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Sunday, 20 November 2016 : 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Christ the King and Closing of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the last Sunday of this current liturgical year, which the Church has crowned as the great Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, Christ the King, King and Master of all the Universe. On this solemn feast day, we commemorate our Lord Who is the past, present and future, as He was, is and will always be King of all kings, Ruler and Master over all.

All other kings and rulers gain their authority from the Lord, and no ruler has true power or authority unless it has been devolved upon them in one way or another from the Lord, on Whom all authority and power belong. But His Kingship is different from the kingships of the world, and the nature of His kingdom is different from the kingdoms and countries of this world.

Let us all look at the examples of the kings and rulers of this world. The kings and rulers of this world like to dress in the finest clothes and wear the best accessories, have the best vehicles, the nicest looking ones, and in our modern world many even have their own private jets and planes, helicopters and all the gimmicks and luxury of our world today. Many dwell in sumptuous and large palaces and residences, all designed to bring awe to all others who look upon them and witness their power.

And what do all of these bring these rulers and kings of this world, brethren? Many of them did so in order to garner more prestige, honour, praise, fame and wealth for themselves, trying to awe all those who view and witness their majesty. Many even tried to extort and made others to provide for more in order to do these. Yet, the reality behind all of these is that, they felt insecure because they did not have real and genuine power and authority with them.

And our Lord Jesus, Who is the One True King did not need to do all of them, for His authority came from Himself. In fact, He chose to lower Himself and empty Himself of all of His power and glory, becoming one of us as a Man, becoming one of His lowly creations, for one singular purpose in mind, and that is love. Yes, God Who is our King loves all of us without exception, each and every one of us are always foremost in His mind.

And that, brethren, is true kingship. A king and a ruler must always have his people first in mind, and not himself. When kings and rulers abandon this important tenet, that is when tyrants were born, those who oppressed the people and acted in ways that brought about benefits, glory and other goods for themselves at the expense of those over whom they are ruling and governing.

Jesus our Lord showed that by His own examples, going about to care for His people, all of them without exception. He went forth seeking those who had been lost to Him through sin, and that was why He went to seek for the lowest of the lowest in the society, those who have been rejected and ostracised because of their sins, the prostitutes and tax collectors. The Pharisees and the tax collectors failed to see and understand this, the reason why Jesus wanted to be with these people, who they themselves had condemned and cast out of the society.

The Pharisees, the elders and the teachers of the Law represented the elites of the Jewish society at that time, those with power, authority and influence, who were highly jealous of those whom they considered as rivals to their power, and that included Jesus, His followers and His teachings which are often against the ways of these leaders. That is because they have corrupted and twisted the laws to serve their own purpose and not the purpose of God.

But Jesus showed them all, all of the people, and us, His true kingship, as a King truly devoted to His people, and as One Who really show by example of what a ruler should do for the good of his people. He showed us that He is a King Who is also the Good Shepherd, ready to lie down His life for His beloved sheep, so that the sheep, His flock, may be safe amidst the danger around them.

The Kingship of Christ is the Kingship of love, mercy and compassion, and not of pride, hubris or ambition, unlike the kings of this world. His Kingship is the Kingship of truth and justice, as He proclaimed before Pontius Pilate just before He was condemned to die on the cross. He came to proclaim the truth before all His people, the truth about His love and the truth about how we can be reconciled with Him, but truth is not always pleasant to be heard and understood.

Many of us mankind profess to believe in the Lord, and yet, in our actions, we would rather have Satan, the devil as our king. To many of us, we put our human needs and desires often ahead of our responsibilities and duties as Christians, as those who ought to obey the Lord. And yet in how we carry out our lives and our actions, we do not resemble those who are called children and people of our God, our King.

Let us reflect and think of our own actions, and what we have witnessed in this world resulting from our actions, the actions of man. As I have related to you earlier on in this discourse, many rulers and kings of this world act in ways contrary to how the Lord had acted, because they shirked the responsibilities they had over their people, they served themselves and their needs first.

Wars and conflicts raged on in this world to serve the purposes of people’s greed and desires, the futile pursuit of worldly glory, wealth and human fame and praise. For the sake of a piece of land, or for wealth and properties, or even for the sake of hubris, ambition and human pride, mankind and particularly their rules have waged wars and conflicts that brought about pain, sorrow and destruction for many. And this is the sad reality of our human actions, of how flawed our humanity is now.

And today, therefore, as we rejoice and celebrate together this great solemnity and feast of Christ our King, there is that urgent need for us to really devote ourselves anew to our King, no longer with just mere words or paper proclamations alone, but rather with actions and real deeds. We must be truly devoted to Him in our ways and deeds, or else we are not being faithful to Him, and we will face the consequences in the end.

Rather, let us all be like the repentant thief at the side of Jesus, who acknowledged his sins before Him, and how he deserved to die while Jesus Who was innocent did not. Yet, Christ our King willingly laid down His life for our sake, even forgiving and dying for His betrayers and enemies. This is our One and True King, Who has shown us the way forward by His own actions and examples, through which He made known to us His infinite love and mercy.

Now it is the time for us to choose, shall we side with the king of this world, that is Satan? If we treasure and value the goods and pleasures of this world a lot, and spending our time so much on these things, even to the detriment of others around us, then we are siding with the devil. Or shall we instead side with the true King of all, Christ the Lord, Who is Lord even over the devil and all of his fellow rebel angels?

As Christians, we are all called to follow the examples of Christ. Therefore, just as He has shown us how to love, and how to forgive one another our sins and mistakes, we too should do the same. Let us all be good servants and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, our King, the one and only King we have, Whose ways is our ways, and Whose laws is our delight.

May through our works and actions, the Name of our Lord and King will be glorified, and by our own examples, may we reflect His Glory and His truth, that we may be able to find our way to Him, with many others who will be inspired by our examples. O Lord, our Eternal and Almighty King, be with us always and never abandon us. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings all of us are presented with the centre tenet of our belief and faith, that is the promise and faith in the resurrection from the dead, and this means that we believe in the existence of life after death, or the afterlife. We believe that our existence does not simply end upon our death, that is the end of our worldly life in this current world we are living in now.

There are those who were skeptical about the resurrection then as it is now. The Sadducees presented in today’s Gospel is one of the major power parties in the society of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus, representing the intellectuals and the secular power holder, the nobility and the rulers. These are the people who have the most to benefit from the world, and accordingly, by nature, their possession of these worldly goods often led to unhealthy attachment.

They refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead, because they viewed that the only life they know and which matters to them is the life at present, which they were then going through in this world. For them death is an uncertainty, something that should be feared, because they saw death as the definitive end to their privileges and all the things which they have enjoyed in the world.

And this is what sadly many of us Christians are often falling prey to, falling prey to our own fears and uncertainties, our doubts and lack of faith in the Lord and His providence. We become entangled and trapped in the trap of desire, of worldliness, of worldly pleasure and goodness, all the things that keep us away from finding our way to the salvation in God.

And that is the reality of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, that even though many call themselves as Christians, but there are many who place their worldly interests above that of their faith in the Lord. Many of them only believe in the Lord as far as what pleases and suits them, and they would rather preserve their position and state in this world rather than to be truly devoted to God.

It is these people with unsteady and lukewarm faith who will be judged to be unworthy by God at the end of time, when the Lord comes again in His glory. He will not welcome these people who did not have love for Him but for themselves. These people would be easily tempted and pulled away by the lies of the devil, who is always constantly trying to undermine us and bring about our downfall.

This is where we need to make a stand, just as those two holy witnesses of the Lord spoke out against the wicked ways of the world in the first reading today from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle. Persecutions and challenges will come our way from those whom the devil had ensnared in his lies and wickedness, those who followed the path of the Sadducees, refusing to believe in the salvation and the way of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the way forward is not to give up and succumb to these, but instead to remain true and committed to our faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how do we do this then? It is by living our lives filled with faith and commitment to our God that we will be able to fulfil what the Lord expects from each and every one of us. We cannot be lukewarm in our faith, or be inactive and passive. Rather, let our every actions and deeds speak volumes for our sake and for the Lord’s sake, that we may inspire each other to keep up the hope, and that those who have been blinded by darkness and by worldly temptations may see the light and repent their sinful ways.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord, our Risen Lord and Master, He Who has conquered death, and showed us the promise of eternal life, which is the eternity of bliss and joy, true joy and happiness that He will grant to those who remain faithful to Him. Let us not be distracted on this path, and let us no longer fear but believe wholeheartedly, believing that God will be with His people forevermore. Let us not put our trust in the temporary treasures of this world, but seek the true treasures found in God alone. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 18 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter the Apostle and the Papal Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of a Basilica)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate together the memorial of the dedication of two of the great Papal Basilicas located in the holy city of Rome, dedicated to the two greatest of the saints of Christendom, the pillars of the Church, none other than St. Peter the Apostle, Prince and leader of all the Apostles of our Lord, and also St. Paul the Apostle, the Apostle to the Gentiles and writer of the many Epistles in the New Testament.

Both of them were martyred in Rome, and therefore were seen as the patron saints of the city of Rome, where their tombs were located at, and at that time, Rome was the heart of the Roman Empire, the heart and centre of the secular superpower that was the Roman Empire, and where the Caesars, that is the Emperors ruled with absolute authority, and demanded from all others obedience and also worship.

For the Emperors were worshipped as gods and as incarnation of the gods, and by elevating themselves to the divinity, they deemed themselves as above others, and thus the Imperial Cult of the Roman Empire was created. And against this, came the two Apostles of our Lord, who in their separate ways ended up in the city of Rome, continuing the missions entrusted to them by the Lord.

And they were not chosen by the Lord for their might, their greatness or their talents, unlike the Roman Emperors who boasted of their wealth, or their human and military prowess. Instead, God chose a diverse range of people, and many of them are just like us, common people with our own stories and unique origins. He called His disciples and chose His Apostles from among fishermen, bandits, even tax collectors and others.

And it was not that their faith was great, or that they were as intelligent as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who at that time were those who were educated in the society, knowing the entirety of the laws of Moses. Most of the Apostles were uneducated and even illiterate, and yet, they went on to perform great deeds, some of which were told to us in the Acts of the Apostles. And why is that so? It was none other than because of the Lord and His works on them.

If we remember the passage from the Scriptures we heard today, and what we know of the Apostles, particularly that of St. Peter and St. Paul, certainly, they did not have an outstanding and great faith from the start. Both of them struggled and were troubled in their faith, and were also shaken at certain times, when doubt overpowered them and made them to tremble, and in the case of St. Peter, to sink in the waves, when he tried to walk towards Jesus, because he doubted.

The Apostles were afraid and doubtful when the elders and the chief priests sent guards to arrest Jesus, after He had been betrayed by one of His own Apostles, Judas Iscariot the traitor. The Apostles fled the scene and went into hiding when their Lord and Master was arrested, and we know how St. Peter himself, after having sworn to give his life for the sake of the Lord that very night, denied his Lord and Master three times in order to protect himself from harm.

I am sure that we also know how St. Paul grew up as a zealous and fanatical Pharisee, determined to hunt down as many followers of Christ as he could, arresting them and torturing them as he was misguided by his blind obedience to the false understanding of the Law of God. In fact, St. Peter and St. Paul were just like us, sinners and filled with doubt, indeed as what some of us would say, that we are unworthy of our Lord and His love.

But what made them different? In fact, what made our holy saints and martyrs to be different from us? It is because all of them went through a thorough and wholesome change in their lives, in how they lived their lives and in how they carried out their actions henceforth, and they turned from sinners and into God’s holy and devoted people, His saints.

St. Peter dedicated his whole life thereafter in the service of God, leading His fellow Apostles and the other disciples of Christ, coordinating the immense task of guiding and leading the early Church through moments of difficulties and through good moments when many became believers and therefore had to require new shepherds and guides, new bishops to be appointed to lead these.

St. Paul was converted when God called him on that fateful day when he was on his way to Damascus. God revealed His truth to him, and after having heard the truth and realising how wrong he was, St. Paul made that dramatic turnaround and from one of the greatest enemies of the Lord and His faithful people, he then became one of the Church and the Faith’s greatest champion and defender.

There is something that all of us can learn from this, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we did not choose to become servants of the Lord, but rather, He chose us and made us worthy. The Apostles, saints and many martyrs were ordinary men and women just like us, but they changed their ways of life and followed the Lord with conviction and commitment.

God transformed the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, from their humble and even sinful origins, to become His greatest tools, as His greatest servants in bringing the souls of many of His beloved ones closer to Him and allowing many through them to listen to the truth about His salvation. The same call is now therefore made upon us as well. Each and every one of us as Christians have been called to serve the Lord, and to evangelise and preach the Good News of God to all.

And this is related to our celebration today, remembering the moment when the two great Basilicas dedicated to these two Apostles were consecrated and dedicated, made holy and had incense and the holy oils applied to it and the Altar within the Basilicas, and through the blessing of the Almighty God, these two great edifices became more than just a space, but rather they become a place worthy to house the Holy Presence of God.

Before a church, be it a small parish church, a large church, an important one such as Cathedrals and Basilicas, none of these can be used for the purpose of the celebration of the Holy Mass if they have not been consecrated and dedicated yet. And as I have mentioned in my homily for the Dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran just two weeks earlier, this has implication and relevance for us that we all should know and understand.

Undedicated and unconsecrated, the great Basilicas and cathedrals are just mere buildings, spaces with architecture without meaning. Through the consecration, it has been made into a worthy and holy Residence and House of God. In the same manner, through our own baptism, through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit by our confirmation, and through the reception of the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist, each and every one of us, our bodies, minds, hearts and souls have been consecrated and dedicated to the Lord to be His holy Temples, where He shall dwell in us.

We are the Temple and the House of God, for God Himself has dwelled inside us, inside our mortal bodies and existence. And as a result, we should make sure that we live in accordance to the way of the Lord, obeying His laws and precepts, or else we would defile the sanctity of this Temple and House of God. God has transformed our humble and simple bodies and beings into His glorious residence, as much as those magnificent buildings and edifices has been transformed into the great places of worship.

Let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on this, thinking carefully of what each and every one of us should be doing in our respective lives. We should imitate the examples of the saints in their dedication and commitment, and follow the examples set by the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Do not be discouraged if we think that our faith is easily shaken and weak, for the Apostles themselves were once filled with doubt as well.

Let us all open ourselves, heart, mind, body and soul, that God may come into each and every one of us, transforming us completely from being creatures of the flesh and darkness, into creatures of the light, into sons and daughters of our Lord, worthy of the eternal life He has promised to all of His faithful ones. St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us sinners, that we may be like you and follow in your footsteps. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we listened to the word of God in the Sacred Scriptures, listening to the words of hope given to us by the Lord, Who have triumphed and conquered, defeating the forces of evil and death, by His own death on the cross and then by His glorious resurrection from the dead and ascension in glory into heaven.

Through the readings today, we are reminded yet again that as Christians, persecutions and challenges will be part of our lives, as those who are in power in this world, all those who rely on this world, are against us who believe in the Lord, for the devil wants us all to be lost to the Lord, by disobeying Him and refusing to listen to His laws and commandments, and instead following his lies and temptations.

And that was why throughout history, for the past two millennia, the history of the Church, our Faith and its faithful had been filled with much grievances, sufferings, persecutions and all that had occurred when the faithful were oppressed by those who sought to destroy them and turn them away from the path towards salvation. That was why there were many martyrs and those who suffered and even laid down their lives for the Lord, in the early days of the Church, and even unto this very day.

During the early days of the Church, the faithful had to contend with many oppressions, oppositions to the Lord and to the Church, and they had to hide, hiding in the catacombs and sewers while celebrating the Lord and His Holy Sacrifice, the Holy Mass, or else they would be arrested, put into prison, tortured and even put to death for their faith in God.

If we wonder how they all persevered through all of that without losing hope, it was because of their firm faith in God. They staunchly remained true to their Lord and their faith in Him even when they were faced with the stark option of securing their lives by rejecting the Lord, or to keep their faith and suffer to the extent of painfully losing their lives.

This is a reality that many of our brethren even today, are still living its daily effects. In various parts of the world, from the Middle East, to regions of the Americas, Africa, and in many other parts, being a faithful Christian is increasingly a more and more difficult task for us. Challenges and temptations are abound, and not few of our brethren were tempted and gave up because of various reasons.

But many did not give up because they believe firmly in the Lord Who will be triumphant in the end, as foretold in the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, the content of which we heard today. God will succour all of His faithful ones and bring them into the comfort of His grace and salvation in the end of it all, and death and the forces of evil will not have any power over us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, many of us are able to help our brethren who are suffering in various ways. We should open our eyes, our ears, our senses, and love them in our heart. We must be generous with our charity and be generous with our love. And in this, perhaps, we should follow in the footsteps and examples of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a Hungarian princess who was renowned for her piety and great works of charity. As is the custom of that time, she was married off at an early age to a nobleman, and had a family. But when her husband passed away, during the years of her widowhood, she devoted herself to God and to the poor people around her, contributing a lot to charitable works and helped the weak and those who are in need to meet their needs.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary showed us all what is meant by being a Christian. Being a Christian requires each and every one of us to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, Who came into this world out of His love for us, and to find those who have lost their way and became stranded and separated from Him, that they may also have a hope of redemption and liberation from the curse of sin and death.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive that in this life we have, we may be able to commit ourselves fully to the Lord, renew our faith and commitment to Him, so that through our wholehearted devotion to Him, many others will also be inspired to do the same, and follow our footsteps to seek the Lord and be forgiven from their sins.

May all of us Christians be the bearers of God’s truth and salvation, never fearing what will happen to us if we stay faithful to Him, as we all know that, just as the saints and martyrs had known, that Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Lord, will triumph in the end and bring all those who remain faithful to Him to the glorious eternal life with Him forevermore. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints and Virgins)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord’s words in the Scriptures, about what we as Christians should do in order to live as true and devoted Christians. We should heed the Gospel passage today where Jesus related to the disciples, the parable of the silver pounds.

In that parable, we witnessed the contrast between the wise and diligent servants who invested the silver pounds and gained back more than what were given to them, and the lazy servant who did not do anything with what he had been given with, but instead, hiding it and therefore gained nothing. This should be understood in relation to our own lives, to how we as Christians should live our lives in this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the silver pound represents the gifts of the Lord, God Who is represented in that parable as the lord who became king in a faraway land, as he who had given his servants part of his wealth to be taken care of. Some were given more while others were given less, but they were all entrusted with the silver pounds after all.

God gave us all talents and abilities, different from one to another person. Some has more and some has less, but in the end, all of these are still the precious gifts of the Lord, the greatest of which is this very life and the breath we take in and out every single moment we are alive. He has given us many possibilities, chances and opportunities that come with whatever He has blessed us with, and now, just as the servants in the parable, we are given a choice on what we are to do with these gifts which have been given to us.

Are we going to keep these to ourselves? Are we going to use the gifts and talents we have for our own selfish benefits? Then perhaps we should look on what happened to that lazy servant who kept and hid the silver pound and did nothing to it. In the end, whatever it was that had been entrusted to him was taken away and given to those who had shown that they deserve it more.

In the same manner, if we do nothing that will bring about joy, love and happiness to our brethren around us who need them, we are not growing at all in the sight of God, but stagnant and wicked, and what it was which God has blessed us all with, He will withdraw and give to those who are more deserving of it. This is a reminder to all of us that we as Christians cannot be passive or be lukewarm in our faith. Instead, we have to be truly committed, and we have to really give our very best and dedicate ourselves to love and serve the Lord our God and His people.

Today, we celebrate the feast of two holy women whose lives have been exemplary and good, as model Christians for us all to follow and to be inspired with. St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude has shown us all, and many others in the past centuries, how we all ought to carry ourselves as Christians in the world, and what we should contribute for the sake of our brethren in need.

St. Margaret of Scotland was an English princess who married the King of Scotland and therefore became the Queen of that country, and was renowned for her great piety and devotion to the Lord. She helped to instigate religious reform and renewal in Scotland, and became a great role model on piety and charity among her people.

She spent much of her time in prayer and in charitable works, often spending time with the poor and the less fortunate in her kingdom, and praying at the Holy Mass and other devotional events in many occasions. She helped to guide her husband the King and her sons, three of whom eventually also became the King of Scotland. She helped to ensure that the king ruled with justice and with firm adherence to the faith in God.

Meanwhile, St. Gertrude was a great German religious sister, a member of the Benedictine order widely praised and renowned for her great piety and works, through her many visions and mystical experiences, through which she shared with many others, religious and laity alike, how one ought to become closer to God through prayer and devotion, particularly towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as one of its early proponents.

The examples of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude should inspire us all to become ever more dedicated as Christians, that we should give ourselves to the effort to love and care for each other, and be welcoming to our brethren who are coming to seek the Lord, and also to repent from our past and sinful ways, and be thoroughly converted to God.

May the Lord help us all, and by the intercession of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, may God forgive us all our sins, and may He awaken us the strong and unquenchable desire to love Him and to seek Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)
Dear brothers and sisters, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are given several reminders on what we as Christians are supposed to do in our daily lives, so that we will truly live out our lives as faithful and living Christians, and not just as Christians on paper only or as nominal Christians. We are all called to be good and devoted servants of our God, and as we reflect on the word of God we have just heard, let us think about all these.

First of all, in the Book of the Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard the Lord calling His people to repentance and to change their ways. We are all sinners, brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of us have committed more sins than others and some have committed less, but regardless, we have made mistakes and imperfections on our paths towards God. But this is what the reality of our lives is. And we need to change this direction of our lives.

If we do not spend time to think about this, and reflect on what direction our lives are taking us, then just like a ship with a captain who does not carefully decide the navigation path beforehand, then the ship will end up having a high chance of hitting rocks and obstacles on its journey that will cause it to run aground, capsize and sink. And the same applies to our own lives.

In this journey of life, it is important for us to always spend time to think about our actions and deeds, words and all things we have committed in this life. Have we been faithful to the Lord? Have our actions represent us as those who are worthy of being the children and followers of the Lord? Or have our actions instead bring about contradiction and divisions, scandal for our Lord, for our faith, for our Church and for our fellow brethren? If our answer for these are the latter ones, then we really need to change.

And this then comes to the second point brought up in the Scriptures today. In the same passage from the Book of Revelations, God spoke to us about not being lukewarm in our faith, as if we are neither hot or cold, it is disgusting to Him and He will reject us. What this means is that we cannot be a Christian and profess to be one, and yet doing nothing in order to fulfil that life as a Christian.

A thorough conversion and change of our lives require us to also take an active role in living our lives with faith, through real and genuine actions based on our faith, on what we believe in God. This is real and living faith, the faith of those who are not lukewarm in our faith. We cannot and indeed must not think that faith in God alone can save us, for what is faith without true and genuine devotion? A lukewarm faith is no faith at all, as it is dead.

And in this, we should follow therefore the example of Zaccheus, the tax collector who in the Gospel today, which many of us should be familiar with, where he tried his best, climbing up a tree just so that he could see Jesus due to his short height. He made that conscious effort to seek the Lord, and he found Him. And God, recognising his faith, his genuine effort and devotion, called him, welcomed him, forgave him and made him to be one of His children.

Contrast this to the attitude of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests, most of whom rejected Jesus and refused to believe in Him and His teachings. Instead, they even made life and work difficult for Jesus and His disciples, hounding and disrupting them in almost all known opportunities available to them.

All of us are sinners, but if we harden our hearts as the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the chief priests had done, then there will be no way forward for us, as our stubbornness and our refusal to recognise our sins and our wickedness become our undoing. It was Zaccheus, whom in his sincere desire to be forgiven, in his effort to seek the Lord, was forgiven and reconciled with God.

Let us all take these into our minds and spend time to reflect on this, and let us also reflect on the examples of St. Albert the Great, the holy saint whose feast we celebrate today. St. Albert the Great was a renowned Dominican preacher and bishop, whose actions and works still inspire many people up to this day. He was a humble person, devoting his whole life to the Lord, and he often acted as mediator between conflicting parties, bringing peace and harmony where there were conflicts and divisions.

He always showed with good example, of how a Christian should live his or her faith life, carrying out his responsibilities dutifully as the bishop of his diocese, caring for his flock with gentle and tender love, and with the strong desire to seek their salvation through proper education and instruction in the faith, and by his examples, many followed in his footsteps and were set on the path towards God’s salvation.

Looking at the examples of this holy and devoted saint, we should also follow in his footsteps in living a genuine life filled with strong and living faith. We should spend time with one another, caring for those who have not been cared, forgiving one another our trespasses and faults to each other. We should be role models for one another, living to the best of our abilities to be faithful in all the things we say, do and act.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us renew our commitment to the Lord our God, and be true in our faith and be genuine in our actions. May the Lord help us and guide us on our way to Him, that we may be able to reach out to Him, and by the intercession of St. Albert the Great, may we follow in his footsteps and may God have mercy on us, as He had mercy on that blind man. Amen.

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Monday, 14 November 2016 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings, taken from the Book of Revelations and the Gospel according to St. Luke have very simple and yet clear message to all of us Christians, that we all ought to be faithful, to be true to the ways of our Lord, to be righteous and good, and amidst difficulties and challenges, remain firm and devoted to the Lord, seek Him and find Him, and then we shall not be disappointed.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, St. John saw a vision of the Lord Who sent His Angels to the Churches in the region, reminding each and every one of them with the same message, that while they have persevered in their faith, and remained true to the Lord and His ways, but they had fallen away from the true path and is in need of repentance and change.

The Lord reminded His people that in order to find their way to Him, they need to have that profound change in their heart, mind and soul, that they should open these to Him, allowing Him to enter into them and transforming them entirely, that they will be transformed from the people of darkness and of worldliness, into people of the light and as those who truly belong to the Lord as His children and His followers.

And many times, we do not realise that in order to do these, we have to have that strong desire in each of us to change ourselves, to challenge ourselves from the status quo of our lives, especially if we are often spending little time to reflect about what we have done, and about what we have not done. And this is perfectly represented in the Gospel passage we heard today, when we heard about how Jesus our Lord healed and opened the eyes of the blind man.

The blind man heard that Jesus was coming to the place, and he shouted to Him, asking and begging Him to heal him and make him able to see once again. But the people ridiculed him and asked him to stop screaming. Yet, the blind man continued to shout even louder to get Jesus’ attention, and the Lord came to him, seeing his faith, He healed him and thus once again, he could see and he followed the Lord henceforth.

The story of the blind man is a parallel to our own lives, in each of their unique situations and circumstances. When we sin, and when we commit things that are mistaken and wrong in the sight of God and men alike, we are like the blind man, as sin acts like a veil that prevent us from seeing the truth. Sin corrupts us, not just the body, but also the mind, heart and soul. The more we sin, the more we are desensitised to it, and after a while, it becomes even our second nature. We no longer feel when we sin.

And yes, we are sinners, and we sin from day to day, from time to time. And no one is perfect. We always make mistakes in our respective lives. But what matters is, whether we are willing to make a difference and a concrete change with our lives, that while we once were sinners, we are willing to let all of these go and take a bold new step forward, committing ourselves to a renewed life filled with repentance and the desire to love the Lord with faith.

This was what the blind man had done. He used whatever courage and strength he had to scream out loud to get the attention of the Lord, and he was determined in doing so. Are we that determined to change our lives? Are we willing to go the distance in order to find our way to the salvation in God? These are the questions that we really need to ask ourselves today as we reflect on the Scripture readings we have just heard.

Then are we also making it difficult for our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those who are in need of God’s help and mercy? Are we acting like those who are trying to discourage the blind man from seeking the Lord’s help? This is what we need to reflect on as well, as we need to move away from these actions, and instead, learn to help one another on our journey towards the Lord.

Let us be merciful, be forgiving and be loving in all of our actions and interactions with each other. Let us not harden our hearts, but welcome the Lord in them, and allow Him to transform us and make us people of the light, worthy of His salvation. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 November 2016 : 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the second last or the penultimate Sunday of this current liturgical year and next Sunday is the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe. And as we come to the close of this liturgical year, all the Scripture readings speak about the coming of the Lord at the end of time, His second coming, which He Himself had prophesied and proclaimed, as the long-awaited time when God would right everything and bring all of His people to Himself.

But this time that is to come will not be known to us, not in its details, for the Lord Himself said that His coming will be like that of a thief hidden and coming to rob a house, which is entirely unexpected to the owners of the house. Otherwise, had the owners knew beforehand that the house would be robbed, then he would be prepared and the house would not be robbed, as the owners would ensure the best security available to keep it secure.

Instead, what the Lord Jesus reminded us His people is that, His coming will be sudden, and catch us by surprise. No man on earth will know the time of this happening, and if one says that he or she knows the time of this occurrence, then likely he or she is a false prophet, spreading lies and pretences to confuse us the faithful people of God. This is what we must be careful of, that we are not to believe such lies or sweet words designed to trick us into false ways.

But on the other hand, we cannot be ignorant either on the fact that the Lord is coming again, and when He comes, those whom He will find to be righteous shall receive great rewards and joy, an eternity of happiness and glory with our God. And meanwhile, those who were caught in their wickedness and in the state of grievous sins will regret, because the Lord will reject them and cast them out of His grace and into eternal darkness, despair and damnation.

This has been clearly illustrated in another occasion in the Gospel, when Jesus our Lord spoke about the Last Judgment, when He Himself, Who is the one and true Great Judge over all, over all spirits and souls, over all of creation, will judge each and every one of us without exception, and those who He deems to be good, faithful and true to His ways will be separated from those who have not obeyed Him and who have been wayward in their ways.

And if we read that passage, which is related to what we heard today, then we will truly understand how we ought to prepare ourselves in order to make ourselves worthy of the Lord. For today, our Lord Jesus in the Gospel spoke about the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which was adored and praised by many for its grandeur and beauty, taking more than forty-six years since it was built by king Herod the Great, and yet by then had not been completed yet.

He spoke about how that Temple would be destroyed, the earthly and worldly residence and house of God, which was built from stone, wood, gold and silver, but all these would not last forever. Instead, Jesus also spoke about how He would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. And this Temple refers to the Temple of His Body, which through the crucifixion and the resurrection would become the source of life for many others, all those who have shared in His death and resurrection.

In the same manner therefore, all of us who share in the Lord through our baptism also share in the Temple of our Lord, which is our own bodies, our own beings, hearts, minds and souls. It is just like the comparison which our Lord Jesus made between the earthly Temple of Jerusalem with the heavenly, true and everlasting Temple of His Body, which will outlast all forms of worldliness.

The Temple of Jerusalem eventually was destroyed by the Romans just a mere few years after it was completed, approximately thirty years or so after Jesus our Lord predicted its destruction. All of its worldly beauty and appearance were all for nothing as it was relegated to history and was lost, as fire and destruction came over it, and it was no more. And yet, the Lord, the true Temple of all, remain established, and is still established today, through us all, the Body of Christ, His Church.

There are a few symbolisms and a few lessons all of us should take note of here, particularly because, first, as I have mentioned at the start of today’s discourse, the Lord will come at the time of His choosing, and we will have zero knowledge of when this will exactly happen. Therefore, it is important that we should not fall into the trap of the devil, he who tries every single day in trying to make us fall into our weaknesses and fail.

And what does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is about this world and all of its temptations, all of the persuasions, worldly pleasures and all the things that can distract us from finding our true way to the Lord. And we tend to be distracted by these, spending our time trying to gather for ourselves money, possessions, worldly goods and things such as fame, human praise, pleasures and delights of the flesh and many others, and yet, we forget about what we really need to find for ourselves.

We build for ourselves a truly beautiful Temple, which from the exterior looks very nice to those who see it. But in the end, they are truly empty and meaningless. Let us spend some time to reflect on ourselves and our own actions. How many of us try to show off our wealth, possessions, our achievements and our greatness to others, by trying to make us seem as well-to-do as possible? How many of us built or bought or made the best looking and the most amazing houses, getting the best and most expensive looking cars, or wearing the best looking and most expensive clothes and apparels so that all who see us will praise us?

It is called our human ego, brothers and sisters in Christ, the desire in our hearts to be praised, to be acknowledged, to be adored, to receive the adulation and recognition from others, all about I, about myself, and not about others. We are swallowed by our own ego, our own pride and desire, and that is why we forget about the Lord our God, about what we truly need to do for ourselves in order to attain salvation through Him, and about those who are around us, because we are too busy thinking about ourselves, looking for ourselves and into ourselves, thinking about ‘me’, about ‘I’ and not about ‘him’ or ‘her’.

And this was exactly why Jesus lamented about that Temple, which was a grand edifice built by king Herod the Great, designed to show off his majesty and greatness, built from the best materials and most lavish styles possible, with the best workmanship and with the best available spaces given to it, and yet, in how the chief priests, the priests, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law used it, it had been squandered for worldly purposes.

Jesus had to clear out the corruptions that defiled the Temple of the Lord, the House of God, where all the merchants, money-changers, all those who tricked the people, the poor and common people from their money in order to sell them Temple offerings at elevated and marked-up prices, all the wickedness in the plain sight of the Lord at His own House. All these are how ugly things had become in reality, despite all the beautiful wonders of the Temple building, besmirched and corrupted by how it had been misused.

Thus, first, just now, I have spoken about how we should not be like this, that we should not become obsessed with worldly possessions, trying to gather for ourselves worldly things and praise, and glory and all that this world has made us accustomed to, that we end up being distracted, being too self-centred, thinking about ourselves, and about how we can maximise profit to ourselves, that we lose our sight on the bigger picture.

And thus, secondly, we should heed the lesson from our Lord Jesus Who spoke of the Last Judgment. At that time, He rebuked all those who have been found to be unworthy, and these asked Him when and why they have failed Him. They have failed Him because they have not moved their hands to help, and their hearts to show love and empathy, whenever their brethren, their own brothers and sisters are in need of help. Instead, they look to themselves first and ignored their plight.

In Jesus’ own words, that ‘I am hungry, and you did not feed Me, thirsty, and you did not give Me water to drink, in prison and you did not visit Me, naked, and you did not clothe Me,’ and so on and so forth. Those who are worthy, are found to be so by our Lord, precisely because they have done all these to those who are in need, sharing with their own less fortunate brethren, who have less food, less drink, less materials than their own.

We Christians should not be people who are closed to ourselves, spending so much time thinking about ourselves, about what we are to wear, about what we are to show off to our friends and relatives, that we forget about the poor, the suffering, and those who are sick, those who are unloved, ostracised and neglected around us. There are many things that we can do in order to help them.

We have to understand that besides sins of action, when we commit things that are wrong and wicked in the eyes of God and men, there are also sins of omission, when we are perfectly capable of doing what is good and what is expected from us, and yet, we choose to ignore them, and instead carry on living our own lives as if nothing has happened. This cannot be our way, brethren.

And to summarise what we have discussed today, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all look at the gist of the matter, that the Lord is coming again soon, and He will not let us know when this will happen. And if we are so distracted and tempted with ourselves, closing ourselves off from others, and failing to do, ignoring what we can do to help others around us, and instead focusing on ourselves, we will fail, and will be rejected by the Lord at the end.

Rather, what we must do, is as the Lord had said in one occasion, that we should not build up for ourselves earthly treasures, but seek instead true treasures that will last. As we prepare for the coming of the Lord, we should prioritise what we need to do, so that we will not be caught red-handed failing to build up a good account for ourselves. For God, wealth, possession and all these means nothing, as He values rather our heart’s love, care and compassion for each other.

As we come again to the end of this current liturgical year, let us spend plenty of time, taking stock of what the past year had been for us. Let us think about what we have failed to do, the moments when we are able to give of ourselves to our brethren, and yet we did not do so, perhaps because of reluctance, perhaps because we did not see clearly enough that there is a need for our help there. And this is the time for us to make a new resolution, that we will give more of ourselves, that as Christians, we give ourselves, heart, mind, soul and body for the sake of those who need our help.

Let us all build together for ourselves the true, everlasting treasures of heaven that will last forever and will never perish, by showing the world what it truly means to be a Christian. A Christian person loves others, their own brethren, and even strangers, showing the care and concern for those who are weak, ostracised, to the elderly and all who are in need of love.

May all of us be beacons of light guiding each other to God, and may through our examples, more and more souls may be called to repentance and may thus find their way to God through us, so that together, all of us may rejoice at the end with our God forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 November 2016 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard in the Scripture readings the about the need for us to seek the Lord without cease, asking Him for help on this journey of life we have in this world, as He made it clear through the parable of the evil judge and the old widow.

In that parable, the old widow continued to ask the evil judge to help with her case, and even though that evil judge continually refused to do so, but eventually, faced with an adamant woman who refused to back down, he relented and did so, even if that was to end the torment she was causing him.

From here we can see that God our Lord and Master will never abandon us on purpose and He will always take care of us because of His love, but it is often that we never ask for His help in the first place. In that parable, the evil judge relented to the old widow because of her persistent demands for him to oversee her case, and as Jesus said, that if the evil judge who did not care for her, eventually wanted to help her in the end, even though for different reason, then should not the Lord be moved to help us if we have asked Him?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, let us all remember what Jesus said in another occasion, ‘Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened for you, and ask, and it shall be given to you?’ God our Father knows all of our needs and wants, He knows all the moments of our life, our every actions and deeds, all that we are doing in this world, but we ourselves need to be proactive in looking for Him, asking Him for His grace.

Too many of us are lukewarm with our faith, having our faith as just a passive observance, and for some of us, we are counted among the faithful even only on paper, meaning that while we call ourselves or label ourselves as Christians, but we do not truly believe in the Christian teachings and the ways of our Lord, and our actions and deeds are often contrary to what is expected of us Christians.

We live in a time when many of us think that faith is not important to us, and we can live in whatever ways we like, even if against the Lord’s ways. But do we realise that if we do so, we are actually bringing about scandal for our faith, for the Church, for our fellow faithful brethren and ultimately against the Lord? And the consequences for us will not be a light one.

Rather, let us today reflect on our actions and how we have lived our lives, and be inspired by what St. Josaphat Kuntsevych had done about four hundred years ago, the holy saint and martyr whose feast and memory we celebrate today. St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was once a holy man and a bishop serving the faithful of the Eastern Orthodox communion, specifically among the Ukrainians and the Russians.

At that time, the churches in Eastern and Southeastern Europe has been separated from the Mother Church in Rome for approximately five hundred years, due to the schism and separation that happened because of the unfortunate disagreement and misunderstanding between the Church of the Eastern Christendom which was centred in Constantinople, and the rest of the Universal Church under the jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome.

As a result, the communion between the two sides broke down, and the Eastern churches did not recognise the Church of Rome as the valid Church, seeing themselves as the righteous successor of the Apostles. And much grief and bitterness arose between the two Churches because of the misunderstanding and the false division among them.

And this conflict is the most difficult in places where the two Churches meet and mingle, at the region now known as Lithuania, Belorussia and Ukraine. And this was where St. Josaphat Kuntsevych led his flock, and in the occasion where an olive branch was extended between the two Churches in the Union of Brest, St. Josaphat was among those bishops who agreed to come under the true leadership of the successor of St. Peter in Rome while preserving their unique Eastern Christendom traditions.

St. Josaphat worked hard two reunite the two factions among the sheep entrusted to him as their shepherd. There were much grief and numerous difficulties in this, and many resisted the decision to reunite with the Church of Rome, resulting in violence and destruction, in killing and murder, and in much pain for the Lord and for His Church.

But St. Josaphat did not give up and continued to persevere, calling all those who have walked the wrong path to repent and to return to the truth in the Church, and for which he was martyred, when those who refused to follow his example, attacked him and murdered him in cold blood, and threw his body into the river while ransacking his church, property and all of the faithful gathered in that place.

From the examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, we can see how we Christians should live our lives, filled with faith, courage and strength to live that faith genuinely and with devotion. And how do we do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by asking the Lord our God for His daily grace and help, that we feeble men may be able to live with zeal and strength, and with courage even when we are faced with great challenges against us.

Let us today therefore ask the Lord our God, through the intercession of the holy saint and martyr, St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, that we may grow ever stronger and more devoted in faith, and let us also pray for the eventual union of the churches and all the faithful under the rightful jurisdiction of the Vicar of Christ, the successor of St. Peter, Prince of Apostles, which is our Pope in Rome. May the Lord help us all, His beloved Church. Amen.

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Friday, 11 November 2016 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord in the Sacred Scriptures speaking to us all about obedience to His commandments and laws, as St. John in his Epistle made it clear that as Christians all of us ought to obey His laws and commandments, that is the commandments of love. Ever since God revealed His laws through Moses to His people, the first Ten Commandments, we have known ever since what is the Lord’s ways.

And this is what we are expected to do as Christians, as those who belong to the Lord. If God is love, then should our actions as His children not be love as well? If we truly say that we belong to Him, then should we not then do as He had wanted us to do? Should we not show care and concern for the weak, the poor, those who are suffering and dying, those who are unloved and rejected by others?

In the Gospel today, our Lord warned His disciples about the coming of the day of judgment, when the Lord was about to come to deliver His people from the hands of this wicked world, and which in the Gospel today He mentioned how the righteous ones would be snatched away, and those who are unworthy of the Lord would be left behind.

And as Jesus our Lord had mentioned several times in the Gospel today, the coming of the Lord, His second coming into this world will come suddenly and totally unexpected by us, like a thief entering and breaking into the house without anyone noticing him. When we realise what had happened, by then, everything will be already too late for us if we have not even started yet.

What is it that we need to start to do, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is that we Christians should begin acting as Christians should, and we as the followers and servants of our Lord should walk the talk, doing what the Lord asked us to do, and acting in the ways that our faith had prescribed rather than just showing empty gestures and obedience without substance.

Many Christians today are lukewarm in their faith, and many even are Christians on paper only. They call themselves as Christians, and yet by looking at their actions, the kind of wickedness they had done in life, and how they treated one another badly, we can truly be ashamed to have them numbered among us Christians. However, this is where we really need to help one another and work together in order that we may all find our way to the Lord and to His salvation.

And perhaps by following the examples of today’s saint, St. Martin of Tours, we can know better how to live as a Christian. St. Martin of Tours was the Bishop of Tours renowned for his holiness, great works and devotion to God and His people, but earlier in his life he was actually a member of the Roman military forces, and was a convert to the faith against the wishes of his own family.

He served as a member of the cavalry forces and eventually became one of its commanders. It was told that he resigned from the military in order to pursue his calling to serve the Lord, as due to his works in the military, dealing with killing and violence, he was not able to fully commit himself to the way of the Lord. It was told that on one occasion, he encountered the Lord Jesus Himself Who was disguised as an old man suffering naked in a cold and wintry night.

And in that occasion, it was told that St. Martin of Tours cut off half of his army centurion’s cloak and use that cloth to cover the old man. Later on, the Lord would appear to St. Martin of Tours in a vision, showing him that the old man was truly the Lord in disguise, and He praised him for what he had done. And this would encourage and strengthen his own conviction to serve the Lord and His people with zeal and devotion.

And that was exactly what he had done as the shepherd of God’s people, caring for them and for their spiritual growth, guiding them towards the Lord and helping them to resist against heresies and false teachings. And the faithful had greatly benefitted from all of them. Therefore, all of us are also called to serve the Lord in the same manner, devoting ourselves to real actions and commitment, caring for those less fortunate among us and help our struggling brethren in their faith.

May the Lord help us all, and by the inspiration of St. Martin of Tours, his life and his works, may we all who belong to the Church will be able to work together for the sake of the salvation of souls, and through us, may the love of our Lord be made evident and manifest in this world. God bless us all. Amen.