Eve of Saints’ Day

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Sunday, 1 November 2015 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a major solemnity and feast day of the Church, where together with all of the entire Church, with all the faithful living here now on earth, we rejoice together for all the holy ones whom God had chosen and called from among us, to be those considered worthy to receive the glory of heaven. They are the saints, the holy men and women whom by the virtues of their lives and their actions have been found and deemed worthy by the Church.

Sainthood truly does not determine whether one goes to heaven or hell, or whether one is worthy of it. Despite the large number of saints we have today, thousands of them if not more, but if only the saints are worthy of heaven, then we have to remember that there have been countless billions and tens of billions of people who lived throughout history. Have the rest all went to hell and be condemned? The answer is no.

There are many countless other men and women whom by their lives’ virtues, their works and deeds are truly worthy of heaven, and their names have been written securely in the Book of Life for the day of judgment. It is just that the Church did not proclaim them officially as saints, as sainthood is in fact just an official recognition of one’s deeds, because of their outstanding and extraordinary quality, would become a great source of inspiration to others who look up to them as role models and examples.

Yes, the saints are our role models, and we ought to follow in their footsteps. After all, they have lived their lives to the fullest, and by close and exhausting scrutiny of these, the Church had found them to be exemplary and by the wisdom of God and the authority God has given His Church, It declares that so and so man or woman truly deserve and is without doubt, already a denizen and a dweller of heaven, enjoying the eternal grace of God.

Yet there are those who thought that we Christians are no different from the pagans because we apparently worshipped the saints and prayed to them. I have to admit that this is one area where even many members of the Church are still not properly instructed or educated in, and many are not aware of who saints truly are, and how they can help us.

Jesus did say that if we believe in the Lord and keep our faith in Him, we will be called the children of God, and St. Paul and the Church also taught us that if we die and leave behind our earthly life in justice and righteousness, we shall share in the glory and in the fullness of God’s grace, and having all of our sins shed away from us, we shall be glorious and mighty as we share together the divinity of Christ. However, this does not make us gods in our own right.

Rightfully therefore, the saints themselves are glorious and honoured not because they have ascended in might by their own power, and neither do they have any power on their own separate from the power and authority of God. They share forever God’s glory in heaven, and they shall not know any more fear, death or darkness, for God is with them, and they are with God.

Rather, what we have to know is that the saints are our intercessors, those who help us deliver our prayer to the Lord. Then, indeed, one may ask, why not we ourselves then ask for our own behalf, and why must we ask someone else to pray for us? Then, in order to answer this, we just have to look throughout the Holy Scriptures, how many people at different times and periods, asked for each other for prayers and intercessions.

Do you remember what did Jesus tell the people about gathering in prayer? He told them and His disciples that when two or more are gathered in His Name, He shall be present there and He shall listen to their prayers. Thus, shall it indeed not be more beneficial for us to have even more people praying for our sake? The saints, having ascended to the presence of God, now sees with the sight of God, and surely, having been sinners themselves, they also understood how grievous our sins are, all of us still living in this world.

And having shared the glory and joy of the Lord, they also now share the love of God, and having been righteous as they were, surely in their love both for God and for their fellow men, they are also greatly concerned about us who are still living and struggling in this world against wickedness, evil and all forms of sins. If we are not careful about this, and continue to dwell in the darkness, then we risk falling into the trap of eternal damnation and hell from which there can be no escape.

As mentioned, the saints are not ‘gods’ in that they do not use or project their own might and power unlike those so-called pagan gods of old, where the people worshipped them as beings that could deliver them from trouble, provide them with something, dealing with things magical and supernatural, changing the world and the elements. No, the saints are not like these, and if we have had this misconception, then it is important that we now know the difference.

Those who pray to the saints and ask them for deliverance, or hoping that they can deliver them from trouble, or asking for favours from them in worldly things are misguided and mistaken in their understanding about the saints, who they are and how they work to help us in our way towards salvation. That is exactly who they are, our friends and our peers who had gone ahead of us, and now that they are close to God, they are our best allies and those whose prayers are most dear to God.

Remember what happened at the wedding held at Cana? That was where Jesus performed His very first miracle, turning the water into wine, and in the process, helped save the bride and the bridegroom and their families from great shame. Jesus was initially reluctant to help them, as He felt that it was not yet His time to reveal Himself by such work of miracles and power. Yet, it was through Mary, His mother and her persuasion of Jesus, that He allowed Himself to reveal to the people a portion of the truth of who He is.

Mary, the mother of our Lord, is the greatest, most honoured and most esteemed of all the saints, and in heaven, she is the closest one to the throne of God, her own beloved Son. Just as she had pleaded with her Son to help the couple at the wedding held at Cana, and He heard her, surely if we ask her to intercede for our sake and pray for us, He will be more willing to hear us and show His mercy to us.

The same applies for all the other saints as well, whom we ask daily to intercede for us on our behalf, that God will help us on our way, so that in times of challenge and difficulty, during times of persecution and extreme suffering, and in times when our bodies and even our minds are assailed by temptations of the devil and by his wicked tempters, God may send to us His angels and other forms of guidance to help prevent us from falling into sin and darkness.

In all these, we have to realise that we as the Church of God are not alone in this world and in the constant battle, the spiritual battle of our souls. Those who have departed from us are not gone from us, and they are still with us, unless they themselves have given themselves to be lost, namely those who have been thrown into hell and eternal damnation.

In fact, we know three Churches, the three aspects and parts of the Church Universal, that is the Church Militant, all of us living and still fighting against the devil and his works, and who are still constantly having a daily struggle in this world to uphold our faith and defend it against the wickedness of evil. And then, there are the saints and martyrs, who are the Church Triumphant, those who have gone before us and have been deemed as righteous and worthy of heaven. They are still there, with us and praying for us.

But we must not forget, just as tomorrow we shall celebrate All Souls’ Day, that there is the third part of the Church Universal, namely the Church Suffering, the good souls in purgatory awaiting for their entry into the glory of heaven. They are suffering the residual consequences of their sins, and as they suffer, they also want us all still living in this world to overcome our own sins and to get rid of them so that we will not suffer like they now do.

I will elaborate in greater detail on this in tomorrow’s homily, but in the end of the day, as we gather together to rejoice with all of the people of God, with all the saints and martyrs, with the angels and with all of creation, let us realise how good God is, and how much love He is showing and pouring down upon us. Let us ask the good saints, principally the mother of our Lord, Mary, to pray for us, all sinners and unworthy to be in the presence of God, so that God may awaken in us the courage and power to live our lives filled with faith and total devotion.

May Almighty God be with us, and may He guide us on our path, and help us so that we will have the courage to overcome our pride, our desires and all the things that have blocked our path towards the Lord. Let us not be overcome by evil and by our own shortcomings, but let us be ever more faithful and be more committed to the Lord our God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 November 2015 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.”

“Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

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Sunday, 1 November 2015 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when He appears in His glory, we know that we shall be like Him, for then we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope try to be pure as He is pure.

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Sunday, 1 November 2015 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Sunday, 1 November 2015 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves but our God who sits on the throne and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the throne, the Elders and the four living creatures; they then bowed before the throne with their faces to the ground to worship God. They said, “Amen. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the Elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The Elder replied, “They are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed and made their clothes white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

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Saturday, 31 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the message of today’s Scripture readings is very clear indeed. They spoke about the importance for us all to stay rooted in the Lord, in Whom lies the source of our only salvation and hope to escape from the ever growing trap of sin. They spoke of the importance for us to put our trust in the Lord Who has given us His all in order to save us.

And very importantly, it was pointed out that we have to be open and be able to listen to the Lord, understanding His wish and desires, and not be swallowed by our own pride and haughtiness. It is indeed in our own human nature that we want to defend our human pride, and we often look for ways to further and enhance our own power and glory, even at the expense of others around us.

We just have to look at our own history, the history of mankind, and see how often it was indeed for mankind to struggle and fight against each other just so that they can get that position of honour and glory, or to get the most of something, be it money, food, possessions, pleasures of the flesh, and many other things that enticed us and tempted us, and moved our greed.

So what the Lord Jesus intended for us, when He spoke about that parable about the seat at a feast or a wedding, is to remind us that power, glory, achievements, fame and all worldly parameters of greatness truly mean nothing, and these are always temporary and do not satisfy the true desires of our souls. And He made it clear using the example of those who strive to seek the best places in parties and events, sitting at the places of greatest honour.

Is it not the same with all of us? We also would often struggle and contest with each other for the best places, the best positions, the most prominent places, the most praiseworthy and honourable places. And what purpose do they serve? They served only to further feed our desires and ego, our pride and our greed within us. That is all, and nothing more. It was from all these wicked things inside us that we succumbed to the temptations of the devil, and thus instead of doing what God wanted us to do, we went our own path and became lost.

Can we all take some time to take a step back and reflect on our own lives? Have we been so focused and engrossed with the pleasures, wealth and the things of this world? If we do so, then we should realise the truth in what Jesus is telling us. Jesus told us how those who sought the front seat, when another of greater persona, power and influence than theirs came, the host would ask them to relent and give up their spaces for those more influential and greater than they are, and in shame they would retreat.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is a reminder that we mankind are often very difficult to satisfy, and when we have something, we will always seek to have even more of what we have already had with us. And thus, it is truly futile to seek worldly glory, human praise and all things that will perish with the end of time. There will never be enough for us, and we stand only to be disappointed of having been superseded by another who have more than us, and in our jealousy, we fall ever deeper into sin.

Let us all take note of this and understand what we need to do in order to attain true satisfaction and joy in our lives. It is not by accumulating worldly and physical wealth, possessions and good things that we gain greatness and true happiness, but through perseverance and genuine commitment in loving one another, and loving our Lord and God in the same manner just as we love and care for ourselves.

It is time for us all to take the opportunity given to us by God, and make use of the time we have in this world to begin to build up for ourselves the heavenly treasures of divine love, and not to pursue senseless and useless pursuits of worldly wealth and desires. Let us all help each other to realise our own potential of so much good things to be done, for our own good, helping each other rather than contending with each other for fame, possessions and other worldly things.

May Almighty God be with us all, and may He keep us in His grace at all times. May He find us righteous and just all the days of our life, and may He bring us into the eternal life He had promised to all of His faithful ones. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Luke 14 : 1, 7-11

At that time, on one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched. Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour.

And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you had been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

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Saturday, 31 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 93 : 12-13a, 14-15, 17-18

Fortunate the one You correct, o Lord, the one You teach Your Law; You give them relief from distress while a pit is dug for the wicked.

The Lord will not reject His people nor will He forsake His heritage. Justice will return to the just, and the upright will follow in its wake.

Had the Lord not helped me, I would have fallen into the silence of death. No sooner did I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your kindness, o Lord, held me up.

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Saturday, 31 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Romans 11 : 1-2a, 11-12, 25-29

And so I ask : Has God rejected His people? Of course not. I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected the people He knew beforehand.

Again I ask : Did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not. Their stumbling allowed salvation to come to the pagan nations and this, in turn, will stir up the jealousy of Israel. If Israel’s shortcoming made the world rich, if the pagan nations grew rich with what they lost, what will happen when Israel is restored?

I want you to understand the mysterious decree of God, lest you be too confident : a part of Israel will remain hardened until the majority of pagans have entered. Then the whole of Israel will be saved, as Scripture says : From Zion will come the Liberator Who will purify the descendants of Jacob from all sin. And this is the covenant I will make with them : I will take away from them their sins.

Regarding the Gospel, the Jews are opponents, but it is for your benefit. Regarding election, they are beloved because of their ancestors; because the call of God and His gifts cannot be nullified.