homily

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Monday, 20 June 2016 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day firstly we heard about the story of the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel, which was the breakaway state consisting of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. That northern kingdom had had many kings who led them down the path of disobedience and rebellion against God, and they also refused to follow the house of David, who ruled the southern kingdom of Judah, whom God had appointed to rule over His people.

And as the Lord had repeatedly sent His many servants, including the prophets Elijah and Elisha to call them to repent from their sins, and yet they refused to budge and change their ways, therefore, God showed His anger on them and destroyed their whole nation. They were conquered by the Assyrians, who brought them into exile far away from the lands that once belonged to them. And they were scattered among the nations.

As we can see here, the wicked deeds of the people and the nation led the Lord to judge them for their sins and wickedness. And when God judged them, they were found wanting and unworthy, and thus for their punishment, they had to endure humiliation after humiliation, and suffering after sufferings. That is the just price they have paid for their lack of faith in God, their Lord and Master, Whom they have betrayed for the pagan idols.

And how does this relate to what we heard in the Gospel today? It is relevant because Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples with regards to being judgmental and in the matter of judging one another. In the first place, all of us should understand that it is in our human nature that we tend to be judgmental. And even in matters as simple as our opinions of other people around us, all these are already filled with judgmental attitudes.

So, is it correct or wrong to judge another person? Then let us delve deep into the matter and understand fully what our Lord Jesus, our God wants to tell us about being judgmental. There is what is right and what is wrong in making judgments, and it is important that we should not get it wrong, or otherwise, what may be great help for other people will instead be a great bane and hindrance for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord Jesus said that we should not judge. He said, “Do not judge, or you will be judged.” And many of us straight away jump to the conclusion that we should not judge no matter what. What is worse, some of us even said such statement such as, “Who am I to judge?” or “Why should I judge?” These people forgot that in another occasion, Jesus also said that we should judge with a good judgment.

It means that we must not judge when that judgment ends up becoming a prejudice and a bias against someone. It also means that we must not judge when we end up judging and thinking that we are superior than the one we judge. That is the attitude which we should not have, and indeed what our Lord Jesus has warned us against.

It was just like the Pharisees and the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the Law, whose attitudes are always judgmental in nature. They were always proud of their supposedly pious ways and boasted of them to the people openly. And they were judgmental towards others, all those whom they deemed to be inferior to them because these people did not obey the Law in the way that they did.

This is not what the Lord wanted to happen to us as well. But at the same time, we should not be a people who does not know how to judge. In his Epistle, St. Paul spoke about the faithful people of God who will one day judge the whole world. Clearly it does not mean that we must not judge, but rather than our judgment must be done out of good will as well as with good intentions.

Let us ask ourselves this question. If we refuse to judge and made comments about someone who committed sin, and allow that person to continue living in sin, would it not be that we have abandoned our duties as Christians? As Christians we are bound to help others and show them the way to the Lord. What we do not do, is to judge the state of the person’s soul. To decide whether a person will end up in heaven or in hell, is God’s prerogative and right alone. But to judge our brethren for their wicked and sinful behaviours, is our right and duty as the people of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on strive to help one another to reach out to the Lord, pointing out to our brethren when they make mistake or commit evil and sinful things, reminding or even if necessary, to chide them and rebuke them, so that they would realise the gravity of their own sins, and come to the realisation that a change of their life is necessary to save them from destruction and damnation.

May God help us all and bless us all in the endeavours and works we do for the sake of all the peoples, all the children of God. May we help one another to find our way together to the Great Judge of all, and be found worthy in Him. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 June 2016 : 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Sacred Scriptures telling us about the salvation of God which He has given to us through Jesus Christ His Son, the long awaited fulfilment of God’s promise to the world, that He would bring them into salvation and eternal life, freedom and liberation from the darkness of sin and death.

God has had mercy on His people, and He was willing to give them the succour and the liberation from the troubles which they have gained by their own disobedience. We have to always remember, brethren, that while we were often disobedient to God, but God is always forever faithful to us. We have suffered not because of Him, but rather due to our own waywardness and lack of faith which led us to commit sin.

In the first reading, taken from the Book of the prophet Zechariah, the Lord promised His people that He would return the joy and blessings to the house of David and to His people. This message was given to a people who have endured great difficulties, as their ancestors’ disobedience and their own sins had brought them much misery, at the mercy of their enemies, uprooted and exiled from their own homeland, and suffered tremendously without God’s grace.

But amidst all of that, God gave them hope that a new light, the spring of life shall arise among them, to save them and to bring them once again into His favour and into His presence. In the second reading, which we received from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, we heard how through Jesus Christ, Who is the Light and the Spring of Life promised, all those who believe in Him has been made righteous and just.

And because of that, they received the grace of God and were made to be one people, as the members of the Church of God, where ancient divisions and distinctions no longer exists. There is now no more distinction between Jews or non-Jews, which were mostly the Greeks at that time. All are equal before God. God no longer limited His love and grace just to the people of Israel alone, but instead to the whole world. For the whole mankind are His most beloved creation and children, after all.

And the way through which He has endeavoured to help us all, has been revealed through the Gospel and from what we know of what He had done through Christ. For the Son of Man would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests, and would be handed over to the Romans to be sentenced to death by the cross. But it is through that act, through great suffering and enduring the sins which we have, that God had made us whole and justified once again through Him.

For such great love that God has shown us, He just require from us one thing. And that is that we should love Him back with the same love He has shown us, and if we love Him, we should also know that following God may mean that we may be rejected by the world as well, just as the world had rejected Him before. And we may endure the same sufferings and pains that He had once suffered from.

And that is our cross to bear, for each and every one of us has a cross to bear, the cross of our life. And these crosses we bear are united to the cross of Christ, as we share together in the suffering which He bore for our sake. And as we share in His suffering and death, so we have also shared in the same life which He has promised to all those who believe in Him.

And how do we as Christians bear our crosses each day? We do so by following what God had commanded us to do, that is to love Him with all our heart, devoting ourselves to Him with all of our effort. And if we think that this is easy, then we should remember again, that following God and His ways may mean that we have to do things which in the eyes of the world, in the sight of the community around us, we may be seen as weird, or even downright wicked.

Are we ready to face challenges or even persecution from the world for staying faithful to our God? Are we ready to defy the societal norms at times when we are called to choose between God and this world? That is our challenge in this world today, to stand up for our faith against the currents and forces of the world. And still, even so, we also have another challenge as well.

Why is that so? That is because the Lord also commanded us to show the same love to our brethren, to our neighbours, brothers and sisters. Are we able to show genuine love to all our brethren, that is, not just our beloved ones but even also those who resented and hated us, or those who have persecuted us? This is the cross that each of us have to bear as a Christian, as those whom God has made as one of His own.

Let us all reflect on these, and think about what else we can do if we have not done so, as a Christian, to show our love both to our God and to our brethren. Let us all devote ourselves all the more to God, and commit ourselves through faith and action, that through us we may find the salvation of God and be made blessed and righteous in our God. May God bless us and all of our endeavours and works. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Scripture about firstly how God rewards the just and punishes the wicked ones. He gives His blessings and grace to all those who devoted themselves to Him and His ways, while bringing down His wrath and curses on all those who have disobeyed Him.

And one example given was that of king Joash, the descendant of king David, the faithful servant of God. Continuing the narrative from yesterday’s passage, when we heard how God restored Joash to his throne as the rightful king after his grandmother queen Athaliah usurped the throne from the house of David. By the virtue of the great faith and devotion of king David, king Joash’s ancestor, God restored him to the throne of David.

Joash did remain faithful for a time, that is as long as his mentor, Jehoiada the High Priest lived. But after Jehoiada passed away, Joash began slipping into the way of wickedness and doing things that are against the laws and the will of God. And thus, despite having been warned of such wrong actions by Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, Joash did not listen and continued down his path of sin and disobedience, and even plotted for the death of Zechariah.

As a result, God punished Joash by causing him to suffer the same death he has caused Zechariah. And that was indeed the reward for the wicked, that they would be cast out of God’s grace and be bereft of God’s love, and life will have no place in them. Meanwhile, He shall bless the righteous and the just, and He shall put His life into them.

In the Gospel today, Jesus our Lord spoke about the problem which is often faced by all of us, that is the division and dilemma which we mankind often have with regards to whom we should serve, be it God, or be it our possessions. It is also a dilemma, whether we should serve the Lord or serve the devil who opposes God. And many of us are often not aware that whenever we do something, we often have to make conscious decisions to choose one decision over the others.

It comes to the point of knowing that the worries and the concerns of the world are what have kept us away from the Lord and His ways. That is also the essence of what Jesus our Lord was telling His disciples on that day. We are often so concerned about ourselves, about what we are to eat, about what we are to wear, and about what we are to have and to receive, to the point that we completely forgot about the Lord and about our brethren around us.

And it is also what made we mankind to be selfish, concerned about ourselves and not about others who are around us. In our desire and attempt to gain more things for ourselves, we often even trample on the rights of others, causing harm, hurt and pain on them. And that was why we have sinned before God and before men, for we have not stopped to consider the needs of others, but instead concerned only with ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on these, even as we continue to live our lives today in these world. Let us all put our trust more in the Lord our God, and less in ourselves and in the things of this world. And as Jesus our Lord has said, we should not worry about what we are to eat or what we are to have for ourselves. God will provide for us all that we need.

When we worry, it is when we shall start to drift away from God and into the hands of the devil. We cannot serve both God and the devil, and if we want to be truly faithful to our God, then we must do our best in order to be upright and be righteous in all our deeds, and we should try our best to resist those temptations in our hearts, that we may not fall into the trap of sin, and remain true and worthy to our God.

May the Lord help us and bless us, and may He strengthen us in our faith, and renew our lives so that we may be always filled with faith, hope and love, both for our God and for our fellow brethren. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard the words of the Scriptures speaking to us regarding the examples of faith which the prophet Elijah and our Lord Jesus had shown us. In the first reading, we saw how the prophet Sirach spoke about Elijah, to whom God had granted His power and authority, that by his hands and works, he performed many miracles and good deeds among the people of God.

And he preached repentance and forgiveness for the sins which Israel and its people had done, urging them to turn their back on their sinful ways and be converted wholly to the way of the Lord. He worked tirelessly among the people of God, and persevered on even though he faced rejection, opposition and even outright hostility from those to whom God had sent him.

And God rewarded Elijah with the gift which He had granted to only a few, those whom He deemed to be worthy enough so as to avoid the taste of death, as what happened first with Enoch, the descendant of Adam, who was so righteous and just that God took him up to heaven, and also probably Moses, who could not enter the Promised Land because of his sin, but his faith and devotion in leading the people of God through the Exodus, and having seen God face to face, like Elijah had done, it is probable that God also took Moses up with Him to the glory of heaven.

And in Jesus our Lord, we then heard about the way which we as the faithful people of God should pray, and how not to pray, as what the pagans had done. And that was where Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, the perfect prayer which came from the very words of our Lord and Saviour. And from the Apostles, they passed down the teachings to us, so that we all also learnt and knew the truth which God wanted to show us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus taught us that when we pray we should not pray with many words, as what the pagans do, and that our prayer should come from our heart, a true expression of ourselves rather than an empty and meaningless prayer. Unfortunately, I am sure that if we look at our own way of praying, and how each of us pray, we can see that there are many occasions when we did not pray in a proper way.

It is very common that when we pray, we make it into a litany of requests, wishes and even demands. And for many of us, the reality is that, we have that tendency to equate prayer to asking or begging the Lord to do us a favour, and that prayer is like a hotline for us all to contact the Lord when we are in need of help. That is where we were wrong, brothers and sisters in Christ, as prayer is not just for us to speak to God and have the airtime for our own only, but also as a venue for God to speak to us in the depths of our hearts.

And this is where we as Christians should learn to improve ourselves, and change our ways where it had not been right before. The problem with our way of prayer and with our works is that, it is too often that these are done with regards to ourselves, for ourselves, and to satisfy our ego. Our ego stood in the way of our true faith in the Lord, for the ego or our beings led us to do things in the way that we had done them.

But that is not what it is supposed to be, brethren, as we have been called to a greater purpose, rather than to serve just ourselves and our needs, which is selfishness, and embrace the way of selflessness, where we ought to learn to care and love one another, and show mercy, forgiveness and love in the way we interact with each other.

In the first reading, the prophet Elijah showed us how we should act as a follower of our God. Rather than being overly indulged into ourselves, we should go forth and work in order to bring our brethren, especially those whom we know, and those in our societies and communities, closer to the Lord our God, and persevered to preach to them the Good News of God as Elijah had done, through our own actions.

But no action can be complete without prayer and correct spiritual dimension. Prayer and work complements each other, and prayer and work are essential components of our Christian faith. When we pray, we should let go of our desires, wants and ego, and we should instead open our hearts, keeping the silence in our minds and hearts that the Lord our God may speak in them, and show to us the path to move forward.

Let us all from now on become renewed Christians, devoting ourselves, our effort and our time to do the good works of God, spreading His Good News and salvation to ever more people and bring to Him ever more souls. And let us all also keep ourselves close to God through prayer, talking with Him and communicating regularly with Him, so that we may listen to Him and know what is His will for us. May God be with us all always, now and forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded of what we as Christians have to do as part of our faith, and God reminds us that whatever we are doing, we should not do it for ourselves, but rather, we have to do it for the sake of the Lord our God. This is what we often tend to forget and which we also tend to overlook.

We just have to look at the examples of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of Jesus, whose teachings do not correspond to the actions which they have taken. They preached one thing, but then in their actions they were not genuine in their faith. Jesus elaborated extensively on that matter, criticising them as hypocrites and those who sought to bring about their own personal glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us just see some of the examples. The Pharisees were overly concerned about their appearances and about how the people perceived them and their actions. They feared that the people would abandon them and their teachings for Jesus, Who taught with authority and with truth, and who did not just preach but also practiced what He preached.

And Jesus our Lord was right in criticising them, because their actions were not done for the sake of the Lord and His people, but instead, they were meant for themselves, to advance their own positions and to satisfy their own need and greed. They prayed in public places with a loud voice and with great appearances so that the people would see them and what they were doing, and then praise them and gave them the prestige and honour which they desired for so much.

And when they fasted, they fasted publicly, showing sad and gloomy faces, to show others that they were fasting, just as Jesus mentioned. And He pointed out that in doing so, they risked themselves, or indeed they had purposefully done so, that they again might be noticed by the people. And they gained the satisfaction when people praised them for what they have done, and they grew proud in their hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what the Pharisees had done then, are also applicable to us all as well. How often was it throughout our history that we have acted in ways so as to satisfy our own personal desires and wants? And how often is it that men had been so selfish so as they forgot about others around them, or even trample at them in order to fulfil our own needs?

And the most important of all, is that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law did not give glory to God and neither did they love Him or have true faith for Him when they did all the things they have done. They did it for themselves, and not for God or for His people. And that was exactly why the Lord rebuked them and condemned them harshly for it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from all that we have heard and discussed today, let us all come to the realisation that each and every one of us as Christians must have genuine and living faith in our God, and this means that we must truly have that devotion for our God, and when we do everything, let us do it for the Lord our God.

May God strengthen our faith and empower us always to be filled with faith, hope and love, so that in all the things we do, we will always be ever faithful to Him, our Lord and God, and be worthy of His life everlasting. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 June 2016 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, continuing from the discourse of yesterday’s Scripture reflections and passages, we move on to the theme of mercy and forgiveness from God, which He gives to all those who have shown genuine and true desire to be forgiven, and whose heart were filled with regrets for the wicked acts and things which they had committed in life.

In the first reading today, we had the example from the Book of Kings telling us about the same king Ahab, who also caused the death of Naboth of Jezreel in order to seize his vineyard to be his own. God spoke to him through the prophet Elijah, warning him of the impending punishment that he had earned for having committed such heinous and wicked a crime, and therefore the anger of God was upon him, and destruction awaited him.

But king Ahab, as sinful as he was, he was still capable of showing regret and humility, humbling himself before God and lowering himself, unworthy before God, knowing full well the sins which he had done. And God saw his regret and desire to recant his sinful ways, and gave him a reprieve, although he was still not forgiven for all the multitudes of evil deeds which he had done.

In the Psalm, we heard the famous psalm of David, which was likely composed when king David had sinned before the Lord, either when he committed adultery with the wife of another man, Bathsheba wife of Uriah and plotted for the latter’s death, or when he proudly asked to count his vast dominions and peoples, conducting a census of his whole kingdom despite the advice otherwise given by his advisors.

David showed great remorse and he was filled with great shame. However, unlike Ahab, it was likely that his remorse was far more genuine, and in his heart, ultimately, unlike Ahab, David was still truly faithful and still loved the Lord his God fully and with great devotion. And that is why, although calamities did befall him and troubles found their way to him, but God forgave him and made his reign secure.

And lastly in the Gospel today, Jesus made it all fully well known, of what God is expecting from us, with regards to love, and with regards to our relationship with one another. He expects us to love tenderly, and to love with our heart, and without prejudice or bias. And when we love, we should love all, even those people who have not loved us first.

It is our human nature that we mankind tend to do what only benefits us, and not those things that do not benefit us. We tend to seek things that we can reciprocate with, and hence, we tend to love only those who also love us. But God calls us all, as Christians, as those who believe in Him, His beloved children, to love far more than what our human nature leads us to believe.

We are all called to love with our hearts, to love all, even those who have not loved us, and even those who have hated us and persecuted us, so that the love which we have is truly genuine, rather than just a mere reciprocation or one that is borne out of obligation to repay whatever we have received. Let our love be pure and true, and let us all pray today, that God will help us and guide us that we may love Him and His people ever more. God bless us all. 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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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.

by

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.