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Friday, 6 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord’s words through the Scriptures reminding all of us that ultimately, our citizenship is in Heaven, which means that regardless of whatever we have in this world, our allegiances and attachments, in the end, we are bound to Heaven, our ultimate and final destination, as how it should be. Yet, many may not make it to Heaven and end up in hell, because they got distracted and chose to live a life that is against God.

That is because we are often tempted by falsehoods of the devil and the temptations of worldly pleasures and desires, living as St. Paul said in our first reading today, as the ‘enemies of Christ’. These are those who have refused to believe in the Lord Jesus and His teachings of truth as well as those who have ignored Him and failed to live up to their faith as they should have. And as St. Paul said, that those are headed to ruin, that is hell.

That is why he mentioned that all of us Christ’s faithful are truly the citizens of Heaven, which we ought to aspire to and seek, as indeed, once we have been destined for the glory of God and Heaven, if not for our sins and iniquities. Through sin we have been separated from God and made to wander in this world and to suffer the consequences for our sins. But the Lord did not wish to see us continuing in this wretched state.

That is why through His servants, He reminded them all that they could be forgiven and return to Him should they choose to repent from their sinful ways and embrace fully His truth. As St. Paul reminded the Philippians, all of us are bound for Heaven, and as such, because we truly belong to God, we should act in manners that are in accordance and congruent with what God has taught to us through His Church.

What we then heard in our Gospel passage today in the parable of the dishonest steward is yet another reminder that we must not be like that dishonest steward who had not been honest and just in his actions and chose to be corrupt in his works. When the master found out about this, the steward was dismissed from service, and as the Lord told His disciples, that steward did things to make sure that he had a guarantee despite having lost his livelihood.

We heard the Lord saying how the master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. But in truth, what the Lord was saying to us is that, if we continue on living in ways contrary to the Lord’s ways, in embracing corrupt desires and pride, ambition, greed among others, we will end up getting deeper and even deeper into the trap of sin. That dishonest steward continued to employ dishonest methods to secure for himself a living after his dismissal that he essentially doubled down on his mistake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Gospel passage and related to what we heard in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians, all of us are reminded that we have to live a genuine Christian life, and distance ourselves from sin and all of its corruptions. We have to resist the allures and pressure to sin, and live virtuously at all times. We have to be inspiration for one another in how we live up our faith to the fullest.

As we all know that Heaven is our true destination, let us all therefore do our very best to make our lives to be worthy of Heaven, to be worthy of God and His kingdom. Let us obey the Lord and His commandments, listen to Him and His truth, and commit ourselves to a holy life dedicated to God from here on after. Let us seek the Lord with all our hearts and devote ourselves to Him with ever greater zeal and sincerity, from now onwards. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we heard the words of the Lord through the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the supreme and amazing love of God that He has shown to each and every one of us. God does not abandon us when we are in need, when we are stranded alone in the darkness, but on the contrary, God will go the extra distance to look for us and find us through the darkness.

In our Gospel today, we heard the Lord using two parables to highlight His intent to His people, telling them the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin to show how the Lord cared for all of His beloved creation, that He would go out of His way just to find that one lost sheep or the one lost coin, leaving everyone else that had already been saved and saving those who need to be saved.

Economically and logically, it is entirely pointless and even befuddling for the Lord to have done so. What was the point of putting effort to go out of one’s way just to get one lost sheep when you already had ninety-nine that were not lost in the first place? But the Lord does not act in ways that are economical or logical, brothers and sisters, as He acts with pure and genuine love towards us.

That was why He willingly looked for us, for those who had been lost to Him, that we may be found and not be lost again. The Lord knew full well what will happen to us if we are not found, and that is we will be lost forever to Him in eternal fire and darkness in hell. No matter how great our sins may have been, as long as it is not too late, the love that God has for each one of us does not permit Him to abandon us.

God Himself has thus laid down His life as He picked up His Cross, suffering for us and went through the most bitter ordeal of the crucifixion, dying for us on the Cross as the perfect sacrifice of love, as the perfect offering for the absolution of all of our sins and our redemption from sin and evil. Through Him, we have been made clean and once again His beloved children.

With all that God had done for us, and by making a New Covenant with us, alluded to in our first reading today by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians, as we Christians are the new and true ‘circumcised’ people, which does not refer to the physical circumcision of the flesh, but the far better ‘circumcision’ of the heart, we have embraced God and been brought back into His grace and love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now we know just how much God has loved us, that He has called us all from among the nations, then we should really love Him back in the same way, and be appreciative and thankful how He has done so much for us, as our loving Father and as the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for His sheep, all of us. And He rejoices when we have been found and were lost no longer.

Can we spend more time with God and put more effort into our faith in Him, in doing His will and being good in our actions and deeds? Let us be good Christians from now on, and make good use of the lives and opportunities that He has given to us. Let us devote ourselves and focus our attention on God from now on, living our live in a Christ-centric way from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Scriptures the need for us to consider the path going forward in our lives, on whether we want to follow the path that the Lord has set before us, or whether we rather choose the alternative path of this world and not following the Lord and His ways. All of these have been given to us freely to choose, and we have been given the wisdom and free will to decide.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke to His disciples and the people using a parable in which He described the actions of kings and rulers of nations who were about to go to war with each other, as well as builders and architects who wanted to build a house. The Lord used these as examples to show that no matter in what situation, everyone’s actions are often likely planned and well-thought of beforehand.

Yes, definitely there will be unforeseen circumstances and changes along the way no matter how well we have planned for everything. Yet to go and enter into something, or to act without any plans at all often leads to not just negative, but even disastrous outcomes and consequences. And the Lord linked all these to what He said before He told them the parable.

The Lord said that no one who loves their fathers, mothers, family members, spouses, relatives and friends, or anyone else more than they love Him can have any share in His kingdom, and unless they carry the burden of their crosses and follow Christ, they cannot be His disciples and consequently have no part of the grace and inheritance God had promised them through Christ, His Son.

What the Lord told the people did not mean that He asked them to abandon everyone and love Him alone, as what some people would have easily misunderstood the true meaning and purpose of what He had said. In truth, through these words, the Lord is reminding each and every one of us His faithful, that we must not forget that God must be first of all and first in our focus, attention and love. And if we love God, then we naturally will also love all those whom God had loved, that is our brothers and sisters.

We should not love something or someone greater than our love for God, but we are called to love everyone as greatly as how we have loved God and ourselves. This is the true intention and meaning of His words and the parable He mentioned, in presenting before us, the truth that He has unveiled before us, and the clear choices that we have to make if we are to be faithful disciples and followers of the Lord. We cannot treat our faith as a mere formality alone.

We know that the path that we follow in the Lord will lead us to eternal life and glory with God, for it is what He Himself has revealed to us. And yet, we often rather chose to follow different paths in life, refusing to follow the Lord and indulging in our own personal desires and selfish agendas. Truly, we know that doing so will lead us to ruin and yet we still carry it out nonetheless. Truly, we have been fools more often than we are not!

That is why today, all of us should look upon the good examples set by St. Charles Borromeo, the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan and great Reformer of the Church, a paragon of faith and virtue in his many contributions especially in his efforts in spearheading the Counter-Reformation within his diocese and beyond as an influential adviser to the Pope and the Roman Curia. St. Charles Borromeo, despite his great influence and power at that time, was however a humble person, who cared for the people of God and spent his life in reaching out to them.

St. Charles Borromeo loved God above all things, and at that time, when many of the clergy and also laypeople were corrupted by the excesses of worldly wealth and glory, he worked hard to purge the corruptions from within the Church, reforming the way the Church and the priests and its laypeople lived, to distance themselves from sin and evil, and to embrace fully the way of the Lord. Clearly, St. Charles Borromeo had chosen the Lord’s path to be his path, and we too should do the same.

St. Charles Borromeo dedicated himself to the people whom God had entrusted to him, showing just how he loved God first and greatest of all, and then he showed the same love to his brethren as well, and not putting or allowing his selfish desires and the temptations to sin to distract him. It was told that he tried his best to feed his flock when a great famine struck Milan and its surroundings, and the holy man of God devoted much of his effort to care for the most needy.

Are we able and willing to follow in the footsteps of St. Charles Borromeo, brothers and sisters in Christ? As mentioned earlier, we have given the choice to make, to choose between God and His righteous path, or the path of the world and personal self-satisfaction and indulgence. Shall we choose consciously with faith, the path that we are going to take in life, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all commit ourselves to God anew as Christians from now on, in each and every moments of our lives, that by our every actions, words and deeds, we will always glorify God in all things. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 November 2020 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians we should be humble and obedient just as Christ Himself, as the Son had been obedient to His Father’s will, and how He had carried out everything perfectly as how it was supposed to be. And therefore we are all reminded of the Lord’s calling in our lives to be faithful and obedient to Him.

St. Paul reminded all of us the faithful of the Lord’s own dedication and obedience to His Father in his Epistle to the Philippians, referring to how Christ was willing even to empty and humble Himself of His glory and divinity, to assume the humble appearance and status of a slave, to bear the burden of the many sins and faults of the whole world, suffering the most grievous pain and humiliation out of His love for us.

In our Gospel today, we heard from the Lord Jesus a reminder and also a rebuke to all of us for our frequent lack of faith, our refusal to listen to God and obey Him. Through a parable, the Lord told the people about the reality how many of them were too busy with many preoccupations, distractions and temptations to notice the Lord’s calling and what they were supposed to do in their lives. Instead of listening to God and answering His call, they all chose to walk down their own path, into error and sin.

This was represented in the Gospel passage today in the parable, as those guests who had been invited to the a great man’s banquet, and yet refused to come because of their various excuses, all the things that they used as reasons why they could not come to the banquet, such as that they were busy with their lives, their own pursuits in life, their various preoccupations. In the end, their places were given to the others whom the man chose to invite instead.

In the same way, the Lord has also generously invited us all to enter into His heavenly kingdom, to embrace fully His grace and love. However, more often than not, we mankind tend to ignore Him, His calling and His patient persistence in reaching out to us. We refuse to acknowledge and even appreciate His love and compassion, His care and desire to be reconciled with us.

Instead, we allowed ourselves to be tempted and persuaded. We allowed the devil to have a free reign and for him to twist our minds and priorities. We turned away from God and His ways, and end up becoming more and more selfish, wicked and shut off away from God. And unless we realise this mistake that we have often made, we will end up deeper and deeper into trouble.

Therefore, today all of us are reminded that as Christians we should follow the path and examples set before us by the Lord Himself in His obedience. And today, in addition, we also have the good examples set by the saint whose memory we remember and celebrate, namely that of St. Martin de Porres, a holy religious and member of the Dominican Order, from Peru in the New World, from a time when many among the natives and the mixed-race peoples there were being prejudiced against and had difficulties living their lives as they should.

St. Martin de Porres was born into poor condition, from a family of mixed descent from the natives and African slaves through his mother, and as an illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman. He had to endure lots of hardships early in life, and despite his desire to join the religious life, particularly the Order of Preachers or the Dominicans, St. Martin de Porres had a great obstacle as all those who belonged to the slaves, natives and mixed-race were barred from joining the religious orders as full members.

That was why although St. Martin de Porres eventually joined the Dominicans as a Third Order member, as a laybrother, he was never ordained a priest. Nonetheless, despite all the hardships and prejudices that he had to face throughout his life, St. Martin de Porres remained firm in his faith and conviction, and he obeyed faithfully the Lord’s commandments and the precepts of the Dominican order. He served his community and the people with zeal and commitment.

St. Martin de Porres was remembered for his great love, care and concern for the poor and those who were suffering, just as he himself had understood and experienced suffering, prejudice and difficulties in life. He cared for the poor and the sick, and when a terrible disease was spreading through the community, he even travelled long distances to care for those who were suffering. He obeyed his superiors who were against his efforts, although subtly, he did remind them that the precepts of obedience should also not overtake the precepts of charity.

Throughout his life, St. Martin de Porres had exhibited great faith in God and the values of what a true Christian is like and is supposed to be. He has shown us all how each and every one of us should live up to our faith as Christians. Are we willing and able to follow his good examples, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to follow the examples of faith and obedience showed to us by this courageous and loving saint of God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us always constantly remind ourselves of our Christian mission and calling, to obey the Lord, our Father and Master, and let us all follow Him and His examples, as well as the good examples set by our holy predecessors, especially today as we recall St. Martin de Porres and his holy life. Let us all serve the Lord with a new faith and zeal from now on, and strive to love Him, and love our neighbours with ever greater commitment from now on. May God be with us and bless us all in our every good endeavours and efforts. Amen.

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Monday, 2 November 2020 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate on the day after All Saints’ Day, the Feast of All Souls. On this All Souls’ Day, we commemorate all the souls of the faithful who have departed from this world. We remember our loved ones who have passed on and all others who have gone before us, those whose earthly lives and existences had come to an end.

On this All Souls’ Day, we pray for those holy souls in purgatory, those who are also part of the universal Church of God. They are the Church Suffering just as the glorious saints in Heaven are the Church Triumphant and we who are still living in this world are part of the Church Militant. We are all united as part of this same Church of God and through the Church we have been brought together as one family of people who have called God as our Father, Lord and Master.

While the saints have already attained the glory of Heaven, those holy souls in purgatory we are remembering and praying for today and throughout this whole month in particular are those who have yet to merit immediately the glory of Heaven. Their sins, unrepented and unforgiven, while judged by God not to be great enough to be condemned for eternity in hell, were significant enough that they could not enter immediately into heavenly glory unlike the saints.

They had passed through what the Church called as the ‘particular judgment’, which refers to the judgment of everyone’s souls right at the moment of their passing from the earthly life. This is distinct from the general judgment that will happen at the end of time, also better known as the Last Judgment, when everyone righteous will be judged to be worthy, and their bodies will be raised again and reunited with their holy souls, in a new glorious existence with God as described at the end of the Book of Revelations.

Thus, the holy souls in purgatory have been judged to be worthy and will never end up in hell, hence being considered as holy. It is a misconception to think that purgatory is a place in between heaven and hell, and that people may still end up in hell after purgatory. Those who have ended up in purgatory and will be there in time to come, which include many of us, not holy enough to be like the saints, or wicked enough to deserve hell, we shall endure the flames of purgatory on our way to Heaven.

What is purgatory like, brothers and sisters in Christ? There had been several descriptions of purgatory by the Church fathers, saints and other authors, but they agreed that purgatory while it is a place where the souls of the righteous were awaiting their entry into Heaven, but it is also a place of great suffering, not because of their wickedness but rather because their residual sins, unforgiven, that made them to suffer for their love of God.

Those who have significant sins and ended up in purgatory cannot come directly to the holy presence of God because no sin, no matter how small or insignificant it may be, can be in the presence of God. Thus, those in purgatory are waiting for the expiation or the atonement of their sins. They suffer because they all love God and to be in the presence of God, but they were not yet able to do so.

The flames of purgatory were often described in descriptions of purgatory, but in truth, the flames and the sufferings of purgatory are symbolic of the burning love of God that are in each and every one of the holy souls there. It is their burning love and desire to be with God, and the sorrow and repentance over the sins which prevented them from attaining the fullness of heavenly glory that made them to suffer.

It is indeed good that all these souls are already destined for Heaven, in time to come. For some, it will be shorter while others had to wait for longer time. But regardless of this, the suffering of the holy souls in purgatory is real, and some saints, including St. John Vianney have written their experiences of interacting with the souls in purgatory, as for example, in one occasion, saw the holy souls in purgatory and their sufferings, and how through prayer, and offering of the Holy Mass with intentions for those souls in purgatory, the souls were liberated and brought into heavenly glory.

Through what we have heard, discussed and listened today on the matter of the holy souls in purgatory, many of whom we may have known, and one day which may be our turn to be there in purgatory, we are all called to pray for the sake of those souls in purgatory still waiting for the complete expiation and purification from all of their sins and their residual evils, that had prevented them from being completely reunited with God.

We are praying for them because they cannot pray for themselves. And in fact, the saints are also constantly, daily, praying for all these holy souls that have yet to be able to join them in the glory of Heaven. We should also pray for them because we are after all, members of the same Church of God. If one part of the Body of Christ, the Church suffers hurt, then it is natural for all the other parts to feel the hurt and pain as well. Therefore, today, and throughout this whole month, as Pope Francis has recently extended the plenary indulgences for the holy souls in purgatory by the authority of the Church, let us all pray for the holy souls in purgatory, for all the faithful departed, and offer intentions in the Holy Mass for them, that the priests may offer the Mass for their sake.

Do not forget, brothers and sisters, that we ourselves are still on the journey as well. Because of that, we should keep in mind the sufferings of the holy souls in purgatory as a reminder that we ourselves must live as holy a life as possible in this world. Let us all distance ourselves from wickedness and sin, and repent from our sinful ways as soon as possible, if not now. Remember that every sins that we have, unrepented and unforgiven, will be judged against us on the day of the particular judgment when we die and pass on from this world, and also at the final judgment.

Let us pray for the holy souls in purgatory, so that one day, when we too are probably in purgatory ourselves, these holy souls who have gone before us to Heaven will then in turn pray for us, remembering our love and fraternal kindness, as brothers and sisters in the same Lord, that we, although separated between this world and purgatory, our bonds of faith in Christ remain the same, and remain strong as always. Let us all ask God for His mercy and compassion, on all of us, and on all those who are still now enduring the flames of purgatory. May God lead them all into His heavenly glory, in His good time, and by His enduring love for all of them. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 November 2020 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints, that coincides with a Sunday this year. On this day, which marks the celebration of the glory of all the saints, holy men and women of God. All the innumerable saints of God are an integral part of our Christian faith and the Church as well.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints are very much part of the Church, as the Church Triumphant, which are part of the Universal Church together with us, the Church Militant, those who are still in this world struggling daily in the spiritual struggles for our souls and enduring the lives in this world, and of course also the Church Suffering, made up of those souls of the faithful departed in purgatory, still waiting for their time to enter the glory of Heaven.

All these three groups are part of the whole Universal Church, and are united in our faith together in God. And today we focus our attentions on those who have been officially proclaimed by the Church to merit the official veneration as saints, through the process known as Canonisation. All the saints through their various virtues and through courageous witness of their faith have been declared as worthy of heavenly glory and veneration by all Christians.

There are those who misunderstood our veneration of saints, a practice that had originated from the very beginning of the Church itself, and which had roots even from before the time of Christ, as the people in Jesus’ time did believe that some of the holy people were in heaven, like that of Enoch who was taken up into heaven, as was the prophet Elijah and others like Abraham, alluded in the Lord’s parable when He spoke of the story of Lazarus and the rich man.

All of these pointed out to the universal belief of the Church and the faithful that there were those whom God had called and excelled such that they merited the glory of Heaven, and that they are our intercessors, namely those who pray for us before God. Those who misunderstood this veneration of saints drew their misunderstanding from the excesses and the lack of proper catechism for those who venerated the saints.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, there are numerous devotions to the saints, chief and most popular of which is of course that of Mary, the Mother of God herself and the greatest among all the saints. Also we have St. Joseph, St. Peter and St. Paul, the other Apostles, particularly St. Jude, patron of hopeless and lost cases. In more recent saints we have devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, St. Teresa of Calcutta, Pope St. John Paul II among others.

But many of those who practiced the devotions and venerated these saints sadly did not fully understand what they were doing. They adored the saints as if they were like God and became superstitious in their practices, thinking that the saints could grant them whatever it is that they wanted. They thought of the saints as miracle and wonder worker for their own various desires, giving them the answer to what they wanted.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is we often get wrong about saints. Saints are not like gods and goddesses, deities like that of other beliefs and religions. On the contrary, saints exist and are declared as such by the Church to glorify God, and to elevate the glory of God even further by the examples and faith of the saints. And they also serve as inspirations and good examples for us to follow that we ourselves too can become holy as they are. Through their intercessions, they brought our petitions with them and presenting them before the Lord.

If someone were to ask why do we seek the intercession of the saints, then we can indeed explain it in this way, that we are asking these wonderful, pious and faithful predecessors of ours to pray for us, just like how we ask our friends and one another to pray for us and for them. If we can ask those who are still in this world to pray for us, then why can’t and shouldn’t we ask those whose lives have been deemed and considered holy and pious that they are now standing in the glorious presence of God?

As the saints are nearer to God than us, and especially more so that of Mary, the Lord’s own mother, then surely with more people praying for us, our prayers will be so much more powerful. Through our combined prayers, God will work wonders, and through the intercessions of the saints on our behalf, God will help and provide for us in our hour of need. Indeed, it is so wonderful to know that we are all not alone in this journey of faith, and besides all those whom we know to be journeying with us in this world, we have even those who have gone before us, and praying for us, journeying with us and showing us the way.

We have all been called to be holy like all of those saints, as in truth, all of us have the potential to be saints. Just less than a month ago, a young teenager who was a computer geek and a seemingly ordinary young man was just beatified, and is now known as Blessed Carlo Acutis. He had deep faith in God and devotion to the saints, especially that of Mary, the Mother of God of whom he documented the many Marian apparitions as well as the many Eucharistic miracles that more people might come to know of them, just before he passed away due to leukaemia.

We also have many examples of saints who were once wretched and sinful. For example, St. Mary Magdalene was once according to tradition, an adulterer and had committed terrible deeds and sins before God. Yet, she was completely remorseful and sought to be forgiven and reconciled with God. And indeed, the Lord welcomed her back with open hands, and she became one of His closest and most trusted followers, whose faith and conversion experience became inspiration for many from then on.

There were many other examples of sinners turned saints throughout the history of the Church, and all of them can teach and show us that, no one is beyond God’s redemption, forgiveness and mercy. As long as one is willing to turn away from their sins and embrace wholeheartedly the Lord’s path and willingly walk in His path, then the path of the glory of Heaven will be open to us. We are all called to be like the saints in their lives and actions, in their contributions and efforts as the members of the same Church of God.

Saints are often compared to the beautiful stained glasses in our churches, which also frequently used to depict the lives of those saints. Surely we have had the experience of seeing how those stained glasses were so beautiful and wonderful, and they made the whole church became even more conducive for worship and for us to recognise the presence of God within. That is exactly how saints are like, brothers and sisters in Christ, for they are the stained glasses that give out no light on their own, but with light passing through them, their beauty are revealed to all to see.

And all of us are also like those stained glasses, brothers and sisters in Christ! Our lives in this world, our every actions and interactions, all shall either show holiness and faith, or instead, wickedness and evil. Just as there are those saints whose lives bring inspiration and hope to others, and righteousness and justice, there are also those who scandalised the Church and the faith by their actions, and by their refusal to repent and change their ways. The Lord said, nothing that is secret will stay hidden, and the light will reveal everything. So, just as good deeds will be discovered, our wicked deeds, no matter how hidden, will eventually be revealed.

Which one do we want to be then, brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we want to be those whose lives bring sadness, sorrow and suffering for others, by our own selfish actions, by our lack of faith and irresponsible behaviour and attitudes that led to others to question their faith, scandalising this Christian faith we have? Or do we rather be like the saints, whose lives bring about hope, renewal of faith and courage for one to love God?

God has given us free will to choose which path we want to take, and we have so many good examples to choose from the saints. If we wonder why is it that so many people have passed through this world, and yet, out of them, even though we have had so many people recognised as saints and blesseds, but all of these are still minuscule compared to the whole of mankind, that is exactly because it is so difficult to become saints unless we consciously make the effort to resist the temptations of evil in our world today.

All of us must realise that each and every one of us have the potential to be saints, and indeed, we are all called to be saints, to share in the love and grace of God. God has given us His love and blessings, and His sanctifying grace through our baptism. Through His Holy Spirit that He has given to us, He has given us faith and wisdom, the wisdom to choose what is right from what is wrong. Now, what matters is whether our love for Him is greater than our attachments to sin and evil, and whether our faith is stronger than the temptations that face us constantly and daily, all around us.

Today, as we celebrate and rejoice in the memory of all the glorious saints of God, let us all ask them all for their intercessions, especially from our blessed Mother Mary, and our own respective patron saints. Let us all ask for their continued intercession that God may strengthen us all in our resolve to live faithfully and walk with ever greater commitment in the path that He has set before us. Let us all look ever more carefully on the examples of the saints, holy men and women who had gone before us, and gain inspirations from their good examples, that we may also do the same in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be like the saints in all things, live as they had lived and model our own faith lives like their own. May the Lord, through the intercession of His many saints, help us and strengthen us all to be more courageous and committed to serve Him, and to love Him, becoming ourselves great examples of faith and inspirations to even more people. May God bless us all in all things and in all of our good endeavours and efforts. O Holy saints of God, our inspiration and source of hope, pray for us all, your brothers and sisters still struggling in this world, that we may one day join all of you in the glory of Heaven to praise God together. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 October 2020 : 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, on this day as we heard the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for us to be humble as Christians, to humble ourselves before the Lord and to put Him first and foremost above anything else. We must not allow pride, ego, ambition and hubris to be stumbling blocks in our path towards God, as those were often the greatest obstacles in the path many had walked in their journey of faith.

In our Gospel reading, we heard of the Lord using a parable when He came to visit the house of a leading Pharisee for dinner, where He was very carefully watched and observed presumably by the other Pharisees and teachers of the Law who were there. He made this reference as a mild rebuke to them all, related to another occasion when the Lord also spoke about how the Pharisees and those so called intellectual elites of the community always sought to get the most important places in gatherings and events.

Through the simple parable, the Lord used the example of a wedding party celebration where guests who come to the party should not seek to get the best places for themselves, or else, they would likely be embarrassed and humiliated when the host and organiser of the event told them that someone else more important even than them would come to that place and take the place which they had occupied earlier on. In the community at the time, as it is still now, ‘face’ is something that is very important, and many put a lot of emphasis on their appearances and status in comparison with others.

That is why, the Lord was in fact mildly rebuking the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law through the parable, especially criticising their self-righteous, prideful and often self-serving attitudes in their role as the guardians of the Law and the leaders and elders of the people, their guides in the matter of the faith. They sought for their own personal glory and achievement first before all else, seeking praises and adulations from others for their piety and observance of the Law.

And they were often being elitist in their faith, in how they lived their lives and in how they observed the Law. They looked down on those like prostitutes and tax collectors, all those whom they deemed to be unworthy of God, as sinners and as those who have committed sinful deeds, while thinking highly of themselves, that they were great in faith and were examples and paragons for others to follow and obey. Yet, the Lord pointed out to them that their attitude and way of thinking were flawed.

Through the parable, the Lord reminded all of them who were high on their pedestals, thinking that they were great and wonderful, that they must not continue their wretched attitudes and behaviours. This is because there were those who had come, and surpassed them in their faith, all those whom the Pharisees and teachers of the Law dismissed as unworthy and wicked, who had come much closer to God and His salvation than them, all because they were sincere in following God, in recognising their sinfulness and in their desire to abandon their past sins and embrace God’s love fully.

This refers to all those prostitutes, tax collectors, people with infirmities, possessed by evil spirits and all sorts of people whom the society tended to lump together as undesirables. Yet, from among these people, God had called many saints, and many of the saints whom we glorify and venerate today, had once been great sinners. But all of them turned around, and went through conversion of hearts and minds.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scriptures reminds us that we cannot allow pride and ego to mislead us down the wrong path, and we should not look down on others whom we may think to be less worthy than ourselves before God. Do not allow pride to make us think that we deserve God’s grace more than others. God loves each and every one of us equally, and each and every one of us are equally important to Him.

Ultimately, only God alone knows what are in the hearts and minds of mankind, in each and every one of us. As it was said, even those who were righteous would be crushed and condemned should they commit sin and refused to abandon all sorts of sin they had committed, and worse still, being proud of those acts. Similarly, those who were wicked and sinful, they would be pardoned and forgiven should they sincerely seek God’s forgiveness and pardon through genuine repentance.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, let us all discern all of these and think of what we can do from now on, that we may turn away from sins and from all the obstacles that prevented us from reaching out to God. Let us all turn towards God, and dedicate ourselves anew to Him, with humility and love, without pride and ego. Let us all therefore seek the Lord with all of our hearts and minds, and also help one another in our journey of faith. May the Lord be with us, and bless us always, in our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 30 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard the words of the Lord in the Scriptures today, we are reminded that the Law of God is a guide to help us find our way to the Lord, and is in itself a reminder of God’s ever generous love for each and every one of us. God has loved us all and cared for us, and through His love He gave us the Law to guide us, His people that we may find our way to Him.

God’s Law is not meant to be used to cause sufferings and difficulties for some and at the same time benefitting others. Neither is the Law meant to make it difficult for the people to be faithful to God. And this is why, the Lord Jesus often came head-to-head against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who enforced a particularly strict and rigid interpretation of the Law on the faithful.

In its long development and use, the Law of God as revealed through Moses had been interpreted, reinterpreted and modified, to suit the purposes and circumstances of the contemporary time. And as these laws were passed down from generations to generations, they came to forget why those laws were enforced and used in the first place. They failed to appreciate the context in which God placed those laws in the very beginning.

God gave His Law at the time when the Israelites and their stubbornness, their constant bickering and complaining, and lack of faith were threatening to lead many, even the whole nation away from God and into the path of rebellion and sin. Had they been allowed to walk down that path, they would have perished and been condemned by those sins they had committed. God’s love for each and every one of His people did not allow Him to let this happen just like that.

That is why, the Law as He described to Moses, and written in the Torah was in fact measures to keep the people in check and to discipline them, to help them to keep themselves in track and not lose their way. And all of these were done with the ultimate goal of reconciling God and His people, to recall all of the people of God back to His loving embrace. As we can see, it was the love of God behind everything, and love is the reason for the Law.

But over time, the Law’s intention and use have been twisted and misunderstood, as showed by how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law imposing the harsh laws to glorify themselves as those who obeyed those regulations and rules, while excluding, ostracising and being prejudiced against those whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy of God than themselves, for people like tax collectors and prostitutes, those who were infirm and afflicted with diseases.

They portrayed the image of a fearsome, angry and wrathful God Who was always ready to punish His people for any wrongdoings, and that the grace of God was reserved only for those like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. And therefore, the Lord’s different approach, set to remind all of the people of the true intention and purpose of the Law, led to great frictions between the Lord and all those who refused to listen to the truth.

The Lord sternly told those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that their stubbornness and refusal to accept the truth of God that He Himself had brought before them were indeed horrible. He presented before them that the Lord would want to heal the sick, and those who needed His help, even on the Sabbath itself. For many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, interpreting the Law strictly to the letter out of context, they would rather leave the suffering to suffer and perish rather than to reach out and help.

This is what all of us must not behave like, brothers and sisters in Christ. We must not allow such legalistic thoughts and elitist behaviour to influence or dominate us. Instead, through what St. Paul told to the people in Philippi in our first reading today, all of us ought to live in the love of God, and share that love with one another. God’s love is equally shared with all, even with the most wicked ones, and so long as they are willing to repent and turn away from their sins, they will be forgiven all the same.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians are called to reflect on this to see how we can live our lives in a more Christ-like manner, to be true Christians in how we live, and in how we interact with one another. Indeed, all of us are called to love in the same way as just how God has loved us. But many of us had not been able to do so. And we must then remember that the Law of God, especially His Ten important Commandments, are all about love, loving God first and foremost, and loving our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way.

Are we able and willing to do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to show care, love and compassion on our fellow brethren, especially those who need our love and care? Let us all discern carefully what we can do as Christians, to dedicate ourselves and our efforts for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. When there is need for love, let us show it to them and do what we can to bring God’s love to those who need them.

May the Lord bless us all and may He strengthen us all with the resolve to show care and concern for our fellow brethren, at all times, to love God with all of our hearts and to be faithful always. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day each and every one of us have been reminded to be strong and to be prepared against the attacks and assaults from the evil one and all of its wicked forces. All of us are told to be firm in our faith in God and to be ready to resist those who are going to try to harm us and bring us to our downfall.

St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus in our first reading today spoke of how through God, we are truly blessed, well-protected and taken care of. We have nothing to fear since God Himself is on our side, protecting us and leading us down the right path. And St. Paul also spoke of how we ought to wear our whole armour of God to struggle in the battle against evil.

This is because we are indeed in the middle of the constant struggle against evil for our souls. We are always struggling to resist the attempts by those who wanted to lead us to harm and downfall, tempting us with false promises and coercion, hoping that we will end up abandoning our faith and fall into sin.

In our Gospel today, we heard of the Lord and how He lamented the wickedness of those who have persecuted the faithful servants of God, and those who have refused to believe in Him despite all the things He Himself has performed before them, all the miraculous healings, all the wonders and the amazing revelations and wisdom that He has shown them all.

Throughout history, many prophets and messengers had been sent to the people of God in order to remind them to be faithful to Him. Yet, the people remained in their stubbornness, refusing to listen to those reminders sent to them. This happened because the people were proud, and refused to admit that their ways could be wrong, and refused to humble themselves before God and His servants, or to seek forgiveness for their faults and shortcomings.

Their greed also led them to seek worldly pleasures and the false joys of the world at the expense of their souls. The devil and his fallen angels had an easy time to lead them down the path of ruin, tempting them with many things that distracted them from the truth, pulled them away from the path of redemption and reconciliation with God. And that is why, the Lord lamented this state of affairs, after all He had done for them.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all constantly reminded to be strong in our faith, and to renew our commitment and dedication to God. Amidst all the pressures and temptations from the devil and all of the excesses of the world he presented before all of us, we must strengthen our defences that we do not falter and slide into the path of sin.

Let us all strengthen our relationship with God, through constant prayer and spending good, quality time with Him. Let us all be genuine and zealous in living up our Christian lives and respective calling in life. As we continue to walk down this path that the Lord has shown us, let us all pray for His guidance and protection that we may persevere faithfully through whatever challenges and trials, difficulties and temptations that are in our paths.

May God be with us always, and may He bless us all, in our everyday lives and actions, that we may ever be more and more attuned to Him and His will, and we may draw ever closer to the fullness of His love and grace. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2020 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great Feast of the Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, two of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, likely referring to his past as a member of the Zealots, the extremists who fought against the Romans at the time of Jesus. Meanwhile, St. Jude refers to St. Jude Thaddeus, who was sometimes connected with Jude, of the extended family of the Lord.

Both of these Apostles had been with the other Apostles of the Lord, faithfully following the Lord and serving Him throughout His ministry. St. Simon abandoned his previous life as a freedom fighter and member of a extremist group seeking to bring about the freedom of the Israelites through force from their Roman overlords. St. Jude Thaddeus was known in some Church traditions as one of the relatives or brothers of Jesus, probably from St. Joseph’s earlier family, and he was also the probable author of the Epistle of St. Jude.

Both of them would go on to serve the Lord and reach out to the peoples of various nations, answering to the call of the Lord to evangelise to the nations. St. Simon the Apostle went to many places, often together with St. Jude the Apostle, which is why both of them are celebrated together today, for their missionary zeal and commitment to God to the very end. St. Simon visited places like Persia and Armenia, Egypt and Ethiopia, and according to some traditions even went as far as Britain.

Meanwhile, according to tradition, St. Jude the Apostle evangelised throughout Judea and Samaria, and with St. Simon the Apostle, evangelised in Persia, Armenia and other places, and eventually, they were martyred in the region now known as Lebanon, many decades after they began their missions for the Lord. Both of them had committed themselves to the Lord and converted many, establishing firm foundations of the Church in many places, and gave everything to the Lord, even their lives, for His sake.

We can see how as we rejoice in the memory of these two glorious Apostles of the Lord, that the Lord has showed His love so wonderfully towards us by giving us His love and salvation through all those whom He had called and chosen to be the bearers of His Good News. He has established His Church to gather all of those who believe in Him, and called all of us to come to Him, by His servants, the Apostles who have built the foundations of the Church, and their successors, the bishops and priests who passed on this faith to us.

However, we also have to recognise that just as we have been gathered together in the Church, brought into the salvation in God, we have the duty and responsibility to continue the good works of the Apostles and their successors, for just as they had dedicated themselves to God and passed on their faith to all those to whom they had ministered, we too have the same responsibility to be faithful witnesses of our Christian faith and proclaim the Lord’s Good News to all.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is is not by shouting out the word of God or preaching before the masses of people unlike what many of us may think of. That is one form of evangelisation, indeed, but the even more powerful form of evangelisation comes about if we live out our faith with sincerity and do what we truly believe in. If we do not act and do things in the manner that we have professed our faith, then our faith is no better than empty and meaningless.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to follow the Lord in our lives and actions, to live virtuously as faithful and dedicated Christians, to be faithful in even the little things we do, so that all those who see us and come in touch with us, may see our faith in the Lord and come to believe in Him as well. The Apostles and the disciples of the Lord had also practiced their faith and dedicated themselves with love, caring for one another and showing genuine Christian love, and through their martyrdom, showed their undying love for God.

It was by all these dedications that they had called so many others to the faith, many of those who also became courageous and faithful evangelisers themselves. Many of them suffered for remaining faithful as well, and many died as martyrs in the various places, glorifying God by their faith even to the very end. All of us should be inspired by their actions and their faith, their good examples and dedication to the Lord, that we ourselves take up our crosses and commit ourselves to be good Christians at all times.

The Lord has called us all to follow in His footsteps to do what His Apostles had done, and to look upon St. Simon and St. Jude in particular for their hard work and devotion. Are we able to follow them faithfully and dedicate ourselves in the same way as they have done? Let us do whatever we can and commit ourselves to God with a renewed zeal and commitment from now on. May the Lord be with us and may He bless us all and guide us in our journey of faith, now and always. St. Simon and St. Jude Thaddeus, Holy Apostles of the Lord, pray for us all! Amen.