Holy sermon

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Monday, 13 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the story of the wicked king of Israel, Ahab who desired the vineyard of Naboth to become his own, and when Naboth refused the king bluntly on the consideration that the land belonged to him and to his ancestors, king Ahab became angry and with the complicit help of his wife, Jezebel, Ahab managed to gain the vineyard by the means of false accusation and murder of Naboth.

If we look at this passage from the Book of Kings, we may find it difficult to reconcile with what we heard in the Gospel today. In the first reading, God spoke to king Ahab through His prophet Elijah regarding the wickedness of his actions in causing the death of Naboth for his own gain, unlawfully gaining the vineyard through trickery and lies. And God said that what happened to Naboth would also happen to Ahab.

It means that whatever evil things Ahab had done would also befall him as the consequence for his sins. But in the Gospel we heard about Jesus our Lord who told His disciples that they should not seek vengeance or to get retribution from those who have mistreated them or hurt them. It seems that the two passages contradict each other if we read them at the face value, but in reality, they actually complement each other.

How is this so? It is because both of them speak of the same thing. All of us human beings have been created with love and out of love by our God, and we were all intended for good things. And thus the very important rule that all of us have to understand is that if we want others to treat us kindly and nicely, then we ourselves must start to treat others in the same manner too.

If we treat others badly, then it will bring about pain and anger in their hearts and minds, and as a result, they too will want to treat us in the same manner too, seeking vengeance against us. And when vengeance has been accomplished, the cycle is not over but in fact continues on, as when we become the object of that vengeance and suffered because of it, then we ourselves will want to enact our own revenge. The end result is a never-ending cycle of revenge and vengeance that bring about nothing but suffering, more suffering, pain and evil.

On the other hand, if we love one another, and even love and forgive those who have hurt us or hated us, then in fact we are breaking that endless cycle of hatred and suffering, by opening up the floodgates of God’s love to fill our hearts, and the hearts of those who have despised us and hated us, so that we stop that continuation of hatred and all the evil emotions, and instead spread and spawn the seeds of love.

And when we love even our enemies and those who have loathed us and persecuted us, what we hope is that we may bring their hearts to know the love which God has given to them through us, and that they may repent their ways and turn back to those evil deeds and into the light of God. And thus, we may bring one another into the love of God, and receive His grace and blessings.

And how about what we heard with regards to king Ahab and Naboth? Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a crucial difference between that case and what our Lord is asking us to do. What king Ahab had done was definitely very wicked, and it was not just on that occasion, but also on numerous other occasions, where Ahab had disobeyed the Lord and brought the whole people of Israel into sin.

And unlike us all who have in our tendency not to love our enemies and those who hate us, God loves everyone equally, as He has created all of us without discrimination, whether they eventually became good or evil based on their own conscious choices. And He has loved us all even though many of us if not most or all of us, have disobeyed Him and rejected His love from time to time.

And God offered Ahab and the Israelites the same love, and yet they rejected it. And thus, in the end, those who refuse to love, and refuse the love which God had generously presented to us, and choose instead to act on our own whim and desires, then we have to part in God’s love and inheritance, and our fate will be like that of king Ahab, whom God had rejected and cast out from His presence. Remember brethren, that God loves us, but He hates our sins and wickedness.

Thus, let us today heed the example of a great saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Anthony of Padua, the renowned Franciscan friar and preacher was a very famous saint whose works in Italy and in many places have brought numerous if not countless souls back from the periphery of death and darkness and back into the light and the love of God.

St. Anthony of Padua showed great devotion to the Lord, and then correspondingly a great commitment for the people of God, to whom he had devoted himself fully, caring for the weak, the ostracised and the downtrodden, teaching to them the word and the truth of God, and revealing God’s love to them through his own loving actions.

He inflamed the hearts of many people with his preaching, and he inspired many of them to rediscover their faith and to commit themselves anew to God. And he often led by example, showing many people how they should act as those who believe in the Lord our God. It is very important for us all to follow his examples, and also have love in our own actions and deeds.

Let us all renew our faith for the Lord, and be loving and be merciful in all the things we say and do. May God strengthen the love within our hearts, and allow us to be filled with His gracious love and mercy, that we will always endeavour for the good and for the salvation of all mankind, each and every one of us. May God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 June 2016 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of the Scripture readings which we have received and listened to all spoke of a very important thing in our faith which all of us tend to forget and overlook, or even worse, that we misunderstand its true intention and purpose. And therefore, it is imperative that we come together and understand what the meaning of the Scripture passages is for us all, and reflect on them so that we may be awakened to the Lord’s will and grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the punishment which God metes out for the sinners and for all those who have disobeyed Him and betrayed His love and trust. It is what we call justice, or to be more precise, divine justice, as we have sinned against the Lord and committed what is evil in His sight, and therefore, it is just that we face the consequences of our sins and wickedness, and the just reward for sin, is death and damnation in hellfire.

And yet we all should know how loving and merciful our God is, to those who are willing to be forgiven, and who has shown the desire and right attitude to be forgiven. In the first reading today we heard about the exchanges between the prophet Samuel and king David of Israel, the one whom many people, especially among the Israelites, regarded as the ideal king, the just ruler and as the role model and example of how one should be faithful to God.

And yet, we know of two very prominent moments when king David was unfaithful to God and disobeyed Him. The first one was the one which was mentioned in the Book of the prophet Samuel as we heard it today, about how David plotted against the captain of his guard, Uriah, and planned for his death, because he was enamoured and indeed had committed adultery with Uriah’s wife.

The second of which, king David in his great pride and the time of his great glory, conducted a survey of his entire realm even against the advice of his advisors. And by this act, he showed disobedience against God, when he placed himself above all else and succumb to the temptations of human pride and glory. It showed his lack of satisfaction with what God has already blessed him with, by counting them and thus presumably wanting for even more.

Then, we should ask ourselves, what is the significance is for us? It is because if we look at what king David had done, certainly we should realise that no one is perfect and beyond reproach. Even the faithful king David himself also faltered and fell into sin. This is a reminder for us all not to be ignorant of sin, and not to be overconfident of ourselves just because we think that we are not capable of sinning or committing what is not right in the sight of God.

But at the same time, we should also take note how king David responded to those situations. What did he do? He immediately humbled himself before God and repented from his sins. He regretted having committed all the sins which he had done, the sin of adultery and the sin of the desires of the flesh, as well as the sin of pride and human greed.

This is where many of us are often misguided and misled by wrong thoughts and ideas, where we think that God loves and forgives us all, no matter what wrongs and sins that we have done. Some of us may think that God is a loving and kind God who tolerates everything that we did, but we often do not understand and realise that God is as much as He is loving as He is also just and good.

This means that sinners who have sinned and then continued to live in their sinfulness without the desire and the attempt to recant and reject their sinful ways, will not be forgiven by God. A sinner remains a sinner as long as he or she wishes it to be so, and if they continued to commit things and do things that are against God’s will and His ways, then they only have themselves to blame for their damnation and rejection by God.

This is where we come to the point where we have to reconcile between God’s justice and anger, with His everlasting mercy and love for us. God loves us all, the people whom He had created, as the most beloved of all His creations, but He did not love our sins and wickedness. Indeed, He Who is perfect and good despises all of the sins and the darkness which we have brought upon ourselves.

Thus, when we suffer and when we groan because of the hardships and challenges we face in life, and when some of us fall into damnation and eternal suffering in hell, all these were not intended by God for us. God Who created us out of love did not desire our suffering or for us to perish in that suffering. Death and hell were not intended for us either, and in fact, God intended for us all to live forever in joy with Him, ever since the day He created us.

But it was us who have betrayed Him in the first place, preferring to give in to our human desires, falling into the temptations and the lures of pleasure, both of the flesh and the mind, as well as into the words of the devil, who tempted us with sweet words and falsehoods to trick us and to lure us away from attaining salvation in our God.

But God is willing to give us all a chance, the opportunity which He presented to all of us to change our ways and to choose out of our own free will to be forgiven for all of our trespasses. This is what God had told those He had forgiven, including the woman who was in the Gospel today, tearfully and humbly anointing the feet of Jesus, a sinner and yet a very courageous sinner who was aware of how grave her sins were and desiring forgiveness for her sins.

Sin no more and do good from now on, and this is the key message which Jesus told those sinners, and which is expected from all of us as well. We may all be sinners, but what is required from us is repentance and renewed devotion to our Lord. Without repentance, a sinner remains as a sinner, and the sins which we have remains with us, and on the day of judgment, these will come back to judge us.

We must be careful, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we do not fall into the trap of giving false mercy. That means, showing true mercy to each other means showing with love, the love of God, that all mankind have hope for salvation, but it requires commitment and hard work to be done by those who seeks God’s mercy. We cannot and we do not tolerate the sins that we make, or else, we are dooming our brethren to certain destruction.

But neither should we act in the way that caused sinners to stay away from God and His salvation because they worry about the anger and the punishment from God, if we made it too harsh and too difficult for them to return to the Lord and to re-embrace His ways. Thus, a middle ground has to be reached, and it is our duty and responsibility as Christians to keep one another from sin.

May God help us and guide us in our lives, so that we may be ever faithful to Him, and be filled with grace and love, and with the courage and strength to care for one another, to stop sinning and do good from now on. Let us be pure and be worthy of our Lord, reminding each other to be ever faithful to the Lord our God. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate the feast of one of the Holy Apostles of Christ, who although he did not belong to the Twelve Apostles, the principal Apostles and disciples of our Lord, but nevertheless, his role in the propagation of our Faith and in the development of the early Church was very crucial indeed.

St. Barnabas the Apostle travelled extensively with St. Paul the Apostle, who was also not counted among the Twelve Apostles, and yet both of them indeed played a very crucial role in the early and developmental years of the Church. Through their work and preachings throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region, from Syria to Roman Asia and Ephesus, to Cyprus and to Roman Greece, Macedonia and beyond, they have laid the important foundations of the Church in those places.

In doing so, he and the other Apostles have done what the Lord Himself commanded them to do, which we heard as part of our Gospel passage today. The Gospel spoke about the Lord Jesus sending out His disciples to preach the Good News and the kingdom of God to the people, and to bring the message of salvation to them.

And they were also sent with the authority to cast out demons and evil spirits, and to heal the sick and minister to the poor and the outcasts of the society. God gave them the power and authority to do so, and giving them the gifts of His Holy Spirit to bless and guide them along the journey, inflaming their hearts with the courage and hope, as well as with strength to carry out the mission which has been entrusted to them. And they did carry the mission with full faith in God and devoted all their time and efforts for that purpose.

And what is that mission, brothers and sisters in Christ? Our Lord Jesus Himself mentioned that just before He departed and ascended in glory to heaven, as the last of His commands to His disciples. The goal of all the faithful is to declare and to preach the Good News and the salvation of God as shown through Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Lord of all, and to bring these to all mankind to the very ends of the earth.

And St. Barnabas had carried out that mission faithfully and with great courage. He met many difficulties, challenges and even harsh persecutions from the Jews and the pagans alike. And with St. Paul he persevered through all of them, even though he had been cursed, rejected, shouted against, had stone cast on him, and cast out of the cities and towns he has been working and preaching in.

The works and examples of St. Barnabas can indeed be an inspiration to all of us. And we all need to realise that the works that the Lord had laid out for His Apostles had not ended yet, and neither had the work been completed, as it is still ongoing and in progress. The Church may be completely different from how it was during the time of the Apostles, at the time when St. Barnabas still lived and walked on this world, but the core mission of the Church remains yet the same.

Now in our world today, in fact the need is even far greater for us to reach out to the world and to all the people whom we have been sent to by the Lord. There are many areas in this world, and many more people who are in need of our help. God has sent us all to bring His word to them, to reveal to them His truth and salvation. But there are yet many more people who have not heard of the Lord, or they have misunderstood His truth, or even rejected Him.

It is important therefore that we should understand how important is the role which we have as part of the Church of God. We have to know that the works of the Apostles that continue on to this very day is now our responsibility and ours to bear. If none of us are to take up the challenge, then who else will? Who else will be there to bring the word of God to the multitude of people who still live in denial and in the darkness?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we live our lives today, let us all realise that there is much that we can do in order to be part of this Church’s effort to bring the light of the world into this world and reveal the wholeness of His truth to mankind. Let us pour forth our effort and works in order to contribute to the evangelising mission of the Church, by starting with ourselves and in our communities, devoting ourselves and our time for the Lord.

May God bless us all and give us the strength and courage to carry out this mission. May we not be daunted by the challenges we are to face ahead of us if we continue on this path, just as St. Barnabas had persevered through those challenges, the rejection from the world and even threats and dangers to his life. Let us never back down from the mission God had entrusted to us, and may we always be forever faithful to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 10 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus Who spoke to His disciples about the importance for us to keep ourselves free from sin, and purified from all the filth and taints of sin, so that all of them will not become obstacles and hindrances on our path towards the salvation and life in God.

We may be terrified to hear it when Jesus spoke to His disciples about cutting off limbs, their legs and hands when these caused them to sin, and tearing out their own eyes if these had also led them into sin. But this is the problem we face if we just take everything that Jesus had said at the literal level. We must not take His words just at the face value, but instead, we have to internalise them and understand them with all of our heart.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called by our Lord to purify ourselves from sins and wickedness which have in its many forms, one way or another, filled our hearts, minds and corrupted our soul and our flesh. In fact, what the Lord Jesus wanted us to know that firstly, if our inner beings are corrupt and wicked, then these will certainly lead to corruption and wickedness to cover our bodies and our external beings as well.

And then He also wants us to know that we need to separate ourselves, and steer ourselves clear of sinful ways and all things that lead to evil and darkness. We must understand this in order to be able to fully appreciate what Jesus told His disciples. It does not mean that we should injure or hurt ourselves physically, but rather, we must break up that part of ourselves, deep in our hearts and minds, those which have pulled us into sin.

It means that we should resist the temptations that are inevitably going to play at our desires, so that through internal discipline and rigorous defence, we may overcome those temptations and prevent ourselves from falling into the trap of sin. And what many of us mankind lacked is precisely this discipline, the rigour of conduct required for us to be able to resist falling into sin.

Many of us embraced our desires, and succumb to its pressure whenever we are presented with the opportunities for us to follow the desires of our heart. And it does not help with the fact that our world today is a place of increasingly greater and deeper materialism, where everything from money, possessions and human greatness are valued highly and treasured.

If we are not careful, then we are inviting trouble for ourselves, as then our actions may become filled with greed and selfishness, and we may come to the point where we may hurt others on our attempts to satisfy ourselves. And that is why Jesus our Lord reminded us to be careful in our actions, and to be vigilant lest our actions and deeds bring us to sin.

But all these should begin from the inside, from our hearts and minds. If these are pure and good, then surely our outward expressions will also be good and pure. As Jesus put it in another parable, that good trees certainly will produce good fruits, and bad trees will produce bad and rotten fruits. It would not be the other way round. Thus, if we can keep ourselves worthy and clean from sin in the inside, then we too may make ourselves wholly worthy of the Lord.

And the best way to do that is through prayer and spiritual discipline. We must step up our efforts to keep our hearts pure and be filled with the love of God, by improving the discipline of our minds and hearts. Let us keep ourselves from wicked thoughts and desires, and learn to resist these all by devoting ourselves, our efforts and our time to God, that we may be better able to find our way to our God and gain the eternal life He has promised us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Doctors of the Church)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about obeying the Lord our God, listening to Him and following His laws. We heard about Jesus our Lord rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their faith and what they showed in their way of life, which had been found wanting by God. He therefore warned them not to follow the Pharisees in how they lived their lives.

It is also a reminder for all of us, that as Christians, we must be true believers of God, not just in mere words and actions, but also deep within our hearts, committing ourselves wholly and completely to God without reservation, and without any ulterior motives as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. They did not truly obey God because they truly loved Him, or else, they would not have done all they had done for fame and praise, and they would not have rejected Jesus too.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because they who had been appointed as stewards and leaders of the people have gone astray in their ways, following their own human desires rather than the ways of the Lord. They acted in ways so as to preserve themselves, and put their own desires above all else. They prayed to God in open and public places so as to be seen and praised for their deeds, more so than they loved the Lord with sincere heart.

They made the Law into a mere formality, as customs and regulations to be followed. And they themselves could not fulfil the entirety of the rules and regulations established throughout the history of the Jewish people, but they imposed them harshly on the people without mercy. They punished and looked down on those who they deemed to be not as devout as they were in fulfilling God’s commandments.

But God wanted to remind us all that obeying the Law without understanding them is meaningless. And there is no value or virtue in doing all the things we are supposed to do, but then we do not know what they are meant for. If we are like the Pharisees, then we are no better than the king of Israel, Saul, who once disobeyed God, for sparing the Amalekite king and his sheep and goats, under the pretext that he would give those to God as sacrifices.

And Samuel the prophet and judge rebuked Saul harshly with the words and will of the Lord. He reminded that unfaithful king that what God wanted was love and devotion, and not sacrifice. A sacrifice offered out of selfishness and disobedience has no meaning, just as the Law of God obeyed without understanding and true love for God.

And as we reflect on these, let us all also take note of the example of this saint, whose life has been exemplary to many of the faithful, and which certainly can be an example for us all as well. St. Ephrem the Deacon was a renowned religious and servant of God, who was also known by his name of St. Ephrem the Syrian, as he lived in the region known as Roman Syria at that time.

St. Ephrem lived at a time, when the Christian faith was just tolerated and protected by the Roman Emperor Constantine. And at that time of great changes and challenges, St. Ephrem was appointed and ordained as a deacon of the Church, serving the people in those regions. St. Ephrem however also contributed in various other ways to the Church. He wrote many writings and composed many hymns and songs, some of which survived even unto this day.

He devoted himself wholly to God and to His people, even amidst challenges from the pagan Persians who threatened the city where he lived in and where his flock lived, and he served the Lord faithfully, and persevered even amongst the heretics and those who have been deluded by the false teachings, to call them back from the darkness and into the light, often by using hymns he made and through his writings and preachings.

He showed us the example of how to truly believe in God and have faith in Him. It is not just by obeying rules, regulations and customs that we believe in God, but rather through love, care and concern for our fellow men, as St. Ephrem had done. We should love God genuinely from our hearts, and surely we will be transformed in our actions, and through our actions, to be loving and obedient children of God.

Let us all follow in his footsteps and be ever more faithful to God, truly giving Him our love and devotion, not just mere lip service but true commitment and dedication. May God bless us all and guide us to Himself, that we may find Him and be blessed by Him forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Scripture readings today, we may not be able to immediately see the link between the different passages which we have heard today. But in fact all of them spoke of a singular message which all of us must know and understand. Our first reading was taken from the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, telling us how the prophet Elijah went up against king Ahab and his four hundred and fifty priests of Baal.

And in the Gospel we heard how Jesus was telling the people as well as His disciples about how He came not to nullify and replace the old Law, but instead to reaffirm and confirm the Law and reveal its truth to the whole world. He came not to destroy the old Law but to renew that Law and to bring the people to understand fully the meaning and the purpose of that Law.

How do the two readings reconcile and link with each other? In fact, what we heard from the Old Testament is the most fundamental belief which all of us must have if we are to call ourselves as Christians. We are Christians because we believe in that one and only True God, Jesus Christ, Who has come into the world to be our Saviour, redeeming us from death and sin.

And it was the same God about Whom Elijah preached among a population of unbelievers, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel who had followed their kings into the worship of Baal, Asherah and the other pagan gods worshipped by their neighbours, the Canaanites, Ammonites, Moabites and others. Those people refused to remain true to the covenant which their ancestors had established with God.

God gave His commandments and laws to Moses, so that through him, His people might come to know of His precepts and ways, and therefore obey the rules and the regulations that would be part of the covenant which He established with them. And among the commandments and laws that He had given them, all of them spoke of the same thing, that we the people of God must love God with all of our heart and with all our attention, and then show the same love to our parents, our family, our neighbours and all others around us.

And the people of Israel at the time of Elijah had abandoned those laws and forgotten the love which God has given them. They no longer loved and served the Lord, and instead they served the pagan idols and fornicated themselves, committing wicked acts in the sight of God. But God Who loved us all still wanted to give us a chance, and thus, He sent to them the prophet Elijah to bring the revelation of His truth to those rebellious people.

And Elijah showed the might and the power of God, to lead the people to know that God is the One and the only One Whom they ought to worship. And that same God has then shown us His love and faithfulness, by fulfilling the Law and its covenant through Jesus Christ, as God Himself became one of us, so that through Him all of us may gain perfection and eternal life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus showed His perfect love, the perfect love of God by His own act of the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. He has loved us all even to the point of willingly picking up His cross and bearing our sins, so that we may be free from those sins and their consequences, and thus be made righteous through Him. He showed us all how to love by His own example, to love God with all of our heart, as Elijah had done, and as Jesus loved God His Father, and then loving one another in the same way as He has loved us all.

Let us all reflect on the love which God has generously granted to us, that as we share in His love, we may always be ever mindful of one another, and show love in all our actions, that in everything we do, we will show care, concern, compassion and love for each other, for our brethren, especially those who have no love in them, those who were unloved and ostracised, and those who are despised.

Let us all also love God in the same manner and more, devoting ourselves completely to Him. May God be with us all, and may He continue to love us all the same, always, now and forever. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the famous sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ on the parable of the salt and the light. Through that parable, Jesus challenged His disciples, the people at that time, and ultimately all of us, to be true and faithful disciples of God, filled with zeal and courage to do what has been expected of them.

He called on all of them to be salt of the earth and to be the light of the world. He challenged them by saying that if salt loses its saltiness, it would become useless and similarly that if light is hidden from sight, it is also useless as well. Thus, in the same manner, if Christians are to lose their Christian values, the flavour if their faith, and what distinguished them from those unbelievers, then how can we share in what God has promised His faithful ones?

This is the challenge and the reminder which God has given to us all His faithful ones, that we ought to consider them and take action on what we have been reminded with. We as Christians cannot be passive and cannot be ignorant of what we are expected to do for the sake of our faith. If we are to call ourselves Christians and yet in our actions and deeds we do not show it, or worse, if we do things that are contrary to our faith, then would we not cause scandal to our faith, to the Church and ultimately to the Lord our God.

It is therefore a challenge which Jesus had presented to us, to be a true Christian, and which means that we must love one another, care for each other without considering our own selfishness. We must go forth and show tender care and love to our brethren, and be genuine in that love. Love is what made us all Christians, for we believe in God Who is love, and Who loves us all with His heart.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God loves everyone, and in particular those who have shown their faith in Him. In the first reading today, continuing from what we have heard yesterday, we heard about how the prophet of God, Elijah, who was on the run from king Ahab, went to the city of Zarephath and met a widow there. And through the will of God, He helped and cared for both Elijah and the widow.

He provided Elijah with a dwelling place and a shelter during his exile and journey away from those who wanted to persecute him. At the same time, God also fed him through the widow who made for him and provided him with the food and sustenance he needed. And at the same time, God showed mercy and love to the widow, whom He helped through Elijah, by providing her with flour and oil that would not dry up and continued until the Lord restored the rain over the land.

Elijah did not despair even though he was under constant persecution by the king and his allies, and he did not give up the fight even though at that time literally he was the only one standing up and indeed, dared to stand up against the king and the worship of Baal, the pagan god of the Canaanites that led Israel to sin. He preached about God throughout the land and even in the foreign lands.

And that widow of Zarephath showed her faith in God when she served the prophet of God, Elijah, by providing him with water and provisions, even when she herself was very short on food for herself and for her own son. The Lord called her and she responded with faith, and for that faith, she was rewarded, just as God rewarded the prophet Elijah for his faith and devotion.

They had shown themselves to be salt of the earth and light of the world, showing God’s love, grace and truth in a world which has been immersed in the darkness of evil. They have shown their light to many people, through whom they have called them to righteousness and grace in God. Not many responded well, and many refused to change their ways, but in the end of the day, through their example, many have been saved. Jesus our Lord Himself commended the faith of the widow of Zarephath in one of His teachings to the people.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, can we do the same as well with our own lives? Are we able to be truly faithful to God? Are we showing good examples of our faith to others and our neighbour? If we want to be true Christians and reap the grace and blessings of our Lord, then surely we have to show that we are true and devoted to Him, with all our heart and our mind, and be sincere and be genuine in our faith.

Let us all renew our faith to the Lord, and devote our time and effort in order to be ever more committed and be more faithful to the Lord our God in all the things which we do. May God be with us all and may He bless us in all of our endeavours. Amen.

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Monday, 6 June 2016 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Norbert, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the famous Beatitudes in the Gospel, where Jesus taught His disciples and the people on the mountain, where He preached them a sermon of blessings. In the Beatitudes are the series of blessings and graces that God revealed to His people, as hope for those who have been faithful to Him and yet faced challenges because of the world and its ways which is often against the ways of the Lord.

In the Beatitudes, we see the profile of a model Christian, whom God had alluded in all the blessings He pronounced. The Lord showed us the way to go forward in our faith, and how we ought to behave as a disciple of our Lord, to be merciful and forgiving, to be just and to be righteous in all of our actions, to be poor in spirit and to be gentle, and to be persevering even in the midst of the toughest persecutions.

In the Beatitudes, we see how God is rewarding the merciful, those who show mercy to their brethren, as He will be merciful to them as well. This is in fact is what we also pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the Pater Noster. We ask God to forgive us our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. If we want to be forgiven, then we have to forgive first.

And those who stood up for their faith in God would not be disappointed, for God is with them, as He promised in the Beatitudes. If someone stood up for their faith and they were persecuted because of that faith, they would receive God’s approval and grace. And in this matter, we have an example in our first reading from the Book of Kings, when the prophet Elijah was on the run from king Ahab of Israel, who wanted to kill him.

As the background story goes, the prophet Elijah had just contested the priests of Baal, the pagan god who king Ahab and many in Israel at that time worshipped at Mount Carmel, where he decisively proved that Baal and his priests were frauds, as they worshipped the false god who were in fact a myth and had no power whatsoever, as opposed to YHVH, the one True God Who listened to the prayers of Elijah and showed the people His might.

And when king Ahab was angry and hunted down Elijah after that event, looking for his death, God rescued him and brought him to the desert, where He took good care of him, feeding him and giving him drinks daily, to sustain him through the difficult times until when the time comes for Elijah to come out of hiding. In this we see how God for His people, those who are faithful to Him, those who show the qualities as listed in the Beatitudes.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps we should also look at the examples of the saint whose feast we are celebrating today, namely that of St. Norbert, a renowned German bishop and saint, who lived during the time of the Medieval era Europe. He was also known by the name of St. Norbert of Xanten, a city where he grew up in about nine centuries ago.

St. Norbert was known for his great piety from his youth, and served the Lord and His Church in various ways, and after a life-changing experience he encountered, he deepened his faith and committed his life more to the Lord. He adopted a holy and devoted lifestyle, practicing the virtues of the Beatitudes in his life, and many others followed his example to become what is now known as the Canons Regular of Premontre.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should be inspired by the examples, the holiness and the exemplary lifestyle and actions shown by St. Norbert and his followers. All of us should walk in the same way as they have done, and be righteous in all the things which we do. All of that so that when the Lord comes again, He will find us worthy and just, worthy of His blessings and grace, and He will welcome us into His everlasting life.

May God bless us all, and may His grace remain shining upon us, and may all of us remain true and faithful to His ways, and not be disturbed or be tempted by the many falsehoods and lies of the devil. May God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Who has shown to us all how He is the Lord and Master of all things, the Lord and Master of all life. He is Lord over life and death, and nothing is impossible for Him, even to restore life to those who have died. In the first reading we witnessed how Elijah prayed to God for the sake of the widow, whose son has just perished from the famine and sickness, and God listened to the prayer of His servant, returning the life back to the boy.

And as a perfect parallel to what Elijah has done in the ages past, the Lord Himself, when He came into the world as the Saviour, Jesus, did the same with the dead son of a grieving widow of Naim. We witness yet again the greatness of God as He returned the life back to the son of the widow of Naim, showing to all that He has authority even over life and death, something that no other person or being has.

And in the end, all these can be linked to the most important aspect of our faith, as we know that our Lord Jesus emptied Himself, endeavoured to suffer great pains and horrendous persecutions for our sake, and carrying the burden of the cross, on which was laid the entirety of the burden of mankind’s sins and their consequences, He died on the cross, a shameful death, but yet death did not have the power over Him. And neither did death has any power or authority now, and in the future to come.

He has shown through His own glorious Resurrection, by the power and authority which He has over all things, that He has freed all things from the bonds of death, beginning with Himself, as He has conquered death and hell itself, triumphant in the battle against evil and wickedness, against sin and the corruption of the soul. Through His perfectly selfless act of love, He has overcome that darkness which have kept mankind chained all that while.

We mankind have often feared death, and not just then at that time, but even now as well. And this is rightly so, because we see death as the end of all that we ever know, all that we ever have and all we have enjoyed in this life, and from where there is no turning back, no way out. And that is why some others looked for easy death, to escape from whatever pains and sufferings they had in this life.

Then let us reflect on what we have heard from today’s Scripture readings, how the Lord Jesus has shown His power and authority over life and death. First of all, we should not fear death, nor should we ignore it entirely. Death is not the end of all things we love and know, and it is not something that we should be overly worried about. It was our fear of death in fact which has led us to do things that bring us even closer to the eternal death.

What was I talking about? I was talking about those who have done all they can to preserve themselves, often at the expense of others, and at the same time, while they acted in selfishness to sustain themselves, they may cause difficulties and suffering for others. And for this, let us all reflect the parable which Jesus told His disciples and the people at a different occasion.

Jesus told them all about a rich man who had plenty of grains and crops, who was thinking about how he ought to contain all the wealth that he was gaining, and all his barns had been fully filled up. He was thinking of tearing down all of his barns and build even bigger ones to contain even more of the grains and crops. But God chided him saying that he was a fool for thinking that he had such a control over his life, or that he can have more of what he wanted. If He is to take away his life on that very day, then all that he had gathered would come to nothing.

God reminded us through this story that neither should we be fearful of death nor should we be ignorant or be dismissive about it. Death is a reality of life, the result of our sinfulness, our rebelliousness against God and His ways. But death does not have the final say over us, so long as we believe in the Lord, Who has conquered death and risen from the dead.

Death is not the end of the life as we know it, but rather a turning point, the beginning of a new life that is to come. It is the end of our earthly journey, and for us all who remain faithful to the Lord and remain worthy of Him, it is the ending of our years of exile from the Lord, the years of tribulations and sufferings, and marking our entry into the new life blessed by God, eternal life which He has promised us all who believe.

Thus as Christians, all of us have this fundamental belief in the Lord our God, Who has triumphed over death, and Who is loving to all of us, and it is His desire that we are all saved from that certain death. Mankind has been created out of God’s love for us, and we were intended for a life filled with joy with our God Who is loving and compassionate. Through sin we have been separated and sundered from that perfect love.

And death which was not our due become ours. God did not intend for us to suffer and die, but to enjoy the fruits and the happiness in this world, for He truly loves us all with all of His heart. He did not create us to make us suffer, but to be happy, and yet by our shortcomings and disobedience, we have brought trouble on ourselves. Death came to claim us, but the Lord Who always loves us regardless of whatever we have done, He has provided us with the way out.

And that way out is Christ, our Saviour. Do we really believe in Him? Do we believe that in Christ is our way to salvation and eternal life? If we believe so, then should we not be more like Christ our Lord in all things? The Lord has said to Martha when He came to Lazarus to resurrect him from the dead, that He is the Life and the Resurrection, and all who believe in Him shall not die but have life in them.

Now it comes to the question, how do we believe in Christ? Do we just say, oh I believe in You, o Lord? Is that all? Is that sufficient? Faith is not just about that, and it is certainly not enough if we just say that we believe, without actually acting out in the name of that faith which we have for the Lord. It means that as Christians, all of us must go forth and show that faith which we have in our Lord, the Risen Lord Who is Lord over all things and over life and death.

And we have been tasked by God to go forth into the world and preach His salvation to all the world, that they may hear His message, internalise those messages and turn themselves towards Him with all of their heart, mind and soul. So, in order for us to do this, we have to do it ourselves first, practicing obedience and faith in God in our own actions and deeds.

Let us all commit ourselves to the Lord anew from now on, and let us commit ourselves to do the work which the Lord has assigned us to do. And may God also help us and guide us in this path, that our lives may be filled with joy, knowing that God has always been faithful to us, and He will bless us and free us from the dangers of death. And may He awaken in us the strong desire to love Him and to commit ourselves to Him with all our heart, no longer bound by the chains of sin, and no longer bound by fear of death.

In God all of us can trust, and in Him, we shall find our salvation. Let us all go forth knowing with joy that the Lord is with us, helping us on this way, this journey we have, and we need to start from now, preparing ourselves for the day when the Lord comes to judge us, and hope that we are found worthy of His promise. May God bless us all, and remain with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 June 2016 : 9th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on thus say we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. If yesterday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the loving heart of our God, then today, we celebrate the loving and tender heart of His mother Mary. Jesus and His mother Mary were inseparable and were very close, and thus, her heart is a reflection of her Son’s own Most Sacred Heart.

And in this we see how Mary was loving and kind, compassionate and filled with God’s love just as her Son showed us His everlasting love. She has shown great care and love for her Son, and the same love now she is showing to us as well. It was in that love that she endured great pain and suffering, to see with her own eyes how her Son Jesus suffered tremendously at the hands of His persecutors, as He went to save mankind through His crucifixion.

All these were foretold by the prophet Simeon, when Jesus was circumcised in the Temple eight days after His birth into the world. He said to Mary, that her Son would be a force of great change, through Whom the world and all mankind would come to see their salvation and hope. And at the same time, Simeon gave Mary a warning and premonition of what was to come. A sword would pierce her own heart.

And it was in seeing her own Son enduring His sufferings and carrying His cross to Calvary, even though He was blameless, innocent but charged with false charges, and mocked and rejected by the very people to whom He had been sent to, that her heart endured such a great pain, as mentioned by Simeon at the time of Jesus’ presentation at the Temple of God.

And in the Gospel today, which tells us about Jesus when He was only twelve years old, and went to the Temple of God in Jerusalem, surely we all know the story, how Jesus were left behind in the Temple, or rather, purposely staying behind at the Temple, the House and dwelling-place of His Father. And when Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem and found Him among the teachers and elders, she heard Him telling her about how He had to be in His Father’s house.

Anyone else who heard such things would have been scared, or become unsure and doubtful, or dismiss all these things as nonsense. But it was not so for Mary, for she kept everything in her heart, even things which she did not really understand. And just as at the time when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her in Nazareth, even though she did not understand everything, but she kept everything in her heart and put her complete trust in God and His plan.

How many of us have done what she had done, brothers and sisters in Christ? Certainly, very few among us would have done what Mary did. And it is not surprising considering that we mankind are creatures who often find it difficult to trust another, and we often trust and believe in only ourselves, and we act in ways that preserve ourselves and achieve our own wants and desires.

And that is why we often find it difficult to go forward in our journey towards the Lord, because we are by our nature tend to be distracted by many things, including all the temptations of this world that are hard for us to resist. We tend to sway and to be doubtful whenever we are presented with challenges that are against our faith in God.

This is where we should imitate the examples of Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was faithful despite all the things and experiences which she had encountered throughout her life. She placed all her trust in God, even though at times there were many things which she was unsure of. And she gave it all in the mission which God had entrusted her with, namely to be the mother and bearer of the Saviour of the world.

She loved her Son with all her might, even following Him wherever He went to. And when the disciples and the Apostles were scattered after Jesus was arrested by the Jewish authorities, it was Mary His mother who remained faithful and steady, watching by closely how the people rejected her Son and tortured Him, and condemned Him to death.

And for that faith and that love, indeed, Mary is truly worthy as the Mother of God, and as what we all believe in, as the Co-Redemptrix of mankind, through whose works and actions, the redemption of us all by Jesus our Lord was made perfect and complete. And He gave us the greatest form of help, by granting to us the gift of His own mother Mary.

He did this when He was hung between the heavens and the earth on the cross. He entrusted Mary to His disciple St. John the Apostle, and entrusted him to Mary as well. Through this act, He had entrusted His mother to us all mankind, and all of us to her care vice versa. And therefore, from then on, we have Mary as our guide to find the way to Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask Mary our mother to pray for our sake, that as she has loved her Son, she too may love us and care for us sinners in danger of death and eternal damnation. Let us all through her help and guidance, find our way to the Lord and to the eternal life and salvation He has promised all those who keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.