Papal Anniversary

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Monday, 13 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the love and kindness of God in healing us from our sickness and troubles, in reconciling each and every one of us to Himself, so that by doing so, He may lead us all to a new life and existence with Him, free from the troubles and corruptions of sin and evil. He wants us to be freed from the tyranny and dominion of sin, which have kept so many of us separated from God, and which had led to the downfall of many of our predecessors. That is why today’s Scripture readings remind us of what God had done for His people, and for all those who come to Him seeking for healing, mercy and forgiveness, and how our attitude and action in embracing or rejecting God’s love and mercy is important in determining our fate.

In our first reading today, taken from the Second Book of Kings, we heard of how a mighty Aramean warrior, named Naaman the Syrian was healed by God through the prophet Elisha. At that time, the kingdom of Aram in what is Syria today was a great enemy and rival of the northern half of the kingdom of Israel. And that Naaman was a great general in the employ of the King of Aram, who was afflicted with leprosy. Leprosy as described in the Scriptures is not exactly the leprosy as we know it today, as Biblical studies and evidences pointed out that this leprosy instead referred to a highly infectious kind of skin disease that can also afflict even buildings and fabric, which nonetheless quite a lot of discomfort and inconvenience for whoever it was that contracted the leprosy. Its highly infectious nature made the leper to be shunned and rejected by the community, and for them to be ostracised against.

Hence, without a cure in sight and in desperation, the King of Aram sent his right-hand man and trusted general to Israel to seek the prophet Elisha, who was known for his miracles. That was how we heard about the whole account of how Naaman travelled to Israel in the search of the prophet Elisha, asking him to heal him from his affliction of leprosy. Naaman sought for healing from God, and the prophet told him to dip himself seven times in the River Jordan. As we heard, initially Naaman was upset and refused to do as he was told to do, proudly declaring that he could have done the same in any rivers found in his own home country of Aram. But eventually Naaman conceded after his servant pointed out the foolishness of his pride and arrogance, as the prophet was asking him to do something that was very easily done. Naaman therefore did as Elisha told him, and was healed.

Then, in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the people living in His own hometown of Nazareth, regarding how they refused to believe in Him and in the message that He was bringing to them. Why was that so? That is likely because they must have thought that because they knew Him well as the Son of the local carpenter, who is His foster-father, St. Joseph, then they thought that it must be impossible for someone like Him to be the One that God had sent into this world to save all of us, or even as a Prophet. Essentially, their pride and arrogance, just like that of Naaman earlier, acted as a barrier and an obstacle in preventing them from opening themselves up to the truth and love of God. As such, they remained separated and closed off from the Lord and the richness of His grace and mercy. God Himself has come into their midst to reach out to them, but those people shut off the doors of their hearts and minds against Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these readings are reminders for us all that we must not allow the temptations of our pride and ego, our arrogance and hubris, greed and other things to become obstacles in our journey towards the Lord. We must always be vigilant and careful in living our lives that we do not end up being distracted and misled by all those temptations, pressures, coercions or all the attachments we have to worldly matters and desires, all the things that can cause us to end up being like those who rejected God’s love and compassionate mercy. That also almost prevented Naaman from gaining healing and providence from God, if not for his obedience and willingness to humble himself, and follow what the Lord had told him to do. That is why, all of us are called to do the same as well, and learn to listen to the Lord and to obey His Law and commandments from this Lent and henceforth.

This also brings us back to the nature of sin again. Sin itself is brought about because of our disobedience against God and our refusal to obey Him, and as such, we become corrupted by sin. Satan himself fell from grace because of his refusal to obey the Lord, and becoming filled with pride and ego, with jealousy and desire for the glory and power of God. His fall and the fall of our ancestors were examples and reminders for all of us not to fall into the same trap that had those had encountered, just as how Lucifer, the mighty and brilliant Angel of God was thrown down because of his pride in trying to usurp the rule over Creation from God, and in his rebellion, and how Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, fell into disgrace and sin because they also disobeyed God’s commands and chose to eat of the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, allowing themselves to be swayed by the temptations of worldly desires, of knowledge and glory, and thus sinned against God.

In this season of Lent we are all reminded to resist those temptations and open our hearts and minds to welcome God and His truth into them. All of us are called to deepen our relationship with the Lord, by our efforts in coming closer to Him, spending more quality time with Him through prayers and other means. It is time for us to learn to listen more to God, turning ourselves to Him once more and doing whatever we can to obey His will. Let us all turn away from the path of sin and evil, freeing ourselves from the many temptations, bonds and enslavement to our many attachments and desires in this world. That is why we deepen our relationship with God, spending time in prayer, committing ourselves to fasting and abstinence among other things we do this Lent, and in doing what we can to overcome the threat of sin, by the grace of God.

Let us all be humbled like Naaman, and come to the Lord with a contrite heart, regretting our many sins and wickedness, and turning towards Him once again with faith. Let us all return to Him and be reconciled with Him, and find healing for the sickness that we all experience, the sickness due to our sins and wickedness, that God alone can heal, through His ever generous mercy and forgiveness. May God be with us all and may He empower each one of us to always be faithful to Him and to be ever more worthy to walk in His path. May God bless us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Let us lastly also pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who is celebrating the tenth anniversary since his election as Pope at the Papal Conclave in 2013, that God will always bless him and guide him in his ministry as our shepherd. Amen.

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Monday, 13 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 4 : 24-30

At that time, Jesus said to the people of Nazareth, “No prophet is honoured in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

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

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Monday, 13 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 41 : 2, 3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.

Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre and harp, o God, my God.

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Monday, 13 March 2023 : 3rd Week of Lent, Tenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Kings 5 : 1-15a

Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This man was highly regarded and enjoyed the king’s favour, for YHVH had helped him lead the army of the Arameans to victory. But this valiant man was sick with leprosy.

One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of Naaman. She said to her mistress, “If my master would only present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite maidservant had said. The king of Aram said to him, “Go to the prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman went and took with him ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces and ten festal garments.

On his arrival, he delivered the letter to the king of Israel. It said, “I present my servant Naaman to you that you may heal him of his leprosy. When the king read the letter, he tore his clothes to show his indignation, “I am not God to give life or death. And the king of Aram sends me this man to be healed! You see, he is just looking for an excuse for war.”

Elisha, the man of God, came to know that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, so he sent this message to him : “Why have you torn your clothes? Let the man come to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stopped before the house of Elisha. Elisha then sent a messenger to tell him, “Go to the river Jordan and wash seven times, and your flesh shall be as it was before, and you shall be cleansed.”

Naaman was angry, so he went away. He thought, “On my arrival, he should have personally come out, and then paused and called on the Name of YHVH, his God. And he should have touched with his hand the infected part, and I would have been healed. Are the rivers of Damascus, Abana and Pharpar not better than all the rivers of the land of Israel? Could I not wash there to be healed?”

His servants approached him and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had ordered you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? But how much easier when he said : ‘Take a bath and you will be cleansed.’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered. His skin became soft like that of a child and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of God with all his men.

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Thursday, 19 April 2018 : 3rd Week of Easter, Thirteenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff and Leader of the Universal Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Acts of the Apostles the story of the conversion of an Ethiopian official or envoy by St. Philip as he was on his way back to his Ethiopian homeland. St. Philip explained the meaning of the Scripture passage which the official was reading, from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, that foretold the suffering of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus crucified.

St. Philip revealed the truth to the official, and his explanation awakened the faith in the heart of the Ethiopian official, who came to believe in the Lord Jesus and in the salvation that He brought into the world. Thus, he opened his heart and mind, and bared his soul before the Lord, requesting the Apostle to baptise him right there and then at a spring along the way. Later on, he would bring the faith to his homeland, and probably, made more converts there.

Thus, that was how God did His marvellous works, calling on people from various nations and from different backgrounds, to become His disciples and followers. The Apostles themselves were called from different origins and backgrounds, as some were sinners, some were fishermen, and still there were tax collector and delinquents counted among them. God called them from their past lives and occupations and made them His servants.

In the Gospel passage today, all of us heard about the Lord Jesus revealing Himself as the Living Bread Who has come down from heaven, sent from God Our Lord, to reveal unto us the truth about Himself. God Himself had sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour and as the source of all our hope. Once we have been dejected and without hope, but now because of Christ and all that He had done for us, He has given us a new hope and light to follow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us are called to reflect on these words which we have heard and received from the Scriptures. How have we, as Christians, been faithful to God? Have we been like the Apostles and the disciples, who braved suffering, prison, torture, rejection, ridicule, and even death for the sake of the Lord. They remained strong in their conviction and faith despite all that they had to face for His sake.

It was their exemplary faith which had inspired many more people to turn towards the Christian faith, to believe in God Who has guided His disciples and Apostles to preach in His Name and deliver the truth to all mankind. The Holy Spirit guided their actions and helped in their words, that many were turned to the Lord and repented from their sins. They have received the truth from God Himself, and received the Body and Blood which the Lord had given them willingly from the altar of His cross.

Therefore, they were filled with courage and strength, to carry out the mission entrusted to them, to bring the salvation of God to all the peoples, of all the races and all of the nations. Now, all of us Christians are entrusted with the same mission, to continue the good works of the Apostles and the holy saints and martyrs who had gone before us. But, are we able to commit the same commitment as the Apostles had done before?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us are called to a renewed faith and a new life, that if once we have been unfaithful and lacking in our faith, then now, we can renew our commitment to live in accordance to the Lord’s will. Let us all seek to be ever more faithful and be closer to the Lord, day after day. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 April 2018 : 3rd Week of Easter, Thirteenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff and Leader of the Universal Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 44-51

At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, “No one can come to Me unless he is drawn by the Father Who sent Me; and I will raise Him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets : They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to Me.”

“For no one has seen the Father except the One Who comes from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the Bread of Life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the Bread which comes from heaven, so that you may eat of it, and not die.”

“I am the Living Bread which as come from heaven; whoever eats of this Bread will live forever. The Bread I shall give is My flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.”

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Thursday, 19 April 2018 : 3rd Week of Easter, Thirteenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff and Leader of the Universal Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 65 : 8-9, 16-17, 20

Praise our God, o nations, let the sound of His praise be heard, for He has preserved us among the living and kept our feet from stumbling.

All you who fear God, come and listen; let me tell you what He has done. I cried aloud to Him, extolling Him with my tongue.

May God be blessed! He has not rejected my prayer; nor withheld His love from me.

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Thursday, 19 April 2018 : 3rd Week of Easter, Thirteenth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome, Supreme Pontiff and Leader of the Universal Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 8 : 26-40

An Angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.” So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and catch up with that carriage.” So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

This was the passage of Scripture he was reading : He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, He did not open His mouth. He was humbled and deprived of His rights. Who can speak of His descendants? For He was uprooted from the earth.

The official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of Someone else?” Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they travelled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, “Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptised?”

And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

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

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 1-16

At that time, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five galleries. In these galleries lay a multitude of sick people : blind, lame and paralysed.

(All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter the pool, after this movement of the water, would be healed of whatever disease that he had.)

There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him, and because He knew how long this man had been lying there, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”

Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and the Law does not allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The One Who healed me said to me, “Take up your mat and walk!”

They asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you : Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was Who had cured him, for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place. Afterwards Jesus met him in the Temple court and told him, “Now you are well; do not sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”

And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because He performs healings like that on the Sabbath.