Homily of Trinity Sunday

by

Tuesday, 3 November 2015 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus who told His disciples and the people, the story about a master of the house who conducted a great feast and invited many people to come for the feast. And yet, all those who had been invited by the master refused to come, when his servant went to them and asked them to come for the feast.

Why is this so? If we noticed, all those who have been invited had their own reasons why they could not make it or why they did not want or could not go for the feast. One mentioned how he has business to attend to, and another has a son who is getting married, and surely the others also had various other reasons that they used as excuses to avoid having to come to the party organised by that master of the house.

In this parable, Jesus revealed to us all, the nature of our wickedness and our failures to follow the commandments of the Lord, as shown through the story of the master and the disobedient and unwilling guests. The master of the house is clearly representing the Lord our God, and the servant whom the master sent to the guests represents the prophets and messengers whom God had sent to His people.

And the guests represent all of God’s people, those whom He has called to His eternal banquet, the banquet of joy and happiness, that is the reunion between us and our Lord. And He has freely given His invitation for us to come and join Him in the joy of His blessings, and yet, it was also many of us who rejected Him and His offer, and in many cases, we even ridiculed those whom He had sent to remind us and call us to Himself.

What is the reason behind our indignant and haughty attitude? What is the cause of this wicked act and lack of gratitude? It is our preoccupation and inability to resist the many temptations that the devil placed on our path in order to block our way as we move towards Him and to our salvation. Instead, he gave us many goods and tempting things to distract us and he hoped that instead of looking towards God, we would look towards him instead.

And thus, that was just like how so many of the invited guests refused to come to the master’s banquet because of their own occupations and busy schedules. Let us all ask ourselves, is it not the same with our own attitudes? Is it not just like how we often reject the Lord and abandon Him for other pursuits such as to satisfy our own greed and desires?

Is it not just as how we often neglect our faith life and prayer life in the name of following our heart’s wishes and wants? We often forget about the Lord our God and only look for Him when we are in trouble or in difficulty. Yes, that is our nature, that in good times we are so preoccupied with ourselves and satisfying ourselves, and then when difficult times come, we hurry to seek the Lord and beg for His help, and when He apparently does not answer us, we often become angry at Him and even curse at Him.

This is our bad tendency and our bad habit. And if we do not change from this habit, we will fall into eternal damnation. Those invited guests who refused to come for the feast truly have no place in the master’s banquet, and their places will be given to another, just as the master asked his servants to gather others to come for the feast instead, even the poor and the destitute.

This is a lesson for us, not to be proud or be too filled with our own ego. We must not think of ourselves as privileged and worthy just because of our own achievements and good things we have in this world. On the contrary, we have to be humble and we have to realise how many debts we had that God had forgiven. He has forgiven us our faults and sins, and He is willing to welcome us back into His embrace, if we are willing to make a difference to ourselves and change.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps all of us ought to look at the examples shown by St. Martin de Porres, the saint whose feast we are celebrating today. He is a religious and a dedicated servant of God, born in what is today Peru in South America. He lived through a time of difficulty, a time of rampant prejudice and injustice, as someone born in the land that was a colony of the Spanish Empire, he encountered many prejudices and injustice, and once was barred from being able to devote himself fully to the religious life.

But he did not give up, and rather than succumbing to prejudice or even hatred, he continued on to do his works and devotions to many people, especially the poor and the less fortunate. He ministered to the sick and dying, and he devoted himself to those who have little or none, unloved and abandoned. Despite all fhe difficulties and challenges that he encountered, we can see now how much honour and glory he now receives and is a part of in the Lord’s kingdom.

Therefore, brethren, shall we not do the same as well? Shall we not also commit ourselves to good and selfless deeds for the benefit of others? If we show care and love for all those who are around us, then truly we shall receive the everlasting reward of our God. Shall we all consider this and thus do our best to resist our own temptations and the pleasures of this world that we may receive greater joy in the world that is to come?

Let us all walk in the footsteps of St. Martin de Porres and dedicate ourselves more and more to those who are less fortunate around us, and let us all willingly and joyfully go to the banquet that the Lord has prepared for us, and go in to that banquet worthily, donning the vestment of purity, chastity and love, that having shared in His eternal joy, we may forever enjoy His grace and blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate All Souls’ Day, when we commemorate and pray for the souls of all our brethren who have departed from this world ahead of us. We pray for the sake of their souls so that by the grace and the mercy of God, they may be found worthy of God’s everlasting kingdom. We pray that the souls in purgatory may be rid of their sins, and gain entry soon to the kingdom of heaven.

Today is not a day of sorrow and gloom, but a day of hope. For on this day, although we are reminded ever of our humanity and mortality, that all of us, without exception will succumb to death, but this death is not an everlasting death. It is because one Man had shown us the way, that death does not have the final say, for God has given us Jesus our Lord, to bring us from death into eternal life by His resurrection from the dead.

That means death is not an eternal separation, but a temporary one, where now we cannot see those who have departed physically in this world, but in the world to come, we shall see each other again and live a life filled with true joy in the presence of God for eternity. This is the hope brought about by our Lord’s resurrection, through which He has dealt death an ultimate defeat.

If yesterday, on the feast of All Saints, I spoke of a Universal Church that does not consist just of us all the faithful still living on earth, the Church Militant, but also consisting of the hole men and women deemed worthy of heaven, the saints of God, who are the Church Triumphant, and then also the souls of the faithful dead who are the Church Suffering, the souls in holy purgatory.

If you wonder, brethren, why ‘suffering’? This is because when someone reaches the end of his or her earthly and mortal life, there are three possible paths for them to go to from there. The first one, is the most difficult one to achieve, that is the path of the saints. This path is taken by those who lives have been filled with much piety, good deeds, faith and genuine love for God and for their fellow men. As a result, although they too are sinners, God deems that their venial sins have been completely overcome and absolved by their good deeds.

God blessed them and welcomed them into the glory of heaven. And the Church officially recognised some of them as saints, those who have been deemed worthy of heaven after their death. Then, there exists another path, which many had taken, that is the path of hell and eternal damnation. This is meant for all those who have been wicked in their lives, having committed mortal sins such as murder, disrespect for life and for the Lord, disrespecting the Church and its teachings, and other serious errors, from which they refused to repent.

These souls are lost from us and from the Lord forever, as these souls directly go into hell and without any hope for escape or redemption. They were unrepentant and therefore in His wrath, God also rejected them just as they have first rejected Him. Today, on this All Souls’ Day, these are not the souls whom we are praying for, for there is truly no benefit to pray for those who have been marked as eternally lost from us and condemned.

Of course, the fact is that we do not know who belong to this category, for it is only God, the true Judge of all, have the final decision of who is to receive eternal damnation and hell, and who to be given an opportunity or to receive the glory of eternal heaven. So we should not directly condemn so and so as evil, or deserving of hell, since all of us are sinners, and each and everyone of us are at the same risk.

Then, we come to the group in the middle, those who were not outrightly evil and wicked, so as to deserve hell and eternal damnation, and those who were also not sufficiently upright and holy so as to deserve eternal life and heaven right away, which ends up in the place called purgatory. It is in the teaching of the Church that the souls of the faithful dead, who have kept their lives mostly in line with the faith and in obedience to the Lord, but still having sufficient amount of venial sins have to spend some time in this place for the purification of their souls.

Why is this so, brethren? That is because we have to realise that while God loves us all and cares for all of us, but with us there still lies the obstacles of sin. Sin is an obstacle and a barrier that prevents us from our full and complete reconciliation with our Lord. It was because of sin, caused by disobedience, that had separated our ancestors from the grace and the blessings which God had intended to be ours for eternity.

God is good and perfect, and so good and holy such that no sin, even the smallest amount of sin should be ever present in His presence. A sinner that stands in the presence of God shall be subjected to the wrath of God and be destroyed immediately. Then, one may then ask, how about the saints then? Were they not once sinners too when they still walked on this earth?

Yes, indeed, they were once sinners too, but on the account of their great merits and their faith to God, their numerous good actions and deeds had been judged to be sufficient to atone completely for the sake of their sins. This means that all of the multitudes of their sins have been considered as being paid completely in full by their merits, as they placed their complete trust in the Lord Jesus.

What Jesus our Lord did when He gave up His life for us on the cross, was that He took up all of the original sins and the wickedness that had tainted all of us, and offering Himself as the perfect offering and sacrifice for our sins, He had liberated us all from the darkness and the sins that afflicted us all. He gave us all a new hope of salvation, for He conquered death, the ultimate consequence of sin.

This means that while once we looked at death and eternal death as our fate, and hell is our destination, but with our Lord’s intervention, He has lifted us all up and gave us a chance to enter the glorious heaven and be recipients of the original graces and blessings intended for us. But of course, as mentioned earlier, there are those who rejected this offer, and indeed, hell is their reward.

Today, on this Feast of All Souls’ Day, the ones whom we are concerned with are those souls in purgatory, who are spending their time separated temporarily from their Lord and delayed in their entry into the glorious heaven because of their residual sins. They are suffering the flames of suffering in purgatory, not because they are unworthy or wicked, but rather because they need to suffer for a while the consequences of the sins that they had remaining in them before they can enter into the presence of God, purified and cleansed.

Through our genuine and sincere prayers for these souls in purgatory, we are able to help them to reduce their time spent in purgatory, and by asking God for His mercy and for His love for these souls, we hope that the souls of our beloved brethren currently will be able to enjoy soon the glories and the joys of heaven, in the presence of our loving God, who is just and merciful.

And remember, just as we pray for them, they are also praying for us. The souls in purgatory still remember all of us, and just as they have lived their earthly lives committing good deeds and sins, they realised how their sins have made them to suffer temporarily, and those sins prevented them from directly enjoying the blessings of God in heaven. Thus, they are praying for us, that we will realise our own sins, and repent so that we will not suffer the same suffering they encountered in purgatory.

May Almighty God therefore hear our prayers, and together with the saints, and the souls in purgatory, let us all pray together as one whole Universal Church, that more and more people will be brought closer to salvation, that all of us may escape the threat of hell, and be brought ever closer to heaven, the destination that we are all looking forward to. May God receive the souls of the faithful departed and give them the everlasting joy of heaven. Amen.

by

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

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard yet again about the Lord who criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law on their unbending and unreasonable attitude on the observances of the laws of Moses and the Jewish tradition, to the point that not only that they imposed on the people a heavy burden to bear, but they also prevented others from doing good deeds based on such limitations and imposition.

If we ask a Pharisee or a teacher of the Law to explain the rationale behind why they imposed strict observance of such laws, then most likely what they would answer is that because the laws so and so said so, and so they must obey. But this is a very superficial and incomplete understanding of the Law of God, for the laws were not given to us in order to purposefully oppress us or to make our lives difficult.

On the other hand, God gave us His laws so that we may find our way to Him more easily and readily, and it is a way for us to discipline ourselves and keep our lives straightened so that we will not fall into the way of wickedness and into eternal damnation in hell. But it is meant as a reminder and a constant encouragement for us to lead an upright life at all times, with the intention of enhancing and making greater the love which we have for the Lord.

And the Law is meant to teach us about love, and thus about caring for others who are in need, and about sharing what good we have with all those who have little or none, and Jesus made this point when He asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law the question of what would they do if one of their donkeys or animals happened to fall into a pit on a Sabbath day.

There is clearly a choice here, on whether the person ought to obey the law strictly without bending, meaning word by word of the law itself, taking and understanding it literally, and therefore letting the animal to die in agony in the pit, while the owner looks on it until the next day when he can finally help. The other option is for the owner to immediately go down and help the animal or the donkey to get out from the pit, and therefore saving it.

Then again, let us look then into another time in the Gospel, when we heard about how Jesus spoke of the time of the Last Judgment, when on the last day God would separate those whom He had judged to be righteous and those whom He had judged to be wanting in their faith and wicked in their ways. And remember what each of the two groups said to the Lord Jesus, the Judge?

The ones on the right side of the Lord, the righteous ones, asked when they did all the good things that the Lord congratulated them for, when He praised them for having been good to the weak and the sick, the unloved and the suffering ones. And what did the Lord say to them? He said that they did all these, while they showed love and care, concern and dedication to all the least of their brothers and sisters around them.

And those who are on the left side of the Lord are those who have been rejected by the Lord, and they are condemned because of all their inability and refusal to do whatever is good and beneficial to those who are less fortunate and weak around them. Indeed, committing evil is not just about doing what is bad and evil in the sight of God, or what we often know as the sin of action.

Truly, there is the kind of evil, that is the sin of omission, that is committed when we fail to do what is good or what is expected from us to aid our brethren in need, when we are truly capable of doing so. And this is just what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had committed as they obstructed people from doing good deeds on the Sabbath just because they enforced that no one can do anything on that sacred day.

What God wanted to let them know is that, yes, indeed, for all the vices that we have committed in this world on daily basis, then at least we must spare a single day of honour, to do what is good and sanctify that day for the ever greater glory of God. In this we have to keep in mind the commandment of God, that is keep holy the Day of the Lord, and thus, this is what we ought to do.

And keeping the day holy is not just by abstaining from doing anything at all, since doing so will mean that we do not commit anything evil, but at the same time, we also close the door of opportunity for us to commit good things too. In this, if we fail to do what is good in the name of preserving literally what the laws of God had taught us, then what good or holiness will be there?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all on this day recommit ourselves to a new life in God, one that is filled with true and genuine love for Him, and let us devote ourselves to walk faithfully in His path, that in all of our words, deeds and actions, we may always proclaim His glory and truth, and reveal Him for all the nations to see. God bless us all in our endeavours, and may He keep our faith strong forever. Amen.

by

Thursday, 29 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scripture telling us about the opposition that Jesus had encountered in His mission as among the people of God He was sent to, many refused to believe in Him, and some even tried openly and actively to disturb and destroy His works, to the point of constantly harassing Him and opposing Him at every corner of His way.

And we heard how Jesus lamented about the behaviour of the people, represented by Jerusalem, the Holy City, where so many of the prophets and messengers of God were sent to, and yet, again and again, the people there showed their adamance and stubbornness in refusing to listen to the word of God, and in their disobedience against the will of God made clear and revealed to them through these prophets.

And Jesus was in fact speaking and prophesying about His own upcoming suffering, agony and death at the hands of the same people who rejected Him, cursed Him, tortured Him and cast Him out to be crucified along with criminals, intending to harm Him and destroy Him, not knowing and realising what Jesus’ true intention for them was.

In fact, what Jesus wanted was the salvation of the very same people that had rejected Him and despised Him, and He wanted nothing else but the repentance of these people from their sins, and so that they would turn back towards Him, and embrace Him once more as their Lord and their God. Yet, for this, He encountered so much difficulty and resistance, and He even had to suffer grievously.

And yet, the suffering He bore was in fact ours, and the blows He bore, are the blows intended for us, the punishment for our sins. It should have been ours to suffer grievous sufferings, pain and torment for our trespasses and disobedience, for the price of sin is death. But God who loves us all, despite His hatred for our sins and wickedness, continues to love all of us as individuals, as the beloved ones of His creations.

This is why St. Paul in his Apostolic letter today spoke about how we cannot be separated from the love of God, that is great and everlasting, unless we ourselves choose to be separated from Him, that is by our constant and continued disobedience, just as those shown by the Israelites, including the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, most of whom constantly and persistently opposed Jesus.

They thought that they did what was right, and they thought that they were being pious and faithful in opposing this Man who seemed to be bent on destroying the Law and the teachings of the prophets. But they misunderstood Him completely, as they failed to understand that Jesus came to complete and perfect the Law, and He came to dismantle all the lies and untruths that lie around the implementation of the laws at the time of Jesus.

For instead of following what God intended from them, they instead followed their own whims and desires. They corrupted God’s Law with their own human laws and observances, which while these might not be necessarily bad, but their implementation of these laws made them to be bad stewards of God’s laws and people.

But God’s love transcended all these, and despite knowing that going up to Jerusalem would mean His suffering and certain death, just as the prophets did, He also went up there to show God’s love to all, and His desire that all of His people can be awakened from their slumber in the darkness. He wants us all to be redeemed from all the sins and wickedness that we have committed in our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on our own lives. Shall we all commit ourselves to a life that is filled with righteousness, justice and upright attitude? Shall we renew our faith in God, and no longer be so self-centred in ourselves, but rather open ourselves to listen to the Lord and to walk with God in His ways, that in the end of days, we may be found righteous and glorious in the sight of God.

May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us all our sins, and bring us all to everlasting life. May He help us to understand how great is the love and care that He has for all of us. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 28 October 2015 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast of two of our Lord’s chief disciples, the Holy Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, while St. Jude here is different from Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would eventually betray Jesus and died in sin, but rather, St. Judas Thaddeus or St. Judas son of James.

On this day we heard about the role of the Apostles, whom God had called and chosen from among His people, so that they might be the extension of the works of His hands, as His chief deputies and representatives in this world. Through the disciples and the Apostles, Jesus continues His works on earth, even long after the end of His earthly existence, when He ascended in glory into the glorious Heaven.

The Apostles went forth in accordance with the mission that Jesus had given to all of them, and they went to the various places on earth, spreading further the Word of God and the salvation that Jesus Christ our Lord offers to all those who have faith in Him. They are truly the foundations of the Church, which Jesus our Lord had established on this world, based on Peter, the cornerstone, upon which He had established His Church.

God had built a strong foundation for His Church, and the Apostles are also like the pillars that strengthened the building and structure of the entire Church. For not only that they had evangelised and spread the words of the Gospel and the Good News, but they have established a solid and strong core of support structures for the Church, namely by providing many bishops and other servants of the Lord, that gave strength to the Church.

Through them, God made His will and works visible to all of the world, by providing the means through which many of the souls that still lie in darkness are able to listen to the word of God, and be saved as a result of the works of these faithful servants of our Lord. The Apostles were the catalysts of God’s work of salvation, in bringing mankind ever closer to God, and in their hard labours, they even laid down their lives and shed their blood for His sake, and for the sake of His Church.

Thus, the saying is true, that the blood of martyrs are the seeds of Christians. For all of the Apostles except for one were martyred and died in great and excruciating agony for their faith. Yet, they accepted their deaths willingly and openly as they knew that their reward in heaven is truly very, very rich, for God will not forget about all those who have given up everything for His sake.

St. Simon the Zealot himself is often associated with St. Jude the Apostle, and that is why their feast days are celebrated together as one on this day. St. Simon together with St. Jude went to many places, from Egypt and then to Persia and lands of the east, before returning to the region now known as Lebanon, where they were martyred for their faith.

They did not give up until the end, and even unto the end, unto their own deaths, they still strove hard to work for the benefit and for the good of the people to whom they had been sent to by the Lord. They opened the eyes of many, healed many of their afflictions, both body and soul, and ultimately, they saved countless souls from the gates of hell, and brought these instead to the gates of heavenly glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, what is it that we all must take note of so that whatever we have heard on this day will benefit us all? It is the attitude of the Apostles and their perseverance that we all can model from, and we all have to also realise that the works of the Apostles and disciples of Christ are truly far from over. In fact, their works are still ongoing now, just as Jesus commissioned them to deliver the Good News to all the nations.

Yes, we are all modern day Apostles and disciples of our Lord, as we have been tasked in a similar manner, to bring as many souls as possible, to the salvation present only in the Lord Jesus our Saviour, and to His light so that all mankind, every people may receive redemption and forgiveness from their sins, and be found righteous and just, that they will be worthy of eternal life.

Let us all realise this mission that we have, so that each and every one of us may realise our roles in the Church of God, as the bearers of God’s will and as His servants, to deliver God’s words to all, not just by mere words or proclamations only, but also through real and genuine action grounded firmly in faith and love for our Lord and for His laws.

Let us all commit ourselves anew to Him, and devote ourselves ever more to our Lord’s way, that we may bring one another to salvation, and we ourselves will grow ever richer in God’s grace. Do not despise those who are still living and darkness, and do not hate them for their wickedness, but instead, let us try to bring them closer to God, and help them in their path of repentance, so that like the Apostles of old, like St. Simon and St. Jude, we may also bring about God’s healing to all of them.

May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us all our sins, and may we all through the intercession of His holy saints and Apostles, be ever more devoted and committed children of our Lord and loving Father. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 27 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the promise of God’s salvation to us all, amidst all the difficulties, challenges and sufferings that are present in this world. Today we witnessed how God gave hope to His people who had been beleaguered by all of those obstacles and pains, and how He promised deliverance and salvation through His Messiah and the coming of His kingdom.

Why is there suffering in the first place, brothers and sisters in Christ? Suffering was not intended for us, and neither was it that we were created to endure such pain and difficulties, but it was because of our own sins and wickedness that we have brought suffering upon ourselves, as due to these sins and the disobedience we showed to the Lord, we have separated ourselves from the love and grace of God, and therefore, there is nothing left for us but to endure bitter suffering on earth.

It is our punishment and our due for the disobedience, that ever since the days of our forefathers, we have been subjected to the consequences of our sins, that is suffering and pain of hard labour, and also ultimately, death, the end of our mortal life on earth. But God did not entirely leave us to our fate, and instead He promised salvation and liberation through Jesus, His Son, Whom He had sent into the world.

And through Jesus we heard the parables He mentioned with regards to the kingdom of God. These parables were meant to explain using terms that were easy for the people at that time to understand. The examples that Jesus used to describe the kingdom of God include the measures of yeast in a measure of flour, that is kept until the whole dough is rising, and also the small mustard seed that grows to become a large mustard tree.

All these spoke clearly of a very important point that we all have to take note as we live our lives, that is about the ‘potential’ that is present in each and every one of us, and what we ought to do in order to fulfil and realise that potential to the fullest. In this, we can see the clear parallel between the mustard seed and the flour with ourselves, the state we have before we embark on the path towards the Lord and His salvation.

All of us have been given the potential by the Lord to grow and become great and mighty in His eyes, not the might and power of the world, but rather great in love, in mercy and in our faith. This is represented by the growth potential in the mustard seed, the food stored in the seed to provide for its growth, and the yeast that is placed within the measures of flour and the dough.

All who have planted a plant before, or even a farmer or gardener will definitely know how seeds can be stored for many years, and yet they would not grow or germinate, unless certain conditions are fulfilled. Unless the seeds are placed on a rich and fertile soil, and provided with sufficient amount of water, air and also later on, sunlight, the seeds will not germinate, or even though they germinate, they will not last long and die.

Then, with regards to the yeast, all those who have made bread or cake before would have known that yeast that we have will need water to be able to function, and then the mixture must also be covered, like how Jesus put it, the yeast is ‘hidden’ within the dough mixture. If the dough and the yeast mixture is not covered, then the dough will not rise, since the yeast need to be free from oxygen in the air in order to be able to ferment the starch in the flour and the dough to form what we know as the leavened bread or the cake.

How are all these relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is because it is the same for all of us! Without proper action and genuine sincerity in living our faith, we shall never be able to cultivate and let the gifts of God, the potential for great things inside us to grow and develop. Instead, as long as we dwell in sin and live in darkness, then we will be just like the seed that never grows or the flour and dough that never rises to become bread or cake.

Let us all therefore from now on reflect on our own lives’ actions and deeds. Have we been true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, not just in words or on paper only, but also through real action and commitment? Let us all love one another and show genuine care for each other, and let us all walk faithfully in the holy presence of our God. May God show us His love and bless us richly and abundantly always, now and forever. Amen.

by

Monday, 26 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about Jesus and His healing of the sick woman who had suffered for over eighteen years due to the binding and works of the devil, who made her to suffer grievously. And yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law criticised Him for what He had done, for to them, He has blasphemed and sinned by breaking one of the most important law in the eyes of the Jews, that is the law of the Sabbath.

And yet, their faith and their reasoning failed them, for they saw with the eyes of their flesh, and they tried to understand the meaning of the Law of God using the feebleness and the limitations of their human minds and thoughts. They were unable to truly understand nor comprehend what Jesus had done, and what He had intended to reveal to them by that action, that they might see the truth.

As St. Paul put it in his letter to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, he explained how all of us mankind must no longer walk in the way of the flesh, or the way of worldliness, but rather, we ought to walk from now on in the way of Christ, as we are all children and belonging of the Spirit of God, and not the belongings of the prince of this world, that is Satan and his angels.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law thought in the way of this world, thinking of themselves and priding themselves as the impeccable and flawless guardians of the faith, and as the just and faithful ones because of their numerous prayers, devotions and also strict adherence to the laws passed on to them from the time of Moses.

Yet, they failed to understand that those laws and ordinances were all actually given to mankind for a singular purpose, that is to bring them closer to God, to bring them to much more active and genuine commitment to God, and to turn them away from the path of evil and into righteousness and salvation in the Lord. And they were not conceived or given to mankind in order to have some to lord over others and think that they had the right to just so and so just because they deemed themselves more superior in piety.

Jesus indeed rebuked these people harshly, for their misguided ways and inability to understand God’s true intentions, despite them being educated, supposedly wise and as the shepherds of the people of God. Jesus showed them that God intended His laws to guide mankind to Him, and not to bring about unjust and unnecessary sufferings, especially to those who are willing to change and repent their ways.

Therefore, God showed His mercy and compassion for us, by healing the woman who had been afflicted and enslaved by the devil for over eighteen years. Why did He then choose to do it on the Sabbath? It is to show it clearly to those who have been hypocrites and failed to understand God’s intention and the meaning of His laws, that He wants us all to be saved, and if possible, as soon as it is possible to save us, not a single moment must be lost.

We can see this being practiced in how the Church regulates the baptism of infants after their birth. It is truly imperative that parents bring their newborn child to be baptised as soon as possible after birth, so as to grant them the seal of the living God, the eternal seal of baptism that is stamped upon the souls of all those who have been received into the Church of God. The salvation of our souls is God’s priority.

Let us all now therefore renew our commitment to God, and be committed in our faith, to help one another to reach out to the Lord, just as Jesus had done. Let us help all those who are still living in the darkness of sin, and help them so that they may find their way to reach the Lord who loves them and wishes them all to be saved, that is all of us. May God be with us in all of our endeavours and bless us always. Amen.

by

Sunday, 25 October 2015 : Thirtieth (30th) Sunday of the Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the readings from the Holy Scripture all unanimously speak of one thing, one fact and reality, that is the salvation, healing and redemption brought about through our Lord Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all, Lord and Master of all, through Whose works and actions, all of us had been made justified and righteous, and purified from the taints of our original sins.

In the first reading, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, God made a promise to all of His people that He will never forget them, and that His love for them will always endure, so long as they too love Him and dedicate themselves to Him. He will save them and bless them once again with His grace and love, just as once He had done in the past.

This was in the context of the time, when the prophet Jeremiah lived at a time of difficulty and hopelessness, where the people of the ten tribes living in the northern kingdom of divided Israel had been carried off into exile and slavery by the Assyrians who had invaded and destroyed their kingdom. God punished them for their lack of faith and wicked deeds, for their worship of the pagan gods like Baal and Asherath, and paid no honour to Him, the one and only true God.

And the people in the southern kingdom of Judah were not faring much better either, as the Babylonians that came after the Assyrians now threatened to bring destruction to Judah and Jerusalem, and indeed, they would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple of God built by Solomon, and the people would be carried off to exile and slavery in lands far away from their homes.

But after all these, the punishments for Israel’s sins, just as their ancestors wandered in the desert for forty years due to their disobedience, and just as all mankind had to suffer and perish in this hard and challenging world, due to the sins of our forefather Adam and Eve, his wife, thus, God also promised salvation and liberation from all sufferings to all of His people if they would return to Him.

And God had promised all of us this since the beginning of time, when mankind first fell into sin, namely by promising to Adam and Eve, that even though Satan got them and tricked them into disobedience against God, but there would be a time to come, when God would send a Deliverer and Saviour to them, to the sons and daughters of mankind.

And God continued to renew His promise to His people throughout time, as He promised His servants Abraham, Moses, David, and many others through His prophets and messengers, or by directly speaking to them. God blessed His people and kept them with the hope of His deliverance and salvation. Yet, it was so often that the people refused to listen to the words of His prophets.

And today in the Gospel reading, we heard about how the blind man called out to Jesus Christ our Lord to save him and heal him from his blindness. The blind man struggled on and he did not give up, even when Jesus apparently did not hear him and continued on His way. And indeed, the blind man’s efforts were rewarded by the Lord, who healed him from his afflictions and restored his sight to him.

This is related closely to what we heard today in our second reading today from the Letter of St. Paul directed to the Hebrews, where he spoke if our Lord Jesus Christ as the High Priest, and not just as any other ordinary High Priests of the Temple of God, but truly as the High Priest over all mankind and over all of creation, for it was by what He had done as our one and true High Priest that He had saved and delivered us all.

Yes, as mentioned earlier with regards to the salvation of our souls and the redemption from our sins, we have had the perfect and complete fulfilment of God’s promised salvation through Jesus Christ, the Saviour and the One through Whom God made His will complete, the will that all of us His beloved ones ought to be drawn closer to Him and be brought out from the pit of misery and sin we are currently in now.

Truly, we are like the blind man, sickened and troubled, afflicted and suffering the consequences of our sins. Yes, for sin is not just the disobedience against God and all the wickedness we have committed in our words and actions, but in fact, sin is a disease and like a cancer that afflicts our souls, our hearts, our minds and also our bodies.

And sin is eating away into our beings, crushing us, destroying us and making us rotten. Unless we do something concrete and real to get ourselves clean and free from all these sins, we shall be brought down by them into the abyss of eternal darkness and suffering. For this is true hell, the eternal suffering of knowing that we have been completely separated from the love and the grace of God, and there is no hope for escape.

Just like the priests and high priests of Israel, whom God had chosen and ordained out of the people, to be those sanctified and empowered to offer the offerings for the sake of the sins of the people, or sin offerings, where the priests offer the lovely smell of animals and burnt offerings at the altar for the temporary remission and forgiveness of the sins of the people of God, so God had also instituted once and for all the eternal redemption by the one true High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Jesus did not offer the blood of rams or bulls, or birds or any other earthly offerings. Rather, He offered His own Precious Body and Precious Blood, His own Life, so that by that one and singular offering made at the Altar of Calvary, lifted up high on the cross, He might become the perfect offering, the perfect sacrifice which is worthy and the only one worthy to absolve forever the whole multitude of all of our sins.

And He offered it all willingly and freely for all of us, sinners and wicked people who have acted like the Israelites of old, like the people living during the time of the prophet Jeremiah in Judah. Exile and destruction would have been ours if not for the mercy and the richness of the love of God. However, this does not come free and easy for us. Why is this so? This is because mercy requires dedication and genuine repentance.

We often forget that God’s mercy and love requires first on our side, the willingness to accept them, and also the willingness and the desire, as well as the seriousness to leave behind our past sins and wrongdoings. No mercy will be shown or given to us if we persist in our sinfulness, in our rebellion against God’s will, for the simple fact that just as much as God loves us all without exception, even the greatest sinners, He despises our sins just as much, for evil has no place in His presence.

Today, as we all gather together to glorify our Lord and to give thanks to Him for His wondrous mercy, let us all not forget that we must dedicate ourselves to a life of holiness, far away from all sorts of sin and wickedness, far away from all sorts of adultery and unfaithfulness, from all sorts of debauchery and greed, from anything that can separate us from the love of God and thrust us into eternal damnation.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord and commit ourselves anew to a new life blessed by His love and by His justice, that in all the things we say and do, we proclaim Him and we bring glory to Him. May God bless us all in our endeavours, and may He keep us united to Him and never be separated once again from His love. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.