Reflection of the Bible

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Tuesday, 29 June 2021 : Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Solemnity of the two Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, the two Apostles of Rome and the pillars of the Universal Church, representing the unity of the Church in St. Peter and his successors, the Popes as the Lord’s very own Vicars on earth, and the evangelical outreach and missionary efforts of the Church as shown by St. Paul and his numerous efforts and journeys to spread the words of God especially to the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people.

That is why St. Peter was known as the Vicar of Christ and the Prince of the Apostles, to signify his leadership and central role among all the Apostles, as the cornerstone on which the Lord has established His Church, as the firm bedrock of faith, a strong foundation on which He built His Church, the Body of Christ, the union of all the faithful people of God. He is truly Peter, the Rock, the symbolic meaning of the name which the Lord Himself has granted on him.

And St. Paul was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, as the one who had sown the seeds of faith in so many communities all around the Mediterranean and other parts of the world, marking the beginning of the rapid growth of the Church despite the various persecutions and the many trials and challenges that it encountered. St. Paul through his many missionary journeys and the numerous Epistles or letters that he wrote, had a crucial role in the establishment of the various communities of the faithful.

Today, we celebrate their most wonderful life and memory, united together in martyrdom in the Holy City of Rome, the very heart of all Christendom, as both St. Peter and St. Paul by Apostolic traditions, were martyred in that city, the then capital of the great Roman Empire, during the first round of vicious persecutions of Christians. St. Paul was martyred in the immediate aftermath of the Great Fire of Rome by the Roman Emperor Nero, while St. Peter was martyred not very long afterwards during the same reign of the Emperor Nero.

Today we celebrate this great Solemnity in their honour, as the great celebration of the entire Universal Church in union with the Church of Rome, of which St. Peter and St. Paul are both patrons of, by virtue of their martyrdom there, and especially for St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome, through which all the Popes are their successors. Therefore, we celebrate together united as one Church, all in union with our Pope Francis, as the successor of the great Apostle, St. Peter, the first Pope and Vicar of Christ, as well as the great missionary, St. Paul the Apostle.

Today as we celebrate this great Solemnity, we are reminded that the Lord called and chose His Apostles not from among those who considered themselves good and worthy, but He had called and chosen instead those whom He had determined to be worthy in their hearts and minds, for He knows all things in everyone. Take for example, St. Peter the Apostle, who was known as Simon, son of John, Simon bar Jonah, who was a mere fisherman of the lake of Galilee, illiterate, brash and at times, cowardly and unreliable.

How so? St. Peter was the one who suggested to the Lord that he would be ready to die for the sake of the Lord, and had the sword ready by himself, which he used to cut the ears of one of the Temple guards, Malchus, when the Lord was arrested at the Gardens of Gethsemane. Yet, very soon afterwards, he would deny knowing the Lord before those who asked him, not just once but three times. One may indeed wonder why the Lord chose such a person to be His Apostle, and less so still, why He made him to be His Vicar and the leader of the entire Universal Church.

That is because God knows the heart, and He knows the faith and love that St. Peter had for Him since the very beginning. He regretted very much his denial of the Lord and wept bitterly after having committed such an action, and did not give in to despair like Judas Iscariot, who killed himself after betraying the Lord. Instead, when the Lord was risen, he was one of the first to go forth and look out for Him, and he was the first to recognise the Lord at Galilee, when He appeared before them on the shore as the disciples were fishing.

When the Lord Jesus asked St. Peter after that occasion, whether he loved Him, St. Peter responded in all the three times that the Lord asked him, that he loved Him and how the Lord also knew that he loved Him from deep within his heart. This symbolised the Lord’s forgiveness of St. Peter for his three times denial at the moment of His arrest and Passion. The Lord reaffirmed His love for St. Peter just as the Apostle also reaffirmed his love for the Lord, and confirmed his dedication and desire to follow Him to the very end.

That was how St. Peter responded to his calling, and he went on leading the Church together with the other Apostles, resolving conflicts between the different factions within the Church and establishing communities of the faithful in various places, becoming the first Bishop of Antioch, where there was the first stable community of believers. He went on to Rome eventually, and as the persecution of Christians occurred, he was arrested, put in chains and eventually was crucified. Not wanting to die in the same way as his Lord and Master, he humbly asked to be crucified upside-down, and died a martyr at the place where the great Papal Basilica of St. Peter now stands.

St. Paul meanwhile was also the most unlikely of Apostles and servant of God. He was once Saul, the greatest enemy of Christians in the very earliest days of the Church. He was a young and zealous Pharisee who wanted nothing less than the destruction of the Church and the punishment for all those who followed Christ and His way. He went around from places to places, arresting and persecuting many Christians, and through him many ended up suffering and in prison, from this brutal first persecution of Christians in Jerusalem and Judea.

But he encountered the Lord on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, and the Lord called him to follow Him. Saul therefore repented from his previous actions and decided to be baptised a Christian himself, and from then on, he became a most ardent and courageous defender of the Christian faith. In St. Paul therefore we see the example of one who has also embraced God’s call wholeheartedly and followed Him.

St. Paul went from a persecutor and enemy of Christians to be the Lord’s most ardent defender, himself often being in danger for his life, and was persecuted many times, enduring prison and sufferings for the sake of the Lord. From someone who had a bright future among the Pharisees, respected and with prestige, St. Paul chose to follow the Lord instead and abandon worldly comfort for the truth of God, which he proclaimed courageously before all.

He also defended the rights of the Gentiles, especially those who had chosen to turn towards the Lord and became Christians. Against all those who wanted to impose the strict Pharisaical Judaic laws on the Gentile Christians, St. Paul stood his ground and managed to confirm that such imposition was unwarranted and unnecessary, and hence, laid the foundation for an even more rapid acceptance of the faith by many more among the Gentiles.

He was also martyred in Rome, at the end of his many missionary journeys, as he chose to appeal to the Emperor over the false accusations by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, when he stood there in trial. By that, he went to the capital of the Empire, and began to minister to the people there. He was martyred in the aftermath of the Great Fire of Rome which was likely orchestrated by the Emperor Nero himself but was blamed on Christians, who henceforth were persecuted and killed as martyrs. St. Paul was beheaded at that same time.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the Solemnity in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul today, let us all therefore remember the great faith and love these two Apostles had for the Lord, as well as the courage and dedication by which they committed themselves to the Lord. Let us all realise that we should also follow in their footsteps and walk in the path that the Lord has called us to follow through, and be faithful and dedicated as the two Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul had been faithful. This is our Christian calling, brothers and sisters, what we need to do as those whom God has called and chosen.

Today, on this special day for the Church, let us all pray together for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the successor of St. Peter and the current Vicar of Christ. Let us pray for his intentions and seek the Lord’s guidance that He may always bless and guide His Church, and that He will always be with us all through the many trials and challenges we may encounter in life. May He strengthen us in our faith and give us the courage to remain faithful to Him, and to walk in His path at all times. May all of us be ever closer to the Lord and be united as always in the union we share, under the leadership of our Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Amen.

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Monday, 28 June 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the love and mercy of God, as well as what it truly means to be a follower and believer of God, to be genuine Christians in all things. We have to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and with all of our strength, and we have to put our trust in Him always, no matter what challenges and trials may come our way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the story of the Book of Genesis in our first reading today, we heard the interesting exchange between God and Abraham with regards to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God revealed to Abraham that He was about to lay waste to Sodom and Gomorrah, and destroy both cities for the great sins and wickedness that they had committed. Yet at the same time, Lot, the cousin and relative of Abraham was living in that place with his family.

Therefore, Abraham, knowing how the Lord’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah might harm his relative, he tried to reason with the Lord and dissuade Him from such a plan, as destroying the whole entire two cities might indeed bring death even to the righteous who were perhaps still living in them, including that of Lot and his own family members. It was likely that Abraham believed in Lot and his family, and trusted that they were still faithful and righteous even when living amongst the wicked.

Abraham tried to reason with the Lord and tried to persuade Him not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but in the end, although he might have genuinely hoped that there were just a few of the righteous in the two cities, be it just fifty, forty-five, thirty, twenty or even just ten of them in the cities, that the Lord would spare the entire two cities for their sake. Yet, in truth there were not even ten who could have been saved. It seemed that only Lot and his immediate family alone were righteous and good.

But God still cared for them, and He sent two of His Angels to warn and lead Lot and his family out of harm’s way before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was to happen. Except for Lot’s wife, who hesitated and looked back when the Angels had told them explicitly not to do so, the whole family of Lot was saved, when the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were wiped out of the face of the whole world.

Then we heard in our Gospel passage today, of the Lord’s words and encounter with one of the teachers of the Law, who wanted to follow the Lord and believed in Him, and the Lord told him frankly that He did not even have any place to stay or lay His head in, when the teacher of the Law asked to see His place, and He also told another disciple, who wanted to turn back and bury his family members first, metaphorically, that those who did so, did not have their hearts and minds fully focused on the Lord.

Linking what we have heard in our Scripture passages today and how the story of Lot’s wife and the disciple who wanted to go back to bury his dead family, and the Lord saying to the teacher of the Law that He had no place to even lay His head, we are all reminded that to be Christians, more often than not we have to make great sacrifices and abandon various desires we have, and resist the many worldly temptations present all around us.

Are we able to do so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able to walk righteously in the path of the Lord, Who loves us and cherishes us, and reminding ourselves that while the Lord’s love for us is ever great and wonderful, but the effects and consequences for our unrepented sins, wickedness and evils prevent us from truly receiving the fullness of His love and grace? What we heard today from the Scripture passages remind us that as Christians, we are all called to a new life and existence in faith.

Today, we all celebrate the feast of one of the renowned saints of antiquity, namely that of St. Irenaeus, holy bishop and servant of God, and martyr of the Church. He was remembered well for his great piety and many important works on theology and various other aspects of the faith, and especially his efforts in countering and opposing the corrupting influence of heresies such as gnosticism. He dedicated himself to his flock as the bishop of Lyons, in defending the faithful from heresies and in caring for their spiritual needs.

St. Irenaeus defended the true faith, Apostolic tradition and Church teachings from those who sought to undermine and destroy them, and also from those who wished to subvert and alter those faithful traditions and truths for their own selfish and misguided purposes and ambitions. At the same time he also protected and helped to lead his flock through a difficult time of oppression and persecution from the Roman authorities.

He remained firm and faithful to the end, as he was most likely persecuted and put to death as part of one of the persecutions of Christians in the region by the Roman authorities. Nonetheless, the courage, faith and the many good works that St. Irenaeus had done for the sake of all of God’s faithful people had indeed inspired countless others to follow in his footsteps.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how about us then? Have we been inspired by St. Irenaeus and our other holy predecessors by their action and faith? Let us all turn towards the Lord therefore with a new heart and with a new faith, and let us commit ourselves anew to Him, not turning back anymore and resist the temptations that distract us from our sole focus on Him. May God be with us all in this journey of faith, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 June 2021 : Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to each and every one of us and reminding us that we are all God’s beloved ones, and we have been intended for greater and more marvellous things by the Lord, because by His love, freely given to us, we have been so fortunate, for God to be so patient with us, so loving and so kind, despite all of our stubbornness and disobedience.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Wisdom, the truth that God never intended for any one of us to endure suffering in any of its forms or to experience death. All of us were meant to share fully in the love of God, in all of its fullness, the overflowing love from the perfect love of the Most Holy Trinity, by which He intended us all to exist with Him in perfect bliss and harmony, to enjoy forever the happiness and joy that can be found together with Him alone.

When God created the world and the whole universe, as we heard in the Book of Genesis, everything was good, and all things have no flaw or evil in them. It was the same with us mankind as well, as when God created Adam and Eve to dwell in the Gardens of Eden, they were meant to live there and share the bliss of perfection and goodness with God, not to suffer in any way or to endure death. But our ancestors allowed themselves to be swayed by desire, by the falsehoods of the devil.

That was why, they ended up disobeying the Lord and eating the forbidden fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The devil was able to convince them that they would be alright in disobeying God and that they would be able to gain immensely from such an action, by knowing all things good and evil, and therefore becoming like God Himself. It was pride and hubris, our human desires and greed therefore that led us astray and into our downfall.

Yet, despite all of that, God Who knew the sins and wickedness we committed, He did not crush or destroy us all, those whom He had made from His own image and as the most beloved of all of His creations. He gave them all a chance and even promised them all the salvation that would eventually come to them, through the Woman, as written in the Book of Genesis, and which would then come to fruition in Mary and her Son, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole world.

God could have crushed us there and then, to destroy sin and evil at its infancy, so that no more evil could exist in His presence. We must not forget that God is all good and perfect, and no sin can exist in His presence. When in the Old Testament, it was mentioned that man cannot survive in the presence of God or in seeing God, that is because, our sins and evil would destroy us first, as we cannot stand the perfect goodness of God.

It is our sins and evils that will judge us and bring us into damnation, and unless we remove these from ourselves, then we are bound towards the path of suffering and death. All of us perish because of our sins, as death is the punishment for sin, and sin came about because of our disobedience against God. As long as we have sin in us, we shall always remain sundered and separated from God, and in the end, left with nothing but eternal regret and suffering.

Yet, as mentioned, we are all indeed so fortunate because the Lord Himself did not want any of these to happen to us. He loved us all dearly and He created us all in the first place because of this love, and as such, He has always patiently waited on us to return to Him, sought for us and sent messengers, prophets, and servants, one after another to call us, to help us and lead us on the way to return to Him, that we may be fully reconciled with Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the story of the Lord’s two wondrous miracles, which He performed before many, as the sign of God’s salvation and love for His people, for each and every one of us, as well as to be the undeniable proof that the Lord alone has the power to save us, to heal us and to free us from our troubles and challenges, from the chains of slavery under sin and the tyranny of death that we are all suffering from.

When the woman suffering for many years from the haemorrhage or bleeding problem came to the Lord with faith, seeking for healing from Him, the Lord healed her and restored her to good health, because of her faith in Him. The Lord indeed could have healed her and any of other worldly problems, issues and troubles, but it was her faith which allowed her to be healed, not just physically, but also in fact, spiritually as well. She had faith in the Lord and did all she could to reach out to Him, and this is something that we should take note of.

It was the same with the synagogue official, Jairus, who came seeking the Lord for help, for Him to heal his ailing daughter, who had faith in the Lord and believed that He could heal her and make her whole. And when later on, the people told him and the Lord that Jairus’ daughter had passed away from her illness, he still kept faith in the Lord and believed in the Lord, even when others who were there and weeped for the daughter laughed at the Lord for suggesting that Jairus’ daughter was just sleeping.

They kept faith in the Lord and trusted in the Lord, and God showed them and everyone, that they are to trust in Him and put their faith in Him, and not on other things. For He has healed something that was considered incurable, in how He healed the haemorrhage in the woman with bleeding, and then He did something that was considered impossible, in resurrecting a dead girl back into life, showing that He is truly the Lord and Master of all, Lord over life and death.

This means that not even sin and death can keep us away from God. As St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Romans, ‘Who can separate us from the love of God?’, a reminder that God’s love is even more powerful than sin and death. And by His love and grace, we can be forgiven, healed and reconciled with Him, and through Him we shall gain the promise of eternal life. Yet, more often than not, it is we who refused to accept the Lord, His love and mercy.

We are often stubborn and we often hardened our hearts and minds, refusing to embrace the Lord’s most generous compassion and forgiveness. This is why we ended up falling deeper into sin, and eventually into eternal damnation. If we have no faith in the Lord and refused to accept Him, then there is no hope for us, and we will remain outside of His love and grace. And yet, still, the Lord tries His best to reach out to us and calls us to return to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are therefore called to the love that God has for us, and realise just how fortunate we are to have been beloved in such a way. We must never take God’s love for granted, and we have to appreciate the patience that God has for us all these while. Let us all turn ourselves wholeheartedly towards the Lord, and let us seek Him with renewed commitment and conviction. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us, that we may be ever faithful to Him and the Covenant which He has established with all of us. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are of the Lord’s steadfast love for all of us, His people, the love that He has shown us all the time, as He faithfully kept to the Covenant that He has established with each and every one of us as He made it with our forefather, Abraham. God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and all of us, to be His beloved ones, blessed and protected by His love and care.

In our first reading today we heard about Abraham and how God came by to visit him at his tent, at the moment when He was about to fulfil the promise of a son to Abraham, and Abraham immediately recognised the Lord coming towards his place, welcoming Him and listening to whatever He was about to say to him. The Lord reaffirmed His promises to Abraham and told him that Sarah, his wife would bear a son as foretold, the son through whom God’s blessings would be given, to be the progenitor of many nations.

Sarah who was hidden in the tent wondered if such a thing was possible, considering that she had been barren for so many years and had by then been quite old in age, and contextually, that had also been around more than twenty years since Abraham began to journey from his ancestral lands to Canaan. Since the day of the promised son had not yet come, Sarah perhaps began to wonder if she would ever have any son at all. But the Lord knew what was in her heart and mind, and told her through Abraham, that everything is possible for God. In the end, everything happened as intended by the Lord.

Then in our Gospel passage today we heard about the moment when an army centurion approached the Lord asking Him to heal one of his servants, a most famous encounter which is in fact immortalised within every celebration of the Holy Mass. The army centurion or captain, who was most likely a Roman given the situation at the time, believed in the Lord and had faith in Him that He could save His servant from the brink of death, and sought Him to ask Him for the grace of healing.

And not only that he personally sought the Lord, showing great humility, as being a Roman, he was considered as superior and a man of his rank should not have directly sought the Lord. It was proven that he was a man of great power when later on he himself said that all those who were under him obeyed all of his commands. And yet, he humbled himself before the Lord, and asked Him for the command of healing, effectively putting him at the subordinate position, acknowledging the Lord Jesus as his true Lord and Master.

He also humbly refused to allow the Lord to come into his house, as contextually we need to understand that at that time, to enter the house of a Gentile or non-Jew, a pagan, would be deemed as improper and taboo, and would have made one unclean before the Law. In fact, many would have even stayed away from foreigners and Gentiles altogether. But the Lord reached out to the army centurion and even wanted to go to his place to heal the servant. The army centurion must have been aware of the cultural sensitivities and the issues that would have been created by the visit of the increasingly famous Jesus at that time.

Hence, he humbly asked the Lord to command him and acknowledging His power and authority, put his whole trust in His ability to cure and make his servant whole once again. The Lord was indeed impressed by this faith and made the centurion as an example of one who was often looked down and being prejudiced against by the Jewish people, and yet, showed more faith in the Lord than the supposed children and descendants of Abraham. Contrast the faith of the army centurion with the lack of faith that Sarah had, and we can see how first of all, we need to believe in the Lord and put our faith in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all be reminded by what we have heard in our Scripture passages, through the words of the Lord and His reassuring promises, that we all need to trust in Him and put our faith in Him. Let us not be worried or be fearful anymore. Instead, let us all seek the Lord with renewed faith and commitment, knowing that He loves each and every one of us, without exception. Just as He has reached out even to the army centurion, He shall also reach out to all of us as well, as His love is universal. But are we humble enough like the centurion to realise just how sinful and wicked we have been?

Let us all remember whenever we are about to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, of the army centurion’s words, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed’. Let these words be truly meant by our lips and our tongue, and not merely left as words alone. Instead, let us all be sincere in seeking the Lord’s love, mercy and forgiveness, and draw ever closer to Him and His grace. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 25 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard of the moments when God revealed to His people just how beloved they are, and how faithful He is to His Covenant with us, as we heard in the first reading today from the Book of Genesis how He reaffirmed Abraham of His promises, that He would give him the son that He has promised to be born of Sarah, his wife. Through that son, Isaac, God would make Abraham the father of many nations, just as He promised, and everything did come true eventually.

At that time, Abraham had also managed to sire a child with Sarah’s slave Hagar, upon the instruction made by Sarah herself, as any child born of the wife’s slave would and could be considered as the legal child of the wife. Sarah as well as Abraham were worried that they would not have a child in the end, and hence resorted to such a way to conceive a child, not waiting for the Lord’s promise wholeheartedly.

Yet, despite this, the child born of Abraham and Hagar, named Ishmael, while not the child promised or sanctioned by God, was still blessed by God as we heard in our reading today, still being a child of Abraham, and would eventually become a father of many nations himself. In the end, God fulfilled the promises He had made to His faithful servant, Abraham, above and beyond what He could and should have done.

In our Gospel passage today, then we heard of the Lord at the moment when a leper came to seek Him to be healed, and asked Him to cure him of his predicament. The Lord cured the man and healed him of his leprosy and told him to follow what Moses had commanded to the Israelites on the matter of leprosy and being healed from it. At that time, the Lord did not yet want to reveal Himself and yet, He has pity and love for the leper.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all realise through all that we had heard today, just how beloved we are and how fortunate we are that God wants to love us and make His Covenant with us. It is not only just that but God had also deemed us to be His own beloved children. While we fell into sin and disobeyed Him again and again, He still loved us and while punishing and chastising us, He still helped us and guided us down to the right path, and patiently helped us along the way.

Yet, many of us are still unaware of this fact and many of us still ignore the Lord and refuse to follow the Lord despite all that He had done for us. Many of us Christians ourselves despite what we profess to believe, we have not genuinely and sincerely loved Him in the way we should have. Instead, like Sarah and Abraham, we resorted to other means besides entrusting ourselves fully to the Lord, preferring to do things our own way instead of remembering His promises and reassurances.

This is not what we should be doing, brothers and sisters in Christ. As God’s chosen people, and those whom He has considered as His own people, and blessed all these while, we should begin to appreciate everything that He had done for us. God has loved us all since the very beginning and we have to remember how fortunate we are. God could have destroyed us and crushed us for our insolence, our disobedience and wicked sins, but He is still patient with us, no matter what.

Let us all therefore turn towards the Lord from now on with a renewed heart and love for Him, and let us be ever closer to Him, seeking Him wholeheartedly and dedicating ourselves ever more to Him with each and every passing moments. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless us in our every good works and endeavours, always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 June 2021 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the occasion of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, celebrating the moment when St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah and the Lord was born into this world, marking the moment when God began to reveal the truth about His plans and designs for all of us. Through St. John the Baptist, God would show Himself and fulfil what He had promised to all of us, the salvation and eternal life that He has in mind for us.

St. John the Baptist had that very crucial role as the one who would reveal the Messiah to the world, and he had been prophesied since the old days of the previous prophets, as we heard in our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah. That is why his role was so important and why he has been so highly regarded in the Church, honoured as the only saint besides Mary, the Mother of God, to have his nativity or birth celebrated.

St. John the Baptist was the relative of the Lord Jesus, as Elizabeth, his mother was the cousin of Mary, the Mother of the Lord. His birth and in fact conception, was miraculous as Elizabeth was already in her old age, and she had not been able to conceive a child previously. However, to the Lord nothing indeed is impossible, just as He has been able to make Sarah, the wife of Abraham to bear a child in her old age, and how Hannah, the mother of Samuel, was able to bear him after a long time being barren.

But it is not the familial connection which made St. John the Baptist to be such an important figure, but rather his commitment, his conviction and faith, his efforts and all the time that he had spent in fulfilling the most important mission that had been entrusted to him. He dedicated himself to be the one to prepare the path for the coming of the Lord, giving himself to the ministry by which he called so many people to turn away from their sins and to embrace God’s mercy and love.

St. John the Baptist called on the people to abandon their wicked and sinful ways and to embrace God’s mercy, by calling them to be baptised with sincere heart, that through the baptism, they would come to embrace the Lord and commit themselves to abandon their wicked ways. St. John the Baptist even confronted the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were sent to him to question his actions and his authority, and rebuked them as wicked leaders who misguided the people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. John the Baptist gave his all to the Lord, and committed himself to Him, even to stand up against rulers and kings, the powerful Pharisees and others, which cost him his freedom, brought to jail by king Herod for his rebuke of the adulterous behaviour the latter committed, and eventually, as we all know, he would die a martyr of the faith, defending his faith to the very end. This here is a most faithful servant of God, who gave his all to his Lord and Master.

Not only that, but he was also humble and upright, when he willingly let his disciples to go and follow the Lord instead of him, as he was merely the Herald, and when he saw the One Whom he was prophesying and preaching about gaining in stature and popularity, he was happy and elated rather than being jealous, unless what most other people would have done, were they in the same situation faced by St. John the Baptist, showing how he was indeed a servant of God who put God first and foremost in his life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord with a renewed faith, conviction and zeal, and with the desire to love Him and serve Him much as St. John the Baptist had done in his life. As we recall the memory of this great saint and rejoice in his Nativity today, we are all called to follow in his footsteps and to be inspired by his faith and dedication in fulfilling the mission entrusted to him by the Lord, his commitment and conviction to do all things for the greater glory of God.

Let us all therefore inspire one another to live our faith and our lives as best as we are able to, in being upright and just, in being faithful and committed in all things, just as we all have our own calling and responsibilities in life as Christians living in our world today. May all of us be good examples and inspirations to one another, that we may help each other in our journey towards the Lord. May God bless us all, in all things, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Covenant which God has established with Abraham, our father in faith, the Covenant He made because He remembered His promise to those who have faith in Him. The Lord reassured Abraham that by his faith, he and his descendants shall be forever blessed and be in the grace of God.

The Lord made His Covenant and sealed it with him after Abraham remained firm and true, dedicating himself faithfully and committed himself all the way, and God knew Abraham for who he is, as He knows everything in each and every one of our hearts and minds, even to our deepest secrets and things that we ourselves may not even be aware of. And God knew that Abraham truly had faith in Him and loved Him with sincere and genuine intentions.

He promised Abraham that He will bless all of His descendants and that they will number as numerous as the stars in the skies and the sands on the shores of the seas. And everything did come to happen just as the Lord willed it, as Abraham became the father of many nations, and not only those who had been able to trace their descent to him, but also all who now call him and consider him as their father in faith, including that of all of us.

Then in our Gospel passage today we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and the people using a parable regarding the matter of good fruits and good trees. He mentioned to the disciples, many of whom would have been familiar to the agricultural terms mentioned, how the trees that are good will produce good fruits, for at least most of the time, and they are unlikely to produce bad fruits. On the contrary, if the trees are bad in nature, then it is also unlikely that they will produce fruits that are good in quality.

And linking to what we also now know about the passing of these traits in the plants, we know that those traits came from the generation that came before them, and those earlier generations themselves got those traits from their previous generations. What this means is that, first of all, since all of us are in one way or another, the descendants of Abraham, coming from his descent by blood or by faith, then by right, we should have the same good traits that Abraham had with us.

However, the reality is that, as the Lord mentioned, there are bad seeds and bad trees among us, all those who have led wicked and rotten lives, disobedient against God and His ways, refusing to follow Him and following the whims of their own desires and greed. How did this happen, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is just like how plants and other living things can change due to certain things that happen in their genes or the environment.

For us, we allowed the corruption of sin and the wickedness it brought to mislead us, to change us and to bring us into the wrong path. It is often that we refuse to allow the Lord to enter into our lives and to help and guide us, and we often trust in our own strength and power, in our own intellect and ideas, that we ended up on the wrong path. This is how we ended up becoming the bad seeds and the bad trees, producing rotten and bad fruits because we have no real and genuine faith within us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today recall the faith and the dedication showed by our father in faith, Abraham, in all that he had done, and in everything he had showed us in his life. We have received this faith, the revelation of truth, and all these knowledge. It is then up to us to decide whether we want to follow the path that the Lord has shown us, following the examples of Abraham, our father in faith, in this Covenant that the Lord has made and renewed with all of us.

May the Lord be with us and bless us in our every actions and way of life. May God strengthen each and every one of us in our faith, that we may be ever closer to Him and we may persevere through the challenges and trials we encounter through life. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, and St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops) or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we heard first from the Book of Genesis, the story between Abraham and Lot, and we heard about their disagreements and the conflicts between their employees and shepherds, who vied for the rich and fertile lands for their flocks and possessions. In the end, Abraham and Lot decided to part ways and divide the land among them.

God would then continue to guide Abraham, while at the same time also still watching over Lot, as we know in how Lot would later be involved in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham meanwhile would continue to grow in God’s grace, and he continued to remain faithful and obedient to the path and guidance that the Lord has shown to him. As the Lord called him, Abraham responded with faith and gave his all to follow his Lord and Master.

Then in our Gospel today, the Lord spoke to His disciples, with regards to the matter of how they all should seek what is holy and not to throw all those things because of the temptations that they might face along the way. He told them all that the path towards the kingdom of God is not one that is easy and simple. Instead, there would likely be plenty of obstacles and challenges that would face them as they proceed forward with faith.

All of these serve as reminders for all of us brothers and sisters, that we should not allow ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations and allures of worldly glory, fame, wealth and many other tempting desires that can lead us astray from our path and distract us from our focus and faith in the Lord. That is why today we should seek the inspirations from the saints, our holy predecessors whose memory we recall this day at their feast.

St. Paulinus of Nola was a bishop in the early Church, who was remembered and renowned for his great piety, steadfast faith in the Lord, and the dedication with which he devoted himself to the members of his flock. While he was born into an influential senatorial family, he chose to follow the Lord and leave behind everything, all the glory and all the opportunities that he had, and committed himself fully to the Lord.

St. Paulinus of Nola spent much time in furthering the studies of the faith, writing extensively on many matters of the faith, and he was also deeply involved in serving his community, spending the time and effort to reach out to more and more of the people in his community, and doing all that he could in order to bring more and more people to believe in the Lord. He devoted himself wholly to this calling, and this is something that we can be inspired from.

Then, we also celebrate the feast of the two courageous and holy martyrs of the ‘reformation’ in England, when King Henry VIII forcefully sundered the Church there from the Universal Church in personal pursuit of family matter and succession, in satisfying his ego and desire for dynastic success, which led to the painful splintering and division of the Church, which effects still lasted to this very day, even after hundreds of years.

Back then, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher were among the few who stood against the king’s corrupted desire and efforts to separate the Church in England from the Universal Church. St. Thomas More himself was the trusted Chancellor of the King, who enjoyed close confidence from the king, while St. John Fisher was the influential Bishop of Rochester and one of the preeminent bishop in all of England. He was eventually made a Cardinal for his faith and dedication to the Church.

All of the entire kingdom, all the people and especially the high officials had been made to obey the king’s new decision and ruling in breaking ties from the Pope in Rome, as well as for various other changes and actions that the king had decided and taken. This was often done so under the certain threat of suffering and death. Some would eventually abandon their faith in exchange for guarantees of safety and comfort in life, while many others remained faithful.

St. Thomas More remained faithful to the true Mother Church and opposed the king, even while knowing that such a choice and action could not only just cause him to lose his role as Chancellor, but that could very well end up with his death. Yet, he chose to remain faithful, and resigned his chancellorship rather than betraying the true Church and faith in God. He was arrested and imprisoned, and eventually was put to death, faithful to the end. The same fate faced St. John Fisher, who also courageously spoke out in defence of the faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by all these examples showed by our holy predecessors, and let us all follow their actions and faith, that we too may glorify the Lord by our lives, and be inspiration ourselves to many more other people, many of whom had not yet known the Lord, and are still living in the darkness of sin and ignorance of God’s truth. May the Lord continue to guide us, and may He strengthen our faith at all times, that we may walk ever more faithfully in His path. Amen.

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Monday, 21 June 2021 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the story of Abraham, our father in faith and the father of many nations, who was the faithful and dedicated servant of the Lord, as we heard how he embarked on the journey from his homeland and followed the Lord’s call, and leaving everything behind, leading a new life entrusted to the Lord alone. He listened to the Lord and obeyed Him, and for his faith and dedication, God blessed him and made His Covenant with him.

Abraham, then named Abram, put his life in the hands of the Lord, and despite all the wealth and power he had, he allowed the Lord to lead the way for him, and to guide him through the challenges that he would face throughout life. He allowed the Lord to make him into His most worthy servant, that through him and his exemplary actions, he might indeed inspire so many people, many among his own descendants and others to believe in the Lord as well, which includes each and every one of us, who can call Abraham as our father in faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of Abraham and his faith and dedication to the Lord is a reminder to each and every one of us that as Christians we have to be like our father in faith in the way we carry on our own lives and actions. It means that we should be genuine in how we believe in the Lord and in fully entrusting ourselves to Him, and truly mean what we believe, being wholehearted and sincere in following Him and not being hypocrites as Christians, that is as those who profess to have faith in God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus telling His disciples not to be hypocrites in how they lived their faith, and not to be judgmental towards others, in the sense that they sought to look down on others and glorifying oneself just because they thought that they were better than others, superior or more worthy than their fellow brethren. The Lord told them all that often they failed to realise that the same things that they accused others of wrongdoing, these they themselves had been doing, even without them realising it.

It is therefore important for all of us to recognise that we are all sinners, unworthy and wicked, and we have no right to look down on others or to despise others just because we think that we are in any way better than them. Instead, on the contrary, we should seek our fellow brethren and show concern and care for them. If we see someone who is struggling with their faith and life and who is falling into the path of sin, instead of looking down on them or judging them, we should instead help them and support them, showing them care and concern instead of despising them.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whose faith and commitment to the Lord should be inspiration to all of us in how we should be role model ourselves in living our faith wholeheartedly in the manner that he and the other saints had done, and in how Abraham, our father in faith had done in his life. Today, we are all called to look upon the examples set by this holy member of the Society of Jesus who devoted himself completely to the Lord even since such a young age.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga was born into a noble family, as the eldest born no less, and he was expected to succeed to his father’s titles and inherit his possessions. However, as he experienced and became exposed to the brutality and wickedness of the society of his time, gradually he turned to the Christian faith and to the life of saints which then slowly began to lead him to walk down a path of commitment to the Lord, abandoning eventually all of his inheritance and status, and joined the Society of Jesus.

He dedicated himself to the Lord and to the ministry of those whom he gave himself, his time and efforts to, such as the sick and the poor, which at that time were particularly affected by a great epidemic spreading in the community. And he kept on doing his best to care for all those people despite himself eventually succumbing to the disease, and dying at a very young age, faithful to the Lord and loving towards his fellow brothers and sisters to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the examples showed by St. Aloysius Gonzaga that in everything that we say and do, in our every actions in life we will always be exemplary and strive to do our best in loving God, in caring for our fellow brothers and sisters. Let us all trust the Lord more and grow ever deeper in our faith and devotion from now on, that we can become ever more genuine in our Christian faith from now on. May God bless each and every one of us, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 June 2021 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we are all reminded that we should put our trust in the Lord and not to let fear to cloud our judgment or mislead us down the wrong path. We should trust in the Lord and how in Him alone we can gain true assurance and true hope, and through Him, we shall never be disappointed or need to be afraid anymore, as He is always with us, by our side, and He has always watched over us, and in Him we shall find succour and true joy in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Job, God’s words to Job stating how all things, even the mighty roaring waves and all sorts of forces of nature have a limit, and God has power over all of them delineating what each and every things in nature can do, and manages the scope of their appearance and influence. Contextually, this conversation between God and Job came to be because Job, who was God’s faithful servant, encountered great misfortune as many of us would have been familiar with his story.

Job remained firm in his faith despite the efforts of the devil who tried to test him, tempt him and coerce him through his misfortunes and sufferings in order to make him abandon the Lord. He did not blame God but he did wonder and ask the Lord why he had to suffer all that he had suffered, and in fact, blamed himself for his misfortune. And thus, for most of the Book of Job, the Lord brought him to a journey of discovery, as He revealed Himself to be in charge of everything, and how there are just so many things that are beyond our control and power.

But that is also exactly why we are all so fortunate that the Lord is always by our side and we always have Him loving us and caring for us. The Lord has always given us His attention and love at all times because we are His beloved ones, and we are precious to Him. The Lord has always put us as a priority, for after all, did He not give us the best and most ultimate gift of all gifts, by giving us His own Beloved Son, to be our Lord and Saviour. He gave it all for our sake that through His Son, we may find our way to eternal life and salvation in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why as we recall what we have just heard in our Scripture readings today, we are all called to look at the Lord and put our trust in Him. For just as He has reassured His disciples and shown His might before all of them, we too should put our trust in Him. We should not be afraid of those obstacles, trials and challenges that we encounter throughout our lives, just as those disciples should not be afraid of the threats that the waves and the wind brought to them.

The Lord was in the boat together with His disciples, who were all representative of all of us, and the boat itself symbolises the Church. The great waves and the wind facing the boat, which threatened to sink the boat in fact represent the difficulties and challenges that are facing us in this world, in our path of life, facing us be it as individuals or as the Church of God together. But we should not be afraid because the Lord is with us, just as He was with His disciples, which symbolises His union with the Church and His presence in our midst.

We should not be afraid like those disciples who feared for their lives and doubted the Lord. They allowed their fears and uncertainties to sway their hearts and minds, that they lost faith in the Lord and failed to trust in Him, when they though that their end surely had come. The Lord hence chastised them and reminded them to keep faith and to trust in Him, as He calmed the wind and rebuked the waves, just as He has once reassured and reminded Job, that all things are under God’s control and power, and as long as we trust in Him, we have nothing to fear at all.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to entrust ourselves to Him and believe in Him, or are we going to allow fear and worldly concerns to affect us and to lead us down the path to ruin? Let us all keep this in mind as we discern the path that we are going to take forward in life and also as one Church, one Body of all the believers in Christ. Let us all stay firm in our faith and commitment to the Lord, and not to abandon Him or the Church, for if we abandon Him for false leads of safety and false hope, then we surely shall perish, just as those who jump off the boat in the storm will surely drown and sink.

Let us hence renew our faith in the Lord and strive to love Him just as much as He has loved us first. God has been so generous in loving us and caring for us all these time, all along. If He has loved us so patiently despite all of our stubborn refusal to follow Him and even our betrayals and infidelities, then we should appreciate how beloved we are and strive to return Him the same love that we should have given Him. Let us all grow together in our faith and love, and commit ourselves anew to the Lord with a new zealous faith from now on.

May the Lord be with us and may He guide and lead us down the right path, and give us the courage and strength to walk down this path faithfully, each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, and may He help us to love Him more and more and trust in Him in all things. Amen.