Lenten Homily

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Friday, 16 March 2018 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we approach the coming of the Holy Week, we see more and more signs in the Scripture readings chosen for these days, on the opposition and challenges facing the Lord Jesus, as He was about to embark on the final stage of His earthly ministry, as prophesied by the prophets and written throughout the Old Testament.

In the first reading today, the passage taken from the Book of Wisdom placed exactly the sentiments and thoughts of those who were opposed to Jesus and attempted to bring about His downfall and end. The Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the chief priests thought exactly in the manner foreshown by the Book of Wisdom, in their reasoning why they wanted to bring down the Lord.

They were jealous of the Lord and His immense popularity among the people, which He seemed to be able to do because of His very popular and authoritative sermons, and His numerous miracles and healings, which the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and all others opposed to Jesus had not been able to perform. As such they were afraid that all the privileges and power they have enjoyed then would be taken from them should the Lord triumphed in His efforts.

That was why they hardened their hearts and minds, and refused to listen to Him, even if He had brought unto them the words of truth, and even if they have witnessed and should have understood that whatever the Lord Jesus had done, could only be possible if He was indeed the Messiah, the One promised by God to be the salvation for all of the people. And there He was, God Himself made Man, choosing to dwell in the midst of His people and calling them to His saving grace.

The opponents of the Lord doubted Him because they were unable to resist the temptations of this world, the temptation of power, of influence, of prestige, of wealth, of worldly possessions and concerns, and all other things that made them to refuse to believe in God, even though what He was telling them was the truth. They surrounded themselves with self-made lies and illusions, and in the end believing in them, which were ideas planted in their minds by Satan.

Yes, whenever there are those whose works are against the good works of God, ultimately all of them came from Satan and all of his efforts and hard works against us and against God. He is always ever active in his works, trying at every moment to subvert us, to strike at us, and to turn us away from God’s salvation and grace. He does not want us to be redeemed and to be forgiven from our sins.

That is why he is always against God and His good works, and as such, that is why difficulties and challenges were often aplenty for all those who walked in God’s ways and served Him faithfully. For ages, as mentioned in the Scriptures, we witnessed how the many prophets and servants of God had to struggle against the devil and his agents which are ever present around us.

The devil exercised his works around the Lord and His disciples, and he stirred the hearts and minds of those who have been tempted by power and worldly glory, to oppose God and His works as He made it in the person of Jesus Christ. That is why He tempted Jesus to stop doing His good works, by tempting Him in the desert, and when it failed, opposing Him at every opportunity through his various works, and in the end, caused Him to be condemned to death on the cross.

Yet, Satan did not foresee that his moment of supposedly greatest triumph, at being able to condemn the Son of God and the Messiah Himself to a humiliating death, was in fact the moment of his greatest and ultimate defeat. By the power of the cross and His death on it, God has saved us all, those who were destined to perish because of our sins, as His salvation has been given to us by the outpouring of His Blood in an act of perfect love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do we realise just how much God loved us all that He was willing to go through all of that in order that we may be saved? It is important that we spend this time of Lent meaningfully so that we may reflect on the loving passion of Our Lord, Who died for us on the cross. Let us all renew our faith and commitment in Him, resolve to sin no more and devote our whole lives to Him. Do not harden our hearts and minds like that of the Pharisees and the chief priests.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us, that each and every one of us may draw ever closer to Him and receive from Him the reward of eternal life. Let us allow God to enter into our lives and transform us from creatures of darkness that we were, into creatures of light, worthy to be called His children. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 March 2018 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we witnessed through the Scripture passages, the righteous anger of God at the sins of His people Israel, as we heard in our first reading today from the Book of Exodus. The people of Israel had not obeyed the Lord and committed a grave sin when they betrayed God and built for themselves an idol made from gold, a golden calf, even as God gave them His laws and commandments through Moses.

In His anger, He wanted to destroy them all just as He had done before with the wicked and sinful sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, who sinned before God greatly, and the Great Flood came over them all, with only Noah and his descendants surviving the great catastrophe. But God had made a Covenant with Noah and his descendants, that He would no longer destroy man with a flood as He had done. And then, He made a renewed Covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

The Covenant God made with Abraham spoke of the blessings He would give to Abraham and his descendants. They would be innumerable and great beyond everything else. And in His anger at their sins, God wanted to destroy them as it was just for them, but God stayed His anger, because His servant Moses reminded Him and prevented Him from doing such a deed.

Ultimately, even though God was furious at the sins and wickedness of His people, but in truth, He loved each and every one of them, those of whom He had created out of love. God has no need for our love, as He Himself had been perfect in love, but He wanted to share that love, and that was why He created us all, to be the recipients of His wonderful love.

Yet, unfortunately, it was our stubbornness, our refusal to obey the Lord and our preference for our own sinful and mistaken ways that had led to the waywardness we have committed in life, just as the Israelites had done in their own, from the establishment of the golden calf, to their many other disobediences and refusal to follow the commands of the Lord through Moses and the other servants of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has given us so many good things, numerous blessings and love, as He had shown us through many generations, and through many opportunities He had granted us. However, it is we mankind who often refused His offer of love and mercy. We stubbornly clung to our ways of sin and our attachment to worldly matters and goods, which prevented us from truly being able to obey Him.

That is why Jesus Our Lord was also furious and angry at the indignation shown by many of His people, when He came into this world, shown by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, those who stubbornly rejected His truth just because of their arrogance, ego and all the things that were afraid to lose out to Jesus, Whom they saw as a rival to their power and authority.

Let us all not walk in their path, but instead, chart a new path in our life, if we have fallen into sin and disobedience as our predecessors had done. Let us look upon the examples of our holy saints and martyrs, those who dared and were courageous to change their way of life, changing their sinful past into a renewed life filled with faith in God. Many of them endured sufferings and difficulties for those, but they gained a greater reward in God.

May all of us be reunited and reconciled with God, as we draw ever closer to Him. May all of us seek to be righteous and faithful in all things. May all of us be blessed and may we draw closer to Him, day after day, all the days of our life. May God be with us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 14 March 2018 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us about our obedience to the will of God, as we heard how Jesus Our Lord obeyed the will of His Father, and delivered to us the words of truth, and the revelation of God’s love and desire for us all, that each one of us may be reconciled with Him in perfect love.

In the first reading, God promised His people that He would send them His salvation, because He would have pity and show mercy to His people, and He would not abandon them to their fated destruction because of their sins. He may hate and despise their sins and wickedness, but ultimately all of them, each and every one of His people, are His beloved ones. God loves us all His children, for if He had not loved us, He would not have created us.

Unfortunately, it was our sins caused by our refusal to obey His laws and commandments that have caused our separation from Him. We were meant and destined to be with God forever, and yet our sins sundered us from Him, and our ancestors were cast out of God’s presence at Eden because of their sins and their surrender to the temptations of the devil in eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Sin is caused by the disobedience of our ancestors, and also our own refusal to listen to God’s will, as He had made it clear to us through His laws, His prophets and messengers, and which He had delivered to us Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, and then passed on to us through His Apostles and disciples in the Church He established, which we are part of. We sin because we think that it is better to follow our own path, to follow our own thoughts and ways, our preferences and desires rather than to walk in the path that God had set before us.

That is why, in assuming the flesh and form of Man, by being Incarnate and born of His mother, Mary, to be the Son of Man just as He is the Son of God, to be the perfect Man and the role model of obedience for all of us, who have sinned because of our disobedience. As we have disobeyed God and subsequently fell into sin, Jesus showed us how we can be obedient to God, and therefore receive forgiveness for our sins, and be reconciled with God.

All power, authority, glory and honour has been given to Christ, as the Saviour and Liberator of all man, to free them from all bonds of sin and from our fated punishment because of those sins. He alone has the power and authority to deliver us from our sins and from all those punishment, and that is the essence of what we have heard from our Gospel passage today. And yet, God chose to show all these not through mighty deeds and wonders, but through the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ.

He wanted to show all of us that while disobedience has caused us to sin and therefore, to be sundered from God and deserving eternal damnation, but obedience to God following the examples of Christ will bring about a new life, filled with a new grace, grace from God and forgiveness for all the trespasses and faults that we have committed thus far. He chose to show us true obedience, and also His love for each one of us, by willingly taking up all of our intended punishments, our sins and everything we should have suffered from, on His cross and bearing it up to Calvary, where He died for us, so that we who believe in Him may be forgiven and live.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this season of Lent, all of us are supposed to prepare ourselves for the coming celebration of Holy Week and Easter, all of which are centred on the saving mission of Christ which He performed through His suffering, death on the cross, and ultimately His resurrection from the dead. Through this act of perfect and selfless love, God showed us that out of all the darkness of sin and all the wickedness, by obeying His laws and commandments, we can be redeemed and enter into the eternal glory of heaven.

And what is it that we must do in order to obey the Law? First of all, we must put God first and foremost in our minds, in all the things we do, and we must love Him with all of our hearts. Then secondly, we must show love, care and concern for our brethren, for our neighbours and all of our fellow men, by our actions and deeds. In fact, when we sin, we put our own ego, our own desires, and our very selves ahead of God, and ahead of others.

There have been many occasions in the history of man, when we have acted selfishly and wickedly, putting our own interests ahead of our obligation to God and to our fellow men. Wars and conflicts have been fought and much destruction wrought just so that some individuals can get whatever it is that they desired and wanted. And when man gained something, as we should be aware of, we cannot be easily satisfied by what we already have, and we end up desiring for more.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this season and time of Lent, we are all called to reevaluate and reorientate our lives so that when we were once slaves to sin, and to our desires and greed, we may be able to turn our disobedience and refusal to believe in God and walk in His ways, into obedience like that shown by Christ Our Lord Himself. As Christians, all of us are called so because we believe in Christ. But can we call ourselves Christians if we do not follow the examples Christ had set before us, and do not do what He Himself had done?

The Lord showed compassion and love for the weak and the downtrodden. He cared for the well-being of His people, feeding five thousand men and more women and children in one occasion, and four thousand in another, when He saw them hungry and without sustenance after following Him for days. And when He saw them lost without a guidance, He spent many hours teaching them about God’s truth.

We can see from these examples how Christ put His people ahead of Himself. He ministered to them, obeying the will of His Father with all of His heart and commitment, even if His human existence might be tired, exhausted or hungry. Are we able to do the same as well in our own lives and in our interactions with others? Are we able to act selflessly for the benefit of others and obey God’s commandments like Christ had done?

These are the questions that we need to keep in mind as we continue to journey through the time of Lent. Let us all devote ourselves anew to God, and change our way of life, that from disobedience we turn towards a new obedience and faith to God. Let us be ever more devoted and good servants of God. May the Lord be with us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 13 March 2018 : 4th Week of Lent, Fifth Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Christ (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings, we heard interesting stories which relate to us about water, firstly the vision of the prophet Ezekiel of the heavenly Temple, out of which flowed out great quantity of water that flooded the courtyards, and which overflowed its banks and gave life to all the plants and living things it passes by. Then in the Gospel today we heard about how the Lord Jesus healed a man who had been waiting for many years for miraculous healing to come from the water at Bethzatha pool.

In these two readings, we see the clear parallel and similarity, in water depicted as life-giving and nourishing, as the source of healing and life. And this is very symbolic, if we understand better the meaning and the nuances behind the two readings today. The Temple in heaven as seen in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel represent none other than the Holy Presence of God Himself, and the water that gushed forth from the Temple represents God giving life to the world.

In the Gospel passage, as we heard the story of the man who was paralysed for thirty-eight years and had no one to help him to get into the water, we saw that the source of all healing came not from the water, as God sent His Angel to touch the water of the spring, and the people who touched the water were therefore healed by God’s grace. The man who had none to help him for so many years, was truly hoping that he could get healed from his illness, but the Lord heard him and had pity on him.

Jesus touched the paralytic man and almost immediately the man was healed, showing that God once again exercised His power and authority to heal His beloved people, who were sick, both in body and also in soul. Why is this so? That is because Jesus came into this world, ultimately to reconcile all the people of God who have been separated from God because of their sins.

Sin is a terrible affliction upon all of us, caused by our refusal to listen to God and to obey Him, and by our disobedience, sin entered into our hearts, our minds and corrupted everything, eating away on our souls. We may think that we are physically healthy and perfectly in good physical condition. We may think that there is nothing wrong with us, because superficially we look perfectly fine.

However, due to sin, in our beings and existences, we have been spoiled and corrupted, and we have been sickened by these sins which afflicted us. Worse still, many of us are not aware that sin is a great danger on our souls, and that we really need to do something about it, or else, we may end up being punished with eternal damnation because of our sins.

And unlike any physical and worldly illnesses, diseases and infections, which can be cured through various means, or had their effects reduced or halted or postponed, the consequences of sin is not curable by any worldly and human means, no matter how hard we try, because sin is only curable by God, through His forgiveness and mercy, which in fact, He generously offered to all of us, calling us to a renewed existence and new life, no longer living in a state of sin, but filled instead with resolve and commitment to repent and turn away from those sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in our own lives, surely many of us have been tempted to live our lives in accordance with what we want and what our desires tell us to do. However, if we take a step back and think carefully about it, we will realise that if we are to trust in our own strength, intellect and assumptions, we will not be able to survive as we put our trust in human strength and power that can fail anytime.

And our desires, our ego and pride will only lead us to slide down ever further into the trap of sin, which the devil springs against us all, every single time he could do so, so that we fall from our path towards God’s salvation. Satan does this by feeding our ego, our sense of self-importance and edging on our selfish nature. But certainly God did not remain quiet or ignorant of these vicious attacks constantly targeting us, His people.

That is why through Jesus Christ, His Son, Whom He sent into the world in order to save all of us, God has shown His salvation and healing grace to all mankind. Now, it is up to us whether we are willing to accept this generous and rich offer of mercy and forgiveness, healing and reconciliation. God extends His forgiveness freely to us, but He also requires each one of us to be committed to be forgiven, that is by active repentance and genuine regret for all the sins and faults we have made.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are sinners, but do we want to remain living in sin? If we are willing to commit to change ourselves, even the greatest of sinners can become great saints, as what had exactly happened before. All saints were once sinners too, some with small sins, some with great ones. But all of them share the same conviction and resolve to follow through with their repentance, and as a result, they receive forgiveness for their sins.

Let us all spend the rest of this season of Lent wisely, making use of the opportunity given to us by God to turn ourselves wholeheartedly towards Him. Let us no longer be stubborn in refusing His generous offer of mercy, but instead renew our commitment to live in accordance with His will. May God be with us always, and may He continue to guide us in the path He is leading us through, towards His salvation and the promise of eternal life. Amen.

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Monday, 12 March 2018 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture passages we heard about God’s love and kindness, which He showed to His people with the promise of the upcoming joy and happiness for eternity, in a new heaven and a new earth as seen by the prophet Isaiah. God promised His people that if they remain faithful to Him, they would no longer suffer and endure the trials of this world, for God will bless them forevermore with His grace.

Many of us are too easy to give up on God, because we were not able to follow in His ways, and when troubles and difficulties come on our way, we easily give up the struggle and give in to the demands of the world, the temptations to sin and to do what is not according to God’s will. We often think of God as some kind of wonder and miracle worker, Who can grant us anything that we want. But when things do not go according to our wishes, we become angry, disillusioned, and we abandon God.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord healed the son of an official and prevented him from dying. The man believed that the Lord could heal his son, and he believed the Lord’s words to him, saying that his son would live. It is this faith which many of us are lacking, that is a genuine and living faith in God. The Lord Himself rebuked those many others who were stubborn in their doubts, and refusing to believe unless they see and witness wonders and miracles.

We are basically by our human tendencies, a superficial people, those who tend to be awed and affected by appearances and by exterior finesse, and yet, inside we have nothing or little of value. We tend to focus on what we can see and what we can experience directly, and we do not value what is hidden from our senses. Yet, this is the exact recipe for our lack of faith, as faith requires more than just appearances and wonders.

We tend to look up for things that can satisfy us in the short run, in terms of the pleasures, or money, or fame, or prestige, or other things that we always seek to accumulate in life. When we do not have them, we crave for these things, and when we already have them, we desire to have even more. It is hard for us to satisfy ourselves, especially when we live in a world filled with materialism and selfishness.

That is why we often seek to preserve our lives, trying to make ourselves looking as good and as youthful as possible, and we always tend to fear getting old, or losing money, or suffering from an illness, and of course, death itself. All these are caused by our unhealthy attachment to the many tempting matters of this world, which prevented us from seeing beyond the short-term fulfilment of our desires, towards the true fulfilment, that God alone can give us.

Ultimately, do we realise that it does not matter how much wealth we have accumulated and attained, and it does not matter how much power, glory and prestige we have gained, all these will not avail us on the day of our judgment? None of these will be with us, and they will not go along with us at the time when we leave our earthly existence. In the end, if we are too fixated on these, in expense of our faith, we will be left with nothing but regret.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why during this season of Lent, all of us are called to reflect on our lives and the choices we have made thus far, in how we have acted and lived our lives. Have we been spending too much focus and attention on attaining worldly and temporary satisfactions for ourselves? Do remember that none of these can give us true and lasting happiness, as only God alone can do that.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, during the remainder of this season of Lent, let us practice more of our charity and generosity towards our brothers and sisters in need. We are called to be more loving towards one another, to refocus our attention from ourselves and from our greed and worldly desires, towards the more noble goal of glorifying and loving God with all of our hearts.

May the Lord continue to be with us in our journey of faith. May He guide us along the right path that we will not fall into temptations and into sin. May we remain true and faithful to Him and devote ourselves ever more, day after day. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 11 March 2018 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose (Laetare Sunday) or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, as we approach quickly the coming of Holy Week and Easter, we recall with joy the salvation which God had brought upon His people, time and again, throughout the history of our salvation, how He renews with us His promises and the loving relationship we ought to have with Him, through the Covenants He made with us.

That is why today rose vestments are used, as we mark Laetare Sunday, with the word Laetare coming from this Sunday’s Introit, ‘ Laetare Jerusalem, remembering that in the midst of difficulties and challenges, we ought to rejoice because of the salvation and consolation that has come upon us from God. This is the time in Lent when we do not just focus on our sinfulness and our regret for those sins, in penance and almsgiving, but also look forward to the joy which is to come, when we are fully reconciled with God.

In the first reading today, we listened to the tale of destruction of the last remnants of the kingdom of Israel, when the southern kingdom of Judah centred in Jerusalem, ruled by David’s descendants, was destroyed by the Babylonians under king Nebuchadnezzar. That was because of their lack of faith and commitment to the Lord, even though the Lord had commanded them to obey His laws and commandments.

They have installed foreign and pagan gods and idols in their midst, and even desecrating the sanctity of the House of God, the Temple in Jerusalem on occasions. Thus God punished them for their refusal to obey His will, and for their wickedness and their sins. But what God truly hated was their sins and disobedience, and not their persons. God still loved them all dearly even though their sins were numerous.

It is proven by what God subsequently did for His people. In the same first reading we heard today, even though we heard to a story of despair and humiliation, but the subsequent passage in fact spoke of hope and gladness, relief and happiness, when God called upon Cyrus, the great King of Persia, to let the people of Israel go back to their own land, after he conquered the Babylonians in the year 538 BC.

And that is the reality of God’s love, that even though we mankind have sinned many, many times and refused repeatedly to follow Him, preferring our own sinful ways and habits, but the Lord is equally generous with His mercy, love and forgiveness. He is always ready to forgive us our sins and trespasses, but more often than not, we are unwilling to accept His generous offer of mercy, because we are often too proud, thinking that we are in no need for forgiveness or healing.

And we are often too preoccupied by the many temptations in life which swayed us away from the ways of the Lord, and we end up falling deeper into the trap of sin, which the devil is pulling us into, through his many persuasions and temptations. We often put our priority in our worldly cares and concerns, worrying about money, about having financial security, about our relationships and how we can maintain a good and comfortable lifestyle, about having career advancements, or having a good house to stay in, and many more.

But in the midst of all that, we often ended up forgetting about God, as we become too focused on satisfying our needs and wants, our desires and ambitions. We no longer put God as the priority of our lives, but instead we glorify and idolise money, worldly possessions, fame, prestige and many other worldly glories. We may think that we obey the laws and rules of the Church by coming to Sunday Mass regularly, but are we truly having a genuine faith in God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, why do we come to the Mass and celebrate the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? Why do we spend our time to do the devotions and the prayers? Is it because we truly want to be with God and to communicate with Him? Is it because we think that we have to do it because the Church commands us to do it, or because we are afraid of the punishment God will inflict on us if we do not do what the Church asked us to do?

Do we realise that God has done so much for us, trying to call us to Himself and to reconcile us to Him? He has done His very best, even to the point of giving us the best and the ultimate of all gifts, namely the gift of His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord. That is what St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus. St. Paul wrote about God’s rich grace through Christ, by which many people are saved.

In the Gospel today, the Lord Himself made it plain to us, that because of God’s great and everlasting love for us, He gave us His own beloved Son, by Whom and through Whom we are saved, and by Whose sacrifice and death on the cross, all of us are made whole again and be made worthy of His eternal life and the inheritance and glory He has promised to all of us. He came into this world not to condemn us, but to save us, and that is the reality that we must be aware of.

Again, I want to emphasise that God does not hate us and neither is He angry with us in person. Rather, He despises our sins and our disobedience. Those sins and disobedience are the obstacles that prevent us from being able to achieve perfect reconciliation with God. As long as we continue to sin and refuse to repent from those sins, we will continue to be separated from God, and the eventual consequences may be dire, as we may end up falling into eternal damnation in hell.

He has given us very generously the gift of His Son, because of His love for us, that all those who believe in His Son, will receive true joy, happiness and salvation, freed from the sorrows and the sufferings caused by our sins and disobedience against God. But now, it is up to us, whether we want to embrace His loving mercy and compassionate heart, or whether we arrogantly reject His offer of salvation and forgiveness for our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, let us rededicate ourselves to live our lives according to God’s will, if we have not done so. Let us develop a strong relationship with God, through our commitment to prayerful life, and also to deepen our efforts in various charitable activities. Let us remember how God has loved us so much, that He should indeed be the centre of our lives, and not all the worldly temptations of power, ambition, glory, wealth and many others.

Let us have a genuine faith in God, shown through our loving devotion, as well as by sharing the love He had shown us and blessed us with, with our brothers and sisters, especially those who are poor, weak, oppressed, lonely and unloved. May the Lord be with us, that in our Lenten journey, we may draw ever closer to Him and be ever more righteous and just in all the things that we say and do. Let us truly rejoice because of all the wonders that God has done for us. Amen.

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Saturday, 10 March 2018 : 3rd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Scripture speaking to us about the importance for us to be humble in seeking for God’s forgiveness, as we listened to the Lord speaking in the first reading today through His prophet Hosea, calling us all to return to Him by way of repentance as God is ever forgiving, even though He also punishes us because of our sins and disobedience.

At that time, the prophet Hosea lived at a time of turmoil and chaos, when the people of God and the kingdom of Israel was beset by many enemies and tribulations. All those were caused by their refusal to obey the commandments of the Lord, as they chose to walk in their own path, worshipping pagan idols and gods, and committing all sorts of inappropriate and wicked behaviour before God.

As a result, they lost God’s grace and favour, and their enemies came upon them and subjugated them. They were humbled and disgraced, and they were even crushed and humiliated, by losing the Temple in which God’s presence and Covenant has been housed, when the Babylonians ransacked and destroyed Jerusalem, and when they and the Assyrians forced many of the people of God into exile in Assyria and Babylon.

Yet, God still loved His people and cared for them. After all, He created them because they loved them, or else He would not have created them in the first place. But we and our ancestors have allowed ourselves to be swayed by sin and disobedience, and because of those sins, we have been sundered and separated from God, and we have fallen off the path in our way towards justification in God.

But God did not give up on us. Instead, He provided us opportunities after opportunities, and raised up prophets and messengers, one after another, to remind His people to repent from their sins and be found righteous in Him. Unfortunately, as we heard in our Gospel passage, one important factor often stands in the path for us to achieve salvation and justification in God, and that factor is our pride, our ego.

The Lord Jesus related to His disciples the parable about a Pharisee in the Temple who prayed with pride, boasting about his good deeds and achievements, while looking down upon a tax collector, who on the contrary, showed great remorse and humility for his sins before God. Both of them were equally sinners before God, with their shortcomings and failures, however, only one of them readily admitted the sins committed, while the other one was blind to his own sins and faults.

The people living at the time of the prophet Hosea were also proud people, who refused to listen to the prophets who chided them and rebuked them for their sinfulness. They thought of themselves as superior, and that they could not have been wrong or mistaken in the path they have chosen. But that pride and ego, and their stubbornness led right to their downfall.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this season of Lent, let us all realise that each and every one of us, have been a sinner, and are indeed filled with sin, be it small or great, be it of high significance or of less significance. And sin is a great and dangerous enemy, as it can corrupt our souls, our minds, our hearts, our bodies and indeed our entire beings. If we do not do anything to resist the temptation to sin and to turn away from our sins, I fear that we may end up falling into eternal damnation.

That is why it is important that we should follow the example of the tax collector, who recognised how terrible a sinner he was, and how he was in need of God’s healing grace and mercy. And because of his genuine repentance and desire to be forgiven, he was forgiven from his faults, and God reconciled him to Himself. Is that not what we want with ourselves too, brothers and sisters in Christ?

Therefore, let us all during this season of Lent, deepen our relationship with God, through an ever vibrant and living prayer life. Let us all devote more of our time, effort and attention, to show love, care and compassion for the poor, for the needy, for those who are unloved, and for our brothers and sisters, especially those who have hurt us and cause us pain and suffering. Let us forgive one another our faults and trespasses, that this Lenten season be a time of renewal and exceeding grace for us. May God be with us always. Amen.

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Friday, 9 March 2018 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us heard today the very clear call from the prophet Hosea upon the people of God, for them to repent from their sins and to return to the faith of their forefathers. This is made in the context of the wickedness of the people who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had been ransacked and crushed by their enemies, because of their sins and wickedness, their refusal to obey the Lord and His laws.

The prophet Hosea promised the same promise that God has frequently told His people, that He would not abandon them to the darkness, but He would reconcile all of them to Himself, and therefore, they would once again be His people and receive again the fullness of His love and blessings. God loved all of them and did not wish to see them perish in the hands of their enemies or falling into the eternal damnation in hell.

That was the reason why, He gave them His laws and sent His prophets to their midst, so that they might seek repentance and to be forgiven from all their waywardness and from all the sins that they had committed. But the people continued to harden their hearts and refused to believe in Him or His prophets, and they continued to worship the pagan idols and did more wicked deeds, killing the prophets and messengers sent to their midst.

As a result, the kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and all the people of God were scattered. Many of them were brought off to faraway lands in Assyria and Babylon as slaves and exiles, losing the lands promised to them and their ancestors. All of these were caused by their lack of faith and obedience, and because of those sins, that they refused to repent from, they have received the just punishment for their actions.

But again, God still loved all of His people, despite all of their sins, their stubbornness and constant refusal to obey His laws and commandments. He continued to send prophets after prophets, and messengers after messengers who spoke of God’s forgiveness and mercy which He would show to His people should they turn their hearts and minds back to Him and abandon their ways of sin.

And that was why He sent us His own beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour and Redeemer. Through Christ, the Lord revealed the fullness of the truth about Himself and His love for us all. He revealed that all that He had done for His people, are all because of His enduring and everlasting love for them. He revealed to them that His Law is indeed about love, and first of all, love which is shown to Him, above all other things, and then love shown to others, to our brothers and sisters in our midst.

But at the time of Jesus, again the people hardened their hearts. At that time, they misunderstood the Law and misused it to serve their own selfish intentions. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law used the Law to advance their own careers and prestige in the society. Instead of bringing the people closer to God, they closer off the kingdom of God from the reach of man. They have been entrusted with the task to bring the people to love God more in their lives, but they have failed in that endeavour.

Thus the Lord Jesus wanted to remind us all Christians, all of us who love Him and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour, that we have to obey His Law with understanding, that is by loving God and putting Him first and foremost in our lives, without anything else in the way or as distractions in our worship of God. Then, we must also love one another, our fellow brethren, by showing genuine care and concern, compassion and love for those who need them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us emulate the examples of St. Frances of Rome, holy woman and servant of God whose feast we celebrate today. St. Frances of Rome was a saint renowned for her charity and good works among God’s people as a lay associate of the Benedictines religious order. She was remembered for her prayerful life and devotion, and for her loving care towards her peers, opening her house as an emergency hospital for multitudes of people when a great plague struck her hometown.

Are we able to follow in the footsteps of St. Frances of Rome? Are we able to love the Lord Our God and love one another with the same intensity as she had done and shown us? This is the challenge that we are all called to do in this season of Lent, to renew our faith and spiritual life, that each and every one of us will no longer live our lives according to our past sinfulness, but instead, will find a new existence filled with God’s love and grace.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower us to live faithfully in accordance with His will. May God bless us all and our journey of faith this Lenten season. Amen.

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Thursday, 8 March 2018 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the clear frustrations of the Lord in two cases. The first one, from the Old Testament was the Lord voicing out His displeasure of His people through His prophet Jeremiah, about their constant disobedience and refusal to listen to His reminders and teachings as He made it clear to them through His prophets.

They continued to sin and disobey the Lord, and they did not follow the examples of their ancestors who obeyed the Law meticulously and genuinely. They persecuted the prophets and messengers sent to them to remind them and to call them to repentance. Instead of turning towards the Lord, they hardened their hearts and sinned further before the Lord.

In the Gospel today, we heard yet another example of this stubbornness, as the Lord Jesus met lots of resistance from the Pharisees who accused Him wrongly and maliciously of using the power of the devil in order to perform all of His miraculous deeds, healings and wonders. They were the ones who were highly educated and were knowledgeable about the Scriptures, and yet they failed to recognise God and His works when He came to their midst.

Why is that so? That is because of their stubbornness and refusal to believe in the Lord’s words as they were so set in their ways and thoughts that they refused to listen to an alternative opinion, even if their thoughts and ways were wrong. They stubbornly clung on to their false beliefs because of their pride and arrogance. They even went to the extent of doubting God’s presence and works in their midst in doing so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called to reflect on these Scripture passages, looking at all the sinful ways and actions we have done in the past, and which we may still be doing at the moment. Have these prevented us from seeking God’s grace and forgiveness, because of our pride and our stubbornness, thinking that everything is fine and good for us? Have we allowed ourselves to be swayed by our desires and ambitions that we forget that we are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness?

In this time of Lent, we are called to reexamine our lives and our actions, and see what we can do in order to bring ourselves closer to God. God has called us to be His disciples, and to follow Him in the path that He will show us, but we must have the commitment to follow in His footsteps, and to walk in His path, which will not be easy and will be full of challenges and difficulties.

We will be tempted in various ways to leave the way of the Lord, and we will be tempted to return once again to our old, sinful way of life. That was why the Israelites fell again and again into sin, because they did not remain true to their faith in God and make little effort to resist the temptation of the devil. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law similarly allowed the devil to enter their hearts and sway them with hubris and arrogance, that closed their hearts and minds from understanding God’s words and truth as revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is what we must not do with our lives. On the contrary, we must open our hearts and minds, allowing the Lord to enter and transform us completely, from beings filled with darkness and sin, into beings filled with light and grace of God. Let us heed the example set by our holy predecessor, St. John of God, in his dedication and commitment to live his life filled with faith and devotion to God, through his actions and deeds.

St. John of God was orphaned in his young age, and later became a soldier in his early adulthood, and because of injustice and false accusation, he was wrongly blamed for a crime that he did not commit. Turning away from all worldly ways and concerns because of these turn of events, he began to turn towards God and trying to seek Him in his life, as he felt a strong spiritual longing due to the emptiness he felt in his soul.

He saw a vision of the Infant Jesus, Who bestowed on him the name, John of God, the name he was to be known by henceforth. When listening to a sermon of St. John of Avila, another great saint of the Church, St. John of God felt the calling to serve the Lord with more commitment. He began to work among the poor and the needy, caring for them and providing for their material and spiritual needs.

Later on in his life, he established a religious congregation gathering all like minded people and devoted servants of God, dedicated to the care of the sick and the poor. These dedications to the weakest and the least among God’s people should be inspiration for all of us, in how we should carry on our lives from now on, in how we ought to devote ourselves to God in a better way.

May the Lord help us through our faith journey in this season of Lent, that we may grow ever closer to the Lord, devoting ourselves, our time, effort and attention to care for the needy around us, to be humble in all that we do, and remember that we must not be proud or arrogant in mind. We must not follow in the footsteps of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in their stubbornness and refusal to believe in God.

Let us instead imitate the humility of Our Lord Himself, Who came into this world as a servant for all, loving and caring to all those who have been entrusted to Him. Let us all make our Lenten observation more meaningful and fruitful, by doing acts of charity and grace to others around us, doing our very best to help those who are in need, that through us, God may perform more of His wonderful works among us. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 7 March 2018 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings, we listened to the Lord speaking to us about His laws and commandments, which He had given to us His people. In the first reading today, we heard about the Lord speaking through Moses, His servant, teaching His people about the laws and commandments. The people were reminded to follow the Law and to obey God in all that He had taught them to do.

God has blessed them with His commandments and norms which He did not yet reveal to the other people and nations, and He expected them all to obey those laws and commandments. And He showed to them that if they remained true and faithful to His laws and commandments, they would be blessed and honoured, and they would be able to enjoy the graces He gave to them, in the land promised to them, all the prosperity meant for them as He promised their ancestors.

It is also exactly what the Lord Jesus reiterated in the words He said in the Gospel passage today. Yet, we see in those words, the frustration that the Lord showed as He was faced with opposition by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Why is that so? That is because the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law accused the Lord Jesus and His disciples of trying to supplant the Law they carefully and zealously guarded, with a new version of the Law.

But Jesus rebuked them and said that what He brought unto them was the true meaning and obedience to the Law which God had revealed to His people so long ago through Moses. The problem lies in the fact that the laws as preserved and observed by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had been misunderstood and misapplied in such a way that the people were not able to appreciate why is it that they need to be faithful and obedient to the Law.

At that time, most of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were so focused on their aim to purify the people of Israel from all of their past impurities and sins, that they ended up creating many more rules and regulations which distracted the people of God from the true intention of the Law that is to bring the people closer to God and to love God more in their daily life. They were so caught up in their attempt to live up to their so-called obedience to the laws of Moses that they forgot why they ought to be doing all those actions and to Whom they ought to be doing it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what the Lord Jesus had done was merely to redress the errors of the Pharisees and the corruption which had twisted the laws and commandments of God. He revealed to us all the true meaning of the Law, that is love. For all the rules and regulations added in and modified by the elders and the traditions of the Jewish people, the actual Law is truly simple, that is to love God with all of our entire effort, and to love one another with the same kind of love.

That is all that the Lord wanted from His people, a pure and unconditional love, just as He Himself has loved them first with that kind of love, commitment and devotion. Unfortunately, that was not what He received from His people, and when He came into their midst, in Jesus Christ, all that He received was scorn, rejection and refusal to believe in Him and His truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect, is that our attitude as Christians as well? Is that how we have treated the Lord? So far in our respective lives how many of us have truly lived them with true obedience to the Lord, loving Him genuinely in all that we do and say, in every action we take and in every moment? Or have we blindly obeyed or followed the ways and the rules taught to us by the Church without really understanding why we have done so?

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, two renowned saints and martyrs of the Church, who lived during difficult years of intense persecution against the Church and the faithful, under the Roman Empire. St. Perpetua was a young noblewoman who resolved to become a Christian convert despite the objection from her father, while St. Felicity was a young slavewoman, who were imprisoned together with St. Perpetua for their faith.

They remained strong in their faith despite the physical sufferings and torture they had to endure, all the ridicule, scorn and anger directed at them, because of their great love for God. They did not mind enduring the same hatred of the world just as the Lord Himself had endured it. They willingly embraced martyrdom rather than to give up their faith in God. Their courage and commitment to the Lord inspired many people even many centuries after their passing from this world.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to live the same Christian life as St. Perpetua and St. Felicity have lived theirs? Are we able to love God in the same way that God has loved us, that is with all of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, with our entire beings? Let us all make use of this time of Lent to prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually and physically to grow deeper in our love and commitment to God.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He awaken in each one of us the same love, dedication and commitment as shown by His saints and martyrs, especially St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, whose memory we remember today. Let us ask for their intercession, that by their prayers God may be moved to call us all to Himself, to be forgiven and redeemed from our sins and unworthiness. St. Perpetua and St. Felicity, pray for us. Amen.