human pride

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Thursday, 2 April 2015 : Maundy Thursday, Chrism Mass (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this occasion we are celebrating the Chrism Mass, which is always celebrated on the Thursday of Holy Week, also known as Maundy or Holy Thursday. On this special occasion, the bishops of each diocese will celebrate together with all of each diocese’s priests, where they will all reaffirm their promises and vows made at their ordination and consecration as anointed servants of God.

On this occasion of Chrism Mass as well, the oils to be used for various purposes are blessed and made holy. There are three types of oil, the oil of chrism for baptism and confirmation, the oil of the catechumens for the anointing of the candidates for baptism, and finally the oil of the sick, for the last unction, or the Sacrament for the Sick and Dying. These holy oils are blessed on this occasion, and the significance of it in relation to what I have mentioned earlier about priests are great.

This is all in accordance with all the readings of the Holy Scriptures today, that all of us who have chosen to take up the cross and follow our Lord Jesus had been chosen and taken out from the world to be made special and different. We were once sinners and estranged children of our Lord, but through this effort and by the grace of God, we have been made to share in the glory of Christ.

Since the ancient days of the Old Testament, anointing with the holy oils have been a special sign to the people, that whoever was anointed, was chosen by the Lord to be His servant. Saul, the first king of Israel was anointed, and so was David, whom God anointed through Samuel. The kings of Israel were anointed, and the priests of Israel, the descendants of Aaron were also anointed, since the days of Moses and the Exodus when the priesthood was first instituted.

All of us who have given ourselves to be baptised, or by our parents’ wish and decision, have been chosen from among all the people of the world, and in baptism and by anointing with the holy oil of chrism, we have become God’s children and in serving Him, we share together, the three aspects of Christ, namely His Kingship, His Priesthood and His service to God as a faithful servant.

And those of us who have chosen to deepen our faith and do more for the Lord, by joining the sacred order of priesthood and the ordained ministry, we have been anointed and chosen even more by our Lord to do ever more things for His glory and for the good and salvation of all mankind, our brethren. It is to remind us, with this occasion of Chrism Mass, the dedication and the commitment which all of us ought to have for the Lord and for His people.

All of us have our duties and obligations, the responsibilities which all of us should take up together as the members of God’s Church. We have many tasks to do, beginning of course from ourselves, to change our ways so that our own lives will be more attuned and in line with the ways of the Lord, and so that we may show to others how to follow the Lord and walk in His ways.

We have our responsibilities to take care of one another to grow in faith. Rather than be disgusted by one’s wickedness and condemning others because of that wickedness, it is better for us to learn to accept each other’s weakness and work together to be better and more faithful servant of the Lord. We have to be awakened to our responsibilities and learn how to take up the crosses of our life, and contribute to make a difference.

Today as we bless this oil, of catechumens, of chrism, and those of the sick, let us all renew our faith, dedication and devotion to the Lord, and renew our commitment, which we ought to show through our actions, and in how we interact with one another. Let us all remember that all of us have been called and made holy, as a priestly people, a royal people and a people dedicated to the Lord, so that we may share together the love and grace of God, for the good and salvation of all mankind. God be with us always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 April 2015 : Wednesday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with simple, clear and undeniable fact of how we are so weak so as to be corrupted by sin, to the point of even betraying our Lord, who had endeavoured to love us and to carry us out from the pit of darkness and back into the light. What Judas had done, is also what we have often done in our own lives, albeit one that is of lesser severity, but yet all the same in nature.

As we draw ever closer to the celebration of the Easter Triduum, of our Lord’s Passion and death, and also His resurrection from the dead, all of us should be jolted and be awakened from our slumber, from our apathy and ignorance. Many of us today live as if we do not care what has happened to us, and especially what our Lord had done for us two millennia ago.

It is the time now for us to realise that our Lord had done so much for us, for the simple reason that He does not wish for us to be lost forever in the darkness. He desires for all of us to receive His grace and goodness, and He wants us all to be changed for the better. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why Jesus came into the world, and why He came into our lives.

He did not come to gloat over our sins and our faults, and neither did He come to expect our praise and glorification. Instead, He came into this world, fully knowing that He would suffer and be rejected by the world and by His own people, betrayed by His own disciple, loathed and cursed by the same ones who adored and glorified Him when He entered into Jerusalem in triumph, and to be crucified like a sinner with thieves and criminals.

Such was the great price that our Lord has paid in order to deliver us from sin and from the domination of the evil one. In Him lies our salvation, and in Him lies our only hope. Without Him, then our lives would be meaningless, for no matter whatever we do in this life, we know that because of our sins, we are forever separated from God, as it had been in the days of Adam, when our first ancestors were cast out of Eden, out of God’s presence because of their sins.

Jesus had become our Bridge, the one and only bridge linking us back to God our Lord and Father. It is because of Him that we have hope once again, because He allowed us the chance to return to our Father, with repentance and humility, knowing that we are sinners and yet we have been given the great grace of God, forgiven from our sins and welcomed with open hands to return once again to His embrace.

What more can we ask from Him? He has given us so much, and yet it is so often that we do not show gratitude for the care and love which He had given us. We are often so indignant in our ways and ungrateful, that this is why we remain in sin. It is important that as we prepare to enter into the celebration of the most important aspect of our faith, we have to be ready for it.

What can we do? We can begin from small things and take small steps, from something as simple as changing our bad habits in life. If we once often loathed against our brethren and said bad things to them, or if we have done injustice to our brethren and slandered against them, then I say that we take the chance and put in a lot of effort to change our ways.

I am certain that if we do so, slowly we will grow stronger in God’s grace, and as long as we are sincere in our desire to serve the Lord and to walk in His ways, we will triumph. May Almighty God keep us in His ways, and may He enlighten us all and show us the path to redemption, so that we may no longer be lost in the darkness but return to the light. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 March 2015 : Tuesday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about first the Lord who sent His Saviour in the first reading, in a prophecy which the prophet Isaiah gave to the people as a sign of hope, at a time when the fortunes of Israel was really going down, where wickedness and sin were rampant, and where the society were no longer putting the Lord as the heart of their society.

The people of Israel were scattered and the northern kingdom, which had seceded since the days of the son of Solomon, had just been destroyed and conquered by the mighty Assyrians. They were carried off from their homes and ancestral lands, and they were brought to slavery in foreign and distant lands. They were separated and treated as nobody, and yet, the Lord promised His people that He never forget about them.

And that was where He sent His deliverer into the world, to be the One who would save all of His scattered people, not just because of the acts of the Assyrians, but also because of the consequences of sin, the disobedience which had separated us from our Lord’s love and care. The salvation which God had shown us through Jesus is the concrete example and clear manifestation of His mercy and love, which He showers upon all those who are devoted to Him.

Yet, as the Gospel today showed us, that we mankind are often filled with so much negativities and the temptations of the world so that we are unable to appreciate the love that the Lord had shown us, and just like Judas Iscariot, we often betray the Lord for other things we deem to be more important. And just like Peter, we often falter in our faith simply because of the fear that is within us, the fear of being rejected and refused by the world.

All of these stemmed from the fact that we value the things of this world very, very much, and we often cannot part ourselves from those things, and that is the reason why we did not do as what we are supposed to do, and why we disobeyed the Lord and His commandments. And in our disobedience we sinned before the Lord and was cast away from His presence, scattered in this darkened world.

Judas was always tempted by money, and that temptation further fueled his wickedness, which eventually led to his betrayal of his own Lord and Master. Only when it was already too late, after his betrayal of Jesus caused Him to be condemned to death, then Judas repented his mistakes, and to no avail. The Lord had given him many chances, but he refused to take them into account and change his ways.

How about Peter then? Peter was faithful to the Lord, but his faith was not solid, and he was sorely tempted when he was in the garden, sleeping because he was too tired to stand vigil with the Lord. Indeed, as Jesus said, that the flesh is weak even though the spirit is willing. Thus it is also the same with us, as we are often weak in the flesh and tempted by the many things in the world, affected by fear and uncertainty.

But God saw Peter’s faith in him, even as wavering as it was. Peter’s faith was true and sincere faith for the Lord. And ever since that moment of weakness and denial, Peter had been ever faithful, and God entrusted him with the care of all His flock on earth, and he became the first of the Popes, the Lord’s Vicar on this world. To those who are faithful, God will not be far from them, and He will show them His love and grace.

Thus today, all of us should be challenged to start anew and begin a new life, a life no longer bound by sins and evil, but instead challenge ourselves to walk in the path of the Lord. It will be difficult and opposition from the world will become part of our lives, but what are we going to lose? If we fear of losing world’s approval, fame and human praise, then I say that all these are not worth it, and indeed they are useless, if our souls are to be condemned to eternal damnation.

May Almighty God guide us and help us to walk on a righteous path, and may His blessings be with us always, that we may remain ever faithful and ever strong in our lives dedicated to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 30 March 2015 : Monday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continue to proceed into the Holy Week, and in a few days’ time we shall be commemorating the three days of Easter Triduum, the heart of our faith, when we commemorate the time when our Lord instituted the Eucharist, and giving up His Body and Blood, He suffered and died for us, so that by His resurrection from the dead, He gave us a new life and a new hope that sin and death can be overcome.

Today we heard the hypocrisy of Judas, who criticised Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who had poured a whole jar of very expensive perfume made of pure spikenard on the feet of Jesus and wiped it dry with her hair. In another account, the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume also anointed His head with the same perfume, and she was criticised all the same.

As mentioned, Judas did not do so because he cared for the poor in any way, and he did it because he was a thief and a cheater, who stole the money from the common fund of the Apostles, which was meant for the poor and the needy. Thus, he spoke a lie and brought about calumny and injustice to another. His inability to resist the temptation of money, desire and the impurities in his heart led him to do what he had done, that is to betray his own Lord and Master, for a mere thirty pieces of silver.

Just for your knowledge, that when Joseph, the son of Jacob was sold by his brothers out of jealousy into slavery, he was priced at about the same price. And at that price, they were valued at even lower than animals. A good quality animal would have fetched far higher prices than those which Judas received for betraying his Lord and which the brothers sold Joseph with.

Thus we value so low the Lord who had loved us all completely and sincerely with all of His heart, we looked down on He who was tortured, mocked and rejected for our sake, who died for us on the cross, so that we might be saved. We did not appreciate the things which He had done for us, and all the hard works which He had undertaken for our own good.

We are often tempted and our minds and hearts clouded with worldly things such as greed, pride, pleasures of the flesh and many others. The Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests were all infected with the disease of greed and jealousy, as well as fear and insecurity. They were all concerned only with preserving themselves and their own livelihoods. This is why, even though they were supposed to be the ones with wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures, they refused to believe in Jesus and instead trying to undermine His works by plotting against Lazarus whom Jesus had resurrected from the dead.

They were manipulated by the wickedness and malice that Satan had planted in their hearts, which also exist in all of us. They were afraid of losing their position of honour and the respect which they have been accorded with by the society. They did not want to take a risk with the Romans, whom they were afraid that they would destroy all of their livelihood. And similarly with Judas, Satan manipulated his greed and desire for money, and in the end they destroyed and condemned only themselves.

It is a lesson for all of us that we cannot be hypocrites in our faith. Instead, we truly have to live out our faith, through our own actions. And we cannot be divided in our faith, just as we cannot have two masters. We cannot both serve God and worldly things, and as Jesus mentioned, that we will either despise one and love the other or we will not be sincere in our faith as a whole.

Therefore, let us all reflect on this occasion, and take steps to change our lives for the better. We can make a difference by committing ourselves more and more to the cause of the Lord. Now the choice is in our hands to make that difference. Let us therefore emerge from this Lenten observation, a better, more dedicated and more faithful servant of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 March 2015 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the beginning the holiest and the greatest week of all weeks in the calendar of our year, the celebration of the Holy Week, which we begin with today’s observance of the Palm Sunday of our Lord’s Passion. On this day we celebrate two important events in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord, at the ending and culmination of His earthly ministry.

The first is that our Lord Jesus Christ came to claim His glory and to reveal His greatness and the truth about Himself, that He is indeed King, and King not just of the Jews, of the people of Jerusalem, but also of the entire world, of all mankind and indeed over all of creations, King of all kings. And it is this King who had come down from His glorious throne to the earth, that all of us are rejoicing for.

We cry out together in unison, in joy, the words, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” All these are the expressions of the true joy which mankind is expressing after so many years of waiting for the salvation of the Lord, the promise that God will succour His people and liberate them from the clutches of evil.

But we have to reflect as well, how the very same people who cried, “Hosanna!” and proclaimed Jesus as King over them, would within a few days turn against Him, and instead, they called for His death, they ignored Him and abandoned Him. They cried our instead, “Crucify Him!” and “Be away with Him! We would rather have Barabbas the criminal to be released to us than Him!”

And the Pharisees with the teachers of the Law and the chief priests also gladly condemned Him and rallied the people against Him, by putting false charges and false testimonies meant to destroy the very One who had given it all to save this sinful and fault-filled race so that they might avoid their fate that is annihilation. He was rejected, mocked and belittled. And yet, Jesus persevered on and continued to be faithful to us, even when we were always unfaithful. And that is the story of our Lord’s Passion.

The celebration of this Palm Sunday is to remind us all that firstly, all illusions of power, glory, fame and worldly possessions are all temporary and illusory, which we should not spend so much of our time trying to get all of them. Jesus is King, and indeed He rules over us all, and yet, if we ask ourselves, which king would have lowered himself and humbled himself as what our Lord had done? It is indeed because of His humility and obedience to the will of God His Father that all of us are given this chance at salvation.

Did Jesus boast of His kingship and His power? No, we never saw Him or heard Him boast about His greatness and especially not when we think it in terms of self-aggrandisement. On the other hand, in this world, many people bicker constantly over power, influence, wealth, recognition by others and for human praise. And this is not true power nor will the outcome be a good one.

We have to realise that with power comes responsibility, and with authority comes the need to use that authority with wisdom and purpose. And greater power carries even greater responsibility. The Pharisees and the elders misused that power, using the power to spread lies and to judge without justice, as they had done with many people and which they also had done to Jesus Himself.

They were respected in the society and honoured, but they used that privilege in order to advance their own cause and bring more good for themselves at the expense of others. They did not administer justice as they should, they were corrupt and they thought only of themselves, and they did not care about those who had been entrusted under their care. They were like paid shepherds, hired men who did not care at all about the sheep.

On the other hand, Jesus showed to all of us by example, that true power requires responsibility and wisdom to enable that power to be used for the good of all. True kingship and sovereignty comes not by coercion nor threats nor through persuasion, but rather through the example which is shown by action, as a real and concrete proof of sincerity and honesty in leadership.

And Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who is leading us, as our Lord and King, whom we rejoice at and glorify on this day of His glorification, as we commemorate His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But as our Shepherd, the other dimension of today’s celebration is also apparent, that is of His Passion and death, where He laid down His life for us all, His sheep. Remember Jesus once said that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep?

And how does all these relate to us? It is because all of us in this world are by our nature vulnerable and prone against all the temptations of the flesh, that is power, desire, greed, wealth, fame, human praise, and many others. Each of us have been given abilities and skills according to what God deems fit with us, but many if not most of us do not know how to use them appropriately.

To each one of us God has given His trust that we should take care of one another. He has entrusted this world for us to care for as well. And what a great responsibility this is indeed. We may see that such thing is daunting for us, but if we put our trust in the Lord and understand the purpose of our lives, then things will turn out good. Most importantly is that we have to get rid of ourselves, all the obstacles that will often come in our way in using the best of our abilities to help one another.

Instead of pride and arrogance, let us all learn humility and meekness. Instead of insatiable greed and desire, let us all learn to say enough and be contented with what we have received in blessings from the Lord. Instead of hating one another and being bitter against each other, let us all learn to appreciate each other and find way to love one another. This is what we need to do, and what we need to change in our own lives.

As we begin to embark on this celebration of the most intimate and deepest mysteries of our faith in this Holy Week, let us begin with the right mindset today, that we should look deep into ourselves. Have we made good use of what God had given us and entrusted to us? Or have we misused them and use those for all wrong purposes? The Pharisees and the chief priests were given wisdom, intellect and also power and authority to teach the Faith, but they gave in to their heart’s desire and end up where they were.

Let us all learn from the examples of Christ. Although He was great, mighty and praised and adored, but He did not let these to get over Him, and made Him to be arrogant or boastful. He remained humble and willing to listen to the will of God His Father and obey it. He was willing to be humbled such and humiliated and mocked to the point of which we see in His Passion and crucifixion, so that He might give us the salvation which God had promised us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore let us all learn to overcome our own shortcomings and temptations to be selfish and to be corrupted by power, fame, and all worldly things. Let us make use of this remaining time of Lent and this Holy Week to grow ever stronger in our faith, so that we will draw ever closer to our Lord and model our actions and deeds ever more closely aligned to His will. God be with us all, and may His blessing be with us always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 6 : 1-6

At that time, leaving the place where He raised the daughter of Jairus, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the Brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Tuesday, 11 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us through the readings of the Holy Scriptures we are all shown the virtues of obedience and proper behaviours according to the teachings and the ways of the Lord. In the first reading, in continuation of the letter which he sent to Titus while he was in captivity in Rome, St. Paul exhorted the faithful ones of God to follow the rules and expectations for each members of the Church, be it man or woman, old or young.

Meanwhile, in the Gospel reading, Jesus told a parable to His disciples, about a servant and his master, and the relationship between them, which ought to be proper, as how a master should be, and the servant should also act and do things as is expected of him. In this, we also see a clear link with the exhortations of St. Paul, on how the Church consists of many members, made up of many different kinds of peoples, all of whom should behave as they are expected to behave.

Mankind had the nature to rebel and disobeying others. It is often difficult for us to listen to others and follow what they want us to do. Ever since the beginning, we have rebelled against our Divine Master, the Lord God, who was so generous with His love and care for us, His servants, and yet we still chose to walk on our own path, disregarding the commandments of God, and rather, we listened to our own hearts’ desires.

Just look at the people of Israel, the chosen people of God, who for generations continued to rebel against the Lord’s will, and even after the Lord had given them His Law, from time to time, they continued to follow their own paths, worshipping pagan gods and idols, sacrificing to these idols, and also committing other forms of debauchery and wickedness in their lives.

And they wanted a king to rule over them, and God gave His permission for them to do that, and they had kings, some of whom were good, but many were wicked and disobedient to God, acting not as they should. The kings of Israel were the vicars and regents for the Lord’s true reign over His people, Israel, and yet they misappropriated and abused their powers and authority, serving their own purposes, leading the people even deeper into sin and rebellion against the Master of all.

And even in the world today, we still see such rebellious attitudes running rampant among us. It is difficult for many of us to know who we are and what we are expected to do, as a member of God’s Church. That is why, if we look at the various issues at hand, we can see that there are many dissenting voices trying to disturb and in fact destroy the order of things, as God had ordained.

Each of us has our role to play in the Church of God, as the presbyterate, the members of the ordained priesthood, or as the laity, the people of God who live on their daily lives as normal. And the men and women, each of whom had their own unique and complementary roles in the Church, as the members of God’s people. Yet, many people who did not understand how the order of things is like, are trying to disrupt the harmonious way of things is working.

Therefore, we ought to stand up against those who cry out for gender equality in the Church in any of its forms, and the subversion of the roles of the priest and the laity, by the blurring of the differences in their roles. Those who called for such horrendous changes are not educated and ignorant in the truths of our Faith, and as St. Paul had said in his letter, we should help them to learn the truth, find their roles in the Church and act accordingly according to those roles.

The truth is that, each members and parts of the Church have unique roles and expectations, and their roles are distinct and complementary to each other. One cannot usurp the function and role of another without disrupting the proper and good order in the Church.

The priests are the ones who celebrate the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, and also are the ones authorised to give the Holy Sacraments to the people of God. Meanwhile, the laity are not allowed these roles, but instead, what are their roles? Their roles are to help the priests in their ministry and works, and in living their daily lives, they ought to be exemplary and faithful, and in building up their families, they should lead a true Christian way of life, creating good and faithful Christian families.

None of them can function without the other, as they support each other and becoming pillars, strong pillars of the Church and the Faith. And then, with regards to the roles of men and women in the Church, each of them have their own complementary roles, that support each other and perfect each other in the running of the Church.

Only men can become priests, as chosen by the Lord, and it is an unchangeable and unalterable Law of the Lord, given that the Apostles were men. But this does not mean that women are sidelined or discriminated against in the Church. Instead, women also occupy very special role in the Church, as the guardians of the Faith in the family, by her faith and dedication to God, she became role model for her family.

And we also know that there are many female religious, as nuns and others, who dedicated themselves fully to the Lord in prayer and loving service. These religious support the good works of the priests, by assisting in their missionary and loving works, and through dedicated service to mankind, showing a great example of faith to be followed by others. There had been many saints who were holy women, both religious and the laity who had dedicated themselves to the way of the Lord.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Martin of Tours, a renowned saint and Bishop of Tours during the late Roman Empire. St. Martin of Tours was once a Roman soldier, who was pious and devoted to the Lord. He was born of a pagan family, but he attended Christian services since youth and became a believer against the wishes of his father.

The qualities of St. Martin of Tours had been evident even since his youth. When he was still a centurion in the Roman Army, he met a poor beggar in a town, who was freezing to death on the cold road. St. Martin of Tours was moved with love and pity, cutting his own centurion’s army cloak in half, and giving that half of a cloak to cover the body of the poor beggar.

At night, St. Martin of Tours had a vision of the poor beggar, who brought the half cloak to him, and revealing himself to be none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. He rewarded St. Martin for his actions, and this vision and event simply pushed St. Martin further in his zeal, and it also brought him into the faith completely, for he was still a catechumen at that time.

As a member of the Roman Army, he was often intrigued by the need for him to shed the blood of others, of his enemies, which he felt was against his conscience as a Christian and follower of the Lord. Therefore, eventually he renounced his part in the Army and became a full time follower and servant of the Lord, by becoming disciple of another famous saint, St. Hilary of Poitiers.

As the bishop of Tours, this holy man carried out numerous good works for his flock, building up churches and places of worship, setting numerous standards to be followed by the followers of Christ, and establishing strong foundations of the faith in his diocese. Through his various works as bishop and shepherd to the people of God in Tours, he brought many blessings and goodness to them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, on this holy day of St. Martin of Tours, let us all take home two messages, and two important things which we need to heed in this life. First, is that all of us should play our roles actively in the Church, not by trying to be what we are not supposed to be, but to be faithful to the Lord and His will, just as He had said in the Gospel today, that we fulfill the will and wishes of our Lord and Master, without succumbing to our desires and pride.

And then second, we have to emulate the example of St. Martin of Tours in how he had lived his life. We have to show mercy and charity to others, helping those who are in need of help, so that our faith in the Lord will not be just merely empty faith, but will instead be alive and vibrant, filled with the love of God. And after we have done all these, remember that we have done it not for ourselves, but as the actions of the loving servants of our God.

Let us all say to the Lord, that we have all done our duties faithfully and as a servant of God should have done. Let us grow richer and stronger in our humility, so that we may learn how to live according to the role which God had given us, and not to seek to gain more for our own purposes. And we hope that He who sees all and knows all that we do, will reward us with His everlasting grace and love. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/10/tuesday-11-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-of-tours-bishop-first-reading/

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/10/tuesday-11-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-of-tours-bishop-psalm/

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/10/tuesday-11-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-of-tours-bishop-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 29 October 2014 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s most important message and lesson from the Scriptures to us is the nature of our faith and how important it is to our salvation and to the salvation of our souls. Few would be saved indeed, just as Christ had mentioned it, but not because they are not faithful in the Lord. Many indeed among the people did not have faith in God and even despise His offer of salvation, however there are equally many of those who do have the faith in them, and yet this faith is dead or not living.

Why is this so? That is because faith cannot be just mere statement or creed. It cannot be limited to just reciting the Creed as we always do during the Sunday or major celebrations of the Holy Mass, as mere recitation and saying of the words that we believe in God and in His laws and commandments without being accompanied by true and complete devotion to that faith through our concrete action in life, is meaningless and empty. And an empty faith does not lead to salvation, but instead to condemnation.

That is because the faith that is empty, is no better and in fact is the same as the faith of hypocrites, namely like the faith of the Pharisees, the elders of Israel, the teachers and scribes of the Law, who promoted external and superficial devotions to the Law and the ways of the Lord, but without fully understanding the purpose and meaning, as well as the potential use for the Law, and therefore their faith remained just as that, empty and superficial.

This is the same as what Jesus said to the people, in His parable of the master of the house and the guests, when He said that the door is narrow and that it will be difficult for many if not most people to pass through it to enter into the promised kingdom of heaven and everlasting life. That is because we are unable to enter the door because of the desire and the pride that made us all bloated, filled with self-righteousness and self-praise, our desire and greed, our jealousy and all the negativities that prevent us from truly reaching out to the Lord our God.

This is also similar to the story and parable which Jesus had told the people as well, on how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God compared to that of a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Somewhere in Jerusalem there was actually this gate where the gate is so low that whoever pass through it, humans and camels alike have to lower their heads or else they would knock their heads over the gate and would not be able to enter the gate.

The rich and proud man was unable to enter because for him it was humiliating and demeaning that he should lower and bow his head while he enter through the low gate, and meanwhile, the camel had no problem passing through it, because what it did is simply that it lowered its head and body, so that it was able to pass through the gate readily, even though it was larger in size than the rich and proud man.

The same therefore applies to the case of why it was so difficult for many people to pass through the narrow gate into the house. That is because the narrow gate represents the challenges that we need to face in life in order for us to follow the Lord and to obtain salvation in Him. We do not like it difficult or when challenges come our way, and we prefer to have the path to be smoothened for us, and yet there is no such thing when we decide to follow the Lord.

Many people professed to have the faith, just like the people who professed that they have seen the works of the Lord and even ate and drank with Him, but when we asked again, on whether they truly have faith in the Lord, can we say with confidence that they have such love for God? Most of us stay on with something or someone only when things are favourable for us, but when things start to go downhill, it is our human nature to abandon the things and go to seek greener pastures.

Thus, it is the same with most of the people, who cared only to be satisfied in body and to have it easy, and to avoid all sorts of difficulties and problems. Once difficulty and challenges come their way, they would evacuate and go to pick other things. Thus their faith in God is likely to be superficial and not real. Their faith and devotion will quickly evaporate once they are faced with challenges in life, the temptations of the flesh and the world, and the opposition of Satan. Thus it is imperative that we reject Satan and have control over our own desires.

So what should we do brothers and sisters in Christ, how do we then pass through that narrow door and into salvation in God? It is by being vigilant at all times against the temptations and the works of Satan, and then in addition by following what St. Paul had suggested in the letter he wrote to the Church and to the faithful in Ephesus.

St. Paul suggested obedience and sincere love for God through the good understanding and observation of the Law, as the way for us to seek God and His salvation. Obeying God as His servant, we cannot be divided in our hearts. We cannot be half-hearted, or even worse if our faith is superficial only. We have to be committed to the Lord and remain true to His path to the end of days.

If we do all these, the Master of the House of God, that is Jesus, will welcome us with His great love, forgiving us from our sins and iniquities and replacing from within us the selfishness and reluctance and doubt that prevented us from truly seeking and reaching out to the Lord. The Lord who sees all these will know that we truly understand His laws and commandments, and thus will justify us in faith.

May the Almighty God bring us into new life and salvation in Him, and give us strength and understanding so that we may always walk in His path, not tempted and not to fall from the path which leads us directly to God. Let us cast away all forms of wickedness and evil, as well as all all doubt from our hearts. This is so that we may believe and love the Lord with all of our strength, with all of our soul and with all of our beings.

May more and more souls come to the Lord to seek His forgiveness and mercy, and to attain salvation and eternal life in God. Let us not end up like those who refused to listen to the Lord and follow His ways, gaining temporary satisfaction at the price of the corruption and sin of their souls, hearts and body. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

 

First Reading : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/28/wednesday-29-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/28/wednesday-29-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/28/wednesday-29-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 20 October 2014 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are asked through the Scriptures we have heard, to reflect on our own lives, on whether our lives have been filled with selfishness, self-centredness, egoistic acts and behaviours, as well as pride or arrogance, or whether our lives had been filled with love, that is genuine love for one another, and the love for God just as much as we love ourselves.

It is very difficult for us men to live according to the latter standards as compared to the former standards. We have a big ego with us, just as the word ‘Ego’ in Latin means ‘I’, that is we are first and foremost always concerned first about ourselves, and then far below that concern is the concern about others who are around us. We are by our nature selfish, and filled with desire to the point of greed and unwillingness to show charity to others.

This ‘I’ is dangerous indeed, and do you all know who was Satan, our great enemy, before he is known now as the prince of evil and darkness? He was Lucifer, the ‘lightbringer’, one created bright, beautiful, mighty and great among all the angels who serve the Lord day and night, not to outshine his Creator, but to show all creation how great and mighty the Lord is, in creating such a perfect and wonderful creation.

Yet, in the beauty, greatness and perfection in which he had been created, Lucifer grew proud and attached to his perfection and wonders, and thus his ego grew, and his desires grew to the point that he aspired to be like God and even to surpass His own creation, in his own words, that he wanted to raise his throne above the stars of God, and to rule over all creations.

It is this pride that led to his downfall, and it is this same arrogance over his apparent greatness and abilities that made him to commit sin before God. And his rebellion against God brought him nothing but his own downfall, as he was cast out of heaven, as a sign to all others who also followed him into his rebellion, thinking that in the greatness and all the endowments they had received, they had the right to boast or be proud of those achievements.

And what did he get in the end? Nothing but damnation and eternal punishment, for the pride and greed that brought him nothing else but oblivion. Hence, this is also to help remind us, just as we heard in the Holy Scriptures, how Jesus and St. Paul both urged the people of God to let go of their ego, their pride, their arrogance, their selfishness, and all of the vices they had committed in life, and embrace the true faith, in accepting the fullness of the faith as taught to them by the Lord and through His Apostles and disciples.

How is this relevant to us? We can look at our own lives. It is very obvious that at some points and moments in our lives, we are vulnerable to our ego and our desires. How many times in our respective lives, that we put our own prosperity above that of others? How many of us did not hesitate to do certain actions, even when fully knowing that such actions may bring hurt to others, but may benefit us in some ways?

Surely this life is filled with many of such examples, when we mankind succumb to our desires and began to greedily desire on things and possessions, even often beyond our means and at the expense of others. This is also the precise cause of the many evils and miseries in the world, namely wars, conflicts, abuses, hatred and jealousy of one another. That is because mankind had grown proud of themselves and what they can do, and by what they have discovered in life, that they think too highly of themselves and as a result, inevitably come into conflict with one another due to conflicting interests.

Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, what then, we can do so that we can prevent or to settle this matter? We are often too focused on the world, and all things worldly, to the point that we ended up worrying too much about what we ought to eat, what we may receive in life, what possessions we should have or obtain, and many other things, while forgetting that in our pursuit of such things and in our worry, we may end up causing trouble for one another.

Worry and fear is not the way, brothers and sisters in Christ. We have to realise that our Lord and God loves us very much, and He wants to love us tenderly just as a father loves his children. He provides us with essentially everything that we need in this life. He will care for us as He had always done, and if we put our complete trust and faith in Him, we shall never be disappointed.

Indeed, those who put their trust in themselves will be disappointed, and just like the rich man who worried about where he ought to put his excess harvest products and building new barns to contain them, he did not put their trust in God and thus he will suffer for his selfishness and lack of love, both for men and for God. Thus, this is exactly what we need to avoid.

Let us all from now on, lead a life filled with genuine faith in God, seeking God at all times, and seeking to imitate Him in all that we do, so that in everything we do in this life, we may be truly like the children and the servants of God, and like the Apostles and disciples in their lives, so that our lives may be filled with love and charity, love that we show for our fellow men, particularly those who are in most need for our love, the last, the lost and the least among men.

And lastly, let us all love God by devotion and by action, showing our genuine faith to Him founded in love. May Almighty God see our love and our faith, and by those love and faith we have done in this life, may we be made justified and worthy of salvation and the promise of eternal life which God had made through Jesus His So. Let us pray therefore for one another, and helping one another that all of us will reach the Lord our God safely. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 11 : 42-46

At that time, Jesus said, “A curse is on you, Pharisees; to the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting those.”

“A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people do not notice them, and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when You speak like this, You insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves do not move a finger to help them.”