priestly sermon

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Tuesday, 14 May 2019 : Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the Twelve Apostles, although one who was not included in the original list of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Matthias, who was chosen from among the ranks of the disciples, to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, who left the number of the Twelve Apostles after his betrayal of the Lord and subsequent suicide.

St. Matthias was chosen because he was among the first disciples whom the Lord had called and stayed on with Him all the way throughout His entire ministry. And upon being chosen, St. Matthias filled the gap that was created by Judas Iscariot, taking up the mantle of responsibility that the Lord has given to the Apostles. He carried on the important task of building and establishing the Church which God had built upon their foundation, and went from place to place proclaiming God’s truth.

It was told that St. Matthias went to places as far as Ethiopia and spread the message of the Gospels in places like Cappadocia in Asia Minor, and eventually was martyred in Jerusalem or in the land of Ethiopia according to the different Apostolic traditions and Church history. St. Matthias chose to devote himself completely and thoroughly to the cause of the Lord and served Him so totally so as to give himself wholly to the mission entrusted to him.

St. Matthias and the other Apostles are good examples and role models for us all to follow, as they have shown us what it truly means to live up to the faith and to be fully dedicated to God in all things. St. Matthias did not shy away from suffering through persecutions and challenges, through pains and tribulations, no matter how hard and difficult they are, he continued to persevere and tried his best to do what the Lord had entrusted to him to do.

Likewise, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we recall the glorious life and memories of the many works of St. Matthias as well as the other Apostles and disciples, we bring to attention our own lives and actions. Have we done with our lives in the way the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord had done with theirs? Have we allowed God to perform His wonders and works with us as He has done with the Apostles?

All of us have to realise that the works of the Apostles were aplenty, and they are still not yet done. Many people have followed in their footsteps throughout history, and many of them suffered in the same way that the Apostles and the early faithful members of the Church had done. But yet, they lived their lives with the same courage and faith, committing themselves completely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect and think of what else we can do in our lives to devote ourselves to the Lord and commit ourselves to the will of God. We need to do what we can, imitating the good examples of the Apostles and doing what we can to be witnesses of the faith in the midst of our own respective communities. We can do that by practicing our faith with courage and devoting ourselves wholeheartedly.

If we are sincere and committed in living our lives, surely through our own examples and dedication, others will come to see the Lord being present in our lives, and we will become shining beacons of God’s truth for others to see and believe in. Let us all follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, and do our very best to serve the Lord and to love Him in all of our actions and deeds. May the Lord be with us always and may He continue to bless us and be with us each and every moments of our live, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 13 May 2019 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, celebrated every thirteenth day of the month of May, marking the moment when Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared at Fatima in Portugal to three young shepherd children, bringing forth with her the message intended for mankind, for the salvation and liberation of man through God.

Mary is calling all of us to follow her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to repent from our sinful ways and from our wicked actions in life. She appeared several times over the few months in that same year before the three children, showing them visions of hell, and the warning of what would happen should mankind continue to live in sin. She gave the prophecies of what would happen, the suffering of many throughout the past century, due to the persecution of the Church and the faithful.

And today, we celebrate Mary, Our Lady of Fatima and remember her intense love for each one of us, that she appeared and showed her care and concern for us, as unless we make a change and difference in our lives, we will be lost forever to her Son, and to her as well. And God has entrusted us all to her, as her own children, just as He entrusted her to us as our own Mother. Which mother will not care for the well-being of her own children or be concerned about them?

That is why today, as we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, all of us are reminded to reflect on our lives and to think about how we have lived out our lives all these while. Have we been truly acting in a most Christian way in our daily living or have we instead been following the ways of the world all these while? We are challenged by the Lord to follow the good examples which His own mother Mary has shown us.

For Mary is the perfect disciple, one who has attuned herself so completely to the will of God, obediently following the will of God and submitting herself so perfectly, that she became the role model for each and every one of us Christians. She is so honoured and well-praised precisely because of her commitment to God, her devotion to do what God has willed and not of her own selfish desires in life.

That is why we are often so attached to Mary, for she is not just our Mother, but someone whom we can truly look up to in our daily living, as the example and the guiding light by which we can find our way towards God. And that is what we perhaps need to reflect today, as we continue to live our lives in this world. We should heed our loving Mother’s call and encouragement for us to turn away from sinful ways and to embrace wholeheartedly her ways, imitating her love and commitment for God in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to embark through this holy and blessed season of Easter, let us all draw ever closer to God, through His mother Mary, our role model, intercessor and our loving Mother, who has appeared so many times in the past centuries, calling on all of us her children to turn towards her Son in a new faith and in a new life that is no longer subjugated by sin.

Let us all be role model ourselves, in how we live up to our lives, filled with faith and commitment to love and serve the Lord with all of our might. Let us all devote ourselves, our time and attention towards Him, and let us all be ever more committed, day after day, to be His true disciples and to be more like His mother Mary, that others may come to believe in Him also, through our role model and examples. May God be with us always in these endeavours. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2019 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the fourth in the season of Easter we celebrate the special occasion of the Good Shepherd Sunday, alluding to the Gospel passage today in which the Lord Jesus revealed Himself as the one and true Good Shepherd of all, as the One Who leads all the people, the flock of God’s faithful ones, to Himself and into salvation and eternal glory.

And this Sunday is also known as the Vocation Sunday, as we are all reminded of the role of those who have been called by God to be His priests, that is to be called to be shepherds, shepherds for the flock of the people of God. They have all been called to be shepherds in the image of the one and true Good Shepherd, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in their service and ministry to the faithful.

The Lord used the imagery of a shepherd in delivering the truth about His own ministry and work to the people because at that time, many of the people were shepherds and those who dealt with the flock of sheep and goats, cattle and all animals reared for their meat, or fleece or for milk. And by making the use of allegory and approximation to the role of shepherd in managing the flocks of animals, He wanted to show us how truly He is leading us down the right path, while at the same time loving each and every one of us so tenderly and dearly.

In the Scripture readings today the meaning and significance of this Good Shepherd and Vocation Sunday are brought forth to us, beginning with the Good Shepherd Himself, our Lord Jesus, Who is the model of all the shepherds of God’s people, as He came into this world, calling upon all of His sheep to come to Himself. In another occasion in the Gospel, the Lord used the example of a shepherd and his sheep again to bring across this point, in the parable of the lost sheep.

In that parable, He mentioned how the Good Shepherd, one who is truly loving and caring towards the sheep will leave behind for a while all the ninety-nine sheep that he has shepherded, and go to search for the one sheep that was lost from him. He will not rest until the lost sheep has been found, and when he manages to find the lost sheep, the joy he has is far greater than the joy of having the other ninety-nine. This does not mean that the ninety-nine sheep worth less than the one lost sheep. But rather, without the one sheep, the joy of the shepherd is not complete.

And that is what He has called His Apostles and disciples to do, to be the shepherds in His image and following His example, to gather all the people of God, those who have been lost and scattered away from Him. In the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how the Apostles, St. Paul and St. Barnabas travelled from place to place proclaiming the Good News of God and preaching the Lord’s truth to the people.

The people listened to them and many became believers, leaving behind their pagan ways. This is what it means by the shepherds going out of their way to find the lost sheep. The lost sheep themselves are the people of God who have become lost in the darkness of this world, tempted by sin and by the darkness of this world. By calling upon them, the Apostles gathered the Lord’s flock and prevented them from being lost forever to the Lord.

And the works of the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord are far from being complete, as there are still always a lot of the Lord’s lost sheep in this world, all the time, even to this present day and world. In fact, in our present day and world, there are even more and more difficulties and challenges that the world is presenting us, as the threat of secularism and indifference towards God and faith are ever growing, and those who advocate the end of the faith and belief in God are growing ever more vocal and influential.

This is also compounded by the fact that fewer and fewer people are willing and interested to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His priests, all those who are the forefront of the Church’s mission and work among the people, the shepherds whom the Lord send out to gather the lost sheep of His flock. And in our present day world today, we are aware of the many challenges faced not just by our priests and all the ordained, but also by the lack of vocation in many places all around the world.

That is why on this Sunday, all of us remember both Christ, our loving Good Shepherd, Who knows each and every one of us, His beloved sheep, that He wants to gather us all and keep us away from the dangers of this world. He has done exactly what He Himself said the good shepherd would do, that is to lay down His life for the sake of His sheep. He laid down His life on the cross, enduring all the bitter suffering, pain and punishment for our sins, that all of us may live and not perish.

And then we also remember all of our priests, all those whom God had called to follow His examples, to the ministry of being shepherds of the Church. They have enormous task awaiting them, as well as many difficult challenges that often become great obstacles in their path, and which surely often make them sorrowful, sad, and even stressed. Our priests and all those whom God had appointed to be shepherds, including our bishops and the Pope need our support and our prayers.

Let us also last of all remember to pray for all those whom God had called, those who have embraced the call and entered the seminary formation, studying and preparing themselves to become one of the Lord’s shepherds, as well as those other young and courageous men of all kinds who have been stirred by God in their hearts and minds to follow Him. Let us all pray that they will be able to discern their path in life, and that they will have the courage to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles.

May the Lord be with our shepherds, that all of them will be like Him, our one and true, and loving Good Shepherd, that in all things, they will give their all to love the flock of God’s faithful, and bring us all closer to Him and His salvation. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the reminder which the Lord has spoken to us through the passages of the Scripture we have just heard, as He spoke before the people who listened to His teachings, and heard how He referred to Himself as the Bread of Life and that His flesh is real food and His Blood is real drink. They heard how He said that unless they partake in His Body and Blood, they can have no life and part in Him.

Naturally, the people who did not understand the truth behind His words refused to believe in Him and doubted Him, saying as mentioned in our Gospel passage today, ‘These words and language are very hard, how can anyone accept them?’ And yet, the Lord spoke firmly of the truth which He had brought into this world, without hesitation and without holding back anything or changing His words. And many of the people who used to follow Him, left Him behind.

In the first reading today then, from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the works of St. Peter, who went to the city of Joppa to visit the faithful community there, and performed the impossible, making a paralysed man to be able to walk again, by the power and authority which God had granted him and the other Apostles. And then, later on, he also raised Tabitha, a devout disciple of the Lord who had already passed away, back into life.

Again, in what St. Peter had done, we have heard and witnessed things that were impossible, and even in our modern day thinking still are impossible, and yet, the Lord through His servants performed what was considered impossible and made them possible. This is a reminder for us that what is impossible and seems to be foolish for us mankind, is not beyond the ability and power of God to do, and indeed, He showed us all that everything is possible for Him, the All-Powerful, Almighty God.

Yet, the Lord had all those who refused to believe in Him, because they thought of themselves and their intelligence to be greater than the wisdom and the power of God. They hardened their hearts and minds because of the pride within them, the ego of their hearts that prevented them from truly being able to accept the Lord and His truth, which requires faith, and therefore, humility and submission before God.

And this is an important reminder for each and every one of us, that all of us as Christians are called to serve the Lord our God, Who has brought with Him truth and revelation that may often be difficult for others in this world to believe. And for that, Christians throughout generations and ages have been persecuted, because of their enduring faith and commitment to God, for their commitment to remain true to the Lord, their God, Who has given them this truth.

There will be times and moments when it will indeed be a challenge for us to be true to our faith amidst the opposition and refusal from all those who refuse to believe in the truth of God, when people refuse to believe in the centre tenet of our faith, of the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Son of God and Who has come into our midst, to suffer and be crucified and to die on the Cross, so that by His crucifixion, He might save us all from eternal damnation and death.

And there are those who also deny the truth about the Real Presence in the Eucharist, a central tenet of our faith. Just like the people of the time of Jesus, they refused to believe that the Eucharist is truly the Most Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, despite this perfect gift of love that He has given us, offering and sacrificing Himself on the Altar of the Cross, that by giving us His Body and Blood to be consumed, we will have a share in His eternal glory, and receive new life of grace from Him.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us in our journey, now and forevermore. May all of us draw ever closer to Him, each and every days of our life. And be ever more committed to Him from now on. Amen.

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Friday, 10 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we begin the discourse on the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, who was once Saul, a great enemy and persecutor of the faithful, who is truly the unlikeliest of all people to become a champion of the faithful. Yet, that was what God willed for Saul, as he was called to leave behind his former life and existence, and to embrace a new life and purpose as God’s chosen servant.

Saul persecuted the Church and the early Christians so greatly that people feared even the mere utterance of his name and it was initially very difficult for the faithful to accept the fact that suddenly this great enemy of Christ and His Church has become the follower of Christ. But that was what God had done for His people, and what might seem to be impossible to them, is perfectly possible for Him.

Saul encountered the Lord on his way to Damascus, filled with anger, hatred and jealousy against all Christians, in his blind obedience to the Law and the way the Law was observed by his Pharisee fellows, and as a result, he acted in rash action against the followers of the Lord, with the desire to bring to justice all those who believed in God. But God touched his heart and opened his mind, making a profound change in the direction of his life forever.

That was how Saul, after the life-changing experience and conversion, went through a moment of reckoning and change, finally accepting the Lord Jesus as his Lord, Master and Saviour, being baptised into the Church and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. And in all these we surely are able to see how God brought about such a transformation, allowing His grace to work wonders in St. Paul, and the same can also happen to us.

This must be understood together with what we have heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus spoke to the people regarding Himself as the Bread of Life, and the offering of His own flesh and His own Blood, to be the real food and drink for the people that all those who partake in this food, His own Most Precious Body and in His own Most Precious Blood, will share in the new life that He has offered them.

All of us received the Eucharist through the hands of the priest, who offered it in the persona Christi during the consecration at the Holy Mass, through which the bread and wine are changed, transformed and converted completely into the essence and reality of the very Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus spoke to the people that all those who receive the Bread of Life, that is Christ Himself, will receive a new life and not perish, essentially referring to all of us who share in the wonders of His Eucharist.

And this has an even deeper meaning and significance for each and every one of us, as we have to compare what had happened to St. Paul, his conversion and change in life, to that of our own. St. Paul, as Saul, received the Lord and encountered Him in His Presence, and accepted His calling to be His disciple, embracing wholeheartedly a new life that transformed him so completely as we just discussed earlier, so much so that no one could have recognised him, be it his friends or his former targets, the early Christians.

Therefore, all of us are challenged in our own lives, to make the same change and transformation to happen to our own lives, so that, by accepting the Lord and embracing Him fully with love, each and every one of us may be renewed and reconciled with Him, and transformed to be His true disciples, as all those who truly believe in God and love Him with all of our hearts and with all of our might.

Let us all turn to the Lord from now on, dedicating ourselves completely to Him, and let us all show our love towards Him with a new strength and zeal, following in the footsteps of St. Paul, who followed and dedicated himself to God, all of the days of his life. May God be glorified through us, and may He continue to guide us and bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures in which we heard what happened between St. Philip the Apostle and an Ethiopian official on his way back to his country. St. Philip heard the official reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, which happened to be the part referring to the work and suffering of the Lord Jesus, His death and resurrection into glory.

St. Philip spoke to the official and explained to him the truth of what had happened just recently then, which fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Saviour. St. Philip explained that the Saviour was in fact Jesus, Who had come into the world bearing the truth of God and His salvation, which He has promised to us all since the beginning of time, and which He has renewed again and again through the prophets and messengers He sent ahead of Himself.

And of this, St. Philip could speak of his own experience, as explained in our Gospel passage today. St. Philip has heard for himself the testimony and saw the actions that Christ had done, in revealing Himself as the Bread of Life, the Lamb of God and as the Saviour of the whole world. In our Gospel passage today we heard the Lord Jesus made it very clear as He taught the people about Who He really is, and what He would indeed come to do in order to bring all of God’s plans to fulfilment.

The official read about the suffering and death of the faithful servant of God, the Saviour of all, of Whom St. Philip himself witnessed during the time of the Lord’s suffering and agony, from the moment when He was arrested at the Gardens of Gethsemane, to the moment when He was condemned to death and forced to carry the burden of the Cross, a burden which He willingly took up upon Himself, as He ascended the Altar of His sacrifice, as the perfect offering, the Lamb of God, to be slain at that Altar.

St. Philip and the disciples of the Lord probably witnessed everything, or at least they must have heard from those who were specifically mentioned to have been at the place of the crucifixion. The Lord Himself offered His own Precious Body and His own Precious Blood from the Cross, as both the High Priest Who offers the sacrifice, and as the Sacrifice Himself, the Paschal Lamb we celebrate this Easter, the One Who has brought salvation on all of us.

Through His crucifixion, the Lord unites us all to His death by sharing in His Body and in His Blood, for at the moment of the consecration in each and every celebration of the Holy Mass, from the greatest of churches to the simplest of chapels and holy places, as long as it is done validly and appropriately by the ordained priests of God in His Church, the same sacrifice at Calvary is brought into the present through the authority Christ had given to His priests.

Therefore, St. Philip testified before the Ethiopian official, essentially the very action that God Himself had taken, in order to bring us all into salvation, the salvation and eternal life which He has prepared and intended for us. We have been united to His suffering and death, so that just as He died for our sins, we too may leave behind those sins and our wicked life, and embrace together, the glorious resurrection and triumph over sin and death that Our God has won for us.

All of us are reminded therefore, of the most important tenets of our faith, and why we choose to believe in the Lord, our loving God, Who has given everything for us, even offering and sacrificing His own life for our sake. The Apostles like St. Philip and many others have stood for their faith, did what they could to bring the Good News and the truth of God to the many nations and peoples, including what was done in today’s first reading.

The Ethiopian official came to believe in the Lord because of the testimony of faith made by St. Philip. Are we able to do the same in our own lives? Are we able to proclaim the Lord’s truth and glory before others? And most importantly, do our lives reflect our faith, commitment and dedication in serving God? If we do not show our faith through our exemplary lives, how can we convince others to believe in Him?

Let us all reflect on these, and really spend some time to think of how we can make ourselves ever more attuned and be closer to God, through all of our actions in life. May God continue to guide us on our way, and strengthen us always in our faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord through the Scriptures reminding us all that as long as we put our trust in the Lord and remain faithful to Him, we shall not be disappointed, for the Lord is ever faithful and ever good to the promises which He had made upon us. Despite the problems and challenges we may encounter in life, God will always be faithful to the Covenant that He had established with us.

In today’s first reading, we heard of the account of the aftermath of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first recognised martyr of the Church, who was persecuted and stoned to death by an angry mob of the enemies of the Church who refused to believe in the truth of Christ. St. Stephen spoke courageously defending the truth that Christ has brought into this world, amidst the false witnesses and testimonies his enemies brought up against him.

Those who persecuted the faithful servant of God refused to listen to the words of truth he spoke before all of them. Instead, they hardened their hearts and minds, and stoned St. Stephen to death. Saul, who would later on become St. Paul the Apostle, then one of the most feared persecutor and enemy of the early Christians, was there supporting and approving of the martyrdom of the faithful servant of God.

Yet, despite all of these, and many other persecutions of the early Christians, the Apostles and all those who dedicated themselves to the Lord continued to serve God faithfully, as shown in the same passage from the Acts of the Apostles, how St. Philip went to the region of Samaria, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord there, performing miracles and calling many of the Samaritans to the faith. They continued to do the work of God despite the challenges and risks they had to face.

And the reason for such courage and faith which St. Stephen and the other Apostles had shown us, is exactly what the Lord Jesus told to the people in our Gospel passage this day. In that passage the Lord told the people again that He is the Bread of Life, the Saviour of the world, and all those who put their trust in Him will not be disappointed, for God has ordained and willed that all those whom He had gathered to Himself by His Son’s work, shall not be lost but receive the assurance of eternal life and glory.

This is the assurance and firm hope in which the Apostles and the holy saints and martyrs of the history of the Church held fast upon, and which they kept in mind at all times even in times of darkest and toughest persecutions and trials. They were able to endure sufferings, pains, rejections, ridicule and torment, challenges and all sorts of difficulties, because they had that strong and living faith in God.

They have received the Lord with faith, and committed themselves wholeheartedly to Him. Their faith was built upon their dedication and commitment, their giving of their own time, effort and attention to God, that even when faced with the oppression and pressure from the whole world, they were able to resist and persevere through those difficult times, because the Lord was truly with them and guided them through those turbulent times.

They placed the Lord and their desire to glorify Him, and to serve His will above and beyond their own desires to fulfil their own needs, wants and wishes, and the Lord was ever foremost in their mind and heart. They worked for the greater glory of God and all of their words and actions were directed to serve the greater purpose of God. And this is what each and every one of us should reflect on, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to live our lives daily in this world today.

Today, there are many out there in various parts of the world who are still enduring persecution, challenges and difficulties, where our brethren in faith cannot openly celebrate and practice their faith, and some are even under threat daily, of suffering and even martyrdom, just because they continue to remain faithful to God, their Lord and Saviour. And if our lives have thus far been good and peaceful, and if we have been able to practice our faith openly and without need for fear, perhaps it is time for us to think, if any of us have taken our faith and our good life for granted.

Let us all therefore first of all keep in mind our suffering brethren, who have to endure suffering, persecution and challenges every day, and let us pray that God will continue to guide and protect them. And if we are able to do anything in order to help them, then let us all not be ignorant and refuse to help them in whatever way we can. And finally, let us also renew our faith and commitment to live our lives from now on with greater fidelity and devotion to God, glorifying Him with our every words, actions and deeds.

May the Lord, our Living Bread be the source of our strength always, that through our regular sharing in the Most Holy Eucharist He has given us, in our state of constant grace, we will be strengthened and encouraged to live our lives ever more faithfully, and that by our good examples, many more will also come to believe in Him, and be saved. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures reminding us yet again of the need for us to believe in the Lord, our loving God and Creator, Who has given Himself to us so completely, that He has given us nothing less than His own Most Precious Body and His Most Precious Blood, He Who is our Bread of Life, sharing Himself with us, through the Eucharist we have received.

The Bread of Life has come down upon us all, offering Himself to us, that all of us who have shared in Him receive true satisfaction, fulfilment not just in the flesh and the body, but more importantly, in our spiritual nourishment and fulfilment. For through Christ, we have been made whole again, receiving the fullness of God’s grace once again, which have been prevented by the sins we have committed.

It was about Him that the courageous servant of God, St. Stephen the Protomartyr preached and witnessed about before all the people even when faced with intense opposition and persecution by the Pharisees and the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. It was his faith for the Lord Who has offered His own Body and His own Blood for our salvation, that grace and life have been restored to us all.

St. Stephen willingly embraced martyrdom, even though he knew he would endure pain and the sufferings of death, because he knew that unless he remained faithful and true to his Lord and Master, the Bread of Life, the One through Whom alone mankind can have true and everlasting life, his existence and life would have been meaningless and empty. He committed himself wholeheartedly to God, the very reason for his existence.

And this, brothers and sisters in Christ, is what each and every one of us should have done as well. All of us as Christians should serve and devote ourselves to the Lord in the same way as St. Stephen and many of our holy predecessors had done, as shown by the examples of the many saints and martyrs throughout the entire history of the Church. All of them shared the same conviction and desire to love and to serve the Lord, the Master of all life.

Yet, unfortunately, the current reality of the lives of many of us Christians is such that God no longer takes the most important place in our lives, and He is indeed no longer the centre and focus of our whole existence. We are often busy and distracted by the many concerns and temptations of life, with the temptation and allures of money, of worldly corruptions, of immorality and pleasures of the flesh, of ego and human ambition, and many other obstacles that are aplenty in our respective lives.

We often put God aside and forget about Him, living our lives seeking for the satisfaction and pleasure of our human desires, and thus, instead of seeking the One Who alone can give us true satisfaction and joy, we instead look for things that are impermanent and not truly satisfactory, in our pursuit for worldly glory, power, for money and for other ways that we mankind are often exposed to, in our desire for worldly happiness and satisfaction.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to reflect on our own lives and how we have lived our lives thus far. Are we living our lives for things that are not leading us to true happiness and satisfaction, in our pursuit for worldly success and glory? Or have we instead been walking in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, in living and working for the glory of God instead for our own glory?

Let us all redirect and reorientate our lives, and dedicate ourselves anew to the Lord, that from now on, we may labour and work for the greater glory of God, and to be fully attuned and harmonised with God in our everyday lives and actions, in our every words and dealings in life. May the Lord, our Master and the Bread of Life continue to do His marvellous works in us, that our lives may truly glorify Him and we will be worthy to be with Him in the end. Amen.

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Monday, 6 May 2019 : 3rd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the story of the persecution and the eventual martyrdom of St. Stephen, the very first martyr of the Church, one of the seven men who were chosen to be the first Deacons of the Church in serving the people of God. That was at a time when the Church was still in its very earliest beginnings, when the numbers of the faithful rapidly increased as many more of the people came to believe in the Lord Jesus and in His salvation.

However, great persecutions were soon to follow, as the Jewish authorities and the religious and community leaders began to lead an oppressive and intimidatory campaigns and crackdowns against all those who believed in the Lord and in His teachings, as shown in what happened to St. Stephen. False witnesses were brought in to accuse the holy servant of God, as the enemies of the Lord were not able to match him in wisdom and power.

St. Stephen nonetheless stood faithfully and courageously against his enemies, against all those who persecuted and oppressed him and his Master. He spoke with wisdom and eloquence of the Holy Spirit, even though he was alone amidst many enemies and all those who cried out for his death. The Lord was with him and He guided him, and that was how St. Stephen could be so courageous and faithful, despite all the challenges he faced.

And this is related to what the Lord has said to the people in our Gospel passage today, when the people looked for Jesus after He has performed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men and countless other women and children. He told the people how they were looking for superficial things in their minds and desires, when they flocked to see Him, because they wanted to receive satisfaction of their flesh, to be filled with good food and other earthly pleasures.

That was what they sought when they went to find the Lord, and in fact, they wanted to make Him their King, but the Lord went away from them and hid Himself. That was why they went searching for Him in the first place. But the Lord told them and in fact rebuked them, saying that to be His true disciples and followers, they must truly have faith in Him, and not just because they think that they are able to benefit and enjoy pleasures in life through Him.

As what our first reading passage reminds us all today, to be the true, dedicated and faithful followers of Christ in fact requires us to be firm and steadfast in our faith, in our belief in the Lord’s truths, even despite challenges, oppositions, difficulties and trials we may have to face in life. St. Stephen endured it all, because he truly had faith in God, and he had entrusted himself so completely to Him, that he gave it all to the Lord.

While the people in the Gospel passage sought satisfaction, fulfilment and pleasure for themselves, St. Stephen sought for true justification and glory in God, by his own steadfast faith and by his courageous actions, standing up for the truth of God even in the face of persecution and opposition from the whole world. St. Stephen knew that all the goodness and the joys of this world could not be compared to the true joy that God alone can give.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Lord Himself mentioned in our Gospel passage today, He is the Bread of Life, and all of us who truly share in His Body and in His Blood, having received Him into our lives with faith, as St. Stephen had, will receive the true joy and satisfaction in life. Are we all able to overcome the temptations of the world, the seduction of pleasure and worldly ambitions? We may encounter the same challenges and difficulties that St. Stephen and our predecessors had encountered, as they were persecuted and oppressed in many occasions, but with God by our side, we will be able to persevere and triumph in the end.

May the Lord be our guide, and may He grant us the strength, wisdom and the courage, that we may follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and the saints, St. Stephen and all those who have faithfully stood by the Lord and devoted themselves to defending the faith that they have received through the Church. May all of us be true disciples of the Lord, in all of our words, actions and deeds. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 May 2019 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the third in the season of Easter, we are all reminded of the calling that the Lord has called us all Christians to do, as part of the whole Universal Church that He has established in this world. All of us as Christians are called to be the witnesses of the Lord’s truth and resurrection, to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and all those who have courageously stood by their faith as shown in our Scripture passages today.

In our first reading today, we heard of the courage of the Apostles, led by St. Peter, when they were faced with opposition and heavy persecution by the Sanhedrin, the powerful and influential High Council of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin were filled with many of those who opposed the truth of Christ and who have also been among those who ordered the arrest and condemned the Lord Jesus to death, handing Him over to the Roman authorities to be crucified.

When the Apostles were told harshly and specifically under threat of torture and imprisonment by the authority of the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the truth of Christ, His resurrection and the salvation He has brought into this world, the Apostles, filled with the power and the courage of the Holy Spirit refused to back down and continued to be adamant in their commitment to bear witness for the Risen Lord. None of the Sanhedrin were able to stop the Apostles, and from then on, the Apostles continued their work among the people despite the heavy opposition from many groups.

What they were doing, was basically fulfilling what the Lord had called them to be, to be the fishers of men, when He first called some among them, especially St. Peter the Apostle, leader of the Apostles, who was called with his brother, St. Andrew the Apostle, and the two brothers, St. James the Apostle and St. John the Apostle, from being mere unknown and poor fishermen of Galilee, to be God’s own servants in calling His people to Himself.

In our Gospel passage today, God again called the Apostles, harking back to the first time He called them, as He appeared before them by the lake of Galilee right after His resurrection. The disciples were told to go to Galilee and to wait for the Lord there, and there, they spent their time fishing for fish without managing to make any catch at all despite having spent all the time on the boat all night long.

And in this symbolism laden Gospel passage, we can see the summary of what the Lord has called all of us to do, just as He called His Apostles to do what He had entrusted to them and commanded them to do. He told the Apostles to cast their nets to the side of their boat, and immediately, as they did what the Lord told them to do, an immense number of fishes were caught into their fishing nets, so many that the boat almost could not contain all of them.

In this, we see how the Lord truly guides His Church, and the Church is represented by the boat in which the Apostles worked in. The Church is indeed often represented with the imagery of a boat, sailing through the turbulent and dark waters. And the Apostles who helmed the boat are those who steered the Church through the times of opposition, persecution and challenge, just as what we have just heard in our first reading today, the persecution and opposition of the Sanhedrin among many others the Church had to endure.

The multitudes of fishes represent the multitudes of nations and peoples to whom the Apostles had been sent to proclaim the truth of the Lord and His Good News. Without the Lord to guide them, the Church and the Apostles could do nothing, just as they did not manage to get any fishes despite having laboured all night long and not catching any fish at all. But through the Lord’s works, which He performed through His Apostles, the Church and all those who succeeded the Apostles, the works of the Church came to present rich results and bounties.

And brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all the successors of the Apostles and those disciples to whom the Lord has entrusted the mission which He has bestowed upon His Church, with the clear words of instruction, “Go to all the nations and baptise all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” And that is the Great Commission which Our Lord has given to His Church, to all of us who believe in Him, as our mission and responsibility.

We may think that what the Lord has called us to do is impossible to be done, or that it is too difficult, too daunting or too challenging. We may think that the Apostles and those disciples mentioned in the Scriptures were kind of superhuman who were given power beyond our normal human means and abilities. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not true at all. For indeed, they were truly superheroes and are great role models for us, but they are equally just man just like us all.

It is a dangerous fallacy to think of the Apostles as people who are fundamentally different from us. They have been given the same ability as we have been blessed by God, and they are not more human or less human than we are. They are no less mortal than we are, lest we think of them as supernatural or even, as some misunderstood them in the early days of the Church, as divine beings. When the Apostles St. Paul and St. Barnabas went to the Greek areas of the Eastern Mediterranean, some of the people there worshipped the Apostles as if they were gods, to their great consternation.

No, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Apostles are just like us all, for they were too once sinners who were weak and easily tempted, who were ignorant and resistant to the faith and to the love of God. We must not forget that the Lord called them from various origins, some from among the educated, while others were poor peasants, uncouth, uneducated and even uncivilised. People looked down and despised some of them, like St. Matthew, a former tax collector.

The Apostles were also once cowards and doubters, who lost their faith the moment the Lord was arrested, and all of them abandoned the Lord and ran away. St. Peter in fact, as we all know, denied knowing the Lord not just once, but three times so that he could save himself and prevent himself from being arrested together with the Lord, and all these happened after the Apostle swore that he would even lay down his life for the Lord’s sake.

But the Lord empowered them and gave them a new strength and courage, by the granting of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the Lord Jesus Who gave them the power and the authority of His own power, to be the bearers of His truth and His champions in this darkened world, to be those who would bear the burden of being the ones to be at the forefront of the Church’s effort to seek the salvation of souls.

And the same St. Peter, who had denied knowing the Lord three times out of cowardice, in our Gospel passage today publicly and resolutely declared his obedience, love and commitment towards God, as the Lord Jesus asked him, not just once but thrice, “Peter, do you love Me?” This action is very symbolic and significant as it is the clear sign that not only that God had perfectly forgiven St. Peter for his threefold rejection of Him, three being a number often used throughout the Scripture to represent completeness and perfection, but also that He has indeed entrusted and bestowed on St. Peter and through him, the other Apostles, the very important responsibility and the authority that comes with that responsibility, to carry out the mission which He has entrusted to His Church.

The Apostles were imperfect, mortal and unworthy men, who embraced God’s love and grace, and by the Holy Spirit of God, received the strength and courage that allowed them to perform all that God had done through them. They allowed God to work His miracles and wonders, His merciful and compassionate works through them, by changing their lives and turning them from sinners and people belonging to the darkness, into the people of the light.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the very reason why many of us have not been able to experience this same experience as what the Apostles had witnessed and felt, and why we have not been able to walk in their footsteps is nothing less than our own refusal in refusing to allow God to make His works evident in our lives and through us. This requires us to overcome the challenges of the ego and pride within us, which are obstacles that often prevented us from being able to reach out to God.

Are we willing and are we able to allow God entering into our lives and making a difference not just in our own lives but also in the lives of all those who are around us, through our renewed and transformed lives, by the power and grace of God as He has done through His Apostles? Let us all spend some time to reflect on how we can make this happen, and that is by making ourselves willing and collaborative vessels of the Lord’s grace.

The Apostles and all our holy predecessors, all those who have dedicated themselves to the Lord could not have done so without the Lord being present in their midst and directing their efforts and actions. God made everything possible and He guided them all through the darkest and most difficult moments as was evident throughout the history of the Church. It was God Who made everything possible, and the Apostles and the holy disciples and martyrs allowed Him to guide them in their path and in their actions.

Let us all, as Christians, meaning that we are the successors and the inheritors of the ministry and the works of the Apostles, gather together and commit ourselves anew to the Lord, to the mission which He has entrusted to His Church. Let us all be the bearers of God’s truth and be the workers of God, in everything we say and do that many more people may come to believe in God and be saved, by following our examples and by being faithful in the way that we have been faithful. May God be with us all, and may He bless all of our good works and endeavours. Amen.