Reflection of the Bible

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Friday, 14 September 2018 : Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, remembering that Holy Cross through which we have received our salvation, by none other than the suffering, crucifixion and death of Our Lord on that same Holy Cross, at Calvary, as the Altar of His offering and perfect love for us.

The cross is the first and most visible symbol of our Christian faith, the mark which has been given to us, not as a symbol of shame and punishment, as how it was intended to be, but rather as a symbol of triumph and victory against sin and death, the final victory which God has won for us all, against the tyranny of the sins that have bound us for time immemorial ever since the first time we disobeyed God and fell into the temptation of Satan.

And let us keep this key tenet of the importance of the Cross to our faith, as we continue along our today’s discourse. First of all, let us begin by looking at the passage from the Book of Numbers, in which we heard about the moment when the people of Israel rebelled against God, so much so that despite all that God had done for their sake, liberating them from the Egyptians, protecting them from their enemies and providing for their needs along the way even while in the middle of the desert.

But they continued to grumble and to complain, even rising up against Moses, wanting to kill him and replace him, and providing for themselves an alternative ‘god’ and idol, in the golden calf and in the pagan gods and idols of the neighbouring people. This disobedience and rebelliousness is the same kind of disobedience that Adam and Eve have once shown the Lord, and therefore, brought sin into the hearts of those people.

And the just consequence and punishment for sin, is the separation from God, by our own deliberate and willing rejection of God’s love and grace. And when we are separated from God, Who is the source of all creation and life, what is left for us is death. That is why, in the first reading, this is symbolised dramatically with the moment when God sent the serpents to strike at the disobedient and sinful people of Israel, and many died as a result.

That represents the death that comes about because of sin and disobedience. The serpents represent the sting of sin, the poison of sin, that will bring about death, should nothing be done to try and save those who were bitten by its poison. But the people regretted their sinful attitudes and begged God through Moses to show mercy on them and save them. And God showed clearly how He truly did not wish for their destruction, but rather, for them to be reconciled and be saved.

In the first place, if God did not love us or has wished for us to be destroyed, He would not even have created us in the first place. God is all good and perfect, and He could not have created us just that we can be destroyed and annihilated. Instead, as mentioned, it was our own conscious and willing rejection of God’s love and grace that has caused us to fall into eternal damnation in hell. Hell is in reality, a state of total separation from God because of our own rejection of Him.

But again, linking back to what we have discussed at the start of this discourse, the Cross is the symbol of God’s perfect love for us, which He made evident, clear and real through none other than His beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, as we heard in the Gospel passage today, that God so loved the world that He gave us all His one and only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, that through Him, all who believe in Him may not perish but instead receive eternal life.

In the first reading, we heard how God asked Moses to craft a bronze serpent placed on a staff, where the bronze serpent was displayed and lifted up high before all. All those who have been bitten by the serpents would not die should they look upon the bronze serpent. And this is linked to what the Lord Jesus Himself did at the time of the fulfilment of His ministry and work, that is His crucifixion.

As the Lord Himself explained to Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees who came to believe in Jesus, just as the bronze serpent was raised high in the desert at the time of Moses to be the sign of hope and deliverance for all those who have suffered from the fiery serpents, He too would be raised up for the salvation of all mankind, who have been ‘bitten’ by the sting of sin.

The Lord gathered willingly towards Himself, the sins of all mankind, from the beginning of time, to the present and to the end of time, that all of us have been, by the will of God and His grace, by His loving and most selfless sacrificial act on the Cross, the Man Who was without blame and sin, but made to suffer the consequences of everyone’s sins, on the Holy Cross on Calvary.

This is the proof of God’s ultimate love for us, that despite all that we have done, in our disobedience and refusal to listen to Him, God’s love for us is so great, that He was willing to do everything, even to suffer such great pain and suffering, of bearing the whole weight and burden of our sins, by dying on the Cross. The cross at that time was the symbol of ultimate shame and suffering, reserved by the Romans who ruled Judea, where the Lord Jesus was, to be the punishment for the worst of criminals.

But this symbol of ultimate shaming, disgrace and humiliation has been transformed completely by what the Lord has done, in taking the symbol of the Cross to be the sign of certain and sure victory in the battle between good and evil, and in the ultimate downfall of Satan and all those who have brought us all to sin. The Cross is the proof of God’s triumph over sin and death.

That is why, the Cross occupies such a central and important part in our faith. The sign of the Cross is the sign of our Christian faith, and is the profession of our faith and belief in the Lord’s saving grace and love. All of us who look upon the Cross, on our Crucified Messiah, have seen a new hope, and we who believe in Him and seek His merciful love, will be saved and will receive new life in God.

As St. Paul said, in his Epistle to the Romans, Jesus is the New Adam, Who is unlike the old Adam. While in old Adam, through the disobedience and sin committed, all of us have suffered the consequences of sin and therefore, all of us are bound to die, but through the New Adam, that is Christ, all of us are brought to share in His death, in dying to our old ways of sin, and embrace the new life He offers us.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice together and exalting the glory of the Holy Cross, the triumph and victory which Our Lord has won over the dominion of sin and death, let us all therefore rediscover our love and genuine devotion to God, especially through the Cross by which He has shown us His perfect, selfless and ultimate love for each one of us, without exception.

Let us now therefore renew our commitment to live like true Christians, as we turn ourselves towards the Cross, and be people of the Cross, bearing proudly within ourselves, the symbol of our faith, this Holy Cross, by which we have been saved. Let us keep in mind always, God’s everlasting love for us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to pay attention to our actions and interactions in life, in how we spend our time with those whom we encounter throughout our lives. It is because each and every one of our actions can truly have a great impact on those on whom we have interacted with, and which in fact can be a great opportunity at evangelisation.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord challenges each and every one of us, just as He had done with His disciples. He asked each and every one of them to go the extra mile in the giving of themselves and in the love that they and indeed, all of us, must show in our actions and deeds. We cannot just do what the world and its people and ways have shown us, but we must be truly exemplary in our Christian faith.

And what the Lord Jesus asked of us is often something that is very difficult for us to do, as He asked us to actually forgive our enemies and all those who have persecuted us and caused us much pain. He called upon us to love our enemies and to not take revenge and retribution against those who have hurt us, to pray for those who have persecuted us and hated us.

This is what we have been called to do, to be true Christians in faith and in love, that in everything we do, we show the example of this love which the Lord, Our God, Himself has shown us. The Lord asked for kindness and love to be shown to those who have not shown the same love and kindness towards us, and He Himself led by example, by extending His care and love even to the people who would abandon Him and betray Him, and even to those in His own hometown of Nazareth that rejected Him.

And nothing can beat the fact that the Lord forgave even His enemies and all those who persecuted Him, tortured Him and cast Him as a criminal, from the cross, by praying that all of them be forgiven their sins, because they did not know what they were doing. The Lord showed His mercy and forgiveness even as He suffered grievously for our sake, bearing the burden of our sins and our punishments.

But although this is what we have been called to be, to be those who forgive our brethren’s faults, mistakes and slights against us, it is usually easier said than done. Many of us, even among us Christians, keep grudges and jealousies, hatreds and anger in our hearts and minds, against all those who we do not agree with, against all those who have caused us pain and suffering, and against those who have something that we do not have.

We bicker and even fight among ourselves, within our Church communities and ministries. How many of us have seen members of Church communities and ministries gossiping and talking bad things behind the back of each person they did not like? There were also surely many occasions when we spread lies and untruths just so that we may discredit our rivals and competitors.

This is the sad and unfortunate reality of our faith life in the Church, as many of us did not lead a life in accordance to how the Lord has commanded and taught us. But we are called to a purpose greater than all of these human and worldly bickerings, infightings and unbecoming attitudes, to be true servants and followers of God, by imitating His own examples of love and mercy.

And today, we celebrate the feast of St. John Chrysostom, one of the great Church fathers and elder, one of the Four original Doctors of the Church together with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Gregory Nazianzen. St. John Chrysostom was the Archbishop of the Imperial city of Constantinople, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire at the time. He was remembered for his great piety, his charitable love for his people and flock, and for his fervent and zealous defence of his faith against heresies and falsehoods.

Against all those who brought in their corrupt ways into the Church and the community, including that of the Roman Empress Eudoxia, the wife of the Emperor, St. John Chrysostom stood his ground against all those who abused their power and position for personal benefit, especially when such manipulations brought about the suffering of the poor and the hungry.

In the midst of all these efforts, St. John Chrysostom was persecuted and opposed, including from that of the Empress, who managed to get him to be exiled from his See of Constantinople. Yet, St. John Chrysostom never wavered throughout his life and ministry, to his very dying day, to dedicate himself for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of souls.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the courageous examples of St. John Chrysostom, holy bishop and defender of the faith, courageous and fearless, but merciful and loving towards sinners and the poor, let us all then follow his examples, to live our lives more devotedly to the Lord from now on, that we may, in each and every one of our actions, strive for the glorification of God, and for the salvation of souls.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to empower us to live ever more faithfully, and be courageous to walk in His ways, each and every days of our lives. May God bless us all, and all of our endeavours and good works. Amen.

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Wednesday, 12 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, as we rejoice together for the great gift of God, Who has given us this wonderful gift of Mary, the Most Blessed Mother of God, His own mother, to be our mother as well. Mary has been our role model, our example and our inspiration, and we should continue to look up to her, each and every days of our life, as we strive to be true Christian modelled upon her own life.

And today we reflect on the significance of why Mary is so important in our faith life and development, and how she is so special, that she has this feast celebrated just for her most Holy Name. This is inseparable from the even greater honour accorded to her Son’s Name, Jesus Christ, upon Whose Name, every creature in heaven, earth, hell and in all of creation has to bow down and worship.

Satan fears the Lord the most, for He is still his true Lord and Master, and in the end of the day, no matter how mighty he is, he is still bound to the commands and to the will of God. As St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Philippians, at the Name of Jesus, all knees will bend and bow down, including even all the evil and wicked spirits and Satan himself. And because of that, they also feared Mary, the mother of God.

First of all, Mary is the one closest to her Son’s throne in heaven, sitting by His side, and blessed among all other women. And then, she alone by God’s singular grace, set apart and made free and immaculate, free from the taints of original sin. And then, with her free will, she chose to remain true and committed to the Lord throughout her life, in complete obedience and therefore purity from all sins.

Therefore, Satan has no power or authority over her, unlike that of any other men or women, who were under Satan’s power because of their sins. And through Mary and her intercession, her works and her apparitions throughout the centuries, many souls have been saved from certain eternal damnation and destruction. Many have turned away from their sinful path, embracing God’s love and mercy through Mary.

It is not a surprise therefore that Satan rightfully feared the Name of Mary. At every mention of her name, he trembled because of the fact that he had no control or power over her, and how many souls have been saved from his clutches through her actions and intercessions. And of course, through Mary came the deliverance and salvation which God has long prepared for His people, that is the Lord Jesus Himself.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have often been beset by Satan and his agents throughout our lives. He has battered us with temptations, persuasions and even coercions, pressures and efforts to turn us away from God’s salvation. Nonetheless, we should not be afraid of him, as we should instead look upon Mary as our hope and example, as the one whose commitment and devotion to God is an inspiration to all of us.

Let us therefore turn towards God with all of our hearts, our minds and our every attention and efforts, through Mary, His beloved mother. Let us all entrust ourselves to her care, the mother of us all, just as the Lord has entrusted her to us and us to herself. Let us all ask for her intercession, for the sake of all of us sinners, that God will be merciful and forgiving towards us. Let us all heed her messages, calling us to turn away from sin and towards God’s light.

O, most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and mother of us all, you whose name is so holy and glorious, that even the evil one feared in great anguish upon hearing it, may be the inspiration of our lives. Let us all be ever more faithful from now on, dedicating our whole lives to the Lord, Our God. May God bless us all, and be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 11 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Lord reminds each and every one of us as Christians, that we ought to be living a true and charitable Christian lifestyle in our respective lives as members of His Church. We cannot profess to have faith in Him and yet act in ways that are scandalous as how we mankind have often done in our lives.

In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle that St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we heard of the division among the members of the Church and the faithful, where they bickered among themselves, and were judgemental towards each other. They complained against each other and even went behind each others’ back to the civil and pagan courts instead of settling the matter amicably in the Church.

St. Paul took issue with the fact that the people of God bickering with one another and instead of trusting in the Church, they went instead to the civil court, with the intention to punish the party in the wrong, or to blackmail, or to pressurise the other party to give in to their demands. They could have settled the matter amicably by consulting with one another in the spirit of Christian charity and understanding.

He was saying this with the intention to let the people know that, if they have embraced the Christian faith, then they should not behave in the manner of the pagans and those who have not yet believed in God. While it might be normal for those in the secular society at the time to do what they have done towards each other, but as Christians, they were called to a much higher calling and standards than that of the world’s.

All of us are called to be true followers of Christ, in our actions and deeds, and in all of our dealings with one another. We should not practice double standard in any case, that we appear outwardly pious and faithful, and yet, behind the scene, we plot against each other and cause suffering and pain to those whom we are not pleased with. This rivalries and unbecoming attitudes unfortunately are quite common even within the Church.

It is indeed a sad reality for us Christians, in how many of us treat one another, even as part of our Church ministries. There had been many instances when Church politicking and power-jockeying led to us, fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord turning against one another and causing much pain, sorrow and suffering through our irresponsible and unbecoming actions as Christians.

How many of us often like to gossip about our fellow parishioners, or even against the priests and the religious themselves? While indeed, for us to be tempted to gossip and to badmouth or be jealous of one another is part of our human nature, but as Christians, we are expected to be better than all of these. We must resist these temptations that will definitely always come to tempt us and to pull us away from God’s saving grace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, in the Gospel passage we heard the Lord Jesus calling and choosing His Apostles from among those who followed Him. These were ordinary people, from ordinary origins, called and chosen by God. And even though initially they also struggled in faith, and one of them even betrayed the Lord but eventually, except for the betrayer, Judas Iscariot, all the Apostles grew stronger in their faith, and dedicated the rest of their lives to the service of God.

Now, all of us as Christians are called to follow the examples of the Apostles and all the other dedicated holy servants of God, who have shown us by their own life examples, on how we should live our lives in accordance with God’s will. Are we then willing enough and committed enough to take up our crosses just as the Apostles had done, and follow the Lord with all of our hearts?

There will indeed be many challenges in our path, should we decide to commit ourselves, but this is the cause which St. Paul had advocated for us all, the noble path of true Christian discipleship, where we stand above the temptations and ways of this world, and strive to do our best to be faithful in all of our actions, words, deeds and interaction with each other, that in all things, we will always show true Christian love.

May the Lord continue to watch over us and guide us, that we may grow ever more like Him in love, both towards Him and towards our fellow brothers and sisters, our fellow men. Let us all love each other and learn to forgive one another our mistakes and faults. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 10 September 2018 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Lord through His words in the Scriptures are calling all of us Christians to embrace fully His teachings and ways in our own respective lives, and thus be true believers not just in formality but also in reality through our words, actions and deeds.

In the first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, St. Paul was addressing the faithful in that city and highlighted the immoral behaviour of some among the faithful who have committed grave sins against the Lord, by their improper relationships and immoral acts. He rebuked those who have fallen into the temptation and caused scandal for the Church of God.

However, at the same time, St. Paul also extended God’s generous offer of mercy to the same people who have erred in their mission and life. He called the faithful to discard the old leaven of sin, using the example of bread that is developed by the addition of yeast. A baker knows that yeast that is already old can no longer work properly and in fact will likely result in spoilt bread when used on dough.

Essentially, St. Paul was asking the people of God to abandon their past ways of sin, their previous wicked attitude, their adherence to the ways of the world that were against God’s ways, and to turn wholeheartedly to God, Who alone is their Guide and Compass, to Whom all the faithful should turn to and place their focus on, as He was the One through Whom deliverance has been given to this world.

In the Gospel passage today we heard of the account of what happened when the Lord healed a man with a paralysed right hand, despite the efforts of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law to discredit Him and to strike at Him using that miraculous healing. In order to better understand the meaning of our Gospel passage today, then we need to understand better its context.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were rigorous and strict adherents of the Jewish traditions and customs, in that they enforced a very strict interpretation of the Law of God, paying particular attention that everyone should follow all the extensive customs and traditional practices of the Jewish people to the letter, and this included the law on the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath day is a sacred day dedicated to the Lord, when no one was supposed to do work or to labour, and the people were supposed to spend the day to pray to God and to worship Him. This must be understood in the context of the people of Israel who at that time continued to disobey the Lord and ignored His commandments, during the time of the Exodus. The Sabbath day was designed by the Lord and conveyed to His people through Moses, in order to remind them to refocus and reorientate themselves towards Him.

It is a reminder that despite all the business and all the things we are often preoccupied with in life, we must remain focused on God, and we must indeed spend quality time for Him. For if we do care about someone and love that person, we will want to spend time with that person, as much as we are able to do so. That was why the Sabbath law was enacted, that is to bring God’s people back towards Him.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law misunderstood this intention and they made it a mere formality of observing the law of the Sabbath, to the point that they persecuted those who did not agree with them or did not practice the law in the manner prescribed by them. That was why they were up against the Lord Jesus, Who showed them that the true way to observe the Sabbath was to serve the Lord through good deeds and good actions, filled with love for Him and for one another, rather than just passive observance.

This is the old way that St. Paul mentioned, the old way of ignorance, the old yeast of passivity and lukewarmness of faith. This is what we have been called to leave behind, to turn away from this unfaithfulness, that we should embrace fully God’s ways and be truly faithful to Him. We cannot just be superficially being faithful as the Pharisees were, who were faithful on the appearances, but not inside their hearts.

Let us all therefore rediscover the meaning of our faith, and rediscover the love and dedication which we should have for the Lord, Our God. Let us from now on, turn towards Him with a renewed commitment and faith, that we may continue to serve Him and to love Him, with an ever greater zeal every passing day. May the Lord be with us and continue to bless us, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 9 September 2018 : Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we listened to the word of God being spoken to us through the Scriptures, about the hope and encouragement that God has given to all of us, His beloved people, in how He has blessed us and given us a new hope, by healing us from our afflictions, our sicknesses and shortcomings. God has promised and fulfilled the promise He has made, to made whole again the people He had created out of love.

First of all, our first reading today taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah spoke about the coming of God’s healing to His people, as the signs He would show when He sent His Saviour into the world. The prophet Isaiah was sent to the people of Israel at the time when many in Israel have abandoned the Lord and His ways, and they have consequently suffered at the hands of their enemies, scattered and exiled away from their homeland.

The prophet spoke of a new hope for the people of Israel, who were surely downtrodden and despairing, remembering the time of their suffering in Egypt, when they were enslaved by the Pharaoh and the Egyptians for hundreds of years. They longed for the coming of the Deliverer, Whom the Lord has promised for many years through His prophets and messengers, that deliverance would come for them.

The prophet spoke of the signs of what would happen when the Messiah of God came into the world. He would make the blind people see again, the deaf people to be able to hear again, the mute people to be able to speak again, the lame and the paralytic to be able to walk and to be active again. And all of these would happen as signs of the coming of the One Whom God has promised.

And in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus healed a man who was both deaf and mute. He touched his ears and mouth, and by His words, “Ephphata!” meaning, “Be opened!”, the Lord healed the deaf and mute man, who could immediately hear and speak once again. The man praised the Lord and the whole people who witnessed the great miracle also were astonished and glorified God.

It was the fulfilment of what God Himself has promised to His people, that through His Saviour, He would restore His people, from all their afflictions and disabilities, from all of their shortcomings, pains and sufferings. It was through the Lord Jesus, God’s own begotten Son, that the plan of Salvation was completed to its perfect fulfilment. But it was not all the physical healing of the people that were the focus of Christ’s objective in this world, but rather, the healing of our true sickness that has made us all to be sick.

What am I referring to, brothers and sisters in Christ? I am referring to the sickness caused by our sins. Sin is caused by our disobedience and refusal to obey God, which have afflicted each and every one of us mankind, ever since Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, were tempted and failed to resist the temptations of Satan, to disobey God’s will and commands.

Ever since then, we have been afflicted by sin, which is truly a disease and corruption upon our entire being. Sin is the disease that affects first the soul, and then from the soul, to the heart and mind, and eventually our physical self and the whole body will be affected as well. We may be physically healthy and unafflicted by any physical diseases or sicknesses, but in truth, deep inside us, we are sick and dying because of this sickness of our sins.

And unlike all other physical diseases and sicknesses, which can be cured or halted to a certain extent by medicines and treatments, there is no cure for sin, save for that of the Lord’s mercy and grace alone. None but the Lord is capable of forgiving our sins, and no one but the Lord is able to free us from the bondage to our sins and therefore, to our fated destruction and death.

What is the significance of all these to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Every single one of us as Christians, who have been baptised in the Name of the Lord, have gone through the rite of the Sacrament of Baptism, in which one part was the symbolic Ephphata Rite, recalling the precise moment mentioned in the Gospel passage today, when the Lord Jesus opened the ears and loosened the tongue of the deaf and mute man.

And more still, that through the holy water of baptism, all of us have been made to be sharers and partakers of God’s New and Everlasting Covenant, which He has made with all of us through the action of His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. By that water of baptism, we have been cleansed of our past sins and our original sins, and we were purified from our wickedness and unworthiness.

Therefore, as all of us have received the inheritance from God, of faith, hope and love, by sharing in the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross, dying to our past sins, and now, having shared in the hope of the glorious resurrection from the dead that He has shown us, each and every one of us as Christians have been called to be active in our faith, to be the ones to bear the Lord’s truth to all the peoples of all the nations.

For you see, brothers and sisters, our Christian faith is one that requires us to be active, to be missionary and to reach out to others about the faith which we have in God. We cannot be complacent or inactive and passive in the practice of our faith. We have been freed from the tyranny of sin and death, and the veil of sin has been lifted up from us. We have experienced God Himself being present in us, so what is stopping us from truly proclaiming the Lord in our lives?

Very often, it is because of our own lack of faith and our own lukewarm attitude towards what we believe in the Lord. But do we realise that there are still many out there who are still living in the darkness and ignorance of the Lord’s truth and salvation? If we ignore them and do nothing to help them, then they may fall into eternal damnation in hell, a fate which we ourselves will share because the Lord will hold us accountable for our failure to act.

We have received this faith and the promise of eternal life from God, and it is only natural that we should share this hope and faith with all those who have not yet received them. And the way for us to do so, is by being true Christians in our respective lives, meaning that we must practice what we believe in our own life, through our actions and deeds, and not just through words.

Unfortunately, many of us Christians have shown otherwise, as we act in manner that causes divisions and scandals, by our refusal to obey the will of God and continuing to fall into temptations, of pride, of worldly wealth and power, of influence and fame, that even within the Church and in our various ministries, we have seen so many actions that were inconsistent and unbecoming of our faith, in how we jockey for influence and power, and in how we treat each other, not in the manner of our true Christian fellowship.

How can we expect others to believe in God and to receive our Christian faith, if we ourselves are not exemplary in how we live our lives in faith? Instead of bringing the people closer to God, we will instead end up causing more and more people to be turned away from salvation. Thus, it is important that we realise the gravity of our actions in our lives, and how they can be crucial in our role as disciples and bearers of God’s truth.

Let us therefore strive to be true disciples of Christ from now on, by truly living up to our calling as those whom the Lord has chosen out of the world, having been given the truth and the promise of eternal life. Let us go forth and preach this truth to many more people, through our words, our deeds and actions, that in everything we say and do, we will always proclaim the glory of God and call many more to come to the Lord and be saved.

May the Lord continue to guide us and bless us in all of our endeavours, and may He continue to watch over us as we continue to carry on living this life with all the zeal and courage to be true Christians in every moment of our lives. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 September 2018 : Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together with the whole Universal Church the occasion when Mary, the Most Blessed Mother of Our God, Jesus Christ, was born into this world, after she was conceived in her mother’s womb and grew there for the nine months of pregnancy. She was born from her mother, St. Anne, pure without sin, just as she was prepared by God specially since the moment of her Conception.

In today’s readings we heard about the fulfilment of God’s long prepared plan to save His people, by the sending of the Messiah, through Whom He would gather all of His people and reconcile them to Himself, saving them from their predicament and fated destruction because of their disobedience and thus, their sins. And God would make this salvation a reality, through none other than the cooperation of Mary, a human being whom God had especially chosen and blessed, to be the Mother of Our God and Saviour.

In today’s Gospel passage, we heard the long citation of the genealogy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning from Abraham, the father of many nations and the ancestor of the Israelites, who himself was the descendant of Adam and Eve, our first ancestors. Through Abraham was born Isaac and then from Isaac, Jacob, and later on through the generations, king David and his successors, to whom God has promised that his descendants will rule forever and his kingdom will never end.

And in the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we have seen the perfect fulfilment of God’s promise to us mankind, first of all, to Adam and Eve, that the reckoning would come for the deceit of Satan who tricked them to sin, and to Abraham, as through the Lord Jesus Christ, all of mankind have been gathered together as one people, all who looked up to Abraham as their father in faith, to king David as mentioned, for Christ is the one true Heir of David’s kingdom.

All of these came about because of the plan and works which God had carried out to its perfect completion, by the cooperation, faith and commitment which one woman, Mary, showed before all of us, by her obedience to God’s will, and by her willing collaboration throughout her life that God’s saving works are carried out to its perfect completion through Christ, her Son.

As mentioned, Mary was prepared and designed to be special, distinct from all other men and women, by the singular grace of God, that she alone of the children of man is preserved from the taints of original sin that has affected all other men and women. She was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, pure and immaculate, free from sin and perfect, blameless and worthy, in the Dogma that the Church upholds as the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Therefore, as we remember Mary’s birth into this world on this day, we should reflect on the coming of this beacon of hope into our world. When Mary came into the world, it was the first time since the beginning of time, that a man walked in this world, free and unbound by the chains of sin and death. For ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God and sinned against Him, sin has ever since enthralled us all mankind.

But sin has no hold or sway over Mary, for she was without any sin, and remained free from sin throughout her life. Mary lived an exemplary life, filled with love and faith in God, as evident in how she loved her own Son, the Divine Word incarnate. Mary’s love for God was so perfect, as shown by the perfect, motherly love she has shown for her Son, and her obedience to the will of the Father, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in her, that Satan and his wicked forces have no hold whatsoever over her.

Rightfully, Satan was afraid of her, as she was the fulfilment of what God had Himself declared to him at the moment of the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. God said that while Satan will strike at the children of mankind, but the Woman will crush him under her feet. This was a reference to what Mary, the Woman mentioned by God, would do to Satan, for through her role in the bringing of the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, into this world, she has crushed for eternity, Satan’s power and kingdom.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us as Christians are called to reflect on our own role in the works of God’s salvation. We should look upon Mary as the perfect role model and example for our own faith and in how we should live out our own lives in accordance with God’s ways. Mary has loved the Lord with all of her heart, and devoted herself so completely to God, in a state of total surrender to the will of God. Many of us can follow her example in how we should be faithful to God.

Why is that so? That is because many of us are still burdened by the temptations of our pride, our greed and human desires, and by all the temptations and hurdles that kept us from truly being able to dedicate ourselves to God. And many of us grew distant from God, because we did not build up a good relationship with Him, as we are often too preoccupied in life, by our careers, studies, and all other things that made us to forget to spend quality time with God.

Let us therefore turn towards God, through Mary, His most blessed and beloved mother, who is our perfect role model as the ideal Christian, in following the Lord’s ways and in how she has walked faithfully and obeyed God all her life. Let us all also ask Mary to intercede for us, for being the Mother of God, she is the greatest of all saints and the one who is closest to her Son, at the very side of His throne, interceding for us sinners.

Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived and born without sin, pure and immaculate, pray for us all sinners, and bring us all closer to your Son, that we too one day, may be worthy as you are, to be with God, your most beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 7 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord speaking to us through His parable, of the wineskin and wine, and of new and old cloths, as He taught His disciples about the importance of the conversion of hearts, minds and all of our being in order for us to be able to follow the Lord, Our God, with all of our strength and ability. The wineskin and the cloth represents the state of our lives, whether we are attuned to the Lord or instead, attuned to the world.

First of all, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law came to Jesus asking about the behaviour and habits of His disciples, as contrasted to the disciples of St. John the Baptist, and to the Pharisees themselves, who have obeyed the whole rigorous commandments, rules and regulations of the Jewish tradition. They were slandering the Lord and His disciples, because they have not followed the traditions of the Jewish people.

But the Lord countered their argument by saying that His disciples did not fast as the disciples of St. John and the Pharisees had done, because God Himself was with them, and therefore, they should not weep or mourn at a time when the Lord was with them. In fact, they should be happy and rejoice without end. But the Lord told them a premonition of His own death, by saying that the time would come for Him to be taken away from His disciples.

The new wineskin and the old wine represent the contrast between the ways and the ideas of the Lord, from those espoused by the world, exemplified by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Should we follow the examples of the faith of the Pharisees, as well as the teachers of the Law, in their faith? The Lord answered with a firm no, through His parable. Their faith was one of hypocrisy, as the Lord Jesus often mentioned to His disciples.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law practiced their faith by fasting, by saying long prayers and public show of devotion, in order to be seen by the people, and to be praised by them. But in their hearts and minds, they did not have true faith in God, or love for Him. They practiced their faith in order to gain worldly favour and benefits, a selfish and self-centred attitude rather than a true act of faith.

When the Lord mentioned about the new wineskin and old wineskin, and new cloth and old cloth, He was referring to the ways of the Pharisees, as well as all the self-centred attitudes and all the selfishness in our hearts and minds as the old wineskins for the new wine that the Lord is offering us, or as the old, torn piece of cloth on which the Lord’s new cloth is to be patched on.

This means that, all sorts of worldliness and selfishness as how we mankind often practice, are incompatible with the Lord’s ways. The Lord’s ways are love, compassion, mercy, selflessness and tenderness, while our worldly ways are hatred, anger, jealousy, selfishness and greed. If we continue to live our life according to how we have always lived it in this world, then we cannot call ourselves as true Christians.

And for us to be able to follow the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, it therefore requires us to make a profound change to ourselves, to our attitude and our way of life. To be a Christian requires us to follow Christ with all of our efforts, to be wholly converted to Him, and to be ready to follow Him each and every moment of our lives.

Are we willing to change our way of life, in order to suit what the Lord has asked us to do? Are we willing to embrace the teachings and the truth of Christ fully with our whole support? We have been called to bear our crosses in life and follow the Lord. So, are we ready to commit ourselves to the Lord? Let us all turn ourselves to be true and devout servants of Our God from now on, by deepening our relationship with Him through prayer and time spent in quality time with Him.

May the Lord continue to guide us through life, and may He empower each and every one of us to live faithfully, in each and every actions we take, and at every moments of our life. Amen.

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Thursday, 6 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord speaking to us, through His Apostle St. Paul, in the Epistle he wrote to the faithful in Corinth, as well as through His calling of the Apostles St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. James and St. John at the lake of Galilee. Through these words of the Scripture we are reminded that God has given us His wisdom and His truth, and He is calling on us to follow Him and put our trust in Him.

He was at the side of the lake, when He saw the boats of fishermen coming ashore without fish. He then told the fishermen, some of whom would become His disciples, to go out into the sea and cast out their net to catch the fish. St. Peter initially hesitated and said to the Lord, that they had gone out all night and were not able to catch any fishes, but he still listened to the Lord and obeyed His commands.

In the end, he and his fellow fishermen caught such a huge number of fish, that they needed help to get the fishes into their boat, that almost sunk because of the huge catch of fishes. St. Peter immediately bowed down before the Lord, begging Him for mercy and forgiveness, for he was a sinner. But the Lord was loving and kind to him and the other fishermen He called, and said that from then on, they would fish for men instead.

What do we make of this, brothers and sisters in Christ? First of all, we must understand that St. Peter and the other fishermen must have been quite experienced in their work and profession as fishermen. They were surely able to know where they could catch a lot of fishes and gather plenty of gains for themselves, but they could not find anything on that day.

We must understand the context that likely the fishermen had been going out for hours to catch the fishes, as St. Peter himself said, and they must have been tired and exhausted, disappointed and probably even angry at the lack of catch, as any one of us would, if we have done plenty of work and yet no result appeared. And for the fishermen, the last thing they needed was for someone to tell them to go and catch fishes again.

And not least the fact that such a request was made by someone, who was not even a fisherman at all, like the Lord Jesus. In their minds, they must have thought that they were good fishermen, with much skill and experience, and why they should listen to the command of a Man Who seemingly did not even know how to fish at all. Yet, they listened and did what the Lord told them to do, and they were dumbfounded by what happened, as what has been mentioned in the Gospel today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does the readings today mean to us? First of all, linking back to what St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Corinthians, many of us if not most, tend to think that we know everything that we know in this world, in our respective areas of expertise. We think of ourselves as good, educated, intellectual and capable in the ways of the world, and we put a lot of trust in our human wisdom, intellect and power.

Therefore, what St. Peter initially said to the Lord Jesus is in fact a natural response that we mankind will often make, when the Lord speaks to us and tells us what He wants us to do. However, as we have seen and heard from the Gospel, trusting in the Lord’s words can open our eyes to the reality of the truth, that it is not our will that will be done, but the Lord’s will.

For all the wisdom, power and abilities that we have, first of all, we must realise that they all pale in comparison with the wisdom and power of God, and God alone knows what is best for us. And then, we must realise that all of our abilities, talents, knowledge, power and all ultimately came from God and were blessings that He has bestowed upon us. And He intends for us to make use of these gifts and blessings for good use.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, are we able to put our trust in God in the same way as the Apostles had done? They left everything behind and followed the Lord, and the Lord made them the fishers of men. And many souls have been saved through their hard work and commitment, their faith and dedication that they were even willing to lay down their lives for the Lord’s sake.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, it does not mean that we have to follow the exact same way as the Apostles, leaving everything behind to serve the Lord. What is important is that, we must discern what is our true calling in life, by listening to God speaking in our hearts, and by quietening ourselves from all the noise of this world, and from all the temptations of pride in our hearts.

Let us all seek to be humble and to be open to the Lord’s calling in our hearts, and learn to put our complete trust in Him. Let us no longer be proud or haughty, arrogant or be ambitious, thinking that we alone know what is best for us. May the Lord be our Guide, and may He continue to watch over us in our lives. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 5 September 2018 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded of our mission as Christians, that is to go forth proclaiming the Good News of God and to preach His truth among the people, by our words and actions. We are all reminded that unless we remember this mission given to us by God, it will be very easy for us to fall into the temptation of this world, and forget our mission and purpose of serving God.

This was presented in plain sight in the Epistle that St. Paul wrote to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth in Greece. Even at that very early stage in the history of the Church, when the community of the faithful was just being established, there were already evident divisions and disagreements among the members of the Christian communities, stemming from the jealousy, misunderstandings and disagreements between factions.

The name Paul, referring to St. Paul, was mentioned in that Epistle passage, as was the name of Apollos. If we read the entirety of the Acts of the Apostles, we will realise that Apollos was the name of a famous and eloquent preacher of Jewish origin, who converted to the Christian and originated from the city of Alexandria. He was a widely respected and popular preacher, who managed to convert many among the Gentiles and Jews in various cities.

At the same time, St. Paul was also very active in his ministry among the Gentiles and Jews alike in various places throughout the eastern Mediterranean area, including Corinth and many other important cities like Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica among many others. But as there were some variations in their teachings, it ended up with the community being divided into those who followed the teachings of St. Paul, and those who followed the teachings of St. Apollos.

This division in the community in fact created such a scandal, that St. Paul had to address this very issue in the Epistle he wrote to the Corinthian Christian community. He reminded all of them, that ultimately, so long as the people of God continued to think in the worldly terms, and as long as they were concerned about their prestige, worldly fame, ambitions, pride and greed, all sorts of worldly temptations, they would continue to be divided and became bitter against each other.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what the devil and all of his forces wanted to happen to us in the Church. He wants each and every one of us as Christians to be divided against each other, and that we have doubts and mistrust over one another, and as a result, making it very easy for him and his allies to strike at us and to claim us victoriously, as he drags many souls with him into eternal damnation.

That is why it is important that all of us must stay united and committed to the Lord, Our God, in Whom we believe in. As what St. Paul said to the faithful in Corinth, regardless of whoever it was that evangelised to them, be it Apollos, or Paul, or any other of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, ultimately they were His ministers, tasked with the evangelisation and spreading of the Good News to all the faithful.

What made the people to bicker among themselves and disagree with one another, was likely their pride and refusal to acknowledge that they did not have the fullness of truth, or that others might have a better understanding of the faith that them. But in that process, they forgot that they were serving the Lord and must obey His will. Instead, they were focused on themselves and their own selfish desires, their desires to be praised and followed for their piety.

And the irony is that, in the Gospel passage today, even evil spirits had to acknowledge the Lord as their God and Master. Even they were bound to the Lord, for although they have disobeyed God, but it was an undeniable fact that the Lord is their God and Creator. They had to bend their knee before the Lord, no matter how painful or humiliating that would have been to them.

Unfortunately, it was often us mankind who have not shown our proper deference and respect for God, as we are often too preoccupied with the many concerns and temptations of this world. That is why many of us have ended up losing our faith and our direction in life, that instead of finding our way to God, we become lost in the darkness of this world, the darkness of desire, of pride, of ambition and vanity.

Today, the Church celebrates the life of the holy and renowned saint, St. Teresa of Kolkata. She was remembered fondly in life as Mother Teresa, an Albanian religious who came to India to minister to the poor and the needy in the community, eventually establishing the religious community of the Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the care and the need of all those who are the least, the poorest and the smallest in the community, providing them the love and the dignity they deserved.

St. Teresa of Kolkata was remembered for the great love and compassion she showed to all the people, the poorest and the weakest among the people, including all those who were abandoned on the streets and dying. She established a house dedicated to the care of all these sick people and the dying, providing for them the example of true Christian charity and love.

And she was also remembered for her great humility and devotion to God. She spent much time in prayer, and enforced to all of her Missionaries of Charity members to do the same. When she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution and works, she uttered the now famous words of, ‘I am just a pencil in the hands of the Lord’. This phrase summarised her great humility and commitment as God’s servant, entrusting herself completely to what God wanted her to do.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to follow in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Kolkata and that of many other holy saints, holy men and women who have devoted themselves to God? Are we able to let go of our pride, our desires and resist the temptations of this worldly life? Are we able to turn to the Lord, Our God, with all of our focus, attention and desire to love Him and serve Him wholeheartedly?

May the Lord be with us and may He guide us on our way, that we may truly be able to become true disciples and followers of His, in each and every action we take, and do our best to serve Him with all of our abilities, in complete humility and desire to love Him. May God bless us all and all of our endeavours. Amen.