preaching the Good News

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly the prophecy of the prophet Hosea, who came to pronounce the words and the will of God at a time of great turbulence. At that time, the kingdom of Israel had been divided into the northern kingdom also called Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. And the people of the northern kingdom, to whom the prophet Hosea had been sent to, had become corrupt and wicked, revelling in the pleasures and the goods of the world, as they lived in prosperity and wealth.

The prophet Hosea often rebuked the people for their debauchery and wicked ways, but at the same time, as what we have heard in today’s first reading, he also spoke of the coming of the time of God’s forgiveness and redemption of His people, as a hope for those who chose to keep their faith in their one and only true Lord and Master. Those who would abandon their past obstinate attitude and embrace fully God’s love and mercy would receive the rich fruits of God’s mercy and love.

And this has been proven in what we have heard in the Gospel today, the well known story of how Jesus healed the woman with bleeding issues, and how He raised the daughter of the synagogue official from death and back into life. We saw through these examples, that if we have faith in God, everything will be made possible for us. And God will not abandon all of His faithful ones to despair and hopelessness.

Because the woman had faith in Jesus, and she dared to seek Him to heal her from her afflictions, God saw her faith and praised her for the faith which she had, and healed her from the sickness that had troubled her for so many years. And because the synagogue official believed in Him, and sought for Him when his daughter was in trouble, and in fact had died, because of this Jesus healed the daughter and returned her to life.

From all these, we heard that faith in God is what saves us all. If we do not have faith in Him, then there is no way that we would achieve salvation. After all, Jesus Himself had said that only through Him that salvation can be achieved, and beyond Him there is no hope for salvation, for He is the Bridge, the Way to the Lord our God, the One Who linked us between ourselves and God our Father.

Let us then look at the example of the holy and faithful St. Elizabeth of Portugal, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was once a Spanish princess who married the King of Portugal and hence became the Queen of Portugal. As Queen, she was devoted to her people, and committed many charitable works that made the people’s livelihood better.

She was a pious person, and she devoted her life to God. She was a great servant of God and tried her best to show the people how they ought to live as the people of God, by having true faith in Him, by loving one another. And she was indeed leading by example, doing as much charity as she was able to. And after her husband, the King of Portugal passed away, she left behind her life as queen, and devoted herself to God by entering the religious life.

And yet, even so, she still committed herself to many good works, including to broker peace among the kingdoms at the time which were rife with rivalry and warfare. She made peace among the fighters and warmongers, and won for the people of God the peace and harmony through which more good works of God’s salvation could be done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Elizabeth of Portugal had great faith in God, and for that great faith she was rewarded with the glory of heaven. And even after she passed away, her examples and works in life still continued to inspire many others, and indeed, became a source of courage for many of those who were unsure and uncertain about following God.

Shall we too do the same as those people had done? Shall we also follow in the footsteps of the holy saints of God, the woman whose faith healed her from her bleeding affliction, and the synagogue official whose faith restored her daughter back to life, even from death? It is our choice now, brothers and sisters, and we must now choose, whether we are going to be faithful to God, or whether we are going to abandon Him for some other things.

Just as at the time of the prophet Hosea, there are many temptations in this world. And as we progress on, there are going to just be more and more temptations along our path, be it wealth, possessions, fame, human glory and praise, as well as many others.let us ask ourselves, are we able to resist these temptations? Are we able to be truly faithful to our God without being overly attached to all the things I had just mentioned?

May God strengthen our faith for Him, and enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love, that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find salvation and succour in His presence, and be worthy to receive the promise of eternal glory and praise He had promised to all those who believe in Him and keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 July 2016 : 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 1-12, 17-20

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim : ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know for a certainty that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than for this town.”

The seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on Your Name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you.”

“Nonetheless, do not rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.”

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Saturday, 2 July 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the prophet Amos who spoke the word of God about the promise of salvation and redemption of the people of God who had suffered for a long time, and who for a while had been left behind and abandoned to suffer the consequences of their sins and their wickedness.

This is a lesson for all of us as well, as it is showing us that first of all, the consequences of sin is suffering and eventually even death. If we do not repent from our sins, then our hope is dimmed and our chances are slimmed, as God while He loves us all, but His ways are against the ways of our sins and the ways of this world.

And this is reinforced by what we have heard in the Gospel today. The parable of the new wine and the new wineskins are reminders for us that our ways of life must be like the ways of our Lord. The ways of this world is against the ways of the Lord, and so if we do not give up on our sins and repent our wickedness, then I am afraid that it may be difficult for us all to find our way to the Lord.

God loves us all, but He detest our sins and wicked ways. Sin is what separated us from God and what will continue to keep us separated from Him unless we begin to make a difference in our own lives, shunning all forms of sins and wickedness, and begin anew in a life blessed with the grace of God. But this will not be easy as surely, challenges and difficulties will come our way.

It is really up to us to make a difference in our own lives. We must have that drive and dedication to commit ourselves and to change ourselves for the better. It is really up to us to stand up to the world and challenge the societal norms and ways, showing that it is not necessary that we should follow, conform or obey the ways of the world just because we live in it, and as the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ we are called to make a difference in this world.

And how do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by devoting ourselves to new ways, the ways of our God, and reject before us the ways of the world, the ways of sin and evil. When before we have acted with selfishness, jealousy, anger and greed, now we have to show selfless love, care, compassion and concern for one another, to show the love of God to this world.

But this will not be easy, as it is easy for us to say that we no longer want to follow the ways of sin, but it is entirely different for us to commit to the ways of the Lord. It often requires sacrifice, commitment and hard work, in order for us to be able to fully devote ourselves to our loving God. And it often requires all of us to let go of the things and the ways which we love, such as pleasures and the goodness of this world, the temptations of wealth and possessions, and to be someone who think of others first before himself or herself.

Let us all reflect on this, brethren, and think of what we can change in our lives. If we endeavour and want to commit to follow the Lord our God, then we have to be aware that truly, we have to adapt to the Lord and to change ourselves for the better. Otherwise, as what Jesus mentioned in His parable, the new wine will break the old wineskin, as they are incompatible.

Let us all follow the Lord with all of our heart and devote ourselves completely to Him without reservation or hesitation. Let us put our trust completely in Him, and let us no longer hesitate but seek Him with joy and hope in the life and glory He has promised to all those who believed in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 1 July 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the story of how Jesus called one of His twelve Apostles from among the tax collectors and sinners, Levi who was then afterwards known as St. Matthew, the Apostle and one of the Four Evangelists. And this calling of St. Matthew was closely linked to what we also heard in the first reading, when in the book of the prophet Amos, God through him denounced all those wicked ones who manipulated the poor and the weak for their own benefits.

It is also related to the behaviours and attitudes of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during the time of Jesus our Lord. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law during that time behaved as if they were righteous and just, as great ‘role models’ for all the faithful people of God. They acted as if they were beyond and above all the other people of God, and they thought highly of themselves, thinking that because of all the supposedly good and pious things they have done, they have earned the right to brag about them.

And worse still, it was not just that they have bragged about their faith and being proud of them and the high status which they have received from the people, but they also actively persecuted all those who disagreed with them, or those who openly refused to listen to their demands and orders. They persecuted the people and burdened them with many obligations to the laws and the customs of the Jewish traditions.

And worst of all is the fact that, which our Lord Jesus had mentioned directly to them and to others, is how these people preached and demanded very strict, unbending and even blind obedience to the precepts and the laws of God, and yet they themselves had no God in their hearts and minds. They did not do what they had preached, and their actions were often contrary to what they have said. And as a result, the faith they had was superficial and lacking in real substance.

Thus Jesus rebuked them and warned the people that while they should listen to them, but they should not follow what they were doing or how they observed the laws and precepts that they themselves preached. Thus was the faith of the hypocrites who thought of themselves as better than the others and those whom they deemed as sinners, unworthy of God’s love and grace.

And Jesus broke all of those misconceptions, as He ventured forth to the sinners and to all those whom the society had deemed to be beyond salvation. He called Levi, the tax collector who would then become a great Apostle and a great Evangelist. If we read through the entirety of the Gospel of St. Matthew, surely we will be amazed at the kind and the extent of transformation that had occurred, from a lowly and considered sinner as tax collector, to a great and eloquent writer of the Gospels of the Lord.

But before we then go and claim that all sinners are welcome and can have an easy happy ending in the Lord, we too have to take note that, when Jesus called Levi the tax collector, he had the choice to ignore Him or to listen to His call and follow Him. Certainly he had a choice, and by the conventional wisdom of the world, even at that time, the most logical choice would be to ignore Him and to continue with his life.

But instead, he chose to abandon everything behind, leaving behind all of his wealth and status as the tax collector, whatever advantages and disadvantages these brought to him, and followed Jesus from then on. This therefore is the same thing we must expect from ourselves, and from all sinners who are willing to return to the Lord. God’s mercy is for all, and He loves us all without end, but sincere and genuine repentance is a must.

May the Lord bless us all and help us on our journey. Let us all devote ourselves anew and commit ourselves fully to God and His ways. Let us all not doubt any longer but give ourselves fully to the Lord and do our best to fulfil what the Lord asked of us, not through blind obedience as what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Lord had done, but instead through sincere and true faith. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast and memorial of the very first martyrs of the Holy Roman Church, those who have given their lives in the defence of their faith in God, refusing to bend down to the pagan gods and idols and remaining true to the Lord their God to the very end. These martyrs showed us what it meant to be true to our Lord and to remain to God in all the things we do in this life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, those martyrs risked their lives to walk through the streets, helping the poor and those who were willing and wanting to listen to the word of God. They fearlessly followed the way of the Lord amidst even the many challenges they faced, just as the prophets of old. The prophet Amos was among these prophets, who preached about God to the wayward people of the northern kingdom of Israel.

The prophet Amos was reviled, mocked, ridiculed and rejected. He was treated with wickedness and was deemed as a doomsayer and as a bringer of evil and wicked news, as he was preaching about the punishments which God was about to bring to the people of the northern kingdom for their disobedience and lack of faith against God. For their sins and disobedience had brought about the anger of God, and their punishment is because of their own doing.

But they refused to listen to his words and instead, they rejected him and made his life very difficult. The same things had been done by the pagans and the enemies of the people of God as they rejected the message of salvation which the holy martyrs and saints brought to them, and they persecuted these holy people thinking that by doing so they would finally be able to get rid of these troublesome people who irked them with their preaching and words.

In that manner therefore, those who made the servants of God to suffer have committed sin before God, but not all of them had done what their fellow people had done. There were quite a few among the pagans themselves who were inspired by the example of the Christians whom they tortured and persecuted, and some of the persecutors even eventually became Christians themselves, and faced martyrdom on their own.

We also recall the examples of St. Paul, who once as Saul also persecuted the faithful harshly and without mercy. He hunted them down in many places and brought them to great sufferings. They feared him and cowered in fear when he approached their cities. And yet, God had a different plan for him, called him on the way to Damascus, and revealed His truth before him. And he had a complete transformation of his life.

These examples should inspire us all, brothers and sisters in Christ, for God Himself had spoken that He shall be with all of His faithful ones, and He will not abandon them to their enemies. Those who keep their faith to God will not be disappointed. And it is important that we ourselves also remain true to Him even though we face great difficulties and challenges from those who refused to believe in God.

Let us all heed the examples of the holy martyrs and saints, the holy Apostles and disciples of our Lord who had been so courageous and brave in defending and standing up for their faith, and hope that we ourselves may also do the same too. May all of us be stronger in our faith and devotion to God, and be ever more committed to God through our actions filled with faith and love for God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 29 June 2016 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, Great Feast of the Church of Rome and the Universal Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great feast day of our Church, the commemoration and celebration of the Solemnity of the two main patron saints of the Church, that is St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle. Both of them had their respective contributions to the Church and to God’s people, especially to the people and the faithful in the Church in the great city of Rome.

Both of them once led very different lifestyles, and they had their own works and careers before them. St. Peter, originally known as Simon, son of John, was a humble and simple fisherman hailing from the region of the Lake of Galilee. He went out to catch fishes everyday from his boat and did so for a living. But Jesus called him and gave him a new charge, to be the steward of His Church and as His representative on earth.

Meanwhile, St. Paul was once also known Saul, the great enemy of the Church and the faithful people of God as he went around many places to persecute and to bring harm to the faithful. He caused great harm, suffering and sorrow for the people of God, and by his hands, he brought harm and persecution to many, even including the women and children, with the aim to destroy the Church of God. But Jesus our Lord also called him and gave him a new command, that is to bring forth His words and His truth to the pagan nations.

In this manner, we see how God called and made worthy those who were seemingly unlikely to become His champions and servants. He called a simple fisherman and one who wanted to destroy His Church and destroy the memory of His Name to be those to whom He entrusted His care of the people whom He loved. He transformed them to be His greatest servants through whom many people were brought to the salvation in Him.

If we think that God chose the great and the mighty to be His servants, then we should go no further than looking at what God had done in calling those people whom He chose to be His disciples, to be the Apostles, the foundations of the Church which He Himself had established in this world. And He built this Church upon the foundation of the rock of faith, that is upon St. Peter, to whom He had said that he is Peter, and upon that rock, as Peter in Aramaic is Cephas or Rock, God would build and establish His Church.

And through the Gospels, we could see that Peter was not a perfect person. He was doubtful and although he showed bravery and courage in faith, but no sooner that trouble came, that he trembled and fell. When the Lord Jesus came walking on the water amidst the great storm in the lake, St. Peter was the first one to dare to step on the water towards the Lord, but in his fear, he almost sank into the water.

And in another occasion, St. Peter professed that he would even lay down his life for the Lord, only for the Lord to say to him that before the cock crowed the next morning, he would have betrayed and abandoned the Lord not just once but three times, a story which all of us must be very familiar with. St. Peter in his moment of fear, anguish and uncertainty, chose to abandon the Lord and denied that he ever knew Him when the enemies of the Lord closed in on Him and His disciples.

This has certainly had happened to us and many others as well. How many of us in our moments of fear and uncertainty ended up turning our backs to the Lord and turned away from His ways? How many of us compromised with our faith and the ways of the Lord for the sake of saving our own selves? This is what happened to St. Peter, who in fear abandoned Jesus his Lord and Master to save himself.

However, what differentiated him from someone like Judas Iscariot the betrayer was that, while Judas did not truly repent for his sins, and chose the easy way out by committing suicide, St. Peter chose the hard path of repentance and suffering, choosing to seek His forgiveness and love, and to commit himself anew to the works and the commands which He had entrusted to him.

It is this quality that our Lord saw in Peter, and that was why He chose to honour him with such a great position and with such a responsibility. He chose those whose faith were trembling and were tested, so that when they emerged triumphant and stronger from the trials they faced, they might become examples for all others to follow. After all, brethren, none of us are perfect, as we always have imperfections in us. It is by striving together with God that we are made stronger.

And it is the same with St. Paul, who was once a great enemy of the Church and the faithful. Once his name was uttered with great fear by the faithful and they all were terrified of the day when he would ransack and destroy their communities and handing them over to the Jewish authorities to be punished. But the same person became the source of much goodness and the source of salvation as he made a turnaround in his life and embraced God as his Lord and Saviour with all of his heart.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Peter and St. Paul showed all of us that God chose sinners and sinful men to be His servants, to follow Him and to do His will, that through His hands and His guidance, they may be transformed to be great servants and great tools through which God made evident His will in this world. By the works of the two holy Apostles, the Church has become what we know it today, and countless, billions and more souls have been saved.

St. Peter and St. Paul were known for their great devotion and work for the sake of the whole Church. St. Peter was the foundation upon which the whole Church had been built. He was the rock upon which God Himself had built the Church upon. He was the centre of the Church, and to him, as God Himself mentioned, the authority over all things on earth has been given to him, as the Vicar of the Lord, the Head of the Church.

Meanwhile, St. Paul was crucial in his evangelising and missionary works, through which he established numerous communities of the faithful, the seeds of the Church in many cities through the Roman world at the time, courageously going forth to the pagans and the Gentiles or the non-Jews, while others were reluctant or even refused directly to go to them to preach the Good News of God.

Both of them encountered many difficulties during their missions, and they were persecuted, imprisoned, had to endure torture and rejection, just as the evidences in the Acts of the Apostles and the other sources told us. They were the shepherds of God’s people, and the wolves of this world who were looking for the prey among God’s flock were striking at them, and they suffered, but God was with them.

Both of them went to Rome, where they ended their works of evangelisation. And both St. Peter and St. Paul built the strong foundation of the Church there, and as the first Bishop of Rome, St. Peter also institutionalised the hierarchy and structure of the Church, through his successors, the Popes, who led the Universal Church through the authority which has been passed down to them through St. Peter from God Himself.

And they shed their blood in martyrdom at that city, the heart of the Roman Empire, the centre of the world at that time. They died in suffering, standing up firmly for their faith. And through their great courage and commitment, they showed to the whole world and to all the faithful, that in God there is hope for eternal life and salvation.

These brave and courageous servants of God has become the strong pillars of the Church and the Faith. They helped the whole Universal Church to grow strong despite of persecutions, and their examples inspired their successors to be strong and to devote themselves all the more to the Lord and to the evangelisation of the peoples. And today, all of us are called to reflect upon their examples and follow in their footsteps.

The works of the Apostles are not done. They are still ongoing, and the command which God had given His Apostles to go forth to the nations and to preach to them the Good News, and to baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is still true to this day. There are still many people who have yet to hear of the word of God, and they are still waiting for those who will bring them the word of God’s salvation. And it is truly up to us to do so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we then devote ourselves to the Lord, and follow in the footsteps of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul? Let us ask them to intercede for us and for the whole Universal Church, that the works of the Lord done through His Church will continue unabated, and through these works, may more people come closer to the salvation of God and receive eternal life.

May God bless us all, and may He strengthen our faith as He has strengthen the faith of St. Peter and St. Paul, the pillars of our Church and our Faith. May His Church remains strong amidst the challenges and the persecutions of the world, just as God Himself had said that not even the gates of hell would be able to stand against the Church. May God remain with us always and bless us now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 28 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard again about the wrath of God, which He showed to all those who were wicked and who have not been obedient to His ways. He destroyed the wicked and those who refused to repent, as how it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the sins of those two cities had been such that God destroyed and wiped them off the face of the earth.

It is a reminder yet once again for us all that the Lord, while He loves us all, but if we refuse His love and constantly disobey Him by our sins and by all the wicked things which we do, then the Lord Himself will not be lenient upon us when the time of judgment comes. And that is exactly the problem which many of us had, that is the lack of faith and commitment to God, because we do not put our complete trust in God.

They have placed their trust in the powers of men, their own power and might, and did not put their trust and faith in God. And that was why as what we heard in the Gospel today, that the disciples of Jesus were wrecked with fear and anguish when the great storm struck their ship and made them to wander amidst great waves and strong winds in the middle of the lake.

The boat is the Church, and Jesus Who is the Head of the Church guides that boat to its destination, to the safety and the eternal joy of heaven. And all who belong in the boat, all of them are the members of the Church, that is all of us. And they all had a choice. In the fear of the great waves that were about to engulf them, and the strong winds that were about to overturn their boat, would they stay or would they jump into the water?

It was a choice which they had, to save themselves from an uncertain future and what was seemingly a certain destruction, or to put their trust in the Lord their God. Mankind for many generations had proven that they would rather jump off the boat and save themselves, trusting in their own power rather than to trust in the Lord. And that is the way through which they had sinned and disobeyed the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all ask ourselves and look deep into our hearts. Do we act like those people, or do we trust in the power of God to protect us from all harm and to lead us into the eternal life and joy He had promised all of us? Have we been faithful to Him in the same manner as how He had been faithful to us first? He has not withheld His love even though our sins and wickedness had earned us His wrath.

Let us all look at the examples of St. Irenaeus, the holy bishop and holy martyr of the Faith, whose feast day we are celebrating today. St. Irenaeus was a bishop of the Church in the province of Gaul, an area that is now known as France in the early third century after the birth of Christ our Lord. He was a faithful servant of God. And despite the challenges and difficulties he faced, he persevered on and through his works, he brought much good to the people and the flock he had been entrusted with.

St. Irenaeus was particularly renowned for his works against the heretical Gnostics, those who confused and blurred the truth of the faith with their own brand and version of falsehoods and lies. These people misled the faithful people of God into sin and darkness, and St. Irenaeus struggled against them in various ways, and succeeded in calling back the people of God from falling into irrecoverable state of sin.

The actions of St. Irenaeus is what we should all follow and emulate, for what he has done, despite all the challenges and difficulties he faced, is the way forward for us as Christians. Do we stand with the Church in moments and times of trouble? Or do we rather jump ship when we find ourselves in trouble and abandoned both God and His Church?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God never abandoned us, no matter how naughty and disobedient we had been, as He always offered us His love and grace. However, there is a limit to everything, including God’s mercy and love. If we continue to disregard His mercy and love, then eventually, God Himself will also reject us and disregard us when He comes to call all of His faithful ones to enter into the eternal kingdom of His glory.

Let us all therefore now find in ourselves a new faith and a new light, that we may draw ever closer to God and find our way to Him and return to His love. May the examples of St. Irenaeus and the other holy saints of God be inspirations for us all to follow as we embark on this journey of faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 27 June 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the great anger of God which He had raised against His own people, all because of their disloyalty, their insubordination and extremely rebellious attitude, refusing to listen to the Lord their God and preferring to walk on their own decided paths. They sold themselves to debauchery and to the pagan idols of their neighbours, and turned a deaf ear to the Lord and to His prophets.

God had done so much for their sake, destroying their enemies before them and protecting them from all those who desired for their destruction, and He also brought them to deliverance from their suffering and slavery in the land of Egypt, giving them land to stay and dwell in, showing His great power and majesty in carrying them out into freedom.

And yet, through the generations, they had been unfaithful. They complained when God brought them out of Egypt into the desert, raising up a golden calf for themselves to worship as a god. And they disobeyed and complained on the harsh laws and rules which the Lord gave to them, because they were themselves lazy, poisoned by the laziness of this world, and the complacency which led to the raise of temptations of the flesh.

Thus, that was why even many of the people of God eventually slid down the slippery slope of sin and disobedience, abandoning the Lord their God, because they found the world and its temptations to be more appealing and attractive to them rather than what the Lord offered them in the discipline of the faith. They found that following the Lord was too difficult and too demanding for them, and thus, they faltered.

And that is the same reality which our Lord Jesus mentioned to the teacher of the Law and to His disciples about following Him and His ways. When two of them came up to Him and said that they needed to do so and so first before following Him, and saying that they would follow Him wherever He went, He mentioned to them that to follow the Lord, one cannot be divided or to be distracted in his or her heart.

It was those distractions and temptations which had led the people of Israel in the past to wander and to drift away from the Lord into wickedness and sin, and that was what Jesus had warned His disciples about, that following Him is a difficult matter, and challenges and oppression would come upon all those who professed their faith in Him, for He was taking them out of the world, and the world controlled by Satan does not like that.

It is a reminder to us all that being a Christian is not a part-time job, and neither should it be a mere formality. To be a Christian means for us to commit ourselves, body, heart, mind and soul in obeying the Lord and His commandments, and to devote ourselves, our time and our commitment to transform ourselves and others around us by righteousness and through our devotion to the ways of God.

It is a reminder also that we have to be the bearers of the truth of Christ, by showing love to one another and by showing that we truly belong to the Lord through our ways. We should no longer say things or act in the way which would identify us as those who do not belong to God. We have to persevere and stand by our faith even though it will indeed be difficult for us, and we will be ridiculed, rejected and even persecuted for doing so. But great is our reward in the Lord.

Let us all see the example of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the holy saint whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Cyril of Alexandria was the Bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, one of the greatest early centres of Christianity. St. Cyril of Alexandria lived and served the Lord and His people at a time of great turmoil and trouble for the faithful, a truly difficult time to live in.

St. Cyril lived at the time when the faithful and the Church in Alexandria were divided among the different groups, where several of these were in open heresy against the true faith. He was in constant struggle over the supporters of the heretic Nestorius and his false teachings, known to us as the Nestorians. Those people alleged that the divine and the human nature of Jesus was separate as two distinct beings, which were false and untrue.

And thus St. Cyril of Alexandria worked hard through his works, writings and preachings to condemn the false teachings of the heretics and convinced the people of God to remain faithful to God and His truth, even though his enemies made his life difficult and challenged him wherever he went. He endured persecutions and oppositions, and to the very end, he remained faithful and committed to save the people of God from the falsehoods of Satan.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Cyril of Alexandria remained faithful and true to the Lord even though he suffered rejection, ridicule and even persecution for his faithfulness. Are we able to do the same as well? Are we all able to commit ourselves to God just as he had committed himself fully to the Lord his God and Saviour? Let us all discern and ponder all these deep in our hearts.

May God our Lord and Master help us to find the courage to stand up for Him and for the Church, that we will not tolerate or be complacent in our faith, that in all things, we may always remain true to He Who loves us all and Who will bless us the faithful ones with the eternal glory and joy of heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 June 2016 : 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the passages from the Holy Scriptures, all of which spoke about being called and chosen by our God, to be His servant and follower, and to dedicate our lives to Him as we have been called to do so. In the first reading, we heard about the calling of the prophet Elisha, whom God called through Elijah His prophet, so that Elisha might continue what good works Elijah had started.

And in the Gospel today we heard about Jesus Who called His disciples and the people to follow Him and to leave everything they had behind them, even families, possessions and all other things that prevented them from devoting themselves fully to God. And truly indeed, it is not something that is easy to be done. Jesus Himself mentioned to them that while even animals had places to lay their heads, He had none.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? That means Jesus was telling His disciples that to follow Him and to be His true disciples, it requires a great deal of effort and sacrifice, and also that by no means that it would be easy. Challenges and difficulties would come their way, and just as the world had rejected and persecuted Jesus, they too would share in His rejection, persecution and suffering.

From all these, we ought to reflect how it is like to be a Christian, and to be a faithful follower of our Lord Jesus in this modern era, in these difficult and challenging times. It is just as difficult and challenging now as it was in those times, when the Lord still walked on this world with His Apostles and disciples. And as it was then, there is still a great need for those who would listen to God or His calling and follow that calling.

Firstly, it is referring to our priests and all who have given their lives to the service of the Lord. These people have given their time, effort and attention to God, and through their dedication, they have done many good things for the Church, that is for the people of God. After all, without them, there would be no one who would carry the message of the Gospels and the Good News to us and to many others who have not received the salvation in God.

But is it only about our priests, our bishops and our religious, all those who devoted their whole lives to God? No! In fact it is also about all of us, including all of the laity and all the people who followed the Lord and yet continued to live their lives as usual in this world. Each and every one of us have a part to play in following our God and in obeying His laws.

How many of us truly live our lives faithfully? How many of us are willing to put the concerns of the world aside for our God? And just how many among us have ignored our God and left Him behind in the pursuit of worldly happiness, joy and celebrations? How many of us can claim that we have stayed true to our God in all things? It is important that we should understand this, or else we are going to continue in our downwards path, for we often act, but we do not think or discern carefully.

Have we given something or done something to contribute to the works of the Church? Have we helped the faithful servants of God, our priests, bishops, all the religious and all others who have devoted themselves to God with all their hearts? If we have not done so in all these, it is most likely because we are either too afraid to do so because of the challenges which we are facing, or rather that we may be too distracted by our temptations so as to follow God’s path faithfully.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hesitate no longer! After all, God did not hesitate at all when He sent us His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to be our Saviour. He Himself suffered and bore the burdens of our sins on His back, being tortured and humiliated for our mistakes, so that through Him and the sacrifice which He had given to God for our sake, we all may be saved and have life in Him.

The Church cannot function properly without active participation from all of its members, and we are all part of the same Church, God’s one and only Church in this world. And we are also in dire need of faithful servants of God, those who followed in the footsteps of Elijah and Elisha the prophets, and the Apostles and the disciples of Christ.

I was referring to the vocations to the priesthood. We have many good young men around us who were willing to embrace the calling of the Lord, only for their families and the society around them to shun them and to dampen their spirits, or worse, that is to prevent them sometimes even with violence, from becoming who they were meant to be, the consecrated priests and servants of the Lord.

And that is where we all, the laity and all others must work together as one Church, and support the works of the Lord through His Church. Parents, let us not hamper or prevent our children who have heard the calling of God to serve Him from doing so. And young men and women, those who have been called to their respective vocations, embrace God’s calling and be who you are meant to be, God’s workers and labourers in the field of this world.

And when all of us are working together, participating actively in God’s saving works, all of us will be justified in Him and He shall bless us and give us His grace. Let us all not lose sight or be discouraged by the challenges that we meet on our path, but instead, let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, that we may be ever more committed to serve the Lord and to bring His light into this darkened world.

May God bless us all and all of our endeavours, so that we may draw ever closer to Him, and find salvation and eternal life, all of us, brothers and sisters, children of the same Lord our God. Amen.

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Saturday, 25 June 2016 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly from the Book of Lamentations of the sorrows of Israel, the people of God, whom God had rejected because they had disobeyed Him and persistently refused to walk in His ways, preferring the company and worship of the pagan idols and gods. God had given them up to the hands of their enemies, and they looked for Him without avail, for they had been left behind.

But God Who loved all of His people would not abandon them forever. He extended His mercy and love to them, and called them back to Him. But their salvation and liberation required their repentance and their genuine faith, that is the genuine desire to seek Him and to change their ways wholeheartedly so that in all that they do, they would no longer do what displeased God but instead be faithful to Him from then on.

Yet, there were many obstacles for that path, as the people of God, as men are, are very susceptible for their desires and greed, and they were also renowned for their pride. It is not easy for sinners to come to terms with their sins and regret them, as their pride often came in the way. Pride caused men to refuse God’s mercy, love and forgiveness, and it made them to persevere and continue in their sinfulness.

And this is where Jesus came in with His experience with the captain of the guard, which we heard in our Gospel today. The captain of the guard had a servant who was ill with paralysis and suffered from it terribly, and he wanted Jesus to heal his servant that he might be whole once again and be freed from his sufferings. Here it may be just seen as another of Jesus’ healing miracles where He touched the person and that person was healed, but yet, there is something very important there which all of us should take note of.

And that is regarding what the captain had said to Jesus as He went on His way to the house. The captain said politely that he was not worthy to receive Jesus under his roof, for he was a sinner. And for us to be able to understand the meaning of these words fully, we have to understand the context and the situation facing that captain and then we will be able to know more what we ourselves are to do in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the captain of the guard was not specified in the Gospel whether he was a Jew or a Roman, but firstly, if he was a Roman, then at that time, the custom of the Jews was that for a non-Jew like a Roman, and after all, a pagan, it was a taboo for a Jew to come and visit the house of a Gentile. And even if he was a Jew, being a soldier, his lifestyle and work which dealt with killing people and violence must have made him felt uneasy to welcome such a great Master to his place.

But he threw away all of his pride and fear, and he also overcame all of his anxieties and uncertainties, and came humbly begging for Jesus with complete faith in Him, that He would be able to heal his servant. And he bared it before all the people who followed Jesus, that he was unworthy, sinner, unclean and his conscience told him that he should not let the Lord to be besmirched by his unworthiness.

What does this tell us brethren? The captain of the guard showed us all how we should act as Christians before the Lord our God. God saw his great faith and praised him, and He listened to his petitions and fulfilled them. He healed the servant and showed the example of his faith to those who followed Him. That captain was an example of how we should live our lives faithfully before God, and most importantly that we must seek our God with great humility, owning up all of our sins and asking Him for forgiveness.

We may think that this is something trivial and easy to be done, but in fact, it is not. All of us must have experienced and knew how difficult it is for us to own up our mistakes, and we tend to hide them or to conceal them with lies and sweet words, so as not to ask for forgiveness and destroy our ego. But this is where our downfall comes from, and if we do not act, then I am afraid that it may drag us deeper into the darkness and from there into eternal damnation.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on today’s Scripture readings, and let us all commit ourselves anew to God, promising to live our lives more faithfully from now on, and no longer be afraid to seek Him and to confess our sins before Him. If we have not gone to confession for a while, then it may be the time right now for us to do so. Remember, we must not wait until it is too late, as we do not know when the time is up for us.

May God strengthen our faith in us, and may He empower us to live our lives faithfully and devote ourselves ever more strongly to Him. May He forgive us our sins and help us to walk more faithfully in His presence, that we may find our way to Him and receive the grace of salvation and eternal life. God bless us all. Amen.