Son, My Beloved, listen to Him.” And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was there alone.

The disciples kept this to themselves at the time, telling no one of anything they had seen.

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Friday, 5 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast in the memory of the dedication of one of the greatest churches of Christendom, one of the major Papal Basilicas in the holy city of Rome, one devoted to the Blessed Mother of the Lord, Mary herself, in her persona as the protector of the city of Rome, known also as St. Mary Major, Santa Maria Maggiore or as our Lady of the Snows.

It was told that one fine day at the time when Christianity was just tolerated by the Roman Empire, at the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, an elderly couple John and his wife vowed to donate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, having no heir of their own to inherit their properties. They prayed to the Blessed Virgin that she might show them the way how to properly dispose that property in her care.

And she showed it through the miracle of snows that fell during the height of summer, on this exact day, the fifth day of August, on one of the hills of Rome, where the elderly couple initiated the building of the great Basilica with the help and support of the Emperor, which had since then became a great church and a great place of contemplation, dedicated to the mother of our Lord and God, protector of God’s beloved people.

This is one of the example of how the mother of our Lord has always on the lookout for us the people loved by her own Son, Jesus Christ. She has watched over us and prayed for us, that we may find our way out of the darkness of this world and enter into the light of our Lord, forever to be granted the salvation and the eternal life that God bestows on His faithful ones alone.

She is a great ally to all of us, having shown us how to be faithful to the Lord in her own ways. She has been faithful to the Lord, obedient in all of her ways, devoting her entire life to serve the Lord, and faithfully stayed by the side of her Son, all the way from the time she conceived Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, and all the way through His life on earth until He ascended the hill of Calvary to His death.

And despite her doubts, fears and uncertainties, she persevered on and continued to help her Son in His works to save the whole world and all mankind. And thus, she became a the great beacon and guiding light, the example for all mankind to follow, the perfect role model on how to become a faithful servant and follower of our Lord.

And thus as we celebrate together this great feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, let us all learn to be more like Mary, the mother of our Lord, in how she had been ever faithful, in how she lived a life filled with dedication and commitment to the mission which had been entrusted to her. Indeed, hers was the special role that was greater than any other missions which we have, but each and every one of us also have that mission, to live our lives faithfully as Christians, as those who believe in the Lord and live according to His ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and renew our commitment to Him through not just words alone, but also through real action. And this means that we should love one another just as He has loved us in the first place. Let us all follow the example of Mary, His mother, who is our greatest intercessor and defender, the one who can help us to reach out to the salvation found in our Lord Jesus alone.

May our Blessed Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Lady of Snows, bless us all and may she be ever loving to us, keeping us all under her watchful care, that through her we may find that clear path to the eternal life which her Son has promised all those who are faithful to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 4 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest and Patron of Parish Priests (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the famous St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, specifically our parish priests. He was also known by his name of the Cure of Ars, from the role he played in his dwelling at Ars in France, where he worked many works of wonders and miracles among the people of God through his hard work and dedication.

In the Scripture readings today, we heard about the covenant and the promise that God had made through His prophet Jeremiah, that He would renew the covenant with His people and bring them together again as one people, and gather them in His love into His embrace. And this was taken in the context that the people of God had been brought low and many were brought into exile in the land of their enemies, having sinned many times before the Lord.

And brothers and sisters in Christ, today we also heard in the Gospel, the famous exchange between Jesus and His disciples, primarily St. Peter, who professed his renewed faith to the Lord, proclaiming without hesitation that Jesus his Master, is the Son of the Living God, the Messiah, and the Lord of all. This is something which many others, the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and even among the disciples themselves, found hard to believe.

And Jesus entrusted all of His flock to him, whom He charged to be the leader of the whole Church which He established upon this world, founded upon that same faith which St. Peter had proclaimed before all that day. And He charged him with the care of the keys to the kingdom of heaven, with the responsibility to bind and unbind the souls of mankind to the Lord, that is the mission of the Church.

And how is this relevant to what we are celebrating today as the feast day of St. John Vianney? St. John Vianney is an example for all the priests, all those who have devoted themselves to the Lord. He has given himself in service to those who are the least and the weakest in the society, and he has delivered many great sermons, calling on many people to repent their sins and to find their way back to the Lord.

He cured the hearts of the faithful, and brought them back from the darkness and back into the light. He stirred the hearts of sinners that they might hearken to the word and the calling of God, which sounded in their hearts, and pulled them back from the edge of the precipice leading to hell. And thus, in this manner, St. John Vianney embodied that calling and that mission which Jesus our Lord had entrusted to St. Peter.

Our priests and our devoted servants of God are all precious to us, and they are the ones who are our bridges, the ones who help us to encounter the Lord, much as He is the One Who is the bridge between us sinful men and the Father in Heaven. They do not have an easy life, and as we all should understand, being priests and devoted servants of God is difficult, as challenges after challenges shall come their way.

Therefore today, as we celebrate together the feast of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, let us all pray for our priests, all those who have devoted their lives and given themselves to care for God’s people, and to gather as many souls as possible to the salvation in God. Let us all devote ourselves as well in similar manner and commit ourselves to support our faithful priests, that their works will lead to even greater impact in bringing God’s beloved but wayward people back into His embrace.

May God help us all, and may He awaken in us all as well, the spirit of service and dedication, and hopefully that some of us may take up the challenge and the calling He had made unto us, that we too may have new priests and holy servants of God arising from our ranks. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard again yet another message of hope, telling us that God does not forget His people, His beloved ones. He would gather them back to the loving embrace of His presence, and He will not let them to be lost again. And all these was told in our first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in the context that the old kingdoms of Israel and Judah had been destroyed and the people of God had been cast into exile.

In such a situation, indeed it would be very easy for someone to despair and to lose hope. But God reminded His people that no matter what, even though they were the ones who had first been disloyal and disobedient to Him, He is always loyal and will not abandon His people, unless they were the ones who continued to defy Him and continued to resist Him and refused to accept His love and grace.

God also tested the faith of the Canaanite woman in the Gospel today, as Jesus apparently refused to heal the daughter of the woman, who was beset by evil spirits. It may seem how adamant and heartless Jesus was when He rejected the woman’s begging and pleas for Him to heal her daughter, even to the point of pointing out that it was not right to let the dogs eat up the food from the master’s table.

But what Jesus was doing, in fact was to point out how the society of the Jews worked at that time. There was a very explicit form of prejudice against those non-Jewish people, who were considered by the Jews as those who were not deserving of God’s love and salvation. They considered themselves as the chosen people and the chosen race because their father was Abraham, and they felt that entitlement because of their descent from the father of many nations.

And thus, they thought of themselves as deserving of God’s many graces and blessings, while all the other people were not deserving, like that of a dog who should not be given even the scraps of food from the master’s table. But the woman did not give up, even when she was told off in the same manner as all the prejudices of the Jews had done to her and her people.

In her humility, and in the faith which she had for the Lord, she humbled herself and lowered herself, that upon the trust which she has in the Lord, she believed that no matter what, her faith in Him would not be shaken. And her faith and begging was such that, the Lord was moved to see such a great piety, one which was no longer present in the heart of the many Jews at the time, even those who followed Him.

And that is an important lesson for all of us. How is our faith in God like? Is it a faith similar to that of the woman? Or is it shaky and weak, easily shaken by worldly temptations and desires? Faith is not just merely proclaiming by words that we believe in God and doing what the Church is asking us to do alone. Faith means that we should put forth all our trust in God, and in our best abilities, try to implement what we have learnt from God in our own actions everyday.

And that means, all of us should seek the Lord, His mercy and forgiveness, by showing mercy and love ourselves. We should not be prejudiced or be biased against our brethren, or think that we are in any way better than them simply because we have been saved. Remember that once we were also still lost in the darkness of the world. Rather, all of mankind are brothers and sisters in the same Lord our God, and it is imperative that as many souls as possible should be saved.

In the end, we have to realise that our roles in the salvation of mankind is important, since it is through our commitment and hard work that the salvation which God had offered us mankind will persist in this world, and it is through us that God often performed His miracles of mercy and wonder. May God then help us to realise this potential in us, and may we grow ever more dedicated to help one another in finding our way to the Lord, our loving God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 15 : 21-28

At that time, leaving Gennesareth, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So His disciples approached Him and said, “Send her away! See how she is shouting after us.” Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.” But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, “Sir, help me!”

Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the puppy dogs.” The woman replied, “That is true, Sir, but even the puppy dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

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Tuesday, 2 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called by God through His words in the Scripture, and the centre theme of His calling to us, is for us all to have faith in Him. In the first reading, God spoke to His people through Jeremiah, His prophet, telling them the message of hope in the midst of hopelessness and darkness. He told them that He would restore them to their previous glory and grace, and He would remove from them the shame of their captivity and exile.

This was given in the context that the people of God had long disobeyed Him and preferred to forge their own path, worshipping pagan idols and gods, and committed all sorts of wicked deeds in His sight. They have lost faith in Him, and they have wavered many times, unable to commit themselves to Him. They fell into sin and thus had to endure the consequences of their disobedience.

And yet God still wanted to show them mercy, extending His hands to them and wanting to welcome them back into His embrace. Nevertheless, all of these would come to naught if the same people refused to take up the offer. And sadly that was the case. Many would rather continue in their state of sin and uncertainty rather than to surrender themselves completely to God and His ways.

Then let us all see what we have heard in the Gospel today. The Lord appeared to His disciples who were in the middle of the lake, trapped within a great storm, with high winds and strong waves, threatening to sink the whole ship with them inside. And the disciples were afraid when they saw the Lord for the first time, thinking that He was a ghost.

They were afraid and fearful, and their faith in God wavered, just as how it was in the past, at the time of the prophet Jeremiah. The people of God were unfaithful and they followed their own preferences and paths. And that was just as the disciples in the boat rocked by the strong winds and the strong waves, threatening to sink them. And thus, the temptations of the world were very strong, and pulling the people of God to them, these threatened to bring the people of God into eternal damnation.

But Jesus the Lord came, and He came to His disciples when they were in distress, telling them not to be afraid, for He was there with them. And He stretched out His hand, and called upon St. Peter when he was wavering. St. Peter reached out to the Lord and walked on the water, but his faith in Him wavered, and he was sinking into the water. And God helped him up, and chided him briefly for his doubts. And upon entering the boat, He calmed down the wind and the waves.

In this rich show of symbolism, we saw how in our own present time, the Church is that boat in which all of us the people of God are in. Indeed, the Church is often portrayed as a boat, in how the churches in both Western and Eastern Christendom were constructed, especially in the Eastern traditions. And all of us the people of God are in this boat, journeying across the troubled waters, facing the wind and the waves, that is this world and all of its troubles and challenges.

And just as all peoples when faced with a sinking boat would do, we have a choice, either to stay with the ship or to jump ship into the water, hoping that by jumping into the water we might be saved from sinking. But more often than not, that kind of decision is done out of fear and uncertainty, and lack of faith in the capability of the one guiding the ship to bring the people to safety.

And thus when God Who is the guide of the Church, as its Head, guided us all in His Church, all of us should hold fast and stay faithful and courageous for as long as we are able to. Let us all strengthen our faith in God, and learn to put our complete trust in Him, for even though we have been unfaithful, as it was for the people of Judah and Israel in the past, God is always forever faithful.

Let us all also heed the examples of the saints, St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard, whose examples can be our inspiration in how we live our lives. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was a holy and devoted bishop of the region of Vercelli in Italy, who gave most of his life in the devout service of God. He was a strong believer in the Lord and an ardent defender of His truth against all those who would stir up the faithful by spreading heresies and falsehoods.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli lived at a turbulent time, and although at that time, Christianity had become a tolerated faith in the Roman Empire, and more and more people accepted the Lord as their Saviour, but there were many heresies and false teachings abound, threatening to sunder the Church and condemn many of the faithful people of God into oblivion.

He worked hard to convince the people to return from their erroneous path, and many responded in kind, following him back to the safety and the good embrace of their Lord and God. He helped many people to reconcile themselves with the Church and the Lord, rejected the heresies which they had come to believe, and instead embraced the truth and the fullness of the magisterium teaching of the Church.

Similarly, St. Peter Julian Eymard also devoted his life to the Lord, to bring the Good News to the people, promoting the devotion to the Lord, especially to His Real Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament, adoring the Lord in all things, and calling all those who have sinned to repent and return to the embrace of the Lord through the Church.

He helped to establish two congregations of religious life whose aims were to bring the people of God closer to Him through the pious and strong devotion to the Eucharist. And many people responded in kind, devoting themselves to the Lord and changing their ways, and therefore many were brought to the salvation of God through what this holy saint has done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on the words of the Holy Scriptures and on the examples of these holy saints, let us all do the same with our own lives, as all of us can also do what they have done. Let us stay committed and remain faithful to God, despite the challenges and the temptations calling us to do otherwise. Let us remain true to God through His Church, and help many others to remain firmly rooted in faith, that each and every one of us may be saved.

May God, our Lord and Saviour, our loving Father and Redeemer, may He bless us all and keep us forevermore in His grace, and may He never forget about us in our moments of distress, but come to us, and may we take up His offer of salvation, change our ways and go forth to meet Him in the salvation and eternal life He promised all those who are faithful to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 1 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the messages from the Holy Scriptures, from the first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, where Jeremiah was up against the false prophets trying to obtain the favour of the king of Judah by trying to satisfy him and made him happy by providing him with false prophecies.

Those false prophets tried to discredit Jeremiah, plotting against him by portraying him as a doom-bringer and as a pariah, who kept telling bad news one after another, while they portrayed a less negative picture of what was to come. But the prophet Jeremiah did not back down, and instead, he continued to persist to show the people who have disobeyed God about just how much they have erred.

And despite the opposition and the stubbornness of the people, the prophet did not give up. For it was God’s love that drove him to work harder for the sake of the people who had been lost in the darkness, that they might be able to find their way back to the Lord, their loving God. God so loved the world, that even though they have sinned and committed such wickedness before Him, He was still willing to love them and to show His care for them.

And this is visible in the Gospel today, where we heard that famous story of how Jesus our Lord fed the entirety of the five thousand men and likely even many more thousands of women and children in that great crowd which had followed Him to listen to Him. In this, we saw how great is the love and compassion that the Lord has for us all, His beloved people.

He showed pity and compassion, seeing how many of those people who followed Him and were hungry and without food. He provided for them, cared for them, and thus showed the infinite greatness and the endless breadth of His wonderful love and mercy. And yet, it was the same people who also called for Him to be crucified. Yes, the very same people who hailed Jesus as King and Lord, also called for Him to be crucified.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? God has loved us so much, and yet why was it that in many occasions, from the time of Jeremiah to the time of Jesus our Lord, that they had done so much to bring God’s anger upon themselves? Not only that they refused His love and grace, but they also continued to live in a state of sin and disgrace. They have not listened to the Lord and continued to live in the darkness because of the absence of God from their hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all ask ourselves, how do we then stand in this matter? Where do we find ourselves in this issue? Is God truly in our hearts? Are His laws and precepts ours, and did we do all that we can to obey them? If the answers we have to all of these is no, then perhaps we should look at what the holy servant of God, St. Alphonsus Liguori had done.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, our saint of the day, was a holy bishop and a devoted servant of God. He was known around the world as the founder of the religious order now known as the Redemptorists, who devoted themselves to the redemption of mankind, and to the salvation of the many people who had lived in the darkness of sin, by bringing God’s light and truth upon them.

St. Alphonsus Liguori devoted himself to God’s service, giving himself to the poorest, weakest and the least fortunate ones in the society. He worked hard among the sick and the dying, and knowing that he alone could not do much to help the many people who have suffered, he founded that Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known now as the Redemptorist order, to gather together all those who have similar minds and goals to him, that all of them may work together for the sake of God’s people.

Let us all follow his examples, and seek the Lord with all of our might. Our hearts should be turned to God and should be attuned to Him. We should do our best so that we may be ever closer to God, and leave behind our doubts, our fears and our lack of faith, which were the obstacles that had prevented many from following the Lord in the past. May St. Alphonsus Liguori intercede for us, and may he help us to keep ourselves faithful in this journey towards the Lord our saving God. Amen.

by

Monday, 1 August 2016 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 118 : 29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102

Keep me away from deceitful paths; be gracious and teach me Your law.

Take not the word of truth from my mouth, for I would also lose my hope in Your word.

Let those who fear You turn to me, they will understand Your statutes.

May my heart be blameless in Your decrees, that I may not be ashamed.

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I look to Your word for salvation.

I have not departed from Your decrees for You Yourself have instructed me.