Scripture Reflections

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Friday, 22 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are given the reassurance from God, that He will bring about our salvation, and that He will keep His promise, and bring us from the darkness of this world into the everlasting light of the heavenly glory. And if we are to remain faithful to Him, then surely we will receive all the goods of the heavenly inheritance promised to us.

And yet, many of us have a problem in this matter. Why is this so, brethren in Christ? That is because many of us behave like Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles of our Lord, who was also known for his doubts and his lack of strong faith. If we read through the Holy Gospels, we would realise just how often it was that Thomas doubted about the Lord Jesus, even though he continued to follow Him regardless.

On one occasion, he criticised Jesus, for wanting to go back to Judea for the case of Lazarus, who died, and whom we know to be resurrected back into life by Jesus. Thomas cynically remarked that as he and the other disciples followed Jesus, they were following Him into trouble and into death, and that they ought to die together with Him.

In another occasion, after Jesus had risen from the dead, we should have known how Thomas doubted that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and conquered death Himself. And he even blatantly stated that he refused to believe until he saw the Lord Himself and touched the holy wounds with his own hands. And that was what Jesus exactly did, chiding Thomas for his unbelief and lack of faith.

And today we heard another time when Thomas doubted Jesus again, at the Last Supper, when Jesus reassured His disciples that even though they were going to encounter significant difficulties in the days ahead, He would not leave them behind, and that their path forward was clear. The remark of Thomas, as well as his behaviour, either in the passage from the Gospel today or from the other occasions, is a classic example of how mankind tend to often doubt about God’s love for them.

Let us ask ourselves, brothers and sisters in Christ, how many times in our own respective lives, that we have doubted about God, and doubted that He was here with us? How often was it that we doubted that God walked with us, especially when we encountered difficulties and challenges in life? And how many people indeed had abandoned God because they thought that God either had abandoned them or was not at their side?

This is the challenge which God had often warned us about. The devil, Satan and all of his fellow fallen angels would not stay silent or passive while we are attaining our salvation and redemption from the darkness into the light. He and his fellow fallen angels would prowl about seeking the harm for our souls, by trying to pull us out of the path towards God and His salvation.

And there had been many occasions throughout history, when given enough pressure, temptation and threats, suffering and persecution, men were even willing to abandon God for the other pursuits and temptations. And this is what we must resist and avoid. Each and every one of us should remain faithful to our God no matter what.

Therefore, in this season of Easter, let us make the very best of our effort in order to keep one another worthy of the Lord, rejecting all sorts of wickedness and temptations of the evil one, and cast out the darkness from our lives, and endeavour instead and aim for the light of our God. Let us help one another to live our lives faithfully in God, and may God help us in this endeavour. May God keep us in His love, and may we draw ever closer to His saving grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 April 2016 : Fourth Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us have been shown the truth about the Lord, Who through Jesus Christ His Son, has come into the world as the great Light, which is the guidance and the pathway for many who are now, and many others who once wandered throughout the great darkness of this world. Through Him, all those who have believed in God have received the guarantee and the promise of salvation and eternal life.

Those who accepted the words of our Lord have received life in them, because the Word Himself, the Word of God, Divine Incarnate had entered into the world through Jesus, the Son of God, Who have then given up Himself for our sake on the cross, laying down His life for us, and giving to us His own flesh and blood, His Body and His Precious Blood as our life-giving eternal sustenance.

The Apostles worked hard around the clock, going from places to places, and sometimes even to faraway and dangerous places, so that they might bear this truth and the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ to all those who lived far and have not yet heard about the salvation which God offered to all those who would put their complete trust in Christ, Who died for all that they might live.

In the first reading today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard how God had chosen His servants and sent them to evangelise to the peoples and communities of the people of God, so that they might hear the words of the Lord and come to believe in Him. And thus all those who believe in God would receive the redemption promised to them, and they would be made worthy of eternal grace and life.

The Church leaders supported one another, and they laid their hands on those whom God had chosen. This act represents the passing down of the Holy Spirit and the gifts which God had given them through the same Spirit. God blessed them with the authority over the spirits of this earth and beyond, and authority to forgive sins and to absolve the souls of men from their faults.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is now therefore we are all called to pay attention to what all of us are expected to do as members of the Church. The laying of the hands on the heads of the Apostles and the saints represent the continuous chain and the continuity from the Apostles themselves to our very own priests today, who all receive their ordination and authority from the bishops, who then received the same authority passed down to them from the Apostles, and then from our Lord Jesus Himself.

And of course all of us who are part of the Church also needs to play our part to commit ourselves to help the Church to spread and continue its good works to many others who are in need of salvation and liberation from their troubles. We also that same obligation to do what Jesus our Lord had commanded His disciples to do, that is to bear His word of truth, and spread them to the very ends of the earth, and preach the salvation in Him to all mankind.

Let us all therefore use this time and opportunity for us to reflect on our own lives and our actions. Let us all renew our commitment to help one another, especially those who lay in danger of falling into the darkness and eternal damnation of being separated from the love of God because of their actions that come to be contrary to the ways of the Lord.

May God help us in our endeavours, and may He strengthen our faith together as one people, belonging to the one and only Church through which He will save us from the eternal darkness and sufferings in hell. God bless us all and keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 15 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the well-known story of how St. Paul, the great Apostle and servant of God was converted from his past life as Saul, the great enemy of the faithful and the nightmare of Christians at that time. St. Paul when he was young, he was a zealous and fanatical Pharisee who strictly obeyed the Law of God, and was inflamed with false zeal against the followers of Christ.

But he led a wrong life, thinking that what he had done was righteous and just, as he thought that he was serving the Lord when he hunted down the disciples and the followers of Christ. But he was mistaken, for in all of those works, he was chasing down the same fault that the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people had done, that is to pursue their earthly matters first before that of the truth.

They refused to believe in Jesus, except for some who were willing to listen, because of their ego and pride, which prevented them from opening their hearts and minds to God, and therefore being able to follow Him. And in this misguided path therefore, St. Paul in his youth as Saul ended up committing great sins against many of the faithful, many of whom suffered grievously under his torture and works.

But God chose him to be an instrument of His salvation to the many nations. And he was called from a great sinner he was, a persecutor of the faithful, to be the champion and defender of the Faith in front of many of the enemies of the Lord, including his former friends, the Pharisees and the elders, and later on in his life, against the pagans who refused to follow the Lord and against the Roman authorities.

In all these, we see how great God’s work was. We see the greatness of His plan and His mysterious ways, which many of us may not be able to fathom, and yet from there came the salvation of the Lord to the many nations of this world. We have to keep in mind, as we remember this story of the conversion of St. Paul, from a great sinner who became a great saint, and as the invaluable tool of God’s work and evangelisation among the people especially among the pagan nations, that we too should do the same.

God did not call the mighty and the powerful, nor the perfect and unblemished to be those upon whom He showed His grace and blessings. In fact all of us should realise just how imperfect we were. We are all sinners, and so does all the saints as well. Even saints were themselves once sinners, and they also committed the same sins that we have committed. But there is one very important thing they did which distinguished them in the end.

And what is that, brethren? It is the ability to seek reparations for one’s own sins and faults. It is the ability to humble oneself and realise the nature of one’s own sins that have prevented that person from truly being able to reach out to God and to attain salvation in Him. God is calling not the perfect, but sinners and delinquents, rebels and disobedient ones, whom He was willing to forgive if they themselves make the effort to be forgiven.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all ready to follow the path of St. Paul? St. Paul walked the path of repentance, turning his back against all those things, the awful deeds which he had committed against the followers of Christ. Those were grievous sins indeed, but through his actions and works, St. Paul has earned more than redemption for his faults, by totally committing himself to God, and submitting himself to His will.

We too can follow his examples, by practising our faith actively in our own lives. Let us no longer be lukewarm in our faith, but instead let us all be burning flames of faith, of true zeal in God, not brought out of hatred and human desire, but out of love, from the desire to love both our God, and our fellow men, who are our brethren in the same Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 April 2016 : Third Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is sad today to witness the persecution and death of the first martyr of the Church and our faith, St. Stephen the Protomartyr, one of the original seven deacons who have been selected to be those who would serve the people of God and distribute the goods they share with one another, and minister to them in love.

But St. Stephen did not fear the persecution by the world or the threats and pressures laid upon him. He made a long and passionate speech to the Council, reiterating the truth of God, and how God has worked to bring salvation to mankind throughout history, how mankind have rejected Him, and how God Who still loved men, sent to us the Saviour in Jesus Christ.

St. Stephen courageously defended his faith and spoke the truth. He did not mince his words or held back the truth, even though doing so certainly would have brought about the anger and wrath of the Council members, and which means his own death and suffering at their hands. But he faced it all with grace, knowing that God would be with His faithful ones.

The Council members, made up of the high priests, the elders, Pharisees and Sadducees, and the teachers of the Law refused to listen to the truth that St. Stephen had spoken. These people were seeking the bread of this world, that is trying to satisfy their earthly needs. But in doing so, they lost sight of what they truly should have looked for, that is for the eternal Bread of Life.

And the Living Bread of God had come upon them, Jesus, the Saviour of the world, the Divine Word Incarnate into flesh, Who walked among us as we are, dwelling among us and showing to us the way to salvation and eternal life. And He was the One Whom St. Stephen had been standing up for, defending his faith and belief in Him, even though many others refused to believe.

Thus, this is the same challenge that our Lord Jesus Christ is presenting to all of us, as we continue to walk through this life in this world. Are we doing things so far merely in order to satisfy our needs, desires and wants, or are we looking for and seeking for something greater and beyond our mere needs and wants? The essence of being Christians is that we should take up the challenge and seek for the greater glory and true satisfaction that we can find in God alone.

Let us all therefore work together and strive to find the true happiness in God, by committing ourselves to obey the Lord and His laws, and to follow Him in all of His ways. We have no need to worry if we are not capable of doing it, as God did not call the great and the mighty to do His will, but instead He called on the weak and those who are struggling, and to them, if they are faithful, God will bestow great blessings and graces, as He had shown with St. Stephen.

Let us all reflect on our own actions and practices. Have we been truly faithful to God in all the things we say and do? Have we been insincere in our faith, or indifferent? If we want to be truly faithful to God, then we should really show it through our words and actions. St. Stephen had shown us the example, and we ought to learn from it. We do not have to do the same thing as he had done, but what we need to do is to change our lives for the better, and serve God with greater commitment from now on.

May God help us and strengthen our resolve in this journey, and may He help us to find our way to Him, and attain eternal life and redemption that can be found in Him alone. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 April 2016 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about the works of the Apostles in preaching about Jesus our Lord and Saviour, and how the Pharisees and the elders were unhappy about that, and attempted to stop the Apostles from teaching the truth to the people in the Name of Jesus. But the Apostles were not at the least daunted or threatened.

They were in fact encouraged and heartened by the fact that they were able to endure the same suffering that their Lord had suffered at the hands of those who rejected Him. And they became ever more dedicated in carrying out the work entrusted to them. And because of their hard work, and the commitment of all those who came after them, countless souls had been saved, including us all, from the threat of eternal damnation and death.

And this is related to what we have heard in the Gospel today. The Gospel from the Gospel according to St. John told us about what happened in the days after Jesus had risen from the dead. On that occasion, at the shore of the Lake of Tiberias, while the disciples of Christ spent their time doing about what they have used to do before following Jesus, that is fishing, Jesus appeared to them.

And while they had spent the whole night trying to catch fish and yet caught nothing, He told them to follow His instruction, and spread the net on the side of the boat. Immediately they caught so many fishes, that the net almost broke, and the ship almost sank under the weight of the catch. And yet the two of them held on, and the Lord showed His Apostles the way through this yet another miracle He had performed.

In that reading, we should notice that there are many symbolisms related to our faith and our Church, as well as the mission which Jesus was giving His Apostles, and through them to all of us living even today, for us to undertake and to be responsible for. Therefore, let us now go through them one by one as we reflect on the words of our Lord today.

The fishermen, the Apostles represent all of us, God’s chosen people, including His chosen priests and all those who have given themselves to the service of the Lord and to His people, and the boat represents the Church, in which all the faithful are part of, and where all the faithful ones should be contained in. It is the vessel of salvation through which we find our liberation from sin and death, and find our path to eternal life.

Just as in another occasion when Jesus walked on the water approaching the disciples who were on a boat in the middle of a storm, the same symbolism is applied, where the Church is the boat, rocked by the waves and the winds from the terrible storm, representing the opposition of the world and the difficulties it is facing, as shown in our first reading today by the opposition of the elders and the chief priests.

But the Lord shows us that He stands by His Church and His faithful ones, and knowing this very well, the Apostles knew that the Lord was with them, and that was why they did not give up, even though they faced great persecution, scrutiny and pressure from the authorities to give up their work of evangelisation among the people. They continued their hard work regardless, and most of them indeed were martyred defending their faith.

And what is the hard work that they have done? It is the hard work of bringing the truth of God, the words of our Lord Jesus as He had spoken it, and delivering these to the people who have yet to hear of them. This is the command that our Lord had given to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven, and the command which is still relevant and in force even unto this very day, and likely into the future as well.

Why is this so? That is because we have to realise that, even though our Church today has grown to the point that it is definitely irrecognisable to the Apostles in the past, but the same conditions still apply. There are still many people who are outside the bounds of the Church, who are still outside the relative safety of the vessel of salvation, who have yet to hear the words of our God’s salvation and truth.

There are also many, even within the Church itself, and who called themselves as Christians, and yet, they hang dangerously at the edge of the precipice to damnation, as their actions showed contrary to their faith. And these are in danger of falling outside of the Church and the guarantee of salvation, as by their own actions they had made themselves unworthy of God’s promise.

The Apostles had been called to become fishers of men, leaving behind their old job behind, and instead of looking for fishes to be eaten and sold, they have been called to a higher purpose. They were to call upon men and get them to listen to the salvation which God has offered through His Church. And when they caught those so many fishes inside the net, this was in fact a representation of what they were to do, that is to gather many people from many nations, to be included as part of the Church and thus sharers in God’s salvation.

The same task is now awaiting us as well. There are so many of our brethren out there who need our help, our guidance and our assistance in leading them to God. If we do not do our part, then who else will? Let us therefore learn from the example of the Apostles, in their courage and commitment to God, and in their faith, in how they followed the Lord, knowing that doing so would earn them hatred, persecution and condemnation by the world, but eternal life and glory from God.

May God help us and may He awaken in each one of us the desire to love Him and to love our fellow men, so that we may be stirred in our hearts and encouraged in our limbs and bodies, that our mouths may speak the truth of God, our eyes may see the plight of our brethren still living in sin and darkness, our ears may hear their pleas, and our arms and legs may be moved to touch them and to help bring them closer to God and to His salvation. May God strengthen us and our faith, and keep us always in His love. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 April 2016 : Second Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard how the Apostles assigned the first seven men to be what is called the order of Deacons, to serve the community of the faithful by distributing to them food and the daily rations, as the faithful at that time, if we read the rest of the Acts of Apostles, lived together as a community, sharing their goods and blessings with one another.

And then we heard in the Gospel about Jesus Who appeared to His disciples in the midst of a storm and walked on the water to reach out to them. The Apostles were scared and doubtful, thinking that they had seen a ghost. Their faith was still weak and wavering, and doubt was in their hearts. And this happened just after Jesus had fed the multitudes of five thousand men and countless other women and children with just five loaves of bread and two fishes.

The disciples then were still not able to comprehend the divine nature of our Lord Jesus, their Lord and Master. They were still in conflict on the nature and the truth which Jesus had told them about Himself. They thought that such miraculous works would have been possible and beyond human ability to comprehend. That was why they were doubtful, fearful and scared as they witnessed what the Lord had done.

But remember what Jesus had told them? Do not be afraid! And that was what He had told them all. It is I, your Lord and Master, do not be afraid! To Thomas, one of His Apostles, who have doubted about His resurrection, and who refused to believe that He had risen from the dead, Jesus also appeared to him, and told him, do not be an unbeliever! Believe!

We can clearly see the transformation between the Apostles at the time when Jesus was still walking with them on earth, and how they were after He had risen from the dead and sent them the Holy Spirit. They were thoroughly transformed, from those who were doubtful and whose faith were easily shaken, have become the pillars of the Church, as the foundation upon which God’s Church were gathered and where it could expand outwards from.

The lesson which all of us can learn from this is that, as all of us are members of the Church, we too have the same obligation as the Apostles to continue to carry on their good works for the people of God, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord Jesus Christ. And each and every one of us can play our part to contribute to the good works of the Lord made through His Church.

We may have our fears, doubts, apprehensions and other things that are in fact obstacles to our active participation in the works of the Church, but this is precisely where we need to make a stand and change our lives for the better. We are just like the Apostles too, as after all, we are all still human beings, with our imperfections, our shortcomings and our weaknesses.

But God made the weak strong, and encouraged those who were downtrodden and without hope. He aroused in all of us the Spirit of love, the Spirit of hope, and the Spirit of faith, His own Holy Spirit through which He brings in us the best of our efforts to care for our brethren, and to show compassion to the weak, the poor and the unloved. And from all this, God will make us the instruments of His grace to the world.

Let us no longer be fearful or doubtful, and instead, let us all step forward filled with faith in our future, as we embark on this journey of faith, and as we celebrate the joy of this Easter season. Let us all be examples of faith to our brethren around us, and awaken in one another the strong desire to love our Lord, and at the same time, the spirit of charity and compassion to each other.

May God strengthen us in our resolve to live our lives with faith, and let us all embark on this journey to bring ourselves and one another closer to God and closer to His salvation. God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 April 2016 : Second Week of Easter, Memorial of St. John Baptist de la Salle, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are presented from both the readings from the Acts of the Apostles and the Holy Gospels, of the realities of the contrast and conflicts that are present between the ways and the thinking of this world, as opposed to the ways of our Lord, which He had revealed to us through Jesus, His Son, and which He had passed down to us through His Apostles and His Church.

In the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we continue on from the discourse of the previous days, telling us how the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests were trying to bully the Apostles and the followers of Christ, using threats and fear in order to pressure them to stop their work and their preaching among the people of God. They thought that by doing so, they would be able to halt such an insurgency against their authority, but they were very wrong in this matter.

Not only that they were not at the least disturbed or affected by the threats, but they even courageously fought back by stating the truth before all of them to hear, as they pointed out that they ought to be obeying God rather than obeying any human authority above that of God’s. And that was a direct rebuke against the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, the Pharisees and all those who had been trying to stifle and hinder the works of God as exercised through His Apostles.

Through their examples, we can see how courageous we should be as well in how we lived our lives and in how we live our faith. Many of us today prefer to conform to the world and its ways rather than to stand by our Lord and God. Certainly, we have not been as faithful to Him as the Apostles had been. But if we think that those Apostles were extraordinary and beyond our means, then let us remember that they were once sinners too like us, and human as they were, they were not perfect. They too had their doubts and uncertainties, and moments when their faith was challenged.

But God showed them the way, and led them out of their uncertainty and doubts, and He blessed them with courage and strength in order to persevere through those challenges and made their faith firmer and stronger. And through His Holy Spirit, they spoke the truth of the Gospel and the truth as revealed through Jesus Christ our Lord to the whole world, that all those who heard the truth may find their way to salvation.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of a great educator, a holy and devout man, namely, St. John Baptist de la Salle, a priest hailing from Rheims, who lived about two hundred years ago. St. John Baptist de la Salle inspired a great movement and effort through which Christian education and evangelisation were boosted and spread rapidly throughout the world, as missionaries and faithful educators went forth to the four corners of the world preaching the truth of Christ through education.

St. John Baptist de la Salle was born from a privileged family, and he eventually entered the priesthood and devoted himself as a canon of the Cathedral of Rheims, living a comfortable life as how many of the clergy of those years had lived. But instead of remaining as he was in that comfortable position, he went forth and abandoned those comforts, as he heard the higher call to serve the less privileged, the abandoned and the unloved, especially those who have none to bring them the truth of our God.

That was when St. John Baptist de la Salle founded the society of the Brothers of Christian Schools, which members devoted themselves to the advancement of the education of the masses, and the evangelisation of the truth of God through the same education, that through the practice of the faith in their daily action, all of them may find the path to God’s salvation through greater understanding of their faith.

We should see in his examples, and the examples of those who have been inspired by his examples, as the inspiration for us as well, that we may follow in the footsteps of St. John Baptist de la Salle and the Apostles, in preaching the Word of God through words and actions, that all of us may receive the salvation which God has promised to us through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us commit ourselves anew, brothers and sisters in Christ, and commit ourselves wholly to help one another to reach out to the Lord and His salvation. Let us help one another, reminding each other of the obligations we have to follow the Lord and to obey Him even if the whole world may be against us. Let us make use of this season of Easter to deepen our faith and commitment to the Lord, and help to propel ourselves further on the way to eternal life. May God help us and bless us all in our endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 April 2016 : Second Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard that very famous phrase from the Holy Scriptures, from the Holy Gospel according to St. John, verse 3, which spoke about the love of God, that it is so great, that He was willing to send us His Son, Who is Jesus our Lord, that through Him we may not face death, but find eternal redemption and eternal life through Him.

What we have learnt from the Scripture readings today is that God loves us all, and He wants to save us all from the threat of hellfire and eternal damnation, as well as everlasting death. He shall not abandon us to the sufferings of eternal hell. God will protect all those who are faithful to Him, and He shall send His Angels to protect His people, guarding them from those who sought to bring them to damnation.

This was seen in the examples of the Holy Apostles which we heard as told by the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles were preaching the faith and the truth told by Jesus our Lord to the people, and the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, the elders and the chief priests were not happy that these Apostles were drawing the people away from them and gaining in influence and human regards.

As a result, they persecuted the Apostles, restricting them and arresting them whenever they could, including what we have witnessed today from the Acts of the Apostles. They imprisoned them and wanted to judge them falsely with false accusations and false judgments in order to silence them and stop their evangelising works. But God had other plans for them, one that no human authority and power could have undone.

For God freed the Apostles through His Angels, and by His guidance, they continued their ministry to the people of God, and despite the continued opposition by the Pharisees and the other enemies of the Lord and His truth, the Apostles continued to establish the Church and strengthened it through turbulent and difficult times. And more and more souls were saved by being welcomed into the Church and by their belief in the Lord Jesus.

God shows His grace and blessings to all those who have kept their faith in Him, and He shall not disappoint all those who have placed their trust in Him. For indeed, while the trust of men is feeble and weak, and can cause disappointments easily, but to trust in God is like to trust in a strong and firm rock, immovable and solid, amidst all the uncertainties and challenges of this life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we proceed through this joyous season of Easter, let us all reflect on our own lives, our deeds and actions. Let us all think about how we have lived our lives and in how we have interacted with one another. Have we truly been faithful to God? Or have we instead been swayed by the temptations of this world to deviate from the necessity for us to keep our faith strongly anchored in Him?

Let us ask ourselves, if we have placed our trust far more in ourselves rather than trusting in God and in His promises. This is the reason why so many of us were so reluctant in following God and in committing ourselves to His cause. Remember, brethren, that the Lord Himself had spoken, how the harvest is plentiful in this world, and yet the labourers are few. We have to step up and be courageous in committing ourselves to bring the Lord closer to ourselves and to our brethren around us.

Let us help one another on our path, and help each other to strive to walk in His path in our actions and our dealings with one another. Let our actions be examples for others, through whose actions, we may bring them closer to God, and therefore make ourselves each to be worthy of the Lord and of the salvation and the eternal life He has promised us. May God bless us all and keep us always in His love. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 1 April 2016 : First Week of Easter, Friday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the two Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. John who gave great testimony in front of all the elders, the leaders, the elites, the teachers of the Law and all those who were influential among the Jewish society at the time, the testimony of their faith in Jesus, through Whom God had brought into this world a great new light.

Those leaders and elders refused to believe in Jesus, and they thought that by sentencing Him to death on the cross, handing Him over to the Romans and after having rejected Him, and turned their backs from Him, humiliating Him and forcing Him to suffer a most painful death, they thought that they have finally succeeded in getting rid of the One Whom they thought to be their rival.

But in the Gospel, we were shown again, how amazing was our Risen Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world Who had conquered death itself. He showed Himself to have risen from the dead to the Apostles in several occasions, reassuring them and strengthening their faith, that all was not lost, but in fact was the beginning of a new time of grace.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus has opened the gates to salvation, and He has opened the path for us all to walk in, from the darkness into the light. Through Him, mankind who once thought that everything was lost to them, and that there is no hope to escape from the pain of death, now they all have received a new hope, an assurance of life and everlasting peace, joy and harmony through Him, so long as they make the choice to trust in the Lord and follow Him.

And this is where He also laid the work ahead for all of us, just as He had shown it through His Apostles. Today’s event of the miraculous fishing in the Lake of Tiberias is very important as well as meaningful, because it represents the Church, and all of its works to gather the people from all over the world, from many nations, to the Lord and to His salvation.

For you see, the boat represents the Church, and the Apostles are the servants of God and the members of the Church who have been saved by their faith and by their commitment to God. The net represents the efforts and works of the Church in the evangelisation and conversion of the world. The many fishes represent the people of God coming from different countries, origins and places, having different races, languages and cultures.

Remember that Jesus has called His disciples at the beginning of His earthly ministry, calling simple fishermen such as St. Peter, St. John, St. Andrew and St. James? He called them that they may no longer be just fishing for fish and for sustenance, but instead, from then on, to fish for men, that is to look for the lost souls of mankind, and bring them to the salvation in God.

And their works are not yet done even today, brothers and sisters in Christ, and thus we have a long way ahead of us, and a very important mission through which many of our fellow brethren may be saved and may find their way to the Lord. Thus, in this Easter season, as we all rejoice together in the joy of the resurrection and the promise of the life to come for all of us the faithful ones, we have to realise that we have to bring this joy also to those who have not seen the Lord and His truth, that they too may be saved.

May God awaken in all of us the spirit and the desire to love Him by loving one another, and by helping one another on our path towards redemption and eternal life. Let us seek to bring God’s salvation to all, through our words, actions and deeds that will become examples for all to see. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 28 March 2016 : First Week of Easter, Monday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we continue to rejoice in the Easter celebrations, let us all heed the words of the Scripture, reminding us that God’s love for all those who are faithful to Him will keep all of us safe from all harm and troubles, and no enemy is going to be able to threaten us or harm us if we put our full trust in the Lord our God.

In this Easter season we all rejoice together celebrating the triumph that our Lord had shown us against the forces of evil and darkness, the triumph and victory He had shown us all against sin and against death, as He proved that mankind has a way out of their enslavement to sin, and they do not need to fear sin and death, for the Lord Himself had shown them His care and love, and through Him, they have hope for a new life renewed in grace.

But alas, it is mankind themselves who refused to listen to reason and refused to accept God’s offer of grace and forgiveness. They refused to open themselves and allow God to come in and transform them for the better. They shut themselves out of God’s love and tender mercy, and instead in their pride and arrogance, they thought that only their ways were correct.

That was why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to listen to the Lord and His truth, and even after He had suffered, died and risen to glory, they refused to accept the truth that He is the Lord, the Messiah, the Saviour of all, even the Saviour of all of them, all who have rejected Him. Remember, that on the cross, Jesus prayed for those who have condemned them to death? He has forgiven them from their sins, and even to those sinful people, He has offered His salvation and redemption.

And yet, they were adamant in their refusal. Why was it so, brothers and sisters in Christ? Why did the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests persisted in their futile and wicked attempts to oppose Jesus, so far as to tell lies and falsehoods to the people, telling them that the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was false? Should they not instead then believe in Him Who had shown everything just as they had been foretold by the prophets?

No, that was not the case because of their attachment to worldliness and human greed, the temptations of power, glory, fame and majesty, the allures of human praises and the temptations of things that please the flesh. They were highly respected in the society, and they held important positions of power and honour. To give all these up by abandoning all of their old, worldly ways to follow Jesus the Lord in all things were simply too much for most of them.

They were jealous of the Lord and His teaching authority, and of the truth which He was preaching to the people of God. They saw Him as a great and dangerous rival to their own influences, to their own fame and positions, and as they were so attached to all those, they were unwilling to let them go, and thus they persisted in resisting the Lord’s good works and set obstacles in His paths.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we hear all these things today, let us then ask ourselves. Are we like the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests? Did we allow our worldly attachments to dull our love and commitment to God and His ways? Did we allow ourselves to be taken over by our greed, our pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and all the vices and wickedness in our hearts, by jealousy and hatred?

Let us all dedicate the time and opportunities given to us this Easter in order to push ourselves ever further on the path towards eternal salvation, and let us all seek to resist the temptations of our flesh, telling no to Satan and reject all of his evil and wicked advances. Let us all pray, that God will strengthen our faith and our resolve, to become ever more faithful and devoted in His presence. God bless us all. Amen.