Easter Homily

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Thursday, 9 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures in which we heard what happened between St. Philip the Apostle and an Ethiopian official on his way back to his country. St. Philip heard the official reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, which happened to be the part referring to the work and suffering of the Lord Jesus, His death and resurrection into glory.

St. Philip spoke to the official and explained to him the truth of what had happened just recently then, which fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Saviour. St. Philip explained that the Saviour was in fact Jesus, Who had come into the world bearing the truth of God and His salvation, which He has promised to us all since the beginning of time, and which He has renewed again and again through the prophets and messengers He sent ahead of Himself.

And of this, St. Philip could speak of his own experience, as explained in our Gospel passage today. St. Philip has heard for himself the testimony and saw the actions that Christ had done, in revealing Himself as the Bread of Life, the Lamb of God and as the Saviour of the whole world. In our Gospel passage today we heard the Lord Jesus made it very clear as He taught the people about Who He really is, and what He would indeed come to do in order to bring all of God’s plans to fulfilment.

The official read about the suffering and death of the faithful servant of God, the Saviour of all, of Whom St. Philip himself witnessed during the time of the Lord’s suffering and agony, from the moment when He was arrested at the Gardens of Gethsemane, to the moment when He was condemned to death and forced to carry the burden of the Cross, a burden which He willingly took up upon Himself, as He ascended the Altar of His sacrifice, as the perfect offering, the Lamb of God, to be slain at that Altar.

St. Philip and the disciples of the Lord probably witnessed everything, or at least they must have heard from those who were specifically mentioned to have been at the place of the crucifixion. The Lord Himself offered His own Precious Body and His own Precious Blood from the Cross, as both the High Priest Who offers the sacrifice, and as the Sacrifice Himself, the Paschal Lamb we celebrate this Easter, the One Who has brought salvation on all of us.

Through His crucifixion, the Lord unites us all to His death by sharing in His Body and in His Blood, for at the moment of the consecration in each and every celebration of the Holy Mass, from the greatest of churches to the simplest of chapels and holy places, as long as it is done validly and appropriately by the ordained priests of God in His Church, the same sacrifice at Calvary is brought into the present through the authority Christ had given to His priests.

Therefore, St. Philip testified before the Ethiopian official, essentially the very action that God Himself had taken, in order to bring us all into salvation, the salvation and eternal life which He has prepared and intended for us. We have been united to His suffering and death, so that just as He died for our sins, we too may leave behind those sins and our wicked life, and embrace together, the glorious resurrection and triumph over sin and death that Our God has won for us.

All of us are reminded therefore, of the most important tenets of our faith, and why we choose to believe in the Lord, our loving God, Who has given everything for us, even offering and sacrificing His own life for our sake. The Apostles like St. Philip and many others have stood for their faith, did what they could to bring the Good News and the truth of God to the many nations and peoples, including what was done in today’s first reading.

The Ethiopian official came to believe in the Lord because of the testimony of faith made by St. Philip. Are we able to do the same in our own lives? Are we able to proclaim the Lord’s truth and glory before others? And most importantly, do our lives reflect our faith, commitment and dedication in serving God? If we do not show our faith through our exemplary lives, how can we convince others to believe in Him?

Let us all reflect on these, and really spend some time to think of how we can make ourselves ever more attuned and be closer to God, through all of our actions in life. May God continue to guide us on our way, and strengthen us always in our faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord through the Scriptures reminding us all that as long as we put our trust in the Lord and remain faithful to Him, we shall not be disappointed, for the Lord is ever faithful and ever good to the promises which He had made upon us. Despite the problems and challenges we may encounter in life, God will always be faithful to the Covenant that He had established with us.

In today’s first reading, we heard of the account of the aftermath of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first recognised martyr of the Church, who was persecuted and stoned to death by an angry mob of the enemies of the Church who refused to believe in the truth of Christ. St. Stephen spoke courageously defending the truth that Christ has brought into this world, amidst the false witnesses and testimonies his enemies brought up against him.

Those who persecuted the faithful servant of God refused to listen to the words of truth he spoke before all of them. Instead, they hardened their hearts and minds, and stoned St. Stephen to death. Saul, who would later on become St. Paul the Apostle, then one of the most feared persecutor and enemy of the early Christians, was there supporting and approving of the martyrdom of the faithful servant of God.

Yet, despite all of these, and many other persecutions of the early Christians, the Apostles and all those who dedicated themselves to the Lord continued to serve God faithfully, as shown in the same passage from the Acts of the Apostles, how St. Philip went to the region of Samaria, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord there, performing miracles and calling many of the Samaritans to the faith. They continued to do the work of God despite the challenges and risks they had to face.

And the reason for such courage and faith which St. Stephen and the other Apostles had shown us, is exactly what the Lord Jesus told to the people in our Gospel passage this day. In that passage the Lord told the people again that He is the Bread of Life, the Saviour of the world, and all those who put their trust in Him will not be disappointed, for God has ordained and willed that all those whom He had gathered to Himself by His Son’s work, shall not be lost but receive the assurance of eternal life and glory.

This is the assurance and firm hope in which the Apostles and the holy saints and martyrs of the history of the Church held fast upon, and which they kept in mind at all times even in times of darkest and toughest persecutions and trials. They were able to endure sufferings, pains, rejections, ridicule and torment, challenges and all sorts of difficulties, because they had that strong and living faith in God.

They have received the Lord with faith, and committed themselves wholeheartedly to Him. Their faith was built upon their dedication and commitment, their giving of their own time, effort and attention to God, that even when faced with the oppression and pressure from the whole world, they were able to resist and persevere through those difficult times, because the Lord was truly with them and guided them through those turbulent times.

They placed the Lord and their desire to glorify Him, and to serve His will above and beyond their own desires to fulfil their own needs, wants and wishes, and the Lord was ever foremost in their mind and heart. They worked for the greater glory of God and all of their words and actions were directed to serve the greater purpose of God. And this is what each and every one of us should reflect on, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to live our lives daily in this world today.

Today, there are many out there in various parts of the world who are still enduring persecution, challenges and difficulties, where our brethren in faith cannot openly celebrate and practice their faith, and some are even under threat daily, of suffering and even martyrdom, just because they continue to remain faithful to God, their Lord and Saviour. And if our lives have thus far been good and peaceful, and if we have been able to practice our faith openly and without need for fear, perhaps it is time for us to think, if any of us have taken our faith and our good life for granted.

Let us all therefore first of all keep in mind our suffering brethren, who have to endure suffering, persecution and challenges every day, and let us pray that God will continue to guide and protect them. And if we are able to do anything in order to help them, then let us all not be ignorant and refuse to help them in whatever way we can. And finally, let us also renew our faith and commitment to live our lives from now on with greater fidelity and devotion to God, glorifying Him with our every words, actions and deeds.

May the Lord, our Living Bread be the source of our strength always, that through our regular sharing in the Most Holy Eucharist He has given us, in our state of constant grace, we will be strengthened and encouraged to live our lives ever more faithfully, and that by our good examples, many more will also come to believe in Him, and be saved. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us yet again of the need for us to believe in the Lord, our loving God and Creator, Who has given Himself to us so completely, that He has given us nothing less than His own Most Precious Body and His Most Precious Blood, He Who is our Bread of Life, sharing Himself with us, through the Eucharist we have received.

The Bread of Life has come down upon us all, offering Himself to us, that all of us who have shared in Him receive true satisfaction, fulfilment not just in the flesh and the body, but more importantly, in our spiritual nourishment and fulfilment. For through Christ, we have been made whole again, receiving the fullness of God’s grace once again, which have been prevented by the sins we have committed.

It was about Him that the courageous servant of God, St. Stephen the Protomartyr preached and witnessed about before all the people even when faced with intense opposition and persecution by the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. It was his faith for the Lord Who has offered His own Body and His own Blood for our salvation, that grace and life have been restored to us all.

St. Stephen willingly embraced martyrdom, even though he knew he would endure pain and the sufferings of death, because he knew that unless he remained faithful and true to his Lord and Master, the Bread of Life, the One through Whom alone mankind can have true and everlasting life, his existence and life would have been meaningless and empty. He committed himself wholeheartedly to God, the very reason for his existence.

And this, brothers and sisters in Christ, is what each and every one of us should have done as well. All of us as Christians should serve and devote ourselves to the Lord in the same way as St. Stephen and many of our holy predecessors had done, as shown by the examples of the many saints and martyrs throughout the entire history of the Church. All of them shared the same conviction and desire to love and to serve the Lord, the Master of all life.

Yet, unfortunately, the current reality of the lives of many of us Christians is such that God no longer takes the most important place in our lives, and He is indeed no longer the centre and focus of our whole existence. We are often busy and distracted by the many concerns and temptations of life, with the temptation and allures of money, of worldly corruptions, of immorality and pleasures of the flesh, of ego and human ambition, and many other obstacles that are aplenty in our respective lives.

We often put God aside and forget about Him, living our lives seeking for the satisfaction and pleasure of our human desires, and thus, instead of seeking the One Who alone can give us true satisfaction and joy, we instead look for things that are impermanent and not truly satisfactory, in our pursuit for worldly glory, power, for money and for other ways that we mankind are often exposed to, in our desire for worldly happiness and satisfaction.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to reflect on our own lives and how we have lived our lives thus far. Are we living our lives for things that are not leading us to true happiness and satisfaction, in our pursuit for worldly success and glory? Or have we instead been walking in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, in living and working for the glory of God instead for our own glory?

Let us all redirect and reorientate our lives, and dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, that from now on, we may labour and work for the greater glory of God, and to be fully attuned and harmonised with God in our everyday lives and actions, in our every words and dealings in life. May the Lord, our Master and the Bread of Life continue to do His marvellous works in us, that our lives may truly glorify Him and we will be worthy to be with Him in the end. Amen.

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the story of the persecution and the eventual martyrdom of St. Stephen, the very first martyr of the Church, one of the seven men who were chosen to be the first Deacons of the Church in serving the people of God. That was at a time when the Church was still in its very earliest beginnings, when the numbers of the faithful rapidly increased as many more of the people came to believe in the Lord Jesus and in His salvation.

However, great persecutions were soon to follow, as the Jewish authorities and the religious and community leaders began to lead an oppressive and intimidatory campaigns and crackdowns against all those who believed in the Lord and in His teachings, as shown in what happened to St. Stephen. False witnesses were brought in to accuse the holy servant of God, as the enemies of the Lord were not able to match him in wisdom and power.

St. Stephen nonetheless stood faithfully and courageously against his enemies, against all those who persecuted and oppressed him and his Master. He spoke with wisdom and eloquence of the Holy Spirit, even though he was alone amidst many enemies and all those who cried out for his death. The Lord was with him and He guided him, and that was how St. Stephen could be so courageous and faithful, despite all the challenges he faced.

And this is related to what the Lord has said to the people in our Gospel passage today, when the people looked for Jesus after He has performed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and countless other women and children. He told the people how they were looking for superficial things in their minds and desires, when they flocked to see Him, because they wanted to receive satisfaction of their flesh, to be filled with good food and other earthly pleasures.

That was what they sought when they went to find the Lord, and in fact, they wanted to make Him their King, but the Lord went away from them and hid Himself. That was why they went searching for Him in the first place. But the Lord told them and in fact rebuked them, saying that to be His true disciples and followers, they must truly have faith in Him, and not just because they think that they are able to benefit and enjoy pleasures in life through Him.

As what our first reading passage reminds us all today, to be the true, dedicated and faithful followers of Christ in fact requires us to be firm and steadfast in our faith, in our belief in the Lord’s truths, even despite challenges, oppositions, difficulties and trials we may have to face in life. St. Stephen endured it all, because he truly had faith in God, and he had entrusted himself so completely to Him, that he gave it all to the Lord.

While the people in the Gospel passage sought satisfaction, fulfilment and pleasure for themselves, St. Stephen sought for true justification and glory in God, by his own steadfast faith and by his courageous actions, standing up for the truth of God even in the face of persecution and opposition from the whole world. St. Stephen knew that all the goodness and the joys of this world could not be compared to the true joy that God alone can give.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Lord Himself mentioned in our Gospel passage today, He is the Bread of Life, and all of us who truly share in His Body and in His Blood, having received Him into our lives with faith, as St. Stephen had, will receive the true joy and satisfaction in life. Are we all able to overcome the temptations of the world, the seduction of pleasure and worldly ambitions? We may encounter the same challenges and difficulties that St. Stephen and our predecessors had encountered, as they were persecuted and oppressed in many occasions, but with God by our side, we will be able to persevere and triumph in the end.

May the Lord be our guide, and may He grant us the strength, wisdom and the courage, that we may follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the saints, St. Stephen and all those who have faithfully stood by the Lord and devoted themselves to defending the faith that they have received through the Church. May all of us be true disciples of the Lord, in all of our words, actions and deeds. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 May 2019 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the third in the season of Easter, we are all reminded of the calling that the Lord has called us all Christians to do, as part of the whole Universal Church that He has established in this world. All of us as Christians are called to be the witnesses of the Lord’s truth and resurrection, to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and all those who have courageously stood by their faith as shown in our Scripture passages today.

In our first reading today, we heard of the courage of the Apostles, led by St. Peter, when they were faced with opposition and heavy persecution by the Sanhedrin, the powerful and influential High Council of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin were filled with many of those who opposed the truth of Christ and who have also been among those who ordered the arrest and condemned the Lord Jesus to death, handing Him over to the Roman authorities to be crucified.

When the Apostles were told harshly and specifically under threat of torture and imprisonment by the authority of the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the truth of Christ, His resurrection and the salvation He has brought into this world, the Apostles, filled with the power and the courage of the Holy Spirit refused to back down and continued to be adamant in their commitment to bear witness for the Risen Lord. None of the Sanhedrin were able to stop the Apostles, and from then on, the Apostles continued their work among the people despite the heavy opposition from many groups.

What they were doing, was basically fulfilling what the Lord had called them to be, to be the fishers of men, when He first called some among them, especially St. Peter the Apostle, leader of the Apostles, who was called with his brother, St. Andrew the Apostle, and the two brothers, St. James the Apostle and St. John the Apostle, from being mere unknown and poor fishermen of Galilee, to be God’s own servants in calling His people to Himself.

In our Gospel passage today, God again called the Apostles, harking back to the first time He called them, as He appeared before them by the lake of Galilee right after His resurrection. The disciples were told to go to Galilee and to wait for the Lord there, and there, they spent their time fishing for fish without managing to make any catch at all despite having spent all the time on the boat all night long.

And in this symbolism laden Gospel passage, we can see the summary of what the Lord has called all of us to do, just as He called His Apostles to do what He had entrusted to them and commanded them to do. He told the Apostles to cast their nets to the side of their boat, and immediately, as they did what the Lord told them to do, an immense number of fishes were caught into their fishing nets, so many that the boat almost could not contain all of them.

In this, we see how the Lord truly guides His Church, and the Church is represented by the boat in which the Apostles worked in. The Church is indeed often represented with the imagery of a boat, sailing through the turbulent and dark waters. And the Apostles who helmed the boat are those who steered the Church through the times of opposition, persecution and challenge, just as what we have just heard in our first reading today, the persecution and opposition of the Sanhedrin among many others the Church had to endure.

The multitudes of fishes represent the multitudes of nations and peoples to whom the Apostles had been sent to proclaim the truth of the Lord and His Good News. Without the Lord to guide them, the Church and the Apostles could do nothing, just as they did not manage to get any fishes despite having laboured all night long and not catching any fish at all. But through the Lord’s works, which He performed through His Apostles, the Church and all those who succeeded the Apostles, the works of the Church came to present rich results and bounties.

And brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all the successors of the Apostles and those disciples to whom the Lord has entrusted the mission which He has bestowed upon His Church, with the clear words of instruction, “Go to all the nations and baptise all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And that is the Great Commission which Our Lord has given to His Church, to all of us who believe in Him, as our mission and responsibility.

We may think that what the Lord has called us to do is impossible to be done, or that it is too difficult, too daunting or too challenging. We may think that the Apostles and those disciples mentioned in the Scriptures were kind of superhuman who were given power beyond our normal human means and abilities. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not true at all. For indeed, they were truly superheroes and are great role models for us, but they are equally just man just like us all.

It is a dangerous fallacy to think of the Apostles as people who are fundamentally different from us. They have been given the same ability as we have been blessed by God, and they are not more human or less human than we are. They are no less mortal than we are, lest we think of them as supernatural or even, as some misunderstood them in the early days of the Church, as divine beings. When the Apostles St. Paul and St. Barnabas went to the Greek areas of the Eastern Mediterranean, some of the people there worshipped the Apostles as if they were gods, to their great consternation.

No, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Apostles are just like us all, for they were too once sinners who were weak and easily tempted, who were ignorant and resistant to the faith and to the love of God. We must not forget that the Lord called them from various origins, some from among the educated, while others were poor peasants, uncouth, uneducated and even uncivilised. People looked down and despised some of them, like St. Matthew, a former tax collector.

The Apostles were also once cowards and doubters, who lost their faith the moment the Lord was arrested, and all of them abandoned the Lord and ran away. St. Peter in fact, as we all know, denied knowing the Lord not just once, but three times so that he could save himself and prevent himself from being arrested together with the Lord, and all these happened after the Apostle swore that he would even lay down his life for the Lord’s sake.

But the Lord empowered them and gave them a new strength and courage, by the granting of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the Lord Jesus Who gave them the power and the authority of His own power, to be the bearers of His truth and His champions in this darkened world, to be those who would bear the burden of being the ones to be at the forefront of the Church’s effort to seek the salvation of souls.

And the same St. Peter, who had denied knowing the Lord three times out of cowardice, in our Gospel passage today publicly and resolutely declared his obedience, love and commitment towards God, as the Lord Jesus asked him, not just once but thrice, “Peter, do you love Me?” This action is very symbolic and significant as it is the clear sign that not only that God had perfectly forgiven St. Peter for his threefold rejection of Him, three being a number often used throughout the Scripture to represent completeness and perfection, but also that He has indeed entrusted and bestowed on St. Peter and through him, the other Apostles, the very important responsibility and the authority that comes with that responsibility, to carry out the mission which He has entrusted to His Church.

The Apostles were imperfect, mortal and unworthy men, who embraced God’s love and grace, and by the Holy Spirit of God, received the strength and courage that allowed them to perform all that God had done through them. They allowed God to work His miracles and wonders, His merciful and compassionate works through them, by changing their lives and turning them from sinners and people belonging to the darkness, into the people of the light.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the very reason why many of us have not been able to experience this same experience as what the Apostles had witnessed and felt, and why we have not been able to walk in their footsteps is nothing less than our own refusal in refusing to allow God to make His works evident in our lives and through us. This requires us to overcome the challenges of the ego and pride within us, which are obstacles that often prevented us from being able to reach out to God.

Are we willing and are we able to allow God entering into our lives and making a difference not just in our own lives but also in the lives of all those who are around us, through our renewed and transformed lives, by the power and grace of God as He has done through His Apostles? Let us all spend some time to reflect on how we can make this happen, and that is by making ourselves willing and collaborative vessels of the Lord’s grace.

The Apostles and all our holy predecessors, all those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord could not have done so without the Lord being present in their midst and directing their efforts and actions. God made everything possible and He guided them all through the darkest and most difficult moments as was evident throughout the history of the Church. It was God Who made everything possible, and the Apostles and the holy disciples and martyrs allowed Him to guide them in their path and in their actions.

Let us all, as Christians, meaning that we are the successors and the inheritors of the ministry and the works of the Apostles, gather together and commit ourselves anew to the Lord, to the mission which He has entrusted to His Church. Let us all be the bearers of God’s truth and be the workers of God, in everything we say and do that many more people may come to believe in God and be saved, by following our examples and by being faithful in the way that we have been faithful. May God be with us all, and may He bless all of our good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 May 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us of our respective responsibilities as the members of the Church, to help to build up a strong, vibrant and evangelising Church in our own respective communities, having been called by God to be the bearers of His truth and to be His witnesses among the nations and the peoples of this world.

We have been called by God to participate actively in the life of the Church, in its works and ministries, just as the Scripture passage today from the Acts of the Apostles in our first reading today, spoke of the selection of seven devout and dedicated men, members of the Church to serve the Church as deacons, marking the beginning of the Order of the Diaconate, those whom the Lord had called to serve the faithful.

This is when we should understand a bit more about the inner workings of the Church, its parts and respective responsibilities. First of all, together with the Order of Deacons, we have two other Holy Orders, those who have been ordained to the Order of Priests or the presbyterate, and those who have been ordained to the Order of Bishops or the episcopate. Each of these three holy orders, of the Episcopate, Presbyterate and the Diaconate represent important parts of the Church, as they were those who had been called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles.

They are part of the ministerial priesthood, of which they have been called to serve the larger Church in their various functions and responsibilities. The bishops, also known as elders and overseers in the ancient times, were those who had been entrusted with the leadership of the Church, the guidance of the flock of the Lord’s people, while the priests or the presbyters ministered to the people in the smaller groups such as parishes and communities, and last of all, the deacons helped, as mentioned in the first reading today, in the distribution of goods to the poor and the needy in the community.

Each and every one of the members of these three holy orders are important, now as it was then in the days of the early Church. The scope of their work and responsibilities may have changed somewhat due to the changes of times and the needs of our contemporary society, but in the end, all of them are still doing the same work to which they have been called to do, succeeding the works of the Apostles.

But brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that each and every one of us know, that it does not mean the role of the laity, or those who do not belong to the holy orders are not important. In fact, without the help of all those who are part of the laity, the bishops, priests and deacons cannot have done their works efficiently and well. It is the commitment, sacrifices and contributions made by the laity together with the commitment, sacrifices and contributions of those in holy orders that make up the entire effort and good works of the Church.

On this day therefore, all of us are called to reflect on our own lives, and think in what way, each and every one of us can contribute more to the works of the Church. Some among us have been called by God to be His followers and to serve Him, and these are those who have devoted their whole lives to serve the Lord faithfully as His bishops, priests and deacons. But as mentioned, this does not mean we are not able to dedicate ourselves, in our own ways, to serve the Lord faithfully through our own capacities, abilities and means.

In fact, all of us should think and contemplate, in what ways we will be able to commit ourselves to the good works of the Church, and devote more of our time, effort and attention in serving the Lord and in serving the greater community of the Universal Church. Let us all reflect on this, and commit ourselves more wholeheartedly, from now on, to become ever better Christians, in all of our ways, in all of our words and actions. Amen.

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Friday, 3 May 2019 : Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of not just one Apostles of Our Lord Jesus, but two of the Twelve Apostles, namely that of St. Philip and St. James the Greater. It is the same St. Philip and St. James mentioned in the Scripture passages today, which reminded us of the calling to which those Apostles have been called to do, that is to become the bearers of God’s truth and salvation to the people.

St. Philip and St. James were among those whom God first called to be His followers and His disciples, to be the witnesses of all the things that He has done before them, and the truth which He has taught and revealed to all the people of God. They were called to be the pillars of His Church, which He founded on the Apostles, as the rock of faith of Peter and his fellow Apostles, who became important pillars of support of the then young and growing Church.

St. Philip was remembered for his missionary activity in Samaria, the lands north of Judea, where he preached to the Samaritans to whom the Lord has also taught, and it was recorded in the Acts of the Apostles that he encountered the official of the queen of the Ethiopians, and he convinced the official so well that the official asked to be baptised and brought the faith with him back to his homeland, thus marking the beginning of the Church in the then distant land of Ethiopia.

St. Philip also went to various other places, spreading the faith, performing miracles and calling on the people to become believers of God. He went to many parts of Syria, Asia Minor and also Greece, before he suffered martyrdom in the Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis, where his tomb supposedly was today. St. Philip according to Apostolic tradition preached so well that he converted even the governor’s wife, enraging the governor, who ordered the saint and his fellow companions, including St. Bartholomew, another Apostle, to be tortured and crucified upside down.

Even then, St. Philip did not stop to testify the faith and preach from the cross, converting many of those who have heard him preaching even at the door of death. And although they wanted to release him, St. Philip insisted that he remained on the cross, and thus, he entered into heavenly glory as a martyr, and by whose dedication and commitment, many had been saved, and many more were inspired by his faith and examples.

Meanwhile, St. James went to various places, preaching the faith, and it was told that he went even as far as Hispania, in what is presently Spain and Portugal, preaching the faith and the truth of God, sowing the seeds of Christianity in those faraway lands, and when he returned to Jerusalem, he was among the first of the Apostles to be martyred, as recorded also in the Acts of the Apostles, how king Herod imprisoned St. James and beheaded him in order to please the Sanhedrin and the Jewish opponents of the Lord.

Both St. Philip and St. James had dedicated their whole lives in commitment to God, giving their whole lives in service to the Lord, fulfilling the mission which God has entrusted to them. But their works were not yet completed, and they merely laid the foundation and the beginning from which many Christians throughout the centuries have been called to follow in their footsteps, in serving God and in committing themselves faithfully to God’s commandments.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians today are called to be followers of Christ in the model established by the Apostles, and we remember especially the memory of St. Philip and St. James, whose dedication and faith have become inspiration to many of us, to follow the Lord and to serve Him as they have once done, in their courageous and tireless efforts to bring God’s truth and salvation to His people.

Let us all therefore do the same in our own respective lives, brothers and sisters in Christ that each and every one of us will continue to serve the Lord faithfully, and commit ourselves wholeheartedly from now on, loving God and loving our fellow men, and becoming the beacons of God’s light and truth among the people of this world, so that all of us who are Christians may lead even many more of others to the Lord, to His truth and salvation.

Holy Apostles, St. Philip and St. James, pray for us all, that each and every one of us may be courageous and may be moved by your examples, that we may make good use of the talents and abilities God has given us in being bearers of His truth, that many more will come to believe in God and in His salvation, with the same conviction and courage, love and dedication as both of you had once shown. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 May 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us of the responsibility which each and every one of us as Christians have, that is to be witnesses and defenders of our faith before all the people, to be walking in the footsteps of the Apostles and all those who have given themselves wholly in the service of God, as we have ourselves heard in our Scripture passages today.

In the first reading today, we listened to the persistence and perseverance of the Apostles in the face of harsh persecution and opposition, as they were faced with fierce opposition from the influential members of the Jewish High Council, the Sanhedrin, who wanted the Apostles to stop preaching, teaching and doing works in the Name of the Lord Jesus, by Whose Name they have performed miracles, healing and called the people of God to believe in the Saviour Who had died for them.

But the Apostles stood by their faith in God and refused to abandon the mission which the Lord has entrusted to them, just as St. John the Baptist in our Gospel passage today testified before the people and before all those who opposed him, that he obeyed the will of God and he preached the truth and the salvation that God has revealed through His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Saviour of all the world.

St. John the Baptist also faced a lot of opposition and challenges, from the same influential members of the community who felt threatened by the influence, charisma and the message which both St. John the Baptist and the Apostles had brought with them and which they preached and taught among the people. That is because God’s truth has come to dispel the falsehoods and the corrupted truths which the enemies and opponents of the Lord had championed.

And in today’s occasion, aptly and most appropriately, we also celebrate the feast day of one of the great servants of God, whose life has also been filled with plenty of challenges and difficulties, and how this holy servant stood by his faith courageously, and became known as the staunch defender of the true, orthodox Christian faith. He is St. Athanasius the Great, Holy Doctor of the Church and great Defender of the Faith.

St. Athanasius was the Patriarch of Alexandria, one of the most important dioceses of the Church, and a great leader of the faithful at a time when the Church and the community of Christendom were bitterly divided between the many heresies and false teachings by false teachers and preachers who spread untruths and heresies that took hold many among the faithful, dividing even bishops against bishops, priests against priests, the Church against each other.

St. Athanasius defended the true faith in particular against the heresy of Arianism, which denied the equality of Jesus Christ, the Son of God with His heavenly Father, and for such, he was known also for his now famous Athanasian Creed, a very comprehensive version of the Christian Creed that is filled with the centre tenets of the faith, especially in the truth of the Holy Trinity, the distinctiveness, equality and yet perfect unity between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is something that many of the heresies including Arianism tried to undermine and corrupt.

For his courageous and relentless defence of the true faith, St. Athanasius had to endure much difficulty and sufferings, having endured several exiles and persecutions by his enemies, who sometimes enjoyed the support of the Roman Empire and its institutions. Yet, St. Athanasius did not give up and continued to defend the faith till the end of his life, and he was remembered for his courage and faithfulness, as the true faith eventually triumphed.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are also called and expected to stand up for our faith, not through confrontation or violence, but through our courageous and committed desire to live our whole lives being dedicated to God, just as the Apostles, St. John the Baptist and St. Athanasius the Great had done. Let us all be truly faithful, that the love of God will be the centre of our every actions, words and deeds, that we may find true justification in God. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 May 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, just as the secular world celebrates the occasion of Labour Day or May Day. On this day we recall the good examples set by St. Joseph, who is the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour, and also the head of the Holy Family as its protector and guide. The Church respects and honours St. Joseph as its protector, its role model and as a great saint, precisely because of his uprightness in life and his devotion to his mission, entrusted to him by God.

St. Joseph was a mere carpenter, and yet, his many virtues and courage have been extolled and honoured throughout the centuries by the Church. At that time, as it is indeed still today, the profession of a carpenter is often one that is looked down upon by the people, forgotten and taken for granted, as without carpenters, a lot of our daily activities, and even more so at the time of Jesus’ life, could not have happened properly.

As carpenters made the tools necessary for daily living, basic activities such as farming, fishing, and even houses and furnitures, their work was truly crucial for the survival of the community at the time, and yet, despite the hard labour and many hours they had to spend with the hammer and chisel, in high risk of injury and exhaustion, their role and contributions were often overlooked and ignored by the society in general.

The bias and prejudice can be very clearly seen in our Gospel passage today, when we heard how the people of Nazareth, the hometown where the Lord Jesus lived in and spent His early years, together with His family as the adopted Son of St. Joseph, the village carpenter. And the people came to know Him as the Son of a carpenter, and therefore, when He came before them full of age and full of divine wisdom, proclaiming the truth of God before all of them, they found it hard to believe in His words and in His truth.

They ridiculed Him and refused to believe in Him, because to them the Lord was no better than a mere Son of a carpenter, a poor and humble job, often overlooked and ignored, treated with contempt and ignorance at best. To them a carpenter is an uneducated person and a poor and belonging to the lowest of the lowest just as many of the people in Nazareth were. And that was why, out of either disbelief or jealousy, the people there refused to believe in the Lord.

But the Lord carried on doing His works, and although He was distraught that those people refused to believe in Him, He did not let it affect His commitment to do what His heavenly Father has entrusted to Him. He must have experienced many of such injustices, biases, and challenges that His poor carpenter’s family must have experienced, at a time when the people also suffered oppression under both the Romans and the Herodian kings.

Surely, He must have learnt it also through His foster-father, St. Joseph himself, the carpenter whom everyone probably often looked down upon. St. Joseph, although poor and had to labour very hard to make ends meet, as carpentry did not give a lot of provisions and income, but he was upright and just in all things, obedient to the Law of God, pious and faithful, and responsible to whatever he was entrusted with, including his role as the protector of the Holy Family.

He went all the extra mile, both figuratively and literally, when the Lord entrusted to Him the care for His Saviour, Jesus Christ, and His mother, Mary, whom St. Joseph took care as wife and as a dutiful husband and father to both of them. He escorted and protected them all the way as there were difficulties and oppositions along the way, all those who wanted the Lord Jesus dead, and even brought both Mary and the Baby Jesus into Egypt to protect them from all of His enemies.

In all of these, we should have seen just how dedicated, hardworking and faithful St. Joseph was. And that is why he is seen as the patron, role model and protector for all workers. And we should indeed ask St. Joseph for his protection and intercession, that all of us may be good workers and good labourers in our respective fields and responsibilities, and for those among us who have not yet worked or have retired from our work, that we will be able to emulate his examples in living up a virtuous Christian life from now on if we have not done so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be ever more faithful and be dedicated to the Lord, and let us all turn to Him through the examples of St. Joseph, holy worker and holy servant of God, that by following his examples we may draw ever closer to God and be more worthy Christians, day after day of our life. May God be with us always, and may He give us the strength and the courage to live our lives faithfully. Amen.

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Tuesday, 30 April 2019 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scripture passages reminding each and every one of us of the things that all of us have to do in our respective lives as Christians, that is as members of our one Church community, the community of the Body of Christ. All of us share this same faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Whom has revealed before Nicodemus the faithful Pharisee, what He would do for the sake of all mankind, in our Gospel passage today.

The Lord revealed the all powerful and all enduring love of God for us all mankind, that although each and every one of us have sinned and rebelled against Him, but God still ‘so loved the world’, that He sent us all a Saviour, in the form of His own Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Himself, so that through Him all may have the new hope of eternal life and redemption via the salvation He has brought into this world.

And He also revealed how He would do this by being lifted up high like that of the moment when the bronze serpent of Moses was lifted up in the desert. In that instance, the people of Israel during their Exodus from Egypt and the journey towards the Promised Land refused to believe in God and rebelled against Him. As a result, God sent fiery serpents that bit many among them and many died because of those serpents.

When the people repented and begged God for forgiveness, God showed His love, compassion and mercy by asking Moses to make an image of the serpent in bronze and mounting it up on a tall staff, so that everyone who has been bitten by the serpents and saw the bronze serpent would not die but live. God did this as a prefigurement of what He would Himself do, for the salvation of all mankind, through Jesus, Our Lord.

For the Lord was also lifted up high on the Cross, bearing all of our sins and faults which should have been our undoing and destruction. He gathered all of them upon Himself and suffered for our sake, so that by His suffering and death, He may release us and free us from the bondage to sin and therefore from our fated death and destruction. And He has willingly borne all of these, all the agony, pain and suffering out of His love for each and every one of us.

It is exactly this love which the Apostles and the other followers of the Lord imitated in their own lives, which is also in accordance with what He Himself commanded His disciples to do, that is to love one another as they love themselves, and to love each other and to serve one another, just in the same way as the Lord has loved them and served them. That is why in our first reading today, we heard of how the very earliest Christian communities lived, loving and caring for the needs of others, and sharing the blessings that God has given them.

But unfortunately many of us Christians today do not live in this manner. In fact, we are often so busy and so distracted by the many temptations of the world, of the temptations of money, of worldly pleasures, power, ambition and desire, that we often acted selfishly towards one another, caring only about ourselves and our own selfish desires, often even causing hurt and pain, suffering and unhappiness among us in our Christian communities.

That is why, today all of us are called to take a step back and reflect on our own lives and in particular, how we have lived our lives thus far. Have we truly been faithful to God and been good Christians in our words, actions or deeds? Or are we like those hypocrites who profess to have faith in God and yet have no love for God and love for our fellow men in us? And we should also look upon the good examples shown by our holy predecessors, especially our saint today, Pope St. Pius V.

Pope St. Pius V was remembered for his piety and dedication to the Lord, especially in his great leadership of the Church that was then battered with many challenges and oppositions both from outside and from inside the Church, with the reformation heresies and falsehoods tearing the unity of the Church apart and external enemies threatening to destroy the entire Christendom. He successfully concluded the great Council of Trent, which reformed the Church practices and enforced discipline.

The holy Pope and saint devoted his life and ministry to purify the excesses and wickedness that have crept into the Church at the time, while labouring hard to overcome the many issues and challenges that the Church had to endure at the time. Pope St. Pius V dedicated himself to love the people of God just as how God Himself loved us so much, that He went through all the troubles and pains, all the sufferings and the agony just so that He can bring to us His salvation and the eternal life He promised us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, following the examples of this holy saint and servant of God, and also imitating the good examples of the early Christian communities, let us all be more faithful and loving towards God and to our fellow men. Let us all be inspiration and examples for each other, so that many more people may come to believe through us and our examples in life. May God be with us all, and may He bless us all in our good works for His sake. Amen.