Laudato Si

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures and reflecting upon the event that we celebrate today, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us to be faithful stewards of the Lord’s creation, in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions in life, with all those whom we encounter, in our every responsibilities in this life. At the time of reckoning of our lives, we have to give an account of what we have done and also account for what we have not done or failed to do. All these things are expected of us all, and we have been reminded of them by the Lord Himself Who wants us all to be reconciled and reunited with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Thessalonica. In that passage we heard, the Apostle spoke to the faithful reminding them of what they would experience at the time of reckoning in the end of days and end of time. Contextually, the faithful Christians of Thessalonica had been quite exemplary and good in their way of life and in their attitudes and actions. That was why St. Paul wanted to encourage them all to continue to live in the way of their Christian faith so that they would continue to be worthy of the Lord and His salvation, for all that He has promised to each and every one of them, even amidst all the challenges and trials that they might be facing in their lives as Christians.

The reality at that time was such that many were opposed to the Christian teachings and the manner in which the people of God lived their way of life. The Christians across the various parts of the Roman Empire encountered difficulties and challenges firstly from the Jewish authorities and the communities of the Jewish diaspora where the Apostles and missionaries initially also worked amongst to spread the Good News of God’s salvation, because not all of them were convinced that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, with some siding with the Jewish High Council, the Sanhedrin, who sought to silence and stop the works of the Christian missionaries and disciples. Then, in addition, they also encountered opposition from the local pagan who often opposed the evangelisation efforts, and also the Roman state and slavemasters that were opposed to the egalitarian message of the Christian faith, of equality between everyone.

That is why St. Paul reminded the faithful in Thessalonica to continue to be faithful to what they had believed and to continue living in the manner that is worthy and expected of them all as Christians. He reminded them that in the end, all that they have done in faith would be vindicated and rewarded by the Lord when He is to come again into the world, at the end of time and the time of reckoning of all things, just as He has promised. And in the end, everyone who has been faithful to God shall be raised again in body and soul, united in perfection and made perfect and glorious once again, when God will restore all things to perfection and wonder, ridding all sorts of wickedness and evil, darkness and sins that have been all around us. And all of us shall share in the eternity of true joy and happiness with God.

In our Gospel passage today then we heard of the account from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, in which the Lord Jesus went back to His hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. In that occasion, the Lord was preaching in their local synagogue, speaking about the fulfilment of all that God had promised to them all through His coming into this world, as He read to them the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. But as the Lord told them everything that He Himself had done, and no doubt the people of Nazareth had heard from the people of their surrounding regions, they were still gripped by that disbelief and lack of faith in Him, refusing to admit that one of their own townspeople could have been the Messiah or the Saviour that would be sent by God.

And if we compare what we heard in the treatment of the Lord’s own townspeople and neighbours against Him, with how the people of Thessalonica welcomed warmly St. Paul the Apostle and the other disciples and missionaries, we are reminded of the Lord’s words, as He spoke of how prophets and messengers of God were often reviled and hated in their own lands. Of course this does not mean that all the foreigners and pagans, the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people were more welcoming and kind towards the Lord and His disciples and missionaries, and even among the Jewish people there were those who strongly believed in the Lord and in His truth and Good News, as the Apostles themselves were mostly Jewish in origin. However, what lies at the crux of the matter and issue is the tendency that all of us as humans have in having preconceived judgments and bias against others.

In this case, for the townspeople of Nazareth, they had seen the Lord Jesus growing up in their midst, seeing Him from His childhood days. As such, many among them must have had prejudice and bias being built into their minds, thinking that it was impossible for this Son of a mere town carpenter, namely that of the Lord’s foster-father, St. Joseph, to be the One that the prophets had been proclaiming and speaking about. At that time, carpentry, while it was being a noble and important field of work, doing job that not many would want to do, was often looked down upon, and many carpenters were considered as inferior, uneducated and therefore did not belong to the religious and societal elite at the time, dominated by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

It was likely all these attitudes, biases and all the other factors that we had mentioned which resulted in how they treated the Lord badly, refusing to believe in Him or listen to Him, and instead preferring to believe in their own prejudices and biases, and because they thought that they were also superior and better than the Lord because He was merely the Son of a carpenter. This attitude is what likely prevented them from seeing reason and believing in the Lord as they should have done. And yes, this is despite them having definitely heard all the wonders that the Lord had done in the whole of Galilee, in the nearby Capernaum and Bethsaida among other places, because their pride, ego and stubbornness had gotten the better of them, and this is what we ourselves should not be doing, brothers and sisters in Christ.

As mentioned earlier, today we also commemorate the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. On this day, all of us are reminded that The late Pope Francis, our previous Pope instituted this important occasion to remind all of us of the role which each and every one of us as Christians are called to take up in our way of living each and every moments of this life we have. In his Papal Encyclical Laudato Si, released in conjunction with this renewed emphasis for the care of the environment and the world all around us, we are reminded that we must be responsible and careful in how we live in this world that God has created and made for all of us to dwell in. Yes, God created this world for us to enjoy living in and to prosper, but also to teach us all to be responsible and to be good in our way of caring for what God had kindly created for us to share in this common world we have.

In the same manner, all of us are also called to be good and faithful stewards for our fellow brothers and sisters around us, in each and every actions and interactions that we carry out each day and at every moments. We have been entrusted not just with this world but also with the care of our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Unfortunately, the same attitude which the people of Nazareth had shown to the Lord Jesus, stemming from their pride and prejudices, their ego and sense of superiority, all these are attitudes that we should avoid and not have in our own lives. As Christians we should indeed do our best to show love, care and concern for one another, and realise that all of us are truly equal before the Lord, all equally sons and daughters of His, having been entrusted with this world to care together.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best to glorify the Lord by our exemplary lives, to do our part as faithful disciples and followers of the Lord in all things. May the Lord continue to help and strengthen us always so that by our every contributions and efforts, we will always show what it truly means to be good and worthy disciples of the Lord, and to be good and responsible stewards of His Creation. Amen.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 16-30

At that time, when Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today, these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” All agreed with Him, and were lost in wonder, while He spoke of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, “Who is this but Joseph’s Son?”

So He said, “Doubtless you will quote Me the saying : Doctor, heal yourself! Do here, in Your town, what they say You did in Capernaum.” Jesus added, “No prophet is honoured in his own country.” Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land.”

“Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is YHVH and worthy of praise! Above all gods, He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One Who made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Monday, 1 September 2025 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord, we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming, will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the Archangel’s voice is given, the Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding.

Then, those who have died in the Lord, will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever. So then, comfort one another with these words.

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Sunday, 1 September 2019 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we are contemplating on a topic which many of us often find difficult to practice in our daily lives and as Christians, especially in this world which is often filled with many temptations and desires that prevent us from practicing this very important. Christian virtue that can lead us to be closer to God. And what is this virtue, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is humility.

Humility is something that we often profess to have and preach as Christians. We always like to say that we have humility in us, and yet, very often and more than not, we do not practice humility in our daily lives, and we do not act humbly in how we interact with one another and in how we utter our words and in reaching out to others. On the contrary, we are often tempted by the pride within us, and acted with ego, pride and arrogance.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself presented to us what is the problem with ourselves in how we act in our daily living. He mentioned how people often jostled and even fought over the places of honour in events and banquets, seeking places of greater honour and exposure, so that one may gain more prestige or satisfaction from having a position of greater honour and esteem than that of another person.

And yet, as the Lord Himself said, there will always be bound to be others who have greater esteem and honour than us, and it is bound that we will be displaced by another who is of greater rank and honour than us, and as Our Lord said, those who want to glorify and honour themselves will end up being humiliated and dejected of having been asked to step aside for those with greater power and honour.

In the end, for all of our pursuits of glory, power, fame and influence, what do we all gain, brothers and sisters in Christ? We gain nothing, and indeed, we end up losing as Satan will have a great time trying to persuade us to take revenge and be angry, to be jealous with one another and to strive to be more powerful and more famous than another person. We spend a lot of time trying to make ourselves more beautiful or handsome, more attractive and more acceptable to others as a result.

In fact, we also cause a lot of sufferings to one another because of our pride and our greed, our inability to resist the many temptations of power, of glory, of fame, of wealth and worldly pleasures. Many conflicts and wars have been caused by the insatiable desires of man who desired more power, more prestige, more wealth and everything else that often corrupted us mankind into the path of sin and wickedness.

The Lord has given us many blessings and good things in life, and yet we mankind are always hard to be satisfied. In truth, we will never be satisfied as long as we try to seek satisfaction in all these worldly things, in all the glory and wealth and riches of the world. The Lord has blessed us with what we need but we seek more than what we need and succumb to the temptations of the flesh, and we therefore fell into sin.

Today, all of us are called as Christians to look deep into our own lives and reflect on every actions, words and deeds we have done and spoken all these while. We are called to contemplate on how we have lived our lives thus far, and most importantly, whether we have truly put God at the very heart and centre of our whole being, and as the whole reason and purpose of our every words, actions and deeds.

Surely, more often than not, as we have discussed just earlier, we have lapsed from this path and fell into the path of pride, the path of greed and the path of sin. We fell into this state because we are weak in the flesh, and temptations are always plenty all around us. And unless we take the concrete action and efforts to resist those temptations and grow stronger in our relationship with God, we will likely end up continuing down this slippery path towards damnation.

Now, let us look at the impetus for all these temptations and for all the wickedness we have committed. In truth, everything leads to one thing, and that is pride or ego. Pride and ego is the greatest and most serious of all forms of sins, just as Satan himself was once the most brilliant and greatest among the Angels of God who was tempted by pride and fell from grace, and ended up in perpetual rebellion against God because of that same pride.

Similarly, pride has entered into our hearts and minds, corrupting our whole being and pushing us deeper towards sin. Pride is the source of all other sins, just as greed and gluttony comes about because of our own pride and ego, that desire to satisfy ourselves and our ego, sloth and lust that come about because of the same desire and want to please ourselves and gain things for ourselves, often at the cost and suffering of others, and many others.

That is why pride and ego are such dangerous enemies that we constantly have within ourselves, which become a great obstacle to us in our journey of faith towards God. How do we then resolve or counter this? The answer lies in what we have discussed earlier today and throughout today’s Scripture readings. It is humility that is the greatest weapon we have in our constant battle against pride and ego within us.

And the Lord wants us all to grow deeper in this humility, a most difficult and rarest of all Christian virtues in my opinion, as it is always very difficult for us to go up against our pride and ego, the ambition and arrogance and the selfishness that are present within us. But humility can be cultivated and it can grow within us, brothers and sisters in Christ, if only that we make the conscious effort to grow in humility and in our relationship and faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remember what the prophet Sirach mentioned in our first reading passage today, that the greater we become, the more humble we should be, and how we should submit ourselves to the power of God and not seek for things beyond our means, or as I have mentioned, causing even suffering and pain to others in our endless pursuits for power, glory, fame and worldly things.

Then, in the second reading today, I want all of us to remember what the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews pointed out in the passage, that God truly is great and Almighty, far beyond our comprehension, full of power and glory. In how God was shown as the Lord of lords, King of kings, with innumerable Angels glorifying and serving Him, the Master and Lord of all the universe, it serves to remind us all, that no matter how great we are, how glorious we are, how famous and powerful we may be in this world, we are truly nothing before the Lord.

Therefore, for all our pursuits for more power, fame, influence, glory and all worldly things, all of these are truly meaningless and futile because after all, we must realise that all these things do not last, and will not last into eternity. These are the treasures of this world that the Lord has told us to be false treasures, as distractions for us in our pursuit for the true treasure, which is truly found in God alone.

Today, henceforth, all of us as Christians, we are all called to be more humble in our lives and in how we act, in how we interact with one another, in how we live out our lives in this world today. And even more importantly, humility is something very important that we must have in today’s world, especially because today we also mark the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

On this day, we remember our roles as the Lord’s stewards of creation, which means that this world we are living in today, we have been entrusted to its care, just as God entrusted the world in the very first chapters of the Book of Genesis to the first men, the whole world with all of its living creatures and the whole earth itself to our care. And this is truly a very great responsibility for us all to bear.

In this regard, we need to be humble in knowing how God has entrusted with this great responsibility and duty, because He trusts us all to perform our responsibility with the best of our abilities, making use of the many gifts and talents that He has provided us with. Instead of exploiting and bringing harm to this world by our ego, by our greed and insatiable desire for wealth and worldly glory, why don’t we love what God has created for us instead?

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, from now on let us all be truly devoted to God in all things and strive to be faithful always to Him, and show our faith and dedication through our every words, actions and deeds. Let us all be filled with humility in every actions, knowing that we are truly nothing without God, and all the glory and the wonders of this world are nothing and meaningless if we are not in God’s loving grace.

May the Lord continue to bless us all with His love and tender compassion, and may He grant us all the strength and conviction to live our lives faithfully from now on, with all humility and resisting the many temptations of this world, especially that of pride within our hearts. May the Lord bless us all and our good works, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 September 2019 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 14 : 1, 7-14

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched.

Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour. And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you had been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid.”

“When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you; you will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

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Sunday, 1 September 2019 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 18-19, 22-24a

What you have come to, is nothing known to the senses : nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpet or such a voice that the people pleaded, that no further word be spoken.

But you came near to Mount Zion, to the City of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, with its innumerable Angels. You have come to the solemn feast, the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven.

There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright, brought to perfection. There is Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, with the sprinkled Blood that cries out more effectively than Abel’s.

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Sunday, 1 September 2019 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 67 : 4-5ac, 6-7ab, 10-11

But let the righteous be glad and exult before God; let them sing to God and shout for joy. Sing to God, sing praises to His Name; YHVH is His Name. Rejoice in His presence.

Father of orphans and Protector of widows – such is our God in His holy dwelling. He gives shelter to the homeless, sets the prisoners free.

Then You gave a rain of blessings, to comfort Your weary children. Your people found a dwelling, and, in Your mercy, o God, You provided for the needy.

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Sunday, 1 September 2019 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 3 : 19-21, 30-31

The greater you are, the more you should humble yourself and thus you will find favour with God. For great is the power of the Lord and it is the humble who give Him glory. Do not seek what is beyond your powers nor search into what is beyond your ability.

As water extinguishes the burning flames, almsgiving obtains pardon for sins. The man who responds by doing good prepares for the future, at the moment of his downfall he will find support.