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Tuesday, 2 November 2021 : Feast of All Souls (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us come together to mark the occasion of All Souls Day, on which day we remember our brothers and sisters who have departed from this world before us. Today we remember all those who have left their worldly existence in the flesh, and who have died in the Lord, as those who are not considered as saints, whose feast we celebrate yesterday in All Saints Day, but are still probably in Purgatory, waiting to enter the glory of Heaven.

What is Purgatory, brothers and sisters in Christ? Purgatory is a place where the holy souls who have passed on from this world are in, in a time and existence between that of this world and Heaven. They are not yet able to enter Heaven, because unlike the saints whose faith and virtues had deemed them to be worthy, over their venial sins, to enter Heaven directly at the moment of their passing from this world, those holy souls in Purgatory are still burdened by the residual sins that they had not been forgiven from.

One may then think that if God is so great and merciful, then He could have forgiven all of us all of our sins at His will and whim alone, and that isn’t it because of His suffering and death on the Cross that He has liberated all of us mankind from sin and evil, and freed us from our bondage? Then, why is it that Purgatory exists? The same question then can be asked of why does hell still exist then. If God has redeemed and saved us all, then should not all mankind free to enter Heaven at the end of their lives in this world?

This is where many of us often lack the proper understanding of our faith and how the afterlife works. Many aspects of what will happen after death remains a mystery to us, but through the teachings of the Lord, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit given to us through the Apostles and many other saints, including visionaries and all those who have witnessed Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, the Church therefore had revealed to us from what it had kept in the treasures of the faith, of what happens to us after we pass on from this world.

Essentially after we pass on from this world, a certainty for all of us due to our mortality, as no one can ever evade death, then there are three paths for us. Those as mentioned earlier who have lived their lives with great virtue and devotion to God, or even had shed their blood, suffered and died a martyr’s death, all of them are deemed worthy to enter into the glory of Heaven, to enjoy the beatific vision and the joy of being with God, as the innumerable saints that we have, and of which some have been officially recognised by the Church.

Then, for those who have died rejecting the Lord and His mercy to the very end, refusing to repent and continuing to live a life of sin and wickedness to their last moment, then they most likely end up in Hell, to suffer with the devil and all of his fellow fallen angels, the demons and evil spirits that dwell there, as a consequence of their conscious rejection of God’s love, compassion and mercy. Hell as the Church teaches us, is not as much a place as a state of existence, where the rejection of God led to a most bitter and terrible suffering.

Then, for many others, if not the vast majority of us, then we will end up in Purgatory, as our sins are not that terrible and horrendous that it merits us Hell, but at the same time, sin is still sin, no matter how small and insignificant it may be, and as long as our souls are still tainted by the residual sins that we have, then we cannot yet enter into Heaven, to where God dwells and be in His presence. And why not? That is because God is so good and perfect, that no sin can be in His presence.

That is why, in Purgatory, those holy souls are still suffering not because of the suffering that is like those who are in Hell are suffering, as they all suffer while knowing that Heaven is their ultimate destination. Their suffering came about because they have regretted still having those sins preventing them from immediately coming to be in the presence of God, and those sins have to be purified before they will be able to enter the glory of Heaven.

The Church has offered us all many opportunities to be forgiven from our sins, just as the Lord has given His Church the authority to forgive sins, the same power that He Himself has shown, as God alone can forgive sin. He has delegated that power and authority through the Church and the Apostles, and from them to our bishops and priests. The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance is the means by which the Church offers us this chance of forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

As such, when we confess our sins before the priest and are truly regretful of those sins that we confessed, then the Lord will forgive us through the priest, who is acting in the person of Christ, or ‘in persona Christi’, to forgive us our sins through Christ acting through him, as the triumphant Lamb of God and Saviour, Who had redeemed us from all sins and evils through His suffering and death on the Cross. Yet, not all of us have our sins confessed and some of us have carried our sins with us even to the afterlife.

That is why probably many of us will end up in Purgatory, and today, we remember those holy souls, our very own brothers and sisters, who have gone before us and are now there, suffering and waiting for the complete purification of their residual sins, such that they may finally then enter into the glory of Heaven. And those souls cannot pray for themselves to end their time there faster, but we can do that for them. We, the Church Militant still living in this world, as well as the saints, the Church Triumphant in Heaven are able to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, our fellow brethren in the Church Suffering.

Therefore today, on this All Souls Day, let us all remember all the holy souls in Purgatory, especially those souls who have no one to pray for them, that God may have mercy on them, and remembering His great love, compassion and kindness, may be moved to allow them to enter into His glorious kingdom at the soonest opportunity, and therefore enjoy the inheritance that we ourselves will one day enjoy too, if we remain faithful to God. We should pray for them, especially on this special day and also for the rest of the month of November, now that the Church had decided again for this year to extend the indulgence for the dead for a longer period of time.

And let us all also remember that we have to lead a life that is holy and worthy of God, or else we ourselves may end up in Purgatory. Let us all strive to follow the examples of the saints, and distance ourselves from sin and evil, helping one another in this world to live good Christian lives, while also helping those in Purgatory to be closer to God and their Heavenly inheritance and promise. Let us all, members of the same Church of God, the Church Militant, Church Triumphant and Church Suffering pray together as one and help one another in our journey towards the Lord, for us in this world and for those in Purgatory.

May God, our loving God and Father, bless us all and may He have mercy and compassion on the holy souls in Purgatory, that He may lead them all to Himself, gather them in, forgive them their sins and remembering their love for Him, that all the holy souls in Purgatory, our brothers and sisters may have eternal peace and true joy in the Lord’s Presence, one that we hope to share in the future ourselves, one day as is our hope as always. Amen.

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Monday, 1 November 2021 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints, celebrating the memory of the Lord’s innumerable great saints, all those who have been found worthy and been officially canonised as saints by the Church, and therefore worthy of veneration by the entire Church and all the faithful. Today we remember the glorious deeds and the lives of those saints, our own holy predecessors, all those who have given themselves and their whole lives in the service of God, who lived worthily of God.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words from the Book of Revelation of St. John the Apostle which detailed his glorious vision of Heaven as he received it during his exile at the island of Patmos. St. John saw a great number of the descendants of Israel, as well as innumerable people of every nations and races, all gathered and brought together in the presence of God. They were all those whom according to the Angel that guided St. John, had lived their lives with faith in God, and there were still many among them who had been persecuted for the Lord.

What St. John had seen in his vision was a proof that there is life and existence beyond death, and the saints represent all those whom the Lord had deemed to be worthy to join Him in the glorious kingdom He had prepared for them in Heaven, where they would be all His people and He would be their God forevermore. Sin and death would no longer come between Him and them, and those saints, some suffering persecution before they gained the promised eternal glory, all have been faithful to God to the very end.

In our second reading today, we then heard from St. John the Apostle in his Epistle, the same St. John who had seen the heavenly vision at Patmos. Whether St. John wrote this Epistle before or after his exile at Patmos and the vision, he knew, after having journeyed with the Lord and receiving the truth through the Holy Spirit and Wisdom of God, that all of us are truly beloved children of God, and therefore as God’s own children, therefore, we are called to be more like our heavenly Father in all things.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that since God is our Creator and our Father, and as He considered us all His own children, then naturally all of us as His children must be like Him in all things, just as children usually follow after the example of their parents, especially their fathers. It is just right and fitting that as God’s children that we walk in the path of righteousness and justice, to be good just as our Lord and God, our heavenly Father is all good and perfect.

St. John therefore exhorted all the faithful and the Church to follow the Lord faithfully and commit themselves to a new life and existence centred and focused on God, one in which we, the children of God, are living our lives with virtue and goodness, with faith and devotion to God, that we truly belong to God and everyone who sees us, hears us and our words, witnesses our actions and interactions, all shall know that we come from the Lord, and may come to believe in Him as well through us.

How do we then do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Then remember what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, in which Our Lord spoke to the people in His Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes, detailing the eight ways in which we can be truly blessed living our lives with faith, and when the Lord Jesus praised all those who have lived their lives virtuously according to the Eight Beatitudes, in fact He was exhorting and telling all of us to do the same with our lives.

To be poor in spirit does not mean for us to be physically and materially poor, but rather, it refers to an attitude that we must have in life, to be humble in our disposition and way of life, to be humble and meek in seeking God’s love and fulfilment, to be poor and truly in need of help and guidance from God. We ought not be proud and haughty, ambitious and selfish in our way of living and interaction with each other. Instead, we should always seek the Lord and His love and providence at all times. This is what is meant by being poor in spirit.

Then as we seek justice and righteousness in life, just as we all seek to be merciful in our actions and deeds, in our words and interactions with one another, and in being pure in our hearts, in our conviction and path, we are all called to be exemplary in how we live and act towards our fellow brothers and sisters, our neighbours and those whom we encounter in life. We should strive to be good and righteous and caring towards those who need our love, care and attention.

And then as the Lord also mentioned, we should all seek to make peace and bring harmony in our communities, and wherever we are. We must also be prepared to be persecuted, rejected and oppressed, challenged and our lives made difficult by those who still refused to listen to the Lord and believe in Him. That is because our Christian faith and way of life are often incompatible to the ways and the norms that this world is accustomed to, and many will come to oppose us because they disagree with our faith and way of life.

We must not be afraid, brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember what St. John had seen in his vision? Those martyrs who had shed their blood in the Lord in martyrdom had been blessed and taken up to Heaven for their faith and endurance in their commitment to Him, sharing in the Blood of the Lamb of God, washed clean and purified by their faith in God, as they shed their blood and suffered for the Lord’s sake. And there were many others who suffered other forms of martyrdom as well, such as white martyrdom that does not involve death, but full of suffering.

Listening to the Beatitudes and all that the Lord had revealed to us, we may then become skeptical and doubtful if our lives can become like the saints. After all, having known the lives of many saints, do they not seem like so holy, so good and much more worthy as compared to us? Many of us may think and feel that we are unworthy unlike those saints and martyrs who had done so much for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of the Church and God’s people. Yet, we forget that they too once were sinners just like us.

Saints were not superhumans unlike what some of us often misunderstood. They had their share of troubles and downfalls, moments when they faltered and failed in faith. Some of the saints were even once great sinners and enemies of the Lord, such as St. Paul the Apostle, once a young zealous Pharisee who was number one enemy of the Lord and His Church, persecuting many Christians throughout Judea and Jerusalem before he was called by God and converted to the true faith. Some others like St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ignatius of Loyola and many others led a sinful and worldly lives in their younger days.

What matters is that, in the end, they turned away from their sins, committed themselves to the Lord and devoted their time, effort and attention on Him, such that they sanctified their lives through God’s grace and by their fervent dedication, in each of their own ways, in how they led lives truly worthy of God, and which we ourselves can also follow as well. By looking at the examples of the saints, we are all challenged to follow the Lord and to change our lives, much like how the Lord called Levi, the tax collector, who later on became a great Apostle and Evangelist, St. Matthew, as well as St. Mary Magdalene, who according to some traditions, was a prostitute.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God called us all to be holy, to be His beloved children and therefore, as holy as we should be. All of us have the potential in us to be holy and to end up like the saints, who are now enjoying the glorious inheritance promised to all, as their efforts and deeds were deemed worthy by God and His Church. God wants us all to realise that each and every one of us have the capability and the opportunity to be like the saints, if only we follow what our holy predecessors had done, as described in the Beatitudes.

Let us all therefore reform ourselves and change our way of life so that from now on we will live for the greater glory of God and to shine with the brilliance of God’s light and truth. Saints are indeed like the beautiful stained glass in our churches, not only because they are often depicted on them, their lives and ministry, but the fact that they do not produce light on their own, but are beautiful because of the light that shines through them. In the same manner therefore, the saints have no glory on their own save for the glory they have gained through the Lord, in their actions and deeds that are a reflection of God’s righteousness and justice, His truth and love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are like that stained glass, and we are all given the opportunity to shine with the light of Christ. But as long as we live in sin, sin is like a dark and thick grease that sticks onto that glass and prevents any light from passing through. As such, a dirty stained glass that is our lives will not be able to shine forth with the light of Christ. How do we then proceed? It is by following the examples of the saints, and asking them for their intercession on our behalf just as we strive to do our best to live our lives in a most Christian manner. In that way, we are making that ‘stained glass’ which is our lives, clean and able to shine with the light of God.

Just as our holy predecessors had done, we have to strive to reject sin and all of its vile influences in our lives. We have to do our best to carry out God’s will and to do His commandments, to be righteous and just in our actions and dealings, to be selfless and loving in our every interactions. Are we able to do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to live our lives from now on as dedicated Christians, modelling ourselves after the great many saints that are our role models? Let us ourselves be role models and inspirations for others to follow, by our own dedicated faith in life.

Let us no longer be saddled by the burden of sin, and instead, let us all, as Church Militant in this world, do our very best to live virtuously in the constant struggle against sin and evil, to be as good and worthy as possible, with the help of those saints, the Church Triumphant, who have already won their struggle, and ask them sincerely for their intercession and help, as they are closer to the Lord than us, that God will grant us His strength and grace to overcome the obstacles and the challenges we may encounter in life. And let us not forget to pray for the Church Suffering as well, our departed brothers and sisters who are still now suffering in Purgatory.

May God bless us all and strengthen us, that we may imitate and follow in the good examples of His saints, all those who have lived their lives worthily in the Lord. May God help us to live our lives worthily like His saints, that we too may share in eternal glory and true joy that is our inheritance, at the end of time. O Holy Saints of God, Holy men and women, our blessed brothers and sisters, the Church Triumphant in God, pray for us sinners! Amen.

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Sunday, 31 October 2021 : Thirty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we are reminded through the readings of the Sacred Scriptures of the Law of God, the commandments and tenets that we have received from God Himself, Who passed down the Ten Commandments through Moses, His servant and then revealed in its fullness through Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world, Who brought the fullness of truth into our midst, completing and making perfect the Law and commandments of God. Today, we are called to reflect on our attitude towards the Law of God, and whether we have lived our lives faithfully in following God’s Law and commandments.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard the exhortation which Moses made to the people of Israel, as he presented before them God’s Law and commandments, how they, as the people with whom God had made His Covenant, were supposed to follow and obey, as part of this Covenant. Just as God is faithful to the Covenant and the promises that He had made to His people, thus the people also had to be faithful and committed to the same Covenant, and put their hearts and minds wholly focused and centred on God, and God alone, as Moses told them.

Contextually, what we heard in today’s readings must be understood in terms of how the Law of God and the Commandments, the Ten Commandments and the other rules and regulations were practiced and applied by the people of Israel and their descendants. The Law of God had been passed down from one generation to another, and went through various modifications and reinterpretations to adjust to the changing conditions of the time and also because there were many different people in charge of preserving the Law, and the fact that the Law and the commandments were not really written down until later in history.

Unfortunately, over time this led to the change in the meaning and the intention of the Law and the commandments. The Law became more and more divergent from its original intention, purpose and meaning, as after the destruction of Israel and Judah, and the return of the remnants of the Israelites from their exile in Babylon, the laws and regulations had been made much more strict and rigorous. Then, the people experienced the struggle against Hellenism during the years of their subjugation under the Seleucids, as we heard in the Book of Maccabeus, where the people under the Maccabees family rose up in revolt, and overthrew those who sought to destroy the Jewish traditions and culture.

After the Jews regained their independence, it is natural that they would become much more zealous and stricter in enforcing their traditions and way of life against those who sought to live in ways of the Gentiles or in any other ways incompatible with the Jewish traditions and customs. However, this led to the rise of the group known later as the Pharisees by the time of Jesus, over a century later, representing those who zealously guarded the laws and customs of the Jewish people, bloated and exaggerated they were by centuries of changes and in reaction to the sins and waywardness of the people.

However, what made it an issue for the Lord, which He often addressed before the people, was that the Law had not been used properly, and ended up becoming tool for those same Pharisees, members of the teachers of the Law and elders who subscribed to a very strict interpretation of the Law, burdening the people of God with very difficult expectations of the Law, and even more troublesome was their attitude with regards to the Law and their faith in God. Instead of having the Law to help them and others to place their focus on the Lord, they instead used the Law, either consciously or unconsciously, to advance their own status and influence in the community.

That was why the Lord often rebuked and criticised many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for the manner that they had observed the Law, in their mistaken focus and intention, and in the way that they carried themselves, in how they pridefully paraded their piety and supposedly better observance of the Law as compared to the others, whom they then looked down on, and even despised, in the case of prostitutes, tax collectors and others whom they deemed to be sinners, unworthy of God and unredeemable, while ignoring their own sins and faults.

The Lord wanted everyone, including those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that this is not what the Law is all about, and as we heard in our Gospel passage today, one of those teachers of the Law realised through his interaction with the Lord Jesus, what the Law is truly all about. The Law of God is ultimately all about love, the love that God first and foremost has for each and every one of us, and therefore, naturally, which we should also have for Him, and then, just as we love the Lord, then we should also love one another in the same way.

God revealed to us His Law not to oppress us, or to make it to become a tool of discrimination against one another, or as something to be prideful of in our way of observing it. Otherwise, like many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, their focus were no longer on the Lord but on themselves, on the glory, fame and influence that they accrued from their way of living the Law, rather than using the Law for the benefit of all and for the conversion of all to the path of God. And by condemning others and looking down on those deemed unworthy, as well as by imposing the very strict observance of the Law, they had in fact prevented many from coming to the Lord and turned people away from Him.

In this manner therefore, they had failed in their duty as the custodians of the Law, in that they had not been dutiful in their efforts to lead others to righteousness in God. Instead, they sought self-righteousness and self-justification, and even condemning others who disagreed with them, or those whom they disliked and opposed, like that of the Lord Himself and His disciples, whom they feared as rivals and threats to their influence and position within the Jewish community and the people of God.

How are all these then relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? All these serve as an important reminder to all of us in God’s Church, that we cannot follow the same misguided path as those who had misinterpreted, misunderstood and misused the Law for their own selfish benefits, or in justifying themselves over others. Instead, we have to follow the Lord’s own examples, as we all know, that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of Man, joined to us in His humanity, just as He is fully Divine as the Son of God, loved His heavenly Father totally and completely, obeying His will perfectly.

And it is also by that act of supreme love, both of His Father and also for each and every one of us, His brothers and sisters, that He, as our True and Eternal High Priest, offered Himself as a loving and worthy Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, made to suffer and was slain for us on the Altar of the Cross, as mentioned in our second reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author of that Epistle, aimed at the Jewish converts to Christianity and other Jewish people in general, wanted to remind all of them that the Law of God in its true essence, is what the Lord Himself had done, in His supreme act of love in His Passion, suffering and death for us.

Hence, all of us are all called to reflect on our own attitudes in life and our actions. Have we, as God’s faithful and Church, acted in ways that are uncharitable and lacking in love, being exclusivist and elitist in our attitude, thinking that we are better than others, and condemning others who do not share our opinion or whom we dislike or deem to be less holy and worthy than us? Have we made use of our own Church teachings and traditions as an excuse to attack others and to mislead others in justifying ourselves and trying to promote our own ideals and interpretations rather than understanding what our faith is truly about?

This is exactly what some segments in our Church today are doing, on both extremes of ideas and ideologies. On one side, you have those who were very adamant in living their faith in a most Pharisaical manner, rigidly attaching themselves to the traditions and teachings of the Church but not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them in discerning the truth about God’s will and intentions, in their self-justification and self-righteous attitude, thinking that their version of the faith is better than others, and that those who do not subscribe to their way of living the Christian faith, are unworthy or even damnable.

On the other hand, on the other side of the spectrum, we also have those that sought to radically alter every teachings, traditions and all the ways of how our Christian faith are practised, to suit our own interpretation and agenda, and most importantly to suit our own selfish needs as well. These are those that the Popes past and present had warned against, especially that of Pope St. John Paul II as the relativistic attitudes of some Christians who sought to align Church teachings with worldly ways and to accept things that are not in accordance to the truth of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these are the forces arrayed against the Church, and which sadly happened even from within the Church and in our own faithful communities, just as it happened two millennia ago in the Jewish community, and which also had happened throughout all of our Christian history, in the history of the Church and its past developments. However, this cannot be a reason for us to give up, as the devil is all the happier to try to divide us and to mislead us further by his temptations and lies, and instead of being angry against each other or being divided, let us return our focus to the Lord.

This Sunday, as we recall the Law of God, the Ten Commandments and are reminded of what God’s Law and His teachings are all about, let us all be willing to listen to God, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, to guide the Church and its leaders, that we may journey together with Him in faith, and not allow our own selfish desires and individual preferences, ideologies and prejudices to mislead us down the wrong path. And most importantly, let us stay united against the efforts of those who tried to divide the Church and our communities, so that, united as we are, we shall not fall and remain firm and resolute in our struggles against sin and evil.

Let us all discern carefully our path in life, as one people of God united in His one Church, the united Body of Christ. Let us all learn to love God with all of our hearts and with all of our strength and capacity, by deepening our relationship with Him and by spending more important and precious time with Him, and then, also learning to love one another, as our own fellow brothers and sisters, just as much as we ought to love the Lord and ourselves. Let us all learn to forgive one another’s wrongdoings and learn to live together with harmony and faith, and as one united people, let us all seek the Lord together and be saved in Him.

May God bless us all and may He remain with His Church, that no matter what challenges and trials we may encounter, the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s Church, against our faith, truly genuine and full of love, a love that we all profess and show in our every daily moments and interactions, as we grow together as a community of God’s faithful, ever directed and journeying towards God, always. Amen.

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Saturday, 30 October 2021 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that God’s love is enduring, everlasting and wonderful, and His steadfastness and faithfulness to His Covenant and the commitments He made to us are amazing. As we heard from St. Paul in our first reading today, as well as from the Lord in our Gospel passage today, following the Lord requires us to be open to this love, to be humble and to recognise just how blessed we have been by God all these while.

In our first reading today, we heard from St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, as he spoke to them regarding the matter of the Jewish people and their status as God’s first chosen people. At that time, the Jewish people were spread all around the Mediterranean and other parts of the world, forming various diaspora communities including that in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, which had a sizeable Jewish community. It was to these Jews and the Gentiles in Rome that St. Paul wrote to in his Epistle, as there were some among them that became believers and turned to the Christian faith.

The Jewish people were the descendants of the Israelites, and were called so because they mostly lived in Judea, the former lands of the kingdom of Judah. They were the remnants of all those who have once inhabited the land of Israel, the Promised Land, the first people that God had chosen to be His own, but which as God revealed, not to be His only people, for God extended His love and grace to all the peoples of all the nations, beginning from the Jews themselves, and then to all the nations. He sent His Son to be born among them, and to proclaim the salvation of all, Jews and Gentiles or non-Jews alike.

St. Paul therefore reiterated that he himself was a Jew, namely one of the Jewish people, a descendant of Abraham and even mentioning his tribe, the tribe of Benjamin. He did this because some of the Jews might have seen his actions in his missionary travels and works as being anti-Jewish and pro-Gentiles in nature, as he often reached out to the Gentiles and sought them, preaching in their midst and many of them became Christians. Many of the Jews became believers too, but some of the disagreements between the Jews and Gentiles might threaten the unity of the faithful.

That was why St. Paul reminded and reassured the Jewish community that they were still beloved and precious in the presence of God, as God’s chosen people. But God’s love has also been extended from them, to the other peoples of all the nations, and not exclusively belonging just to the Jewish state and race alone. This is unlike the point of view and ideology that some among the influential members of the Jewish community, such as the Pharisees and the chief priests promoted.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord also highlighted the folly of the attitude of those who saw themselves as being superior to the others they deemed to be less worthy and less important than they were. The Pharisees liked to seek the first and most important places in events, seeking fame and recognition for their own prestige and power, their own intellectual superiority and piety. It is these attitudes which prevented them from being able to embrace the Lord and His truth.

They saw themselves as the exclusive recipients of God’s promises and Covenant, as they saw the Jews as the only chosen people of God, and themselves as the only ones worthy in the community, rejecting and condemning those like the prostitutes and tax collectors, or those who had diseases and were possessed by evil spirits as sinners, ignoring that they themselves were sinners who were in need of God’s forgiveness and healing, and how in their own actions, they were no less sinners than those whom they looked down on.

The Lord has reminded all of us, through St. Paul and what he had written passionately for the faithful in Rome, that all of us are beloved and dear to Him, all His chosen people whom He has called to follow Him, where distinctions and divisions no longer matter, whether Jew or Gentile, whether rich or poor, whether strong or weak, or by any other artificial categorisations that we often divide ourselves into. God loves us all sinners and wants us to be reconciled to Him, so that we may find our way back to Him and be redeemed.

Now, the question is, are we willing to allow the Lord to lead us and guide us in our path? Are we able to be humble and to listen to Him speaking to us in our hearts, and not be prideful and stubborn unlike those who look highly upon themselves and considered themselves to be superior or more worthy than others, sowing division and discord in the community, and being elitist and exclusivist in their attitudes? This is not what we as Christians should be doing, and instead, we should be more welcoming to others, and reach out to those who are in need of help.

Let us all therefore live our lives worthily as Christians from now on, and let us commit ourselves to the Lord anew, with a new spirit and conviction, and let us all draw ever closer to Him and His presence, obeying His Law and commandments, and being good role models for one another in faith, and helping one another to stay faithful and to remain firm in our devotion to God. May God bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 29 October 2021 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all presented with the reality of what being a Christian is all about. To be a Christian means that we have to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and do what He has commanded us to do. We must seek the Lord and focus ourselves on Him alone, and our whole existence and our ways must reflect the fact that we belong to God, and God alone.

In our first reading today, we heard the words of St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome as he spoke out regarding the experiences he had as a Jewish convert to the Christian faith himself, in his ministry and works among the Jews and Gentiles all across the Mediterranean. St. Paul encountered difficulties and challenges, when there were those who refused to believe in Him and rejecting him, as well as happy and fruitful moments when the people were willing to listen to him and embrace God’s truth, from among the Jews and Gentiles alike.

What he mentioned in today’s first readings was comparing just how much more saddened and afraid he would be if he were to invoke God’s wrath and to be separated from Him as compared to how anguished he had been of having been treated badly by his own fellow Jewish countryman, many of whom treated him badly and accused him of wrongdoings in opposition to his courageous and sincere work in their midst, especially from those who were members of the Pharisees and all those who were sympathetic to their views and ideas.

Through what we have heard in St. Paul’s expression, it was clear that St. Paul wanted his own people, the Jews, or the descendants of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, to be saved and redeemed, and to follow the right path as shown by the Lord, but which was still resisted by many among them. And much of this resistance came about because of their stubborn attitude in adopting a strict interpretation of the Law, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, how the Pharisees took issue with the Lord performing His miracles and works on the Sabbath.

Many of the Pharisees held the view that the Lord Jesus was a false Messiah because He and His disciples disregarded the Law of the Sabbath or were breaking the Law, which they considered to be improper, and some among them even considered it downright blasphemous. As a result, they often opposed the Lord and tried to accuse Him of wrongdoing in various opportunities, and after His death and resurrection, since the Apostles and the other disciples continued these works, thus, the attention of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities naturally turned towards them.

St. Paul himself was a former Pharisee who was called by the Lord, from a great persecutor of Christians turned to be one of its greatest champions and defender of the faith. That was likely why he was also saddened at the attitude of his former fellow Pharisees who continued to resist the truth of God and the works of those whom the Lord had entrusted His Church to, for their stubborn refusal to abandon or compromise their very strict interpretation of the Law, as well as their feeling of superiority against those whom they deemed to be less worthy than they were.

The Lord Himself in our Gospel passage today pointed out the folly of their arguments, as He showed that mankind cannot blindly follow the Law or interpret it in their own way without truly understanding the meaning and the purpose of the Law. God had intended the Law to be the guide and help for man to find their way to Himself, and yet, His people had instead become too fixated and focused on the applications and the practices of the Law which led to many of them obeying the Law for the sake of obeying it, or even making use of it to benefit themselves out of pride, ambition and desire.

This is why, today, through all that we have heard and discussed, we are all reminded that as Christians we have to do our best to keep ourselves away from the many temptations to follow our desires and the pleasures of worldliness, to be righteous and just, as the Lord our Master, our Father and Creator has been righteous and just. We are all called to put our trust and faith in Him, and persevere against the trials and challenges of worldly desires and the temptations of the devil and his fellow wicked forces. May God bless us all and may He strengthen each and every one of us to follow Him with all of our might and strength. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 October 2021 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of two great saints of God, who are two of the great Apostles, members of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude, who refers to St. Simon the Zealot as well as St. Jude Thaddeus, the latter not to be confused with the traitor Judas Iscariot. Both of them followed the Lord throughout His ministry, dedicating themselves to His cause and in the end, shedding their blood and giving their lives to the glory of God.

St. Simon the Apostle was as mentioned, a zealot or a religious fanatic who was converted and called to follow the Lord Jesus. As a zealot, previously he was involved in the revolutionary efforts from the fanatical members of the Jewish community who were fighting against the oppressors of the Jewish state in Judea and Galilee, namely the Romans and their client rulers, the Herodians and their supporters. The zealots were known for carrying out attacks against the government establishments and for their guerrilla efforts.

And it was from the ranks of those zealots that the words of the Lord Jesus came to touch St. Simon, who was convinced to follow Him and to give himself to the cause of the Lord instead of the misguided efforts of the zealots. Initially, perhaps St. Simon also thought, like many other Jewish people and zealots did, that the Lord Jesus was the long awaited Messiah Who was expected to lead the Israelites, the people of God, against their enemies, and lead them to freedom, crushing the Romans and all their oppressors.

St. Simon however, remained firmly faithful and committed to the Lord, even after many of the other disciples left Him, and when the Lord was betrayed and made to suffer, persecuted and forced to bear His Cross, and finally died a most humiliating and painful death on that same Cross, this former zealot turned disciple of the Lord remained, and continued to serve Him, receiving the Holy Spirit together with the other Apostles and disciples, and went on to do His works, evangelising and travelling to many places to proclaim the truth of God.

Meanwhile, St. Jude Thaddeus, also known as St. Judas Thaddeus, sometimes associated with one of the relatives of the Lord, also known as Jude, was also one of the close followers of the Lord, who followed Him throughout His ministry, and then dedicated himself to the works and the missions entrusted to him by the Lord. And while, like St. Simon, little was known about St. Jude in the early days of his role as an Apostle and follower of Christ, what Church traditions and history held was that both of them went to faraway places, evangelising to the people who have not yet heard about the Lord and His salvation.

It was told that St. Simon and St. Jude often travelled together in their works of evangelisation and mission, preaching the word of God to the people of Persia, Armenia, and other areas like North Africa and Asia Minor. They worked hard to speak the truth of God to the people, many of whom were receptive and were willing to believe in God, and yet, there were also many others who refused to believe in the Lord and persecuted them and the other servants of God.

St. Simon was martyred together with St. Jude in the most well-preserved history of the Church, in which both Apostles were persecuted, tortured and finally put to death for their evangelising works among the pagans. In the end, regardless of their origins, they all embraced God’s calling and mission, and dedicated themselves to serve the Lord, following Him to where He led them, and gave themselves, even their own lives for the sake of the glory of God, and for the salvation of mankind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect today on the lives and works of these two great Apostles, St. Simon and St. Jude, let us all discern carefully what we should do with our own lives, as those who profess the Christian faith and are therefore disciples and followers of Christ. Let us all consider carefully how we are to live our lives from now on, and reflect upon the examples of the Apostles to guide us and to help set us on the right path in life.

May the Lord protect us and guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He empower all of us to follow in the footsteps of His glorious Apostles, especially St. Simon and St. Jude, whose memory we venerate today, and whose examples we want to emulate. May God be with us always and may He bless us in our every good works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 October 2021 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures, we heard how the Lord called us to be His people, sending to us His Holy Spirit to show us the path forward, so that we may know how we should proceed in life in following Him. He has called us all to Himself, and revealed us His wisdom and truth through the Holy Spirit, but at the same time, that we may find our way to Him, as He gave us the freedom and free will to choose our path.

However, unfortunately, many of us chose to ignore Him and His truth, and even among us who call and consider ourselves as Christians, as those who should have believed in Him and walked in His path, many of us still lived in a state of ignorance and rejection of God. Many of us acted in a way that is in contrast to what the Lord had revealed, taught and shown to us. In that way, we are just like what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord chastised those who claimed to know the Lord and yet, did not truly know Him.

In that occasion, the Lord answered someone who asked Him if it was difficult for one to enter into the kingdom of God. The Lord told the man and the other people the reality that many people would try to enter into the kingdom of God and yet they would not be able to do so, because of various reasons. The Lord told them all that many would claim to know the Lord and sought Him, but they would falter along the way and would not find their way to Him, and they would be left outside, to suffer the eternal pain and consequences of their infidelities.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why is it that following the Lord is such a difficult thing to do? That is because many of us prefer to follow our own personal ambitions, desires, our greed, ego and pride, over that of following the Lord and obeying His Law and commandments. The Lord has called us all to follow Him, and He has also revealed to us His truth, and yet, many still refused to do so, delayed to do so and walked elsewhere instead of going towards Him, all because we find that following the whims of our desires felt much better for us than to obey the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded through our Scripture passages today to stay focused on the Lord and to follow Him wholeheartedly. We are all called to turn away from the way of evil and sin, from our selfish desires, from all greed and pride. Are we all able to do this? Or are we going to continue to allow sin to lead us down the wrong paths in life? Sin is truly dangerous and unless we are vigilant and careful in how we live our lives, we may end up being dragged and pulled into our downfall.

Unfortunately, it is much easier said than done, and many of us often constantly fail to resist the pull and allure of temptations to sin, to disobey the Lord and to walk our own path. Every day we always face this dilemma, the challenges and the difficulties of staying true to our faith in God. This is where all of us have to be resolute and to persevere together, helping one another to stay true to our faith, and not to slide into the path of wickedness and sin. We have to do our best to listen to the Lord, to discern carefully our path in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given us the gift of truth and wisdom as He has mentioned in our Scripture passages today, that through His Holy Spirit, He has revealed everything to us, and the choice is now ours to make, whether we want to follow the Lord and commit ourselves to Him or whether we want to continue walking down those paths of sin and evil. We have the free will given by God to choose whether we want to walk in the path of worldly pleasures, that may appear to be easy and all good now, and yet, leads us to eventual downfall and suffering, or whether we want to commit ourselves to the apparently more difficult path of Christ, and yet one that leads to eternal life and true joy.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully in His presence. May God bless all of us and our every efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, that we shall always find joy in living our lives as Christians to the best of our abilities. Amen.

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Tuesday, 26 October 2021 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the coming of the Lord’s salvation and His kingdom, the kingdom that He has promised us, the kingdom of God to which we are all called to enter, to receive one day the fullness of glory, true happiness and pure joy that we can only find in the Lord alone. Today we are all called to turn towards the Lord and put our hope in Him.

In our first reading today, from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome, the Apostle reminded them all of the hope in God’s salvation, which all of them had been promised and which they would receive, if they could be patient and remain true to their faith, acknowledging how everyone had been looking forward to and desiring the love and salvation from God, after having suffered the many trials and challenges we have to face because of our sins.

St. Paul was in fact referring to the salvation of man from their original fall into sin. Mankind had chosen to listen to Satan and his lies, and to follow the temptations of their flesh and desires rather than to trust in God. And St. Paul reminded the faithful that all of us have to be patient and to persevere through the challenges that we may face in life. We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed easily by the lies of the devil, and all of his false promises, through which he and the other forces of evil ever always tried to distract us, mislead us and bring us into our downfall.

They would always try to tempt us with an easy life, that if we want to enjoy things we have and in our lives, and find pleasures in this life, then we should walk in the path that has been shown to us. In that way, they tried to make us regret following the Lord and instead turn towards the easier and more convenient path instead, one that has been presented to us as the better path in life. The Lord’s path certainly often seems to be the more challenging and difficult one to follow.

Yet, we must not lose faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we have to trust in the Lord and His providence. We must believe that if we remain faithful to Him, and true to His path, then in the end, there is nothing less than true glory and happiness in following Him. The Lord has always been faithful to the Covenant that He has established with our forefathers and which He had renewed and made evident to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our Gospel passage today, we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us, as He spoke of the parable about the kingdom of God to the people listening to Him. He compared the kingdom of God to that of the mustard seed, which is planted and then later on would grow to be a large tree, from a mere small seed, and how mighty that tree would be as compared to the very small seed that was the mustard seed, from among the smallest of the seeds to be one of the largest among the trees.

Then He also compared it to the measures of flour with yeast, which is put together into dough and let to raise. When under the right and optimum conditions, the yeast would then make the dough to rise up and enlarge greatly when the leavened bread was to be made. However, just like the germinating mustard seed and the growing young mustard plant, everything would not have happened unless the right and appropriate conditions were provided.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, effort and commitment is need for us to walk faithfully in the path that the Lord has set before us. There will be opposition, challenges, trials and even persecutions facing us as we commit ourselves to this path set before us by the Lord, but we must realise that it is also part of the efforts of those who sought our downfall to lead us down the wrong path, by persuading us to give up the fight. We have to persevere in faith, brothers and sisters in Christ, and seek the true joy that we can find in the Lord alone.

Let us not seek the temporary joy and fulfilment that the false path of Satan and sin have offered us, but instead let us turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and love for Him, turning away from the path of evil and sinfulness, embracing His mercy and compassionate love from now on. May God be with us always and may He strengthen each and every one of us in our journey of faith through life towards the glorious kingdom of God. Amen.

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Monday, 25 October 2021 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to reflect on the words we have heard reminding us to be faithful to God and to love Him as the same way as children are loving their parents, because we are God’s beloved children through baptism, by which all of us have been made sharers in God’s inheritance and received God’s grace and blessings, His love and providence.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Rome about the matter of following God and His ways, that all Christians as God’s own beloved sons and daughters ought to be truly faithful to Him and the commandments and laws which He has shown and given to them through the Church and its Apostles. They have been freed from the slavery of sin by God, and correspondingly should no longer subject themselves to the power and corruption of sin, and hence, they ought to live a life that is worthy of God.

St. Paul wrote this to the faithful in Rome with the context that there and elsewhere across the Mediterranean, in other communities of the faithful, quite a few of the Christian populations who were newly converted to the faith continued to practice pagan rituals and beliefs, and worse still, continue to live in a state of sin, full of debauchery and wickedness. Those behaviours and way of life were incompatible with the Christian faith, and in fact bring scandal upon the Church and the sanctity of our solemn faith and profession.

That is why, St. Paul reminded all of the people, and then, which includes all of us, that everyone who believe in God ought to be thoroughly converted to the path of God’s truth and righteousness. We must never allow our worldly desires and the many temptations to sin to bring and lead us to our downfall. If we are not careful, we may end up falling into those temptations and ended up sinning again, unless we make the conscious effort to reject Satan and his temptations for us to sin against God. We must realise just how blessed we are to have been beloved by God, and we should treasure how we have been saved by Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord and His healing of the woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, who had been suffering and tormented by her afflictions. And it was an evil spirit that forced her into that state. No one had been able to heal her, until that moment when she came before the Lord, and the Lord noticing her, had pity on her and showed her His most generous mercy, healed her by likely casting out the evil spirit that had tormented and troubled her. He made her whole again and liberated her.

Yet, the officials of the synagogue and the members of the Pharisees who were present there criticised the Lord for having done the healing on the day of the Sabbath, which to them was against their very strict interpretation of the Law of God. The Lord immediately rebuked them and pointed out the folly and illogical nature of their argument and their rigid attitude, as double standard quickly appeared when comparing how the people untied their donkey and oxen even on the Sabbath to provide for their needs, while the suffering woman had to wait to be healed, if the Lord had acted in the manner desired by the Pharisees and the synagogue officials.

Instead, the Lord through His action showed us that we are all truly precious for Him, as His lost sheep that He has gathered again from among the nations, from all those scattered and spread far and wide, and we are all His beloved ones that He would do nothing less than give His own life in exchange for our salvation. Through His Cross, Christ has suffered and died a most terrible, humiliating and painful death, all for our sake, that we may have new life through Him, and share in His glorious Resurrection and the eternal life promised to us.

Having been beloved in such a way, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we still willing to allow ourselves to be commanded and misguided by our desires, and by the temptations to sin? Having been rescued and redeemed from our sins, are we still insisting on following a path of sin and evil, in disobedience against God? Are we still stubborn in our refusal to open our hearts and minds, in order to welcome Him into them, that He may dwell in us and we may be made wholesome like that suffering woman? Let us all carefully consider our path in life from now on, that we will walk in the presence and grace of God.

Let us all inspire and strengthen one another to live ever more faithfully in God’s path, and let us be exemplary in our every actions and interactions in life, so that all who see us, hear us and witness our works, will come to know the Lord and will know that we are truly His beloved children, and come to believe in Him as well. May God, our loving Father and Creator, continue to bless us and our good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 October 2021 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Mission Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us mark the occasion of the World Mission Sunday, reminding all of us that all of us as Christians are called to be missionaries of our faith, of the truth and love of God. All of us through our baptism have received this mission from the Lord, the same mission that all of us share in our Christian faith, and we must never have the thinking that only those who are called as missionaries or those who are members of the ordained or the religious brothers and sisters who are called to a life of mission for God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, the words of the Lord proclaiming His care and love for His people, in gathering all of them, scattered from among the nations and lost, humiliated and without a leader, as He would become their Lord and guide once again, and reunite them into the land that He would lead them into. And this was the promise and reassurance that the Lord made to His people, who at that time were in the midst of the lowest points of their fortunes, surrounded and oppressed by their neighbouring nations.

At that time, the prophet Jeremiah ministered to the people of God in Judah, at the last years of its existence, after the northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians for over a century previously, and its people exiled and scattered among the nations. Judah would also follow suit shortly as it was attacked, its capital Jerusalem besieged and destroyed by the Babylonians, and most of the populations brought off into exile in Babylon and other placed, while some sought refuge in Egypt. All these happened during the lifetime and ministry of prophet Jeremiah.

Therefore, at that time, Jeremiah spoke the word of God in consoling and reassuring His people at the time of their great misfortune and misery. The Lord wanted all of them to know that He did not leave them alone, and He was always with them even through their darkest moments, and He sent to them Jeremiah to be the one to reveal to them His will, His intention and love. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jeremiah was sent as not just a prophet but also as a missionary to reveal God’s truth and love to His people.

Then, in our psalm today this is reiterated again, as the song of joy speaks of how God brought back the exiles and all those people that had been scattered, and how they went in sorrow and God reunited them and returned them to their homeland in great joy. God had done great things for His people, and He came to them, seeking them, sending prophets, messengers as missionaries to find them and to reach out to them, and to touch their hearts and minds, to put in them once again the love and faith for God.

In our second reading today, we heard of the passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which, as repeatedly mentioned throughout that Epistle, the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of all mankind and the whole world was presented as the High Priest of all, in presenting His offering on behalf of all of us, which is worthy for the atonement of all of our innumerable sins. That is because Christ acted as the High Priest of all, by offering the perfect and worthy offering, of Himself as the Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, put to death and slain on the Cross, which is His Altar.

Through this Epistle, the author of the Epistle, which was directed to the Jewish converts and other Jews among the people, both in Judea and around the world, wanted to tell all of them the same message that God has given their ancestors through the prophet Jeremiah. God loved all of them and wanted to be reunited with them, and as all of us had been separated from Him through sin, He sent us all the deliverance through His Saviour, Who is none other than His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, born into this world, the Divine Word Incarnate that became our Light and Salvation.

This is the same Christ Who in our Gospel passage today heard the cries of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, who was blind for a long time. He cried out for the Lord to have mercy on Him and to heal him from his affliction. And when the people around him scolded him and tried to silence him, he cried out all the louder, calling on the Lord, Who heard him perfectly and came to him. The Lord wanted to heal him and restore his sight, and asked the blind man if that was what he desired, and then healed his eyes, by the power of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as I mentioned earlier at the start of today’s discourse, all of us are reminded through today’s Scripture passages of our mission as Christians, as those who have answered God’s call and received baptism to be members of His Church. All of us share this calling to be evangelistic and missionary in our lives, which is not just limited to those who have given themselves to the sacred orders or the consecrated life as religious brothers and sisters. The Lord calls on each and every one of us to play our part in the mission of the Church.

And how do we do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is why we have to recall what we have just heard in our Scripture passages today, as well as what we have just discussed and reflected just now. The Lord is calling us to do whatever we can, in our respective capacities and abilities, in whatever opportunities we have, in reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters, to show them the truth and love of God and to be exemplary and as inspirations in how each one of us ought to live out our lives as good and dedicated Christians.

That is the essence of the Lord’s Great Commission to all of us, His Church, as He proclaimed to His disciples just before He was about to ascend to Heaven, that they all are to go forth to the peoples of all the nations, and to make disciples of them, and to baptise them all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to all of us, for us to be His missionaries in this world, through our everyday living and our actions that lead many others to God and His salvation.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this World Mission Sunday today, all of us must not be idle in living our Christian lives with true and genuine faith. We cannot be hypocrites who profess to believe in God and yet our actions show otherwise. Not only that it does not lead others towards God, but worse still, if our lives cause scandal to our faith, we can end up leading more people to leave the Church and to turn away from God’s truth and salvation. And with that, the responsibility for such event will hang heavily upon us.

We have to live our lives with faith, to reach out to the marginalised and those who are without hope and are downtrodden. Just like the Lord reassuring His people, gathering the lost and scattered ones back and calling on them to return to Him, and just as He has shown mercy and love on the blind man, healing Bartimaeus from his blindness, so all of us have also been called to follow Our Lord’s examples in love, in sharing this love He has for us, through us, with one another.

How do we do this? By genuinely loving our fellow brothers and sisters, and all those whom we encounter in life. We have to show our love for our loved ones, for our neighbours, friends and others, and even to acquaintances and strangers, and also, our enemies and those who hate us, that through our love and patience with them, we may even make them realise the errors of their ways, and be reconciled with them, just as the Lord had sought to be reconciled with us. It has to begin with us and our attitudes towards each other. As long as we are genuine in living our faith, then we are already good missionaries.

On this World Mission Sunday therefore, let us pray for one another, that we may be ever more effective and sincere missionaries of our Christian faith, that we may ever be more genuine in how we live up to our faith that we may always inspire more and more people to follow the Lord, and to touch the lives of more people, especially those who have not known or have distanced themselves from God. We should then also pray for those who have dedicated themselves especially to missionary work all over the world, all those who dedicated themselves to proclaim and teach the faith to diverse groups of peoples, both within and outside our Church communities.

May the Lord continue to be with us and guide us in our journey of faith and help us all to be good and dedicated missionaries that are committed to serve the Lord and His people daily, at all times. May God bless all of our good works, efforts and endeavours from now on, all for His greater glory, the holy mission of His Church for the salvation of souls. Amen.