priestly homily

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Thursday, 29 June 2017 : 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, the twenty-ninth day of June, every year, the Church celebrates the great Solemnity of two saints, St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle, both who were very prominent and important Apostles and disciples of the Lord, who had special significance for all of us. They were both martyred in Rome, then the heart of the Roman Empire, and now is the heart of Christendom.

As such, St. Peter and St. Paul are considered the two great pillars of the Church, through whose great dedications, the Church in the earliest days of its history were able to go through dark and difficult times, and persevere through all the challenges and difficulties. They carried out dutifully what the Lord had commanded them to do, to make disciples of all the peoples of all the nations, gathering them to God’s Church.

St. Peter the Apostle, as we all know, was among the first Apostles whom the Lord called, right after His baptism as He walked along the shores of the lake of Galilee. St. Peter was a fisherman who made his livelihood looking for fish in the lake together with his brother St. Andrew, and the brothers St. James and St. John. The Lord called them all, and they left everything behind to follow Him.

Meanwhile, St. Paul was once an elite among the Jewish people named Saul, considered and counted among the Pharisees and who was also a Roman citizen, a rare feat for a Jew at the time, well educated and a zealous devotee of the Law. As we witnessed it in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul, as Saul, once was a great enemy of the Church and all the faithful. He once hunted Christians throughout the land and throughout Jerusalem, arresting them to be handed over to the chief priests.

We must be wondering, why did the Lord choose such men to become His disciples, and all the more as His Apostles, the most important ones among His followers. But that is exactly what the Lord had done, for we all have to remember that we do not choose ourselves as worthy for the Lord. Instead, it is the Lord Who chooses those whom He deems to be worthy.

St. Peter was a simple and poor fisherman, while St. Paul was a Pharisee and a zealot Jew who was against the teachings of the Lord. Yet, God called them to be the ones to whom He entrusted His Church. This is what He wants us to know, that all of us, regardless our origins, our background or anything else, are called by the Lord to be His disciples, and we should all look up to the examples of our predecessors, particularly that of St. Peter and St. Paul, great Apostles and saints of God.

St. Peter did not have it easy in his journey with the Lord, as we all know just how he denied the Lord three times when he was asked by those who accused him to be among His disciples, as Jesus was arrested during His Passion. He left the Lord like the other disciples to protect themselves and keep themselves safe. And yet, despite all of these human frailties he showed, St. Peter had in his heart, a genuine love and devotion for the Lord.

That was why St. Peter was entrusted by the Lord to be the one to lead all of the faithful as the Vicar and as the one who would become the foundation of the Church which the Lord established in this world. This the Lord Jesus Himself affirmed as He said, “You are Peter, and on this Rock (as Peter means Rock), I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, for those whom you bound on earth, I will bind in heaven, and those you unbound on earth, I will unbind in heaven.”

Through these words, the Lord entrusted to St. Peter the entire Church, built upon the firm foundation of his faith, tested through sufferings and persecutions. He gave him the authority over the entire Church, as His Vicar and as the Prince and leader of all the Apostles. St. Peter in the many occasions throughout the Acts of the Apostles showed great leadership in keeping the Church together amidst challenges and even bickering and conflicts from within the Church.

St. Peter, according to the sacred tradition, went on to Rome to establish the Church there, and as such was considered as the first Bishop of Rome and as the first Pope, the Vicar of Christ and Leader of the Universal Church. He was persecuted under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero, and was martyred in Rome, at the place where now St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican stands. Showing his great faith and humility before the Lord, he refused to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord and Saviour. Instead, he chose to be crucified upside down.

Meanwhile, St. Paul as Saul was called by the Lord as he was on his way to the city of Damascus, as the Lord appeared to him and called him to follow Him. St. Paul had a change of heart and resolved to be baptised into the faith. Eventually, St. Paul became a great evangeliser and a hardworking servant of God, who went on to evangelise the Good News to many peoples during his many trips and journeys throughout the Roman Empire, spreading the faith and the Gospel.

He was a champion of the faith, who in particular favoured the integration of the non-Jewish believers, also known as the Gentiles. He favoured abandoning the human excesses of the Jewish laws and welcoming the Gentiles to the faith. That is why St. Paul is also known as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Through his many Epistles or letters to the churches in many places and cities, which is part of our Bible, all of us have learnt more about our faith. These are the same letters that St. Paul used to teach and reaffirm the faith in the faithful of those places.

As we read in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul also eventually went to Rome, as he was arrested and persecuted by the Jewish leaders. He appealed to the Emperor and thus crossed over to Rome to be judged by the Emperor. He continued to evangelise among the faithful in Rome until the time when the first great persecution of the faithful began in the year 64AD by the Emperor Nero. Christians were arrested and blamed for the incident of the Great Fire of Rome, and many of them were martyred including St. Paul, who was beheaded.

We see just how God called His disciples and servants from among His people, sanctifying them and making them worthy to be the instruments of His wonderful works. This is how God called all those whom He deems to be righteous and just in His sight. And He has called all of us as well. Yet, it is our choice and free will, which the Lord had given us, for us to follow Him or to walk our own path. Yes, it is a choice which all of us need to make in this life.

All of us are the successors of the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord. All of us walk in His way and we ought to walk in the footsteps of St. Peter and St. Paul, the holy Apostles, who had laid much of the foundation of the Church. Yet, there are still a lot of things to be done, as the work began by the Apostles are not yet complete. There are still many more people that we have to reach out to, as they have not yet received the Good News of God.

We may think that we need great deeds and great works in order to follow the footsteps of the Apostles, but yet, this is not the case. Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that the Apostles were themselves simple men from different origins, many of them from humble origins, whom God called to greatness through obedience and faith. As I have mentioned earlier, both St. Peter and St. Paul themselves were ordinary human beings with their respective faults and imperfections. But God made them do extraordinary deeds by His guidance and help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we need to do, is for us to obey the Lord and to put ourselves completely to His care, entrusting ourselves completely to Him and be genuinely faithful to Him. We can begin from ourselves, from our own lives and from our relationships and activities within our own families, communities and societies. We need to be genuine in our faith, following the examples of the Apostles, especially St. Peter and St. Paul, in how much they have dedicated their whole lives to God, by their words, their actions and deeds.

Let us therefore continue the works of the Apostles, by being the bearers of the Good News of God, not just by evangelising through words or preaching, but more importantly, by truly living the message of the Gospels in our lives, by loving one another, by showing mercy and forgiveness to those who have wronged us, and by being sincere and generous in our giving, extending our love and help for those around us who are in need.

There are still many things which all of us can do, following in the footsteps of the Apostles, but we should be inspired and energised by the examples of St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as the other Apostles and all the holy saints of God. They have given their all for the sake of the Lord, and they have persevered through difficult and challenging moments for the sake of God’s people in the Church. Now, all of us bear the same responsibilities that they have borne, and all of us need to work together as the members of His Church, to ensure that the good works of the Lord for the salvation of His people will continue.

Therefore, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, and devote our works for the salvation of our fellow brethren. Let us all seek to fulfil the calling which our Lord has given to us. Let us walk in the way He has shown us, following in the footsteps of St. Peter and St. Paul, for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of His people. St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles and Vicar of Christ, and St. Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 June 2017 : 12th 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 about the false prophets from Jesus our Lord, Who told His disciples to beware of all those people who pretended to be good on the outside, and yet, on the inside, they are truly wicked and evil. This is not what the Lord want from us all Christians, as all of us are called to be good and to devote ourselves to the Lord, both inside and outside, that our whole being truly bring glory to God.

If we truly belong to God, then our actions and deeds must indeed reflect that nature, that we do what the Lord had told us to do, and be genuine in our actions. Otherwise, we will be like the hypocrites, who pretended that they believed, and yet in their actions, showed what was contrary to their faith. All of us must be genuine Christians in actions and deeds, and we must really spend the time and put the effort to live in accordance with what the Lord taught us.

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that the Lord Jesus in the Gospel today said how bad trees will produce bad fruits, while good trees will produce good fruits. And all those trees that are bad will be cast out into the fire and given to be burnt away. All those trees are representing us mankind, both with our good and bad deeds, with all of our imperfections, which then ends up in our actions, be it that they are righteous or wicked.

Bad trees will produce bad fruits, which will not be desired or wanted, and the Lord will cast these out on the day of the harvest, or the Day of Judgment, out to the eternal damnation. Do we want to end up with this fate, brethren? Certainly we do not want to end up like that. Yet, that will be our lot, if we do not truly practice our faith and instead doing what is wicked in the sight and presence of God and man alike.

And we cannot hide our intentions and actions, for even though we may be successful in hiding them from others around us, but the Lord will always know all of our intentions and actions. Nothing that we do that we can hide away from the Lord Who knows everything that is in our hearts and in out minds. If we are like the hypocrites, who pretended to do good on the outside but yet having malicious intent in the heart, or for those whose faith is just for show, the Lord will know it all.

We should instead be like the fruitful vine of Abraham, who has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, and obeyed the will of God with commitment and zeal. We should follow his examples, in how he has devoted himself wholeheartedly and committed himself to God in all that He had asked him to do. And because of the faith of Abraham, countless people who were his descendants have been blessed because of him.

He was sincere in his faith, and no falsehood could be found in him. He is the example of one who has true faith in God, and we ought to look up to him. If our faith can be like that of Abraham, then surely the Lord will find no fault in us, and He will bless us all and welcome us into His eternal glory and happiness. That is what all of us can look forward to, if we follow the Lord faithfully.

Perhaps we all should also heed the examples of St. Irenaeus, a holy bishop and martyr of the Faith, who was the Bishop of Lugdunum, now known as Lyon in Roman Gaul, now France. He was a devout priest and later on bishop, who was determined to root out all heresies among Christians, by his numerous works through which he helped to dispel the falsehood of those heresies, most serious of which is the syncretic and heretical Gnosticism, which had a strong hold among many of the people at the time.

Through his extensive works, St. Irenaeus helped to keep many from falling into heresy, and in his exhortations and evangelisations, he helped to bring many more souls to salvation through the Church. He has given his all for the sake of the Lord and for the people of God. In the end, it was told by some sources, that he suffered martyrdom, but nonetheless, by his life, he has bring glory to God and to His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we walk in the footsteps of Abraham, our father in faith, and St. Irenaeus, the brave and courageous servant of God and defender of the faith? Let us all devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord in the same manner as these holy predecessors of ours had done, shunning all that is evil, all pretensions and be honest in our devotion to God. May the Lord help us in our efforts and endeavours, and may He guide us always in our lives, that we will be able to find our way to His salvation. Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 June 2017 : 12th 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 how difficult it is for us to go to the kingdom of God and receive God’s eternal grace, as Jesus our Lord Himself put it, that the way is narrow, through a narrow gate, which is in fact the reality of our faith and our lives. That may come as a shock to many of us who think that as long as we are Christians, and as long as we belong to the Church, then we are guaranteed our salvation.

No, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is not the reality. Indeed, salvation comes only through the Church, but it does not mean that if we have belonged to the Church and then does nothing or even worse, by committing sin, then we are still assured of our salvation. In one occasion, the prophet Ezekiel mentioned in his book, that the Lord said that if a righteous man should sin before the Lord, then he shall be judged by that sin he had committed.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters? It means that all of us as Christians cannot be ignorant of our obligations to live a good and faithful Christian life, according to the will of God and obeying the commandments which the Lord had given us, the commandments to love God and to love our brethren in the same manner that we have loved ourselves.

We must be faithful as Abraham, our forefather in faith, had been faithful to the Lord. In these days, the first readings of the Liturgical Year cycle are taken from the Book of Genesis, telling of the story of God’s work and grace among His people, and particularly we are now focusing on the example of Abraham, the forefather of many nations and one of the great servants of God.

Abraham himself did not have it easy in life, as did the many other servants of God, as many of them had to endure persecution and challenges in their life, because of their righteousness and commitment to the way of the Lord. But nevertheless, they remained faithful, and Abraham in particular, remained faithful to God’s promise to him, that He will bless him and his descendants, because of his commitment to the Covenant which He had made with Abraham and his descendants.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the path of the Lord is not an easy one for us to take, for it is often that when we choose to follow Him, there will be opposition and challenges, even coming from those who are close to us, from even our families, relatives and from the society. But are we ready to stand up for our faith and truly defend it, not with violence, but through genuine living of our faith, by the outpouring of the Christian love which we ought to show our fellow brethren.

Perhaps all of us should follow in the example of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the holy bishop and Patriarch of Alexandria, who lived and worked during the difficult time in the history of the Church, during its early days, when the Church, especially in Alexandria in Egypt, were divided against each other, splintered due to the many competing teachings and heresies.

St. Cyril of Alexandria was involved in great dispute against prelates and leaders in the Church who advocated heresies against the true and orthodox faith. He rebuked and opposed the heresy of Nestorianism, led by the powerful Archbishop and Patriarch of Constantinople, who enjoyed the backing of the Imperial family. He was involved in quite a number of tensions because all of these, and had to even face persecution and rejection for a while.

But St. Cyril of Alexandria did not give up despite all the difficulties and challenges, and he continued to fight for the sake of the true faith, which eventually prevailed over the falsehood of the heresies. Had he not done what he could to stop the spread of the prevailing heresies, countless souls would have fallen away from salvation, and many more people would not have been able to go through the narrow gate to God’s salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we strive to help one another to reach out to the Lord? Indeed, it is not an easy path for us to tread, but it is thus also very important for us to help one another, for if we work together, as fellow brethren in the Lord, as fellow disciples of God, then we will have a better path for us forward, as we shoulder one another on our journey towards God.

Let us all be exemplary in all of our words, actions and deeds, so that through all of these we may inspire more and more people to turn away from their sins. Remember, that while the Lord is ever loving and ever merciful, but at the same time, He is always despising our sins and wickedness. And should our sins remain with us without repentance, we shall be rejected and our lot will be suffering in the eternal darkness.

Let us all turn towards the Lord, and inspired by the zeal and examples of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the faithful defender of the faith, let us live genuine and active Christian lives from now on. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 26 June 2017 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are called to heed the words of the Lord which He spoke to His disciples in our Gospel today. He spoke of the hypocrisy of those who judged others and yet failed to realise that the same faults and mistakes could be found in them too. He warned against such hypocrisy in the faith, where one preaches one thing and yet act in a different way.

Unfortunately, that is in fact what the reality is among us Christians in our world today. Many of us call ourselves as Christians, and yet we do not do as what the Lord had taught us to do in our lives. For example, there are many of us Christians who hold grudges against one another, getting angry against each other, sometimes just because of minor disagreements and disputes over trivial things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, did the Lord ask us to be angry one against the other? Did He ask us to hold grudges or hate those who have caused us to suffer and hated us? No, what He asked us to do, is for us to love one another with genuine intention from our hearts. He called us to love each other and to forgive those who have slighted us and caused us discomfort or suffering.

How many of us are capable of forgiving our brethren? How many of us are able to let go of all the anger and the negative emotions that are in our hearts? And how many of us are able to follow the Lord sincerely through all of our actions, by the total giving and commitment of ourselves? Are we able to obey the Lord with our hearts, minds and indeed with our whole bodies? Or are we only able to provide Him with lip service and false promises?

These are the important questions that we need to ask ourselves and which we need to reflect on. We have to internalise all of the experiences of our life, and make sure that we really live according to our faith, to what we believe in. Otherwise, we really are hypocrites, who do not act according to what we believe in, and we are no better therefore than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law whom Jesus criticised severely for their hypocrisy in faith.

How then, should we live our lives? We should heed the example presented in our first reading today, from the story of how Abraham, then known as Abram, obeyed the Lord and all of His will and words, that he was willing to follow the Lord to wherever that He led him to, and listened to His every will, in one occasion which, as we know, he did not even hesitate to give the Lord his own beloved son Isaac, when the Lord tested Abraham for his faith.

Abraham, then known as Abram, had no reason to listen to the Lord and follow Him, for he had a comfortable and good life in the land of his ancestors, having all the wealth and worldly goods he needed, for he was a truly rich man with all sorts of properties and possessions. He had nothing lacking in his life, save for the presence of a son, which he and Sarai, his wife, had not been able to conceive.

But Abram listened to God when He called him, and he left his countrymen and land of birth behind, choosing to follow the Lord to the land which He promised that He would give to Abram and all of his descendants. He placed his complete trust in the Lord and obeyed His will wholeheartedly without reservations. As a result, God gave Abram, whom He named Abraham, great blessings and graces, and promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens and the grains of sand on the shores.

This is, brothers and sisters in Christ, how we ought to live our lives as Christians, by following the examples and the life of our father in faith, Abraham, who had placed His complete trust in God, and gave his whole being to the service of God. He did not shirk his duties or walk away from his responsibilities and need to obey the will of God, even despite temptations and challenges he faced.

Let us all look at our own lives, brethren, and ask ourselves, how often was it that we have abandoned the Lord, or disobeyed Him, or refusing to do what He had asked us and told us to do in our lives, just because we have been tempted to do otherwise? Or because we have been pressured and bore such challenges that we gave up or pretend that we do not know what is our obligation as Christians, to live in accordance with the will of God?

May the Lord help us to remain true and faithful to Him, and may He guide us through this life, so that by our actions, words and deeds we will grow ever closer to the Lord and to His salvation. May He bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 25 June 2017 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we heard about the opposition which the people of God faced from the world, and from all those who were opposed to the faithful. We heard about how there are those who plotted against the servants of God, as we heard in our first reading today, the opposition against the prophet Jeremiah, who was opposed throughout his ministry in the kingdom of Judah.

Let me relate to you what actually happened at that time, so that we can have a greater understanding of how it was to be one who is faithful to the Lord, in case we did not have the experience. Jeremiah was called by God to become His mouthpiece among the people of the kingdom of Judah, which at the time was at the last years of its existence, all of the people were not following the way of the Lord and living in wickedness.

Thus, Jeremiah spoke up against the sins of the people and called them to repentance and to be forgiven for their sins through genuine turning away from their old ways of sin. Yet, the people resisted and refused to listen to him. They ridiculed him and even plotted against him and threatened his life. Jeremiah had to hide and run away from his enemies in many occasions.

It was indeed so much opposition and difficulties, that if we read throughout the whole book of the prophet Jeremiah, we will be able to see sometimes the frustrations which Jeremiah even highlighted to God, complaining about the persecutions and treatments he received just because he was speaking the truth to them, and calling them to repentance, which the people refused to do.

In the same manner, many other saints and disciples of the Lord had encountered the same issue as they had also spoke the truth of God and called on their brethren to turn away from their sins. But they remained true to the Lord, and obeyed Him, trusting in His providence, as the prophet Jeremiah also said in our first reading today. God was his strength and source of support, and through Him, he was able to do all that he had been commanded to do.

Through all these, all of us ought to learn how to place our trust in God, for if we only trust in ourselves, it is easy for us to lose our way to temptations and pressures, and we mankind have that tendency to be rebellious and to be disobedient, as a result of our failure to conform to the will of God, ever since our first ancestors, Adam and Eve sinned by their disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

St. Paul had mentioned in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, that because of the sins of one man, all have sinned, referring to the original sin of Adam and Eve, which led all men and women to be corrupted by sin. St. Paul then mention how through the obedience of another Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, all have gained absolution and forgiveness for their sins.

Through the disobedience of one man, Adam, all of mankind have received death as a punishment for their sins. But through another Man, Jesus Christ, all have received a new hope of life, for those who believe in Christ have the assurance of life given to them, by He Who is the Master of life and death. Sin has the power to cause suffering and death, but it has no power over our soul. Sin can harm us in our body and mind, but our soul belongs to the Lord alone.

That is essentially what the Lord Jesus told His disciples in what we have as the Gospel today. He told them that we should not fear sin, or persecution or whatever it is that can harm us bodily or in our physical existence. Rather, we should fear the Lord Who will be the Judge over all of our actions and deeds, over all the sins we have committed which we have not confessed or regretted.

It comes then to the reality of our faith. As mentioned earlier, as those who follow the Lord and obey His ways, there will be opposition and challenges that we will face in our path. But should that deter us from following the Lord? Should we be intimidated by the opposition we are to face because we are the Lord’s people? Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we will be tempted to take the easier path, the path of wickedness and faithlessness, which will appear easier and more convenient for us.

But at the end of that path, lies only condemnation and destruction, as those who separate themselves from God and His love will have no part in Him. He will reject them just as He had rejected all those who have refused to listen to Him, and just as He punished the kingdom of Judah, for refusing to listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah. Those who follow the path of wickedness may seem to enjoy the world, but that is all that they are going to get.

For all of us who remain true to the Lord, despite all the challenges and difficulties, despite all the oppositions and persecutions, a great reward has been prepared for us in the Lord, for He is always ever faithful. He will never forget His love, nor will He abandon all those whom He loved since the day He created all of us. This is what all of us need to remember, the fact that God loves us, and His love for us is so great that He even went so far as to lie down His life for us on the cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we all be role models for our fellow brethren, for one another, that we may lead one another to a life blessed by God, that we will persevere on despite the challenges and persecutions in life? Let us not be afraid to show that we are truly Christians, not just by word alone, but through real and genuine actions in life, by our loving actions to our brethren, even to those who slandered us and persecuted us.

Let us be loving to one another, even to strangers and to our enemies. Let us show mercy and forgiveness to those who have hurt us and cause us to suffer, for if we respond to violence with violence, and hatred with hatred, eventually all things will never end, and there will be endless cycle of hatred, misery and evil. Let us be those who would stand by our Christian faith and values, and become beacons of God’s love and light amidst this darkened world. Let us always put our trust in the Lord.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He guide us through all of our actions, so that in all that we do, act and say, we will always grow ever closer to Him, and be ever more worthy of being called His children and His people. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the solemnity of the nativity or the birth of one of the greatest of the saints, which the Lord Himself had mentioned to be among the greatest of the sons and daughters of man. St. John the Baptist was the relative of the Lord, for he was the son of Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the Mother of God.

But more importantly, St. John the Baptist was the one who would announce to the world, the coming of the Messiah of God, the one who became the Herald to announce and proclaim the Messiah to mankind, and the one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. And that was why, his conception in the womb of Elizabeth, his mother, was nothing less than a miracle, by the will of God that his old mother was able to conceive a child, St. John the Baptist, God’s great and faithful servant.

St. John the Baptist devoted his whole life to the Lord, fulfilling the calling which he had been given, to be the one to prepare the coming of the Lord to His people. He went about preaching repentance and penitence to the people, and called them to be baptised and be forgiven from their sins. Many people flocked to him and listened to his teachings, and through all of these, many became prepared in their hearts and minds to welcome the Lord Jesus when He came.

He was the one who baptised Jesus our Lord, which marked the moment when His earthly ministry began, heralding the start of the works of God’s mercy. And even then, he continued on to preach and to baptise people, calling them to repentance and to be ready for the Lord and His ways. Thus, today, as we rejoice and celebrate the moment of the nativity or the birth of St. John the Baptist, we also rejoice because of his life and all of his works and devotions.

St. John the Baptist, as one of the greatest saints of God is our great role model, as his exemplary life and activities should become examples for all of us to follow. He was not just devoted and committed to his mission, in preparing the way for the Lord and His works, but all the more, he was committed to the point of even being ready to face suffering and martyrdom in the face of opposition from the world. He faced king Herod and rebuked him, and was imprisoned as a result, and later he was martyred.

And then, we should also follow his examples, in how he laid down his life’s work and yielded himself to the Lord completely and thoroughly. When his disciples complained to him that Jesus was becoming more famous and popular than him, he welcomed it readily and mentioned that, while the Lord continued to rise, he himself must decrease. This is a very important example for us to follow, in being humble and dedicated to our mission as the disciples and followers of the Lord.

St. John the Baptist gave his all to serve the Lord, with all of his heart, mind and soul. He showed us all the example of how we ought to be acting as faithful servants of God. Let us all now ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, whether we have shown our faith in the same or similar manner as St. John the Baptist had devoted his life for the sake of the Lord?

Have we as Christians been truly devoted to the Lord in all of His ways? Have we walked in His path? Let us all think about this, and reflect sincerely on our life’s actions, and think of how we can devote ourselves better to the Lord. Let us follow the examples of St. John the Baptist, and realise that we are needed to do the same tasks and missions which the Lord had entrusted to St. John the Baptist and to all of His Apostles and disciples.

May the Lord bless us and continue to guide us in our path. And may He empower all of us to become ever better and more devoted disciples of His, in the same manner as St. John the Baptist had lived his life. May God be with us always, now and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 23 June 2017 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate a great solemnity in honour of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion and tradition which had deep roots in our faith in the Church, beginning from an ancient tradition of devotion to the great love which the Lord Jesus had shown us all His people, through His most loving and merciful Sacred Heart, a devotion which was given in its modern form through the visions which was received by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque approximately four centuries ago.

In many of the icons of the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus, we often see Jesus our Lord revealing His Sacred Heart, which is crowned with thorns and pierced with a lance, and with a flaming fire above the Heart, showing the great love and the intensity of which love, through which, our Lord resolved to redeem us from our sins and save us from the disaster that was about to be our fate. It was by this love, that He was willing to go through all sorts of persecutions and sufferings, for our sake and for our salvation.

In His appearance to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Lord Jesus showed His Most Sacred Heart to her, and spoke to her, saying that while His love for mankind had been great and magnificent, but most of mankind had rejected Him and His love, and spurned His love. We have rejected God’s love for us by our disobedience and refusal to follow His ways, and by continuing therefore to live in sin.

That is why it is important for us to devote ourselves to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, by understanding and knowing that great love which God in His heart has shown us all. There are indeed those who refused to believe in the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, because they deemed that it was idolatry and false to worship the supposedly physical heart of Jesus, but that was because of a misunderstanding of what the devotion to the Sacred Heart is really about.

In essence, our devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion to the physical or human Heart and the Divine Heart of our Lord and Saviour, Who has two natures, God and Man, which are yet united in perfection of love, in one singular Divinity. If the Lord had assumed the flesh of Man, then surely His whole entire Body is a reflection of both His humanity and divinity, including His Most Sacred Heart.

All of us know that the heart is among the most important organs in our body, without which the blood which provides our body cells and other organs with nutrients and oxygen cannot flow. And in figurative terms, the heart is the centre of our emotions and is often associated with love. That is why as I have mentioned earlier on, and in what our Lord Jesus Himself had told all those to whom He revealed His Most Sacred Heart, He told them how He loved all mankind, and yet His people rejected Him and His love.

At the moment of His crucifixion and death, the soldier named Longinus was tasked to attest the fact of His death. He took up his lance and pierced the side of Jesus, which hit towards His heart. Immediately from the Most Sacred Heart came forth blood and water, which poured down upon all who saw it, and those who saw it, including Longinus, believed in Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through all of these, we have seen how Jesus our Lord has loved us so much, that because of that love, poured out freely from His Most Sacred Heart, He was willing to endure suffering, pain, rejection, ridicule and all sorts of punishments, all of which were meant to be ours. Because of our sins, all of us ought to have been crushed and be destroyed due to them, but the Lord willingly shouldered all those sins, and were wounded for our sake.

Do we all realise just how much it was that the Lord had done for us? His Most Sacred Heart and all the love He had within has made everything possible for us, including our salvation and liberation from our fated destruction because of our sins. Every single wounds inflicted on Him, every single pain, be it physical or mental, from all the rejection, ridicule and mockery, are our sins, caused by our sins, and made by our disobedience.

Let us all therefore do our best, in order to seek to be closer to God, by relying and depending on His Most Sacred Heart, and all the love which He had kept in His Sacred Heart. Let us all remember that whenever we sin and whenever we turn away from His ways, we are taking part in ridiculing and persecuting the Lord, Who had borne all of our sins upon Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians therefore, all of us need to become role models in our devotion and commitment to the Lord, particularly today in the aspect of His Most Sacred Heart, remembering the great love and compassion which He had shown us, poured out from His ever loving Heart, filled with genuine love and mercy for us all mankind. Let us all turn wholeheartedly to Him and be good for the rest of our lives. May the Lord, in His Most Sacred Heart, bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. He told them and taught them what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, the perfect prayer composed by none other than our Lord Jesus Himself. It was a prayer of pure intention and faith showing obedience, the desire to glorify God and to thank Him for all the blessings and graces He had given to us His beloved ones.

We may think that it is kind of unnecessary for the Lord to teach His disciples how to pray, but this is in fact His way to show us all, His people, how to truly pray from the heart, to be able to communicate with the Lord, that is the essence of what a prayer is. That is important because, many of us Christians, might have forgotten what it truly means for us to pray.

At that time, the people of God followed the ways that were shown to them by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in the way they themselves prayed before the Lord. Those people prayed long prayers in the public places, making themselves seen by everyone, who praised them for their piety and devotion. Yet, their long prayers were empty and meaningless, since the focus of their prayers were upon themselves, upon their own vanity, and not upon God.

That is how we ourselves also might have often done with our prayers. We pray for the purpose of our own selfish desires, wishing to gain something for our own benefit. And many of us have that mistaken concept that God is One Who we can depend on for everything, and that whatever we ask of Him, He will give them to us. But that in fact is making God as if He is a servant to us, and we are demanding Him to do something for us, which is not right.

That is exactly why many people in fact had turned away from the Lord, because they were unable to get rid of their human ego, their desires which they had allowed to lead their way. When they prayed, they said litany of requests, desires and even demands, asking God to grant them what they wanted. I am sure that many of us had done something similar to this, at one or more points in our respective lives. And when He did not grant what we wanted, we became angry at Him and turned our back from Him.

How many of us will be able to realise that what many of us had done might not have been right? Many of us have placed ourselves, our desired and our selfish wants above that of our obligation to love and to serve the Lord our God. It is often that we are not able to let go of our desires, or to lie down our human pride, and as a result, we ended up doing what is disgraceful and sinful in the sight of God and men alike.

That was what the actions and examples of the holy saints and martyrs whose feast we celebrate on this day ought to show us the way forward. St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More were the saints and martyrs of the English reformation, at which time, the persecution was against all the faithful when the faithless king of England, Henry VIII, for his own personal reasons and refusal to obey the will of God through His Church, broke the communion between the churches in England from the Holy Mother Church.

St. Thomas More was the Chancellor of the King, the position akin to that of Prime Minister in our present day world. He was a person of great influence and power, having a position of great prestige and honour. And yet, when the king asked for all of his officials, advisers, and members of the English Church to declare their oath of obedience to him and break away from the obedience to the Holy Mother Church, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, who was one of the holy bishops of the Church, refused to do so.

Even though the king lavished worldly honour and privileges on all those who would recant their faith and devotion to the Church, and especially on St. Thomas More, who was the trusted Chancellor and chief adviser to the king himself, but St. Thomas More chose to remain true to his faith and did not get swayed by all the temptations and pressured heaped on him to make him change his mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints and martyrs had given us their examples for us to follow, in their devotion and zeal, and in how they lived their lives in accordance with the will of God, and not according to their own human desires. Had they succumbed to their desires, their pride and ego, they would have given up their faith and betrayed the Lord for worldly happiness instead.

This is what all of us Christians must do, from now on, that all of us become true disciples and followers of the Lord, not just in name or formality only, but through real action, commitment and work. Let us all follow in the footsteps of our good and holy predecessors, and strive to do our best in our everyday life, to be good and worthy children of our God. Let us all have a genuine and healthy prayerful life, that we are always in constant communication with God, knowing what it is that He wants us to do in our respective lives. May the Lord bless us all in our endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 21 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture, which in essence is calling us to be sincere and true in our faith, that is not by putting a farce or falsehood in our devotion to God in our life. It is telling us that unless we are sincere in our devotion, by genuine actions that came from the heart, we cannot call ourselves as true Christians.

In the Gospel today, Jesus told the people to do their good deeds for the right intentions, that is to really serve the people of God, our fellow brethren, and therefore to glorify God and serve Him, and not our own personal desires and interests. He used the examples of prayers and fasting, which the Jewish people according to the laws of Moses were obliged to do, especially during certain times and periods in the year.

However, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who strictly enforced the application of the rules on prayers and fasting, they themselves did so not because they truly do them for the sake of God, but instead, it was to fulfil their own vanity, their own desire to be praised and adored for their piety and commitment to the laws of Moses. They showed their prayers and fasting in order to be looked favourably upon by other men and women.

That was why Jesus rebuked them and were angry at these people, who made their faith as if they were showpieces for their own personal benefits. He was angry because the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were not doing what they preached, and yet, they burdened the people to obey the same rules to the suffering of the people. They misled the people by their actions, and were not showing true discipleship as those whom the Lord had entrusted with the leadership and guidance over His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, the same response of the Lord will be ours if we ourselves do not love Him, serve Him and be faithful to Him in a way that is much more than the way the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done. That is, if we live our lives in this world, but we do not do what we believe, we do not act in the manner that we have preached and claimed to have faith in.

What are some of the examples, brethren? First of all, many of us Christians go to the Mass in the Church, not because we want to really be with the Lord and spend our time with Him. Rather, some of us wanted to outdo each other in piety, and showing our fellow friends or relatives just how devout we are, by our prayers and devotions. We turn our focus inwards upon ourselves, upon our ego and desires instead of what we need to focus on, that is our love and devotion for the Lord our God.

And then, we grumble and we put up grumpy faces when we fast, because we do not truly understand what it is that we fast for, or that as the Pharisees had done, we wanted to be praised for our piety. This is not what the Lord wants from us, brothers and sisters in Christ. What He wants from us is our sincere and genuine love, devotion and commitment, through our prayers and fasting, as well as through many other ways of how we can love Him, but which must be done with true desire from our hearts.

Let us all look at the examples of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the holy saint whose feast we are commemorating today. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was born into a noble, rich and powerful family of the Gonzagas in the late Renaissance era Italy, a few hundred years ago. He was born as the firstborn of the noble family, a position of extreme honour, as the rule was that he was to inherit all the titles, prestige, wealth and properties that his father as an influential nobleman had possessed.

But as he grew up, even though he received numerous education and preparation of a typical nobleman of his era, St. Aloysius Gonzaga slowly grew to seek and long for the Lord, by all the experiences and the readings he had done, especially on the missionary activities of the Jesuits in the faraway lands. As his desire to serve the Lord grew, eventually, things came to the point when he openly declared his intention to become a Jesuit and thus, had to renounce all that he stood to inherit.

He encountered stiff opposition from his family, particularly from his father, who tried all he could to dissuade him and stop him from joining the religious order. Nevertheless, St. Aloysius Gonzaga remained firm in his commitment and was adamant in his desire to serve the Lord through what He had called him to be. In the end, he prevailed and he became a Jesuit.

He lived his life with devotion and commitment, serving the people of God through words and action, caring for the poor, the sick and the dying, even in the midst of a deadly plague which eventually took his life. St. Aloysius Gonzaga, his strong devotion and desire to love the Lord and to serve Him by serving His people, as well as his ability to resist the temptation of human glory, desire and all the other obstacles should be our inspiration in how we ourselves ought to live our lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all now therefore renew our commitment to live our lives full of faith, genuine faith to the Lord, just in the same manner as St. Aloysius Gonzaga and the many other holy saints and martyrs of God had done. May the Lord help us in our journey, so that we will be able to give our all to serve Him with all of our lives, with all of our might and all of our commitment. May the Lord bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 20 June 2017 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard from the Lord Jesus Himself, urging us and exhorting us to love, for love is the true mission and command which the Lord had given to us to do, to be loving and to be graced with love, and not one that is conditional or selfish, but instead, love that is selfless and perfect, unconditional just as He has loved us first in the same manner.

Everyone can love themselves, for it is in our human nature to look first to ourselves and to satisfy our own needs and desires first. It is easy to love ourselves for we are always filled with pride, pride for our own human achievements and capabilities, pride for our talents and endowments. But are we able to love others in the same manner as how we have loved ourselves?

And then, it is easier for us to love others who also love us or have loved us first. For we know that if we show our love to them, then they will show their love for sure, or even have loved us first. In that manner, however, let ask ourselves, if our love is truly sincere? Is it love that we have shown? Or was it rather selfishness and our human desire showing themselves instead of love?

When we love, we do not seek for returns or rewards, and when we show our love to each other, we do not desire or seek for recognition or affirmation. For if we seek all these when we love, then our love is not perfect and neither it is fulfilling for us. For this kind of love is selfish love, and the more we show this kind of love, the more we expect to be loved back. Otherwise, we end up angry, or becoming jealous and unhappy.

That is precisely why there are many people in this world today, and even many among us as Christians, who did not show true love in our life, in our actions and deeds. We are selfish when we love, and that is why many of us ended up with ruined marriages, with adultery and lack of faithfulness in our families. That is because we treat our relationship, particularly that of marriage, family life, and often even friendships as transactions.

When we look at our relationships, we tend to look at everything and try to find values in each of them for ourselves. When things do not go the way we want them, or when we do not get the reward or recognition that we wanted, then we became angry, agitated, and unhappy. Then, let us ask ourselves, is this the kind of love which the Lord had taught us to do in life? Or is it something else?

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, God showed us all the way forward, by showing us His unconditional love. Even though we have rebelled against Him, many times in life, and even though we have disobeyed Him on many occasions, but the Lord still continues to love us, and He is ever willing to welcome us back through reconciliation. It was His love that made Him to even be willing to die on the cross for us.

Are we able to love unconditionally and show that love to one another? Are we able to commit ourselves to that love? It is our calling and also challenge as Christians to be loving towards one another, even towards our enemies and all those who have hurt and brought pain to us. It is by forgiving the faults of others that we will grow stronger in the love of God.

Remember, brethren, that the Lord Himself has forgiven us our sins. Whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer, do we really mean it when we say, ‘Forgive us our sins just as we forgive those who have sinned against us?’ Let us be generous with love and mercy, compassion and understanding for one another. Let us shun all forms of hatred, anger and jealousy, all forms of negativities against each other.

May the Lord be gracious to us, and may He continue to love us as He has always been. May His love be found in us, and grow ever stronger, as we continue to care and love for our fellow brethren, showing genuine Christian love and charity to one another, that we may draw ever closer to God and be worthy of Him because of the love we have for Him, and also for our fellow men. Amen.