Reflection of the Bible

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Friday, 30 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard the words of the Lord in the Scriptures today, we are reminded that the Law of God is a guide to help us find our way to the Lord, and is in itself a reminder of God’s ever generous love for each and every one of us. God has loved us all and cared for us, and through His love He gave us the Law to guide us, His people that we may find our way to Him.

God’s Law is not meant to be used to cause sufferings and difficulties for some and at the same time benefitting others. Neither is the Law meant to make it difficult for the people to be faithful to God. And this is why, the Lord Jesus often came head-to-head against the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who enforced a particularly strict and rigid interpretation of the Law on the faithful.

In its long development and use, the Law of God as revealed through Moses had been interpreted, reinterpreted and modified, to suit the purposes and circumstances of the contemporary time. And as these laws were passed down from generations to generations, they came to forget why those laws were enforced and used in the first place. They failed to appreciate the context in which God placed those laws in the very beginning.

God gave His Law at the time when the Israelites and their stubbornness, their constant bickering and complaining, and lack of faith were threatening to lead many, even the whole nation away from God and into the path of rebellion and sin. Had they been allowed to walk down that path, they would have perished and been condemned by those sins they had committed. God’s love for each and every one of His people did not allow Him to let this happen just like that.

That is why, the Law as He described to Moses, and written in the Torah was in fact measures to keep the people in check and to discipline them, to help them to keep themselves in track and not lose their way. And all of these were done with the ultimate goal of reconciling God and His people, to recall all of the people of God back to His loving embrace. As we can see, it was the love of God behind everything, and love is the reason for the Law.

But over time, the Law’s intention and use have been twisted and misunderstood, as showed by how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law imposing the harsh laws to glorify themselves as those who obeyed those regulations and rules, while excluding, ostracising and being prejudiced against those whom they deemed to be inferior and less worthy of God than themselves, for people like tax collectors and prostitutes, those who were infirm and afflicted with diseases.

They portrayed the image of a fearsome, angry and wrathful God Who was always ready to punish His people for any wrongdoings, and that the grace of God was reserved only for those like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. And therefore, the Lord’s different approach, set to remind all of the people of the true intention and purpose of the Law, led to great frictions between the Lord and all those who refused to listen to the truth.

The Lord sternly told those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that their stubbornness and refusal to accept the truth of God that He Himself had brought before them were indeed horrible. He presented before them that the Lord would want to heal the sick, and those who needed His help, even on the Sabbath itself. For many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, interpreting the Law strictly to the letter out of context, they would rather leave the suffering to suffer and perish rather than to reach out and help.

This is what all of us must not behave like, brothers and sisters in Christ. We must not allow such legalistic thoughts and elitist behaviour to influence or dominate us. Instead, through what St. Paul told to the people in Philippi in our first reading today, all of us ought to live in the love of God, and share that love with one another. God’s love is equally shared with all, even with the most wicked ones, and so long as they are willing to repent and turn away from their sins, they will be forgiven all the same.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians are called to reflect on this to see how we can live our lives in a more Christ-like manner, to be true Christians in how we live, and in how we interact with one another. Indeed, all of us are called to love in the same way as just how God has loved us. But many of us had not been able to do so. And we must then remember that the Law of God, especially His Ten important Commandments, are all about love, loving God first and foremost, and loving our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way.

Are we able and willing to do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to show care, love and compassion on our fellow brethren, especially those who need our love and care? Let us all discern carefully what we can do as Christians, to dedicate ourselves and our efforts for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. When there is need for love, let us show it to them and do what we can to bring God’s love to those who need them.

May the Lord bless us all and may He strengthen us all with the resolve to show care and concern for our fellow brethren, at all times, to love God with all of our hearts and to be faithful always. Amen.

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Thursday, 29 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day each and every one of us have been reminded to be strong and to be prepared against the attacks and assaults from the evil one and all of its wicked forces. All of us are told to be firm in our faith in God and to be ready to resist those who are going to try to harm us and bring us to our downfall.

St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus in our first reading today spoke of how through God, we are truly blessed, well-protected and taken care of. We have nothing to fear since God Himself is on our side, protecting us and leading us down the right path. And St. Paul also spoke of how we ought to wear our whole armour of God to struggle in the battle against evil.

This is because we are indeed in the middle of the constant struggle against evil for our souls. We are always struggling to resist the attempts by those who wanted to lead us to harm and downfall, tempting us with false promises and coercion, hoping that we will end up abandoning our faith and fall into sin.

In our Gospel today, we heard of the Lord and how He lamented the wickedness of those who have persecuted the faithful servants of God, and those who have refused to believe in Him despite all the things He Himself has performed before them, all the miraculous healings, all the wonders and the amazing revelations and wisdom that He has shown them all.

Throughout history, many prophets and messengers had been sent to the people of God in order to remind them to be faithful to Him. Yet, the people remained in their stubbornness, refusing to listen to those reminders sent to them. This happened because the people were proud, and refused to admit that their ways could be wrong, and refused to humble themselves before God and His servants, or to seek forgiveness for their faults and shortcomings.

Their greed also led them to seek worldly pleasures and the false joys of the world at the expense of their souls. The devil and his fallen angels had an easy time to lead them down the path of ruin, tempting them with many things that distracted them from the truth, pulled them away from the path of redemption and reconciliation with God. And that is why, the Lord lamented this state of affairs, after all He had done for them.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all constantly reminded to be strong in our faith, and to renew our commitment and dedication to God. Amidst all the pressures and temptations from the devil and all of the excesses of the world he presented before all of us, we must strengthen our defences that we do not falter and slide into the path of sin.

Let us all strengthen our relationship with God, through constant prayer and spending good, quality time with Him. Let us all be genuine and zealous in living up our Christian lives and respective calling in life. As we continue to walk down this path that the Lord has shown us, let us all pray for His guidance and protection that we may persevere faithfully through whatever challenges and trials, difficulties and temptations that are in our paths.

May God be with us always, and may He bless us all, in our everyday lives and actions, that we may ever be more and more attuned to Him and His will, and we may draw ever closer to the fullness of His love and grace. Amen.

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Wednesday, 28 October 2020 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great Feast of the Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, two of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, likely referring to his past as a member of the Zealots, the extremists who fought against the Romans at the time of Jesus. Meanwhile, St. Jude refers to St. Jude Thaddeus, who was sometimes connected with Jude, of the extended family of the Lord.

Both of these Apostles had been with the other Apostles of the Lord, faithfully following the Lord and serving Him throughout His ministry. St. Simon abandoned his previous life as a freedom fighter and member of a extremist group seeking to bring about the freedom of the Israelites through force from their Roman overlords. St. Jude Thaddeus was known in some Church traditions as one of the relatives or brothers of Jesus, probably from St. Joseph’s earlier family, and he was also the probable author of the Epistle of St. Jude.

Both of them would go on to serve the Lord and reach out to the peoples of various nations, answering to the call of the Lord to evangelise to the nations. St. Simon the Apostle went to many places, often together with St. Jude the Apostle, which is why both of them are celebrated together today, for their missionary zeal and commitment to God to the very end. St. Simon visited places like Persia and Armenia, Egypt and Ethiopia, and according to some traditions even went as far as Britain.

Meanwhile, according to tradition, St. Jude the Apostle evangelised throughout Judea and Samaria, and with St. Simon the Apostle, evangelised in Persia, Armenia and other places, and eventually, they were martyred in the region now known as Lebanon, many decades after they began their missions for the Lord. Both of them had committed themselves to the Lord and converted many, establishing firm foundations of the Church in many places, and gave everything to the Lord, even their lives, for His sake.

We can see how as we rejoice in the memory of these two glorious Apostles of the Lord, that the Lord has showed His love so wonderfully towards us by giving us His love and salvation through all those whom He had called and chosen to be the bearers of His Good News. He has established His Church to gather all of those who believe in Him, and called all of us to come to Him, by His servants, the Apostles who have built the foundations of the Church, and their successors, the bishops and priests who passed on this faith to us.

However, we also have to recognise that just as we have been gathered together in the Church, brought into the salvation in God, we have the duty and responsibility to continue the good works of the Apostles and their successors, for just as they had dedicated themselves to God and passed on their faith to all those to whom they had ministered, we too have the same responsibility to be faithful witnesses of our Christian faith and proclaim the Lord’s Good News to all.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is is not by shouting out the word of God or preaching before the masses of people unlike what many of us may think of. That is one form of evangelisation, indeed, but the even more powerful form of evangelisation comes about if we live out our faith with sincerity and do what we truly believe in. If we do not act and do things in the manner that we have professed our faith, then our faith is no better than empty and meaningless.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us are called to follow the Lord in our lives and actions, to live virtuously as faithful and dedicated Christians, to be faithful in even the little things we do, so that all those who see us and come in touch with us, may see our faith in the Lord and come to believe in Him as well. The Apostles and the disciples of the Lord had also practiced their faith and dedicated themselves with love, caring for one another and showing genuine Christian love, and through their martyrdom, showed their undying love for God.

It was by all these dedications that they had called so many others to the faith, many of those who also became courageous and faithful evangelisers themselves. Many of them suffered for remaining faithful as well, and many died as martyrs in the various places, glorifying God by their faith even to the very end. All of us should be inspired by their actions and their faith, their good examples and dedication to the Lord, that we ourselves take up our crosses and commit ourselves to be good Christians at all times.

The Lord has called us all to follow in His footsteps to do what His Apostles had done, and to look upon St. Simon and St. Jude in particular for their hard work and devotion. Are we able to follow them faithfully and dedicate ourselves in the same way as they have done? Let us do whatever we can and commit ourselves to God with a renewed zeal and commitment from now on. May the Lord be with us and may He bless us all and guide us in our journey of faith, now and always. St. Simon and St. Jude Thaddeus, Holy Apostles of the Lord, pray for us all! Amen.

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Tuesday, 27 October 2020 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are reminded of the obligations we have as Christians to be faithful witnesses for the Lord in our everyday lives and in all the things and actions we do in our interactions with one another. We have been all called as faithful Christians to walk courageously in God’s path, and to be examples of faith to one another.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, St. Paul reminded all the faithful that through the grace of baptism, all of them had become members of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Therefore, they should all do their part as members of the Church and part of the same Body of Christ.

For ultimately, if Christ is the Head of the Church, which is the same Body of Christ that we are part of, and belonging in Communion of, then our actions and beliefs must be in conjunction and in harmony with the way of the Lord or else, we are truly hypocrites who proclaim to believe in God and yet lived our lives not in accordance to His ways and teachings, and we also bring scandal to our faith.

St. Paul spoke of how husbands ought to be respected by their wives as the heads of their respective families. However, this often caused us to overlook the fact that the wives ought to be respected equally by their husbands as well. And in the context of the societal norms of that era, it was customary and usual for husbands to be the ones who head the household while the wives were the ones who managed the household and cared for all the members of the family within.

Essentially, the family must be filled with genuine faith in God, or else that family is empty and easily shaken by doubt and lack of faith. And since our families, our genuine and faithful Christian families are the strong foundation of our Church, the basic units of the Church and indeed as the domestic Church ought to be filled with genuine love for God, faith and devotion. And this is impossible unless each and every members of the family work together in faith, gather together regularly in prayer.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all called to be more faithful to God especially in our families and communities. We are all called to contribute in whichever capacity we have, to be committed wholeheartedly to God in our every actions, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to be. If every one of us do what we can, in everything we say and do, we shall bring forth the greater glory of God together.

Today, we are challenged to be builders of faithful, prayerful, loving and good families that come together and do whatever we can together to serve God with all of our hearts. Let us all renew our commitment to the Lord, that each and every one of us no longer serve our own selfish and worldly desires, but instead seek for the greater glory of God and His kingdom through His Church in this world, the tangible Body of Christ.

May the Lord be our guide and may He help us in our journey of faith, that each and every one of us may find our way to God and commit ourselves to a new righteous life and existence in Him. May God be with us always and may He empower us to be good and courageous Christians in each and every actions we take in life. Amen.

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Monday, 26 October 2020 : 30th 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 are presented with the reminder for us to be genuine Christians in our lives, and not to be hypocrites and lukewarm in living as Christians. The Lord has called all of us to be fully committed and be filled with love for Him and our fellow men, in each and every moments of our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard the Apostle reminding the faithful in that city to keep their Christian faith and dedicate themselves to the Lord and His path, that they should always put God before anything else, and strive to follow the Lord’s path in their livelihood and actions.

St. Paul reminded the people there to keep themselves away from all sorts of impurities and sins, all wickedness and evils, all negative thoughts and actions that lead to sin. He told them to be exemplary in all of their actions, be it in small or significant things that they truly became faithful and genuine witnesses of their Christian faith before everyone else. Otherwise, they were no better than hypocrites.

In our Gospel today, we heard about the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees, who saw the Lord healing a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, a very long time indeed. And the Lord healed her even though it was plainly in the sight of all and on the day of the Sabbath. We may think that there is no issue with this at all, as after all the Lord was doing great things for God’s glory.

However, to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, mentioned as the rulers of the Synagogues, at that time, what the Lord has done was an aberration and travesty, tantamount to blasphemy and committing evil deeds, as they believed that the Sabbath day is a day when no activity of all sorts were allowed, regardless of the type of action and the circumstances and intentions behind them.

They rigidly interpreted and enforced the Law, that even as the Lord showed love and mercy to the suffering woman, they grumbled and were unhappy seeing what He has done before them and the people. They would rather that the woman suffered longer than to be flexible in their enforcement and application of the Law. Their insistence in enforcing strictly the laws of Moses showed how they failed to understand and appreciate their faith properly.

The Law of God, as the Lord made it very clear, is not meant to oppress or make the people to suffer. The Law of God is meant for the people to rediscover their love and devotion to God, to remind them of the necessary things for them to do, in order to direct their effort and attention on God. Through the Law, including the Law regulating the Sabbath, God wants us all to keep and devote some time, reminding us that He is the chief priority of our lives.

That is why, the Sabbath was meant for keeping a sacred and special time for the people that they might spend it with God and keep themselves from all the distractions and the temptations that the world usually brought to them. Instead, the people ended up focusing on the wrong things, focusing excessively on the minute details, on how each observances of the Sabbath could be done, rather than focusing on the intention of the Law.

Through His healing of the woman suffering for such a long time, the Lord in fact wanted to show them His wonderful love. He wanted us to recognise this love and learn to love Him more and more. And how do we do this, brothers and sisters? It is by living righteously and virtuously in accordance to His Law, dedicating ourselves, our time, attention and effort on Him.

May the Lord help each and every one of us to remain more faithful to Him, and may He bless each and every one of us in our every good endeavours from now on. May God bless us all at all times, and guide us in the journey of life. May God be with us, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 25 October 2020 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us are reminded by God through the words of the Scripture of what it means for us to be Christians in loving and obeying God’s will and His laws and commandments. As we all have heard, primarily, the Law and commandments of God are about love, the love of God first and foremost before all else, and the love of our fellow neighbours, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord.

This is why as Christians we cannot be ignorant of this Law and our need to obey the Lord with true and sincere devotion. We have to recognise that through the love of God each and every one of us have been immensely blessed, favoured and are truly fortunate. It was because of this love which God showed us that the whole world could have been saved. For it was our fate that we ought to have been condemned and destroyed for our sins, but God’s enduring love for us did not allow that to happen.

That was what the Lord Himself had mentioned in the Book of Exodus on the instructions He gave the people of Israel that He had led out of the land of Egypt regarding matters such as how they ought to treat one another, behave as His people and His followers. The Lord told them that they ought to do good to others, and not to oppress them, just as they themselves had been rescued from oppression and slavery in Egypt. They should take good care of those who were vulnerable like widows and orphans, and they were also not to take advantage and make profits over others.

Essentially, the Lord wants each and every one of us to follow His examples in love, to show genuine love and compassion to each other, and not hatred, anger, or to be jealous or egoistic in our actions and interactions with one another. The Lord wants us to be truly faithful to Him and obey His Law with understanding of His intentions of why He has given us His laws. And it is that He wants us to turn to Him and find our way to Him, to rediscover the love which we ought to have for Him, and centre our lives once again on Him.

Unfortunately, as the Lord gave His people the Law and made His Covenant with them, they refused to obey Him and often went against Him and betrayed Him for other gods and by their wicked deeds. As soon as God made a Covenant with them, and not long after He liberated them from Egypt and led them out of slavery, with mighty deeds and showing His love to them before their own eyes, they chose to erect for themselves a golden calf to be worshipped as a false god and idol.

And over many times throughout the Exodus and their journey to the Promised Land, the Israelites had repeatedly doubted the Lord, complained and groaned against Him, complaining that they did not have enough or they had it much better even in slavery in Egypt, when the Lord had obviously shown great care and love for them, giving them provisions of the heavenly bread manna each day, as well as flocks of birds in the evening and good water to drink throughout their long journey in the lifeless and empty desert.

That was why God gave Moses series of instructions and rules, which eventually became the Law of Moses as codified in the Torah. God wanted His people to follow those rules and obey them in the context of that time, when they were constantly disobeying Him and therefore were in great danger of falling into damnation and destruction. For those who continued to sin and refused to turn towards the Lord would be judged by their own sins, by their own conscious choice to refuse the love and mercy of God.

Therefore, even in all these, we can see what God’s true intention was when He gave His Law to His people. It was out of His love for them, His desire to be reconciled with them and to keep them away from destruction that would surely happen to them if they disobeyed Him and continued to live in sin. The Law was meant to be a guide and inspiration for them all to follow and obey that they might discipline themselves and keep their wicked desires and all the temptations of the world in check.

Unfortunately, all of these were misunderstood and the true meaning and purpose of the Law ended up being forgotten as time passed on. The people ended up seeing the Law as merely a formality and even for some, a burden to be fulfilled lest they incurred the wrath of God. The people misunderstood God’s intentions and became fearful of Him. And this became worse as over the centuries, modifications and extensions of the Law, its interpretation by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law ended up misleading the faithful and the people.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were very strict in their observance of the Law, and it was such that they caused great difficulty for the people in their enforcement of the standards of the rules and regulations, that many of the people were unable to keep up with its standards. Unfortunately, in truth, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law themselves were unable to observe all of those laws according to their own standards.

That was likely why the Pharisees asked the Lord, what is the most important commandment in the Law, partly to test the Lord and also partly out of their own desire to know that out of all those rules, regulations and commandments, which one was the most important one. And out of all these, in their busy preoccupations and being distracted by their obsession in obeying the Law according to their own flawed and incomplete understanding and interpretation.

The Lord therefore wants us all to realise that first of all God loves each and every one of us without exception. And through the Law that God has granted and revealed to us, the Lord wanted to show us the path leading us to Himself, through love. As the Lord plainly and clearly explained to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, that the whole Law, in its entirety, can be summarised into two main laws, that is in itself is all about love.

Just as the Lord has loved us all so much, that He has cared for us and given us His Law to guide us down the right path, to prevent us from falling into sin, then each and every one of us should indeed love Him first and foremost, in the same manner as He has loved us from the very beginning. That is why our lives must be Christ-centric, revolving around God and His teachings and ways. We should focus our time, effort and attention on the Lord and do whatever we can to serve Him and glorify Him.

And in order to do so, we have to love our fellow brothers and sisters, our neighbours and fellow men too. We cannot truly love God if we have not loved our fellow brethren in the same way that we love ourselves. After all, if we truly love God, then shouldn’t we also love those whom God has loved? If God loves each and every one of us equally without any exception, and shows mercy and compassion even to the greatest of sinners, then why can’t we do the same as well?

Many of us may think that being faithful Christians just means for us to fulfil our obligations such as going to the Holy Mass on Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligations, fast and abstain during the times stipulated by the Church and others. But these laws and rules established by the Church ultimately came from the Law of God, as revealed and fleshed out by the Lord Himself through His Apostles. And we have clearly heard how the Lord intended for us to love Him. In the same way, all those laws of the Church are meant to lead us towards God.

That is why, we cannot be lukewarm in living our faith. Many of us grumbled and complained even in fulfilling the basic obligations of our faith, and were not fully attentive and participative at the Holy Mass. We cannot wait until we can resume our daily routines and other worldly things in our minds, and we even consider all of that a waste of our precious time. Aren’t we ashamed of our lack of faith and our inappropriate conduct, brothers and sisters in Christ?

We must not forget that the Holy Mass is a constant reminder of the loving sacrifice that the Lord Himself had done for our sake from the Cross. He willingly bore our sins and all of their consequences, all the punishments due for us, on His own shoulders, bearing the wounds and hurts, all the sufferings for our sake. He poured His own Precious Blood to mark and seal a new Covenant with each and every one of us, the New and Eternal Covenant of Love, as a tangible and true revelation and evidence of His enduring love.

The Lord Himself had shown the perfect example of love to each and every one of us, by loving all of us, His brothers and sisters, and also obeying His heavenly Father’s will, bringing the Law in its fullness and showing us that it is indeed possible to be truly obedient to the Law. What matters then is, are we willing to follow the Lord’s examples and love Him, and love one another just in the manner that He has shown us? Or are we too busy with ourselves, to selfish, too distracted by temptations and desires to be able to do this?

As Christians, let our actions be filled with love, and not just any kind of love, but selfless and genuine love, especially towards all those who need this love. We should reach out to those who are unloved, rejected by others, and as the Lord Himself said, that we should love even all of our enemies, all those who have hurt us, forgiving them and asking for forgiveness ourselves, for any of the faults and hurts that we may have intentionally or unintentionally inflicted on them.

In our world today, there has been a lot of hatred, anger, injustice and many other things caused by the selfishness of mankind. And because of this, our calling as Christians is to be the difference, to show love where there has been anger and hatred, to show forgiveness, compassion and mercy where there has been conflict, divisions and disputes, to show the selfless love of God when we are frequently tempted to put ourselves and our selfish desires above the needs of others.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, to be true Christians in our daily living is not going to be easy. If we find it easy to be Christians, that is likely because we have not done what we should have done as Christians, as those whom the Lord had called and chosen to be His people. It is by our deeds and by our humble faith and obedience to God’s will that all will know of God’s love through us, and they will come to know that we truly are God’s people, and more and more will come to believe in Him as well.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive to be more faithful from now on, in how we live our lives and in how we act in each and every moments of our lives, to be the bearers of God’s love, dedicating ourselves to love God and to love all of God’s people, reaching out to those who are unloved and less fortunate than us, and sharing whatever blessings God had given to us, that all of us may truly be blessed together in love. May the Lord, our loving God and Father, continue to love each and every one of us, bless us and take good care of us, as He has done all these while. Amen.

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Saturday, 24 October 2020 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we listened to the words of the Lord reminding us of the gifts that each of us have been given by God, and how we need to dedicate ourselves to Him or else, if we do not, we will be found wanting for our lack of faith, and for our lack of fruitfulness in that faith, as per what we heard of the Lord’s words in our Gospel passage today, that all those who sin and do not repent, and act in accordance with faith, will be condemned.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus in which he spoke of the various gifts and talents that God has given to us His people, in its variety of calling and missions entrusted to us. And through this, God wants us all to know that we are all as members of the same Church of God, must be active in living our faith and in committing ourselves to the mission God has entrusted to us. We must support each other in the fulfilment of the successful ministry of the Church.

Not everyone has been called to be priests, or missionaries, or married people with families, each and every one of us have our own respective calling in life. Each of us has been given unique sets of talents and abilities that we can use to fulfil these callings we have received from God, to touch the lives of others and to bring God’s love and light to one another. We can help one another as members of God’s Church, working in tandem to accomplish many things together.

St. Paul continued on in saying how Christ is the Head of the Church and all the faithful are parts of the same Body of Christ, that is the Church. As he spoke of how the parts of the Body are working together in tandem and cohesion with each other, therefore all of us are members of the Church ought to work together as well, cooperate and do our best in our respective capacities, that we may be able to coordinate our efforts for the greater glory of God and to fulfil the mission He has entrusted to all of us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to us through the examples of the Galileans who died in the struggle between the Roman governor and the locals, and also those people who perished in the tower of Siloah. The Lord wanted to make examples of those cases known to the people who heard Him, that they perished not because of their own sins and misdeeds, and they did not perish just because they were more wicked but all would perish unless they repented from their sins.

This is to highlight to us all that we have to stay away from sin, and we have to do what we can as Christians, living our faith virtuously and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. We have to play our part as Christians in being part of the Body of Christ, in reaching out to our fellow brothers and sisters, as Christians, all committed to dedicate our time, effort and attention on serving the Lord to the best of our abilities. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to do this?

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the Claretians and also an Archbishop, renowned for his works in Cuba as the shepherd of the faithful. He was a dedicated shepherd who gave much of his effort and attention on his flock, caring for their needs and providing for them. St. Anthony Mary Claret was instrumental in his work and efforts in reaching out to his people, touching the lives of many and converting many to the faith.

When he was recalled to Spain to become the Queen of Spain’s confessor, St. Anthony Mary Claret continued to dedicate his life and efforts to serve the poor and care for those who are in need of spiritual guidance and help. He devoted much time and effort to establish schools and education for the people among other efforts. Through all these, we can see how St. Anthony Mary Claret had done with whatever has been placed under his power to contribute to the Church of God.

We can also do the same with our lives, brothers and sisters in Christ. And we are all called to follow the Lord as St. Anthony Mary Claret and the other saints had done, to give our very best in our respective capacities and callings in life, be it as those whom God had called to be His priests and missionaries, or as the members of the laity and all who have been called to lead good examples of Christian living in our families, showing how each and every one of us can serve the Lord together, and complement each other in our efforts. May God bless us all in our every good endeavours, for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 23 October 2020 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture we are reminded to live our lives as Christ-like as possible, that is heeding what St. Paul and the Lord had told us through the readings of the word of God today. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul exhorted the faithful to live faithfully as members of the one Church of God, while the Lord in our Gospel passage today told us to be always ever ready for everything.

In our first reading today, we heard the conclusion of a relatively long series of discourses the past few weekdays from this Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, which centred a lot of attention on the divisions within the Christian community and Church, as the many among Jewish converts disagreed with the non-Jews or Gentiles who had also become converts as well.

The Jewish converts who belonged to the Pharisees group wanted to impose the strict observance of the laws of Moses and their even stricter interpretation and impose all these on all the Christian faithful. As I mentioned earlier, many of these practices and rigours would have made it very difficult and even impossible for the Gentiles to follow the Lord as that would have made them having to adjust immensely, which was not easily done or acceptable at that time.

Hence, St. Paul came to be the peacemaker and also intermediary between these two groups, and reinforced the same decision of the Apostles made earlier that the old observances of the Law should only be done in its utmost essentials, and removing the obligation to all the unnecessary excesses of the old Law and the Pharisees’ interpretation of it.

St. Paul reminded the faithful community in Ephesus that God loved all of them equally, all of mankind without any prejudice or favouritism. And what God wanted was not the excessively harsh application of the laws of Moses, but rather for His people to love Him wholeheartedly, sincerely and genuinely, and for them to show the same love to their fellow men, no longer divided by categories like whether they were Jews or Gentiles, or whether they were servants or free.

This is what the Lord has told us all that we need to be exemplary in our Christian way of life, in how we interact with one another with actions founded upon the basic Christian principles and tenets. In the Gospel passage today, the Lord told us all to be vigilant and ready, that is to live our lives in the most Christian manner from now, and not to delay any longer.

We can see this from how He rebuked the people for recognising the signs of nature, of seasons and others, and yet implying that they could not recognise the imminent coming of the kingdom of God through Christ. And in the latter part, He said that those who had not made peace ought to settle their matter beforehand, before they reached the judge, or otherwise, they would have to account for their mistakes and wrongdoing.

Therefore, it is a kind reminder from the Lord that we must be reconciled to Him, abandon our sinful ways and adapt His truth so that we will be found worthy on the day of Judgment. And we should do our best to live up our lives to the fullest, as Christians, dedicating ourselves to walk in God’s path, in being virtuous and just. We have to be the shining beacons of our Christian faith and calling, and we cannot be ignorant or lukewarm about these.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? We should seek inspiration from our holy predecessors, the saints, and kkwtoday, in particular we should look upon the examples of St. John of Capestrano, the Franciscan priest who was once the governor of Perugia and a diplomat, who received a calling to religious life, when he received a vision of St. Francis of Assisi which inspired him to follow his calling as a Franciscan, and devoted himself from thereafter to the mission of the Church.

St. John of Capestrano was a renowned reformer of the Church, who was involved in the purification of the Church and in the reforms of many of its practices, helping the Church and the faithful to rediscover their true faith. Many people were helped by his efforts, and in his role as a frequent papal diplomat and emissary, St. John of Capestrano also helped to reconcile the opposing and conflicting factions in the Church. In the end, he was also a soldier who was involved in the defence of Christendom, fighting against the enemies of the faithful with great courage and devotion.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern how each and every one of us can be more dedicated to the Lord, in each and every moments of our lives, following the examples of St. John of Capestrano and other multitudes of saints. May the Lord be with us and may He continue to guide us in our journey of life, that we may always ever walk with Him in His grace and love, at all times. Amen.

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Thursday, 22 October 2020 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. John Paul II, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all reminded to put God at the centre of our lives, to make Him the pivot around which our whole lives revolve. The Lord has blessed us so much and so wonderfully, and yet, many of us still do not appreciate all that we have been blessed with. We ignored His love and were apathetic to Him, and all these were because of the lack of genuine faith in our hearts.

That is why we are reminded yet again today to refocus our lives on God and ask ourselves, what is truly the meaning and significance of our Christian faith? It is by following God with all of our hearts, by being virtuous and by practicing our faith with real and sincere actions, in each and every moments of our lives.

Today, through the Gospel passage we have just heard, we are told of the reality of being a Christian, that may bring us tough challenges and difficulties as we go forward faithfully in life as Christians. The Lord Himself told His disciples frankly how His coming into this world, His work and revelation of truth would bring divisions, struggles, challenges and difficulties for all of them. This means that we should not expect that becoming Christians would bring about happiness, joy and satisfaction for our lives.

This especially refers to those who claim and think that by believing with God, we will be endowed with blessings and good things, the false theology and teaching called the ‘Prosperity Gospel’. Instead, we must always be prepared to defend our faith and to be prepared in case we have to face opposition and ridicule, rejection and hardships because of our adherence to the faith and to our Christian tenets and the truth of God.

It does not mean that we will necessarily suffer and endure hardships, but neither should we expect that life will be smooth-sailing for us just because we believe in God. And ultimately, these divisions came about not because the Lord desires this deplorable state of disunity. Rather, it is our own stubbornness and constant refusal to listen to the Lord and our disobedience that led to these divisions.

It is because we as Christians standing faithfully by the Lord and His righteous path, that we face conflicts, divisions and persecutions from those who refuse to believe in the Lord. Our righteousness and faithful way of life are abomination and terror for those who have chosen the wicked path of life, without faith in God and those who disagreed with His truth.

This is where, our wonderful saint today can show us so much how to live faithfully in accordance with God’s will even amidst the greatest of challenges and difficulties. Karol Jozef Wojtyla, later known as Pope St. John Paul II, was one of the most renowned leaders of the Church as the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, known for being the first non-Italian pope in over four centuries, as well as for his long reign of almost twenty-seven years.

Pope St. John Paul II was born in Poland in the town of Wadowice not long after the end of the First World War and the independence of Poland, after great destructions and all the horrors of war that had occurred. He lost his family and loved ones early on, and he faced challenges that were truly great as his country edged on into war, and as Poland was conquered and occupied before he even turned twenty, he did not have it easy.

Even as the young Karol Wojtyla entered the seminary and studied to be a priest, he had to do it in secret due to the difficult conditions at the time, and he spent those years amidst bitter conflicts that happened and killed multitudes, including those whom he knew personally. And when the war and NAZI Germany atrocities were over, immediately the Communists led by the Soviet Union took over.

The young Pope St. John Paul II spent his early years of priesthood amidst the increasingly difficult situation for the Church and as many were persecuted for remaining loyal to the Church and their faith in God. When he was chosen as the Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow, and then later on as the Archbishop of Krakow, only more challenges faced him and his flock. He faced opposition to his efforts to care for his flock, and when a new church was to be built in a new town called Nowa Huta, the authorities tried to prevent its building, in a city without church in the attempt by the atheist Communist government to oppress the Church and the faithful.

Yet, all these did not stop the Archbishop from eventually prevailing and had the church built after over a decade of struggle, and when Karol Wojtyla was elected as the Pope and Supreme Pontiff in the Year of Our Lord 1978, he continued to labour hard for the sake of all the faithful. And even through an assassination attempt just few years into his Pontificate, which left him injured quite badly, as well as other challenges and troubles the Church had to face, up to the personal sufferings and physical disabilities caused by Parkinson’s Disease towards the end of his Pontificate, Pope St. John Paul remained firm in his dedication to God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can see from the well-known life and examples of Pope St. John Paul II that to be Christians does not necessarily mean that we will have smooth-sailing and good life without troubles. Trials, challenges and troubles can beset us at any time, and if we are not firm enough with our faith, we may end up being dragged down the path of sin. We must instead stay strong and resolute, and follow the inspiring example of Pope St. John Paul II in his faith and devotion to God.

Let us all discern carefully our path forward in life, brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us all renew our faith and our commitment from now on, striving to be good and faithful Christians at all times and in every moments of our lives, in our every actions and interactions with one another. May God bless us all and may He guide us in our journey of faith through life. Amen.

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Wednesday, 21 October 2020 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, through today’s Scripture readings, all of us are reminded that God has revealed His love and truth, His salvation to each and every one of us through His Church that has been passed down to us from the Apostles who heard all these from the Lord Himself. The Lord has shown us His love and grace, and He has revealed to us how much He cared for each and every one of us and He will entrust all things to us. But we must not take all these for granted.

First of all, in our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, of the Lord Who has called all of us mankind to Himself, extending His grace and salvation to all, to both Jewish and non-Jewish people alike. Contextually, we need to understand that at that time, the Jews believed that they, as God’s chosen people, the descendants of the Israelites, were those whom God had favoured and no one else had the right and privilege like theirs.

That was why many of the Jews, especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law among them, held the view that the Gentiles, a term used to describe the non-Jewish people, being pagans, were wicked and unworthy of God, sinners and they would perish and be destroyed. Those who wished to be saved must abandon their identity and embrace the Law of Moses, and became one of the Jewish community, severing their ties to their previous culture and identity.

But what St. Paul said was that, God did not intend for this to happen. And as a matter of fact, God called all of His people, loved them equally, whether they were culturally Jews or descended from the Israelites or not. God has revealed His love and His Good News to all, and sent His disciples, St. Paul and all the others, to be witnesses of this truth and love, to all the nations and to all peoples. We have therefore also heard these from the Lord and been called to be part of His Church.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should also take heed of what we heard in our Gospel passage today, as we listened to the parable that the Lord Jesus used to explain to His disciples the need for all of them to live a virtuous and responsible Christian life. He used the example of stewards appointed and entrusted by their master to bring forward His point to them.

Each and every one of us are those stewards, entrusted by God with the care of this world and its people. God has blessed us and He has given us the means and the abilities to carry out these responsibilities in these lives we have, in our respective areas of responsibility. However, are we willing to embrace these with faith and commitment?

We have been called, and unfortunately, many of us were too busy to respond to the Lord’s call, and we slackened and waited, refusing to do what we were supposed to do in our lives to be committed and good Christians. In this manner, we were just like that lazy and wicked steward mentioned in the Lord’s parable in our Gospel today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern carefully our path going forward in life. May the Lord continue to guide us as we proceed on in life, in following His will and in obeying His commandments and living our faith life with sincere and firm devotion. Let us seek the Lord’s guidance in all things, and walk with Him in the path that He has set before us. Let us embrace wholeheartedly the mission which the Lord has entrusted to us. Amen.