divine light

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Sunday, 8 March 2015 : Third Sunday of Lent, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard a very clear message in the readings of today, that we mankind must leave our current state of filth and sinfulness, and embrace instead the love and mercy of our God, who will then dwell in the hearts of all who have repented from their evil ways and believe in Him. This is the truth of our Faith, and which we have to spread to all the world, for the salvation of all mankind.

This is the season of Lent, and we have entered into the third week of this sacred season. Lent is the season of reflection, of understanding ourselves and all that we have done and committed in this world, be it good or evil. It is the time for us to look into ourselves and think about our future, especially what we are to become in the end. Will we be part of God’s kingdom or will we be rejected and cast out because of our wickedness and sins?

These are the questions which we should seriously consider as we continue on with our lives, especially as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the greatest mysteries of our Faith in the celebration of our Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection this coming Holy Week and Easter season. We have to prepare ourselves in heart, mind, body and soul for this, even as we see our brethren among us who are preparing themselves to be received into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism.

We heard about God giving His Laws and Commandments, the Ten Commandment to His people in our first reading, and how those were meant to guide them in their ways in life, so that they would remain ever faithful and righteous in the eyes of God and men alike. He provided them with much goodness and blessings, as they have been chosen and blessed over the other nations. God smote down their enemies and all who have risen up against them, and He also gave them food and drink of immeasurable quantities as they journeyed through the desert.

But instead, the people of God, Israel, refused to obey and listen to the Lord their God. As soon as the Lord guided them away from the Egyptians, they sinned by rising up a golden calf to be their ‘god’ and broke the covenant which God had just made with them through the Law He had given them. What we heard today is the other great sin they had committed, at Massah and Meribah, so much so that whenever we hear the names today, they equate with rebellion and disobedience against God.

Despite all the good things which God had done unto them, they refused to be content and demanded all the more. They contended that their life in slavery in Egypt was much better than what they had then in the desert, as free men and women. This is despite God’s providing them with bread from heaven itself, the manna, sweet as honey and delicious, as well as filling, and everyone had enough to eat, with large birds given by God every day for their food.

And sweet, crystal-clear water had been given to them to drink, coming out from the rocks and the earth itself. They have no need to fear for their lives or to be afraid of not having enough, for God also ensured that everyone had enough, that all those who have collected more did not have too much, while those who collected less did not have too little. Yet, despite all these, the people of God gave in to their desires and greed, and demanded for more.

It is from this abyss and darkness that God is calling us to come out and seek His light. He urges us all to be rescued from the pit of darkness, that is our greed, our desires, our pride and all the other things and negativities that prevented us from being truly reunited with our Lord and God. We are reminded that we have to change or else we will also walk the same path as the Israelites to destruction. They were punished for their disobedience and all those who walked the path of rebellion were cast to outer darkness.

In the Gospel today, we are therefore reminded again of the day of our baptism, the day when we are accepted into the Church of God and therefore became partakers in the divine inheritance which we are to receive. And for those among us to be baptised soon, this is an affirmation of the promise of salvation which they are to receive if they remain faithful just as we are faithful to God.

If we allow the Lord to dwell in us, by accepting Him fully and worthily as we receive the Eucharist in the state of grace, then we will have the Lord in us, and He will satisfy us with all that we ever need. Indeed, much like what He had done so long ago with the people of Israel and even much more. The people who ate the manna and drank the sweet spring water still died and perished, but all of us who have received the Lord, we will no longer need to fear death.

It is not that we will no longer die. All of us are still mortals, and will one day have to face death, but it is no longer something that we should be afraid of, for we have the assurance of Christ Himself, that we have been freed from eternal death. By His resurrection He had assured us of the life that is to come, eternal and filled with bliss, happiness and glory which will be ours if we remain faithful to the end.

This Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to reevaluate our ways, and to think about what we have done, what we have failed to do in accordance to the will of God, and most importantly, about what we can do in the upcoming future. The choice is now in our hands, to change sincerely and genuinely, and to love the Lord our God and our fellow men with all of our hearts from now on.

If we believe, then the Lord truly will be the source of our strength in us, welling up like unstoppable force of the spring water, that will nourish us and provide us with all that we need. Remember always, that our bodies and our beings are the Temple of God’s residence, and God Himself dwells in each and every one of us. It is time that we prove to God that we can provide Him with such a worthy and suitable dwelling place, that He will find us worthy and justify us by our faith, that in the end, our share will be the eternal life which He had promised us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the parable of the prodigal son, the well known story which most of us are certainly familiar with. This is a story of God’s rich love and mercy, and His tender forgiveness for our faults and sins. It is meant to awaken us up to our sins and to help us realise how if we continue in our sinful ways, then we are essentially driving ourselves to annihilation.

The father represents God, who is indeed our Father who created us and cared for us greatly. The elder son represents those of us who have been called and saved from the evils of the world, that means also those of us who are already accepted into the Church through baptism. The younger son represents all those who are still lost in the entanglement of sin and in the darkness of the world.

But this does not mean that the younger son do not have anything in common with us. In fact, so long as we still continue to commit sin, be it big or small, we are still like the younger son, and we are still lost in a way. Remember, brethren, that sin is truly very dangerous, and what is at stake here is nothing else but the very fate of our souls, that means either we end up in eternal joy with our Father in heaven, or that we are forever lost and suffer for eternity for the lack of our Father’s love.

For that is indeed the fate that could have awaited the younger son when he encountered trouble in the foreign lands. He lost or used up all of his money and possessions, and he had to work in a pig farm just so that he might survive, and having no food to eat, he truly suffered and no one even let him to eat the food that the pigs ate.

We have to take note that the younger son made a choice at that point, that is to face up to the truth and reality, admit his mistakes and return to his father. He could have chosen to remain in exile, and most likely in that case that he would have died, if he was too shameful to admit his mistakes, or otherwise too proud to do so. It was his choice to humble himself and to find his way back to his father.

This is to show us that it is also our choice, whether we are to remain in sin and wickedness, and either are too afraid to seek the Lord because we fear His wrath, or too proud to admit our sinfulness, then we are doomed. We should be like the younger son, that prodigal son, who have sinned and showed great remorse, asking for his father’s forgiveness.

His humility and desire to be forgiven bore fruit, and he was received back by his father with love and compassion. He regained his place of honour and his past sins and wickedness were forgiven. Thus, it will be the same with us, if we sincerely and honestly seek God’s forgiveness. God will accept us back into His presence, and He will bless us again with His grace.

And we should also take note of the actions of the elder son, who was jealous of the treatment and attention which his father apparently gave to his wayward younger brother, giving him many things and rewards which he himself had not received before. This is the attitude we should not have, and indeed which we have to avoid. We who have been saved by the grace of God, and have been accepted as a member of His body, must not despise all those who are still filled with wickedness and sin.

Do not judge others, for it is only God who can rightfully judge others. If we judge others, then we too are liable to be judged, for we too are sinners, and daily, we struggle against sin, sometimes successfully while on other times, unsuccessfully. It is therefore, that we all should care for those among us, our own brethren who are still lost in the darkness. And instead of despising them and looking down on them, we should really be helping them to find their way to the Lord.

Today we also celebrate the feast day of the holy martyrs, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity. Both saints were martyrs who died during the days of the pagan Roman Empire, who persecuted the people of the Faith harshly and severely. Many were hunted down and killed, and many of them were also subjected to severe punishment and torture in order to make them recant their Faith, but most refused to do so, and therefore died as martyrs of the Faith.

Similarly with St. Felicity and Perpetua who were martyred for their Faith. They did not give up their faith and trust in the Lord for temporary worldly relief, but instead they met their end of life in this world with joy and full acceptance, and therefore receive the holy gifts of our Lord, the proof that in martyrdom and in all other things, God always loves us and care for all those who have faith in Him.

St. Perpetua and Felicity both knew that if they abandoned the Lord and embraced the sins of the world, they would be safe. But they threw far, far away their human desires and instead they put their complete trust in the Lord, depending only on His love and mercy. And in the end, for their faith, they received great rewards of everlasting life and happiness.

Therefore, inspired by the example of the prodigal son and the courage of the two holy martyrs, let us use the opportunity given to us in this season of Lent, in order to change our ways, and seek the Lord in true and sincere repentance, that like the prodigal son, we may change our ways and avoid destruction due to the sins we have committed. Let us all return to our Father, our Lord and God with sincere love and full of commitment and dedication to Him. God be with us all. Amen.

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Friday, 6 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the story of how Joseph, the son of Jacob was betrayed by his own brothers and sold to slavery for a mere twenty pieces of silver. They disliked the attitude of Joseph, who kept receiving dreams which supposedly showed that all of his brothers and even his parents submitting themselves to his authority.

And in the Gospel today we also heard about the parable of the vineyard, where we heard about the tenants who were wicked in their ways and refused to listen to the commands of owner of the vineyard. The parable spoke of those tenants who plotted against the son of the owner and all the servants sent against them. These two readings are indeed related to each other. There is also a message behind this selection of the readings for today.

Joseph and the son of the vineyard owner both represented Jesus, who is the Son of God Most High. The vineyard owner and Jacob represented God the Father. The wicked tenants and the brothers of Joseph represented mankind, that is all of us. There are indeed a lot of symbolism included in this day’s readings. Mankind had often rebelled against the will of God, sinning and committing wickedness after wickedness, just as the wicked tenants have done.

God sent us all many reminder after reminder, messenger after messenger, servants after servants in order to bring us back to the correct path in life. Yet, we obstinately refused His help and persecuted many of those whom had been sent to guide us and aid us on our way. This is precisely as how the wicked tenants persecuted the servants sent by the owner of the vineyard.

And last of all, God spared not even His own Begotten Son, Jesus our Lord, the Divine Word made Flesh. He came into the world in order to reinforce once and for all, God’s intended message for men to repent and change their ways, and follow Him. Notice how this is similar to how Joseph came to his brothers with the portents of his dreams? In how he explained what he had received in those dreams to them?

Just as Joseph is the beloved son of his father, Jacob, our Lord Jesus is also the Beloved Son of our Lord, whom He had begotten from Himself, as part of the Holy Trinity, perfectly united and undivided in love. And as Joseph and his brothers are indeed brothers in blood, we too, by the nature of the Divine Word who was incarnate into Flesh, who was made Man, also share the brotherhood with our Lord Jesus Christ.

As mentioned, the wicked tenants were greedy and lustful over the possessions of the vineyard owner. This is representing all of us who have hardened our hearts against God by giving in to our greed and to our worldly desires. It is indeed naturally difficult for us to resist our human desires. We are always exposed to the many temptations of the world that prevented us from following the Lord our God.

Do you notice the stark similarities between the two readings, especially on the part where Joseph was sold by his own brothers to the Midianites for a mere twenty pieces of silver, a meager price for a man, each of us, who are priceless? And how about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him for a mere thirty pieces of silver?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, whenever we commit any form of sin, in fact we are betraying our Lord, not just for His love but also for all the sufferings He had endured for our sake. We are no different from the wicked tenants who did nothing and who had not been able to resist the temptations of the world. Everyday we disappointed the Lord who had done so much for our sake.

Let us use this season of Lent to reflect on our own lives and on our own priorities. We have hardened our hearts against God’s love and mercy, and rise up in rebellion and disobedience against Him. This we have to stop, and so that we will not share the fate of those who had risen up against the Lord and ended up in total destruction and eternal suffering.

May this Lent all of us are awakened to our desire to love the Lord and to seek His mercy, to change our ways and sin no more, so that in the end, we will share in the joy and the glory of the Son of God, who is the King of all creations and of all the universe. We shall rejoice together in His glory and have happiness forevermore. We too are the children of God and we will be joyful together with our Father, our God who loves us all dearly. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the famous story of Lazarus and the rich man, as Jesus had told it to the people. This story is a usual example put forth to show God’s mercy and forgiveness, as well as the love and care which He had shown mankind, and which sadly mankind often rejected out of the pursuit of wealth, or for worldly power and ambitions, for greed and other desires of our heart, all of which that distract us from our true focus and aim, that is the Lord our God.

One may think if they read the readings today that God dislikes the rich and loves only the poor, or that God blesses only those who are poor and without any possessions as Lazarus had been. But this is wrong concept and understanding of what Jesus intended us all to know. What God wants us to do is to love one another equally and without reservations and doubt.

It is a reminder for all of us, that wealth and possessions have the ability to close our hearts against the pleas of the weak and the poor. They themselves are on their own neutral and are neither inherently good or bad. It is in how we use them and utilise them that much evil can happen, or indeed much good. It is up to us and how we use them to the best of use, either selfishly or selflessly.

The rich man have lived in plenty and in happiness, filled with material goods and fulfillment. He has nothing that he lacked, and all that he did in his life were successful. He certainly had many friends and relatives, and in everything, he was respected and praised by his community. As a rich man at that time, he would have hosted many parties and celebrations, and he must even have cared about many of his loved ones, doing good things for them and with them.

Yet, in all that he had done, and in all of his life, he had forgotten a man who sat in front of his house, day after day, begging for food and care. He wished to eat even from scraps that fell from the rich man’s table, for no one cared to give him anything to eat. And he died from his afflictions. But the rich man also died, and both of them go to the place where they deserve what they have done in life.

The rich man suffered for what he had not done in life, to help the poor who was sitting in front of his house, caring not at all for his well-being. If he had at least helped the poor Lazarus, he would not have ended up in hell. It is that lack and devoid of love which cast him down into hell, and not his wealth. The wealth and possessions, all the worldly goods indeed act as a distraction, which often cause many of us to be blind to the plight of those who are suffering.

Many of us fail to realise the suffering of those who are around us, and many of us waited until it is too late to change ourselves and change how we act and do things in this world. This is therefore a warning and a reminder to all of us, so that we keep in mind what we ought to do in this world. We have all each been given a blessing from God, big or small depending on our own abilities. It is therefore entrusted to us to share those blessings with one another.

It should not be an excuse that because the portion of our blessing is perhaps smaller than others, then we refuse to play our part as well. Each of us should contribute to help one another, and love others around us. If we see anyone around us who are in need to help, and nobody seems to do anything or even lift up a hand to help, is it really too difficult for us to do something for them to make a difference?

This season of Lent, let us all grow to be more loving and generous. Let us all use this opportunity to act with charity and generosity to all those who require our assistance. Let us never be ignorant or silent about the plight of those around us. Remember what Jesus had told His disciples about the Last Judgment? Those who have done His will by loving others and showing them tender care shall be judged righteous and welcomed into the eternal life and happiness prepared for them. Those who failed to do so? They will fall into eternal suffering and hellfire with Satan and his angels.

Let us all do our best in this life given to us, and work together to bring about much goodness to one another, especially in this season of Lent. May God be with us all, always, now and forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Casimir (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Scripture urging us all to stay strong and steady even amidst the torrents of difficulties, challenges, oppositions and all that will come our way when we devote ourselves to the Lord our God. The Scriptures had pointed out, that when the world hates our Lord and had rejected Him, then they will also reject us out and hates us.

But did Jesus shy away from all those challenges? Did He become afraid or reluctant to face those challenges? No, in fact He went on to meet all those challenges head on. He did not fear suffering or dying for our sake. We who are sinners have been marked for death and destruction, and yet, He came between us and death, and through the shedding of His Body and Blood, He purified us and made us worthy of life once again.

The world hated Jesus and His disciples, and all who followed Him, because they did not understand the Lord and His ways. The world is the dominion of the evil one, the fallen Satan, who ruled the world by his corruptions and sinfulness. Naturally, the devil and all of his allies, all the wickedness in the world will plot together as one, in order to stop the salvation and good works of Christ, that they may bring more and more people to fall into corruption.

This is the great challenge that Jesus was facing at that time, all the rebelliousness of mankind, their wickedness and all the unworthy things which they had committed and which they also plan to commit even more. This is the cup of suffering and bitterness that God had to drink through Jesus, who was greatly tormented and troubled by such a prospect of having to endure the great weight of the sins of the world.

It is this cup of suffering which Jesus mentioned to James and John, His Apostles and to their mother. They indeed would also drink from the same cup of suffering that Christ had drunk, because as they followed Him and did His works, the world also would persecute them and caused them great suffering. Yet at that time, when the mother of James and John pleaded for Jesus to grant her sons the incomparable favour of sitting at the side of God, they did not understand what all those mean.

It is very common for us mankind to think in terms of the world, and in terms of worldly benefits and powers. Power, wealth, possessions, privileges, all of these are high in the minds of those who live in the world and therefore are bound to it. Many people work and labour for the sole purpose of self-aggrandisment, self-satisfaction, that is to satisfy one’s own desires, either for power, for wealth, for recognition, or for all of them.

But Jesus showed His disciples, that all these mean nothing, and to be true disciples of the Lord, we have to forgo all of our desires and wants. Yes, precisely what the mother of James and John had asked. By asking for such a special privilege, in her heart, she was trying to edge out all the other Apostles and gained special position and power for her children. But she failed to see that, such position are not granted by power but rather through faithful deeds and through humility.

Jesus did not boast in His power and majesty, even though He is the Almighty God, all powerful and mighty. He is a Leader not by showcasing or abusing His power and authority, but through genuine and real application of His leadership, and acting as what a Leader should be, that is by example and by leading others will genuine concern and love.

Jesus was troubled and His humanity greatly feared the huge burden of sin which God had made Him to bear, so that we may be saved. He led by example, and He drank that cup of suffering and bore all of our sins, out of love for us all. He was not a Leader who cowered in fear while His people were suffering from the effects of sin. Instead, He was in front of them, leading and guiding them, protecting them from harm’s way.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Casimir, also known as St. Casimir Jagiellon, who was the Crown Prince of the kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania. St. Casimir’s youth days were filled frequently with jostling for power and worldly matters, as is common with the nobles and those with power on those days. His father had great ambition for him and for his brothers, aiming to gather more power and glory for his family and dynasty, by claiming the thrones of the kingdoms around them.

Yet, gradually, St. Casimir came to understand that true power does not lie in the aggrandisement of wealth and power, and neither does it involve the use of fear and authority to abuse all those under his rule. He found that it is by listening to God and by doing His will that he can best use the power and authority which God had granted unto him, and his position gave him the privilege to do more for the sake of God’s people.

St. Casimir refused his father’s approaches with worldly power as well as the plans that he had crafted for him. He pursued great charitable acts with the poor and the less fortunate, helping them and serving them wherever possible. His health however, was failing and he was dying even as his piety grew to be more well-known and widespread. Nevertheless, what he lost in the world, he gained even much greater in heaven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to be courageous in our faith. Do not let fear besiege us any longer or cause us to hesitate in our actions. Whenever we are in the position to help others who are in need, we must be ready to render our help and our love. True disciples of Christ and true leaders show by example, that is by loving one another and passing on the love of God to those who need it most.

We can no longer be ignorant or passive in how we live our faith. May God our Lord guide us always, and give us strength and courage so that in all the actions we do, we may do them for the glory of God, and for the benefit of all mankind. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the meaning of our faith. Our faith is not about being seen by others as pious or trying to outdo each other in piety. Rather, it is about obeying God’s commandment sincerely in our hearts. And it is also about listening to God’s will and humbling ourselves before Him rather than being judgmental on others and being unjust in our actions and deeds.

True expression of faith does not depend on external appearances or on the outward gestures of piety without true understanding of what the faith is truly about. God does not desire the punishment of the wicked and sinners, but instead the repentance and redemption of all of us mankind. And to this extent, He had sent Jesus His Son to remind all of His people of the need to change their ways and follow our Lord.

This is the essence of Lent, the season of recollection, the season of mercy and forgiveness, a time when we all should pull back from all of our busy schedules and hectic lives and instead seek to know more about the Lord, finding out more about His wishes and desires for us all, that is for us to abandon our sins and wickedness, and therefore for us to attain salvation and justification through our faith.

We are all called to come to realise the depth of our sins and all of the wrong things and mistakes which we have committed in life. It is easy for us to fall prey to the temptations of our pride and to the lures of our desires. Like the Pharisees, the scribes, the elders and the teachers of the Law, they took great pride in their supposed piety and strict observation of the extensive Law of the Jews.

But in their actions, and in how they lived their faith, they had failed miserably and greatly. This is because of the pride and the greed that covered their hearts and minds. They considered themselves righteous and just, and thinking that they alone were worthy of the salvation and the grace of God, to the point that they condemned all others around them, thinking that they all do not deserve salvation as they had received.

We are all reminded in this season of Lent, that we are all sinners, no matter be it small or great in terms of the sins we committed. Sins have entered into us since the day when we first disobeyed God, His will and His commandments. Even the greatest of the saints and the holiest of all God’s creations were all also once sinners, or even great sinners before.

What matters is therefore, if we look at it more carefully and closely, is the change of attitude and the change in our ways, that if we once walked in the path of sin, then now we would no longer remain in sin, but instead, seeking the true Light of Christ, we may be remade anew in righteousness and justice of the Lord. This is the essence of the repentance from sins, which all of us should aim for.

Our Lord and God is willing to help us and to forgive us from our sins, but only if we on our part also sincerely change our ways for the better, that is to sin no more but follow the Lord from now on through all of His teachings, and listen to what Jesus had told all of the people and His disciples in our today’s Gospel reading. This Lent, let us be thoroughly and completely transformed, from a creature of sin, into a creature and child of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 2 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, during this holy and penitential season of Lent, including that of today, we are always constantly reminded to be merciful, to forgive one another and to love each other tenderly. For our Lord, continues to love us despite of our sinfulness and wickedness. As He is willing to forgive our sins as long as we are sincere in our repentance and in our desire to change our evil ways.

It is highlighted today, that we all ought not to judge or accuse one another, but instead to set an example to all, following what God our Father has set for us. That is an example of love, love that triumphs over hate, over jealousy and over all forms of evil. This is the beginning of the break in the cycle of hatred and sin, which had bound us for so long while we are in this world.

For in our first reading, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, it was highlighted, how our evil ways and rebelliousness are what had separated us from God. And it is a shameful thing, for us to persist in such a rebellion and in such an attitude. And yet, in this world today, there are still so much hatred, so much jealousy, so much human desire and all other forms of wickedness.

That is because we mankind are always sorely tempted, to think first about ourselves, to satisfy our own desires, and to neglect and ignore those who are around us. And when we love, we love not because we care, but rather because we desire returns. We only love those whom we have already cared, and whom we know that they will reciprocate our love.

To those whom we did not love, we often loathed them and wanted to have nothing to do with them. Thus hatred exists and was born into the world, for we have no love in us and we ignore the pleas of the unloved ones when we are in the capacity of being able to share our love and joy with them. It is why there is so much sorrow and sadness in the world, and all of us are partly to blame for it.

This Lent is the perfect time for us to rectify this, and for us to change our ways profoundly so that we would sin no more and keep no more hatred, jealousy, wickedness, and all other evils in our heart, but instead denouncing and rejecting them and replace them with love. Yes, replace them with the love which comes from the Lord, a beautiful and harmonious love, love that knows no conditions but purely made out of care and concern for one another.

Our Lord has often said that the greatest form of love is for someone to give up his or her own life for the sake of her friends. And indeed, that was what the Lord had done, as He gave up His life for us on the cross, carrying the burdens of our sins with Him, as He climbed up the steep and harsh path to Calvary. And did He die for us who are already righteous? No! He died for us while we are still sinners, and this very fact was also highlighted by St. Paul, who wanted to show us how selfless and great the love God had shown us all.

Sinners, be it with great sin or small sin, all are equal before the Lord. All are equally loved by God, who desires nothing else other than their repentance, that is our rescue from the depths of our wicked existence, which would have led us to destruction and annihilation, and our eternal separation in agony from God. This He does not want to happen to us, and that is why He showed us such great mercy and love.

What can we do now, brothers and sisters? This season of Lent is the perfect opportunity for us to change our ways, so that we should use this chance to reflect on our actions. Have we been selfish in our dealings with others and thinking only to preserve ourselves or satisfy our own desires? Have we done something to help others around us who need our help when we are able to?

May this Lent we will be able to be closer to our Lord and do things that will benefit one another. Let us seek to love each other unconditionally and with genuine love out of our hearts. Let us forgive each other our faults to one another and seek harmony and peace in all things. May God bless us all in this endeavour. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 March 2015 : Second Sunday of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the second Sunday of the season of Lent. We celebrate today the time and season for preparation for us to prepare for the celebration of the most important mysteries and parts of our faith, that is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And today we are also presented with the catechesis or teaching, meant to showcase the love which our Lord had shown us in various ways, but foremost of all, through the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ.

There are many meanings and symbols attached to the readings we have heard on this day, and all of it are centred on two main messages which the Church desires all of us to bring home this day and reflect upon them to enrich our own faith life and help us to grow stronger in faith.

The first of them is that the love and faith our Lord showed us is so sincere and genuine, that it is unconditional and so devoted it was that He did not spare even His own Son for our sake and for our salvation. The second of which is that in Jesus lies our salvation and the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation, and that there will be difficulty if we follow the path of Christ, but if we do so, then we will share in His glory and in the revealing of our true selves just as Christ had been revealed to the world.

In the first reading today, from the Book of Genesis, we heard how God asked Abraham, our father in faith, the father of Israel and many nations, to sacrifice his own beloved son, Isaac, the heir and son whom God had promised him. Imagine what Abraham would have thought when he heard of such a request from the Lord, to give up his own son and heir, whom he had awaited for such a long time, and yet then God seemingly just wanted to take him away.

Abraham was a very wealthy man, with many possessions, animals and large number of servants and land, and he was also faithful and righteous, picked by God from among the nations, to be the one with whom God made His covenant with. And God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation and his descendants would be innumerable, as many as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Yet, God wanted to take the only son whom Abraham had, and wanted him to be given as a sacrificial victim.

And yet, Abraham obeyed and listened to God. He did not complain or protest against the Lord and what He had asked. Instead, he brought his son to the mountain where he was supposed to sacrifice his own son, and when his son asked him, where the sacrifice was, Abraham told his son that ‘God would provide’. Abraham knew in his heart that God would be faithful to His covenant, and as St. Paul mentioned in one of his letters, Abraham knew that God would not take away the son He had promised him, and that there would be a way, one or another, to come out from that predicament.

As difficult it was and as great a dilemma it was for Abraham, he did not hesitate to listen to the Lord, be faithful to Him, even to the point of being ready to cut the life out of his own son. He was ready with the knife when God stopped him, and told him that He had seen how great and genuine his faith was. Abraham’s faith and love for God is unconditional and genuine, desiring no returns, or else, he would not have walked up that mountain to sacrifice his own son to God.

The same therefore applies to how our Lord and God loves us all. His love is genuine, and He loves us all with all of His heart. He lamented greatly our waywardness and the loss of us all to the darkness, that is the darkness of this world. He certainly does not desire us to be lost, and therefore, for His great faithfulness and love, He did not spare even His only Son, the Divine Word which became Flesh, to be born as Man, and to die for our sake, as reparation for our sins.

This is a parallel to what had happened between Abraham and Isaac, his son. Just as Abraham was faithful to the Lord, the Lord Himself is faithful to His promises to all of us, that He will save all of us from the darkness and suffering of sin. Even if we deny Him and rebel against Him, He cannot deny Himself and His love for us. And that is essentially the essence of this season of Lent, the season of forgiveness. God gives us the chance to repent and change our ways, by believing in Jesus, His Son and by listening to what He had taught us.

And from there we come to the second of the meanings of this day’s readings. It is about what had happened that day at the Mount Tabor, where Jesus revealed the truth about Himself to the three of His disciples, Peter, James and John. He revealed the fullness of His glory on top of that mountain, an event known as the Transfiguration. Jesus was revealed in all of His glory as the Almighty God and Lord of all.

Another significance of this event can be seen from what happened next. Jesus spoke with two of the greatest figures of the Old Testament, namely Moses and Elijah. Moses was the leader of the people of Israel who led them out of Egypt where they lived in slavery and great suffering, and who have received the Law of God from the Lord Himself, and taught the Law to the people. Meanwhile, Elijah was a great prophet and servant of God who struggled against the wicked kings of Israel and who laboured hard to bring the people of God back to the path of righteousness.

Moses therefore represented the Law, while Elijah represented the Prophets. And the significance of their appearance to Jesus is that, Jesus is the embodiment and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. The Law of God is the proof of God’s love for us, a set of guidelines meant to show us how to be truly devoted and faithful servants and children of our Lord, and therefore it is meant to help us to keep our paths straight, walking in the path of the Lord alone.

How about the prophets? They are the faithful servants and messengers which God had sent to His people in order to remind them and to bring them back to the right path whenever they have erred in their lives. They spoke of God’s truth and explain again the meaning of the Law to the people, who were often stubborn and rebellious in their ways.

Jesus fulfilled the entirety of the Law and the prophecies of the prophets completely and perfectly. He made the Law of God understandable to all the people, showing its true meaning and intent that is love. He taught the people and through His disciples, He revealed the fullness of God’s intentions and love for mankind. By the perfect fulfillment of the Law and the words of the prophets, He had made salvation and hope previously not available to us, to become available.

For Christ our Lord is the bridge which bridge the great span and rift that existed between us and God, for our sins and rebelliousness which had separated us from God’s grace and love. And by His glorious Transfiguration on the mount, which we heard from the Gospel today, He revealed to us our future, the fate which will be ours if we obey the Lord, His Law and walk righteously in His ways.

Yes, it has been promised to all those who keep their faith, that they shall be glorified in body, heart, mind and soul. Thus, the Transfiguration is a premonition and reminder of our own transfiguration, the glorification of the faithful. But it will not be automatic, and neither will it be an easy path for us to take. There will be opposition and challenges, and we all have to be ready for all of them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, lastly, as Jesus went down from the mountain, and from there on to His suffering and death in Jerusalem, therefore all of us are reminded again that life is not all easy and there will be times when we have to suffer or even risk our lives for the sake of our faith in God. Peter and the other two Apostles were certainly awed by what they have seen when they saw Jesus transfigured in glory before them.

Peter therefore told Jesus that they wanted to build three tents for Him, Moses and Elijah because they felt such great happiness and joy being in the glory of God and seeing Man glorified because of faith. Jesus reminded them, that in order to reach there, they had to first go through difficulties, challenges and suffering, and that was why, they did not remain on the mountain forever, but they went down, and the Lord went forth to face His Passion and death in Jerusalem.

What does all of these mean for us, brothers and sisters? It means that all of us should use this Lenten season to the best of our abilities, to repent from our sins and seek God’s forgiveness. We have to bear our crosses, just as the Lord went on to carry His cross to Calvary. We have to have that clear goal, that is our transfiguration from the creatures of sin and darkness, into the creatures of the light. Until then, we have to work hard and resist the temptations of sin, and strive to walk always in the way of the Lord.

May Almighty God be with us all in this holy season of Lent, and help us to make use of this season to change our sinful ways into the way of righteousness that in the end, God will find us worthy and we will receive the full reward which He had promised to those who keep their faith in Him. He is ever faithful to us, just as Abraham had been faithful himself by not even holding back giving his own son, and more so for our Lord who did not spare even Jesus, His own Son, for our salvation. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 28 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from yesterday’s theme on obedience to the Law of God, and on the theme of love, both for God and for our fellow men, then today we delve even deeper into the theme, through the elaboration by Jesus, on how we ought not to choose whom we should love and show our care and concern, but in fact to everyone without bias, even though some of them might have caused us hurt and sorrow before.

Love should be impartial and just. We should not love because we want to be loved back. That is because that kind of love is a selfish love. We want to be loved and to enjoy certain benefits, and therefore we love. But once the incentive to love is removed, can we sustain the same kind of love we had shown? Love that is tied with condition and love that is serving ourselves will not last.

That is because that kind of love demands returns, and if that love is not reciprocated or replied upon equally, then what remains is indeed hatred, jealousy, or any other negative feelings and ill will, which often had caused so much bitterness in our world even today. Many people did such bad things to one another because of the lack of love in the hearts of men.

Instead, we should imitate the love which our Lord and God has for us, that so great is His love, that He did not just show it to us through the outpouring of grace, mercy and forgiveness, as well as in all the blessings He had given us, but in fact, He gave even Himself, as the willing Sacrifice, for the reparation of our sins, and therefore to bring us out of the pits of sin and death.

For we have been marked for death, by our disobedience and refusal to listen and obey to the will of God, and for our refusal to walk in His ways and obey His laws. We should have been cast to the uttermost darkness and suffering for our wickedness, but God had mercy on us because of His love. He hates our sins and evils, but He still loves us all dearly.

And that was why He was willing to make the act of ultimate love, in order to deliver us all from certain destruction. That love is unconditional and perfect. He did not expect us to love Him first before He laid down His life for us on the cross. And it is that love which liberated us from the pain of death and the suffering caused by our sinfulness. It is the kind of love which we need to learn and which we need to emulate and practice in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all reflect on our own lives, on our own words and actions. Have we loved everyone without prejudice, and without bias? Have we been loving others without conditions attached? If we are unable to do all these, then we are still chained and enslaved to our desires. And as long as this is the case, then we are not going to go anywhere.

Can we devote more time towards love in this Lenten season? That means we should exhibit and show more love, care and concern for one another, loving those who are unloved and rejected by the society. Let us love without partiality and without bias. Forgive one another and change our ways. Repent from our sins and be cleansed from our sinfulness. May Almighty God be with us always, bless us and guide us on our way. Amen.

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Friday, 27 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with the reality of our life and our faith, that we have to live up to our faith. We cannot be paying merely lip service to the Lord and to what we believe in, or else, we are not true believers and will not be counted among the faithful. It is showing us that even the righteous ones will be held accountable for their sins and wrongdoings, and especially if they turn their back on the way of the Lord.

Similarly, as mentioned, those who have sinned and committed much evils are not to be condemned as lost to the darkness. For if they genuinely and sincerely repenting from their sins and turn their back on all those evils and wickedness, then they will be assured salvation and forgiveness of all their past faults. For what matters to the Lord is the redemption of all sinners, that is of all of us mankind who have rebelled against the will of God.

He was so concerned with them and the fate of their souls, so that He gave them the set of laws and precepts to guide them in their ways. They are to help ensure that the righteous remain righteous and just, and the sinners may return to the grace and favour of God. But yet, many did not understand God’s real intention and ending up with gross misinterpretation of the Law and using them instead to oppress the people with unjust intention.

And many followed the Law to the letter, and yet they failed to understand the meaning of each of the different points of the Law. In reality, the Law itself is about love, and it is meant to teach love to mankind, the people of God, be it the love they ought to have for the Lord, as well as the love they ought to have for mankind, for their fellow brethren.

That is why, we should be aware that obeying the will of God is equivalent to loving one another, sharing that love which we ought to have, and forsaking all forms of hatred, disharmony, jealousy, and all other negativities that affected us and prevented us from showing that genuine love for both God and men alike. This season of Lent, the holy season of preparation should be the perfect opportunity for us all to reflect on our own lives.

Have we been loving to our brethren, that is not just to those whom we love, but even to those who have caused hurt and injury to us, be it in physical term or in terms of inner hurt. It is not easy to forgive and to love those who have caused us pain and harm, and it is difficult indeed to let go of the pain and hatred within us. It is in our human nature to hate and be angry, because ever since sin entered into our hearts, they have been filled with the malice of the devil, and of all the earthly and worldly emotions that corrupted our true nature, that is love!

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, for God Himself is Love, and we who are the creations and children of God, we too are the creatures of love, and love is our true nature. Beneath all those layers of hatred, guilt, doubt, fear, greed, desire and many others that keep it hidden, is love. The Law of God, all of His commandments are all meant to guide us in the way of love.

Can we all renew our faith and our commitment to God, by abandoning all forms of sins and wickedness, and learning to love, and put love in all of our words, deeds and actions. That means, whenever we say anything, we must not have malice or ill intention in our hearts, and in our actions, we must not cause harm or injury to others, be it intentional or unintentional.

Let us all make full use of this Lenten season to change our ways for the better, that we may be found righteous and worthy by the Lord through what we have done. Let us all repent and genuinely seek the Lord, love Him and give all of our heart to Him, so that we may also receive the fullness of God’s grace and love. God bless us all. Amen.