faith blog

by

Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded of our faith in God and of everything which the Lord had done for our sake, as we listened to the passages of the Scriptures which detailed to us just how faithful and committed the Lord to the Covenant which He has established and ever renewed with us. God has always watched over us and loved us since the very beginning when He created us, and He never abandoned us in our time of distress, and even when we have often rebelled against Him and betrayed Him for other idols and pagan gods. He has sent us His servants and messengers, all those whom He has given us to lead and guide us down the right path, away from the wickedness of the world. All these He had done for us so that we may not be permanently lost to Him, but that we may be reunited with Him once again.

In our first reading today, taken from the First Book of Kings, we heard of the moment when the prophet Elijah reached Mount Horeb, the Mountain of God after a long journey of forty days and forty nights from the land of Israel. At that time, Elijah was fleeing from the pursuits of those who sought his destruction and death, namely those who sided with Jezebel, the wicked queen of Israel who together with her husband, Ahab, the king of Israel, had brought the people into sin against the Lord, through their promotion of pagan worship and the establishment of idols and their many altars throughout the land. Elijah had a showdown before the people of Israel against the priests of Baal that were promoted by Ahab and Jezebel, in which the Lord decisively showed His might and power against the false god Baal, by showing that He is indeed the one and only true God.

And because of the slaughter of the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal by the people following that contest at Mount Carmel, Jezebel vowed to destroy Elijah, which led him to flee away from the land of Israel in self-imposed exile, and God called upon him to walk all the way to Mount Horeb after having provided him with sustenance to strengthen and encourage him. God called Elijah to go up the Mountain to meet Him so that He might reveal to him whatever He has planned for the people of Israel and others. As we heard then, the Lord appeared to him in a gentle breeze, and not in great earthquake and fire that preceded before His coming and appearance. This is a reminder to all of us that God is not all fearsome or wrathful, and despite all of our delinquent, stubborn and rebellious attitudes, He is still willing to embrace us and He calls upon us to return once again to Him.

God wanted us all to know of His enduring love and kindness for us, His generous compassion and mercy, in His constant efforts to reach out to us, and to lead us all to Himself through the path of righteousness and justice. God does not want us to lose our way, and wants us all to keep our faith in Him at all times. He sent us His Son, so that through Him all of us may see His love and kindness, His mercy and compassion personified and made concrete, tangible and approachable, and we heard all that in our Gospel passage today, as we listened to the story of the famous miracle of Jesus appearing before His disciples and walking on the water towards them. That story reminds us all that God is always in control over us and our lives, and we must always have faith in Him, and not in any other false idols and distractions, or other means and worldly things that we often think of depending on, instead of trusting in the Lord our God.

As we heard in that Gospel passage, the disciples of the Lord were sent ahead of Him while He prayed, and they encountered a great storm and large waves in the water, and they must have indeed been very terrified at what they experienced. The Lord then appeared before them and encouraged all of them, saying to them that they should not be afraid, because He was there with them. And when they were still fearful and doubtful, St. Peter asked the Lord if it was really Him, and asked that if it was really He Who spoke to them, that he could be allowed to walk on the water towards Him just as the Lord Himself had done. And sure enough we heard how St. Peter began to miraculously walk on the water until when his faith and trust in the Lord wavered again, and he began to sink into the water. While the Lord did chide him for his lack of faith and trust in Him, He rescued and helped St. Peter, and then also calmed the storm and the waves for the rest of His disciples.

Through this story and all that it represented, we are reminded of God’s Presence in our midst and how He is always with His Church, no matter what happens. The boat with the disciples in them represented the Church of God, the assembly of all those who believe in God, as they traverse through the darkness, sufferings and hardships, as well as the opportunities and other things present in the world. The Lord guided all of His disciples and followers to Him, as the true Head of the Church, which is as His Body, is inseparably connected to Him. The disciples represent the leaders of the Church, which St. Peter as the first Pope was significant because he represented the link between us and the Lord, as His Vicar on this world. He and his successors, the Popes are these Vicars entrusted with the leadership and guardianship over the whole people of God.

As we can see, St. Peter and the other disciples were not perfect, as they were all humans just like us, and were sinners who turned away from their sinful ways, embraced the Lord’s call and mission, and became great disciples and missionaries through whom God performed many great works, and reached out to many of our brothers and sisters, many of whom were saved and put on the right path thanks to the constant dedication shown by those holy men and women who had chosen to answer God’s call and to walk in His path. Like Elijah and the prophets in the past who had given their lives to the service of God, all of God’s disciples, the Apostles, the innumerable saints and martyrs all have given their best to the Lord, in living lives that were truly worthy of the Lord, and in being great role models and inspirations for one another, so that many more may come to believe in God through them, and hopefully therefore, through each one of us as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, all of us are called to put our trust and faith once again in the Lord, and to believe in Him wholeheartedly, remembering that each one of us are truly beloved and precious to God. All of us are God’s chosen and holy people just as He has chosen and called the Israelites in the past, cared for them and blessed them. And thus, we are all precious and important to God, and each one of us should keep this in mind as we continue to follow Him in all that He has shown us and led us through. Like what St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans in our second reading today, all of us should be grateful and thankful that God has extended His love and grace towards each and every one of us, the same love and grace that He has extended and shown to the Israelites in the past. All of us are God’s people and hence we really should strive to be holy just as our Lord and God is holy.

Let us all therefore grow ever stronger in our faith and conviction to follow God in all things, and to do our best in our every day living so that in our every actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions and good endeavours, in our every commitments and attitudes, we will always show great examples of our faith and dedication to God. May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator continue to bless each and every one of us with His great kindness, grace and blessings, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him, and be ever more courageous and committed to live our lives worthily as His true disciples and in all of our actions, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 14 : 22-33

At that time, immediately, Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself, to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once, Jesus said to them, “Courage! Do not be afraid. It is Me!”

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus said to him, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus. But seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and began to sink; and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

by

Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 9 : 1-5

I tell you, sincerely, in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit, that I am not lying. I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire, that, I myself, suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren : I mean, my own people, my kin.

They are Israelites, whom God adopted, and on them, rests His glory. Theirs, are the Covenants, the Law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their race, Christ was born, He, Who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever : Amen!

by

Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 84 : 9ab-10, 11-12, 13-14

Would, that I hear God’s proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints. Yet, His salvation is near to those who fear Him, and His glory will dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced. Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.

YHVH will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit. Justice will go before Him, and peace will follow along His path.

by

Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 19 : 9a, 11-13a

On reaching the place, Elijah came to the cave and stayed in it. Then YHVH said, “Go up and stand on the mount, waiting for YHVH.” And YHVH passed by.

There was first a windstorm, wild wind which rent the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces before YHVH, but YHVH was not in the wind. After the storm, an earthquake, but YHVH was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, a fire, but YHVH was not in the fire; after the fire, the murmur of a gentle breeze.

When Elijah perceived it, he covered his face with his cloak, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

by

Saturday, 12 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to continue to be faithful in God and to trust in Him at all times. We should do whatever we can to walk faithfully in His Presence, doing His will and obeying His commandments. Each one of us as God’s people, all of us have been called to holiness and entrusted with the Law and commandments that He has given us because we have received His truth and Good News, and the teachings and explanations of those same truths through the Church, which had preserved the Good News from the Lord and His Apostles, and also through the Wisdom and the knowledge granted to us through the Holy Spirit that has been sent unto us, dwelling in us, as God Himself has come down to dwell with us and within us. How can we then, as His beloved and holy people, act in ways that are contrary to His path? Unfortunately, many of us are still lacking in strong and truly genuine faith, and have acted waywardly and away from the Lord’s true path.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we continue to hear the reminders said by Moses to the whole assembly of the people of Israel, after the discourse that he went through with them in our first reading yesterday, telling them of the greatness of God and all the love which He has imparted upon them, all the wonderful things that He has done for their sake, in guiding and leading them through their darkest and most difficult moments. He had performed many signs and wonders, crushing all the enemies and opponents of His people, protecting them all from hardships and challenges, persecutions and oppressions, providing them with food and sustenance, drink and help throughout the entire journey in the desert, providing and loving them even as He chastised and punished them for their disobedience, rebellions and stubborn attitude, in refusing to obey Him and in disobeying His Law and in their betrayals against Him.

Today, we then heard from Moses reminding the people that the Lord, YHVH, alone is their God, and they should only worship and follow Him alone, and remember the Law and commandments that He had given all of them. He reminded the people of everything that God had promised to their ancestors, the Covenant that He has established with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and which He had remembered and was fulfilling at that very moment, through His guidance and deliverance of all of the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt, leading them each day by hand, to the land that He has promised to the same Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to their descendants. Moses reminded all of them that even in the good times that they would be having in the future, when they were well-fed and taken care of, in the blessed new lands they would live in, they must never forget about God and continue to follow Him faithfully as they should always do.

Each and every one of them should have strong and enduring faith in Him, as faith is something that anchors us to God and to His truth, His path and His love. As we all heard from our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus chastised some of His disciples for not having enough faith in Him, and therefore failed to cast out evil spirits and demons that had possessed a young boy. The disciples had been entrusted and given the power and authority to heal, perform miracles and other great works, including casting out demons and evil spirits, and yet, it was likely that at that moment, they had grown proud and forgot about whose power and authority by which they had performed all those miracles, and perhaps, they thought that it came from their own power and strength, or that when the evil spirits proved to be resilient and strong, they faltered and gave in to fear, and that was likely why they could not cast those out from the young boy.

Therefore, that was why the Lord chastised and reminded the disciples that they must first have strong faith and trust in Him, so that they may indeed do what God has commanded and entrusted for them to do. The same therefore applies to each and every one of us, the members of His Church as well. All of us as Christians have been called to remember our Lord and all that He had done for us, the Covenant and the enduring love that He has always ever shown unto us, from the very beginning, and how He even sent us His deliverance through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour and Guide. Through Him, His works, and ultimately His suffering and death on the Cross, the Lord has led us all from the darkness and tyranny of sin and death, into a new life and existence blessed and full of His grace, free from evil, and free to live once again as children of God’s light and truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us are called and challenged to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and we are all called to be great role models, inspirations and examples for each other, in how we live our lives, so that others may see God’s light and know His truth, through our every actions, words and deeds. And today, all of us should be inspired by the great examples set before us by our holy predecessors, particularly that of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a holy woman of God whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Jane Frances de Chantal was born into a noble family in what is now France, and was a woman of high standing and reputation, who married another noble, Baron de Chantal who was killed early on, which left St. Jane Frances de Chantal as a widow at a young age with several children.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal took good care of her family, while at the same time establishing a new order for women who had been rejected because of them being in poor health or by being advanced in age by the order religious orders. The sanctity and great examples showed by St. Jane Frances de Chantal who dedicated herself to the cause of the Lord, inspired many others to follow her and her good examples, in serving God and in doing His commandments and Law. Many came to be convinced to be followers of Christ, and many still came to join the order that St. Jane Frances de Chantal had established, and performed so many wonderful things to the people of God. She also showed us all what it truly means for us to be faithful as Christians, in doing God’s will at all times, and in following God’s commandments and Law, living a life truly holy and worthy of God.

May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all as He has always ever done, all these while. May God be with us always and may He empower and help each one of us in our journey of faith and life, now and always, inspired as always by the saints and the holy men and women who came before us. Amen.

by

Saturday, 12 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 17 : 14-20

At that time, when Jesus and His disciples came to the crowd, a man approached Him, knelt before Him and said, “Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water. I brought him to Your disciples but they could not heal him.”

Jesus replied, “O you people, faithless and misled! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. Later, the disciples approached Jesus and asked Him privately, “Why could we not drive out the spirit?”

Jesus said to them, “Because you have little faith. I say to you : if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible for you.”

by

Saturday, 12 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Psalm)

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

Psalm 17 : 2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51ab

I love You, o YHVH, my strength. YHVH is my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer and my God.

He is the Rock in Whom I take refuge. He is my Shield, my powerful Saviour, my Stronghold. I call on YHVH, Who is worthy of praise : He saves me from my enemies!

YHVH lives! Praised be my Rock! Exalted be my Saviour God. He has given victories to His king; He has shown His love to His anointed ones.

by

Saturday, 12 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (First Reading)

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

Deuteronomy 6 : 4-13

Listen, Israel : YHVH, our God, is One YHVH. And you shall love YHVH, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Engrave on your heart the commandments that I pass on to you today.

Repeat them over and over to your children, speak to them when you are at home and when you travel, when you lie down and when you rise. Brand them on your hand as a sign and keep them always before your eyes. Engrave them on your doorposts and on your city gates.

Do not forget YHVH when He has led you into the land which He promised to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; for He will give you great and prosperous cities which you did not build, houses filled with everything good which you did not provide, wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.

So when you have eaten and have been satisfied, do not forget YHVH Who brought you out from Egypt where you were enslaved. Fear YHVH, your God, serve Him and call on His Name when you have to swear an oath.

by

Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of everything which God had generously done for us, in all the love which He has shown and bestowed upon us. All of us should not harden our hearts against Him and we should do well to remember everything that He had done for us, in all the wonderful things He had blessed us with, in all of His providence and help, and more. He will always stand by us no matter what happen, and all of us who have faith in Him and trust in His providence and help will be protected and guarded especially in the hours of difficulties and hardships, and in the end, all of us shall be triumphant together with God. God will remember the ones who have always kept His Law and precepts, and all of us who have remained true to Him despite the challenges and trials that we may face in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses gathered the whole people of Israel before him, and delivering God’s words unto them, to those who have witnessed God’s good and loving actions, as well as His anger and wrath directed to all those who have disobeyed His Law and commandments, and betrayed Him for the pagan and false idols. Moses reminded all of them, those whom the Lord had brought out of the land of Egypt, and their children and descendants, including those who probably had been born during the forty years sojourn in the desert, of all the things that God had done for all of them, in His kindness and compassion, in everything that He had done for their sake, in advancing before them and leading them to battle against their enemies, in crushing the enemies of God’s people and scattering them, keeping them safe throughout the way.

God has also provided them with food along the entire journey, despite their repeated and constant complaints and ungrateful attitudes, in complaining against what God had provided for them, even though God had most generously provided them with the bread from heaven itself, the manna that He sent to them every single day except for the Sabbath day, and even providing for the Sabbath itself by providing them twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath. He also provided all of them with the flocks of birds to supplement their food, and for their drink, according to the traditions, Moses got the water to come out from the rocks, and it was even told that a rock followed the Israelites wherever they went, and pure, clean and amazing water flowed out from it, as if indeed from the Lord Himself.

God had indeed loved His people so much, despite everything that they had done to Him, in rebelling against Him and rejecting His love. He also sent His Son into our midst, to dwell and journey with us, so that by His coming before us, all of us may enter into a new relationship with God, reconciled and reunited with Him, redeemed and freed from the slavery of sin and death. But in order to follow Him, we have to be ready to embrace Him and His path wholeheartedly, that is to obey His Law and commandments, distancing ourselves from the temptations of evil and sin, from all those things that kept us away from the path of God and His salvation and grace. In the process, we may also encounter opposition and hardships, trials and attacks, hardships and challenges, just as the Lord Himself had endured when He walked in our midst.

We are all called to remember the amazing love by which Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, our Saviour had done for our sake, in carrying His Cross with ultimate love, the love with which He cared for us, in enduring for us the greatest humiliations and sufferings, the rejection and the oppression of the world, so that through all those things, we may all be reconciled to God, our loving Father and Creator. By His enduring and eternal love, He offered Himself as a most worthy sacrifice and as atonement for our many and innumerable sins, which He cleansed for us, as we are made whole once again through the breaking of His Most Precious Body and the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood. And we are therefore called to remember this great and wonderful love, and hence expected to show the same love towards Him and towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

This is why today, all of us as Christians are called and reminded to love the Lord more and more, and to do whatever we can so that in our every words, actions and deeds, we may always proclaim the glory of God, and to be the great shining examples and role models of our beliefs and faith in God, in all occasions. Each and every one of us are called to be faithful and committed disciples of the Lord, so that we may lead more and more people to the salvation in God, in the manner that many of our faithful and holy predecessors, the holy saints, men and women of God had done in their lives and examples in life. All of us should reflect brightly the light of God’s truth and grace, just in the manner how the saints’ lives reflect brightly God’s glory, hope, light and truth, proclaiming His Good News at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Clare, also known as St. Clare of Assisi, a contemporary and follower of St. Francis of Assisi, another renowned holy man of God. St. Clare was a native of Assisi who was inspired by her family devout practices and commitment to God, which made St. Clare and her siblings to be deeply committed to God from their early youth. St. Clare refused to marry a young man proposed by her family later on, and chose to commit herself wholly to God by joining the life and mission of St. Francis of Assisi, gathering other like-minded individuals, which later on became known as the Order of Poor Ladies, gathering all the women who were interested in the charism and living of the Franciscans instituted by St. Francis of Assisi, with St. Clare herself as the founder.

St. Clare herself lived in a convent of Benedictine nuns for a while, living a prayerful and devout life, and eventually went on to live together with her order of religious sisters, the Order of Poor Ladies or the Order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, where she eventually became the Abbess of the community of the San Damiano sisters. She remained in her ascetic and holy lifestyle, caring for the needs of those in her community and lovingly reached out to those who were in need in the society. In a well-known and documented miracle later on in her life, St. Clare was renowned for her miraculous defence of her convent from the rampaging attacks of the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor that were then attacking the region where her convent was located at. St. Clare remained steadfast and trusting in the Lord despite the approaching soldiers, and entrusted herself wholly to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as she hoisted up the monstrance which miraculously shone with great and blinding light that terrified the attacking enemies, who thereafter left the convent and the town undisturbed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord in the manner that our holy predecessors had done, especially in the faith and dedication that St. Clare has shown us. Let us all remember the amazing love that God has for us, and the dedication that He has shown us, and which St. Clare and many other saints have reflected in their own lives and actions. May all of us be the shining beacons of the light of Christ’s salvation and the grace of God. Amen.