redemption of mankind

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Wednesday, 20 July 2016 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in the Scripture readings, all of us are called by God to be His servants, that is to be His mouthpiece and examples to the nations, by our own actions and deeds which declare the greatness and the glory of God. And that was shown through the calling of the prophet Jeremiah, and through the parable of the sower told by Jesus to His disciples.

Jeremiah was called by God from among His people, and although he was uncertain and fearful, not being confident in his abilities, but God gave him the strength and the courage to become His messenger, and through His guidance, indeed Jeremiah became a great prophet and messenger through whom the words of God’s truth rang clear amidst the darkness surrounding the people of God.

In the Gospel today, we heard the parable of the sower which our Lord Jesus Christ told to His disciples. This parable spoke to us about how receiving the word of God and having it alone is not enough, as the fate of the seeds spread by the sower showed us. The seeds that fell on the roadside, on the rocky ground and among the thistles and weeds were not able to live and survive, because they were either eaten up by the birds, or scorched by the sun without a strong root to look for water, or were suffocated by the thistles and brambles.

Only the seeds that fell onto the rich soil managed to grow, and when they grew, they produced many times more than what had been sowed. In the same manner, as the seed represents the word of God and our faith in Him, only in a certain, fertile and good condition that the Word and the faith will be able to grow and prosper inside us, that is when we give of ourselves to serve the Lord with all of our strength and with all the sincerity of our hearts.

We may not be strong and great in many things, but God purposefully did not choose the mighty and the great to be those who would do His will and bidding in this world. For the mighty and the great, although not all of them, has the tendency to be focused only on themselves and their greatness, and thus in their myopic vision and understanding of the world around them, they were unable to become good, obedient and effective messengers and bringers of our Lord’s word and will.

Rather, God chose from among the weak and the ordinary. He picked us up among the many in the world, chose us to be His tools and heralds in this world. And in the process, He transformed us all from beings filled with fear and uncertainty, and from beings filled with darkness and vile things, from those who were struggling in faith and were shaken by the world and its temptations, to be the children of light and to be those whom He will bless.

But all these will require our great attention and contribution. Effort and strength must be harnessed in order to make ourselves to be growing in faith and in our commitment to the Lord our God. Only if a farmer toils hard and works hard on his patch of farm, tilling the ground and working on the soil that the seeds there will grow to be great and healthy.

Similarly therefore, we also need to work hard in order to draw closer to our God and to His salvation. Let us all redouble our efforts and commit ourselves to serve Him and to preach His Good News to all the peoples, accepting His calling and serve Him with all of our heart. Let us no longer be hesitant but be courageous and be brave in accepting that mission to which we have been chosen.

St. Apollinaris was one of the great example of that living faith in God, for he was a holy and devoted servant of God who have given all of his life for the service of God and His people. He has led the faithful in the city of Ravenna as its Bishop and he ministered among the people of God without fear or hesitation, doing all that he could to serve the Lord, even though challenges, arrest and torture were always about him, and which he had to endure with great pains.

St. Apollinaris chose to endure all of those sufferings and resist the temptation to give in and abandon his faith in God. He suffered a lot and yet he did not stop serving the Lord, and he became great examples for the faithful, as his perseverance and hard work reminded them of how and what they should do to live as true Christians, as those who have true faith in God.

May God help us all and strengthen our faith, just as He has once strengthened the faith of St. Apollinaris and the many other holy men and women who devoted themselves to Him. May He guide us and lead us to Him, and empower us all to live faithfully by His laws and His ways. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 July 2016 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 70 : 1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17

In You, o Lord, I seek refuge; let me not be disgraced. In Your justice help me and deliver me, turn Your ear to me and save me!

Be my Rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Rescue me, o my God, from the hand of the wicked.

For You, o Lord, have been my hope, my trust, o God, from my youth. I have relied on You from birth : from my mother’s womb You brought me forth.

My lips will proclaim Your intervention and tell of Your salvation all day. You have taught me from my youth and until now I proclaim Your marvels.

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Tuesday, 19 July 2016 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard what God wanted from all of us, from what we heard in the Gospel, where Jesus laid out what is expected from all of us, whom He has deemed as His brothers and sisters, as the members of His own Body, the Church. And by establishing the Church, He has made all of us, all those who have given themselves to the Lord and who embrace His ways and obey His laws to be those whom He regards as His own.

In the first reading today, taken from the book of the prophet Micah, we heard the prophet Micah relating to us all how our God is a loving and caring God, He Who shepherds His people and guides them to His presence, that they may not perish or lose their way, but instead find their way to Him and receive the richness of grace and mercy which has been promised to all those who would follow the Lord.

And in the Gospel, Jesus showed us that in order to be truly faithful to Him, and to belong truly in His Church, then all of us have to do just one thing, which is easy to be said and yet difficult to be done and implemented. It is to obey the Law of God, to obey the will of God our Lord and Father, and do it in all the aspects and parts of our lives. If we do not do these, then we will have no part in the inheritance and grace which our Lord gives only to those who are faithful.

Yes, indeed, it is easy to say that we have obeyed the Lord, or to make it in statement that we have listened to Him and obeyed His laws. However, are we truly embodying that faith which we ought to have for the Lord? Are we truly devoted and committed to Him in all things and not just paying lip service alone? If we are able to attune all of our dealings and actions to align with His will, then we are on the right path, otherwise we are not.

It is by starting and doing the simple things we can do through which we are then able to devote ourselves to love Him in the way that He wants us to. We should not think that just because we are only one person, or a small group of people, then we are not able to make a difference after all, since the impact of our action is limited. The Church and its efforts to make a difference for the salvation of many peoples cannot happen without us.

In fact, if we look at what happens when we pick up a piece of stone and throw it into a lake, we will see that the stone will bounce a few times, and each bounce will produce ripples that will become even stronger if we throw more stones into the lake. It means that if we start doing something in our lives that is in accordance with what God wants us to do, and begin with our immediate surroundings, we may not feel the effect immediately, but if everyone is to also put their effort into such works, in the end, the effect will be really great.

All of us as Christians have to work together, brothers and sisters in Christ, and all of us must put aside our differences and learn to work together as one people, and as all the same members of the same Church, the Body of Christ. It is only then that we will be able to help the efforts of the Church in bringing the goodness and the love of God into this world.

May God help us in our endeavours, and may He bless us always with His grace, that we may always be faithful to Him, and walk faithfully in His ways, resisting the temptations to do otherwise. May He help us to be truly active and devoted in our faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 18 July 2016 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about how unfaithful the people of God had been, beginning from the time when they were brought out of Egypt, as written in the book of the prophet Micah, who wrote about how Israel had not always been obedient to God as what they should have been. They have sold themselves to the pagan gods and idols, and they have forgotten about the Law of God.

They offered to Him sacrifices and offerings as was prescribed of them, but they have not remembered why they were doing so, and their prayers were empty, addressed to fulfilling their desires and wants instead. They have been told by God, either directly or through His messengers, the prophets and heralds whom He had sent to His people to remind them of His ways and He had revealed the way which leads to Him.

But they still refused to believe, and it was very often that these people persecuted the faithful and devoted servants of God just because they refused to listen to the revelation of truth from these prophets that they did not like. They refused to obey the laws and commandments, as well as what were required of them as those who have made the covenant with the Lord their God.

And similarly, at the time of Jesus, they continued in their lack of faith and obedience. Even though ever since the time of the prophets, God had shown His might to His people, even ranging back all the way from the time of Moses, they would not believe. They have seen all the wonders and the miracles of God, and yet they would still turn their backs against Him.

They have become proud with their ways and they thought of themselves as the chosen ones and righteous in their deeds, and they became self-centred and self-enamoured in their own selves. And that is why they have faltered, while the people of Nineveh, the Assyrians, repented from their sins and were saved from the destruction that was threatened upon them.

The Assyrians were a proud people, a people filled with pride and greed, a warlike people, a people who went about destroying other nations and conquering them, carting off the defeated ones into exile, and then they also came up to the city of God, besieging it under their king Sennacherib, boasting that they would destroy it and its Temple, and not even God would be able to save His people from their wrath.

And yet, even with all that, when the prophet Jonah came to their city and declared that their city would be destroyed by God for their sins, they changed their ways, listened to the warnings of Jonah, and repented. Everyone from the king to the lowest slave and animals all submitted to the Lord and begged for His mercy, and God saw the sincerity of their repentance and forgave them.

All of these showed us that no one is beyond redemption, and no one is guaranteed salvation unless they placed their whole trust and complete faith in the Lord their God. Faith cannot be merely made with words and obeisance on paper alone, but must be made with true and complete devotion from oneself through the heart.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, thus all of us are asked this question. Are we all ready to embrace the Lord our God with all of our heart? Are we all committed and able to change our ways to be better, by looking at the examples of the Assyrians and those others who have sinned, and yet, they had a change of heart and had committed themselves to the way of righteousness?

Let us all seek to be forgiven from our sins, and let us all renew our faith in God, by deepening our relationships with Him, showing effort to love Him all the more and devote our time to love one another, all the children of the same loving God. Let us all be ever more faithful and be more committed to Him in all things. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 July 2016 : 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Holy Scriptures, about firstly how God appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah, to reveal to them the promise of His covenant with Abraham, that is the coming of the promised son, which both Abraham and Sarah had awaited for a very long time, for they were barren and without child.

In the psalm today we heard about the virtues and qualities of those who obey the Lord, walking in His ways and listening to all of His will and commandments. We heard how those who have been blameless and true to the Lord shall be blessed and they shall receive great rewards for that faith. Abraham himself was an example of this, and he has been blessed beyond mankind’s reckoning, becoming the father of many nations as God had promised him.

In the second reading, we heard from St. Paul who told the faithful in the city of Colossae in Greece, about the Lord Who have revealed His will to the faithful ones, and those to whom He has been willing to show His grace, He shall bring them to the place which He had reserved for them. But at the same time, St. Paul also spoke to the people of Colossae about the suffering which he had endured and would have to endure even more for their sake.

And finally we should link all of these to what Jesus said to His Apostles James and John when they asked for Him for a great favour, the favour of being granted the place of honour at the sides of the Lord Himself. The Lord rebuked them for not knowing what it was they were asking for when they asked Him for such a favour. And God revealed to them that just as St. Paul had mentioned that suffering is part of his faith and mission, the Apostles too would endure suffering, the same suffering which Christ Himself had suffered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does all the Scripture readings today seem to convey to us about? They seem to have numerous messages intended for us. But in fact all of them had one key core message in common. That those who are faithful to God, who are faithful and true in their actions, words and deeds shall be blessed and they shall receive the rich graces and blessings from God, while those who are not faithful and who prefer wickedness shall be cursed and be cast out from God’s presence and fall into the damnation of hell.

And the way and the path of the Lord is not going to be an easy one, as those who have gone before us and persevered in that path before us can show us. Abraham had to endure many sufferings and trials, and he left behind his families, his relatives, all those whom he knew, his nation and his homeland behind to follow the Lord, and he braved through all the difficult times, famines and even refuge in Egypt, conflict between his family members and others. And yet, to the end, Abraham remained truly faithful.

Many other faithful servants of God endured great challenges and suffering. Moses endured rejection and ridicule by the people of Israel, while the Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have sought for his death. He had to endure the countless complaints and unfaithfulness of the Israelites, who went to the pagan gods and rebelled when they faltered in their faith and chose rather to follow the way of the world.

The prophets like Elijah and Elisha also faced many difficulties, as were Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All of them faced those who refused to listen to them, and these also persecuted them, as they saw them either as nuisance or as a threat to their own worldly power and influence. And therefore, these people also rejected the Lord when He came to them, willing to help them and to absolve them from their sins.

All these had to do with the fact that it is difficult for us to resist the temptations of the world. There are many good things in this world, and there are many of these that will threaten to sway us and to pull us away from our way towards the Lord. But there are things which we can do in order to resist that pull, and to turn back towards the Lord, being obedient once again to His laws and ways.

We have to learn to listen to the Lord and be obedient to Him in all things, so that if we are faithful to Him, we will not suffer the consequences of the disobedience caused by sin. And all of these require sacrifice and commitment. It is not a simple matter of just claiming that we are faithful in word alone, but in all that we do, in how we interact with our fellow men and women, we must show that genuine love and commitment to love and be caring towards one another, just as God has loved us.

Let us all devote ourselves anew and let us change our ways. If we once have hated and filled ourselves with wickedness, let us all now change these to righteousness and grace, doing what is good and doing what we can to help one another, especially those who are weak, downtrodden, hungry and rejected by others. May God help us in our journey and strengthen us all in our faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 July 2016 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we all celebrate one of the many great celebrations of the venerable and most blessed mother of our Lord and God, Mary, the mother of Jesus, who in her persona as the protector of the holy Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, has watched over all of us the children of God for many ages and years, interceding for our sake constantly.

The devotion to our Lady of Mount Carmel has begun since many centuries ago, from the time when our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock. St. Simon Stock was a member of the Carmelite order, which had its headquarters once at Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Thus has our Lady of Mount Carmel been the protector and guide to the holy order of the Carmelites ever since.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel spoke to St. Simon Stock and promised us all through him that those who would wear the brown scapular as she had revealed to the holy saint. Thus was how the popular devotion to the Lady of Mount Carmel and the habit of wearing of the brown scapular began, and the Carmelite order itself played a great role in its propagation.

Mary promised St. Simon Stock and all those who wear the brown scapular with faith and devotion to God, that they will not suffer the punishment and the anger of God, and the forces of evil shall not prevail against them, for the mother of the Lord Himself, our greatest intercessor before Him is in front of us, interceding for us and guiding us to her Son.

In all these, we are all called to reflect on the role which Mary has played in the history of the salvation of all mankind, and how we too can share in what she has done for our sake. Mary is the mother of us all, just as she is also the mother of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus our Lord has entrusted her to us by entrusting her to John, His beloved disciple. And in the same manner, He has also entrusted him to her, and thus all of us have also been entrusted to the same love which our Lord Himself had received from His loving mother.

Mary is our role model, for all and every moment of her life has been dedicated to God and to the righteousness of His ways. She was ever faithful and committed, even though there were times when she was unsure of what God’s plan was for her. She placed her trust in God and obeyed Him. She showed tender love and care, and committed herself fully in the path and the plan God had placed her in.

And she had followed her Son faithfully, devoting her entire time and attention to Him, even through difficult and challenging moments, when she had to endure the pain of seeing her own Son being humiliated and rejected before her eyes, having to endure great suffering and bearing the burden of the cross for our sake. And she followed Him all the way to the end.

And just as her Son was committed to the salvation of all the people of God, therefore, she is also committed to help us to find our way to the salvation which her Son has promised us even as He laid dying up on the cross. And thus she appeared many times to us, including the giving of the brown scapular, as a reminder that all of us have a lot of things to do in order to reach out to the Lord and His salvation.

All of us have to rediscover that spiritual devotion inside each one of us. We have to realise that in this world we cannot remain passive and uncommitted in how we live our lives. To be a genuine and true follower of Christ we must show it through real commitment and courage to do what may be frowned upon by the world, but approved by the Lord.

Let us all therefore, on this feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, make a new dedication to the Lord our God with the help of His ever loving mother, Mary, the Lady of Mount Carmel, our intercessor and protector, our loving mother who cares for us all just as much as she had cared for Jesus her Son. Let us all renew our commitment to do what is right and just in the presence of our God, and thus draw ever closer to the salvation which He promised us all. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 15 July 2016 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Who reminded all of us that He is the Lord over all things, over the matters of life and death, and that we live at His behest and pleasure. But yet, at the same time, God Who is loving and merciful towards us has given us so much in this life, that especially this very life is the boon and the grace He has granted to all of us.

In the first reading today from the book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard how the faithful king Hezekiah of Judah laid in pain and dying from his ailment, and he begged the Lord to remember all the good and faithful things which he had done before Him, all the efforts he had put into place to return the people of God back to the ways of the Lord, after many generations of unfaithful people and kings.

He was a mortal after all, even after all the great deeds which he had done, and after all the good things that he had committed in his life. In the fear and the despair which Hezekiah felt, the attachment which he has to life made him to beg the Lord and to humble himself before his God, trying to seek His mercy and the chance to life and enjoy more years of his earthly existence.

And God granted him that desire, and indeed, not only that he was healed from his afflictions, but he was granted several more years of blessed life on earth as the reward of God for the faith and dedication which he had shown. But if we are to read on, we should see the part where king Hezekiah after he had been blessed with new life and grace, he boasted about his wealth to the envoys of the Babylonian king, despite the warning given to him about what was to come by the prophets.

Hezekiah grew proud of his human and worldly achievements and he forgot that all that he has obtained he has gained because of the Lord and His kindness and love alone. The same is often what is happening to many of us who are unable to let go of our pride, our human greed and desires. And that is why we tend to put our trust in our own human achievements and sense of greatness, without acknowledging God Who is behind of all of them.

In the Gospel, we heard one of the common confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees, as well as with the teachers of the Law. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were very particular in their observation of the Law, especially the laws and rules regarding the Sabbath day, when the people of God were not supposed to have any activities and keep that day holy for the Lord.

That Law was intended for a good purpose, that is to help the people of God in finding their way to Him, but in the implementation, it had been twisted beyond recognition by the wrong purposes of the leaders of the people who cared only for their own personal gain and for their own human pride, greed and desire, exactly what had also affected the king Hezekiah of Judah.

What does this mean brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we mankind should learn to restrain ourselves and to forgo those pride, those greed and desires that are exactly what have become hindrances and obstacles on our way as we journey on towards the Lord our God. And indeed we should not fall victim to those things, or else that is why we will be like those whom God had condemned for their lack of faith.

Let us all look at the example of St. Bonaventure, the holy servant of God whose feast we are celebrating on this day. St. Bonaventure was an Italian Franciscan monk, who was renowned for his great piety and for his dedication to the Lord. He preached to the people and cared for them, leading them by the example of his piety. He was also involved in the process of the reform of the Church at the time, leading the Church as well as the Franciscan order whom he led, into a path of piety and commitment to God.

St. Bonaventure was eventually appointed to high positions in the Church, becoming a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, and the leader of the Cardinals himself. He was influential in the reforming of the Church and his initiatives helped to strengthen the Church and save many more souls. However, he remained humble and committed to the mission which had been entrusted to him. He did not allow ego or human greed to overcome him.

The disciplined life of St. Bonaventure is a great example and he is indeed a good role model for us all. St. Bonaventure has shown us how to be good in our deeds and actions, be examples for one another and yet remain humble and remain true to our calling. It is indeed not easy to resist those temptations of power, fame and glory, as our human frailty and imperfections have allowed us to seek all of them, and many have fallen along the way because of those things.

Let us all heed that good example, and let us hope that through whatever we have done, we may become ever closer to the Lord and become more and more like Him, that He Who loves us all may recognise us as His own when He comes again to bring all of His beloved ones to His eternal glory. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 July 2016 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard a message of hope from the Gospel and the other passages from the Holy Scriptures. If for the past few days we have been warned and shown how those who lacked faith in the Lord will eventually fall and face destruction, but those who put their trust in the Lord shall not be disappointed.

God will eventually bring His peace, the everlasting peace and rest for all of His faithful ones, just as the prophet Isaiah had mentioned. The sufferings and pains of the people of God had reached the attention of our Lord Who loves us all, and certainly, He will not abandon us to our own fate. But it does not mean that we will immediately enjoy the fruits of peace and can enjoy all the things promised to us immediately.

For to be followers of the Lord means that we are likely to encounter resistance and opposition from all those who do not wish to see us receive the salvation from God, and those who wished to keep us chained to the enthralment and slavery to our sinfulness. And these are those who will be the most vocal in their opposition to us, causing us troubles and challenges ahead of us.

Yet this does not mean that we should give up our struggle or be fearful of what is to come. God Himself told us that His yoke is light and bearable, in the Gospel where He reassured His people that He will help them on their way to Him. He did not mention that there will be no yoke, and indeed, challenges and suffering will still be part of us and our lives when we choose to follow Him but what differentiates that with the alternative is that, He promised us all the promise of eternal life and eternal liberation from suffering and harm.

It is that promise which is our hope, the strength and guiding light which has been provided to us in order to help guide us on our journey to the Lord. We have to learn to put our trust in God, for it is in Him alone that we can truly find true support and strength. To trust in God is like building our houses on solid foundation while to trust in our own strength is like building upon shaky and untrustworthy foundations that is likely to fail and topple.

Today, let us all look at the example of St. Camillus de Lellis, a holy priest and saint of God, whose feast we commemorate today. He was an Italian priest who was thoroughly committed to the care of the sick and the less privileged among those who were in his society and community at the time. He helped establish the religious order dedicated to the care of the sick, and he devoted himself and his time to their care all the time.

He placed his faith completely in God, and while he lived a difficult and challenging life, resisting temptations and the challenges he faced in such a difficult life. But he was not always faithful to the Lord since the beginning. While he was young, St. Camillus de Lellis was just like the many other people of his time, as he pursued many worldly things, and joined the military in the pursuit of worldly glory and achievements.

But all these things eventually did not satisfy him, and he found emptiness in whatever he had been doing. And as a result, he had a profound change of heart and found his refuge in God. And from there, we came to what we have just discussed about him, his devotions and works to those who were sick and dying, those who were less privileged and living in great disadvantage.

Let us all, brothers and sisters in Christ, learn from the examples of St. Camillus de Lellis. Let us learn how to give of ourselves to the Lord in the same manner as that holy saint and the many other holy servants of God had done. May God help us in this endeavour, and may He bless us on our journey, and keep us faithful in His path for now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 July 2016 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Scriptures speaking to us about trusting in the power of God and trusting in our own power, intellect and capabilities. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah spoke against the pride of the king of Assyria, likely to be the king Sennacherib who came to besiege Jerusalem and boasted his might before the people of Judah.

As a context to what he was speaking about, the king of Assyria conquered many nations and peoples, and these people were sold into slavery and brought under the heels of the Assyrian Empire. However, there is one people whom he was unable to subjugate, that is the people of Judah, as God was standing with them and supported them against their enemies.

The king of Assyria boasted about his might and power before the people of Judah and before their king. He boasted about how many other nations had tried to go up against the Assyrians and those had been crushed, and their gods were unable to stop those things from happening. And thus, he blasphemed against God, thinking that nothing could have prevented him from achieving what he wanted, even against the power of God.

But he was completely humbled when God struck him and his forces down, sending His Angel to destroy a hundred and eighty-five thousand among the Assyrians’ mighty host. And thus, the Assyrian king was forced to retreat in great humiliation, and he would no longer trouble the people of God in Judah. And in the aftermath, the bickering and manoeuvring for power led to the very own sons of Sennacherib to kill their own father.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that short story about what happened during the time when the proud and the mighty went against the people of God is a reminder for all of us, that the power of men is feeble and untrustworthy. All the wealth, fame, influences and glory which we have in this world are not permanent, and without warning, we may lose them at any time, and having all of them does not necessarily free us from troubles to come.

And of course we do not bring them with us when we die. Whatever we have accumulated in this life will not follow us to the afterlife. In the Gospel today, we heard about our Lord Jesus Who revealed that those who place their trust in the wisdom and intellect of men do not know the truth which God brought into the world. It is likely because they were so self-absorbed by their great deeds that they ended up ignoring God and what He was trying to tell them.

We often place our trust in perishable treasures, things that can easily perish by fire, by thievery or by any worldly deeds and causes. But if we learn to look beyond all these, then perhaps we may be able to find that true treasure which all of us should strive for, that is for the kingdom of God, and for the reward of the just and the faithful ones. These are the treasures that will last forever and will not rot or be lost.

Let us all look at the example of St. Henry, the saint whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Henry was also known as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, the secular leader of Christendom at the time. St. Henry although he was one of the most powerful and influential person living at that time, having enormous wealth and influence, but he remained a simple and humble person.

St. Henry reigned wisely and built a great relationship with the Church, supporting its numerous good and charitable and evangelising work with zeal, while stabilising his Empire and devoting his time for the good of his people. St. Henry devoted himself to the state and to the betterment of his people, and he was a great role model to all of them.

He helped the establishment of the Church in many places and sincerely supported the Church in many matters. He was a very devout and committed person, and helped to enforce many of the rules of Christian celibacy to both the religious and the populace in general, avoiding all forms of impropriety and wickedness. In this manner, he showed the people how to be truly faithful to God in all of their actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all heed the examples of St. Henry, the faithful and devoted ruler. Let us all learn to be humble and to be receptive to God’s transforming love in our midst, that we will no longer be subjected to our greed and human desires, and from now on, may all of us be able to commit ourselves, all our lives to the Lord our God without hesitation. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 July 2016 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the plotting of the enemies of God in the first reading, the forces of the king of Aram and the northern kingdom of Israel which came together against the forces of the southern kingdom of Judah, the kingdom of the rightful king of Israel, David and his descendants. The enemies of the Lord came together to destroy the faithful, and many were fearful.

But God consoled His people and gave them great hope, as He promised to stand by them, but they must have faith in Him. If they themselves did not have faith in Him, how would then He help them? They must trust in the divine providence of God, believe in them and sincerely turn away from their rebellious and disobedient ways. The people of God faltered because they have long been distracted by the many temptations of this world, and as a result, they have drifted away and forgotten their roots in God.

But He was willing to forgive them and to overlook their transgressions, if they are willing to listen to Him and to be thoroughly converted to His cause, repenting all of their previous sins. And to that end, He had sent them His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, to be their Lord and Saviour. And yet, when He performed many miraculous deeds before them, their hearts were closed against Him, and they refused to get up and change their old ways of sin.

That was why in the Gospel today, Jesus was cursing several cities in which He had performed those miracles. Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida, and these were cities and towns in Galilee where Jesus did much of His works and ministries in, and these were cities which were predominantly inhabited by the Jews, the descendants of the people of Israel of old.

In order to understand this matter fully, we have to understand the animosity that existed between the Jews and those others who were their neighbours, the Canaanites, Samaritans, Phoenicians who lived in Tyre and Sidon, the Greeks and the Romans. At that time, the region was profoundly multi-racial with peoples from different origins and cultures living together among each other.

As those who belonged to the race and group which God had once chosen to be His people, they felt great pride in that heritage, and over time, that led to contempt against all the others who did not belong to their group, alleging that those people, the pagans and non-Jewish people were unworthy of redemption and salvation.

And yet these people were incapable of showing the dedication and faith as was required of them, and they did not show repentance required for them to be forgiven from their sins. Some of them ignored Jesus, although many accepted and welcomed Him. But there were others like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who rejected Him and cast doubt on His teachings, challenging Him and His disciples wherever they went.

God lamented this lack of faith among His people, even as He had shown them directly His might and power before them. It was just the same after the people of Israel had been brought out of the land of Egypt, when God liberated them through His great power, striking at the Pharaoh and the Egyptians for refusing to let the Israelites go. But then, it was the same as how it was at the time of Jesus. No sooner that He had made them free, they began to wander, and surely we are all familiar with how they had made for themselves the golden calf soon after the Exodus from Egypt.

All these, brothers and sisters in Christ, are reminders for all of us. Temptations are always around us, and they always seek to distract us from our path, trying to turn us into other ways that do not lead to God. And our faith in the Lord is surely not always perfect, as there are certainly times and moments when we face difficulties and we feel that we have no one to turn to.

And surely we also have that feeling that we have been abandoned and no one, even God cared for us. However, we really have to learn to resist those thoughts, and instead of dwelling in fear and uncertainty, we should learn to give our trust to the One and only Being Who can save us from all distress, and to the One Who is always forever faithful even though we have constantly been unfaithful.

Let us all reflect on this, and let us all change our way of life, so that from those who are wayward and unfaithful, we may become faithful once again, not just in appearances and words alone, but also through our actions and in all things that embody who we are. May God help us in this endeavour and may He guide us in our journey to reach out to Him. Amen.