people of God

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Thursday, 24 December 2015 : 4th Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

2 Samuel 7 : 1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When the king had settled in his palace and YHVH had rid him of all his surrounding enemies, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar but the Ark of God is housed in a tent.”

Nathan replied, “Do as it seems fit to you for YHVH is with you.” But that very night, YHVH’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell My servant David, this is what YHVH says : Are you able to build a house for Me to live in?”

“This is what YHVH of host says : I took you from the pasture, from tending the sheep, to make you commander of My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, cutting down all your enemies before you. Now I will make your name great as the name of the great ones on earth.”

“I will provide a place for My people Israel and plant them that they may live there in peace. They shall no longer be harassed, nor shall wicked men oppress them as before. From the time when I appointed judges over My people Israel it is only to you that I have given rest from all your enemies.”

“YHVH also tells you that He will build you a house. When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. I will be a Father to him and he shall be My son. Your house and your reign shall last forever before Me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

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Monday, 14 December 2015 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, as we draw ever closer to the commemoration of Christmas, and as we continue to prepare ourselves during this Advent season, let us all heed the messages of the Sacred Scriptures that are being conveyed to us even as we listen to them. The readings today spoke of putting our trust in the works of God, and what we ought to do in order to keep ourselves faithful to Him.

In the first reading, the seer Balaam blessed the people of Israel after he had been tasked and brought by an enemy king to curse them. But Balaam was a seer who saw the will of God and listened to Him, and there is no way for him to contradict the Lord by cursing the people whom He loved, and thus, he blessed them just in accordance with the will of God, and instead of a curse to destroy them, God made them to be even stronger.

This is to remind us that God is always with His people, and despite the challenges and the opposition that faces all of us, as long as we cling strongly in our faith to our God, nothing is impossible and we shall not fail or perish. We see the example of how there are such oppositions, with the example of Jesus, Whom the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law opposed, and these people tried at every possible opportunities to question Him, to doubt Him and to strike against Him and His disciples.

They have had the privilege of witnessing and experiencing directly the works of God’s mercy, and they have seen directly the miracles and the healings attributed to our God, and yet they stubbornly refused to believe and continued to walk in the path of sin and wickedness. They placed themselves as arbiters and judges of the actions and works of others, and yet they themselves failed to look into and judge at their own actions and works.

Yes, they judged others for their shortcomings and for apparently not following the Law as how they followed it, but yet in their hearts, although they outwardly showed their piety and devotion, God was not in their hearts and minds. They were not serving the interests of God and His people first, but instead their own interests and needs. They strove hard to be seen as holy and pious among men, but what they have done had no meaning and empty.

And because of this, they did not understand the Lord and all that He had done for His people. And because the Lord was not in their hearts, they failed to understand the actions that Jesus had done, and they refused to listen to His teachings, for to them, it was them and their own ways that were the only right ones. And this is the very same reason why, this world which has its own ways and which was unable to understand the Lord, also persecutes us all who believe in our God and all who walk in His ways.

But we should not be disheartened or be afraid, for God is always with us. He will guard us and protect us so long as we are faithful to Him, and no harm will ever come our way. In this, let us follow the footsteps and examples of St. John ofthe Cross, the faithful servant of God and saint whose feast we celebrate on this day. He was a Carmelite who was renowned for his role in serving the poor and in helping to reform the Church and religious orders, and who himself encountered many oppositions and even persecuted for persevering in doing what he had done in faith.

St. John of the Cross lived during a time of the so-called Protestant ‘reformation’ heresy, when many of the faithful were lured away from the Church and salvation by the lies and the lures of the devil, and inside the Church itself, many of its members became engrossed in material excesses and followed a path of vice, sin and moral corruption unbecoming of the children of God and as His servants.

St. John of the Cross worked hard to serve the poor and to care for those who are destitute and have less or none on themselves. He also strove hard to enact reforms on the way how the faithful, in particular the religious order of the Carmelites that he was a part of, in how they ought to live out their lives in devotion to God and to their brethren, suppressing and condemning the excesses that had characterised the Church at the time.

But in doing so, St. John of the Cross encountered many significant oppositions and made many enemies. He nevertheless continued to push on in doing good for the sake of the Church and for the people despite all the sufferings he had to endure, the rejection, the ridicule, the oppression, and even persecution in prison and slander by those who refused to repent their ways of sin and continued to live in wickedness.

In the end, it was not all those people who lived by the ways and standards of the world who were to receive the eternal blessings and graces of God. It was St. John of the Cross, the many other saints and martyrs who had been persecuted for their faith and their steadfast dedication to God’s truth that had merited them to be glorified and to be recognised as those who deserve directly the glories of eternal life and heaven.

Therefore, let us all reflect on this, and let us all think of our own actions. Have we been truly faithful to God despite all the challenges from the world and despite all the obstacles that had been placed on our paths? Can we dedicate ourselves and commit ourselves anew to God, and place our complete trust in Him. God will not fail us in the way that men’s strength will fail us. Even though the world will fail and be destroyed, the anchor of faith we have in the Lord will last forever.

Let us all pray and ask for the intercession of St. John of the Cross, that we may be given the grace by God to be strengthened in our faith, and so that our minds and hearts be ever more attuned to Him and to His words, practicing what we believe actively in our own daily lives. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 14 December 2015 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 21 : 23-27

At that time, Jesus had entered the Temple and was teaching, when the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Jewish authorities came to Him, and asked, “What authority have You to act like this? Who gave You authority to do all this?”

Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you a question, only one. And if you give me an answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. When John began to baptise, was it a work of God, or was it merely something human?”

They reasoned out among themselves, “If we reply that it was a work of God, He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ And if we say, ‘The baptism of John was merely something human’, we have got to beware of the people, for all hold John as a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what right I do these things.”

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Monday, 14 December 2015 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Remember Your compassion, o Lord, Your unfailing love from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, but in Your love remember me.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

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Monday, 14 December 2015 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Numbers 24 : 2-7, 15-17a

Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping, tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him and he uttered his song : “Word of Balaam, son of Beor, the seer, the one who hears the words of God, and beholds the vision of the Almighty, in ecstasy, with eyes unveiled.”

“How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your encampments, Israel! Like valleys stretching far, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes planted by YHVH, like cedars beside the waters. His buckets are overflowing and His seeds are always watered. His King becomes stronger than Agag, and His kingdom grows.”

“Word of Balaam, son of Beor, the seer, the one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, and sees the vision of the Almighty, in ecstasy, with eyes unveiled.”

“I see a Figure, but not really. I behold Him but not near. A Star shall come forth from Jacob.”

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Thursday, 26 November 2015 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Daniel 6 : 12-28

So some men opposed to Daniel went to the king and reminded him about the prohibition, “O king, did you not publish a decree that anyone who prays or makes petition to any god or man except to you would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “Yes, and the decree stands, in accordance with Medo-Persian laws which cannot be altered or annulled.” Then they said, “But the Jewish exile Daniel pays no attention to you and to your decree. Three times a day he still prays to some God other than you.”

Greatly aggrieved at what he heard, the king decided to help Daniel. He made every effort till sundown to save him. But the men kept coming to him and insisting, “Remember, o king, that under the Medo-Persian laws every decree of prohibition issued by the king is irrevocable.”

The king, therefore, could not help giving the order that Daniel be brought and thrown into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, Whom you serve faithfully, save you.” A stone was placed at the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with that of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might remain unchanged.

Then the king returned to his palace and spent a sleepless night, refusing food and entertainment. Very early next morning, he rose and hurried to the lions’ den. As he came near he called in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, did your God Whom you serve faithfully save you from the lions?”

Daniel answered, “Live forever, o king! My God sent His angel who closed the lions’ mouths so that they did not hurt me. God did that because I am innocent in His sight. Neither have I wronged you, o king.”

The king felt very glad and ordered Daniel released from the lions’ den. No wound was found on him for he had trusted in his God. At the king’s order, the men who had accused Daniel were thrown into the lions’ den, together with their wives and children. No sooner had they reached the floor of the den that the lions lunged at them and tore them to pieces.

King Darius wrote to the nations, to peoples of every language, “Peace to you all! I decree that throughout my kingdom people should reverence and fear the God of Daniel. “For He is the living God, and forever He endures; His kingdom will not be crushed, His dominion will never cease. He rescues and He delivers; He performs signs and wonders both in heaven and on earth. And He came to Daniel’s rescue saving him from the lions’ tooth and claw.”

Daniel greatly prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

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Tuesday, 3 November 2015 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 15-24

At that time, upon hearing the words of Jesus, one of those at the table said to Him, “Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!”

Jesus replied, “A man once gave a feast and invited many guests. When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready. But all alike began to make excuses.”

“The first said, ‘Please excuse me. I must go and see the piece of land I have just bought.’ Another said : ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’ Still another said, ‘How can I come, when I have just got married?'”

“The servant returned alone, and reported this to his master. Upon hearing his account, the master of the house flew into a rage, and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'”

“The servant reported after a while, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’ The master said, ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes, and force people to come in, to make sure my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.'”

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Friday, 30 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 9 : 1-5

I tell you sincerely in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit that I am not lying : I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire that I myself suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren : I mean my own people, my kin.

They are Israelites whom God adopted, and on them rests His Glory. Theirs are the covenants, the Law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the Patriarchs and from their race Christ was born, He Who as God is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever : Amen!

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Monday, 26 October 2015 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 12-17

Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the Spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds so that we may live.

All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. Then, no more fear : you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the Spirit that makes you sons and daughters and every time we cry, “Abba! (This means Dad) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God.

If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God and we will share it with Christ; for if we now suffer with Him, we will also share Glory with Him.

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Sunday, 11 October 2015 : Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, Anniversary of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the message of today’s Scripture readings is very, very clear to us, and in case any of us have not realised and understood what this message is, then let us all discuss them here together, that all of us may understand the importance of what we heard today from the Holy Scriptures, for the sake of the salvation of our souls.

From the first reading taken from the Book of Wisdom, we are exhorted to look for the true treasure that we can find in this life, that is not wealth or possessions, neither pleasures of life or joys of this world, neither in food or revelry, neither human praise nor in fame, but in the knowledge of the wisdom of God, and the understanding of the truth that can only be found in God.

In the psalm today, we heard the very last line, which said to us that we ought to know the shortness of our lives, and asking us to let ourselves be filled and be completely taken by the wisdom of God, which will fill us up with true grace and wonders, that cannot be offered or be given by the world, for the wonders of God’s wisdom and might is infinitely far better.

This is to let us all know that for all the greatness and the wonders that the world can offer us or boast to us, all these are mere fleeting and temporary, and nothing of these can offer us true and lasting joy. And that is what Jesus in the Gospel today is trying to let us all know as well. For the wealth of this world is perishable, just as much as our flesh and bodies are perishable.

What does this mean? This means that all the money, the properties, houses, cars, buildings and all forms of wealth both tangible and intangible are all perishable by the forces of nature and by the hands of men. Take for example, a natural disaster like fire or earthquake or many other manifestations of these disasters, can easily destroy all that we have gathered so hard for our own satisfaction and pleasure.

And if we think that if we store our possessions in banks and similar institutions, or convert them into something like bonds and stocks, thinking that they are safe, then we really ought to realise how wrong we are. Banks and other institutions, even the mightiest ones, have fallen low and be destroyed by their own greed, or by other reasons, and when they fall, they bring together with them all of those who have entrusted what they had invested in them.

Surely we have seen how throughout history there are those who placed their trust and hopes in the upsurge of stock prices only to be sorely disappointed and even crushed by collapse or meltdown in the financial markets. Countless millions had experienced sufferings because they lost their hard earned money thinking that they could earn even more money quickly through such methods.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Gospel today spoke about Jesus our Lord, who spoke to a man who said to Him that he had done everything that the Law of God, or more specifically, the law of Moses had asked him to do, the commandments, the rules and obediences that he had to perform in accordance to the Jewish customs and faith, but who did not feel satisfied in his heart, because he did not feel the true satisfaction, and thus he asked that question to Jesus.

And Jesus told him the fact, the hard truth, that in order to be truly faithful, obedient, and ultimately to find the true satisfaction, one must be ready to part with all that he has, and abandon everything and follow Him in His ways, walking together the path of Jesus towards eternal life and salvation. This is the fact that Jesus had spoken to the man, which unfortunately was too much for him to bear.

And Jesus did say that the more that one has, the more difficult it is for one to part with all the multitudes and myriads of things that they have. And this is indeed very true, because it is our human nature to be greedy and to be filled with desire, and this desire is for things that satisfy the lust and greed of our human flesh, of our mortal bodies, the desire for money, for praise and fame, for adulation and glory, for pleasures of the body and sexual gratification and many others.

The more we have all these, and the more we make it a norm and a habit for us to have these, to pursue these and to want to have these, then we have to realise that we will be drawn ever further away from God’s grace and salvation, for in exchange of all these worldly pleasures and goodness, that are illusory and temporary, we have sold our rights and inheritance of God’s everlasting kingdom, by committing sins that make us unworthy to receive His grace and blessings.

Yet, we have to understand also that God did not mean that we should take His words completely at the literal level and sell everything we have, destroying all of our possessions or disowning them, or breaking apart our families and relationships just because Jesus said so to the man and to His Apostles. Indeed, He said that no one who had left behind worldliness and attachments to this world that will not be rewarded richly in the presence of God, but what He truly meant is different than what we understand if we read it merely at the literal level.

What our Lord meant is that we must be willing to forgo and break our attachments to the things of this world, that are the temptations that Satan and his tempters are presenting to us daily in order to tempt us and pull as away fron ever reaching God’s salvation, but it does not mean that those worldly goods are inherently evil in themselves.

Money and possessions can be beneficial when they are used appropriately, and they can be used for good purposes, such as helping the needy and supporting one another, that everyone can have a good life without suffering. And relationships and family ties are indeed necessary, for the family is truly the heart of our Christian faith. It is one of the strong pillars that supported the Church, for without strong and good Christian families, I fear that countless souls will be lost to damnation.

What our Lord Jesus is condemning is our unhealthy attachment to those things of this world, that caused us to behave in a wicked manner, in acts of selfishness and disgrace that brought about suffering to others around us. This is evident in how many people refused to share or give even a little of what they have, in order to help alleviate the suffering of others around them, and instead, endeavoured to gain even more of what they already had, or even engaging in the exploitation of the weak and the poor for this purpose.

It is this attachment to the world, to all the worldliness and the refusal to let go of all these things that our Lord condemned from us. He chides us for our stubbornness and our constant and continued acts of selfishness that showed how far we have fallen into the trap of our own greed and desire, and the extent of which we have allowed ourselves to fall is indeed worrying.

Now, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, the choice lie before us, on whether we choose the path of the world, enjoying the goods and riches, the wonders and the pleasures of life, seeking the easy path and succumbing to our own desires and wanting ever more good things in our lives, without realising that all we have are merely illusory and temporary, and there will be a time when all of these will be taken away from us and we are left with nothing, or we can choose to follow the path that is more difficult and uncertain in the beginning, or it may seem so to us, but in the end, will bear us the everlasting fruits of heaven.

Jesus told His disciples the parable about a rich man who had so much wealth and riches, that he boasted that he should bring down his barns and storage places to build even bigger ones to store more of his wealth. But the Lord rebuked him and said to him that he was truly a fool for believing that he had all such glory and good things, when the Lord Himself would claim him on that very night.

Thus, through this, we see again the futility of the path of greed and the path of wickedness. Instead, let us all from now on, devote ourselves anew to the Lord and commit ourselves to His ways. Let us all seek to renew our zeal and courage to stand up for our faith and resist the temptations of the devil and the allures of the world. And instead of selfishly keeping all things to ourselves, let us make use of what we have been blessed with, and share that blessing with one another.

May Almighty God awaken in each one of us a heart of renewed charity, that we may become ever more sensitive to the cries of the poor and to the needs of the poor and those who are less fortunate around us, not just in wealth, but also those whose hearts are still shrouded in the darkness of greed and wickedness. Let us help one another to reach out to the Lord, and through repentance find His mercy. May our Lord bring us all His beloved children, into His everlasting kingdom. Amen.