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Monday, 9 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in the readings from the Scriptures we see how God had done His marvellous and wondrous works in this world, beginning from the very beginning of time up to the present and as He will continue to do so in the future. And He did these all through His Word, the Word that made all things be and which made all things present, that is Jesus, the Divine Word incarnate into Man.

He who made all things real had resolved to come and save all those He had created. This is because ever since we mankind disobeyed the Lord and chose to follow the words of Satan instead of the words of our Lord, sin and evil, that are imperfections entered into our world and make things wicked as it is now. Remember that our Lord in the Book of Genesis had created the world, all good and all perfect, and no evil could be found within the world when it was created.

It was the pride of Satan, the desire and greed of men and all other evils that brought about the imperfections that ruined the perfect goodness that was this world. Hence, ever since, evil and wickedness found their way into the world, and if we see violence, hatred, prejudice, greed and other terrible things in this world, all of them stemmed from our sinfulness and disobedience against God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, but despite what our ancestors had done to ruin and mar the beauty and the purity of creation, our Lord still loved all of us without exception, and although He hates our sins very greatly, but He loves all of us, the sinners, and He has no other wish than our freedom from the clutches of sin and from the chains of death. That was why He gave us His full love and dedication through Jesus, His Son.

Jesus laboured and worked to bring about the healing and reconciliation of mankind with Himself, so that by His works, He might reunite a people who had been scattered throughout this darkened world. His coming is like light shattering the darkness which had engulfed us for a very long time, and His light is like a guide which shows us the way out of the darkness and into the salvation which He promised to all those who keep their faith in Him.

Therefore, why do we all hear of the story of how God created the universe and all the things living and unliving today? That is because it is in our Lord’s desire to make us anew and to return us to the same state as when we were first created. He wants us to be made clean once more and freed from the illness and darkness which had covered us all body and soul, which tainted us and prevented us from embracing our Lord in complete love.

Sin is the disease of our soul, and as long as sin and darkness are in our hearts and as long as they taint our soul, our bodies will not be free, and death will continue to bind us. Thus, Jesus came to deliver us from the bonds of sin, from the chains of death. He freed us by His own sacrifice on the cross, and by showing us the selfless love which He had shown us by that sacrifice, so that we may be awakened from our dark slumber and begin to find our way towards our loving God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, from now on, let us all take concrete steps to change ourselves and our way of life, so that we may be relieved from that burden of sin which has plagued us since times immemorial, and so that by accepting fully the love which Christ our Lord has for us, that we may be made worthy and righteous once again, just as what the Lord intended for us, before sin came and corrupted us to the darkness.

May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and help guide us on our way, so that the inheritance He had intended for us, that is to live with Him eternally in perfect bliss and happiness may become a reality for us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 February 2015 : 4th 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 we discuss in the readings of the Holy Scriptures, of the nature of our Lord and God as our Shepherd and loving Guide, who cares for all of us, as His beloved children and people. He wants us all to be reunited with Him, and that was why He sent us Jesus His Son, to be the Deliverer and Saviour of us all, to bring us from all evils and liberate us all from all forms of sins.

God did not desire our destruction, but instead He wants us all to be saved from our own destructive attitudes, our rebelliousness and disobedience against His will which directly leads us into sin, and from sin into death, as sin is an obstacle for us to be reunited with our Lord, and without the Lord our God, our Shepherd, we are truly nothing. We cannot survive without the love of our Shepherd, just as sheep cannot survive and prosper without their shepherds.

We have lived for a very long time in the darkness, and we have lost our way in the darkness of this world, and without a guide, we are condemned to an eternity in darkness and suffering, in a state of hopelessness and complete separation from the love of our God. All these are because of our sins, the disobediences we have committed before the Lord and men alike.

But as I have mentioned, the Lord loves us very, very much, and just as the shepherd loves his sheep and cares for all of them without exception, thus the same applies to our Lord, who does not want even a single one of His sheep, that is all of us, to be lost from Him. We can liken this to a shepherd who does not wish his sheep to be lost to the wolves, to be scattered and without a leader to guide them and show them the way to a good life.

Thus this was why if we look at the Gospel passage today, even though our Lord Jesus and His disciples were very tired, particularly our Lord Himself, after ministering without cease on many occasions to the multitudes of the people of God, He still pushed Himself forth and taught more people who were looking for Him for guidance and the way for them to go in their life.

That is because He truly has concern and love for us. He is genuinely worried about us, for what is at stake is nothing other than the eternal fate of us all, and if He did nothing to save us, then all of us would have been lost, body and soul, to the eternal suffering and despair in hellfire. This is the fate that He does not want us all to have, and that was why, He became our Shepherd, to guide us all along the right path and show us all the path towards salvation in Him.

And just as a shepherd is willing to die and give up his life for his sheep, thus our Lord Jesus, our Shepherd is also willing to lay down His life for our sake. He laid down His life to protect us, and indeed to deliver us from the darkness of this world, to pay the price for our sins. Shepherds are willing to put their own lives at risk just so that their sheep may be safe from the depredations of wolves and all others that seek their destruction and harm. And indeed, our Lord is no different.

So for such a great love and care which our Lord had shown us all, even to the point of bearing the consequences of our sins and to even bear enormous suffering and to die for us, have we shown Him the same kind of unconditional and genuine love which we ought to show Him? Most often, we have shown Him contempt and indifference, and we even reject the love He had given us freely.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all appreciate the love which our Lord and Shepherd had shown us, and let us reciprocate it by loving Him back and following Him and the path which He had shown to all of us. Let us follow Him with all of our heart and let us no longer be disobedient but follow Him all the way to the end, where He will reward us with rich rewards and eternal life in bliss. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 6 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the stories of faithful marriage and what we must do to preserve sanctity and holiness in our matrimony, as well as the story of the death and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the messenger and herald of the Lord, who was murdered, albeit unintentionally by Herod, the king of Judea at the time.

The readings of today are all related in that they spoke of the same theme, that is the sanctity of marriage, the holiness which should be maintained at all times in our marriage, and not only in our marriage but also in our lives. And they also highlighted to us the dangers and obstacles that will come our way if we stay faithful to our Lord, the opposition and difficulties that will be laid upon us.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Paul Miki and his companions, who are the brave and courageous servants of the Lord, who were martyred for their Faith during the violent persecutions of the faithful in Japan during the early years of the seventeenth century under the Tokugawa shogunate. St. Paul Miki was a Jesuit, a faithful missionary and servant of God, and a very successful preacher of his time, bringing many into the Church through his words and actions.

The faith had been growing strong in Japan at that time, and hundreds of thousands, peasants and lords alike have turned towards the Lord, accepting God as their Lord and Saviour. However, the secular government at the time changed their earlier toleration of the Faith and became very hostile to it. To them, the Faith is a threat to their existence, simply because it spoke the truth about this world, that is filled with much filth and wickedness.

And thus St. Paul Miki and his companions suffered, for they remained true to their Faith and refused to succumb to the temptations of the world, and they spoke for the truth which Christ had brought upon this world. They were persecuted and tortured, but they did not give up the Faith, and instead through their perseverance, they showed the truth of Christ to all who have tortured and persecuted them. Some even believed, converted and followed in being martyred with them.

And St. John the Baptist had also endured the same suffering for the Lord, for speaking up the truth of the Lord, out of concern for mankind and all the sins they have committed. He chastised Herod and his brother’s wife, Herodias, whom Herod had taken as if she was his own wife. This was a great adultery, the improper relations one had outside of marriage, and this is what St. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews had reminded us all against.

By the fornication of the flesh which Herod and Herodias had committed, by being unfaithful to the sanctity of marriage and through their actions which spat upon the sacredness of the bonds of holy matrimony, they have sinned greatly before God. And what is truly sad is that, despite having sinned before the Lord, they continued to live in their sin, and being engulfed in that sin, they ended up sinning even more.

Indeed, such is the great danger of sin, that it continues to corrupt the soul and bring us to sin even more. Herod was corrupted with the sin of greed, of lust and of pride, and with Herodias, they together committed the sin of adultery, and later on Herodias also developed the sin of anger and hatred against the truth spoken by St. John the Baptist.

And Herod gave in to the temptation of the flesh, when he saw the beauty of Herodias’ daughter, giving in to temptation, and under that same temptation, proclaiming vows and oaths he could not retract later on. And Herod therefore took part in the slaying of the messenger of God, and his sin grew ever more. Herod sinned because he refused to repent and continued in his sinfulness and in not changing his life.

This is a warning and a revelation to all of us, that the anchor of our faith, the foundation of our lives must be strong, that is our families. If our families are built upon a solid foundation of faith, that is keeping holiness and purity in our marriage and married life, then we can be assured that sin will have a hard time to get unto us. It does not mean that we will be free from the threat of sin, which is ever-present, but rather that if our families and the institution of marriage are not well respected, then the danger of sin is ever the greater, just as the case of Herod had shown us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we ought to recall the examples of the holy saints and martyrs, of the courage of St. John the Baptist who dared to chastise a king to make him see the errors of his ways. Even though this was not to happen, but at least through what he had done, he became a shining symbol of the true faith in the Lord.

And the examples of St. Paul Miki and his companions should also inspire us, that sin and all of the darkness of evil has no power over us as long as we remain faithful to the Lord. St. Paul Miki was tortured, scourged and humiliated, and they were made to an extremely arduous journey and death march from the Imperial capital of Kyoto to Nagasaki, where they were martyred, a very great distance for them to march under terrible condition and torture by their executors.

Yet, they gladly march to meet their death, and they sang the great thanksgiving hymn to God, the ‘Te Deum’ along the way. This is because they knew that they had stood up for their faith and for the Lord, and in what they have done, they had brought countless others into salvation in God, and that God would not abandon them and they would not be disappointed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all profoundly change our way of life and reflect on the actions of the holy martyrs and saints which I have mentioned. Let us no longer live in sin, but dedicate ourselves to a life of holiness, a life filled with virtue and the love of God. May Almighty God be with us all, forgive us all our sins and in His mercy and love, may He find us worthy for our deeds made out of faith and love for Him and grant us eternal life. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the mission which Christ entrusted to His disciples, sending them two by two ahead of Him, in order to minister to the people of God and preach the Good News by words, deeds and actions. They were to be the extension of His hands’ works and to be the messengers of His words of truth.

Jesus came into the world with a clear message to all of us, that God welcomes all to His embrace and forgiveness. His mercy should never be too far for us to reach. He wants to make it available to all of us. And that was why He gave Himself as the Bridge that crosses the chasm between us and God our Lord and Father. Through Him, He brought us all into closer contact with our loving Father and make the truth about God known to all.

Many feared to seek the Lord because they feared His wrath and anger at their sinfulness and wickedness. But they failed to realise that while God was angry at them for their sins, He continues to love them without fail and without cease, no matter how sinful we are. It is that sin which separated us from His mercy and love, and thus a great barrier which all of us need to overcome.

And worse that many people even refused to accept the Lord who came to them, knocking at the doors of the hearts of many. They refused to receive the Lord for various reasons, but all of them stemmed from the same origin, that is our pride and our stubbornness. Yes, the same pride and stubbornness which had caused Satan to fall from grace into damnation, that same obstacle which will bring about our downfall too if we do nothing about it.

How many of us remain stubborn and unwilling to receive such rich graces of the Lord, which He poured freely upon us? He even became a willing sacrifice for all of our sake, by becoming the Lamb of sacrifice, laying down His own Body and shedding His own Blood to be the Redemption and Salvation for us all. He gave us His Body and His Blood freely, if we just would believe in Him and make Him as our Lord and Saviour.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Agatha, a holy virgin, a faithful servant and a glorious martyr of the Faith. St. Agatha was a very devoted servant of God, and since her early youth she had given herself completely to the service of God, dedicating her purity and virginity to the Lord as an offering of herself. But she was pursued and disturbed apparently by a Roman centurion, a pagan army leader of the Roman Empire.

At that time, to be a follower of Christ would mean certain death and suffering, at a time of great difficulty known as the Decian persecution, when the Roman Emperor Decius commanded a great persecution of the Church and the faithful. Many of the faithful were tortured, imprisoned, scourged and met painful death defending their Faith and by remaining true to God and His salvation which He had revealed to us through Jesus His Son.

St. Agatha also endured many torture and scourgings, in the imitation of the Lord Jesus who also endured such horrendous torture and difficulties, rejection and humiliation so that by His suffering and death, He might liberate us all from death itself and bring us into life eternal. And indeed, St. Agatha with the many other martyrs of the Faith lost their earthly lives but gained in heaven a great new and everlasting life.

We too, brothers and sisters in Christ, can share in the same glory and bliss that the saints and martyrs had received. Let us all therefore cast far away all of our pride and vanity, all of our stubbornness and reluctance to seek the Lord, so that we may truly, with full humility, seek the loving heart of our God and find His mercy, that we may be made whole once again, and receive the fullness of His reward. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we hear today about how Jesus was rejected by His own people, because they doubted Him and questioned His teaching authority, for they did not truly know who He is. They failed to see beyond the lens and screen of their own prejudice, of their own human pride and greed, and that was why they were condemned for their ignorance and stubbornness.

Why did they refuse to believe in Jesus? That was because they saw Jesus growing up among them, walking among them and talking to them, interacting with them since He was merely just an Infant Child, until He grew up to be a strong, wise and blessed Man. For the time before He began His ministry, Christ laid low and led a simple life, one that was unassuming, as the Son of a carpenter, who is His foster-father, St. Joseph.

It was likely that Jesus Himself also followed in St. Joseph’s footsteps as a carpenter, and a carpenter, while a respectable and righteous job, is hardly a job that someone would equate with prestige, knowledge and power. Most if not all carpenters at the time of Jesus were illiterate, unable to read. The ability to read was greatly revered in the society, as this gave them the ability to interpret the words of the Scripture and teach the people of God on the Law.

And this was why the Scribes, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were so powerful and respected at the time of Jesus. They were the ones who had control over the teachings of the Law and the interpretation of the Scriptures. But the temptation of power, glory and human praise had darkened their minds and hearts. They did not allow the Lord to come into their hearts and dwell there, but instead, their hearts were filled with jealousy and greed.

Thus, this was why they rejected Jesus and sow hatred against Him. They opposed Him at every turn of the way. Indeed, all of us should be sad and ashamed at the amount of jealousy, ignorance and prejudice which we have shown Jesus, just as His fellow villagers in Nazareth had shown Him, and also the hatred, opposition, obstacles and persecution which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law committed against the works of the Lord.

Their actions were truly a reflection of our own actions. We often shut the Lord out of our hearts and our minds, simply because we are too preoccupied with ourselves and with the things and concerns of this world. As such, we ended up becoming just like the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the villagers of Nazareth, who rejected Jesus and thus rejected the salvation which He offered.

We are often too caught up in the noise of the world that we fail to notice the Lord doing His works about us and around us. He performs His good works, miracles and wonders all the time, through those around us, and through the Church itself as well. It is therefore good for us all to reflect and think about our own lives. Have we been like the villagers of Nazareth, being cooped in our own prejudice and human weaknesses?

In the first reading, St. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews likened the actions of God like that of a father who chastises and guides his sons and daughters to the correct path. Thus the same is also applied to the actions of our Lord and God, who truly is our Father, the Father of all things and all creations. He cares for all of us and we are all His children.

In the current state, our stubbornness, our ignorance and our immersion in sin threaten the very safety and fate of our souls. Which father will let his son or daughter to fall into danger? That was why He sent us so many help and assistance, which He made true and real through Jesus, that we may all be saved. Shall we thus no longer be obstinate, but accept the gracious offer of our Lord’s mercy and love? May Almighty God be with us always, and may He awaken in us the love which we ought to have for Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about the healing which Jesus performed to the woman who had bleeding in her for twelve years, and also the resurrection of the dead daughter of a synagogue official. And both of them have a great significance for us, as they were both saved and healed because of their faith.

The woman was healed from her bleeding because she believed that Jesus had the power to free her from her afflictions, while the daughter of the official was healed because her father also showed the same faith in the power and authority of Jesus. What Jesus told the woman is important, as He said that the woman’s faith had saved her. This showed that we must have faith in the Lord in order for us to achieve salvation.

However, people tend to interpret this differently, thinking and assuming that faith alone is sufficient for us to attain salvation and liberation from all of our afflictions. Some were misled by the confusion to think that we just need to have faith and to believe in the Lord, and then all of our problem will be gone, and all of our difficulties will cease. But this is a wrong idea, an erroneous thinking and a heresy planted in our minds by Satan.

Our Lord Himself, as the first reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews had testified, is the founder of the Faith we have now, not just because He preached what He had preached, and not just because of all the words and things which He had mentioned and taught to His disciples, but even more importantly, Jesus Himself practiced and made true what He had taught and preached in His own actions.

He persevered and suffered grievously for all of our sins, and He bore that cross that is our sins, holding onto it as He ascended the hills of Calvary, and every single wounds He received is our sins that He patiently and lovingly bore upon Himself. What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? Our Lord loves us all very much, and He wants us all to be saved. He had faith in us all being able to overcome sin, but without action, everything would come to naught.

And that was why, He showed us all the example through His own action, that faith is never complete without action and deed to prove that faith, and without action based on that faith, the faith is essentially dead. The woman with bleeding believed in Jesus, but had she not taken the action to come through the numerous crowd and try her best to touch the cloak of Jesus, she would not have been healed.

It was also the same for the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official. Had Jairus not make the effort to come down and seek the Lord Jesus, he would not have received the reward for his faith, even though he was indeed faithful to the Lord. Thus, our faith requires effort, a conscious effort and work, which is our faith made alive and real.

Indeed, we cannot profess that we are truly faithful to the Lord, if we had not done anything to show that we are indeed faithful. Therefore, let us all from now on, change our ways and be truly faithful, just as today we celebrate the feast of two saints of the Church, namely St. Blaise and St. Ansgar, the faithful servants of God, whose examples hopefully may inspire us all.

St. Blaise was renowned as the patron saint of throat diseases, and we know of him now primarily because of the custom of the blessing of the throat, also known as St. Blaise’s blessing, with two crossed candles on our throats. St. Blaise was once a physician that cured and healed diseases, but he then settled on in the greater service of God and His people and instead he became the physician of souls.

The works of St. Blaise in calling the people of God to repentance and to a holy lifestyle is a constant reminder to all of us, that we are all always afflicted with the disease of the soul, that is sin, and we have to seek remedy for this affliction, that is by seeking the Lord our God with faith, and by doing what He had commanded us to do, as doing good deeds for others around us is a panacea and medicine against the sickness of sin.

Meanwhile, St. Ansgar showed us that we have much to do as the fellow servants of God, in doing good for one another and in calling many people from the darkness of the world into the Light. St. Ansgar was truly experienced in this as he lived during the early Medieval era Europe, in the midst of the people still gripped by pagan worship and pagan gods, and he was indeed sent to those people to bring the Light of Christ upon them.

St. Ansgar tirelessly worked to bring the Good News and the truth of Christ to them. Amidst all the difficulties and challenges, he managed to convert countless souls and gained them for the Lord, for their own benefit as well. And this should inspire us all to take up the same cross, the same mission to bring more and more people to the salvation in the Lord.

May our Almighty God be with us all, guide us all in our ways that we may always be upright in His eyes and at the end of the days, may we all find salvation and justification in Him, the One who rewards all His faithful with the abundance of graces. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 2 February 2015 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day for Consecrated Life (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ, when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son of Mary, His mother, was presented to the Lord, as written and prescribed by the Law revealed through Moses. And in that presentation and consecration, the Lord was recognised by His faithful servants, Simeon and Anna, who had waited very long for the fulfillment of God’s promise to them, that they would see the Messiah and Lord.

Today we celebrate the day of prayer and celebration for all of those who have committed themselves to the Lord in a holy and devoted life, namely all of the religious men and women, who had joined the various orders designed to be the societies where those men and women can live their lives meaningfully and devotedly according to the ways and rules laid out for them, that they maintain their purity and worthiness before the Lord.

These holy men and women face difficult challenges, even more than all of us do. This is because they have consecrated themselves to the service of God, following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Himself, who was presented as the Firstborn One at the Temple. Jesus is the Firstborn of all creations, the One begotten not created by the Father. He became Man so that as High Priest, He would offer the perfect sacrifice of Himself as the Lamb of sacrifice for the reparation of all our sins.

And so, the faithful religious and all those who have dedicated and given themselves to be consecrated to God, namely every single one of our priests, who have been taken from the world and as in our first reading today by the prophet Malachi had mentioned, they have been taken and molded in the Lord’s hands, to be made pure and holy, blameless and worthy, purified and refined, as if gold and silver, to be the ones to offer the same sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Calvary that liberated all of us from the thrall of sin and death.

Yes, while the priests of Israel of old, from the tribe of Levi offered the sacrifice of animals, the blood and the fats of lambs, calves, goats and turtledoves, and while they offered the goods and products of the land, for the sake of their own sins first and then for the sake of the sins of the people, that they may be forgiven. But this sacrifice is temporary, for no amount of animal blood and offerings may remove from us the enormous weight of our sins combined.

Jesus has been offered and consecrated to God, not because He was a sinner or having any form of sins or disobedience in Him. He was consecrated because just as the priests of Israel of old were consecrated, be made pure and ready to serve the Lord at His altar and offer the sacrifices for the sake of the people, then Christ Himself also offered the sacrifice, the greatest sacrifice of them all, that is the sacrifice of Himself on the cross for our sake.

And all of us have been saved by that sacrifice, where our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself all of our sins, and as our Great High Priest, He offered the sacrifice for the reparation of all our sins, with exception of one difference, that this sacrifice no longer needs to be repeated again and again. It was because that sacrifice is the only one worthy enough to absolve all of our sins, past, present and future all at once. After all, who else is worthy beside the Lamb of God, the Divine Word of God who gave up all to save us?

And it was in the service of this Great One that all of our priests and the religious, all those who have consecrated themselves to be His servants, that they live this life of holiness, prayer and dedicated service to God. Jesus was consecrated to be an example to all of us, as the High Priest dedicated to God, that all of us who are called to serve, also follow in His footsteps and dedicate ourselves as well.

And different people have different roles and calling. But they all serve the one purpose, that is to bring mankind closer to God, their Lord and loving Father. It is to bring about the reconciliation between God and mankind that they are called for. And indeed, their responsibility and duty is not an easy one, for just as they themselves are tempted as we are tempted, we also like to refuse to follow and obey God’s commandments.

Therefore, their life is one of a constant battle and challenge, struggle against Satan and all of his forces, and they have to bear with all these with prayer, with patience and with dedication that requires our support and help. Our religious and priests need our help, for they are the ones who have consecrated themselves for our sake. And why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because they are the ones who stand as the vanguard in the battle for the sake of our souls, protecting and guiding us to the truth of Christ.

Let us also follow in their footsteps and model our words, actions and deeds on theirs and ultimately to follow in the footsteps of our Lord. May all of us be sanctified and be made holy through what we are doing in this life, and let us all shun all forms of sin and accept the fullness of Christ’s truth and love into our lives. Pray for each other, especially for all of our priests and all the religious brothers and sisters committing their lives to God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 February 2015 : Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Septuagesima Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Violet (Septuagesima Sunday – Usus Antiquior)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Septuagesima Sunday, which literally means ‘seventy’. This is to remind us that as this is the ninth Sunday before Easter, we are about seventy days away from the great feast and celebration of our Lord’s Passion, death and ultimately, the most important of all, the Resurrection through which He made whole all mankind and bring hope into the world engulfed in the darkness.

As is appropriate, the Gospel today from the Gospel of St. Mark spoke about time and works that men take up, to fulfill the Lord’s call for all of us. The parable of the vineyard workers and the owner is speaking about how we mankind, the people of God are called by the Lord to be His servants and to do the good works which He had initiated in this world.

The Gospel from the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time spoke of how Jesus our Lord exercised His power and authority to cast out demons and heal all those afflicted by the physical and spiritual sickness and diseases. And that is just how our Lord does His work to liberate us all from the clutches of Satan, and ti show the way for us all to seek the Lord our God.

And in the first reading of the Ordinary Time readings, from the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord had promised His people that He would send them a Prophet, that is the One who would bear His will and His words of truth to the people. Jesus is that Prophet, who taught the people and His own disciples through stories and parables which bore the truth of God inside them. He is the Word of God made flesh.

In the parable told by Jesus in the Gospel for Septuagesima Sunday, the vineyard owner is truly the Lord our God, who is the Lord of all. The vineyard itself is the world that is saved, that is the Church of God, and the workers are all of us, the race of men. God seeks out all of us at different times, and He sought us in the darkened world outside the Church, that is everything else beyond the vineyard. Like the owner who went out to seek more workers for his field at various hours, the Lord too seeks us at all the time, desiring to find us and bring us to salvation.

There are therefore three main things I want and I hope all of us will take away from the readings of today, that we may reflect on them and understand the necessity for us to know what the Lord wants from us. First, it is that we should not wait until it is too late and then only then we desire to seek the Lord. The Lord always wants to seek us, but if we ourselves refuse to listen to His call, then we will be forever damned in the darkness.

And we do not know when death will come for us. All of us will die one day, at the time and place that only the Lord our God knows. There are many who continue to ignore the Lord’s heedings for us, and they wait, thinking that there is still time for them. But death may claim them on the next day, and even on the next minute or second! And when that happens, no matter how we beg or how we plead with the Lord, He will refuse us for we have ourselves refused the generous and repeated offer of mercy which He had given us.

And then secondly, the Lord invites us to enter His Church, to be saved with all those who have been saved earlier. The Church of God is represented in the Gospel with the vineyard and all the workers inside it. All those whom the Lord calls and accepted His call and worked in His Church are saved. Thus, we ought to rejoice indeed, for we have received baptism that initiated us to be the members of the Church, the children of God and thus the partakers of God’s saving works and grace.

And last of all, as we see, that all the workers received equal pay of one denarius or silver coin, regardless of how long they have worked in the vineyard. Thus, the same applies to all of us the children of God. Regardless of what we have in this life, our possessions, our abilities and talents, our works and contributions, as long as we are all faithful to God and keep His commandments, we are all equal before the Lord.

This does not mean literally that everyone should be equal. As we can see, that different workers work at different hours and for different lengths of time. This means that each of us in the Church of God have distinct roles, each according to his or her own abilities. We should not be jealous that others had done less, or be proud that we have attained salvation earlier because He called us earlier than others.

This means that we should not be proud of our justification and look down on others who have yet to be saved. After all, as long as we receive His salvation and agree to become part of His Church, we shall receive the same reward, represented by the equal pay of one denarius for each worker, that is our salvation and eternal life, to live together in perfect bliss and happiness without end, with the Lord our God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all realise that we all have much to do in order to bring others into the salvation in God. We should help one another, and as part of the Church, to be examples and role models for all those who have yet to find their way to the Lord, so that they too may be saved. And we have to realise as well, that the vineyard of the Lord, that is His Church, still require many people to help as the servants of the works of God.

May all of us be awakened to follow the Lord and to righteously walk in His way. Let us all seek the Lord and harken to His call. Do not wait until it is too late for us, but let us stir ourselves from our slumber and walk from now on, only in the path of the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 31 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about how we ought to have faith in God, the faith which we have in the Lord, and by hearing on the testimony of those who have lived the faith in the past, we too should be inspired to live following the footsteps of our predecessors in faith if we desire to receive the fullness of God’s grace and salvation.

The faith we heard was about the faith of Abraham, the faith of Sarah and all those who have lived according to the way of the Lord. Abraham was once just a mere man who lived in the ancient region of Mesopotamia, in the city of Ur, far away from the lands of Israel. And then one day, God called him to follow where He would ask him to go to. He promised Abraham great rewards and riches should he choose to follow Him, and indeed, Abraham faithfully followed the Lord into the unknown.

God chose Abraham not because He randomly picked people who He deemed suitable to receive His grace, but because He also knows what is in the hearts of men. He knows it all, and to those who have the gift of faith, He shall give more, and bless them even more if they prove to be capable of living up to the faith. And Abraham passed that with flying colours. Not only that he was able to commit himself fully to the Lord, but he was also even willing to sacrifice his own son to obey the will of God.

And in this, we also see the kind of commitment which is required from us, so that we can be truly faithful and devoted to the Lord our God. We cannot be half-hearted or be divided in our attention and focus on the Lord, or otherwise, our faith is not truly genuine and real. After all, the sacrifice of Isaac itself has shown us how faithful our Lord is, in His devotion to all of us. He is ever faithful, while we are always the ones who always broke our promises and obedience to Him.

And the promise of God was made full, real and complete through His giving of His own Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of God’s promise and love. In need for so much of help are we, that nothing short of what He has done, will be able to deliver us from the grip of sin which had engulfed us for such a long time. Sin has been a great stumbling block in the path of our road to redemption, and as long as we remain immersed in sin, it will be difficult for us to escape.

Indeed, just like the storms and waves in the lake, which the disciples encountered as they were crossing the lake, thus there are many obstacles and dangers that are in our path as we approach the Lord and as we seek the salvation which only our Lord can give us. It may indeed be very fearsome and frightening to be in such a condition, but if only we had placed our trust in the Lord, then we truly should not be afraid, for the Lord Himself will guide us and guard us from the Devil.

When Jesus, our Lord, is at the helm, no one will be able to assail us, and as long as we anchor ourselves to Him, we shall be fine. For by what He has done, God had shown us all how to be truly faithful and devoted to God. If Abraham had endeavoured to sacrifice of his only son, the child of the promise of God, then what God had done for us is even greater.

For He had also given us His own Son, as a loving sacrifice, out of His faithfulness and obedience to the one thing which keeps Him moving in action to save us all, His people, that is the love which He has for each and every one of us, from the least to the greatest. And that is the love which our Lord has shown us, the love which propelled Him to endure all forms of sufferings and to die for us on the cross.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. John Bosco, a renowned priest and holy man, who was known for his efforts to help the people of God, through his various charitable acts and founding of charitable and educational institutions, meant to help the least in the society, the poorest, the weakest, the least and the ostracised of the society.

St. John Bosco worked hard to spread the Good News of the Lord, and he did it through his actions, helping and loving those who have no others to love them, and caring for all those who have no one else to turn towards. He sheltered many people, especially the youths, who were homeless and under bad influences of the world, and he taught them on how to live their lives well.

What St. John Bosco had done should be an inspiration to all of us, to put all of our faith in God, and put it into real action, by following in the footsteps of all those who have been faithful before us. Abraham, our forefather in faith trusted completely in the Lord, and he walked down the path to the lands promised to his descendants, and he offered even his own son out of obedience to God’s will, knowing that God will give him back his son.

Thus, all of us should also be truly devoted and be faithful to our God, and the best way to do so is by showing it through our words, deeds and actions, loving our fellow brethren and caring for them. Let all of our actions speak loudly and clearly of the love of God, so that more and more people may realise of the love which He had shown all of us. May Almighty God be with us all, love us always, and keep us always in His grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 30 January 2015 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about the parables which Jesus taught to His disciples, which He taught to them as the way to understand the true meaning of the faith. In the various parables of Jesus, we can clearly see the rich discourse and meaning behind the stories and the tales which Jesus told His disciples and followers. All of these were crafted to suit the understandings of the people, who were mostly farmers, shepherds, fishermen and people from the poor strata of the society.

Many of these people were uneducated, and they were not able to read, and neither could they understand difficult and complicated concepts. Therefore, to lecture them on the Law of God and His many precepts would not go anywhere, as they would not be able to understand them a single bit if done this way. That is why, Jesus told them about God through the use of parables, through stories in which the farmers, shepherds and fishermen would be able to relate, as Jesus used terms and explanations according to what they did in their everyday works and lives.

Today Jesus talked about the parable of the kingdom of God being likened to a mustard seed that when planted grows to become a great tree, even though it was once the smallest of seeds. This is to clearly show how the kingdom of God is like. It is not just like some imaginary or utopian kingdom somewhere else beyond our reach. It is not just in our imagination, as the kingdom of God is truly real, and it is all within us all, the believers who are faithful to our Lord, who had brought His kingdom upon us.

The kingdom of God is like a seed planted within each and every one of us. But it will remain dormant as long as nothing is done to make sure that it grows and becomes vibrant and living within us. But if we indeed put the effort to make a difference, by throwing and casting away all that is evil, then we will allow the kingdom of God to grow within us.

What is the kingdom of God, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is not the same as any worldly kingdoms or realms. It is realised when all of us live according to the way of the Lord, that is love, peace, harmony and friendship between all the peoples, all of whom are devoted to the Lord their God, and their loving Father. The kingdom of God is where all of us lives together, all following and obeying the will of God, where no evil exists anymore, and where all of us are reunited with our loving God.

That was the figurative meaning of the mustard tree that Jesus had told His disciples. The mustard tree grows so large, that birds of the sky come and take shelter in its branches. Thus, the kingdom of God ought to grow wide and strong, and encompass all the peoples, all the creations of God, all mankind who had once been lost to God, to the darkness of this world.

In the first reading, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews mentioned about us all having received the faith, and if we hold fast and stay true to that faith, then we shall have nothing to worry about. As long as we do not abandon the faith we have, and as long as we put our trust in God, our Lord will be our guide and protection. For if we look at the Gospel today, we have to note that our Lord had revealed to us His truth through what He had told His disciples in private.

What He had revealed to His disciples, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we too have received through the Church, which preserved the fullness of the truth of our Lord. But there are many others who have yet to hear or to witness this truth, and they still remain engulfed in darkness. And it is our duty and obligation to bring the words of truth to them.

But we cannot be hypocrites of our faith, or else we will be like speaking babbles to the people. We have to therefore translate it into something that they would be able to understand, and that is our actions. That means, we have to make sure that we live according to our faith. We cannot be indifferent to others who need of our love, and we have to be proactive in loving others just as our Lord had loved us.

May Almighty God therefore guide us and show us the way, that we may all be examples and role models for all to see, and so that all of those who see us will come to believe in us, and put their complete trust in us, and thus be saved from eternal death. May God bless us. Amen.