eternal life

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Thursday, 5 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 16 : 19-31

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores.”

“It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From hell, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.”

“He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.’ Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.'”

“The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'”

“Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'”

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 2 March 2015 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Daniel 9 : 4b-10

Daniel said, “Lord God, great and to be feared, You keep Your Covenant and love for those who love You and observe Your commandments. We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from Your commandments and laws. We have not listened to Your servants, the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings, fathers and to all the people of the land.”

“Lord, justice is yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day – we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where You have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against You.”

“Ours is the shame, o Lord for we, our kings, princes, fathers, have sinned against You. We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against Him. We have not listened to the voice of YHVH, our God, or followed the laws which He has given us through His servants, the prophets.”

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(Usus Antiquior) Second Sunday of Lent (I Classis) – Sunday, 29 February 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 24 : 6, 3, 22 and 1-2

Reminiscere miserationum Tuarum, Domine, et misericordiae Tuae, quae a saeculo sunt : ne umquam dominentur nobis inimici nostri : libera nos, Deus Israel, ex omnibus angustiis nostris.

Ad Te, Domine, levavi animam meam : Deus meus, in Te confido, non erubescam.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Remember, o Lord, Your bowels of compassion, and Your mercies that are from the beginning of the world, lest at anytime our enemies rule over us. Deliver us, o God of Israel, from all our tribulations.

To You, o Lord, I have lifted up my soul. In You, o my God, I put my trust. Let me not be ashamed.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Deus, qui conspicis omni nos virtute destitui : interius exteriusque custodi; ut ab omnibus adversitatibus muniamur in corpore, et a pravis cogitationibus mundemur in mente. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, who sees how we are destitute of all strength, keep us inwardly and outwardly, that in body we may be defended from all adversities, and in mind cleansed of evil thoughts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Thursday, 26 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the purpose of today’s readings are very clear, that is to present to us, the Lord our God as our loving Father who cares for us all tenderly and delightfully, seeking only our own good and happiness. Yes, that is the desire of our Lord, to deliver us from sins and from the sufferings caused by those sins, and break away the bonds which death had imposed on us.

This is clearly represented by the prayer of the Queen Esther of Persia, the Jewish wife of the mighty Persian Emperor at the time after the exile to Babylon, when the enemies of God’s chosen people were encamped against them and sought about their destruction. Through Haman, the Agagite, the enemy of the people of God, the destruction of the people of God seemed certain, having been officially backed by the laws of Persia and the approval of the Emperor.

Esther, in her position as the Queen of Persia and wife of the Persian monarch, had the great opportunity to help her people and intercede for their sake, but she was truly risking herself and even her own life if she was to do so. The queen prior to Esther was cast away and exiled in disgrace because she had not obeyed the king’s call. Conversely, to come into the presence of the monarch to beg for pardon for the people of Israel without the invitation of the monarch is considered a kind of crime that is punishable indeed by death.

It is against all these, the fears and uncertainty, amidst the love and concern which Esther had for her people, that she prayed to God for help. God listened to her prayers and fulfilled His plans through her works. He gave her strength and courage to come up and seek the monarch, even without his permission, in order to beg for mercy for the people of Israel that they might not be destroyed by their enemies.

All these are to show us that our Lord is full of love and mercy, and He is our Father while we are all His children, having been adopted as sons and daughters through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who became Man out of God’s everlasting love for us. God is kind, and He will give us what we need, if we ask it from Him. That is the essence of the Gospel today. God will not harm us or do something that cause us harm, because He is our Father and like all fathers, He cares for His children and will do good deeds for them.

But this does not mean that He is not strict in His interactions with us. Like all fathers, God also chastises us, His children, whenever we become wayward and lost, and whenever we disobey Him and do things our own way which lead us inevitably and eventually into sin. If He the Father of all truly loves us, then He will surely chastise us and punish us for our wrongdoings, and indeed that He had done, not to destroy us but instead to bring us to the right path and thus be saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should know that we can depend on the Lord our God and our Father, and while all other hopes and ways are lost, the Lord is always there, ready to help and ready to provide us what we need. Queen Esther trusted in the Lord and she was not disappointed. The Lord guided her hand and she managed to overcome the devices of the enemy, and triumphed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the Lord who is our Father, and who loves us as a father does. If only that we put our trust in Him, He will surely provide us and help us with bountiful blessings. May God be with us always and may we also always walk righteously in His path. Amen.