Lenten sermon

by

Thursday, 4 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (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 reminding us all about the matter of faith and belief in God, that is the cornerstone and centre of our faith, and indeed, of our entire lives. For without true faith and devotion to God, we cannot live our lives in the manner that is in accordance to the way that the Lord has shown us, the path towards salvation.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, the Lord spoke out of His righteous anger before Moses, wanting to destroy the Israelites for the sins which they have committed, sins which were truly grievous and terrible, because they have willingly, consciously and deliberately rejected God despite having witnessed and received the great providence, love and grace from God, Who personally intervened for their sake and liberated them from their enemies and oppressors.

They chose a golden calf, crafted and made by the hands of man to be their god. They abandoned the Lord Who had blessed them and protected them so much, just because they thought that He was not there with them, just when Moses left them for a period of time as he went up the mountain to communicate with God and to get His Laws and commandments. They performed a great sacrilege and betrayal by such an act.

As recorded in the Book of Exodus, it may seem that the Lord is an angry and vengeful God, but this is the same pattern that happened throughout most of the Old Testament, as the people saw Him as One Who did not tolerate dissent or disobedience. But in truth, it was not the Lord Who willingly wanted the destruction of His own people, His beloved ones. Rather, it was their conscious rejection of God’s love and their sins that condemned them to destruction.

Moses interceded on behalf of the people, asking God to turn away from His righteous anger and forgive His people their sins. He reminded Him of the promises and the love that He has shown to His faithful servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He relented and turned away from His wrath because He is a faithful God, Who is faithful to the Covenant that He had made with His servants, His beloved people.

This is a reminder for each and every one of us that we have also experienced the same thing in our own lives due to sin. By our sins we have made ourselves like the Israelites who rejected God’s love and grace and made for themselves an idol out of gold. Likewise, we have made for ourselves many idols, from all of our attachments, desires and all the other longing of our earthly lives.

And the Lord Jesus revealed Himself in the Gospel passage today, as the One Who is interceding for us before God as Moses once did, and called on all of us sinners to listen to Him and to receive His message of truth. He made it plain, clear and simple, that all those who listen to Him and receive His truth with faith, the Lord will bring them all to the salvation that He has promised to all of them. If they otherwise prefer to remain in sin and refuse to repent and listen to the Lord’s call, then they shall be judged and be condemned by the same sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is where we need to keep in mind of just how loving and forgiving our God is. Despite all of our sins, He is still willing to embrace us and to forgive us from our trespasses and wicked ways, as long as we are willing to make the conscious effort to turn away from those sins and accept His truth, as revealed to us through Christ, His Son, Who has pleaded and interceded for us, through His suffering and death on the cross.

Yes, that is just how much God loved us and treasured us, that He was willing to go through all the troubles and difficulties just so that we all may be saved from certain destruction because of our own sins and disobedience. And all of us therefore should love God with all of our hearts, and devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly, from now on, throwing away all the wicked idols of money, power, fame, influence, worldly glory and all the things keeping us from righteousness in God.

Today we can also model ourselves from the examples shown to us by the saint of the day, St. Isidore of Seville, known as a holy man and devout servant of God, who preached and taught among the people in what is now modern day Spain. He preached the truth of God and called on the people to abandon their sinful and wicked ways, and helped many others to get out of their sins, and seeking the forgiveness of God. He himself lived a holy and austere life, devoted and dedicated to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn to the Lord from now on and spend our effort in trying to make ourselves worthy once again of His love. God wants to forgive us our sins, but do we want to be forgiven? Unless we want to be forgiven, we will not be able to fully reconcile ourselves with God, and worse still, we may fall again and again back into sin, and from there to destruction and eternal damnation, a fate we certainly want to avoid.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us through life, that we may draw ever closer to Him and find the way to the fullness of His love and saving grace. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 3 April 2019 : 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 Scriptures speaking to us about the love that God, our loving Creator and Father has for each and every one of us, and by which love we are so fortunate, because despite of our sins and all the wicked deeds and actions that we have done, God still loves us and is willing to forgive us from those sins and wickedness, provided that we are able to follow and commit ourselves to the path that He has shown to us all.

In both our first reading passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel passage today, this truth is reiterated before us all firmly, reminding us of the great love that God, our loving Father has for each and every one of us. In the book of the prophet Isaiah we heard how the Lord reminded His people of the love that He has for each and every one of them, and how He would save them from their enemies and from their troubles.

He reminded all of them that they will no longer need to worry and ought to rejoice because God has come to save them all. And this is precisely echoed and revealed through what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus also mentioned the very same things, the assurance of God’s love and faithfulness, when He, our loving Father, will bless us and gather us into the bliss and eternal joy He has promised all of those who are faithful to Him.

And therefore, today we are reminded of the fulfilment of God’s promises that He has made through Jesus Christ, His Son, through Whom God has revealed to all of us, His perfect love, that He was willing to send His Son to us as the perfect gift, and as the Hope of our salvation. Through Christ, God’s own Son, God has brought us all from the darkness of this world and into the eternal joy and bliss He has prepared for all of us.

Today’s readings repeat this important truth because each and every one of us ought to remember why we go through this period of Lent, this time and period of purification and self-rediscovery. And that is because we are looking forward to the coming of the true joy of our lives, that will come with the fullness of our reconciliation with God, through Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and death on the cross, by which He has redeemed us all from our sins.

As we draw ever closer to the end of the season of Lent, and as we head towards the holiest week of our entire liturgical year, the Holy Week itself, we ought to spend some time to reflect on our own lives, and how we have lived these lives of ours thus far. Have we placed our faith in God and have we loved Him just as He Himself has first loved us? Have we realised just how much God cared for us, and how He has blessed us all these while without us probably even knowing it?

Indeed, just as we heard in the Gospel passage today, that some among the people who heard Jesus’ teachings opposed Him and wanted to kill Him because they refused to believe in Him, thus, our lives will be far from being smooth and easygoing. There will be plenty of challenges and obstacles in our journey, as there will be many of those who disagree with us and our choice to follow the Lord. And the devil is always busy at work trying to snare more souls to follow his lead into damnation.

But, shall we follow the falsehoods and the empty promises of Satan? He is full of sweet lies and false pretenses, that we can end up falling for if we do not have a strong faith and trust in God. This is where we need to strengthen our dedication to God, that each and every one of us may grow stronger and firmer in our faith, and not easily give in to the temptations of evil. This season of Lent is truly a time for us to make a difference in our lives, by changing our way of life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord from now on with all of our strength, and focus our attention and effort towards Him. Let us grow ever more in love for Him and put our complete trust in Him, for He is ever always faithful, and will not abandon us at the time of our need. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 2 April 2019 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture passages we listened again about the healing and liberation that come from God, as we heard in our first reading passage today from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel about the vision he received of the glorious heavenly sanctuary, of the wonderful place and how everything exists in God’s grace and bliss. And then in the Gospel passage we heard another healing miracle of the Lord, as He healed a paralytic man and made him whole once again.

Through all of these passages we have heard today, God wants to remind us all that this Lent, we are called to reflect on our own lives, on how we have lived these lives of ours so far, in our attitudes, actions and life. We are called to remember that our ultimate destination in life is heaven, as God showed to the prophet Ezekiel in the vision. And in truth, heaven is more than just a place, for it is a state of pure bliss and joy of being fully reconciled and reunited with God, where there will be no more sorrow but only pure joy of being with God, enjoying the fullness of His love for eternity.

Unfortunately, all of us mankind have been prevented from enjoying all these things and wonders in this present life, because of our disobedience against God and His will. And the fruits of disobedience are our sins, which have corrupted us and made us to be sick. We are just like the paralytic man who was lying down, unable to move and afflicted at the Pool of Siloam. And no one helped him for the entirety of the thirty-eight years he was there.

And we see how there were many people afflicted by various diseases coming to the Pool of Siloam because of the miraculous healing that happened to all the first person who went into the water when the water was stirred by God’s Angel. But no one bothered to help the paralytic man to go to the water to be healed, and everyone just bothered about their own selves, in wanting to be healed. That was how the paralytic man suffered there for thirty-eight years long.

Jesus knew how long the man had suffered and waited for the day of his healing which did not seem to come at all. But Jesus knew his faith and willingness to be healed, and thus, He approached the man and asked about his willingness to be healed. The man showed that he clearly wanted to be healed, but no one bothered to help him at all in order to be healed. And so, Jesus showed us all an example by reaching out to the man, and healed him even on the day of the Sabbath.

Jesus showed us all what each and every one of us need to do, especially during this penitential season of Lent, a time of renewal and reconciliation with God. First of all, He is calling on us to seek Him for Him to heal us all from our sins. For it is God alone Who is capable of freeing us from the bondage and sufferings of our sins. We cannot heal ourselves from the plight of sin, just like the paralytic man who could not heal himself.

And we know how loving and forgiving God is, that He was so willing to reach out to us, embracing us with His love, and healing us from our pains and sufferings because of sin. That is what each and every one of us can expect, if we are able and willing to turn towards God and seek His forgiveness and mercy. We shall be made whole and good once again, freed from our sins and wickedness, from our pains and trials.

Secondly, which is not less important, is the fact that all of us are not suffering alone in this world. Each and every one of us are equally sinners before God. All of us are afflicted and are corrupted by the taints of sin. And unless we come to seek God’s help and providence, we shall perish and suffer eternal death due to sin. But sadly, many of us are so blinded by pride as well as by selfishness and greed, that we often acted as how the people in the Pool of Siloam acted.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should not turn a blind eye to the sins and sufferings of our fellow brethren. We must instead show the same love and compassion that the Lord has shown to the paralytic man. It is through our actions and our obedience to God that we can inspire others around us to also follow in our examples and good actions, that together we may be saved.

Today, we should also be inspired by the good examples shown by the holy and devout, loving and compassionate St. Francis of Paola, an ascetic friar and hermit who devoted his whole life to God, serving the people through prayer, through humility and plenty of self-sacrifice, by being exemplary in faith and in all of his words and actions. St. Francis of Paola, as well as many other saints whose life we know about, show us how each one of us can become like them in holiness, for they themselves were once sinners, but they sought God’s healing and were healed and transformed.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower each and every one of us that we may live faithfully from now on, and be able and willing to commit ourselves to a life of holiness, virtue and faith. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Monday, 1 April 2019 : 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 giving us encouragement and strength, with the message of hope in the power of God’s salvation and healing, as all of us come to the loving embrace of God, in the healing that He brought into this world as mentioned in the Gospel passage today, and also in the wonderful vision of the prophet Isaiah, who received from God the assurance of a new Jerusalem, a new place for all the faithful, where no sorrow will exist anymore.

In today’s Gospel passage, we heard the healing of the son of an official, who had been very sick and in a really terrible condition. The official travelled to meet Jesus, Whom has been renowned for His many miracles and healing of the sick people, of all various kinds of diseases and troubles. The official pleaded with the Lord to heal his son, and the Lord saw the faith that the official had in Him and in the power of God.

But take note that Jesus did not go personally to heal the son of the official. He merely said, ‘Go, you son has been healed!’ and the official believed in the words of Jesus and went back home. On his journey home, one of his servants declared that the official’s son has recovered, right at the very moment when the Lord said that his son would be healed. Imagine the joy that the official must have experienced, all because of his faith in God.

In order to appreciate the importance of this event, we must understand and appreciate it in conjunction with what occurred throughout the Gospels, especially when we see the faith that this official had shown, in tandem with the faith of the woman who had haemorrhage, as well as the faith of Jairus, the synagogue official, and the faith of the army centurion, who similarly as the official, believed that even the mere words of Jesus could heal their beloved ones.

And this ought to be contrasted with the attitudes of many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who have witnessed many times, the many miracles and wonders that the Lord Jesus had performed before them and the people, and yet refused and failed to believe in the truth that God had made clear and evident before all of them. They have seen all the great wonders that God had performed, but the reality is that, God had no place in their hearts.

That was why they did not believe in God and His works, doubting Him and even challenging, opposing and persecuting all those who believed in His truth and works. They wanted proof again and again from the Lord Jesus, while they have actually seen all the wonders with their own eyes, because the doors of their hearts have been closed to God. No matter what God had done for them, the ego and pride, the ambition and desire that are in them have prevented them from having that important faith in God.

Now, in this time of Lent, all of us are reminded of the healing and salvation that God has brought into our midst, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. But in order to be healed, we will need to have faith, like the faith of the official and all the others I have mentioned, those who seek the Lord for healing, mercy and forgiveness for their sins. Healing and forgiveness only comes when we empty ourselves of ego, of pride, of our human ambition and desire, of our stubbornness and attachments to sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us must realise that we are suffering now because of our sins, due to our disobedience against God and His will. And no one can free us from the bondage to sin save that of God alone. Now, the question is, are we willing to commit ourselves to the path of God’s mercy and forgiveness? If we are willing to do so, then we need to reconsider how we have lived our lives thus far, and see in what way we can live our lives more meaningfully and more faithfully in accordance to God’s will.

Are we able to put God at the centre of our lives? Are we able to make Him the very reason of our every words, actions and deeds? This will require effort from us to change our way of life, and how we focus our efforts and attentions. If we have once been proud, ambitious, selfish and greedy, let us all now learn humility, selflessness, generosity and charity in all the things we do in life from now on.

May the Lord be with us always, as we continue this journey of life with faith. May He continue to bless us and guide us, that in everything we encounter in life, we will always have the courage to remain true and devoted to Him, in each and every days of our life. May God, our loving Father and our Saviour, be our source of healing and may He forgive us all our sins and wickedness. Amen.

by

Sunday, 31 March 2019 : 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, the fourth one in the season of Lent, we celebrate the occasion of the Laetare Sunday, which was known from the first part of the Introit of today’s celebration of the Holy Mass, ‘Laetare, Ierusalem…’ or ‘Rejoice, Jerusalem…’ speaking about the coming of the salvation and consolation of the fallen city, which had once fallen from grace, but would once again rise in glory, by the grace of God.

Therefore, this Sunday, we are reflecting on this joy that is expected to come, the joy of our Easter celebration and hope. That is why if we notice, that in today’s liturgical celebrations, the rose vestments are used instead of the typical purple of the season of Lent. This is a reminder of this joy that is expected to come, and that is why it is kind of a brief interlude and reprieve in the midst of the penitential nature of this season.

While we go through this time of Lent, the time of self-introspection, evaluation, purification and self-mortification, today we remind ourselves that ultimately, all of these are for a singular purpose, and that is for us to embrace the hope in the joy that is to come, the true joy that comes with our reconciliation with God, Who loves each and every one of us, that He wants us all to be reconciled with Him, and to be forgiven from our sins.

And we heard all of these in our Scripture passages today. In the Gospel passage in particular, we heard of the story and parable of the prodigal son that the Lord Jesus told to His disciples and to the people. This parable of the prodigal son is telling us of the great love that God has for each and every one of us, even though we mankind have sinned against Him, repeatedly and unrepentantly again and again.

In that parable, the younger of the two sons of a rich person went to his father to ask for his inheritance, and thereafter went on to squander his inheritance and wealth in faraway land. He lived with splendour and was living immorally, until the time when he ran out of money. When he had nothing left with him, he was forced to fend for himself and everyone abandoned him. He was left all alone, suffering humiliation and hunger.

In fact, his hunger was such that he did not mind to have a part of the food that the pigs were having, as he was taking care of them. But even so, no one allowed him to eat of the pig’s food. This was a sign that that prodigal son’s life and worth was even less than that of a pig, a total humiliation for any human being, and indeed, the pit of agony and suffering into which that prodigal son had fallen into.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of the prodigal son is the story of humanity, of each and every one of us sinners. By sin we have been cast out of God’s grace and presence, and because of the temptations of our desire and the temptations of worldly pleasures, we have been brought into this miserable and suffering-filled existence, just as the prodigal son had suffered as mentioned earlier.

Yet, everything was not lost for the prodigal son, as there was still one last path that the prodigal son remembered that he could take. He remembered how his father’s servants were even living more prosperously and in better condition than he was at that time. Thus, the prodigal son was betting on the last hope he had, by going back to the father hoping that he would at least make him one of his servants. He was so humiliated and embarrassed that he almost did not want to return to his father.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what each and every one of us also should expect, in the one and only hope that we have, the hope in our loving God and Father. He is indeed our one and only hope, for as we can see clearly from the parable, that the prodigal son had nothing left on him and had no hope in all those things that he thought once as treasures and worthy. His friends all left him, his money failed him, his properties and goods were gone. But his father alone is his last and only hope.

God is indeed our loving Father, and just as the father in the parable showed mercy and compassion for his prodigal and lost son, then God has shown us His mercy and compassion, to all of us who are coming back towards Him, with humility and the desire to be forgiven from the wicked things and sins we have committed just as the prodigal son turned back to his father in tears and regretting all that he had done.

We are called today, to reflect on our own sins and our own wicked acts, those selfish and prideful, ambitious and greedy attitudes, all of the self-serving, self-glorifying and wicked actions we have done all these while in life. All of us have sinned because of these, and while some among us may not realise it, whether we have committed sinful acts small or big, or whether it is seemingly minuscule or serious, sin is still sin, and sin separates us from the love and grace of God.

It was the greed, pride and desire within the mind and heart of the prodigal son that led him to take such a drastic action of demanding his inheritance and going off to a faraway country where he fell into wickedness and into the trap of desire. When our hearts and minds are centred on worldly things such as wealth, power, glory, ambition, and all sorts of other temptations, and not on God, we will crave even more and more of those things, and as a result, likely to fall deeper into the depth of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us have been like the prodigal son in our life, and many of us have not lived our lives righteously in accordance to God’s will. Many of us are putting our hopes and ambitions on worldly pursuits, for us to be wealthier, to have more money and financial security, to have more friends and relationships, to enjoy more of the goods of this world, to be more famous and glorified by others, to gain more renown and prestige in our community, among many others.

We are hoping to find joy in all of these, without realising that our true joy lies in God alone. Similarly, like the prodigal son, who thought that his happiness lies in being free in doing whatever he wanted, by getting his portion and doing everything he liked, away from the father who loved him, we too have lived in ways that embrace our own hearts’ selfishness and our own human desires, for pleasure and for the indulging of the flesh.

Yet, as mentioned earlier, none of these ‘joys’ of the world will last. Those things are impermanent and temporary at best, illusory in nature and imperfect. We can never be truly happy with them, and as we have seen in the prodigal son’s story, they cannot be depended on, when times of trouble and trials come for us. In the end, there is nothing more dependable and there is no true hope but in God alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do you know why all of us Christians practice certain things such as fasting and abstinence during this season of Lent, and are also encouraged to spend more time in prayer, and also to go for the Sacrament of Penance by confessing our sins before the priests? That id because, in this time of Lent, we are called to peel off from ourselves the many layers of pride, of ambition, of haughtiness and vanity, the layers of greed and desire from ourselves, and rediscover who we truly are.

It is by restraining our desires and tempering our human pride and greed that we will be able to realise just how despicable and wicked our state has become, just as the prodigal son discovered at the moment of his greatest humiliation and weakness, when he had to endure a fate even worse than animals, and valued even less than animals. It is the moment when we die to ourselves in the flesh and in our worldly existence that we can finally find the way forward to God.

Yet, it takes a lot of courage for us to be able to make that journey back to the Father, our loving and ever merciful God. Indeed, the prodigal son also must have had a lot of thinking and consideration before he finally mustered the courage and threw away his ego and pride, in reaching out to his father, and be willing to humble himself and beg for his father’s forgiveness. Similarly therefore, it will take us a lot of effort for us to overcome this fear, doubt and reluctance in us, for us to finally accept God’s offer of forgiveness and mercy.

God offers us His forgiveness freely and generously, but more often than not, we are not able to commit ourselves to the path of mercy and forgiveness. Either we are too easily tempted by the temptation of worldly things, or we are afraid that God will be angry at us, and thus we continue to live our lives the way it has been lived, and we fall even deeper into the pit and trap of sin. That is why, today, on Laetare Sunday, after we have journeyed through this season of Lent to realise just how despicable and sinful we are, now we turn our focus for a while to look forward to where our destination is.

We look forward knowing that God is awaiting us all, wanting to embrace us with love, with mercy and compassion, welcoming us back to His embrace. If we can close our eyes for a moment and imagine in our minds of the moment when the prodigal son came to the embrace of his father, can we imagine just how joyful he must have been, in gazing at his beloved father once again? And he was welcomed to his father’s house again, to be the son of the house once again, receiving what he had once lost.

And that is exactly what we are going to experience, all of us, God’s scattered and lost children, all of us who have been scattered and lost because of our sins and disobedience. We are looking forward to this true joy of being reunited fully with God, our loving Father, which is the joy of the Resurrection, the joy of Easter. And now that we know what lays ahead of us, are we now willing to make the new commitment to love the Lord, our God, with all of our hearts and minds from now on?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make this our commitment to live more in accordance to the path that God has shown us. Let us embrace with joy and with courage the mercy and love that He has offered so generously before us. Let us all keep strong to this hope we have in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who has come to us to show us the fullness of God’s everlasting love and mercy towards us. May God show us His compassion and may He forgive us all our sins when we ask Him for this grace. Amen.

by

Saturday, 30 March 2019 : 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 words of the Scripture passages in which we heard about the pride of the Pharisee and the humility of the tax collector, in a parable that the Lord Jesus told to the people and His disciples. Using that parable, the Lord wanted to show just how great God’s mercy and love for each and every one of us is, that no one is truly excluded or prevented from receiving His merciful love.

The Lord mentioned a tax collector and a Pharisee because of the prejudices and perceptions that each one of them experienced at that time. The tax collectors were often treated with disdain and contempt, with distrust and suspicion due to the nature of their work in collecting the taxes for the Roman governor and administration, while the Pharisees were treated with reverence and adulation because of their respected position in the community.

Therefore, there was then a strong bias against the tax collectors, who were collectively treated as rebels, traitors and unworthy of being members of the community of the people of God. The tax collectors were shunned and treated as if they were great sinners who were incapable of receiving God’s mercy and unworthy of God’s love. This is such while the Pharisees were seen as holy and pious group of people, who always made public their prayers and devotions before everyone.

Through the parable He mentioned, the Lord Jesus wanted to break this prejudice and bias, which the people have had in their hearts and minds. He wanted to show them that even a tax collector in truth was aware of the sins and whatever wicked things he had done, and having been treated so badly by the community in general, it was quite certain that they must have felt very bad about their own actions.

But the tax collector in the parable, knowing and understanding about his own shortcomings, humbled himself before God and begged Him to show mercy and compassion, admitting his sins before Him, unlike the Pharisee who did not just brag about his own achievements and supposed piety, but also looked down and ridiculed the tax collector before God, thinking of himself as being more worthy than the tax collector.

In the eyes of God, a repentant sinner is far more worthy than a proud person who may outwardly be pious and good, but in truth, is still a sinner in heart. In fact, pride is the number one reason why many of us have continued to live in sin, firstly because we refused to admit that we have been wrong in our way of life, and secondly, we have that false sense of security and even superiority, in thinking that we are better off than others who seem to be deeper in sin than us.

Pride is a great obstacle in our path and journey towards God’s grace and loving mercy, for pride keeps us hardhearted and stubborn, unwilling to seek healing for the sins and wicked things we have committed all the while. And it also often gives us the reason and excuse to say no to God’s offer of mercy and forgiveness. But at what cost, brothers and sisters in Christ? Nothing less than the salvation of our souls!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all called to reflect on our own lives, on our every actions, words and deeds. And surely we will become more aware of how sinful or broken we have been in life. But are we going to allow our sins and our brokenness to continue to affect us through life? Or are we going to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, He Who alone is capable of healing us from our sins?

Let us all therefore pray for the grace to be humble like the tax collector in the parable that Jesus said to the people. Let us pray for the grace to be aware of how sinful we have been, and how broken our lives have become, and ultimately for the grace and courage to seek healing through forgiveness that comes generously from God alone. May the Lord continue to guide us through our journey in this season of Lent and beyond. Amen.

by

Friday, 29 March 2019 : 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 words of the Lord through the Scriptures reminding us of the importance of love in our lives, for love is the foundation of our whole lives. In the first reading today, we heard of the love which the Lord our God lavished on us, His beloved people, despite of the sins that we have committed all these while, just as how He showed mercy to His people who have disobeyed Him.

The prophet Hosea lived and ministered at a time when the people of God had been scattered and humiliated because of their disobedience against God and for the wickedness they did before the Lord. But the prophet revealed God’s ever merciful and loving compassion for each and every one of us, because of the tender love and mercy that He has for us. God does not ever desire our destruction, but instead our redemption and reconciliation with Him.

God blessed His people again and again despite them having wrought much pain and sorrow for Him, in their refusal to obey the Law and in their persistence to continue to sin and do what was wicked before God and His people alike. And even when they obeyed the Law, it was not because of the love which they had for God, but rather for their own vanity and selfish desires and intentions, as what the people of the time of Jesus had shown.

In both cases, there was no love between those people and God, and God was sidelined from their hearts, minds and attention. That is why they were not able to appreciate and make good use of the Law and the commandments that God had given to them. Instead of learning to love God and to draw closer to Him by obeying the Law in its full meaning and understanding its purpose, they feared God as One Who was distant and to be feared.

As a result, they did not draw closer to God, and in the way they practiced the Law, they did so out of obligation, or fear, or just for formalities and to fulfil what has been required by the traditions of their ancestors. And some, like the Pharisees, instead made use of the Law to make themselves look righteous, pious and good before the people. But in their hearts, there was no true love and devotion for God.

This is what we all need to overcome, the temptation of worldly desires, the idols of wealth, of human glory and praise, the pressure to conform to the standards and expectations of the world, which have caused us to be unable to realise God’s love being present in our midst. Sometimes, we are just too busy with our daily preoccupations, our concerns for many worldly matters, to be able to realise just how blessed we are, to have a God Who loves us all so dearly.

And this is where Satan is working very hard in trying to prevent us from gaining God’s grace and salvation. He is trying to make us to be too distracted from realising God’s love and wish to forgive us. And if he is not successful, he will then leverage through our fear and doubts, to prevent us from seeking God’s merciful love. This is most evident when we mankind feared of reaching out to God, thinking that He is angry with us and wants to punish us for our sins. But this is in truth, not what the Lord feels about us.

In this time of Lent, we are invited to embrace God’s ever present and ever readily available mercy. He has extended so generously His mercy and forgiveness, that He is willing to overlook all of the trespasses and wickedness that we have committed thus far in life. However, this offer of mercy and forgiveness must also be matched with the genuine and strong desire in our hearts and in our minds to be forgiven.

Are we able to accept God’s loving mercy? In order to be able to receive God’s forgiveness, we need to reorientate ourselves and relook into how we have lived our lives thus far. And this is truly a good time for us to begin making a change in our direction in life. Let us all make good use of this opportunity that God has granted us, so that we may grow ever more faithful towards God and be ever more loving towards Him, each and every days of our life. May God bless us all and our efforts. Amen.

by

Thursday, 28 March 2019 : 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 words of God in the Scriptures speaking to us about the matter of being united to God and not to dissent by our disobedience and refusal to believe in Him. We are reminded that if we are all united in God, we will stand firm despite the challenges and pressures from the world, and we will not be shaken and lost from God, for God loves us all, and as long as we keep our faith in Him, God will provide for us and protect us.

In today’s Gospel passage, the Lord Jesus rebuked some of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who have slandered Him publicly by saying that He performed His miracles and exorcism of demons and evil spirits, by collusion and collaboration with Beelzebul, the prince of demons. The Lord said this with disbelief and probably even anger at the irony presented by those who criticised the works of the Lord.

They criticised the Lord that He was using demons to cast out other demons, but the Lord pointed out that it was not the devil and his forces that were divided among themselves, rather, the people of God, who were divided among themselves and unable to unite themselves in thought and belief in God. The devil, that is Satan and all of his allies are all united in the same purpose, that is to bring about our downfall and damnation, while we mankind are often prone to being divided among ourselves.

The moment that men do not put their trust and faith in God, that is the moment when the devil and all of his wicked allies strike, manipulating us and dividing us through pride, through ambition and human greed, through the temptations of desire and other worldly pleasures. The devil is waiting for us when we are at our weakest, to strike at us, knowing that when we are united, he cannot assail us. He tries his best to divide us, one against another, so that it is easier for him to strike us down, one by one.

The devil is using our pride and ego, ambition and desire, greed and jealousy against us. That was how he led the Israelites astray, by hardening their hearts and minds with pride and worldly desires, when the lust and desire for gold, wealth and power brought them to sin against God, in making an idol for themselves, and in disobeying the laws and commandments of God. They bickered and quarrelled among themselves, for God was not at the centre of their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be mindful that this is how the devil is also constantly striking at us, by luring us with the temptation of power, of pleasures of the flesh, of money and wealth of this world, with fame, influence and glory, all the things that caused us to bicker among one another, and quarrel among ourselves. Even friendships and relationships have been torn apart by the pressure of worldly desires and ambitions.

This is how even within our Church, we often see divisions and conflicts, where the members of the Church ministries quarrel and bicker among each other, gossiping and backstabbing, complaining and being mean and hurtful to one another through our words and actions. The devil is truly busy at work, with all of his allies and agents, in trying to tempt us to sin, by planting in us the seeds of disagreements and dissensions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this time of Lent, we are called and indeed challenged to overcome all of these negative thoughts, emotions and desires within us. But the path forward will not be an easy one, as there will be plenty of opposition, as the devil and his kingdom are hard at work, trying to subvert us and to prevent us from gaining salvation in God. There will be plenty of challenges in our path, and unless we make the conscious effort to restrain ourselves, we will end up being more and more divided among ourselves, and the devil will swoop in for the kill easily.

Let us all strive to be true disciples of Christ in this blessed season of Lent onwards, by turning ourselves and our lives back to be in accordance with God’s will and centre our focus and attention back towards Him. Let us also strive to overcome division and conflict, by putting love in all of our actions, words and deeds. Before we act and say something, let us always put ourselves into considerations of love.

Let us love one another sincerely and graciously, remembering of the love that God Himself has shown us, that each and every one of us may also love one another in the way that He has loved us all, so generously and so sincerely, that even though we have disobeyed Him and walked away from Him, time to time, again and again, He still continues to love us all despite all these. Let us all be generous with our love, and continue to live our lives well, as good and faithful disciples of the Lord from now on. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 27 March 2019 : 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 words of the Scriptures reminding us of the Law which God has given to us, as the precepts and guides for us all to follow, in how we ought to live our lives, with faith and obedience to God. And through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Our Saviour, God has revealed to us all what His Law is truly about, and how the Law can guide each and every one of us to righteousness.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard about the moment when Moses gathered the people of Israel before him as they journeyed through the desert after their Exodus from Egypt, and just before they entered the Promised Land. Moses reminded the people of the special privilege that they have received, for being God’s chosen ones, those to whom God has revealed His Law and commandments.

Moses had brought the Law of God to the people, in the Ten Commandments and in the many other precepts and commandments of the Law as passed on from God to the Israelites through Moses. And Moses also reminded the Israelites of the special relationship that they all had with God, as God was with them and guided them, such that they were able to persevere through the hardships of the forty years of journey through the desert.

God provided His people with everything that they needed, feeding them with manna daily, the bread of heaven itself, as well as clear and sweet water flowing from the rocks. It was even told that a rock was following the Israelites, as a sign of God’s providence, that He would always provide for the needs of His loved ones. He even drove away and destroyed all those who sought to bring ruin to the Israelites, their enemies and all those who did not welcome God’s chosen people.

God was so close to His chosen people, and this was in fact a foretaste of what each and every one of us, who are called and chosen, will enjoy through God’s love and providence. God is leading us all to Himself, and it is His will that each and every one of us be closer to Him, but unfortunately, God’s people did not fully understand what His Law truly meant. That was why they constantly disobeyed and rebelled, as they thought of God as an angry and exacting God, Who oppressed them with the Law.

That is why it was up to Christ to come and reveal the fullness of the truth of God’s Law before all of His people, to reveal fully why God gave the Law to His people, to the generations of people who have failed to understand the true purpose and intention why God gave the Law to His people. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at the time of Jesus accused Him of disobeying and trying to discredit the Law by His actions, and hounded and persecuted Him and His disciples endlessly because of this.

That is why the Lord made it clear to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as well as all those who have heard of His message, that He came into this world bearing the fullness of God’s truth and wisdom, and not to override what God has given to mankind. He was in fact going to purify the Law and the practices of the Law rather than to override or abandon it. For many ages and centuries, the Law had been corrupted in its understanding and purpose by human desires and corruption.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God Himself revealed to us that His Law is the Law of love, not of oppression and fear. His Law was intended to teach us the way of love, and the Lord did not just impose those ways on us. On the contrary, He Himself showed by example through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For Jesus Himself summarised the Law into two main categories, that is first of all, loving God with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, and then secondly, to love our fellow brothers and sisters with the same love.

The Lord Jesus loved His Father dearly, spending a lot of time to pray in secluded area to talk to Him in prayer. He obeyed the Father’s will to the very end, when He willingly accepted death, death on the cross for His love of His heavenly Father, as well as for all of us. He also loved each and every one of us because of His compassion for those among us who are the last, the lost and the least. He reached out to those who are sick in body and in spirit.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now we are all challenged to follow what the Lord Himself has done, in fulfilling the Law so perfectly and in the examples that He has shown us all. Are we able to commit ourselves from now on to live faithfully according to the Law of God? And this means for us to abandon pride and ego, human greed and desire in all of our actions. But this is not something that can easily be done.

Temptations and challenges will be in our midst at all times, and unless we restrain ourselves and try our best to do what pleases the Lord, by loving Him and our fellow brethren, we will fall again and again into sin. But, remember, brothers and sisters, that the Lord is ever patient, ever forgiving and ever loving. God will guide us and lead us to the right path if only we allow Him to do so. Too often we are too distracted and busy to seek Him or to understand just how much He loves each and every one of us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make a new commitment to the Lord from now on, beginning this Lent, that we will be ever more generous in love, first of all for God, spending our time and prioritising Him above everything else, and then, loving our fellow men, reaching out to those who are around us. Let us all grow ever more in faith and love for God, and obey the Lord in His laws and commandments, in its true purpose and intention, for us to love God and to be closer to Him always. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 26 March 2019 : 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 words of the Scripture that remind us the importance of mercy and forgiveness in our lives. First of all, in the first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the prayer of Azariah, who was one of the three friends and compatriots of Daniel. And then in the Gospel passage, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling the people of the parable of the unforgiving servant.

These two readings are related, in how God wanted us to see how He has shown us His rich mercy and forgiveness, all these while, despite of all of our refusal to obey Him, our stubbornness and obstinate attitude, in continuing to live our lives in defiance of His will, and in continuing to do what is wicked and evil in our daily lives, in our every actions, words and deeds. This is why God is so gracious and generous in extending His merciful love to us, that despite all of these, He is still so forgiving and loving.

In the first reading today, as mentioned, Azariah prayed to God together with his other two friends, who were together condemned with him to perish in the great furnace that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had commissioned to burn to death all those who refused to worship the great golden statue that the king had commissioned in his own image. While everyone else submitted to the king’s will and worshipped the golden statue, Azariah and his two friends refused to betray their faith in God by worshipping the golden idol.

King Nebuchadnezzar became angry and threw them into the fire after hearing their confession of faith, but Azariah and his friends remained firm in their faith in God. Not even the threat of pain, suffering or death could cause them to abandon or betray their Lord and Master, He Who is far above all worldly kings and their false aspirations of majesty and glory. Thus they prayed to the Lord as we heard in our first reading passage today, asking for His intervention, providence and mercy.

They humbled themselves before God, presenting themselves as the remnants as they were, of a nation and country humbled and scattered because of the sins and wickedness they have committed, in the days of their ancestors and predecessors. They showed the contrition of their people, and asking God to have mercy on them, for otherwise they would have been wiped out, all those who still remained faithful to God.

And God saved them from the fire, as the fire did not harm them at all. The king of Babylon was amazed at what he has witnessed, and was so impressed that he immediately tore down the golden statue of his own image that he has built in shame. This is just one of the many proofs of God’s wonderful love and rich mercy for His people, that He will not abandon them to destruction even when they have sinned against Him.

What we all often overlook is the fact that God does not despise us sinners. He loves each and every one of us because after all, He created us because of the love He has for each one of us. If not for His love, He would not have created us in the first place, or that He would have immediately struck us down and destroyed us the moment we disobeyed or sinned against Him. He did not do that, and in fact, He gave us opportunities, again and again, to be reconciled to Him and to be forgiven our sins.

That is what we have also heard in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord Jesus used a parable to bring forth this important point on forgiveness and mercy, in telling the story of a servant who was forgiven by his master for a large amount of debt he owed the master, and yet, refused to forgive a fellow servant who just owed him a much smaller amount of debt. At that time, ten thousand pieces of gold meant a lot of money, and was far more valuable than the hundred pieces of silver that the other servant owed the unforgiving servant.

The master became very angry at the unforgiving servant, and threw him into jail and revoked the pardon he had given to the servant earlier for his large amount of debt, simply because, he had not done as what the master had done for him. The unforgiving servant refused to forgive a small amount of debt owed to him when the master had forgiven him a far larger amount of debt earlier on.

This is an important reminder to each and every one of us especially in this penitential season of Lent, when we are called to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, reconciliation by the forgiveness of our sins and true repentance. The master in Jesus’ parable represents the Lord, Our God Himself, while the servants represent each and every one of us. And the debts owed by the servants represent our sins. Sins came about because of the disobedience and evil acts we have done, or good things we have not done, both towards God and towards our fellow men.

And as mentioned earlier, God was so loving and merciful towards us, that even though we have disobeyed Him and refused to listen to Him, and despite of our great and unimaginable amount of sins, He ultimately still loves each and every one of us, for He despised our sins, and not us the sinners. This was why in the parable, the master, representing God, has pity and showed mercy even to the servant who had a lot of debt to him. This shows us all that God will forgive us all, whether our sins be great or small.

No one is out of the range and reach of God’s ever available mercy, as long as we are sincere in our repentance and desire to turn away from those sins. But this is where today, through what we have heard in the parable, we are all reminded of the need for us to forgive just as we have been forgiven. It is often difficult for us to forgive, as hatred, jealousy and anger often find their way into our weak and vulnerable minds and hearts.

But unless we forgive the sins of those who have caused us hurt and to suffer, we cannot be truly forgiven, as the parable of the Lord showed us. The unforgiving servant was ultimately not forgiven from his debts, because he refused to forgive another servant who owed him much less than what he himself owed his master. We must remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that no matter how painful is the suffering and pains that others have done to us, all these are truly nothing compared to the pain and suffering we have caused the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect then on the Passion and suffering of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. He willingly bore the unimaginably heavy burden of our sins, the combined weight of sin of all mankind, with Him as He bore the cross down the path of suffering to Calvary. In all of this, He bore it willingly and out of love for each one of us. As He look down upon us from the cross, He has only mercy in His loving Heart, intended for us, His wayward children.

If God is willing and able of endure such pains and sufferings to remove from us our sins, then why is it that we cannot let go of even small slights and insults, pains and sufferings that our fellow brethren had done to us? Every single wounds on the body of Christ, after all, are every single sins we have committed, whether it be small or significant sin. Sin is still sin, and God is willing and capable of forgiving us from our every sins. Now, are we able to forgive those who have sinned against us?

Let us make this our Lenten commitment, and in fact not just during Lent, but from this moment onwards, to forgive one another our sins and mistakes, our deeds and words that have brought about hurt and injury on those whom we have encountered in our lives. May the Lord forgive us all our sins, we unworthy sinners, just as we have forgiven our brothers and sisters, our sins and trespasses against each other. Amen.