Reflection of the Bible

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Monday, 23 June 2025 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to have true and genuine faith in the Lord, in everything that we say and do in life, so that we will not lose our trust and faith in Him even when we may be facing hardships and challenges in our path. We should always be sincere in living our lives with faith, in dedicating our every efforts and works for the greater glory of God. We must not be hypocrites who profess to have faith in the Lord and yet, in our actions, words and way of life, in our interactions with one another, we do not live in the manner that we have professed and claimed to believe in. If we behave in that way, then we will be judged by that lack of faith and hypocrisy that we have.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account from the Book of Genesis in which the Lord told Abram, who would later on be known as Abraham, to come and follow Him to the land that He would show to him. Abram at that time was already nearing hundred in age, and was still childless in his marriage to his wife, Sarai. God promised Abram that he and his descendants would inherit all those lands and that Abram would become the father of many nations, despite being childless at the time. Abram trusted in God and therefore, he left all the good life he had in the land of his ancestors behind, from the land of Ur in Mesopotamia and from the lands of Terah, his father in the land of Harran, to go to the place which God had called him to go to.

In Abram we can see the great faith that he had in God, despite all that he had otherwise without God. He could have stayed on in comfort where he had been well established in, and he did not have to go through the challenges and the difficulties he had to face in following God, and yet, he still followed the Lord nonetheless, because he trusted wholly and completely in the Lord, devoting himself to walk in the path that he has been shown by the Lord. Even though he has not yet see the fruits and concrete proof of his faith, he still followed the Lord nonetheless, because he truly believed in Him, and it was this great and enduring faith that Abram had in the Lord which brought him to be so blessed by the Lord, who knew the true love and faith that Abram had in Him.

This is an important reminder for each and every one of us that as Christians, all of us should also have this kind of faith in the Lord as well, that we should always trust the Lord wholeheartedly and not be easily distracted and tempted by all sorts of worldly temptations and distractions which may keep us away from the true faith in the Lord and from following Him with great faith and dedication. Each and every one of us as Christians should always put the Lord at the heart and centre of everything that we do in life. Unless we live our lives in accordance to our Christian faith and beliefs, we will easily lose track of our lives and paths, and we may end up walking away from God and from His assurance of salvation, into destruction and eternal damnation.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord’s teachings to His disciples and followers telling them all that they should not be hypocrites in their faith in God, and they should not seek to criticise others for their shortcomings while they themselves were also full of shortcomings, faults and sins themselves. This was the exact attitude which many of the religious elites and leaders at the time of the Lord’s ministry had shown, like those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the members of the chief priests and the elders, many among whom had been hypocrites in their way of living their faith, that while they imposed heavy burdens on the strict observances of the Law, they themselves had not been faithful in fulfilling them all, and they had not been doing them for the purpose of serving God alone.

Instead, many among them often carried out those actions of piety and faith out of the desire to be praised for their faith and obedience to God, and for the others to look up upon them. In essence, they allowed their pride and desire to lead them astray in their path towards God and in neglecting the mission and work which God had entrusted to them, as they were in fact entrusted with the care of all those who have been put under their jurisdiction. They put heavy burdens and obligations on others, and were openly prejudiced against those whom they deemed to be spiritually inferior and less worthy than them. All of these, coupled with their ignorance and blindness to the sins which they themselves committed, brought them ever further from the Lord instead of closer, and this is what the Lord does not want to happen to us all as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to reflect and discern carefully our path in life as we all listen to the words of the Sacred Scriptures just as we have received and heard today. Let us all continue to remind ourselves that it is important for us to have true, living and genuine faith in the Lord, a faith that is truly firm and strong, and not merely done by paying lip service, but through commitment to God, through our constant and persistent dedication to Him, in all of our devotion and trust in His Providence and help, and by our steadfast belief and trust in everything that He has planned for us, as Abraham, our father had done, and as our many other holy predecessors, the holy saints and martyrs, had done in their own lives.

May the Lord therefore continue to strengthen us all in faith, and continue to help us all to commit ourselves to the path that He has shown and taught us to walk through, so that despite the many challenges, trials and difficulties that we may encounter in life, we will always continue to be faithful to Him and that we will not lose sight of what is important, the true treasure and happiness of our life that we can find through the Lord alone and our perfect union and harmony with Him, together with all of our loved ones around us. May God bless our good works and efforts, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very great occasion, a core tenet of our Christian faith, that is the belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord Himself in the Eucharist, in the bread and wine used during the Holy Mass, transformed by the will of the Father and the incarnation of the Son, and by the power and descent of the Holy Spirit, into the very substance and essence of Our Lord Himself, truly present in Body, Heart, Mind, Soul and Divinity before us all. This is the Dogma of the Transubstantiation, our firm belief that the bread and wine has been transformed completely into the Lord’s own Presence and Body and Blood, although in terms of appearance they may seem to still have the appearance, feel and taste of bread and wine.

On this day, we remember the same Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus had done at the Cross at Calvary, which is being celebrated at every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at every Masses celebrated everywhere in the world, from the time of the Apostles, throughout history and up to the present day, and which will continue to be in the future until the end of time. This Holy Sacrifice that the Lord Himself has offered constituted Him as the Eternal High Priest of all, the One True High Priest Who offered on our behalf the only perfect and worthy offering for the atonement of our sins, as it is only by the breaking of the Most Precious Body and the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, Our Paschal Lamb, that we can be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of Genesis in which the story of the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek, the King of Salem was highlighted to us. This happened as Abraham came to settle in the Promised Land of Canaan after he had followed the Lord Who called him to go to the land that He would show him and entrusted to him and his descendants. Abraham trusted in the Lord even though he was childless even until he was close to a hundred years old, and he followed the Lord to where He led him, and in the occasion mentioned in today’s reading, he was just triumphant in a battle against the Canaanite kings in a mission to protect and recover Lot, his cousin that had been captured by those kings.

This figure of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was indeed a mysterious one, as he was described as a high priest of the Lord Most High, and it was told that no one knew his origins or that he was even without a father. In this sense therefore, many saw Melchizedek as a prefigurement of Christ Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, Who would indeed eventually come into this world, to do exactly the same thing that Melchizedek had done in offering the sacrifices to God as the High Priest of all creation. Melchizedek received Abraham’s offerings which the latter made in thanksgiving to God, and offered it on his behalf to the Lord, and this city of Salem that Melchizedek was king of, was indeed likely to be the one and the same as the city of Jerusalem, the city and place where the Lord would accomplish His mission in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross.

Then, from our second reading today, we heard from the account made by St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth regarding the events that happened at the moment when the Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, this perfect gift from God, the Most Holy Sacrament, the manifestation of His Real Presence in the bread and wine which the priests and the other celebrants of the Mass offer to the Lord on our behalf, much like Melchizedek had done for Abraham, and this is done ‘in persona Christi’, as the priests celebrate the Mass in representing Christ Himself, our One and True Eternal High Priest. They do not offer the Mass on their own accord and their own strength, but representing the Lord Who has given us all most generously His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us.

When the Lord told the disciples at the moment of the Last Supper which St. Paul recounted to us, He truly meant every single words that He said, and He truly meant it when He said that the bread He had broken, blessed and shared with the disciples was indeed His Body, and the wine that He has also blessed and passed to be shared with the disciples was indeed His Blood. The Lord did not say that those were merely symbolic or representative, or a memorial or any of those sorts, replicating or resembling His Body and Blood. What He said, as affirmed further by St. Paul the Apostle and by the teaching of the early Church fathers, is that the bread and wine truly became the very Real Presence of the Lord, and are indeed the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, through the actions of the priest, in invoking the power of God to enact this.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord feeding all of the multitudes of the five thousand people in the famous miracle that I am sure we are all well familiar with. Through this miracle we can see how the Lord is so loving and compassionate towards us, realising our physical needs just as much as we have our spiritual needs as well. He blessed the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were presented to Him, breaking them and sharing them, and we heard how miraculously those small amount of food was enough to feed the whole multitude of five thousand people, with plenty of leftovers collected, amounting to twelve whole full baskets worth of food. Many people were happy and satisfied, fully filled by their experience with this miracle.

And after this event, chronologically in the events of the Lord’s ministry, many people came seeking Him and wanting Him to be their King, and the Lord told them that they desired this because they were happy to get the food from all those miraculous multiplication of the loaves of bread and fish, the food that satisfied the physical self and the body. However, the Lord told them then that what is more important is the food that lasts forever, and the true and real Food which He would share to them which would bring them all to the promise of eternal life and true happiness with Him. This was highlighted in the discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of St. John the Apostle, where the Lord Jesus clearly stated to all those who followed Him that He is that Bread of Life which has come down from Heaven.

The Lord also stated, just as He had done in the Last Supper, that His Body is real Food and His Blood is real Drink, and they were to be given to everyone to partake and share, so that all those who partake in the Body and Blood of the Son of God and Son of Man would have eternal life in them. Again, all these highlighted the undeniable and clear fact that what the Lord Himself has instituted at the Last Supper was truly His Most Precious Body and Blood manifested in the bread and wine which He had transformed into the very Essence and Reality of His Body and Blood, His own Presence with them, which we therefore partake and therefore God Himself dwell within us all. And should we wonder if this is possible, we do not have to look far but the miracle that He Himself performed in feeding the five thousand people. What seems impossible for us mankind, is possible for God, as there is nothing impossible for God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all consider carefully how we have believed in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. The sad truth and reality facing our Church today is the ever dwindling faith that many Catholics are exhibiting towards the Real Presence in many parts around the world, especially in the places in Europe and the Americas where the Christian faith used to be predominant and strongly embraced by the people. This is then also linked to the ever rapidly dwindling attendance and participation in the Masses and other liturgical events and activities of the Church. If we start losing our faith and belief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, then sooner or later, we will also grow detached and be easily distracted by the many temptations and pressures around us in this world.

And in the manner of how we treat the Lord in His Real Presence in the Eucharist is also alarming, as many of us no longer have that faith in this important and core tenet of our faith, in the manner how we act nonchalantly in receiving the Holy Eucharist and even in how we are usually so impatient and cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end so that we can continue with our activities and other busy way of living in the world outside there. This is something that we are constantly being reminded of, especially on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, that there is a need for all of us as Christians to return once again to the root of our faith in the Holy Eucharist, a faith that is truly centred on the Lord truly present in our midst, with sure hope in His Providence and with a heart full of love for Him and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to renew our commitment to the Lord our God, our most loving Saviour and King, He Who has made Himself available to us all through the Eucharist, His perfect gift of love to all of us, ever tied and linked to the ultimate and most loving Sacrifice that He has performed at the Cross at Calvary. Therefore, every time we come and participate at the Holy Mass, let us all renew our faith and commitment to the Lord in what He has shown and given us through the Most Holy Eucharist from now on, and be the worthy bearers of His truth and love by living our lives in the manner that He has taught us to do, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 June 2025 : Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded of God’s salvation and grace that He has freely and generously presented to each and every one of us, which He has always extended to all of us out of His ever loving and most merciful Sacred Heart. He has always loved us all so generously and wonderfully, and we must not be afraid that we will not be well taken care of and provided for. If we truly believe in the Lord and in His Providence, there will certainly be a sure path forward for us, and we should also strive to put our trust and faith in the Lord, showing this faith to others around us so that they all may also be strengthened in their resolve to follow the Lord and to commit themselves wholeheartedly to Him as well.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Zechariah, we heard of the words of the Lord’s assurances and providence to all of His people, reassuring and strengthening them all with the promise that He would not abandon them in their time and hour of darkness, and that He would always be with them, and He would show them all the fulfilment of His many promises, which the prophet Zechariah was well-known of, for speaking the words of hope to the people of Israel and their descendants Jerusalem and Judah at the time when the outlook of things for God’s people was not so good. The prophet Zechariah was active during the time and reign of the Persian ruler, Darius the Great, at the time when the Babylonian exile had been over, but which previously affected the people of God greatly.

Prior to that period of time, both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah had been destroyed, and as a result, many among the people who were living in both kingdoms, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, had been uprooted from their ancestral lands, scattered throughout many distant places and exiled to far-off lands, into the lands of their exile and humiliation amongst the nations. But the Lord, their God, did not forget about them and still loved them all the same, even when those same people and their ancestors had betrayed, abandoned and disregarded His Law and teachings for so many years and centuries, refusing to listen to the many prophets and messengers that God Himself had sent to them patiently over all those years.

That was why these words that the Lord spoke through the prophet Zechariah, all the prophetic words and the assurances that he had told the people of God was truly reassuring and strengthening to them, although none of them probably could understand the full significance of what the prophet Zechariah had spoken, as just like the prophet Isaiah before him, he was also speaking of the Suffering Servant or the Suffering Messiah, the One Whom God would send into this world to redeem all of His people. And later on, as we all now know, all of these would indeed be fulfilled in none other than Jesus Christ, Saviour of the whole world, the Son of God and the Divine Word Incarnate, Who became Flesh and Man, so that by His loving sacrifice on the Cross, He might rescue all of us from certain destruction.

Then, from our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor, which is today part of Turkey, regarding how all of the faithful people of God, Christians who have been baptised in the same Lord, have been given and dedicated to Christ Himself, and have indeed received Christ, His light and hope, His love and all of His truth and teachings, and had been granted the same assurance and liberation that the Lord had promised to all of His people through the prophets like Zechariah, Isaiah and many others. And as we have just covered earlier, the Lord’s coming would indeed bring about perfect fulfilment of all that the Lord had promised to all of us, and we should indeed consider ourselves truly fortunate to have been loved so greatly by God.

Finally, as we heard from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard how the Lord Jesus was asking His disciples about His identity and truth, and about who was it that they thought or others had said about Him. That was where as we heard, they stated whatever the people of their time believed in Him, in thinking that He was a prophet of God or a great teacher of the faith that God had sent, but St. Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, the chief of the Lord’s disciples, spoke bravely and courageously that he believed that Jesus was not merely a Man or just a Prophet, but was the very Messiah, Saviour and Son of God that the Lord Himself has promised to all of us, to be the One to lead us all to eternal life and glory with Him.

This great faith that we have in Him is then completed by the Lord telling His disciples at the same occasion that they, just as we all are, will likely face great hardships, challenges and difficulties in life. And He said how unless they all took up their crosses in life and carry it with Him, a premonition of His own suffering on the Cross, the Passion that He was to undertake for all of our sakes, out of the ever great, boundless and ever amazing love that He has for each and every one of us, ones for whom He has come into this world for. This is an important reminder for us that as long as we continue to be faithful and committed to the Lord, there may be difficulties, challenges and trials facing us in our journey, and yet, we should not give up faith as in the end, we shall be triumphant with God if we are truly faithful to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore continue to reflect and discern carefully these words from the Sacred Scriptures as we continue to move forward in life, being fully and completely dedicated to the Lord at all times. Let us all continue to press on forward faithfully, carrying our crosses together with the Lord, remembering that He is always by our side, strengthening us and providing for us all. He shall never abandon us but He shall always be paving the way forward for us. For God indeed, there is nothing that is impossible, and as long as we continue to trust in Him and allow Him to guide us all in everything that we say and do, we will always be truly worthy and blessed by the Lord at all times.

May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith within us and give us all the courage to continue to push forward in life so that in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions and efforts in life, we will continue to glorify the Lord by our exemplary and faithful living of our Christian faith. May God bless our every efforts and endeavours, and may He empower each one of us to live in accordance to His will, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that as Christians, all of us have to trust and be faithful to the Lord and believe that He can do everything for us, and not to distance ourselves from Him because of the preoccupation which we have with other distractions and things that can prevent us from truly committing ourselves to His cause in each and every moments of our lives. As Christians we must always lead lives that are truly holy and worthy of the Lord so that we will be great examples for our brothers and sisters around us and that we may live each and every moments with great trust and faith in the Lord as we have always done.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth where the Apostle continued on with his discourse regarding the matter of humility before God, and how if one ought to boast of something, then it should be to boast of God, His greatness and wonders, and everything that He had done for us, rather than to boast of our own glory, power and greatness. That is because to boast of one’s own glory and power is vainglory and pride, while boasting of God’s greatness and power, when done in the right manner and with the right intentions, is truly a great expression of one’s unshakeable faith and trust in God, in His Providence and help.

That was why St. Paul decided to share his own experiences and speak of everything which God had done for his sake, in helping him throughout all of his ordeals and all the things that he had done, to proclaim His greatness and wonders, just as he has been told to do by the Lord. He did not want to boast of his own greatness because he himself was aware that despite being an Apostle of the Lord, one of those chosen to be the pillars of the Church and the bearers of God’s Good News, ultimately, he was still a man, a sinner who was in need of God’s love, compassionate mercy and help. Without the Lord, he was nothing and he could not do anything on his own, but with God, everything is truly possible, and he could indeed do all things through the guidance and help of the Lord that strengthened him.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and followers that they all should not worry and be doubtful of what God can provide to all of them in their hour and time of need. They should not be afraid because God will always provide for them, for all that they need, and they should be rest assured knowing that there is nothing that can truly separate us from the love and kindness of God. That is why each and every one of us should always hold on to that faith that we have in Him, and not be easily tempted to seek an easier path out, or to follow a tempting distraction from the worldly attachments, ambitions and desires that we may have.

In our world today, so filled with fear, doubts, ambitions and desires of all kind, in a world so full of materialism, of all sorts of hedonism and cravings for pleasures of the flesh, where we are used to the need for instant gratification and happiness, it is unusual for us all to be patient or to wait for the true happiness and joy that truly lasts. Instead, we often seek for instant satisfaction, seeking for good things without considering carefully what the Lord truly wants us to do in our lives. We worry about our lives and what we are to have, and in that meantime, we may end up doing things that hurt those who are around us, especially our loved ones in our pursuit to seek gratification and satisfaction for ourselves, and when we worry about things that we should not be worrying about, and lacking genuine and true faith in the Lord.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a great and renowned servant of God whose life of devoted service to God and great piety and commitment to God should serve as a great inspiration for all of us to follow. He was born into a wealthy and powerful cadet branch of the noble Gonzaga family in Italy at that time, and as the firstborn son he was expected to inherit his father’s and family’s titles and inheritance, but despite his family’s efforts in preparing him down that expected path, God had a different plan for the young St. Aloysius Gonzaga, who was particularly shocked at the lack of virtue and obedience to God as well as the wicked and corrupt behaviour of all those who lived at that time, particularly among the powerful, even among the members of the clergy themselves.

That was why and how St. Aloysius Gonzaga felt the calling from God to be His follower and disciple, in testifying before everyone through his desire to commit himself as a priest and member of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. St. Aloysius Gonzaga was firm in his decision to do so despite the opposition from his family, especially that of his father, and despite the attempts to tempt him with secular clergy and even a bishopric instead fitting for his family and status, St. Aloysius Gonzaga was committed to follow the path of full commitment to the Lord, eventually relinquishing all of his inheritance and rights, and becoming a member of the Jesuits at last. During his studies and preparation, he faced a lot of difficulties especially health issues, but it did not dampen his determination.

It was during a plague in Rome when St. Aloysius Gonzaga was stricken after he volunteered to help care for the patients of the plague at the hospital that the Jesuits opened to provide care and help for the plague victims. St. Aloysius Gonzaga kept on doing his best to care for the sick and the dying when he himself had been weakened and was eventually stricken by the same plague as well. He was committed to the very end, and died at a relatively young age while still in his preparations for priesthood in the Jesuit order. Nonetheless, his great faith and dedication to God, everything that he had done in the care of the less fortunate around him and the love he has shown to God and to his fellow brothers and sisters are truly inspirational for all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the great examples which St. Aloysius Gonzaga has shown us all, and be ever stronger and firmer in our desire to follow the Lord and to do what we can in our daily lives so that the Lord may truly do wonderful and great things in whatever we do and in all of our labours and daily struggles in whichever communities and places that we had been sent to by the Lord. Let us all continue to put our trust in Him and not to worry about anything in life, but committing ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to His cause, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 20 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to seek the true treasure that can be found in the Lord alone, and strive our best to live our lives with God’s guidance and help, as with the Lord we can truly do wonderful things far beyond what we can do in Him alone. The Lord our God has given us the strength and wisdom through His guidance, help and encouragement, allowing us to endure all the challenges and hardships in this life and world, so that we can find our path to Him, and as long as we remain truly faithful in Him, trusting wholeheartedly in Him and His providence, we will truly be able to find our true happiness and treasure in God.

In our first reading today, we heard of how St. Paul aired his frustrations to the faithful people of God in Corinth, the ones whom he had been ministering to, as some of those whom St. Paul encountered during his ministry likely compared him with the other Apostles, especially those of the Twelve, or with other famous and charismatic preachers, such as one Apollos who was very charismatic among others. And as inspired and strengthened he was by the Holy Spirit and by God’s guidance, he could certainly still face temptations and difficulties in the exercise of his ministry, and he was still facing emotions and other things that we mankind also face daily in our lives, as he was just as human and as ordinary servants of God as we all are.

But St. Paul turned all these weaknesses into praise of the Lord and everything that he had done in glorifying God through all these weakness and vulnerabilities, and making a testimony of his great and enduring faith in God, Who has strengthened and empowered him to carry out his ministry and good works with the constant protection and providence from God, Who has always been with him, guiding him at every steps of his journey, even when he was facing a lot of hardships and difficulties in his ministry and journey. St. Paul detailed to the faithful in Corinth all the obstacles, hardships and plenty of harm that he had faced in the midst of carrying out his works, how he faced physical assaults, hard labours, prison and many other trials, and yet, he was able to overcome all these because of the Lord.

When St. Paul mentioned all these to the people of God in Corinth, he was not boasting about his own greatness and power, as he was in fact telling all of them that if not for God and His providence, in having done so many great wonders each day through him, he would not have been able to do all those great things despite the many persecutions he faced. In his testimony of faith, St. Paul wanted to encourage the faithful in Corinth to continue to trust in the Lord, and to encourage them all to continue the good works of mission and testifying of the Lord’s goodness, because it is through God alone that they all can truly persevere and be truly successful in their works and good efforts, and not by their work and efforts, or by their power and greatness alone.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and followers that they all should not store up for themselves the treasures of the world that do not last forever, all those things which we mankind often crave for and desire, and yet do not provide us with true and lasting happiness, satisfaction and fulfilment. This reminder from the Lord is a timely one to call us to turn away from all sorts of worldly pursuits and ambitions, all the attachments and preoccupations with all kinds of material possessions and desires that can distract us from truly being able to follow the Lord our God most wholeheartedly and worthily.

That is why we are all being reminded that we should not be distracted by all those things, and we should be the ones leading by our own good examples and efforts in living a life that is truly blessed and in attunement to God’s will. And this requires us all to be willing to listen to the Lord guiding and leading us all in our lives, in our every paths and journeys, in each and every moments when He speaks to us, calling on all of us to walk in the path that He has put us into. Each and every one of us are called and reminded that we all should always be faithful to the path that He has led us through, to be committed and true to what He has entrusted to us, living our lives courageously in the manner that He has shown us.

And this should be done by our love for God in all the things that we do in our daily living, and at the same time, we should also show love to all those whom the Lord has entrusted to us, to show our genuine and wholehearted attention to, in being as loving as the Lord has been towards us all. By following the example and inspiration of God’s love, hopefully each one of us may truly be generous in loving one another and be true disciples and followers of Christ in all things. This is what we are all called to do as Christians, in putting our love for God and for one another above our own selfish desires, ambitions and pursuits, in realising that our true treasures and happiness are not in what we gain from this world, but in being faithful to God and truly loving to each other.

May the Lord continue to strengthen each and every one of us, in our resolve and determination to live our lives, in each and every moments to be truly faithful in all things, in our every interactions and good works with one another. May He continue to empower each and every one of us with the strength and courage to live our every moments with grace and faith, and allow us all to be good role models and inspirations to our brethren all around us. May He bless all of our actions and good works, now and always, evermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very great occasion, a core tenet of our Christian faith, that is the belief in the Real Presence of Our Lord Himself in the Eucharist, in the bread and wine used during the Holy Mass, transformed by the will of the Father and the incarnation of the Son, and by the power and descent of the Holy Spirit, into the very substance and essence of Our Lord Himself, truly present in Body, Heart, Mind, Soul and Divinity before us all. This is the Dogma of the Transubstantiation, our firm belief that the bread and wine has been transformed completely into the Lord’s own Presence and Body and Blood, although in terms of appearance they may seem to still have the appearance, feel and taste of bread and wine.

On this day, we remember the same Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus had done at the Cross at Calvary, which is being celebrated at every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at every Masses celebrated everywhere in the world, from the time of the Apostles, throughout history and up to the present day, and which will continue to be in the future until the end of time. This Holy Sacrifice that the Lord Himself has offered constituted Him as the Eternal High Priest of all, the One True High Priest Who offered on our behalf the only perfect and worthy offering for the atonement of our sins, as it is only by the breaking of the Most Precious Body and the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, Our Paschal Lamb, that we can be saved.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of Genesis in which the story of the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek, the King of Salem was highlighted to us. This happened as Abraham came to settle in the Promised Land of Canaan after he had followed the Lord Who called him to go to the land that He would show him and entrusted to him and his descendants. Abraham trusted in the Lord even though he was childless even until he was close to a hundred years old, and he followed the Lord to where He led him, and in the occasion mentioned in today’s reading, he was just triumphant in a battle against the Canaanite kings in a mission to protect and recover Lot, his cousin that had been captured by those kings.

This figure of Melchizedek, the King of Salem was indeed a mysterious one, as he was described as a high priest of the Lord Most High, and it was told that no one knew his origins or that he was even without a father. In this sense therefore, many saw Melchizedek as a prefigurement of Christ Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, Who would indeed eventually come into this world, to do exactly the same thing that Melchizedek had done in offering the sacrifices to God as the High Priest of all creation. Melchizedek received Abraham’s offerings which the latter made in thanksgiving to God, and offered it on his behalf to the Lord, and this city of Salem that Melchizedek was king of, was indeed likely to be the one and the same as the city of Jerusalem, the city and place where the Lord would accomplish His mission in His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross.

Then, from our second reading today, we heard from the account made by St. Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth regarding the events that happened at the moment when the Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, this perfect gift from God, the Most Holy Sacrament, the manifestation of His Real Presence in the bread and wine which the priests and the other celebrants of the Mass offer to the Lord on our behalf, much like Melchizedek had done for Abraham, and this is done ‘in persona Christi’, as the priests celebrate the Mass in representing Christ Himself, our One and True Eternal High Priest. They do not offer the Mass on their own accord and their own strength, but representing the Lord Who has given us all most generously His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us.

When the Lord told the disciples at the moment of the Last Supper which St. Paul recounted to us, He truly meant every single words that He said, and He truly meant it when He said that the bread He had broken, blessed and shared with the disciples was indeed His Body, and the wine that He has also blessed and passed to be shared with the disciples was indeed His Blood. The Lord did not say that those were merely symbolic or representative, or a memorial or any of those sorts, replicating or resembling His Body and Blood. What He said, as affirmed further by St. Paul the Apostle and by the teaching of the early Church fathers, is that the bread and wine truly became the very Real Presence of the Lord, and are indeed the Most Holy and Precious Body and Blood of the Lord, through the actions of the priest, in invoking the power of God to enact this.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord feeding all of the multitudes of the five thousand people in the famous miracle that I am sure we are all well familiar with. Through this miracle we can see how the Lord is so loving and compassionate towards us, realising our physical needs just as much as we have our spiritual needs as well. He blessed the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were presented to Him, breaking them and sharing them, and we heard how miraculously those small amount of food was enough to feed the whole multitude of five thousand people, with plenty of leftovers collected, amounting to twelve whole full baskets worth of food. Many people were happy and satisfied, fully filled by their experience with this miracle.

And after this event, chronologically in the events of the Lord’s ministry, many people came seeking Him and wanting Him to be their King, and the Lord told them that they desired this because they were happy to get the food from all those miraculous multiplication of the loaves of bread and fish, the food that satisfied the physical self and the body. However, the Lord told them then that what is more important is the food that lasts forever, and the true and real Food which He would share to them which would bring them all to the promise of eternal life and true happiness with Him. This was highlighted in the discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of St. John the Apostle, where the Lord Jesus clearly stated to all those who followed Him that He is that Bread of Life which has come down from Heaven.

The Lord also stated, just as He had done in the Last Supper, that His Body is real Food and His Blood is real Drink, and they were to be given to everyone to partake and share, so that all those who partake in the Body and Blood of the Son of God and Son of Man would have eternal life in them. Again, all these highlighted the undeniable and clear fact that what the Lord Himself has instituted at the Last Supper was truly His Most Precious Body and Blood manifested in the bread and wine which He had transformed into the very Essence and Reality of His Body and Blood, His own Presence with them, which we therefore partake and therefore God Himself dwell within us all. And should we wonder if this is possible, we do not have to look far but the miracle that He Himself performed in feeding the five thousand people. What seems impossible for us mankind, is possible for God, as there is nothing impossible for God.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all consider carefully how we have believed in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. The sad truth and reality facing our Church today is the ever dwindling faith that many Catholics are exhibiting towards the Real Presence in many parts around the world, especially in the places in Europe and the Americas where the Christian faith used to be predominant and strongly embraced by the people. This is then also linked to the ever rapidly dwindling attendance and participation in the Masses and other liturgical events and activities of the Church. If we start losing our faith and belief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, then sooner or later, we will also grow detached and be easily distracted by the many temptations and pressures around us in this world.

And in the manner of how we treat the Lord in His Real Presence in the Eucharist is also alarming, as many of us no longer have that faith in this important and core tenet of our faith, in the manner how we act nonchalantly in receiving the Holy Eucharist and even in how we are usually so impatient and cannot wait for the Holy Mass to end so that we can continue with our activities and other busy way of living in the world outside there. This is something that we are constantly being reminded of, especially on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, that there is a need for all of us as Christians to return once again to the root of our faith in the Holy Eucharist, a faith that is truly centred on the Lord truly present in our midst, with sure hope in His Providence and with a heart full of love for Him and for our fellow brothers and sisters around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek to renew our commitment to the Lord our God, our most loving Saviour and King, He Who has made Himself available to us all through the Eucharist, His perfect gift of love to all of us, ever tied and linked to the ultimate and most loving Sacrifice that He has performed at the Cross at Calvary. Therefore, every time we come and participate at the Holy Mass, let us all renew our faith and commitment to the Lord in what He has shown and given us through the Most Holy Eucharist from now on, and be the worthy bearers of His truth and love by living our lives in the manner that He has taught us to do, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of the need for all of us to be firmly rooted in faith and to be truly committed to God, so that we do not easily fall into the false paths due to the temptations of worldly vices and falsehoods spread by those who seek our downfall and destruction. Each and every one of us as Christians are always called to remain vigilant against all those false teachings and to remain rooted firmly in God, and the best way for us all to do this is by doing what the Lord Jesus had taught us, His disciples to do, that is to pray to our Heavenly Father and to constantly communicate with Him so that we may truly realise what He wants us all to do in our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the region of Corinth, warning them of the temptations of Satan and all those seeking to mislead them all into the wrong paths, mentioning how there were others who taught differently from the way that St. Paul had already taught to the faithful there. This highlighted the reality of the earliest days of the Church, in those days when there was not yet any united doctrine or organised Church organisation in the manner that we are all familiar with these days. There were still preachers and charismatic teachers of the faith going around then spreading the teachings that might not have been in accordance to what the Lord had revealed to His Apostles and the Church.

That in itself might not have been wicked or negative in intention, as some of those preachers, one of which was the charismatic Jewish preacher named Apollos, or St. Apollos was in fact a believer of Christ, and yet, he had not yet received the full instruction of faith and the Holy Spirit yet, and hence, that was why what he taught and spoke to the people were somewhat different from what St. Paul and the other Apostles had taught and spoken to the faithful. However, there were indeed many other false teachers and preachers, whose heretical ideas and thoughts brought harm to the souls of many of the faithful, many of whom were ensnared by those wrong and perverted teachings and ways, leading to quite a number among them to be swayed by the tempting words and falsehoods.

This was what St. Paul had told the faithful in Corinth in order to remind and warn them so that they do not end up falling into temptations and all the falsehoods present all around them in the world. He was also sharing how while he was not among the members of the Twelve, which he probably jokingly mentioned as being ‘super-Apostles’, being those who were closest to the Lord and were present during His ministry unlike that of St. Paul, but whatever he had taught the faithful in Corinth and elsewhere, all that he had laboured for, all that he had shared to them were all the same as what the rest of the Apostles had taught as well. Essentially, he was telling them all that what he and the other Apostles have brought to them were the authentic and genuine expressions and details of their Christian faith, and they should remain rooted in that teaching, and not in the falsehoods.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples of how they ought to pray to their Father, not in the manner of the pagans and all those who usually use a lot of words in their prayers, a lot of actions and gestures, and yet, they did not truly pray in the right sense. That was why the Lord Jesus taught the disciples on how they ought to pray to their Father in Heaven, just as Jesus Himself frequently spent time in prayer and silent time with the Father. And that was how God wants us all to pray as well, in spending good, quality and committed time with Him as much as we are able to, in communicating actively with Him, in listening to Him just as we also speak to Him, as how we should in a proper communication.

In communicating with the Lord through prayer, all of us are taught and reminded by Our Lord Jesus Himself that first of all, we should not seek to impose on the Lord what we want, unlike how we normally conduct our prayers. If we do so, then we may end up not praying in the right manner. And this is what we all need to realise, as first of all we have to realise that the Lord is all holy and powerful, and we ought to thank Him first for every blessings that He has bestowed on us each day, even when we may not even realise it at all. Every breath we take and every moment that we are alive, each one of these are reminders for us of just how blessed we all are, and how fortunate for us to have the Lord our God, Who truly loves us all and Who has always been so generous with us.

And that is why we should always be grateful and thankful to God, and remember to ask Him to show us all His kindness and mercy, in giving us all that we need. The Lord knows all that we need, and we do not really actually need to tell Him what is in our hearts and minds, as God Who is all-knowing knows everything that we are, and all that are in our hearts and minds. Yet, at the same time, He also wants us all to call on Him, to come and ask Him for His Divine favours, and most importantly, He wants us to communicate with Him and to trust in Him instead of doing things with our own strength and power. Truly, with God, everything is possible and we can indeed do all things in Him Who strengthens and supports us. And this is why we need a good, prayerful relationship with God at all times.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Philip Minh and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam. At that time, the Christian faith had just begun to spread to the land and region of Vietnam through the works of missionaries, particularly those from France, belonging mostly to the Society of the Paris Foreign Mission, also known as the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris. These foreign missionaries went to distant lands to proclaim the Good News of the Lord and the Christian faith, and in this particular case, they came with the French to serve as missionaries to the land of Vietnam. However, due to their links with the French and their ulterior motives in coming to Vietnam, therefore the Christian missionaries and also the local converts were seen with great suspicion by the Vietnamese government then.

Gradually, persecutions continued to increase against the Christian missionaries and the local converts alike, as Christianity was seen as a foreign influence and possibly dangerous supporters of the French colonial power, and hence ought to be removed and eliminated. St. Philip Minh was one of these Catholic converts, who went to join the seminary in College General in Penang for a few years before he was ordained as a priest, with the intention of continuing the work of mission in Vietnam, to proclaim the Good News of God to more and more of his fellow countrymen. However, the Vietnam that he returned to had become even more hostile to the Christian faith, and eventually, he himself was seized and arrested, and martyred for his faith together with many other missionaries and fellow converts over the many decades of persecution.

Yet, despite all these sufferings and hardships, those Catholics who were persecuted for their faith, just as their predecessors in the early Church had suffered, remained firmly faithful to the Lord, and they remained strong in their conviction to follow Him because they have strong connection and attunement to God, which is what we are again being reminded of today. Let us all therefore continue to deepen our prayer life and to spend all the time to glorify Him through our every words, actions and deeds, in continuing to communicate with our loving God and Father at all times. May the Lord continue to love each and every one of us, and may all of us grow ever stronger in our love and faith in Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that each and every one of us should always do our best to practice our faith in our daily living with true and genuine intentions, with sincerity and love for God and for our fellow brethren. This means that we should always live up to our faith in the faithful and genuine manner, and not in pursuing our various desires and ambitions for worldly things and matter. Once we begin to seek acclaim, praise for from others and all the other things we often crave for in life, we are likely going to be distracted away from our true faith in the Lord, and instead we will end up looking for all those worldly desires and ambitions instead of seeking what is truly good in the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the region of Corinth, we heard of the words of the Apostle speaking to the faithful there about the matter of being generous in giving and sharing one’s good blessings and gifts from God with one another because that is what the Lord Himself had done for us. We must always be generous in giving our love, care and attention to others because it is being generous in giving and in being compassionate, in sharing our blessings to those who have less than us or even none, that we will truly be faithful to the Lord and be found worthy. The Lord has indeed called us all to be generous in giving, to be loving and dedicated in our care and concern for each other.

And St. Paul also said that if we are generous and cheerful in giving, then God will also be generous with us as well. He always remembers all those who have shown love to one another, those who are always generous in giving and in being kind to everyone, and this is what He wants all of us as Christians to do in each and every moments of our lives. Therefore, just as St. Paul exhorted to the faithful people of God in Corinth, therefore all of us should also do the same in our own daily living and interactions with one another as well. We should always ever be ready to love those whom God had put in our path, and we should also love unconditionally and most generously, never seeking to hurt or harm anyone through our actions. And this is what the true measure of our Christian faith is all about.

Then, from our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in which the Lord Jesus was telling His disciples on how they all can be truly and be more genuinely as His disciples in this world in the manner how they all carry out living their lives with true and genuine faith, rather than merely paying lip service to His teachings and ways. This is because true faith and love for God is more than just merely maintaining apperances and impression of holiness, and it is indeed easy for us to end up being misguided and misled by these desires and ambitions that we have, as the desire for fame, glory and acclamation can indeed lead us to be focused more on ourselves and our ego rather than on God.

That was precisely the attitude carried out by those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, the chief priests and elders of the people at that time, during the Lord’s ministry. Many among them went around parading their piety and faith, praying audibly in public places and wearing the prayer shawls with large tassels, wanting to be praised and adored for their supposed piety and obedience to God’s Law, when in fact, many of them did not even have strong and genuine faith in the Lord. They imposed heavy demands and obligations on the people of God when they themselves could not and failed to observe the very strict set of laws, rules and regulations that they themselves had interpreted and demanded that everyone ought to obey and follow.

Therefore, the Lord wants each and every one of us to remember that to be faithful to God, we must be more than all that, and we must not make grand gestures to proclaim our faith and piety for everyone to witness and see, or else, we may instead invite the spirit of ego and pride, the temptations of Satan and the other evil ones that may lead us astray into our downfall and destruction. Hence, we should keep reminding ourselves that we must remain focused and attentive to the Lord, to make Him as the centre and focus of our whole lives, our entire actions and everything that we say and do, or else we may end up losing sight on the true treasure and joy that we can find in the Lord alone, and end up chasing after worldly justifications and desires.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who follow the Lord and believe wholeheartedly in Him, and as those who have dedicated themselves to walk in His path, let us all therefore be committed anew to the Lord, reminding ourselves that our primary aim in this world is to glorify the Lord by our lives. And hence, in everything that we say and do, in our interactions with one another, with our loved ones and all others whom we encounter in life, let us all be the bearers of the love of God manifested through our works and actions, our words and interactions that are truly full of love and compassion for those who are in need of them. Let us all be true and worthy bearers of the Lord’s Good News, love, truth and hope to the world around us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and empower each and every one of us so that in all of our efforts, good works and dealings, we will always strive to do what is right and just according to the will of God, and that we will continue to glorify Him at all times through our exemplary actions and good works, all grounded on faith and commitment to God, our true Master and Lord, the One to Whom we will always commit ourselves in faith, hope and love, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for us all as Christians to be truly filled with genuine and compassionate love for one another just as we should also have it first for the Lord, our God and Father Who have loved us all so generously all these while. And it is this great love which He has shown us all most perfectly in giving to us all His own Begotten Son that He sent to us to be the One to bear the burdens of our sins and wickedness, delivering us all away from them and showing us all the certain path towards eternal life and true happiness with Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth in which he highlighted to the people there about the challenges and difficulties that those in the church communities in Macedonia in northern Greece had been facing. And at the same time, St. Paul shared his experiences ministering to the faithful there, showing how despite the challenges and trials that they were facing, the Church community in Macedonia remained strong in their faith and commitment to God. They did not allow the difficulties and trials to discourage and dissuade them from following the Lord wholeheartedly and courageously. Instead, their great faith and perseverance in loving one another and standing up for their faith brought inspiration to many others.

They continued to care for one another even when facing difficulties and challenges, trials and hardships, not allowing their conditions to be an excuse to become less generous, loving and compassionate. The Lord Himself has strengthened them all by His Holy Spirit and through the examples of the Apostles, and they therefore became good examples and inspirations themselves for others. Through them, their constant generosity and love for each other despite their hardships, they have become the epitome of what Christian discipleship and faith are all about. And that was exactly what St. Paul was sharing to the Corinthians all about as he wanted to encourage and help them all to be faithful as well in all things.

Then, from our Gospel reading today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord telling all of His disciples and followers that all of them must love one another and everyone in an even more radical way than what is usually known and done in the world. He said that all of them as those who believe in Him and follow His path should always love everyone, even those who have not loved them back and persecuted them. And this is contrary to what is common in this world, as we are commonly taught and shown to love only those who can love us all back, and to only care for those who show us care and for whom our ‘investment’ of love and care can be reciprocated and returned.

But the Lord told us all through His disciples that Christian love, the kind of love which the Lord wants us all to know and have, is beyond this love that is common in this world. The love of God is truly pure, selfless and genuine, love that is ever always patient and enduring even when we have not loved Him back, and even when we have hurt and abandoned Him, disobeyed and betrayed Him, again and again. God never gave up on us, His beloved ones, and He kept on loving and caring for us all despite our unworthiness and our stubbornness in refusing to embrace His love and kindness, His compassion and mercy, His care and concern for each and every single one of us, even to the greatest of sinners.

It is indeed much harder and more challenging for us to love those who have not loved us back, and even worse still to love those who have hated, rejected and persecuted us. But we must gain the inspiration from the Lord Himself, Who has shown us all how He loved us all so perfectly, as revealed to us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When the Lord was oppressed, persecuted and rejected by the world, accused falsely of crimes that He did not commit, betrayed by His own people and their leaders, and also even by His own disciple, abandoned by many of those who have followed Him, yet the Lord still kept on loving them, praying for them and forgiving them. From His Cross, He continued to show this love even in great suffering, praying to His heavenly Father to forgive all those who have made Him to suffer in that manner, those who have persecuted Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is all the love that the Lord Himself has shown us, and which the early Christians like those in the community in Macedonia had also done in their own lives which proved to us all that such a selfless, genuine and hence truly Christian love is possible. The love of God had been manifested to us all through Christ, and we are indeed called and challenged to show the same love to our fellow brothers and sisters as well. The question that is present before us now is such that are we all ready and willing to do and to practice on that in our own lives? Are we willing to love unconditionally and to love patiently like the Lord has loved us all, without expecting any returns?

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate God, and Who is always full of kindness and genuine love for each one of us, continue to show us the same generous and ever-boundless love that He has always had for us, which He has always shown and taught to us so that we too may learn and know how the love Him and love our fellow brothers and sisters around us in the same way that He has loved us from the very beginning. Let us all therefore show genuine, Christian love to each other at all times, now and always, so that we may inspire many more people to follow in our own footsteps as well. Amen.

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Monday, 16 June 2025 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the great love which we have received from God and how we are then expected to show the same love towards our fellow brothers and sisters around us. Each and every one of us as Christians should always be filled with great love, firstly for the Lord and then of course for everyone around us, for our loved ones and for those whom we encounter daily in life. As Christians, all of us should also should be patient in enduring hardships and difficulties in life, and especially when facing persecution, hatred and evil around us, we ourselves should not be doing the same to one another, but instead be good examples of love and hope to everyone we encounter in life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the Apostle reminding the people of God there to be truly genuine and sincere in all of their actions, dealings, in all of their ways and interactions with one another and with all those who have not yet believed in the Lord. It is indeed important because St. Paul said that they should not give anyone any reason to hinder the works of the mission which God has called them all to do by their own actions and deeds, their words and interactions which might be contrary to what they preach and believe in. Indeed, true and genuine Christian faith involve us all walking the talk, that means we really have to put into practice what we have believed in and not merely just paying lip service to our faith in the Lord.

St. Paul exhorted the faithful brethren in Corinth that they all should be good examples of faith to everyone around them, both their fellow brethren and everyone who witnessed their actions and great courage in living their Christian faith with true sincerity and commitment. Otherwise, if they were hypocrites who acted in manner that were contrary to the way they believed, then it could prevent many from coming to believe in the Lord because they would consider us Christians to be dishonest and even immoral, and such things can lead to scandal and harm not only to the Church but even to the Holy Name of the Lord and our Christian faith itself, and such acts are great sins against God.

As St. Paul noted and highlighted to the faithful in Corinth that people around them could notice and see the way that they lived their lives with true Christian charity, generosity and care, with kindness, patience and mercy in all of their actions, in how they have solidarity with those who are suffering and who are poor, and also standing firmly and courageously for their faith in the Lord, not giving in easily to the temptations and pressures of the world that may try to coerce and force them to do otherwise. Indeed, as St. Paul himself also said in another occasion that ‘People will know that we are Christians by our love’ which echo well to what the Lord Jesus told His disciples and followers to be full of love for Him and for everyone around them, to love without limits and boundaries.

This is therefore an important reminder for all of us Christians living in our world today that we should not allow ourselves to abandon our faith or be insincere in following our Christian faith because of our actions which do not show true Christian charity, compassion and care for one another, lacking in kindness, mercy and patience for our fellow brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the sad reality is such that it is within the Church itself where people, fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, fellow Catholics who are often locked together in bitter struggles, rivalries and competitions with each other, in all the unhealthy and sinister church politics that permeate virtually every aspect of our church life and actions everywhere around us.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself therefore reminded us all through His disciples and His Church that this is not the path that we should be walking in, but rather we should truly embody our faith in Him with genuine, compassionate and boundless love just as I elaborated earlier on. The Lord told His disciples that according to the old Jewish customs and laws, the ones which the Lord had passed down through Moses to His people, any sins and mistakes ought to be paid over in retribution, hence ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’. But the Lord was putting an end to all of that and revealed that the Lord’s true intention and desire is for His beloved people to know His love and to be truly loving in all things, especially in how they ought to love their fellow brothers and sisters.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hence consider carefully our actions in each and every moments of our lives so that we may always be loving to each other, be generous, kind and compassionate, especially to those who have need of our care and love. And let us never seek our own personal glory, ambition, satisfaction and personal fulfilment over the sufferings and hardships that others may have to experience because of our choice of actions and ways which may result indeed in even those among us as Christians to lose faith in the Lord by the scandal such actions have caused, whether we intended them or not. We have to keep in mind that as Christians, love and most generous love, kindness and compassion should be at the forefront of everything that we do in life.

May the Lord, our ever loving God and Father, continue to inspire in us all and strengthen us all in love, that by the imparting of the gift of love in our hearts, we may truly be inspired to love most generously and not be selfish in seeking our own comfort and salvation, but causing hurt and even harm to others around us. As true and genuine Christians, we must always be filled with pure, selfless and boundless love, following the example of the Lord Himself Who has loved us all so wonderfully. May the Lord bless our every endeavours and good efforts, now and always. Amen.