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

Liturgical Colour : Red

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Liturgical Colour : Green

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sunday, 15 June 2025 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the Sunday after the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday we celebrate together the occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, or also known popularly as the Trinity Sunday. In this Sunday’s celebration we mark one of the most important tenets of our Christian faith, indeed the very core of what we believe as Christians and what distinguishes us from other monotheistic and Abrahamic faiths. This is because we believe in God Who is One and only One, and yet at the same time, as the word ‘Trinity’ highlights to us, He is also Three at the same time. Therefore in our Trinitarian faith and formula of belief, we all believe in the Lord God, Master and Almighty Ruler over all the Universe that is One and yet Three, Three and yet One in nature.

Let us all first look at the readings of the Sacred Scriptures that we have heard on this Sunday before we delve deeper into the discussion on the nature and mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, beginning with what we heard in our first reading this Sunday taken from the Book of Proverbs. In that passage we heard of the prophetic and revealing words of the Lord through the prophets and messengers that He had sent into this world, and in this particular revelation, if we read it through again more carefully, it was actually revealing the relationship between that of the Father and the Son, as in that account from

the Book of Proverbs, we heard everything from the perspective of the Son describing and explaining what the Father is doing in all of His works and how He Himself also has a part in the work of Creation.

We heard how the Son truly existed before the Creation of the world and therefore is not part of Creation and neither He is one of the created beings that are inferior to God, unlike what some heresies had claimed as we will delve more into later on. Instead, the Son has been begotten by the Father before time, and has always existed with Him. And as we listened on, the Son was present at the time of the Creation of the world, because He was indeed there, co-responsible for the work of Creation with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because the Son is also the Logos, the Word of God, which later on became Incarnate into Flesh, becoming Son of Man and known to us as Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour of all. But at the time of Creation, He is the Word by which the Father created all things and made all things to be.

In the Book of Genesis, we heard how the Holy Spirit was present in all the whole universe before it came to be, and the Father declared all things to come to be, through His Word that is the Son, and then gave life and goodness to all things through the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit by which He has given life to our first ancestors, whom He crafted from dust in His own image and likeness. We can see here how the Most Holy Trinity, God Who is One but Three at the same time, in His Three Divine Persons carry out the work of Creation. And that is precisely what we all believe in, brothers and sisters, in the One and only One True God of all, and yet in His Oneness He existed in the Three distinct Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bound perfectly by love and indivisible from each other.

Then, from our second reading passage this Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome reminding each and every one of us how we have been given great grace from God through the working of the Holy Trinity, with the love of God the Father having been manifested to us and revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ, Who has manifested the perfect love of God for us in the flesh, becoming tangible, accessible and approachable to us. And then, at the same time, we have also received the Holy Spirit just as St. Paul had mentioned, reminding us of the gifts which we have received through this outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit, strengthening and empowering us to be faithful and wonderful disciples and followers of the Lord.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples and reassuring them all of how there were many things that He had taught and revealed to them from the Father, and how there were still many more things that would be revealed to them and reminded to them even though it would not be Him Who would do it for them. This would indeed happen with the coming of the Helper or Advocate that the Lord Jesus Himself promised, the Holy Spirit that would come upon the Church at Pentecost just as we have celebrated it last Sunday with great festivity. Through the Holy Spirit, we receive the fullness of truth from God, proceeding from the Father through the Son to us.

This is what the Church believes in how the Holy Spirit is related to the Father and the Son, in how the Holy Spirit is also Co-Equal and Co-Eternal with God the Father and God the Son, but proceeding to all of us from the Father and through the Son, just precisely as what we have heard in our Gospel passage this Sunday, as the Lord Jesus, the Son of God Himself mentioned that ‘All that the Father has is Mine; because of this, I have just told you that the Spirit will take what is Mine, and make it known to you.’ This clearly showed that the Holy Spirit came upon all of us through the Son, Who has manifested the perfect love of God in the flesh, He Who has reconciled us all with the Father and brought us back in connection with Him, as the great bridge linking us with our Creator. Thus, that was how we all received the Holy Spirit through the Church.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having reflected and recalled what we have heard in our Scripture passages, let us all then now delve deeper into the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. First of all, the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, Our God Who is both Three and One at the same time, Co-Equal, Co-Eternal and Consubstantial, Indivisible and yet Distinct, all of these have always intrigued many in the Church throughout its whole entire history. From the very beginning of the Church members of the faithful, theologians and teachers of the faith had debated and disagreed many times on the true nature of God, of the Holy Trinity and especially the relationship between each of the members of the Holy Trinity to each other, between God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In fact, numerous schisms and heresies had been caused by these disagreements and differences in schools of thought, opinions, interpretations and understanding of what constitutes the Holy Trinity and the relationship between the Three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity. The most famous ones of these include that of Arianism, which claimed and taught its followers that Jesus Christ, the Messiah or Saviour of the world, while is the Son of God, was not Co-Equal and Co-Eternal with God the Father, being instead the first of all of God’s creation, meaning that there was a time when the Son did not exist. But this was refuted by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, the first of the Ecumenical Councils which declared that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are Co-Equal and Co-Eternal, and the Son and the Father also share the same essence and substance, hence the word ‘consubstantial’ that we mention in the Nicene Creed formulated in that Ecumenical Council.

There were also the heresies of Nestorianism and Monophysitism, which were extremes of the wide spectrum of the beliefs then existing in the early Church regarding the true nature of the Most Holy Trinity particularly regarding the nature of Christ or Christology. Nestorianism alleged that Jesus the Man and the Divine Word of God, the Son of God were two separate and distinct beings and that they have separate will and identity, while on the other extreme, Monophysitism which in fact rose in response to the extreme ideas of Nestorian heresy alleged that the Son of Man and Son of God were united as one Being, indivisible and not having two distinct identities, unlike what we all believe and what the Church had preserved from the time of the Apostles.

We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world is truly fully God and fully Man at the same time. He is truly both the Son of God and the Son of Man, having two distinct natures, Man and Divine, but united perfectly and indivisibly in the one Person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. And this same Saviour that had taken up the Cross and saved us all is truly Man, tangible and approachable to us, and at the same time, is also Divine, the Word of God Incarnate, by Whose offering and death He has unlocked for us the gates of Heaven and assuring all of us of eternal salvation and grace. And together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as One God, Three Divine Persons united perfectly in love, He has shown us this most wonderful love and grace.

How do we then understand the Holy Trinity better, brothers and sisters in Christ? There are in fact many ways that we can use to appreciate better the nature of the Most Holy Trinity, in a more understandable and appreciable way. For example, St. Patrick, the famous missionary and Patron Saint of Ireland was remembered for his symbol of the shamrock, or a three-leaf clover that he used in order to explain the nature of God in the Holy Trinity to the pagans throughout Ireland, that they might come to understand Him better. For if one of the three leaves of the shamrock is taken away, then it is no longer the shamrocks as it is, incomplete and no longer can be properly called a shamrock. Each of the three leaves of the shamrock are also connected to each other and not distinct from each other while at the same time, each of the three leaves can be distinguished clearly from each other. They are therefore representative of the Holy Trinity, Three Divine Persons, but one Godhead, and one God in perfect unity, all Three distinct yet inseparable.

We can also use the example of the burning flame as a way to represent the Holy Trinity in a more understandable way. The burning flame produces heat, which many people for a long time had been using as a way to fend off cold and keep themselves warm. They also provide light to the place and dispel the darkness, so that we can see even in the darkest of nights and in places without any illumination. This light is produced as a result of the reaction between the particles involved in the burning, and lastly, the flame itself, which has a discernible shape, because it is in fact heated air and matter, that when heated produce that hue and shape of the flame. And the relationship between these three components of the flame is one other way I can use to illustrate the relationship between the Three Divine Persons in the Holy Trinity as if any of these properties and parts of the burning flame are missing or are taken out, then it will no longer be a burning flame.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after we have discussed at length about the Holy Trinity, most importantly, let us have faith in our Triune God and not to be overly concerned about the full truth of what the Holy Trinity is all about. After all, St. Augustine of Hippo was famously told to have encountered the Lord at the seashore disguised as a child who was trying to pour the water from the sea into a hole in the sand. When St. Augustine asked the child and wondering why he was doing such an impossible task, then the child, Who was in fact the Lord Himself in disguise, told St. Augustine that therefore it would be similarly impossible for him to understand the whole nature and mystery of the Holy Trinity. St. Augustine, who was then pondering about the Holy Trinity was so profoundly touched by the experience that he wrote one of his masterpieces, De Trinitate or ‘On the Holy Trinity’.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all hence continue to put our faith and trust in the Lord our God, Who is One and indivisible in unity and yet existing at the same time as Three distinct Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us all therefore continue to be truly faithful and committed in Him and do our best each day to proclaim Him in every opportunities that we have received, and do our part in the ministry of the Church to proclaim His Good News to the world. May the Lord, Triune God, Our Master and King continue to bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people that we must always ever be genuine in our faith in God and in how we live our lives so that our every actions, words and deeds may truly reflect what we believe in, or else we are no better than hypocrites who claim to believe in this way and yet, practice our lives, show our actions and deeds in a completely different and even contradictory way. All of us must always embody our Christian faith in each and every moments of our lives, and we must never take our faith just as a formality or merely paying lip service to the Lord, or mere externalities. It is important that we have to be truly genuine in our Christian faith at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the Apostle St. Paul speaking to the faithful people of God there regarding the matter of how Christ, the Lord and Saviour, had indeed died for everyone’s sake, and therefore, all of us members and parts of the Church, just as all those faithful in Corinth to whom St. Paul had addressed his Epistle to, are also partakers in this same New and Eternal Covenant that the Lord had established with us all, His holy and beloved people through His Son, the same Jesus Christ, Who has taken upon Himself the weight, burden and sufferings of the Cross, which is no other than all the weight and burden of all of our sins and wickedness.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have gained great grace and forgiveness from God, the atonement for our many sins and wickedness through what God had done in sending His most Beloved Son to us, Who willingly bore upon Himself and putting it all on His shoulders, the weight of our innumerable sins and evils. He has done do so that we may indeed be freed from them, and that we will not have to suffer the consequences of the sins which we have committed, that is death and destruction. And the Lord did so because He truly loves each one of us genuinely and tenderly, with His generous love, compassion and mercy ever flowing from His Most Sacred Heart, ever bleeding and wounded by our sins, and yet, His infinite compassion, mercy and love have been poured upon us, always.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, we must always follow the examples of Our Lord Himself and be inspired by His great, ever wonderful compassionate love for us which He has never stopped giving to us, no matter what. We should therefore also show that same love which we have received generously from God, in our own love for Him and also more importantly, in how we love one another, how we act towards each other, our care and compassion for those whom the Lord had entrusted to us, even to the strangers and acquaintances we meet daily in life, in whichever circumstances and occasions we have encountered and received. We are all challenged and called to be the ones to bear the love of God to everyone around us.

Then, from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers reminding them that while it was written in the Scriptures that one ought to make good and fulfil what one made in oath and commitment to God, but He told them that they ought not to make such oath and vows as they should not swear by the Lord or by anything in this world and beyond. Yet, this must be understood in the context of what the Lord had in mind when He told the disciples and followers of these words and teachings, as what He actually wanted to tell them is that as His disciples and followers, they must all truly be genuine and sincere in all of their words, actions and deeds, and not to say things or do things that they themselves may not mean or contradict later on.

That means as Christians all of us should always be true in our words, speech, actions, interactions and everything, and we should truly mean every single thing that we say, and not to make empty promises and commitments without honouring them. We are all challenged to be truly honest, loving, caring and compassionate in everything and to everyone. This is why we must always work on ourselves and our care and concern for everyone around us, and we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by our selfishness and desires, all the things that may lead us astray into the wrong paths, and worse still, may cause hurt and harm for those around us, especially to those whom we love and who love us all. This is what we must not do as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have all heard from our Scripture passages today, let us all therefore reflect on what we have heard and consider, discern and think carefully on what we should do in our lives and how we should truly embody our faith in our daily lives. It is indeed important that as Christians, we are all truly practice our faith in the manner that the Lord Himself has shown and taught us, and we should always be ready to commit ourselves to the Lord whenever He calls us to do what is right and just in every moments in our lives. By our faithful action and truthful words, our genuine commitment and love for God and for our fellow brethren around us, that is how we can truly show that we are truly good and faithful Christians.

May the Lord continue to provide us His strength, wisdom and guidance so that in all and everything that we say and do, we will continue to be truly genuine, righteous and worthy of Him, and that we may always be truly faithful to Him in all things. May He also continue to bless us greatly and wonderfully in everything that we do, in our every actions, good deeds and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 13 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all called to reflect upon what we have just heard from the Lord speaking to us through His Word, reminding each and every one of us that as Christians, we are all called to be truly genuine in loving the Lord and His people, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, to be truly compassionate and kind, full of grace and love of God manifested in us and our actions in daily life. All of us should truly embody what we believe in, and we should not merely just believing outwardly and externally only. Instead, we should be truly genuine in our faith, commitment and dedication to God, and we should be the great examples of how beautiful our Christian faith is in all the things we do.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard of the reminder from the Apostle to us all that we should not be disheartened should difficulties and challenges come to us and become barriers in our path. Instead, we should continue to trust in the Lord and in His Providence, entrusting ourselves to His loving care and compassion. God has given us all His assurances that we will always be taken care of and that we will never be alone. He has also given us the Holy Spirit to help and guide us all in our journey throughout life. And therefore it is indeed important that we should make good use of what God has granted to us at all times, by using them for good purposes.

Then, from the Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord’s reminders for His disciples and followers, and all of those who were listening to Him, and hence all of us of the dangers of sin and why we must therefore strive to keep ourselves from sin and from the corruptions of this world. In the language that the Lord used in delivering His ideas and teachings, it may indeed bring about discomfort for some of us as He used a rather blatant and direct language, telling all of them that if any parts of their bodies should lead them to sin, then they should discard and cut them off from their bodies. This is actually one very good example why we should not take every words of the Lord and the Scriptures literally without understanding the context behind them.

What the Lord wanted to highlight in using such a language and terms is that sin is something serious and harmful to us, and sin separates us from God and His love, His grace and compassion. Yet at the same time, the mercy of God is so great and boundless, that He is capable of healing us of all those troubles. At the same time, those limbs and parts of our bodies themselves are not to blame for our sins. Rather, it is our desires that had led us to disobey the Lord and therefore leading us into sin and evil. In fact, what God has given to us, our body and all are capable of many great and wonderful things just as they are capable of evil and sin. That is why what we need to do is rather to focus on using them for good things instead of evil.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a renowned saint and dedicated servant of God who had been born into a wealthy noble family in Portugal, and he was eventually joining the Order of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross and was ordained a priest at a rather young age, which then led him on a journey of encounter with several Franciscan friars that inspired him to join their order. St. Anthony of Padua adopted his well-known name from the name of the patron saint of the friary, St. Anthony the Great. He went to various places like Morocco and then Italy in pursuit of his vocation and mission, and in Italy, in one well known occasion, when the Dominicans and the Franciscans in the town of Forli could not agree on who to preach in an ordination ceremony, it fell onto St. Anthony of Padua, whose homily moved the heart of the entire audience with his wisdom and eloquence.

St. Anthony worked together with the founder of the Franciscan order, St. Francis of Assisi himself, convincing the latter of the importance of theological and spiritual preparation, studies and all related matters for the Franciscan friars, and he was tasked to take care of this matter henceforth for the friars. And in what happened in Bologna would later inspire the popular tradition and devotion that St. Anthony of Padua is often invoked for his intercession in finding lost items as it was told that a Franciscan novice stole the psalter that belonged to St. Anthony of Padua, and the latter prayed that the book be returned to him, and indeed it happened, as not only that the thief returned the book but he also returned to the order as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect upon the words of the Sacred Scriptures and look upon the inspiring life and examples of St. Anthony of Padua, remembering how he dedicated his life in service to the Lord and in his commitment for the betterment of the lives of those who were around him. As Christians, let us all always be full of faith in the Lord, full of hope and trust in Him, and then also full of love firstly of the Lord but also full of the same love for our fellow brothers and sisters as well. Our love and care for one another, just as our strong and enduring faith in the Lord are hallmarks of our Christian faith, and it is what we are all challenged to do in each and every moments of our lives.

May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith in Him, giving us the courage and inspiration to remain firm in our path as we walk and journey together towards Him, and to remain holy and worthy of Him at all times, distancing ourselves from sin. Let us all continue to encourage one another that we may always strengthen each other and support our fellow brethren around us as much as we are able to, that all of us may find the path towards the Lord and remain fully committed to Him at all times despite the many challenges in life. May God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for each and every one of us as Christians to be truly loving, forgiving and compassionate in the manner that the Lord Himself had done to us, in what He has presented to us in love and compassion at all times. Each and every one of us as Christians must always continue to live our lives faithfully in the Lord in the manner that He has shown and taught us all these while, either directly in His ministry and actions, or through what He has inspired the Church and all of us via the Holy Spirit. It is important that we have to embody what we believe in and be sincere in our faith or else we may not be true disciples and followers of God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, we heard about the Apostle reminding the faithful there in Corinth about the truth, revelations and graces which they have all received from the Lord, the revelation on how they all can become true and committed disciples and followers of the Lord, in living their lives in the right manner and not to be distracted by the many path of worldliness and temptations which had kept many from truly being able to follow the Lord. This is what each and every one of us are being constantly reminded of as well so that in our every actions, words and deeds we will always be worthy of the Lord, showing true faith and dedication to Him in all things.

St. Paul also made reference to those who followed the Law of Moses, referring to the Law of God which had been revealed and passed down to the people of God through Moses at the time of the Exodus, telling the Christian faithful in Corinth how those people had remained in being veiled from the fullness of God’s truth. We must understand the context and circumstances of how these words were spoken by St. Paul or else we might end up having the wrong idea why he mentioned this about those who followed the old ways that is the way of the ‘Law of Moses’. In truth, what he was referring is the way how the Law of God had been interpreted and handed down the generations from Moses down to their time, many centuries later, which had resulted in a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions.

That is because especially regarding the actions and behaviours of many among the Jewish elders at that time, such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, those who had been entrusted with the guardianship and care of the Law of God. However, they had lapsed from such a duty and they enforced a very hardline and strict approach on the Law, so much so that they ended up causing a lot of hardships and inconveniences on many of the people whom they had imposed the Law upon, including all the precepts and details, consisting of over six hundred and thirteen rules and regulations, not including all the additional details, complex rituals and requirements, restrictions and many other things that had led to many people finding it difficult to obey and fulfil the whole breadth and depth of the commandments of the Law of God.

Then, our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the Lord Jesus teaching His disciples and followers about what it truly means to be those who have faith in Him and believe in Him. He told all of them that they all ought to be more faithful and knowing of the Law more than that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, related precisely to what we have heard from our first reading passage today. We are reminded just as the disciples had been by the Lord that all of us should not be hypocrites in our faith and we should not behave in the same manner as those Pharisees and teachers of the Law who made it difficult for others to follow the Lord and yet they themselves did not obey faithfully.

Instead, as the Lord Himself often criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for, many among them showed their piety and practices to be praised and glorified by others, and they also sought the best of places, looking down on all those whom they deemed to be less than worthy than them. As such, the Lord was warning all of His disciples and also all of us that we should not follow in their examples, and instead, we should always put our faith in the Lord and trust in Him. All of us should seek to learn to love God and love our fellow brethren most sincerely and genuinely, because as the Lord Himself has taught and shown His disciples that the whole entire Law can be summarised into this, and the Law was indeed meant to teach us how to love, loving God and our fellow brethren alike. Obeying the Law should not be an empty and self-glorifying practice that exclude others and even cause harm and discomfort on those around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue therefore to show love and compassion in all of our actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions and dealings with each other. Let us all truly show our Christian faith by our love and compassion, as it is indeed said that it is by our love that everyone will know that we are Christians, something that distinguishes us from the world and all others who have not believed in the Lord in the manner that we have done. That is why we have to continue to love one another generously and sincerely, and to practice our faith in the manner that we have been taught and shown by the Lord all these while through His Church. We should always be sincere in our love and care, compassion and kindness to one another.

May the Lord continue to guide us all in our lives so that in each and every moments, in everything that we say and do, we will continue to follow Him faithfully and glorify Him by our lives, now and always, in all things and in all circumstances in our lives. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Barnabas, one of the Apostles of the Lord, and while he was not counted among the Twelve Apostles, the twelve chief disciples of the Lord, but nonetheless, he was one of the very important people involved in the work of evangelisation and ministry in the early Church. He was one of the companions of St. Paul the Apostle in the ministry especially towards the Gentiles, the non-Jewish people, to whom they both had been sent to by the Twelve Apostles and the Church. And in their various works, St. Barnabas and St. Paul had indeed achieved great successes much as they had also encountered significant challenges and trials in their journey and works.

And yet, they trusted fully in the Lord and devoted themselves completely to Him, trusting in His Providence, guidance and help in ministering to the faithful people of God, and in glorifying God and proclaiming Him to all those whom they encountered in their journeys. As we heard in our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of how Christian community was being established in Antioch, which at that time was one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire, and the largest one in that region. Christian missionaries that went there helped to establish the Church, including that of St. Barnabas himself, who discovered the group of believers in that place, even among the Gentiles, the Greeks and others of the local populace on top of the Jewish converts to Christianity.

Antioch also historically held an important significance in the development of the Christian faith as it was there that those who believed in the Lord were first known publicly and commonly as ‘Christians’, or in the original Greek perhaps Christianos, meaning those who believed in the Christ, which was the equivalent term in Greek for the Hebrew Messiah or Meshiach, which meant Saviour. It certainly marked the believers of the Lord as a distinct group as compared to the Jewish believers, those who followed the ancient Law of Moses. Earlier on, Christianity was considered as merely just another sect of Judaism, like those Pharisees and Sadducees, as well as the Essenes among others, but gradually, the practices and ways of the early Christians began to diverge more and more from their Jewish roots.

What was especially important, was the fact that the early Christians accepted those who came from the non-Jewish background, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and other locals who were not so receptive of the Jewish customs and practices. While earlier on in the history of the Church there had been some, especially the converts from among the Pharisees, who wanted to enforce the strict Jewish customs, practices and rites on all the Christian believers, including those from the Gentiles background, but St. Barnabas was among those, together with St. Paul who were adamantly against such an imposition and action, as that would have led to great difficulties in evangelisation and ministry among the Gentiles, which cultures often saw Jewish practices as weird, barbaric and uncultured.

Thus, it was St. Barnabas among others as mentioned in the first reading today, that were sent to evangelise among the faithful in Antioch, after the Apostles had already decided that such an imposition of Jewish customs, laws and practices were unlawful and improper. The Christian population in Antioch grew rapidly and more and more came to become believers in the Lord. The Apostles like St. Barnabas and the other missionaries were carrying out what the Lord had commanded them all to do just as we have heard in our Gospel passage today, as they all went forth as missionaries, proclaiming the Good News and truth of God faithfully and courageously, entrusting themselves to the Lord and doing their best to touch the hearts and minds of the people whom they had visited and encountered in their journey.

Eventually, St. Barnabas would continue on serving the Lord in various missions and works, and according to Apostolic traditions and history, he was martyred in Syria where he was proclaiming the Good News of God, as some Jewish people that came there, envious and jealous of his great successes in gaining many converts from among the Jews and the Gentiles alike, persecuted him when they were disputing with him in the local synagogue, dragged him out of the place and then stoned him to death, much as how St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church had also been martyred earlier on. Despite this, the many great works and efforts which St. Barnabas had done for the greater glory of God had endured, and many were converted because of his hard work.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all recall the works and life of St. Barnabas, Holy Apostle and servant of God, let us all therefore reflect on our own lives as Christians, as those whom God has called and chosen to be His own holy and beloved people. Let us all be true and genuine disciples of the Lord in doing our best to glorify the Lord by our lives, in all that we do in each and every moments, even in the smallest things we do. We do not have to do great and wonderful things as what the Apostles and the disciples had done, but more importantly, we should be always be sincere in following the Lord at all times, in doing His will and in encouraging one another to carry on living our lives each day with greater determination and courage as faithful and committed children of God.

May the Lord continue to guide and bless each and every one of us so that by our commitment and dedication to Him, following the good inspiration and examples of St. Barnabas the Apostle, we may continue to glorify Him through our actions and deeds, in everything that we say and do, for His greater glory. May the Lord continue to bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, and may He strengthen us all with the resolve and the desire to proclaim His Good News and truth at all times, through our own exemplary lives and faith as Christians, in our own respective communities and areas of life. Amen.

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Tuesday, 10 June 2025 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded of the need for all of us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, that is we are all called to be the ones to bring God’s light, truth and hope, His love and grace into our world today, so that in each and every moments of our lives, in our every interactions and works, in all of our commitment to Him, in our everyday life even in the smallest of things. We should always be ready to put into place our efforts and works, our contributions and all that we say and do so that they may truly bring forth the light and truth of Christ into this world, to make a difference in the lives of many of those whom we have touched and encountered.

In our first reading today, we heard from the second letter of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Corinth, in which St. Paul told the people that they all preached and proclaimed the truth of God, the One Who has brought to them all the promises and reassurances that He has spoken and given to them, and which He would indeed faithfully fulfil and complete, and all those who have ministered to them including St. Paul himself, and all the others like St. Timothy, St. Silvanus and others, all were working for the greater glory of God and doing God’s will in all that they had done, empowered, guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. All of them had been sent so that through them they would truly do great deeds for the Lord’s sake, glorifying His Name by their actions, through the gifts and graces that they had received.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the famous parable of the light of the world and the salt of the earth that the Lord Himself had spoken to His disciples. In this parable we heard the Lord telling the disciples and all His followers that they should all be like light of the world and salt of the earth, highlighting that if light is hidden then it serves no purpose, and if salt is to lose its taste, then it shall also lose its meaning and use as well. For all of us today living in a world where light and salt are truly abundant and are commonplace everywhere we may not realise their importance in the day to day life in our communities, but in the context of how these two commodities are truly important now and even more so in the past, understanding these can give us better appreciation of what the Lord truly meant in His parable.

First of all, regarding light, we live in a world where light is truly abundant especially at night time, where lots of artificial lights powered by electricity are everywhere. Many of us live in a world full of lights from daytime to night time, and even late at night sometimes we cannot get away from light all around us. And in a world full of technology in our smartphones, computers, televisions and other digital gadgets, we are truly inundated with light such that the significance and importance of light as the Lord mentioned it can easily be misunderstood and overlooked. Why is that so? This is because back in the past, light is something that is absent for most of the night time, after the Sun had set, and except for the light of the Moon and the stars, there was usually darkness everywhere around.

Most people at that time would not have been able to afford candles and other sources of light like fire, and they preciously kept whatever sources of light and heat that they could gather and maintain, such that in the past, fire and light were seen by various civilisations and cultures as being very important and crucial for their survival, and hence, they were treasured and even worshipped, with temples of fire being kept and raised in different civilisations like the Romans and the Persians among others. Darkness is something that people feared, and with darkness usually came danger from predators and other threats, uncertainties and other problems, which light was supposed to keep at bay. Hence, for light to be hidden from view made totally no sense in the context of that time.

Then, regarding salt, we all know that salt gives flavour to the food, as otherwise, if there is no salt added at all to the food, it would be bland and tasteless. But salt is not merely just something to provide flavour to the food, and in the ancient past, its importance was even greater than it is today, as salt is essential for the preservation of many types of food in the period and time before the rise of modern refrigeration and preservation methods. With salt, food became flavourful and many kinds of food could be prevented from spoiling through the addition of salt which kept the food from turning bad. That is why salt was especially important in the past, and in some countries such as Imperial China, salt was one of the major commodities that was heavily controlled and taxed by the government.

Now, as we all have seen from these examples and insights that I have presented to all of us here, we can see how light and salt were truly very important and even crucial commodities at the time of the Lord and His ministry two millennia ago. More importantly, as the Lord used these to explain His words and using a parable to highlight His intentions, we should be reminded like those disciples back then, that each and every one of us ought to be truly ‘light of the world’ and ‘salt of the earth’, which indeed mean that we must always be full of faith, in all the things that we say and do, in every moments, doing our best to glorify the Lord by our lives, by each and every things that we do, in showing the light of Christ, His hope and love to everyone.

May the Lord continue to help, strengthen and guide us all in our journey in life henceforth, and may He continue to give us the courage and the power to do our best in each and every moments of our lives, that by our dedication and commitment to Him, we may always lead more and more people towards God, and we may always be joyful in following the Lord at all times, in doing all that He has called and commanded us to do. May God bless our every efforts and endeavours, our every good works and all, now and always. Amen.