Easter preaching

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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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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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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.

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Wednesday, 6 April 2016 : Second Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard that very famous phrase from the Holy Scriptures, from the Holy Gospel according to St. John, verse 3, which spoke about the love of God, that it is so great, that He was willing to send us His Son, Who is Jesus our Lord, that through Him we may not face death, but find eternal redemption and eternal life through Him.

What we have learnt from the Scripture readings today is that God loves us all, and He wants to save us all from the threat of hellfire and eternal damnation, as well as everlasting death. He shall not abandon us to the sufferings of eternal hell. God will protect all those who are faithful to Him, and He shall send His Angels to protect His people, guarding them from those who sought to bring them to damnation.

This was seen in the examples of the Holy Apostles which we heard as told by the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles were preaching the faith and the truth told by Jesus our Lord to the people, and the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the chief priests were not happy that these Apostles were drawing the people away from them and gaining in influence and human regards.

As a result, they persecuted the Apostles, restricting them and arresting them whenever they could, including what we have witnessed today from the Acts of the Apostles. They imprisoned them and wanted to judge them falsely with false accusations and false judgments in order to silence them and stop their evangelising works. But God had other plans for them, one that no human authority and power could have undone.

For God freed the Apostles through His Angels, and by His guidance, they continued their ministry to the people of God, and despite the continued opposition by the Pharisees and the other enemies of the Lord and His truth, the Apostles continued to establish the Church and strengthened it through turbulent and difficult times. And more and more souls were saved by being welcomed into the Church and by their belief in the Lord Jesus.

God shows His grace and blessings to all those who have kept their faith in Him, and He shall not disappoint all those who have placed their trust in Him. For indeed, while the trust of men is feeble and weak, and can cause disappointments easily, but to trust in God is like to trust in a strong and firm rock, immovable and solid, amidst all the uncertainties and challenges of this life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we proceed through this joyous season of Easter, let us all reflect on our own lives, our deeds and actions. Let us all think about how we have lived our lives and in how we have interacted with one another. Have we truly been faithful to God? Or have we instead been swayed by the temptations of this world to deviate from the necessity for us to keep our faith strongly anchored in Him?

Let us ask ourselves, if we have placed our trust far more in ourselves rather than trusting in God and in His promises. This is the reason why so many of us were so reluctant in following God and in committing ourselves to His cause. Remember, brethren, that the Lord Himself had spoken, how the harvest is plentiful in this world, and yet the labourers are few. We have to step up and be courageous in committing ourselves to bring the Lord closer to ourselves and to our brethren around us.

Let us help one another on our path, and help each other to strive to walk in His path in our actions and our dealings with one another. Let our actions be examples for others, through whose actions, we may bring them closer to God, and therefore make ourselves each to be worthy of the Lord and of the salvation and the eternal life He has promised us. May God bless us all and keep us always in His love. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 April 2016 : Second Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we continue the celebration of the joyful season of Easter by listening to the words of the Scripture which tells us first about the community of the first Christians in the early Church, as told by the Acts of the Apostles, how they lived in great harmony and love, filled with care and compassion for one another, and having left behind worldly concerns, they were living righteously and justly.

And in the Gospel we heard the conversation between Jesus our Lord and the faithful Pharisee, Nicodemus, one of the few righteous to be counted among them, as he was willing to open his ears, his mind and his heart to the word of God spoken through Jesus. That was why he met Him, albeit secretly during the time of night, and discussed with our Lord about the things which He had spoken to the people of God in His teachings.

And Jesus spoke of the need of the faithful to receive a new birth in Him, to be born again in the Spirit. And He also mentioned how the teachers spoke of the things they have witnessed and which they have learnt and known, and thus He, as the great Teacher of all, spoke of the things which He knew about, that is things on earth and in heaven.

But many among the people, especially the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the elders refused to listen to Him, save for Nicodemus, when He spoke to them. They closed their ears, minds and hearts to the words of truth that our Lord is delivering to them. And as a result, that was why they had no part in the salvation which God is bringing upon His people through Jesus and His loving sacrifice. For all those who refused to believe in God and in the One Whom He sent, has no share in the eternal life.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the elders of Israel and the members of the priestly class were all concerned mostly about their own needs, wants and desires. They were concerned and worried about their own social standings and status in the society, as they were very highly respected and regarded among the people of Israel at that time. And they viewed Jesus as a rival to their teaching authority and their position.

Each was concerned about his or her own needs and wants, and that is the hallmark and the common thing about our own society today. Our selfishness is the obstacle which prevented us from truly being able to reach out to the Lord and to attain salvation in our God. It is just the same as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and if we ask ourselves, and reflect on our own actions, we should see how we too are acting in a similar manner to those who have refused our Lord and rejected Him.

We should look at the examples of the first Christians and how they have lived together in great harmony. We should model our own actions and life after their exemplary actions, and seek not to just think about ourselves and satisfy our own selfish needs and wants alone, but to also be able to empathise and to think of the needs of others around us, especially if they need those even just in order to be able to survive on and continue living.

Today we also celebrate the feast of a holy priest of God, a saint, St. Vincent Ferrer, who was a Dominican friar living during the time of the ending of the Medieval Era in Europe about more than six centuries ago. From his youth he has spent his life in the service of God, joining the religious order at a young age, and resisting the temptations to do otherwise, he continued to become a great priest and a great missionary.

He preached in many places, and taught countless peoples about the faith. Through what he has done, and many people found the true faith through him and through his work, because he abandoned behind ways of this world, selfishness and all the desires of the flesh, and instead gave himself, in the same manner of life as the early Christians, to the service of God and to His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can do the same as well in our own lives. We are all called to be good brothers and sisters to one another, and to live in the same manner as those first Christians had lived. It does not mean that we have to literally sell everything we have and share all our goods with one another, but certainly we can begin by rejecting our own selfishness, our selfish attitudes and open ourselves to love one another and to bring God’s love to His people.

Let us all help one another and live in love, and may God’s blessing shine ever more on His beloved ones. Let us commit ourselves anew to the life blessed and graced by God’s love. Amen.