Reflection of the Bible

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Thursday, 4 February 2021 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded that through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour all of us have received such great graces and wonders from God, that we have seen the salvation of God and been so fortunate to have heard of God’s truth from the hands of His Apostles and successors which we have received through the Church, of which we are members and parts of.

In our first reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews today, we heard of the great majesty and the power of God, so mighty and fearsome that no one could see the Lord’s majesty and power and lived. Those who saw God would perish because of their sins and unworthiness, having been corrupted ever since our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord in the Gardens of Eden.

That was why they hid from God upon having committed the sin, and they were banished from Eden to roam about on Earth as a consequence for their sins. When Moses then later on came and meet God at Mount Horeb, saw God and was in His holy presence, his whole countenance and face changed, radiant with the glory and majesty of God, and all were terrified and awed by his appearance. Moses was perhaps one of the only few who saw God, walked with Him and lived.

But then, things changed with the coming of Christ, for in Jesus Christ the Son of God and Divine Word Incarnate, the fullness of the glory of God has been made visible and tangible through His humanity, and by His entry into this world, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, He has bridged the once great and uncrossable chasm that existed between mankind and God. Through His coming and His sacrifice on the Cross, God has reconciled us to Himself and we have received the sure guarantee of eternal life and happiness in Him.

And it is exactly this truth which the Lord has revealed to us and passed down to us which we now believe and commit ourselves to as Christians. We believe in the Lord Who has willingly entered our world and assumed our humble human existence, that by sharing in our humanity, not only that He was able to gather us all and sanctify us through His sacrifice on the Cross, but He made Himself tangible and accessible to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all then be thankful to God for His wonderful love, as well as also reflecting on the calling that the Lord has entrusted to us, as each and every one of us have the same mission that God has entrusted to the Apostles and disciples, all those who have been called to serve and to proclaim the truth and the Good News of God. The Lord has sent them all out to prepare the way for Him and to proclaim His truth to more and more people.

Their works are still far from over, brethren. There are still many areas that require our participation and efforts. As members of the Church, it is our obligation and duty to be active in dedicating ourselves to the Lord, in reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters, all those who need to hear the Good News, the truth and the love of God. This is why we all need to respond to the Lord’s call and seek Him ever more courageously.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord with a renewed zeal and commitment, dedicating ourselves and committing our time and efforts, to lead more and more people down the path towards salvation and eternal life. Let us all be entrust ourselves to the Lord, and be more and more courageous and willing to walk faithfully in the path of the Lord.

And let us all pray, that God will continue to strengthen us and guide us in our journey of life, in glorifying Him at all times through our actions and deeds. May God bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 3 February 2021 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are brought to pay attention and focus on the Lord and just how much He has been so patient with us, all these while despite all of our disobedience and stubborn attitude. And likened as a loving father in our Scripture passages today, particularly from our first reading and Psalm today, we are reminded just how our Lord is stern with us and firm in guiding our path, and yet, always filled with love and genuine compassion as well.

In our first reading today, we are called by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews to reflect on the love of God, our heavenly Father, Who corrects and punishes those whom He loves, not because He wants to make us suffer and endure difficulties. Rather, if we do not learn our lesson and continue to act irresponsibly, we will end up in even greater suffering and pain. I am referring to the eternal suffering and damnation in hell that awaits all those who have not been faithful to God and His ways.

The Lord guides us in various ways, and He has shown us His loving and tender care even when He was at His sternest against us and our ridiculous antics and stubbornness. He has always been patient in calling us all to return to Him, in waiting for us to embrace Him with love and to spend time with Him once again. And yet, we just how He has been treated, being rejected and cast out, shut out and ostracised when He came into our midst, even by those who knew Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the time when the Lord Jesus came to Nazareth in Galilee, His hometown, when He went to the local synagogue and began to proclaim the Word of God to the people there. They refused to believe in Him and doubted Him, outraged and in disbelief that one of them, who had lived in that very same village could have been the Messiah or Saviour promised for the people of God. This prevented the Lord from doing His works and miracles there.

As we heard all of these readings from the Scripture today, we are all often so stubborn in our ways and we often refused to listen to reason that we end up rejecting the Lord and His generous offer of love. Like the people of Nazareth, who thought that they knew better of just Who the Lord Jesus was, and thought that it was impossible for Him to have been the One He claimed He was, thus, pride and hubris often became the greatest pitfalls in our path towards the salvation in God.

That is why all of us ought to resist these temptations to succumb to our pride and ego, our desires and hubris, ambition and all the other things that often became great obstacles blocking our path towards God. And instead of hardening our hearts and minds, we should be humbler and be more willing to open our hearts and minds to the Lord, to welcome Him inside and allow Him to transform us and make use of us to be His instruments by which He performs many wonderful things in this world.

Today, we should look upon the good examples of St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, faithful servants of God and holy men whose life and dedication to the Lord should inspire us to be more faithful and be more willing to follow the Lord ourselves. St. Blaise was the famous physician and Bishop of Sebastea during the days of the later Roman Empire, renowned for his dedication to his people, as well as his care for those who were sick, both as a physician for the body as well as the physician of the soul.

St. Blaise healed many people through his commitment and work, and he inspired many others even after he had been arrested and suffered martyrdom in the persecution by the Roman Emperor Licinius. And in the famous story of how St. Blaise miraculously healed a young boy who had been inflicted with a stuck fishbone in his throat and was in danger of death, many became believers through him and the famous ‘Blessing of the Throats’ done on St. Blaise’s day today invoke this saint’s intercession for many of us.

St. Ansgar meanwhile was known as the Apostle to the North for his tireless efforts and many trips to what is now the land of Germany, ministering to the faithful there and proclaiming the truth of God to many more people, to those who have not yet heard of the Lord’s truth, grace and love. He preached the Words of the Lord to those pagans who have often been stubborn in refusing to believe in God, and through his patience and efforts, many eventually came to see the Light of God and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all follow in the footsteps of our Lord and His faithful servants, and let us all walk in His presence, faithfully and lovingly, committing ourselves anew to the cause of Our Lord and glorify Him and His Name by our actions and deeds. May God bless us all, and may He strengthen us all with courage and faith, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 2 February 2021 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day of Consecrated Life (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which takes place exactly forty days after the beginning of the Christmas season, the fortieth day since the twenty-fifth day of December. Today traditionally marks the end of the Christmas season and celebrations, and in the traditional Roman calendar, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated, when mothers like the Blessed Virgin Mary are welcomed back to the Temple forty days after giving birth.

This day, we celebrate the day when the Lord was presented to the world, especially to the Jewish people, a revelation of God’s salvation to them, represented by the man of God, Simeon and the old prophetess Anna. This is in parallel to what we have celebrated a few weeks earlier in the Solemnity of the Epiphany, marking the revelation of the Christ to the Gentiles through the Three Magi.

In this celebration today, we mark the moment God revealed His salvation to His people, fulfilling the promises He had made to them through His prophets, and we heard of all the things that had happened at that time, how Simeon and Anna both said that the Child would be the great Sign and the Light of God’s salvation to all. The long wait for the promised salvation had therefore been over.

And the Lord Jesus was presented to the Lord at His Temple in accordance with the Law which stated that all the firstborn sons ought to be presented and dedicated to God. This is also especially unique because this Child was none other than the Son of God Himself, Who was therefore in fact, presented to His heavenly Father, dedicated and committed to the mission entrusted in Him for the salvation of the whole world.

The Son of God has revealed Himself to us, showing the love and compassion of God, and we are all called to embrace this love and compassion, and to turn towards Him and looking up to Him, remembering and realising just how fortunate each and every one of us have been to have this loving gift of salvation from God. Thanks to Him, we can have hope once again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we also celebrate the occasion of the World Day of Consecrated Life, remembering particularly all those who have followed in the Lord’s footsteps by dedicating themselves wholeheartedly in consecrating their lives to God just as the Lord has been presented at the Temple and was consecrated for the mission entrusted to Him.

Those who have been called to the Consecrated Life are those brothers and sisters of ours who committed their lives wholly to God, who desire nothing else but to serve God and glorify Him by their lives. They spent their whole lives living together in faithful communities, either cloistered in the monasteries or living in a community of brothers and sisters dedicated in serving the people of God.

Today all of us thank the Lord for the gift of the dedication of these fellow brothers and sisters of ours, and of course we also show them our appreciation as well. We pray for all of them that they can stay committed in their calling and ministry, in whatever it is that they are doing, through prayers and actions, and we pray that there will be more of those whom God had called who will respond to the call to Consecrated Life and live a holy life befitting of those whom God had called and chosen.

May the Lord continue to guide those whom He had called and chosen, and may He strengthen their faith and give them the courage to persevere through the various challenges in life. May He also awaken in more among us to respond to His call, that more and more men and women may come to join the Consecrated Life, and be inspiration in faith for everyone of us. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 1 February 2021 : 4th 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 Scripture, we heard of the sufferings of the faithful, the terrible things that happened to those who have kept their faith steady in God, and then God’s reassurance that He would always be with them and He would free them from their predicament. By the power and grace from God, all who believe in Him will be saved and enter into the eternal and true joy and glory in Him.

In our first reading today we heard of the account from the Epistle to the Hebrews linking the great deeds of the past Judges of Israel and the heroes of those bygone days, those who had been nobody, but God raised them up and called them to be the leaders of His people, giving them the guidance and power to free the people of Israel. And the author also mentioned how there were yet many others who were suffering and even dying because of their faith, and they had to endure all of that.

What this passage wanted to tell the audience back then, namely the believers and unbelievers from among the Jewish people, as well as all of us listening to it again today, is that everything that happened, all happened by God’s grace and in God’s good time. Everything had happened and will happen exactly as the Lord willed it. When we see our fellow brethren and ourselves suffering, especially for our faith, and when we see no help coming our way, it does not mean that the Lord did not love us or that He did not care about us.

On the contrary, if He wanted to, He could definitely free us immediately from all sufferings and difficulties. But just as He Himself has suffered and endured the worst of sufferings when He took the heavy burden of the Cross upon Himself, thus all of us actually suffer together with Him and share in His suffering. Ultimately, suffering itself came about from the abuse of mankind’s freedom, the free will to act that God has given to each and every one of us. The reason why we suffer is because we mankind put ourselves, our individual, egoistic selves, our desires and wants, our ambitions above any considerations for others.

That is why, as we then heard in our Gospel passage today, of the Lord healing the two men possessed by powerful evil spirits in the land of the Gerasenes, we are all reminded of the power of God that is able to overcome all these bonds and challenges that have made our life difficult and burdened, and the Lord alone has the power to free us and heal us from this bondage. He sent out those evil spirits from the men as a sign that He would also liberate all of us from the clutches of sin, and He would restore us to a life that is filled with blessings and grace.

This also means that we need to learn to trust in God, to believe in Him and to follow Him in His path, and we need to learn to seek Him for help when we truly are in need of help and assistance. Too often we mankind prefer to settle things on our own, and we cannot betray our own ego and pride, pretending that there is no problem when we are in fact struggling from various issues and challenges. We refuse to turn to God even in our most difficult moments, because we do not want to look weak in front of others.

But unless we seek the Lord and entrust ourselves to Him, we cannot truly gain true liberation and find the path going forward in life, as we can only find the salvation in God alone. We should learn to be faithful and to be trusting in God, in allowing Him to lead us down the right path and in touching our lives so that by our actions, our faith and dedication we may be inspiration for one another.

Let us all not be fearful or worry any longer, but let us all turn towards God with a new and reenergised heart, with a new conviction and strength to devote ourselves, our time and attention to follow Him, to obey His laws and to be exemplary as Christians, as God’s chosen people. May the Lord strengthen us and give us the courage to stand up to our faith, from now on and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 January 2021 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the readings of the Sacred Scripture, we are all presented with the assurance from God that if we focus our attention on Him, put our faith in Him and entrust ourselves to Him, in the end we have nothing to worry about, and we should not allow worldly concerns and temptations to distract us, or worse still, drag us away from the path towards redemption.

In order to understand properly the readings of the Scripture today, which may not be so easily evident and understandable, we have to understand first the context of how they were written and recorded. First of all, regarding the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses addressed the people of Israel and promised them the coming of the great Prophet that would come from their midst, he was in fact speaking about the future coming of Christ.

Why is that so? That is because, Christ, our Lord and Saviour was born among the Israelites, as the Heir of king David no less, and He was the One promised by the Lord and prophesied by the many prophets, and that included even Moses and his proclamation, that even all those years ago, before the Israelites even reached the Promised Land and established themselves, God had begun to reveal His plan of salvation to them.

And most importantly, as we heard in our Psalm today as well, the mention of Massah and Meribah was significant as these two places were especially infamous in the history of the Exodus, as it was at Massah and Meribah that the people of God explicitly rebelled against the Lord and refused to obey Him, complaining that they did not have enough to eat and how their lives as slaves back in Egypt were better than when they were then at, in the desert.

All of these happened even though the Lord had generously taken very good care of them, providing them with food to eat, with the manna from heaven and the flocks of large birds daily along the entire journey, as well as water to drink in the middle of the mostly dry, barren and lifeless desert. The Lord had loved His people very much, and yet they had rejected Him and rose up against Him, again and again.

We also heard Moses mentioning about Mount Horeb, the place where the Israelites had come to gather and make a Covenant between them and God. That was also the place where God established His Law and gave them the Ten Commandments through Moses. However, I am sure we also remember how at that very moment, the Israelites had also distrusted the Lord yet another time, when they turned to a golden calf idol as they thought that the Lord had abandoned them when Moses went up the mountain for forty days to receive God’s Law.

We have seen how faithless the people of God had been, many times throughout their history, even through the relatively short period of the Exodus. Many of those were caused by their failure to resist the temptations and pressure to crave the desires of the world, the temptations of pleasures and money, the desires of the flesh among many other things. That was why they turned away from God.

Finally, in our Gospel passage today we heard the Lord Jesus, His works and preaching, as the fulfilment of God’s promises and the One Whom Moses and the other prophets had mentioned. And when men possessed by the evil spirits came to Him, the evil spirits even recognised the Lord and proclaimed Him as the Holy One of God, the Son of God and Saviour of the world. And the irony is how those evil spirits recognised and proclaimed the Lord when many among the people to whom the Lord had taught and performed miracles still refused to believe in Him and doubted Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore today, as we listened through the Scripture passages, we are all called to reflect on the nature and importance of our faith in our daily lives. Have we been truly faithful to God and have we trusted Him wholly all these time? These are some things that we really should spend time pondering on, and we need to consider how we can grow ever more in our faith and commitment.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress in life, let us all be exemplary in our actions and in how we reach out to one another, to share our faith with our fellow brothers and sisters. If we ourselves have not been truly faithful then how can we expect others to be faithful as well? The Lord is calling on all of us to turn towards Him with faith, and to be true and genuine witnesses of our Christian faith, our belief in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all.

Let us all be filled with God’s grace and love; and let us do our best in our every moments in life to lead one another towards the salvation in God. May the Lord give us the strength and the courage to continue walking ever more faithfully in His path from now on. May He bless all of our works and our interactions, that we may call ever more souls from the darkness of this world and into the eternal light and glory in God. Amen.

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Saturday, 30 January 2021 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are reminded today that faith is truly important for each and every one of us, and all of us need to have faith in God and trust in Him no matter what. We need to entrust ourselves to Him and do not fear what may come our way, no matter how difficult things may be. Yes, it is natural for us to be fearful and to be afraid, to think about what may happen to us and all other things, but in the end, we must hold on firmly to the belief that God will triumph with us in the end.

In our Scripture readings today we are presented with the story of faith as how it had happened throughout the history of salvation. We heard from the first reading today the story of Abraham and Sarah, who had been expecting a child from God, promised even in their old ages. Earlier on, Abraham had followed the Lord and responded to His call when he left behind his ancestral home and went to the land pointed out by the Lord to be his own land and the land to be possessed by his descendants.

God made a Covenant with Abraham, and promised him that he would be the father of many nations. Initially, Abraham also did doubt for a little as he took a slave named Hagar and had a son with her, named Ishmael. But God again reassured Abraham as well as his wife Sarah, that it was their son who would become the father of many nations just as God had promised. Initially Sarah herself was also skeptical, laughing when the Lord disguised as visitors came to Abraham to tell him of the news.

But eventually the Lord fulfilled all that He has promised and Isaac was born, the promised child that came to be as promised. And when God tested Abraham by asking him to bring his son Isaac to Mount Moria and offer him as a sacrifice, Abraham, as saddened and sorrowful as he might have been, obeyed the Lord and entrusted himself to Him, bringing his son and doing everything just as the Lord had said. The Lord interfered after having seen the faith of Abraham, and reassured Abraham once again that for his enduring faith, he would be blessed above all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from that reading therefore we have heard of the great faith of our forefathers, all those who put their complete faith in the Lord. And in our Gospel passage today we heard the account about the disciples and the Lord who were in the middle of the lake and whose boat was beset by a great storm with strong winds and waves. The disciples, many of whom were fishermen themselves, knew the danger and were very afraid of what would happen to them.

They feared that the great storm would destroy and sink their boat, and then all of them would perish. That was why they panicked and begged the Lord frantically to do something for them. They were all frightened and certainly feared death, and they had little faith in the Lord. The Lord, Who was then sleeping, woke up and calmed the storm, the waves and the wind, which immediately ceased and everything became still.

The Lord rebuked and chided His disciples for their lack of faith and trust in Him, in giving in to their fears and uncertainties. Again, although it is natural for us to feel afraid and to be uncertain, but this tells us that we must never allow ourselves to be controlled by those fears. We must not allow those fears from controlling us and our choice of actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore we are all called to reflect on what it means for us to have faith in God. Is our faith in the Lord so shallow that we have not entrusted ourselves completely to His care? Have we even begun to trust the Lord more rather than worrying and trusting more in our own power? These are the questions that we should ask ourselves as we reflect on our paths going forward in life.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us that we may live ever more faithfully with each and every passing moments. May we draw ever more to Him and be inspired by the examples of our holy predecessors in faith, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 29 January 2021 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day as we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures all of us are reminded of what we all need to do as Christians in being faithful and in remaining true to this faith we have in God. All of us need to build the kingdom of God on Earth, through our actions and active participation in the good works of the Church. The Lord had called us to this purpose, and we should commit ourselves to it.

Our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews remind us what being a Christian is, in showing love and mercy to others, in showing care and compassion on those who need them, in displaying solidarity and genuine affection for those who have been dispossessed and those who are suffering, because ultimately, the Lord Himself had shown us all of these, by His loving mercy and compassion through Christ.

And He has not left us all alone, as He continued to watch over us and guided us all these while, through inspiring of countless peoples, all those called to follow in His ways and to walk in His path of love. The Lord has always been with us through every steps of the journey, and we may not realise it but through our interactions with one another, the love which is present among us in our community, God is always present there.

This is then what the Lord had meant by the kingdom of God in the parables that He has used to explain it today, in the Gospel passage we heard. It is like a growing seed that flourishes and multiplies, bearing much rich harvest, just as we have heard recently from the parable of the sower, and also like a mustard seed growing into a large tree on which birds of the air can take shelter in.

Each and every one of us are members of this Church, into which God has entrusted us many things. But, unless we make the effort to grow the Church and be active in our contributions, a seed will remain just as a seed and nothing more. On the contrary, if the seed successfully germinates and grow, well taken care of and given the right conditions for its growth, then it will grow immensely and become a great and all encompassing tree.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the kingdom of God is already here upon us, in the Church, in our Christian community in the world today. The Lord is the King, enthroned in our hearts and as the Head of the living and visible Church. Through us and our actions, we make concrete and real the kingdom of God in this world. All of us have to take part in the good works of God and contribute actively by our actions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all ask ourselves, what can we do in our lives to be a part of this growing kingdom of God in our midst? There are lots of things and opportunities that we can do, in order to be a contributing and faithful Christian in our communities. We do not have to do great and wonderful things, as even small and seemingly insignificant contributions will eventually be a very great one when combined together.

That is why, let us all work together as one Christian family, as fellow brothers and sisters, all disciples of the Lord, in doing whatever we can to bring about God’s truth and love into this world by our own exemplary life and actions. Let us all glorify the Lord by our actions, our commitment and dedication. May the Lord bless us all and be with us in our journey, at every steps of the way. May God’s love shine through us and be the foundation of a great kingdom of God in this world. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 January 2021 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are brought to attention of the fact that all of us as Christians have received the calling to proclaim the Word of God, the truth of God and be faithful witnesses of our Christian faith in the midst of our respective communities and societies. Unless we do this, we cannot truly call ourselves as Christians, and our faith is merely one that is a formality and not genuine.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples using a parable, of that of the light placed on a lampstand. By using that parable, the Lord wanted all of us to know that we must never be passive or be ignorant of our calling to be the bearers of God’s light and truth in the midst of our communities. The light that He referred to in the parable represent the truth that He Himself had brought into this world and which we had received, through His Church.

It also represents all the gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities we have received and been blessed with by God. Thus, whatever it is that we have received from God, we should not take for granted and we should make good use of them, in whatever opportunity we have, to be good disciples and followers of Christ. And what does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we should be His genuine witnesses, to bear His love in the midst of our communities, among the members of our own families and relatives and in our circle of friends and to those whom we encounter daily in life.

As our first reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews highlighted to us, we proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ, the One true and Eternal High Priest Who had come into this world, accepting His mission to be the One to offer the perfect and worthy sacrifice for the sake of our salvation. And this sacrifice was none other than His own Most Precious Body and Blood, to be both the High Priest offering for our sake and the Paschal Lamb of sacrifice. By the outpouring of His Blood, His suffering and death on the Cross, Christ has brought us a new hope of eternal life through Him.

This ultimate and most selfless love of Our Lord is what we are proclaiming, brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us should therefore first of all, love the Lord with all of our might and heart, and then, do our best to show the same love towards our fellow men, to our brothers and sisters. It is then by our actions and deeds, together with our words and love that we may inspire many others to believe in God as well, and they may also follow in our footsteps and receive God’s grace as well.

For ourselves, we can also be inspired by the faith and examples showed by St. Thomas Aquinas whose feast we are celebrating this very day. St. Thomas Aquinas was the famous theologian, known as among the best if not the best of those who seek to understand more of the nature of God in theology. He was renowned for his pivotal work, the Summa Theologiae. He was also remembered for his many other contributions, writings and works which still influenced and inspired so many people long after his passing.

St. Thomas Aquinas was however also remembered for his great love for the Lord, in his tireless desire to glorify God and to lead a holy and exemplary life. And for his dedication to love the Lord and his efforts, all of us should also be inspired and be strengthened in our faith. All of us have so much potential in us to be great in our commitment and works, in touching the lives of others positively and in being genuine witnesses of our Lord at all times.

Let us all proclaim the Lord and His truth most wholeheartedly each and every moments of our lives, through even our smallest and least significant of actions. Let us all be genuine in loving God and in dedicating ourselves to Him just as St. Thomas Aquinas had done, and as our many holy predecessors had done and lived through their lives. Let us all glorify the Lord by our lives and be true to our Christian faith, at all times. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 January 2021 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Holy Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard again about the salvation of God passed down to us through Christ, the High Priest as we continue the discourse from the Epistle to the Hebrews, reminding us yet again how the Lord had offered Himself as the perfect and worthy sacrifice for our sins. The Lord has blessed us with this wonderful grace, forgiving us our sins and leading us into assurance of eternal life through Him.

And now, all of us are called to remember that the Lord has revealed to us all these and therefore we are expected to make good use of all that He has given to us along with this revelation. To each and every one of us God has given us the gift of faith, the wonders of our various talents and abilities, the gift of hope and love as well. These are the seeds that God had sowed in us, and which is aptly summarised and shown through the parable in our Gospel today.

In that parable of the sower, we heard how the sower spread the seeds and those seeds fell on different places. Those different places in fact represent the different attitudes by which we receive and embrace the gifts of God, and how we respond to His call and His truth. Those seeds that fell by the roadside, those that fell on rocky grounds and those that grew amidst thorns and bushes were those who have not fully embraced God’s truth and love.

First of all, those seeds that fell by the wayside were seized and eaten up by the birds, which symbolised the failure of those who reject the Lord and their refusal to even listen to Him or to accept His words and teachings. As a result, those seeds of faith had no place in them, and the devil and all of his fellow forces of evil came and snatched these from them, leaving them barren and without grace.

Then, those seeds that fell on rocky grounds represent those that did receive the word of God, His truth and love, but they hardened their hearts and did not allow these to take root deep within them. Their faith were superficial and merely for appearances rather than genuinely believing in the Lord and in His truth. Thus, similarly those seeds could not grow properly and perished. They did not have the right attitude to welcome the words of the Lord into their hearts.

Those seeds that fell on among the thistles, bushes and brambles represent those who have been more willing to embrace the word of God, His truth and love, and yet they still loved the world more and sought pleasure and enjoyment from the world rather than to fully trust in the Lord. As such, they also failed to grow properly in faith and God’s grace, and they too fell just like the others. The temptations to sin are powerful, and they can bring us down if we are not careful.

Only those seeds that landed on the rich and fertile soil grew well and multiplied in produce so much that they produced thirty, sixty and hundred-fold as many in produce as compared to the original. This represents those who embraced the Lord, His truth and love, and committed themselves wholeheartedly to Him, and allowed the Lord to perform His wonders through them. And this is what we are all called to be, brothers and sisters, to be fruitful in faith and to be filled with God’s love.

Are we willing to do so brothers and sisters? Can we commit ourselves to Him and do our best to follow Him and do His will? We can follow the good examples set by St. Angela Merici, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Angela Merici was a renowned religious and educator, who was essential in the founding of the now famous Ursulines Order. She dedicated much of her life and work to the advancement of education especially that among the girls, often neglected at the time.

St. Angela Merici spent a lot of time educating young girls and young women, and inspired many women to follow in her own footsteps, encouraging them all to follow the Lord wholeheartedly while remaining in the world, ministering to the needs of those who lacked basic education and proper guidance. As a result of her dedication and efforts, many people came to follow in her footsteps and their combined effort brought so many changes and impact to the society, a definition of what thirty, sixty and hundred-fold produce is all about.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we too can do the same with our own lives. We do not have to do great and wonderful things, but even with our small actions, we may impact the lives of others and touch them with the love and truth of God. This will in time cause a great ripple effect as those whom we touch will then continue to touch the lives of others on their own accord, spreading the impact far beyond what we ourselves can do alone.

Let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to God, and spend time to do what the Lord has called us to do. May God be with us always in this journey and may He strengthen us that we may always strive our best to bear fruits in our faith, at all times. May God bless us all and our many good endeavours. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 26 January 2021 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Bishops (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of two of Christendom’s great leaders and as counted among the earliest pillars and foundations of the Church through their great dedication and commitment to the cause of the Lord. St. Timothy and St. Titus were both close collaborators of St. Paul and the other Apostles, who were like the spiritual sons of St. Paul. They were travelling with St. Paul and were working with him at some point of time, ministering to the people of God and preaching the Word of God.

St. Paul and the Apostles entrusted to them the care of the flock of the faithful, becoming among the first ‘overseers’ of the Church, also later known as bishops, as predecessors of the episcopal system that we are all familiar with today. St. Timothy and St. Titus were great servants of God with great commitment and dedication to the Lord and His people, immensely contributing to the growth of the early Church and becoming good examples for their fellow Christians.

Both St. Timothy and St. Titus would eventually suffer martyrdom for their faith, as what was also very common at that time for many of the leaders of the Church and many others among the laypeople. They suffered for the sake of the Lord and the flock entrusted to them, and by their courageous defence of their faith they became inspiration for their fellow Christians, to be the leaders by example and to encourage all those who were filled with uncertainties and doubts in their faith.

In our Gospel passage today we heard the Lord commissioning and sending out His disciples to do the many works He has entrusted to them, to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits, to reveal the truth of God and His Good News to more and more people, to touch the lives of others and prepare the way for the Lord. He reminded all of them to be courageous and strong in faith, that although they would likely encounter challenges and difficulties throughout their journey but they would not be alone.

This is because God will guide them and be with them throughout the journey. He will provide for them and protect them, not allowing them to journey alone. He would strengthen them to bring forth His truth and peace to all the peoples of all the nations. That was all that the Lord did for all His servants, and many responded to His call and served Him. Many suffered and endured martyrdom for His sake, but they never gave up the faith

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in that same Gospel passage, the Lord also appealed to us all to follow Him, as He said that while the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. This means that although there are so many opportunities for the Word of God and for His salvation to be spread ever further throughout this world, saving many more souls, but there are so few to pick up the work and do what we can to advance the cause of the Lord.

This is where all of us come in, brethren, as each and every one of us are bound by our baptism to the same calling that the Lord had made to His Apostles, in His calling for all of them to go forth and proclaim His Good News and salvation to the nations. Their work are not yet done, and we are needed to contribute ourselves to this cause. Are we willing and able to follow in their footsteps? Are we willing to walk in the path that our predecessors, such as St. Timothy and St. Titus had traversed?

Let us all discern these carefully, and consider what we can do, even in the smallest ways, in the littlest of contributions, to be the bearers of God’s truth and light in this world. Let us all live our lives with genuine faith so that all those who see us and witness our actions and works, all of them will come to believe in God as well, and more and more will be saved, through us. May God help us all and strengthen our faith, and may the holy saints, St. Timothy and St. Titus, pray for us always. Amen.