Easter Homily

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Monday, 25 April 2016 : Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast day of the Apostle and Evangelist St. Mark, one of the earliest Church fathers, and one of those whom the Twelve Apostles worked with as they went about their evangelisation works in preaching the Good News to the many communities in many cities across the known world a that time.

St. Mark was renowned for his evangelising works and for establishing the churches in the region of Babylon in Mesopotamia, in the place now known as Iraq, and he was also the very first Patriarch of Alexandria, one of the five most ancient Sees in Christendom. And from there, he helped to spread more of the Good News to the faithful in Egypt and beyond, spreading salvation to more and more souls.

And of course we knew St. Mark as one of the writers of the four Holy Gospels, which now we know as the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. Even though it was the shortest of all the four Gospels, but the Gospel of St. Mark was full of the testimonies of faith, relating to us all the important events in the life and works of Jesus our Lord, and from there, we gain knowledge about the Lord and can draw ever closer to His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what the Lord had commanded all of His disciples at the end of His earthly ministry, as what we read from the Gospel according and written by St. Mark himself had told us. We heard how Jesus our Lord sent them all out to spread the Good News and His truth to all the ends of the earth, so that every souls may hear the words of God, turn away from their sins and be saved.

And without the good works and labours of the Apostles, this would have been impossible. And without the works of St. Mark and the other Evangelists, there would have been no account of what had happened during the time of Jesus, as a written proof and testimony of the truth and the Good News which God had shown to the world through Jesus. And without all these, the world would have remained forever in darkness, and many souls would have been lost.

Instead, through their hard works and commitments, they have brought many lost sheep back to their Shepherd, the Lord our God. They have turned many sinners from their sins and made them to reject the darkness and instead embrace the light. God blessed these people and made them worthy of Him once again, and they were welcomed into His Church, just like all of us who belong to the Church of God.

And have these works been completed, brethren? Not yet! In fact, there are still so much to be done, and the works of the Church have not yet been completed. We are the ones who are to take on the works of the Apostles and the faithful disciples of our Lord, for indeed, are we not also the disciples of our Lord? If the Lord had commanded His disciples to go forth and spread His Good News to the world, then should we not do the same as well?

We have been called to continue the works of the Apostles, and it is now in our hands that we should devote ourselves to the works of evangelisation and teaching others about God. But it is often easier said than done, as we should all realise that it is not easy to evangelise properly to others, and it is also not easy to be faithful disciples of our Lord, to teach the peoples about His ways.

There are always resistance and refusal from those who are unwilling to listen to us and to the word of God. And it falls to us to persevere through the challenges that will come our path as we proceed on through this way. But if we do not lift up our fingers and open our mouth, then those who refused to listen to God, would forever be blind and deaf to the Lord’s salvation, and they would be shut out from redemption for good.

We have our obligation to help our less fortunate brethren. And we should indeed be inspired by the examples of the holy Apostles and all the servants of God who have lived before us and did so much good to so many souls. Let us not be apathetic for the sake of our brethren, but instead, let us all commit ourselves anew to God, and commit ourselves ever more to the cause of His love. May God bless us all and keep us in His loving embrace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 April 2016 : Fifth Sunday of Easter, Memorial of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr, Eleventh Anniversary of the Papal Coronation and Inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us heard the very profound message which St. Paul proclaimed to the faithful during his journeys to many cities across the Eastern Mediterranean region, establishing the foundations of the Church and the Faith in those places, and planting in the believers the seeds of faith in the word of God which he passed on to them.

And this phrase is that “We must go through many trials to enter the Kingdom of God.” It is a phrase which many of us, especially as we live in this world, often tend to forget and overlook, thinking that trials and tribulations are not part of our lives, if we faithfully walk in the path of the Lord. We mankind are so used to living comfortably in this world, that we often would prefer an easier path than one that is more difficult or challenging to follow.

And that is why the Apostles, as shown by St. Paul and his teachings, reminded the people at first that in order to follow Jesus and His way, mankind would have to sacrifice quite a few things, and they may also be needed to give away certain things, especially those which they have indulged in all these while, and reorientate themselves to the service and obedience to God.

And how is this related to what we heard in the Gospel today? Jesus spoke to His disciples in our Gospel today, during the time when He had the Last Supper with His disciples just before He was to suffer on the cross and die. He gave them a new commandment, the commandment to love one another, just as they ought to love Him. And this commandment was given to them on the day when He also instituted the Eucharist for the Church, establishing the Church and the Faith in which we belong now.

What Jesus had said to His disciples was in fact an exhortation for all of us to act, and not just to remain passive or quiet. God called us all to action, and the action which we must show to one another and to Him is love, pure love that comes from the heart and permeates everything else around us. For the reality is that, while we mankind profess to know love, but in reality, true love is something that is often distant for us.

What is love, brothers and sisters in Christ? Is love something that blossomed between people who like each other and then decide that they want to come together as a couple? Well, that is indeed love, but it is only a small aspect of love, and merely just one small example of love. True love is so much more than that, and true love entails so much more than just what we understand about that kind of love.

Love is not something that is just happiness or just as something that is easy to be done. For the feeling of love that many of us are feeling towards another can in fact be said as infatuation or even as lust. These are not true love. And if our love depends on the mutual commitment of one another to fulfil one another’s needs, then it is not true love either, but instead, our human greed trying to fulfil itself by manipulating each other.

Instead, true love can be seen in what our Lord Jesus Christ Himself had done, in His actions in this world, and that is exactly what the Apostles had preached to the people, calling them to practice the same kind of love. And what is that love? Love that knows sacrifice, and love which is selfless and perfect. Love that our Lord Jesus Himself showed us on the cross, when without doubt or hesitation, He allowed Himself to willingly suffer for our sake.

Let us look at it, brothers and sisters in Christ, just as St. Paul himself in another occasion reminded the faithful, that the love of God is so good and perfect. St. Paul mentioned in one of his letters that it is difficult for someone to lay down his or her life for another, even if that someone is a very good person. Indeed, it may be worthwhile for someone to lay down his life for another very good person, but how about what our Lord had done to us?

We are all sinners brethren, and in one way or another, our sins have preceded us, and have grown so great that we should all be ashamed at our sins, all the wicked things which we have done. And yet, our Lord and God, Who loved us all, every single one of us without exception and hesitation, was willing to die not for us all who were righteous, but we who were sinners, great rebels and wicked in the things which we did.

And if God had been so selfless and loving in His love, can we do the same as well? It is not easy indeed, for it is not part of our human nature and habits to give of ourselves to another so willingly. But if we do not try, then we will never know love, and our actions will not have true love. To understand love, we must know how to endure pain and suffering, and be ready to make sacrifices and commit ourselves fully to the one to whom we are showing our love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we go through this Easter season, and as we live our lives in faith, we have to realise that all that we believe in, is precisely about love, and that is the love which God has shown us, the mercy which He showed us, willing and wanting us to be reunited with Him, and to be redeemed from all of our faults and wickedness.

Shall we recommit ourselves to what the Lord had commanded all of us to do? Shall we show love in all of our actions, loving those who are less fortunate and those who have little or nothing, those who are unloved and rejected by the society? Shall we devote ourselves to give our heart and attention to those who need our love?

It will not be easy indeed to walk on this path, and St. Paul himself had warned the people that the path ahead would be arduous. But if we do not walk on this path, then who else would? How can we call ourselves Christians if we do not suffer and endure the cross as our Lord had? Remember that He had done it first, so that He might show us how to love in the same manner as well.

Let us all dedicate ourselves anew to God, and let us all walk the path of our faith from now on, filled with commitment and dedication, and filled with love and devotion, may our faith be living and true, and may everything that we do, will always be based on the love which we have for one another, and ultimately loving the Lord from Whom we have received that love. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 22 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are given the reassurance from God, that He will bring about our salvation, and that He will keep His promise, and bring us from the darkness of this world into the everlasting light of the heavenly glory. And if we are to remain faithful to Him, then surely we will receive all the goods of the heavenly inheritance promised to us.

And yet, many of us have a problem in this matter. Why is this so, brethren in Christ? That is because many of us behave like Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord, who was also known for his doubts and his lack of strong faith. If we read through the Holy Gospels, we would realise just how often it was that Thomas doubted about the Lord Jesus, even though he continued to follow Him regardless.

On one occasion, he criticised Jesus, for wanting to go back to Judea for the case of Lazarus, who died, and whom we know to be resurrected back into life by Jesus. Thomas cynically remarked that as he and the other disciples followed Jesus, they were following Him into trouble and into death, and that they ought to die together with Him.

In another occasion, after Jesus had risen from the dead, we should have known how Thomas doubted that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and conquered death Himself. And he even blatantly stated that he refused to believe until he saw the Lord Himself and touched the holy wounds with his own hands. And that was what Jesus exactly did, chiding Thomas for his unbelief and lack of faith.

And today we heard another time when Thomas doubted Jesus again, at the Last Supper, when Jesus reassured His disciples that even though they were going to encounter significant difficulties in the days ahead, He would not leave them behind, and that their path forward was clear. The remark of Thomas, as well as his behaviour, either in the passage from the Gospel today or from the other occasions, is a classic example of how mankind tend to often doubt about God’s love for them.

Let us ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, how many times in our own respective lives, that we have doubted about God, and doubted that He was here with us? How often was it that we doubted that God walked with us, especially when we encountered difficulties and challenges in life? And how many people indeed had abandoned God because they thought that God either had abandoned them or was not at their side?

This is the challenge which God had often warned us about. The devil, Satan and all of his fellow fallen angels would not stay silent or passive while we are attaining our salvation and redemption from the darkness into the light. He and his fellow fallen angels would prowl about seeking the harm for our souls, by trying to pull us out of the path towards God and His salvation.

And there had been many occasions throughout history, when given enough pressure, temptation and threats, suffering and persecution, men were even willing to abandon God for the other pursuits and temptations. And this is what we must resist and avoid. Each and every one of us should remain faithful to our God no matter what.

Therefore, in this season of Easter, let us make the very best of our effort in order to keep one another worthy of the Lord, rejecting all sorts of wickedness and temptations of the evil one, and cast out the darkness from our lives, and endeavour instead and aim for the light of our God. Let us help one another to live our lives faithfully in God, and may God help us in this endeavour. May God keep us in His love, and may we draw ever closer to His saving grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the works of St. Paul and the other Apostles, who went to many places during the early days of the Church, spreading the Good News of God’s salvation and teaching them about Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. And by their ceaseless and tireless works, they have brought many people to believe in God and thus worthy to receive salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we gather together to remember the commitment which the Apostles had shown to the people of God, by their efforts and their attempts in bringing the people of God closer to Him. They laboured and toiled, suffered and endured persecutions, just so that many of us will be able to find hope in Him, and receive glory and redemption in His Name.

Jesus spoke in the Gospel today, about how those who accepted the messenger, also accepted the master. And therefore, those who welcomed the Apostles and listened to their preachings and teachings have all received the Lord Himself and have welcomed Him as well into their hearts. For the words and the teachings of the Apostles are just the same as what the Lord Himself had taught them and passed on to them.

And yet unfortunately, we should realise how not everyone is willing to accept what the Lord had brought upon us. Many even rejected His message and preferred to follow the ways of the world. And by what we knew of the history of our Church and the faith, we should know how many of the faithful servants of God had suffered under the hands of those who rejected Him and also those who spurned His love.

Even those whom God had chosen had also risen up against Him. From the time of Judas Iscariot, to all the heretics that had risen up against the true teachings of the faith, there had been many who betrayed the Lord and brought much harm and dissension to the Church. And this brought us to the reality, that God had called not the great and the perfect, but instead, He called the imperfect ones, and grant to them the power and the opportunity to bring themselves closer to perfection.

What does this mean, brethren? It means that all of us have the choice that we can make freely, whether we want to follow the Lord and His path, obey His laws and commandments, or instead, we can choose to ignore Him, and walk in the paths contrary to the will of God. We have been given this opportunity to choose, and the impetus is now therefore on us, and for us to make a conscious choice about our actions and how these will impact us as a whole.

Brethren, let us all today reflect on the examples of St. Anselm, the saint whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Anselm was a faithful servant of the Lord, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the high Middle Ages era. St. Anselm was at the forefront of the conflict that arose between the Church and the secular authority under the rule of the king.

At that time, the Church and the king were in contention on the matters of authority, power and influence, with neither sides willing to give way to the other party. Thus, this conflict brought about much difficulties, sufferings and miseries to many people who were torn by the conflict between the Church and the king’s secular authority.

St. Anselm defended the Church’s stance that their authority came from God alone, and that the Church is not subjected to the will of the king. The king and his advisors certainly had a different opinion. They conflicted in various areas, and many obstacles faced St. Anselm during his years of service and leadership of the flock which had been entrusted to him.

The king and his advisors, and even his successor as king made life difficult for St. Anselm and those who worked with him, and St. Anselm was even exiled two times for his opposition to the designs and the inappropriate actions of the king and his advisors. But St. Anselm never gave up, and through fervent prayers and committed life to God, he persevered and continued the good works which many of his predecessors had started.

St. Anselm was not an amazing person, nor was he perfect. Instead, God called him from his lowliness, from his humility and simple origins, and made him to be the great tool through which He made a real difference in the lives of all those whom He had touched through the hands and the works of St. Anselm. Certainly, there are many things which we can be inspired by the works of this holy man and servant of God.

Let us all renew our commitments today, and from now on, let us all recommit ourselves to the Lord, and give our very best in order to bring the word of God to those who have yet to hear of it. Let us all commit ourselves to the works which help many others to draw closer to the source of salvation, the salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. May God help us and strengthen our faith, and may He keep us always in His embrace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us have been shown the truth about the Lord, Who through Jesus Christ His Son, has come into the world as the great Light, which is the guidance and the pathway for many who are now, and many others who once wandered throughout the great darkness of this world. Through Him, all those who have believed in God have received the guarantee and the promise of salvation and eternal life.

Those who accepted the words of our Lord have received life in them, because the Word Himself, the Word of God, Divine Incarnate had entered into the world through Jesus, the Son of God, Who have then given up Himself for our sake on the cross, laying down His life for us, and giving to us His own flesh and blood, His Body and His Precious Blood as our life-giving eternal sustenance.

The Apostles worked hard around the clock, going from places to places, and sometimes even to faraway and dangerous places, so that they might bear this truth and the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ to all those who lived far and have not yet heard about the salvation which God offered to all those who would put their complete trust in Christ, Who died for all that they might live.

In the first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how God had chosen His servants and sent them to evangelise to the peoples and communities of the people of God, so that they might hear the words of the Lord and come to believe in Him. And thus all those who believe in God would receive the redemption promised to them, and they would be made worthy of eternal grace and life.

The Church leaders supported one another, and they laid their hands on those whom God had chosen. This act represents the passing down of the Holy Spirit and the gifts which God had given them through the same Spirit. God blessed them with the authority over the spirits of this earth and beyond, and authority to forgive sins and to absolve the souls of men from their faults.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is now therefore we are all called to pay attention to what all of us are expected to do as members of the Church. The laying of the hands on the heads of the Apostles and the saints represent the continuous chain and the continuity from the Apostles themselves to our very own priests today, who all receive their ordination and authority from the bishops, who then received the same authority passed down to them from the Apostles, and then from our Lord Jesus Himself.

And of course all of us who are part of the Church also needs to play our part to commit ourselves to help the Church to spread and continue its good works to many others who are in need of salvation and liberation from their troubles. We also that same obligation to do what Jesus our Lord had commanded His disciples to do, that is to bear His word of truth, and spread them to the very ends of the earth, and preach the salvation in Him to all mankind.

Let us all therefore use this time and opportunity for us to reflect on our own lives and our actions. Let us all renew our commitment to help one another, especially those who lay in danger of falling into the darkness and eternal damnation of being separated from the love of God because of their actions that come to be contrary to the ways of the Lord.

May God help us in our endeavours, and may He strengthen our faith together as one people, belonging to the one and only Church through which He will save us from the eternal darkness and sufferings in hell. God bless us all and keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter, Eleventh Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate together the anniversary of the election of our Pope and Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, the Bishop of Rome and Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, the chief and Prince of all the Apostles and the Vicar of Christ. We rejoice in the eleven years that have passed since Pope Benedict XVI was elected to be the leader of the entire Universal Church and as God’s vice-gerent on earth.

Therefore, as we celebrate together this great occasion, today we are called to remember the words from the Sacred Scriptures which mentioned to us about the works of the Holy Apostles in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles. It was mentioned all the great and wonderful works that the Apostles Paul and Barnabas had done in evangelising and spreading the Good News to all mankind.

The works of the Apostles were of great importance in establishing the foundations of the Church. And thus we were told how the Church was established during the first days and months of the early Church, and the number of followers grew rapidly during this time as more and more people received and accepted the Lord’s call to repentance and forgiveness.

And in the Gospel today we heard how Jesus mentioned about Himself as the Shepherd of all, and how we are all belonging to His flock, as sheep and all entrusted to Him. And there, we saw how Jesus contrasted those who accepted His message and believed in Him, as those whom He calls as His sheep, and those who refused to believe in Him and rejected His message. These are those who consciously refused to stay in the flock and went off on their own.

The flock of the Lord, all those whom the Lord had gathered, all these have received the word of God, and the revelations of truth from the Lord Himself. And how did they get the message of the Lord’s truth? It was none other than by the hard work and the labours of the Apostles, the saints and the martyrs, all the holy servants of God who had given all their lives for the sake of the salvation of the many souls lost in this world.

By their dedication and hard work, they had delivered the truth of God, and brought the salvation of God to the many souls who would have been lost and faced condemnation if they had not laboured hard for their sake. And that was the reason why the Church we have today is a thriving one, where more and more people are coming to believe in the Lord, and the works of the Apostles are continued through our Pope, the bishops and the priests who are working together to bring the Church of God to the fulfilment of its missions.

But we must all beware lest we are caught unprepared against the wicked things and the oppositions lined up against the Church. As it was in the days of the Apostles, the holy saints and martyrs of the early Church, there are oppositions against the good works of the Lord, both from the outside and even from the inside of the Church itself. These are the works of those who refuse to acknowledge the graces of God, and those who even rejected the Lord’s rich offer of mercy and salvation.

But now, it is our time to realise that there are so much we can do in order to help the works of the Church. For the Church is not just made up of its leaders and all the dedicated servants of the Lord who have given their lives in the service of God. Instead, all of us are also full members of the Church, and united as we are in this holy Body of the Lord, we should take part in bringing the Church’s works and evangelisation efforts, and continue the good works of the Apostles.

Being Christians should not mean that we are just believers in our Lord Jesus Christ by mere name only. Instead, we should give our very best and commit ourselves to actions that show how truly faithful we are, that our faith is not by merely words alone, but also through real actions and concrete plans that bear rich fruits.

Let us all help each other, and commit ourselves to serve the Lord ever more through our daily life actions, and may we draw ever closer to the Lord and attain His salvation and the life He promised to all those who are faithful to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 18 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we continue the discourse on the Lord as our Good Shepherd, our Guide and Leader through the darkness of this world, and He is gathering us all so that each and every one of us may find our way to salvation and find succour and grace in His embrace. This is what He is asking from each one of us, that we walk in His path and follow Him as our Shepherd and Guide.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us call ourselves as Christians, and yet do we know the reason behind all of this? Do we know the reason why we call ourselves as Christians? That is because all of us belong to Christ, and He is part of us. We follow Him, and He leads us, and this is why those who see us, by right they should have known that we belong to Christ our Lord and to no one else.

Remember what Jesus said in the Gospel today? That the sheep know the shepherd, and listen only to the shepherd, and not to the other thieves and false shepherds? That is what we should be, for we are the sheep and the flock of the Lord, belonging to God. That means, our way of life, all of our dealings, words, deeds and actions should reflect the nature of God, that is goodness, love, compassion and care for each other.

And yet, if we reflect on how we live our lives, we should realise just how far from the truth that is. How many of us actually do and act in the way that we believe in? How many of us truly walk in the way of our faith and act in the manner appropriate to our faith? It is important because, while the Lord our God gathered us into His flock, but we are still prone to falling into temptation and into the falsehoods and lies of the devil.

The devil will not just be quiet and leave us be, even as we proceed on with our lives. He will do all that is in his power and ability in order to hamper us and to obstruct our path towards salvation. He will not let us be and allow us to peacefully achieve our goal of salvation. Instead, he will harass us, tempt us and try to pull us away by various means, so that in the end, we will abandon our Lord in the hope of attaining something else more valuable or attractive to us.

What we have to realise is the fact that it is not always something that is good and enticing that is what we should choose. The false leads of the devil and his attempts to deceive us were meant to distract us and to mislead us into a way through which we shall be trapped and fall into harm’s path. The devil is hiding behind a facade of innocence and goodness in order to lure us away from the safety in God, and thus to destroy us. Just as wolves are trying many tricks to lure away the sheep away from their shepherds, thus in the same manner the devil is doing the same to us.

And therefore, all of us must be fully alert and be careful, that we would not fall into the trap of the devil. What is at stake here is nothing less than the fate of our eternal soul. Do we want to look forward to a good and blessed eternal life, in the presence of God? Or do we rather have the suffering and the eternal pain that is to come when we are cast out and rejected because of our sinful ways?

God will not abandon us to the darkness and to the damnation of hell. And yet, it is usually we ourselves that have abandoned the Lord and we walked away from Him. It is a conscious choice that we make if we are to follow God, or to follow the devil and all of his temptations. God calls everyone to be saved in Him, and the first reading showed all these very clearly.

Therefore, let us all spend some time to reflect on this, and let us all think about ways for us to help one another to reach out to God and to resist the temptations of the devil. Why is this so? Because all of us have to realise that each and every one of us who have called ourselves Christians, and who have become members and parts of the Church have that particular obligation, the obligation for us to be shepherds for each other, to help lead and guide one another in faith.

That is why I placed so much emphasis in the beginning on why it is important for us to know what does being a Christian mean to us. If we act as true Christians should act, then those who see us will also come to believe in the Lord as we have done, and our actions will inspire them greatly in serving the Lord our God. On the other hand however, if our actions do not reflect what we believe, or worse, even contradicting, then it is a great scandal of our faith.

Let us not bring one another to fall into eternal damnation, but instead let us help and support each other, so that together we may draw ever closer tor God our Lord and Shepherd, and let us commit ourselves to renew our faith in Him, and devote ourselves wholly to Him in body, heart and mind. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 April 2016 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate the Fourth Sunday of Easter reckoned from the first Easter Sunday of our Lord’s Resurrection. And on this day, every year, we also celebrate a special occasion, with regards to the passages referred to in this Sunday’s reading, on the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of all the faithful.

Yes, today is the Good Shepherd Sunday, and which is also known as the Vocation Sunday, due to how related is the vocation to the priesthood to the concept of the ‘good shepherd’ which our Lord, the One and True Good Shepherd is showing those who walk in His path and follow His call to serve the greater purpose and higher calling to benefit the community of the faithful.

Jesus spoke of a good shepherd as those who know the sheep well, as compared to the thieves and the crooks who wanted to steal the sheep and bring these to harm. He is comparing Himself to the persona of the good shepherd in this manner, as He was leading His people like that of a shepherd to God His Father. And He as the Good Shepherd has set the example for us all to follow.

Therefore, there are a few important meanings to what we have heard in the Scriptures today. First of all, is that God is our Shepherd, and just as the true shepherd loves his sheep, thus God also loves each and every one of us. And He knows us all deep in our hearts, all of our secrets and thoughts, just as good shepherds know their sheep by heart.

And He Who loves us all will not want us to be lost to Him, as He will do His best to keep us all together and find us when we are lost. And in this, we should realise that this is why, God was willing to love us, to show us His mercy and to help us, even though we have erred and sinned many times in our lives, and even though we have indeed been very wicked. He is willing to give us another chance, as long as we are willing to change our ways, repent for our sins and return to Him in faith.

In another parable mentioned by Jesus, about a lost sheep from a flock of a hundred, He mentioned how the shepherd would leave behind all the sheep that are safe and sound, and set out to search for that one lost sheep until it is found and brought to safety. And when the shepherd had found the lost sheep, the joy of the shepherd and all the keepers will be great indeed, even greater than having all those that are already safe and sound in the flock.

That is the proof of how much God loves us, even more than the shepherd loves all of his sheep. In the first place, He did not create us all for nothing. He created everything, every beings and every creatures, all things out of love, and for us all, the greatest among His creations, He showed us all the greatest love of all. We were not intended from the beginning of time, for a life of suffering and difficulty, and neither should death have any power over us.

But it was because of our waywardness, and because of our disobedience and refusal to follow the laws of the Lord, that we have gone astray from our paths, and therefore became lost to sin and darkness. We are like sheep who are attracted to the sights and things outside of the safety of the flock and the guidance of the shepherd, and we desire to gain these things and go to them, without realising that in doing so, we expose ourselves to danger.

But our Lord, our loving Shepherd does not want us to end up in harm and in danger. And that was why He personally intervened by Himself, so that through His works and His actions, we all may be saved and brought back to His care and His embrace. And the Good Shepherd even laid down His own life for His sheep, as all good shepherds would. He allowed Himself to suffer and to be persecuted for our sake, and bearing our faults and sins, He carried that heavy cross and burden up the mountain to Calvary, where He offered Himself on the cross for our sake, to liberate us from the burden of sin and from the shackles of death.

And brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us who are now members of the Church, who have been baptised in the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are those who have been found amidst the darkness and distractions of this world, and who God had assembled to be His flock, to receive His love and grace forevermore. But we also have to realise that not all have been saved yet.

For salvation is only found, and can only be found in the Church. And this is the second meaning and message of today’s Scripture. Jesus had Himself said that He is the Gate, and all the sheep pass through the gate, and good shepherds pass through that gate, while crooks and thieves tried to find other means to enter the place where the flock is being kept.

If we are outside the safety of the flock, then we are in great danger of being harmed by those who seek our downfall, and these are none other than the devil, his allies and all the forces of wickedness and evil scattered all over the world. They are hungry, awaiting for us to fall into the darkness, and so that they may consume us and bring us into eternal damnation with them.

Thus, the third important message and meaning of today’s Scripture is related to this Sunday being the Vocation Sunday as well. God may have ascended back into heaven and left us His people still living on earth. But He did not leave us behind all alone, for He has appointed shepherds in His stead, to be those who care for His sheep, to protect them and guide them to Him, the Good Shepherd of all His creations.

And these shepherds are our priests, those who dedicated themselves to the service of the Lord and His people in His Church. The vocation to the priesthood and the flock of people joining the priestly life is what we are concerned about today, since we all well know, how with the changing times, it is getting ever more and more difficult for us to have those who are willing to commit themselves to the Lord as His servants.

There are fewer and fewer young men who are willing to join the priesthood and enter the seminaries. Seminaries are getting emptier and smaller, and many even had to shut down because they no longer have anyone passing through their gates to prepare themselves for a life of service to God. Too many have been lured in by the temptations of the world, for the life of the world today is so much more exciting and pleasurable to us mankind, rather than the hard and tough life of a priest.

But without good and faithful shepherds like our priests, then who will bring the flock of the Lord to Him? Who will bring the countless lost sheep of the Lord back to His love? It is why today, all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all called to reflect on this dire state of our Church and our faith, in how we have that great need for many labourers of God’s love. God Himself had said it in another occasion, that while the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.

Therefore, let us all pray together, brethren, that God will open the eyes, the hearts and the minds of those whom He has chosen to be His servants, and that they would not resist nor refuse the calling, but instead discern on them carefully, and hopefully that they will eventually decide to walk the path of priesthood, becoming shepherds to us, God’s beloved creation, and help to bring many lost souls to the salvation of God in the Church.

May God bless our priests, and also bless our young men, that many more people will embrace the call to service, and accept the vocation to priesthood, so that by their good works, they may bring many more people closer to God, and prevent many from being lost to hell and eternal damnation. May the Lord, our Good Shepherd, bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is sad today to witness the persecution and death of the first martyr of the Church and our faith, St. Stephen the Protomartyr, one of the original seven deacons who have been selected to be those who would serve the people of God and distribute the goods they share with one another, and minister to them in love.

But St. Stephen did not fear the persecution by the world or the threats and pressures laid upon him. He made a long and passionate speech to the Council, reiterating the truth of God, and how God has worked to bring salvation to mankind throughout history, how mankind have rejected Him, and how God Who still loved men, sent to us the Saviour in Jesus Christ.

St. Stephen courageously defended his faith and spoke the truth. He did not mince his words or held back the truth, even though doing so certainly would have brought about the anger and wrath of the Council members, and which means his own death and suffering at their hands. But he faced it all with grace, knowing that God would be with His faithful ones.

The Council members, made up of the high priests, the elders, Pharisees and Sadducees, and the teachers of the Law refused to listen to the truth that St. Stephen had spoken. These people were seeking the bread of this world, that is trying to satisfy their earthly needs. But in doing so, they lost sight of what they truly should have looked for, that is for the eternal Bread of Life.

And the Living Bread of God had come upon them, Jesus, the Saviour of the world, the Divine Word Incarnate into flesh, Who walked among us as we are, dwelling among us and showing to us the way to salvation and eternal life. And He was the One Whom St. Stephen had been standing up for, defending his faith and belief in Him, even though many others refused to believe.

Thus, this is the same challenge that our Lord Jesus Christ is presenting to all of us, as we continue to walk through this life in this world. Are we doing things so far merely in order to satisfy our needs, desires and wants, or are we looking for and seeking for something greater and beyond our mere needs and wants? The essence of being Christians is that we should take up the challenge and seek for the greater glory and true satisfaction that we can find in God alone.

Let us all therefore work together and strive to find the true happiness in God, by committing ourselves to obey the Lord and His laws, and to follow Him in all of His ways. We have no need to worry if we are not capable of doing it, as God did not call the great and the mighty to do His will, but instead He called on the weak and those who are struggling, and to them, if they are faithful, God will bestow great blessings and graces, as He had shown with St. Stephen.

Let us all reflect on our own actions and practices. Have we been truly faithful to God in all the things we say and do? Have we been insincere in our faith, or indifferent? If we want to be truly faithful to God, then we should really show it through our words and actions. St. Stephen had shown us the example, and we ought to learn from it. We do not have to do the same thing as he had done, but what we need to do is to change our lives for the better, and serve God with greater commitment from now on.

May God help us and strengthen our resolve in this journey, and may He help us to find our way to Him, and attain eternal life and redemption that can be found in Him alone. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about the works of the Apostles in preaching about Jesus our Lord and Saviour, and how the Pharisees and the elders were unhappy about that, and attempted to stop the Apostles from teaching the truth to the people in the Name of Jesus. But the Apostles were not at the least daunted or threatened.

They were in fact encouraged and heartened by the fact that they were able to endure the same suffering that their Lord had suffered at the hands of those who rejected Him. And they became ever more dedicated in carrying out the work entrusted to them. And because of their hard work, and the commitment of all those who came after them, countless souls had been saved, including us all, from the threat of eternal damnation and death.

And this is related to what we have heard in the Gospel today. The Gospel from the Gospel according to St. John told us about what happened in the days after Jesus had risen from the dead. On that occasion, at the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, while the disciples of Christ spent their time doing about what they have used to do before following Jesus, that is fishing, Jesus appeared to them.

And while they had spent the whole night trying to catch fish and yet caught nothing, He told them to follow His instruction, and spread the net on the side of the boat. Immediately they caught so many fishes, that the net almost broke, and the ship almost sank under the weight of the catch. And yet the two of them held on, and the Lord showed His Apostles the way through this yet another miracle He had performed.

In that reading, we should notice that there are many symbolisms related to our faith and our Church, as well as the mission which Jesus was giving His Apostles, and through them to all of us living even today, for us to undertake and to be responsible for. Therefore, let us now go through them one by one as we reflect on the words of our Lord today.

The fishermen, the Apostles represent all of us, God’s chosen people, including His chosen priests and all those who have given themselves to the service of the Lord and to His people, and the boat represents the Church, in which all the faithful are part of, and where all the faithful ones should be contained in. It is the vessel of salvation through which we find our liberation from sin and death, and find our path to eternal life.

Just as in another occasion when Jesus walked on the water approaching the disciples who were on a boat in the middle of a storm, the same symbolism is applied, where the Church is the boat, rocked by the waves and the winds from the terrible storm, representing the opposition of the world and the difficulties it is facing, as shown in our first reading today by the opposition of the elders and the chief priests.

But the Lord shows us that He stands by His Church and His faithful ones, and knowing this very well, the Apostles knew that the Lord was with them, and that was why they did not give up, even though they faced great persecution, scrutiny and pressure from the authorities to give up their work of evangelisation among the people. They continued their hard work regardless, and most of them indeed were martyred defending their faith.

And what is the hard work that they have done? It is the hard work of bringing the truth of God, the words of our Lord Jesus as He had spoken it, and delivering these to the people who have yet to hear of them. This is the command that our Lord had given to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven, and the command which is still relevant and in force even unto this very day, and likely into the future as well.

Why is this so? That is because we have to realise that, even though our Church today has grown to the point that it is definitely irrecognisable to the Apostles in the past, but the same conditions still apply. There are still many people who are outside the bounds of the Church, who are still outside the relative safety of the vessel of salvation, who have yet to hear the words of our God’s salvation and truth.

There are also many, even within the Church itself, and who called themselves as Christians, and yet, they hang dangerously at the edge of the precipice to damnation, as their actions showed contrary to their faith. And these are in danger of falling outside of the Church and the guarantee of salvation, as by their own actions they had made themselves unworthy of God’s promise.

The Apostles had been called to become fishers of men, leaving behind their old job behind, and instead of looking for fishes to be eaten and sold, they have been called to a higher purpose. They were to call upon men and get them to listen to the salvation which God has offered through His Church. And when they caught those so many fishes inside the net, this was in fact a representation of what they were to do, that is to gather many people from many nations, to be included as part of the Church and thus sharers in God’s salvation.

The same task is now awaiting us as well. There are so many of our brethren out there who need our help, our guidance and our assistance in leading them to God. If we do not do our part, then who else will? Let us therefore learn from the example of the Apostles, in their courage and commitment to God, and in their faith, in how they followed the Lord, knowing that doing so would earn them hatred, persecution and condemnation by the world, but eternal life and glory from God.

May God help us and may He awaken in each one of us the desire to love Him and to love our fellow men, so that we may be stirred in our hearts and encouraged in our limbs and bodies, that our mouths may speak the truth of God, our eyes may see the plight of our brethren still living in sin and darkness, our ears may hear their pleas, and our arms and legs may be moved to touch them and to help bring them closer to God and to His salvation. May God strengthen us and our faith, and keep us always in His love. Amen.