Homily for Christ the King

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Friday, 27 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s reading at the ending of the current liturgical year gave us all an insight of the time that is to come, even as it had been foreseen by the prophet Daniel in his vision of the Lord. He saw the vision of the four great and terrible beasts, all of which were filled with hatred and blasphemy against the Lord our God. In this we see a message of hope amidst the darkness that is to come.

The same vision would be repeated once again to the Apostle St. John in Patmos, when he was exiled to that island. St. John also saw the vision of the end times, of the things and events that will come upon the world, and against the faithful, as he saw those great beasts of the Apocalypse, filled with the blaspheming words and curses against the Lord God of all creations.

These are the forces that the devil, the great enemy had marshalled against God and His faithful people, using all the might, power and dominion he had, and through his lieutenants, the Antichrist and all the chief princes of demons and the fallen angels. And he has tried for all time in order to bring mankind to their downfall, and although he had been thwarted by Christ Himself through His sacrifice on the cross, the devil will mount one last effort to destroy all of God’s faithful ones.

That will be a time of difficulties and challenges once again for us faithful, as our forefathers in faith have tasted during the persecutions and great persecutions against them by first the Jews and then the Romans. And throughout time, continuing persecutions remind us again and again, as the signs of the time to come, just as Jesus warned His disciples in our Gospel reading today.

But we should not be afraid or fearful, and we should not be hesitant to follow the Lord just because of the opposition that is ahead of us, as this is a common obstacle for us men, that whenever we face such an obstacle, we stop and no longer do what is asked or expected of us, because we are thinking of preserving and saving ourselves first.

As what the prophet Daniel had seen, the Lord deals with the beasts and destroys them as they deserved. The dominion of the beasts are ended, and God gives succour to His faithful ones. This is a reminder of the time to come, that the Lord Who has promised that He will come again, will come to destroy the wicked, the devil and all of his accomplices, and throw all these into the eternal fire.

As great as the power and the might that those demons possess, they are nothing compared to the might and the greatness of the Lord. Their powers and their hold on us are illusory and temporary, and God Who loves us all will not certainly let us to be continuously under the dominion of these demons and dark beings. And thus He will definitely also not allow us to continue to suffer under the persecutions by the world, and He will deliver us from our troubles.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we have to realise is that the ways of this world is often diametrically opposite of what the Lord had taught us to do, and even though the whole world may be against us but if we keep up the faith, the Lord Who sees our faith and commitment to Him will not fail to reward us. Jesus Himself had reminded His disciples, and therefore all of us, that to follow Him means to carry our own crosses, the crosses of suffering, and of discipline in our deeds and behaviours, that in all things we always give glory to God.

Let us all commit ourselves ever more to the Lord, and in all of our actions and deeds, let us always proclaim the glory of God, by loving one another sincerely and tenderly, and let us all in everything always bear the love of God with us, so that all who see us will know that God dwells in us, and that we belong to Him, and that nothing can separate us from the love which God has for us. God be with us always, now and forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard yet again the opposition that came against the faithful servants of God, as exemplified by the prophet Daniel, the servant of God in Babylonia and Persia, who had gained the favour of the Persian king Darius and his predecessors, but who had also gained the enmity and opposition by those who disliked and resented his piety and faith to the one and only True God.

Daniel did not fear these enemies and the persecutions they threatened against him. And even though they in their machinations and schemings managed to get Daniel to be punished and thrown into the lion’s den, he continued to believe and to have complete faith in the Lord Who had guided him and protected him and his friends for all those while.

And in the end, God protected him and prevented the lion from even touching him at all, even the hungry lions would not open their mouths against the faithful servant of the Lord. And the machinations and works of the enemies of the Lord were undone, as they were instead then thrown into the lion’s den in the place of Daniel, and they were immediately swallowed whole by the lions.

In the Gospel today, our Lord Jesus spoke about the coming days of trouble, difficulties, persecutions and challenges against all those who profess the faith in the Lord, and all those who faithfully keep His laws and commandments. And great calamities indeed would come to engulf the faithful, their lands and their societies, with those pagans and godless ones persecuting those who have their faith in the one and only True God.

If we look at all these, surely many of us would be afraid and daunted, in what we are to expect if we remain true and faithful to our Lord. No one naturally prefer to have suffering and pain over enjoyment, pleasure and good things, but this is the fate we are to suffer if we remain faithful in the Lord, and all for a good reason, that is because this world and its ways are most often directly in opposition to the ways and laws of the Lord our God.

Therefore, this is why the Lord reminded us of the fact of this suffering that would come when we walk in His path and continued to go on to reach out to His salvation. The devil that has been given the dominion over this world does not want us to be saved, and he wishes for us to suffer together with him in eternal damnation in hell, and the way to do so, is by tempting us to sin and to fall into the eternal darkness.

And there are many ways that the devil and his fallen angels can do in order to tempt us, by making the path towards damnation and eternal suffering more acceptable and preferable for us, by showing the false lies and false promises of pleasures and good life, which in fact was the vileness of gluttony, pride, greed and many other wicked things abominable in the sight and in the presence of God.

Remember that our Lord Jesus Himself on another occasion had said that all those who labour and are heavily burdened should come and seek Him? He said it so because in Him, those who have laboured hard will find rest, that is real, genuine and true rest that cannot be found elsewhere. His yoke is light and His loving hands and heart are always with us.

He has promised us that He will come again one day, in order to judge the world and all of creation, and He will gather all of His faithful ones to Him, while casting out and rejecting all those who are wicked and those who had not walked according to His ways into the eternal damnation in hell. God will not abandon all of His faithful ones, but instead, He will bring us all into the eternal life and into life ever blessed in the glory of Heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus Who reminded us that by being His followers and disciples we would expose ourselves to scrutiny and persecution, opposition and even suffering inflicted by the world, all of the secular leaders and powers because they are opposed to our ways, that is the ways of the Lord.

We saw how the world profaned the Lord and His holy Name, as we heard ourselves in the Book of the prophet Daniel, a portion of which was read today as our first reading. We heard how the king of Babylon, Belshazzar disrespected and blasphemed against the Lord by using His holy vessels and cups to serve the wine and the foods to be served to the nobles and to the courtiers.

And not only that, but he also did not give honour to the Lord, and instead, blasphemed by honouring and praising the pagan and wicked gods and idols of the pagans, made of stone, silver, gold and all sorts of worldly and material beings. He used the holy vessels consecrated to the Lord for these worldly purposes and in doing so, he incurred the wrath of the Lord.

And in the Gospel today, our Lord Jesus spoke about the times of difficulties and persecutions of the faithful, and how we ought not to worry about how to defend ourselves, for God Himself will guide us just as He has guided many of His holy ones, the saints and martyrs as they struggled against the worldly and secular authorities, and against those pagans seeking the destruction of the Church and the faithful ones of God.

All these in fact pointed out to the fact that the ways of this world, the norms and ways, pleasures and customs pertaining to the societies of this world are much more likely than not, exist in direct opposition to the ways of the Lord, in direct opposition against the laws and precepts, the norms and the causes of the Lord as He had taught and shown us.

But we should not fear the world and all the things that they can inflict on us, for the suffering and persecution we are to endure are nothing compared to the rewards awaiting us all in God if we are faithful to His commandments and laws. And today we celebrate the feast of a great saint whose life and dedication to the Lord can indeed become an inspiration to all of us on how to live our lives faithfully in this world.

St. Catherine or St. Catharine the Great of Alexandria was a great and devoted servant of the Lord, who lived her life with great piety and dedication, and she herself was persuaded to be a Christian after having seen a vision of the Lord and His mother, and through her studies and commitment to understanding more of the faith, she became a very devoted servant of the Lord.

And when the then Emperor of the Roman Empire, Maxentius continued a great persecution against Christians and all the followers of Christ, St. Catherine herself with great piety and courage went to contest the Emperor and rebuke him for his harsh treatment of Christians. And despite the Emperor’s attempts to turn her away from her faith, sending even the best philosophers and pagans the Empire could gather, she remained strong and devoted to God.

And the Emperor who was astounded by her beauty tried one last time to convince her by offering her to be his spouse, and therefore through it, giving her all the power, glory, privileges and all the things the world could offer. However, St. Catherine refused the honour and the glory made at the cost of her soul and the salvation she had secured in God.

And in the end, she was martyred in great pain and torture, and yet, her faith had given her the eternal glory and reward as God had promised all of His faithful ones. God never abandoned those who are faithful to Him, and He will always guide all those who had committed themselves to Him. Let this be a lesson to all of us as well, so that we will continue to walk faithfully in His presence despite all the challenges and all the temptation to do otherwise.

May the Lord fortify our resolve and strengthen our commitment to Him, that knowing how the persecutions and sufferings caused upon us by the world will be, we will continue to persevere through to eternal life, and resisting all the efforts of the evil one to bring us down once again. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us who heard of the Scripture readings would know that all of us are faced with the reality of suffering and difficulties to come in the future, as the time is coming again when the world will persecute us Christians for our faith in the Lord, just as we have been persecuted in the past, the faithful people of God, because we do not walk with the world, but rather with the Lord.

In the first reading, the prophet and servant of God, Daniel, interpreted for the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the dream that he had, about a large statue made from amalgamation of many different materials, which represented the many kingdoms and powers of the world that would come throughout history, and how a great stone came and destroyed the entire statue.

That dream has a significant meaning in that it was a vision and foretelling of the future of the world. There would be many kings, kingdoms and powers, and many of these would persecute those who are faithful and righteous in one way or another. The Lord’s people would be in difficulties, and challenges would come their way, as their ways are not in accordance with the ways of the Lord.

And great will be the tribulations awaiting the faithful because the forces of those kingdoms and powers were great indeed. But instead of fearing or succumbing to the pressure from these worldly forces, rather, we all should work together and remain true to our faith, for the vision of Daniel foretold the coming of the true Power that will overcome all the worldly powers and oppressions.

And that Power is the Power of the Lord that would come down, as He had foretold the people, when He revealed about His second coming into the world, just as He told them about the tribulation that would befell Jerusalem. It was a promise that God will uphold, and He will rescue all of the faithful and those who remain true to His covenant and Laws, and by His grace, bring them all into salvation and eternal life.

And for all their grandeur and great strengths, the world cannot overcome the might and glory of God which transcends everything. The worldly powers and the powers of the evil one were broken just as that huge statue was destroyed by the huge boulder with minimal effort. This means that the Lord and His kingdom of justice will triumph, while those who seek the destruction of the righteous will be crushed in the end.

And that is the hope that we are looking forward to, that is to gain eternal happiness, joy, redemption and life through the Lord, after having persevered through the difficult challenges of life. And perhaps the examples of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions in faith and martyrdom will be inspirational to us, and will help us on our path to achieve righteousness and salvation in God.

On this day, we celebrate the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs, St. Andrew Dung-Lac and their companions, who were persecuted grievously for their faith in God, where the worldly and secular authorities were trying to snuff out and destroy the Faith and the Church in Vietnam, and persecuting the faithful and forcing them to betray the Lord and to recant their faith.

Yet, he and his companions never gave up the faith, and mirroring the examples that Daniel and his companions would later show in the Book of Daniel, they persevered through the torture, imprisonment, pain and great suffering, and chose to obey the Lord and die in their faith rather than to live and betray the Lord their God by disobedience and by persuasions of the world.

And in doing so, while they were despised and brought down by the world, the Lord lifted them up high in glory above the earth and into the heavens, and to them, He had granted them the glory and the greatness of the eternal kingdom of Heaven. They died in the world and they suffered in our current world, but in the world to come their rewards are great indeed.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us should also emulate the same examples as these holy peoples have done. Let us all also stay faithful and committed to the Lord, and let us not be swayed or be persuaded to betray the Lord our God. Let us all renew our commitment through faithful and loving actions, through which we declare our faith to the world, and make it known that we belong to Him and not to the world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 23 November 2015.: 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Scripture readings which highlighted the fact that giving should come from the heart, and that from a purity of heart, one can give enormously in terms of the righteousness and light that emanates from those who are righteous, just and good in the eyes of the Lord.

In the first reading, we heard the beginning of the narrative of the story of Daniel the prophet and servant of God, who was called and chosen from among the many exiles of Israel at the time of their Babylonian exile, and he was blessed by God, for his faith and devotion to God, through his never ending commitment to the ways of the Lord, and God blessed him to show an example to the nations that He is the one and only True God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the choice facing Daniel and his friends are the same choices which all of us are facing on daily basis. It is a choice between following the way of righteousness of our Lord, following His commandments and laws, and obeying all the tenets and precepts as taught by the Sacred Scriptures. The other option is for us to disobey the Lord and follow our own desires, living without the bounds of the Law.

It is a choice for us whether we lead a life filled with the purity of love, of care for others, commitment to peace and harmony between peoples and nations, and leading a life filled with faith and joy knowing that we have lived in accordance to God and His words, or we can choose to live a life filled with the worldly pleasures of gluttony and greed, of hatred and jealousy, of insatiable desire and selfishness.

And in this, we should heed the examples of the poor widow as shown and told by our Lord Jesus Himself, as He related the parable to His disciples, about a poor widow who even though gave only two pieces of small coins, but she sincerely gave them for the Lord, without even worrying about what she would do without these coins which would be essential for her own livelihood and survival.

Jesus did not mean to mark a difference or distinguish between the rich and the poor, between the privileged and those who have little or none. On the other hand, He wanted to point out that to have faith in the Lord require much effort and much devotion, commitment and hard work on our part, by giving of ourselves unconditionally and with complete confidence in God.

Many of us are often distracted by the many worldly goods and things that kept us away from truly being able to give ourselves fully to the Lord, and many of these things tempted us away from the true goal that is to reach out to salvation in our Lord. It is in our nature to be easily lured away and tempted by these pleasures and goods of the world, which the evil one is using to his full advantage to prevent us from being saved and fall into damnation.

Therefore, all of us ought to follow the examples of the two saints, faithful men whose lives are an inspiration to us all, namely the lives of St. Columban the Abbot, and Pope St. Clement I, one of the first Popes and a martyr of the Holy Church and a defender of his Faith in God. Both of these saints have lived through times both good and evil, and they have lived their lives faithfully and had had their faith tested through many trials.

Pope St. Clement I was one of the first Bishops of Rome, the successors of St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope and Vicar of Christ. As the leader of both the growing local Church in the heart of the Roman Empire and as the leader of the whole Universal Church, Pope St. Clement I toiled and laboured hard for the sake of the Lord, and for the sake of His people.

He wrote extensively, and in His many writings, He encouraged the faithful of the Church all over the world to follow closely to the teachings of Christ found in the Church, and amidst persecutions of the faithful, he continued to inspire many of the people of God to walk courageously in faith, and he led by example, when he himself was arrested and imprisoned, he continued to defend his faith in God passionately. Yes, even unto death.

Meanwhile, St. Columban was a religious monk whose life was truly exemplary, filled with prayers and great spiritual focus on the Lord. He advocated the faithful to be true to their faith, and seek to be forgiven from their sins and mistakes through the use of confession by priests. He was one of the first to encourage regular confession before priests to ensure that our souls are clean from the taints of sin.

These two holy men led an example through their own respective lives, and there are many things which they had done that we can also emulate for ourselves. Indeed, let us all heed their examples, and show the same actions in our own lives as well. It is time for us to commit ourselves more to the Lord and walk ever more faithfully in His ways. May God be with us all, and may through the intercession of Pope St. Clement I and St. Columban the Abbot, we may be brought closer to God’s holy presence. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 November 2015 : Thirty-Fourth (34th) Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Christ the King, Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the last Sunday of the current liturgical year, where the cycle of the Church’s liturgical celebrations reached a culmination in the celebration of Christ our Lord and King, as the One Who is the true ruler and authority over all things throughout the universe. Today we mark the occasion of the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Lord and Master of all things that are in existence.

Through the Scripture passages today, we heard about the Lord Jesus Who is a King, and the One True King from Whom all authority, power and wisdom came from. Yet, His kingship is not akin to one that is of the world, that is, His kingdom is not like the kingdoms that exist in this world. On the other hand, His kingship and His kingdom transcends the worldly boundaries of power, authority and majesty.

Why is this so? That is because the kingdoms of this world, their rulers and masters are all very bound and affected by the worldly aspects of glory, of fame, of influence and affluence, of human praise and positions of fame, and they continue to strive ever more for the greatness in accordance of human measures, and that is why the kingdoms and the powers of this world are ever concerned about the self-aggrandisement and gathering of more power and glory for themselves.

Human and worldly powers are always fragile and temporary. These powers did not last beyond certain criteria and requirements that need to be met in order to preserve the powers in accordance with the ways of this world. This is why much misery, sufferings and injustice occurred in the world, both past and present, because of the tempting nature of having in possession such power and authority, and thus our reluctance and unwillingness to let them go from us.

Just for an example, the kings, princes, dukes and other worldly powers went to war with each other because each of them wanted to increase their dominion, influence and power. And because they have given themselves in to the ways of this world, therefore, accordingly, they wanted to preserve what they had, even at the expense of morality and justice.

This is why, if we look at the many rulers and governments that are maintained with iron fist, they are always in constant fear of losing their power to those who do not belong to the ruling elites. And they would use all things and armaments in their disposal in order to protect themselves and avoid their own fall from power and glory. This was exactly what Jesus said to Pilate, about if His kingdom were to be of this world, His supporters would have gone out all the way to save Him.

Instead, Jesus clearly stated that His kingdom and His kingship are different from all that, from all the traditional notions of power and glory that we mankind and this world are familiar with. This is because His kingdom is a kingdom of truth, of justice, of righteousness, and ultimately His kingdom is a kingdom of love. He leads as a King, not by fear and tyranny, nor by anger or hatred, but through genuine leadership shown through example and perfect love.

We have to realise that all of us are truly fortunate to have been placed under the grace and sovereignty of our Lord’s eternal and universal kingship. His kingship is eternal because it is a kingdom which reign and rule will never end, and God’s rule will persist forever without end. And His great rule will extend all over the entire universe, over all of creation and over the entire existence, since He has created all things, and therefore rightfully, He also lords it all over all of them.

But He did not despise all those that He had created, nor did He oppress them and treat them as if they were slaves. This is unlike the common action and perception of the kings and princes of this world, who stand above the rest of their respective peoples and treat them as subjects and subordinates that need to serve their needs in all things.

Instead, God is a loving Master, Who had not just expected from us obedience and genuine faith, but He also gave us the love, care and commitment that is equivalent if not greater than the obedience, faith and commitment that He is expecting from us. His kingship is a kingship of love and justice, and He as the King, leads all by His examples, through servant leadership.

Do we all still remember what Jesus frequently told His disciples about Himself? That He came into this world to serve and not to be served, meaning that even though He is King, and truly the King and Master of all the universe, but all these did not make Him proud or haughty, but instead, in order to fulfil perfectly the love and compassion which He has for us, He came down into this world, not as a great conquering King, but instead as a humble and poor Man.

Yes, and He came offering Himself to be our Deliverance and as our Saviour, to save us from our distress, and by giving Himself up, He showed us an example how a leader should lead others, by example and not by power and tyranny. We know the phrase that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is a reminder that we should not be obsessed with worldly power but rather we should look up at our Lord and see His good examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how is this relevant to us? It is very relevant indeed, since all of us by partaking in our Lord and as we become the members of His Body, we have also shared in His divine and eternal kingship. We have been called to be a shepherd, priest and king through our baptism, and in the divine kingship we share with our Lord, we have our responsibilities to play.

And it is that all of us should live righteously before the Lord, leading one another by example through our own actions, that in all the things we do, we become paragons of righteousness, virtue, love and justice. Let us all remember this even as we rejoice and honour our Lord Jesus Christ, King of all kings and King of all the universe, that we also have a share in His kingship, both in the privilege and honour, as well as in its responsibilities.

May our Lord Jesus Christ, our King, Lord and Master be with us always, and may He guide us on our path, that we shall become ever better guides for our own brethren, and may through our actions and deeds, more souls shall come closer to the Lord and His salvation. Be with us, Lord, our Master and King. Amen.