Sunday Mass sermon

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Sunday, 25 May 2025 : Sixth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday which marks the Sixth Sunday of Easter, all of us are reminded that as Christians, it is important for us to be truly filled with the love of God in all things, in our every actions, words and deeds. We are all called to follow the Lord in all of our ways, in our everyday interactions, actions and works so that by our complete and total dedication to God’s ways as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen. We must not easily be distracted by the many alternative ideals and ways which may be contrary to the ways that the Lord had presented to us. This is why it is important that we have to discern carefully our actions and choices in life, so that we may truly walk faithfully the path that the Lord has guided us through in life.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the aftermath of the First Council of Jerusalem, the first major gathering of the assembly of the faithful in the history of the Church, which dealt with the issue of the disagreements that happened due to the efforts by some among the early Christians to impose the full weight of the Jewish customs, practices and ways on the whole Church. And as I have explained in detail in the deliberations earlier this week, such a rule and requirement would have made it very difficult for the believers from among the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish people to follow the Lord and becoming His disciples, as certain practices and customs of the Jews such as circumcision and dietary restrictions are viewed with disgust and suspicion by the Gentiles as a whole.

That was why after deliberations and discussions, guided by the Lord through the Holy Spirit, the Apostles led by St. Peter the Apostle decided that the whole Church should not be bound by the whole extensive and cumbersome Jewish customs, traditions and practices, which numbered about six hundred and thirteen in all, not counting the many other rites and rituals, practices and interpretations that the Pharisees often enforced. After all, the Lord Jesus Himself had criticised those same Pharisees for their way of observing the Law, for their overly rigid and strict interpretation of the Law of God, and most importantly for their hypocrisy in exercising their authority and in their own way of living and practicing the Law. And in accordance to what the Lord Himself had taught and presented before the disciples, the Church required only the fulfilment of what the Lord had told His people to follow.

As ultimately, the Law of God was meant as the guide for the faithful to follow in how they ought to live up their lives, and in showing all of them on how they ought to love God first and foremost, above all else, and then to love one another, their fellow men and women, their brothers and sisters in the same Lord. It is meant to lead us all towards God, and not to burden us unnecessarily. That is why the Apostles sent out the letters and messages to the faithful throughout the various community then present, through St. Paul and the other missionaries so that they might be able to practice the Christian faith in the proper and right manner without unnecessary burden and inconvenience. The Lord guided His Church and the efforts of the disciples, and the Church continued to keep on growing ever since.

This is also an important reminder for us that we should always have the right focus in our way of obeying the Lord’s commandments and laws, and we should not be easily distracted by certain tenets or doctrines that ended up causing us to lose sight and focus on what the Law of God is truly all about. As Christians, it is most important that we focus our attention on the Lord and not on our own different preferences and prejudices, and it is also very important that we must all be ready to listen to one another, and not to be hardened in our attitudes, in refusing to listen to the opinions of others around us. We should learn to understand the true will of God and the path that He is guiding and leading us through, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead of insisting on our own way and methods.

Then, from the second reading passage this Sunday, we heard of the vision of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist that he had received in the island of Patmos and which he recorded in the Book of Revelations. In that vision and account, we heard about the New Jerusalem, the vision of the city that will come from God at the end of times, a vision of the everlasting and true joy that all of us will share together as God’s holy and beloved people. And through this hope we are all reminded that if we are truly faithful to the Lord, full of love for Him and being dedicated to Him, then we shall receive from God Himself the fullness of everything that He has prepared and intended for us all, the glorious inheritance that He has reserved for us, that even if we are to suffer persecutions and hardships, in the end, we will enjoy forever the true happiness and joy with Him in Heaven.

From the perspective of the Apostle St. John himself, it was also a vision of comfort and strength, which is an encouragement for him, having suffered so many years in persecution and hardships. St. John the Apostle was the only one of the Twelve Apostles that was not martyred for his faith in God, but while he did not face a bloody and painful end of his life, he did suffer a lot throughout his very long life, as according to tradition he lived to the end of the first century, which is about seven decades or so after the Lord’s Resurrection, suffering persecutions, exile and other kinds of trials and difficulties during his ministry, missions and works among the people of God. That is perhaps the Lord showed His vision of the end times to St. John so that it could strengthen him in his own faith and commitment to Him, despite the many sufferings that he had to bear throughout his life.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle, we heard of the Lord telling His disciples about everything that would happen to them, but they should not be afraid or fearful as in the end, God would be with them always, and none of them will be left alone or abandoned as He will always provide for them whatever they need in their journey and ministry. Through the Lord, all of us, His disciples and followers will gain true and lasting peace, through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Advocate and Helper that He has bestowed upon us in this world. That is why we should not fear persecutions or hardships, just as the Lord has reassured us through His visions to St. John the Apostle and the Lord’s own reassuring words through His disciples as we have all heard today.

Essentially, all of us are reminded this Sunday to continue to do our best to carry out our missions in life as Christians, as those whom God has called and chosen to be His own people. Each and every one of us have been entrusted with the various missions and works, in our own areas of expertise and responsibility, as He granted us the various gifts, abilities, talents and all the means by which we may touch the lives of everyone around us, all those whom God had called and chosen, those whom God had placed in our lives and allowed us all to encounter in the different moments and times. All of us have been blessed with many gifts and wonders, and it is time for us therefore to make good use of them so that through our works and efforts, we may glorify the Lord and show His truth, Good News, His love and salvation through our lives and examples.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to do our best in each and every moments of our lives so that our every words, actions and deeds, we may always proclaim the Lord’s truth and Good News to everyone whom we encounter in every opportunities. Let us all continue to be faithful and courageous in all things, doing our best in every opportunities that we have been given so that we may truly be fruitful in doing God’s good works and be strengthened in our resolve to continue to be ever more committed in proclaiming the truth and Good News, the love and hope of the Lord’s salvation to more and more people, just as He has entrusted to all of us His Church, His missionaries and all those whom He has entrusted the good works of His salvation.

May all of us be strengthened and guided as always by the good hands of the Lord in all times and occasions, and may God bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 18 May 2025 : Fifth Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter and all of us are reminded through what we have heard from the Sacred Scriptures, of the great love of God for each and every one of us mankind, how He has willingly shown us this love to us through everything that He had done for us, in revealing to us His beloved Son, His only Begotten One, the One through Whom He has made His love manifested in this world, becoming tangible and real for us. And in His glorious Resurrection that we have been celebrating throughout this time and season of Easter, we have seen the hope which the Lord has brought upon us, the hope of life beyond death, life that is everlasting and bringing us true happiness and joy, one that no one and nothing else can provide to us.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the actions of St. Paul and St. Barnabas who were returning to Antioch after the missionary journey in Asia Minor, where they encountered both successes and obstacles. St. Paul and St. Barnabas encouraged and strengthened the faithful there in Antioch with their stories and testimonies, reminding all of them that to be a missionary and disciple of the Lord, one must be prepared and ready to endure challenges, difficulties and trials, to suffer for the sake of the kingdom of God, just as St. Paul and St. Barnabas had experienced. But at the same time, they strengthened and encouraged the other disciples and members of the faithful by reminding them of God’s guidance and providence throughout their ministry.

We heard more of the exploits and works of the two faithful and courageous servants of God, who continued to work for the greater glory of God, going from places to places proclaiming the word of God and His Good News to more and more people while strengthening the faith of those who have believed in God. Through all these tireless and ceaseless efforts we can see how the Apostles became important parts of the Church’s missions and works, and they were indeed the pillars of the Church of God. But we must also realise that they did not do their work alone, and in fact, they had many collaborators and fellow missionaries, and many others who assisted and helped throughout their ministries, journeys and other efforts. We too, therefore, as Christians should be active in taking part in and in supporting the works of the Church.

We also heard of how the works of God’s salvation and His Good News were also intended for the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people, as much as they had been intended also for the Jewish people. This is yet another reminder for all of us of the universality of the Church and the salvation that God has promised and offered to us. The Lord has offered His salvation to each and every one of us, His beloved children and people, and not just being limited to a certain group of people like the Israelites and their descendants. While it was indeed true that they were God’s first chosen people, but through them, God revealed His true intention, that the chosen people He really wanted to gather together includes all of mankind, the entire world and its people. All of us living today in this world are also part of this God’s plan of salvation.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard of the passage from the Book of Revelations of St. John, in which we heard the powerful words of reassurance from God for His people, revealing to them the great joy and happiness that He will bring about to us, at the end of time, after the reckoning for everything. The Lord showed the vision of the new Heaven and the new Earth to St. John the Apostle as part of the visions that he received while he was exiled at the island of Patmos. This vision of the new Heaven and Earth came after the vision of the times of tribulations, hardships and trials that would come against all those who continue to be faithful to God. And yet, God does not abandon or neglect His people, as even throughout the greatest persecutions and difficulties, He is and will still be with us, journeying with us.

This encouragement is truly very important especially to those to whom St. John the Apostle recounted his visions as they were all suffering then from persecutions by the Romans, who were causing great hardships and sorrows among the Christians, especially during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, who wanted to be worshipped as god, and found the refusal by Christians to do so as a reason for persecuting them. Therefore, amidst such great trials and tribulations, the message of hope that God had shown through St. John the Apostle must have been very encouraging and uplifting, that despite the hardships and trials they were facing, in the end, the Lord would provide for His people and would not abandon them to the darkness and evil.

From our Gospel passage this Sunday, the Lord then reminds all of His disciples and followers of how God’s love has been given to them, and therefore just as they have been beloved by God, they should all love one another as well. The commandments of love that the Lord gave to them all highlight that there are two most important among the many commandments and laws of God, principally being the fact that one is called to love God first and foremost above all else, and then to show that same love to their brothers and sisters around them. One cannot be a true Christian and disciple of the Lord unless one show this love, which we all therefore ought to show as well in our own lives. And the Lord also reminded the disciples that He would soon go away from them, but they would have to continue to do what He has taught them to do.

Therefore, as we have heard from our earlier Scripture passages this Sunday, all of us as Christians are reminded that God’s love for us is truly very generous and beyond comparison, and His love for us have been given to everyone, without any exceptions. Each and every one of us are precious and important to God, and all of us are equally beloved by Him. And this same love we have to show to everyone around us, not just those whom we love and hold precious, but also to those whom we encounter in life. It is by our actions filled with love that everyone will come to know that we truly belong to God, and that God is really present in us all. Through us, God’s love will become manifest in this world, in how we love our loved ones, our family and everyone else we encounter in life.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to love the Lord our God and to show this love in each and every one of our actions and deeds, in our words and interactions with each other. Let us all continue to be good and worthy bearers of our faith to everyone whom we encounter in life, and let us all do our very best so that we can commit ourselves ever more wholeheartedly to whatever missions and callings that He has entrusted to us in our respective areas in life. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us so that we may always be faithful and strong in our living of our Christian life, in each and every moments. Amen.

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Sunday, 11 May 2025 : Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday and Vocation Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter and it is also commonly known as the Good Shepherd Sunday or Vocation Sunday. On this Sunday we remember the Lord as the Good Shepherd, the One Who guides all of the faithful people of God, the sheep of the Lord’s flock to return to God our loving Father and Creator, gathering us all from being scattered all throughout the whole world, so that we are no longer lost to Him. On this Sunday we also keep in mind all those who are discerning their vocation in life, and while we often put a lot of focus and emphasis on those who are being called to the priesthood, this day is in fact also a reminder of our various vocations in life, be it as those called to priesthood or consecrated life, as well as those who are part of the laity, in our diverse callings in life.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the actions and works of St. Paul the Apostle and his companion in ministry, St. Barnabas, who was also an Apostle. Both of them went through the regions of Perga and Pisidia which were in Asia Minor, what is now part of modern day Turkey, where they ministered to the people of God, both amongst the Jews in the diaspora communities there, as well as among the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people. St. Paul in particular was well-known for his outreach and efforts to proclaim the Good News of God among the Gentiles, and was very adamant in the equality between the Jews and the Gentiles, and how there should be no distinction between the two groups of people as God loves everyone of His followers equally and and wonderfully.

But many among the Jewish community, even in the diaspora, particularly thosewho who belonged to the school of the Pharisees and their supporters, namely those who upheld a very strict and rigid observance of the Law of God, and who were often very elitist and exclusivist in their faith, considering that God’s salvation and grace were meant only for the people of Israel and their descendants, and all the other people were doomed to condemnation and destruction unless they would adopt completely and entirely the whole Jewish customs and practices, that essentially therefore turned them into a Jew. This is something that is very difficult for the Gentiles, consisting of the Romans, the Greeks, Egyptians and many other local people, whose own customs and practices were very different from the Jews, and many of the Jewish customs and practices such as circumcision were abhorrent and disgusting to the Gentiles.

That was why St. Paul and St. Barnabas reached out to the Gentiles, since some if not quite a few among the Jewish populations in those cities they visited were not very keen or welcoming on the words and teachings that they had been bringing with them. But as we heard, this incited jealousy among the Jewish people in the region because St. Paul and St. Barnabas proclaimed salvation for all the people, both Jews and Gentiles alike, which were not agreeable to those among the Jewish people who upheld the ideas I mentioned earlier. They stirred up trouble and unrest and led to St. Paul and St. Barnabas to be expelled from the region. Nonetheless, both Apostles had already succeeded in planting the seeds of faith among the people, and they continued on their works despite all those challenges and trials that they had to face in their journey.

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle in which the heavenly vision of St. John was highlighted to us. In that vision, St. John saw the multitudes of people, millions upon millions of people who had been found worthy by the Lord because they had been persecuted, facing difficulties and hardships, trials and challenges, and yet remained faithful to the Lord regardless to the very end. All of those people had washed themselves in the Blood of the Lamb, either in sharing His death through their martyrdom or by patiently enduring those sufferings in all of their various forms. Through this vision, God wanted us all to know through St. John the Apostle that there is hope for all of us and regardless of the sufferings and challenges that we may encounter in our paths in life, we will eventually be triumphant with God and freed from all those troubles.

There had been many challenges and trials facing the Church from the very beginning of its existence. Persecutions and trials, betrayals and many other hardships had been facing the faithful people of God from the very beginning of the Church, and there were many episodes and moments throughout the history of the Church, in all of its two thousand years, that numerous people who have committed themselves to the Lord faced a lot of troubles and hardships because of their faith. Some of them faltered and gave up their faith, and yet there were others who remained firm in their faith. And even among those who have given up their faith, some of them eventually repented and returned to the faith, and were willing to be persecuted again for their faith and trust in God.

This passage is a reminder to all of us that as Christians we must always have faith in the Lord, and we should not be afraid of the trials and persecutions that we may encounter in our path and journey as Christians, in being faithful to the Lord. We must trust in the Lord and in His Providence, in all that He has assured and repeatedly reassured us again and again, in everything that we shall receive and enjoy in the end after our earthly struggles and hardships have come to an end. Whatever sufferings and trials that we may be facing now in this world are not permanent, and the Lord Himself is always faithful to His Covenant and to the great and ever generous love that He has for each and every one of us. We should put our trust fully in His love and do our very best to commit ourselves to Him wholeheartedly at all times.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard the short account of the Lord’s words to His disciples telling them that He is as the Good Shepherd of the Lord’s flock, He knows His sheep well and conversely, His sheep also knows Him. This is a reminder for all of us again of God’s great love and commitment to us, in His ever enduring and present love for us, in His patient guidance and companionship with us as our loving and most dedicated Shepherd. He has come into our midst to find us all, to gather us all from being scattered all throughout this darkened world so that we may once again be reunited with God, and become members of this same flock, this same Church of God, the one united Body of Christ, which He has established in this world.

And He has shown His great love for us through His actions and most selfless love, by accepting on our behalf the punishments due for our sins and wickedness. He took upon Himself the blame and the punishment due for our sins, which He bore upon the Cross that He took on His shoulders. That is what the Good Shepherd has willingly done for His sheep, as He Himself said, that ‘The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.’ Essentially this means that a true and good shepherd will always care for his sheep no matter what, and will even put his life on the line for the ones who are truly precious to him. That is indeed the essence of true and genuine Christian love, love that is truly selfless and beautiful, and which all of us are called to follow in our own lives and examples. As Christians we should embody the selfless love of Christ, our Good Shepherd.

It means that we should help one another in  journeying towards the Lord and His salvation, and we share the responsibility of the Good Shepherd in being good role models and inspirations for each other in our respective lives. We should remind one another that every actions and words, deeds and interactions which we make in our lives are all very important, in ensuring that our every efforts, good works and endeavours are always focused on the Lord, and that we will continue to do our best to proclaim Him to everyone we encounter in life, in whatever circumstances and opportunities. And as today we also pray for our priests and all those who are discerning their vocations in life, may all of us be truly discerning in what we are planning to do in our lives, and pray that the Lord will guide us in making careful and well-discerned choice in our lives. May God bless us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 4 May 2025 : Third Sunday of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Third Sunday of Easter, all of us are reminded of the great faith and courage that the Lord’s Holy Apostles had shown amidst the challenges, oppressions and trials that they were facing, because they truly believed in the Lord and His truth, and having witnessed His great wonders and signs, especially that of the Resurrection, having seen the Risen Lord Himself in person, interacting and spending time with Him, and knowing that everything did indeed happen just as the Lord Himself has predicted it all. That was why, strengthened further by the Holy Spirit, all of them courageously stood up for their faith in the Risen Lord, even amidst the opposition and threats from the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council that opposed them.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles in which the Apostles were arrested and brought before the members of the Sanhedrin led by the High Priest, who questioned them on their works and actions, in which they continued to teach and preach in the Name of the Lord Jesus, the One Who had risen from the dead, and yet, such facts were denied by the Sanhedrin. At that time, the High Priest and the members of the Sanhedrin, who earlier on had accused the Lord Himself of blasphemy and treason against Caesar, such that He was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, wanted to keep silent on the news on the Resurrection, as if such news were to spread among the people, that would have led to the total loss of their leadership and credibility as the leaders of the people of God.

But even when the Apostles, led by St. Peter, were threatened and coerced not to teach and preach, or carry out any more works in the Name of the Risen Lord, they all resoundedly refused to do so, as they committed themselves to the mission which they had been entrusted with by the Lord, and they, led by St. Peter spoke courageously before the High Priest and the other members of the Sanhedrin, that they would rather obey God rather than to obey the orders of men. That is also because the orders of the Sanhedrin, led by the High Priest, while being the legitimate religious authority of that time, directly contradicted the mission and orders which the Lord Himself directly told them all to do, to proclaim His truth and Good News, His Resurrection and salvation ton all the people of all the whole world.

That was why the Apostles and many other disciples of the Lord, and later on, their successors, to whom they had passed on their faith and accounts of the Lord’s Resurrection and other events and teachings, continued to labour hard in their various ministries and they did their best to proclaim the Lord to everyone whom they encountered in their lives. They have believed in what they had witnessed and seen for themselves, and those who have not seen the Lord and His works directly, His miracles and Resurrection were inspired by the examples of their predecessors, their courage and commitment to proclaim the Lord faithfully even to the cost of their own comforts and safety in life, as many among them were persecuted, oppressed and tortured, and many were martyred for their faith.

In our second reading this Sunday from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we then heard of the heavenly vision of the Apostle St. John which he received while he was being exiled in the Island of Patmos, where he saw the vision of countless millions and multitudes of people who have been found worthy by the Lord in Heaven, where they sing of the glory of God for eternity and rejoice in the true happiness and joy that can be found in the Lord alone. And all those things had been made possible by the sacrifice and loving offering of the Lamb of God, that is Christ our Lord and Saviour, Whose selfless and perfect offering that He had made on the Altar of His Cross had brought about liberation and healing to all of us sinners who have been afflicted and made to suffer due to our sins and wickedness.

We are all reminded that at the end of our earthly journey, we shall be reunited with God, and if we are truly faithful to Him, then we shall indeed share in the glory of His saints and the joy of the Angels, as what St. John himself had witnessed in his vision. We should not be worried or fearful of what may happen if we continue to commit ourselves in this path towards God. The ever faithful Lord will bring us all to His Presence and we shall share in the glory of the Apostles. Even if we should suffer persecutions and hardships in this life, nothing can truly separate us from the love and grace of God, and in the end, by our faith and commitment to God we will be vindicated and share in the eternity of true joy that God has promised and reassured all of us.

Then, from our Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard of the passage from the Gospel of St. John in which the account of the moment when the Risen Lord appeared to His disciples in Galilee was recounted to us. In that occasion, we heard how the Lord appeared to the disciples at the shores of the lake where they had all been out fishing throughout the night without having any success. And when the Lord told the disciples to do as He said, and they immediately caught so many fishes, St. John was the first to recognise the Lord, but St. Peter was the one who immediately went down to the water and swim to seek the Lord. And afterwards, after having witnessed the Risen Lord Himself, and experiencing having eaten with Him, knowing that He was truly risen from the dead, then the Risen Lord had a time with St. Peter and conversed with him.

In that conversation, it was evident that this was a reversal of what had happened at the moment of the Lord’s Passion, when St. Peter denied knowing the Lord three times. Despite having been denied by Peter not just once but thrice, this did not stop the Lord from continuing to love him, and that was why He wanted to extend that opportunity for reconciliation and reaffirmation of the love that he has for Him, by asking Peter not just once but also thrice, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter himself must have realised what the Lord had done, and he must have felt guilty and sad hearing those questions, but he courageously confessed his undying love for the Lord, all three times before Him, committing himself wholly to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard from our Scripture passages this Sunday, let us all therefore remind ourselves of the need for each one of us as Christians to be truly committed to the Lord, and to keep our faith and trust in Him, in His Resurrection and all the promises and reassurances that He has provided to us. The Lord has always been loving towards us, forgiving and compassionate, and it is time for us to embrace His love and mercy, to be truly committed to Him in everything that we do in this life. Let us all be ever more faithful and exemplary in how we live our lives each day and every moments so that in our every actions and words, our deeds and interactions with one another we will always show the love of God in all things.

May the Risen Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey through life in faith, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us such that we may do our best in every situations in life, in being good and faithful disciples of His, in doing our best to glorify His Name and proclaim His Good News through our own lives and examples. May God bless us always in everything that we say and do, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 April 2025 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the occasion of the Second Sunday of Easter, which is also known as the Octave Day of the Easter Octave, the eighth day since the glorious Easter Sunday. On this Sunday all of us are called to continue to keep in mind the core belief of our Christian faith in the suffering, death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We all believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God, the manifestation of God’s most wonderful and generous love in the flesh, through Whom God has made His will clear and evident, and by Whose victory and triumph over sin and death, all of us, the faithful and holy people of God, have been shown the clear and certain path to eternal glory and true happiness with God, our Lord and Master, our Mighty King and also our most Merciful and loving Father.

In our first reading passage this Sunday, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the account of the works of the Apostles, who continued to carry out the missions and works which the Lord Himself has entrusted to them, and we heard how they had performed many miracles and signs before the people much as how the Lord Jesus had done when He was still carrying out His ministry in this world. The fact that those miracles and signs, wonders and great works were performed by the Apostles even after the Lord had died and then risen in glory, and ascended into Heaven, is a clear evidence that God was still with His disciples and Church, and He still performed His many good works through the hands of His Apostles and other disciples, the missionaries of the Kingdom of God.

Through their works, the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord showed to all of God’s people, primarily and at first the Israelites and then the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles, the great love and compassion that God has for all of them, without exception. To the Jewish people, the descendants of the people of God, the Lord wanted to show them that He has fulfilled and accomplished all the promises that He had once made in the Covenant sealed with their forefathers, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and renewed again and again throughout history. And then, to the Gentiles, God shows that His salvation, His love and kindness are not reserved only for the Jewish people only, as everyone, through God’s Church have been made partakers of the same New and Eternal Covenant that the Lord Himself has established through His Son.

Then from our second reading passage taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the vision that St. John had received while he was exiled in the Isle of Patmos at his old age, during one of the episodes of persecutions against Christians by the Roman Empire. St. John saw the vision of the Lord, in all of His glory, appearing before Him in Heaven, the appearance of the Son of Man, that is Jesus Himself, in His heavenly glory, with His glorified Resurrected Body. The seven lampstands in the vision marked the seven Angels that always stand before the Holy Presence of God, and therefore, highlighting the Divinity of Christ, Who is truly fully Man and fully God alike. And in that vision, the Lord told St. John to record everything that he had seen so that he could propagate them to the Church communities then, and therefore to help the faithful to come to know God more.

Through what St. John experienced in that amazing heavenly vision, he saw the Lord Who proclaimed Himself as the Almighty God, Who has triumphed and conquered sin and death, overcoming the fetters and shackles keeping us mankind from reaching out to Him, by the incarnation of His Son in the flesh, and by Whose death and Resurrection all of us have been made partakers of the New and Eternal Covenant of God, sealed by the Most Precious Blood of the Son of God Himself. And the Lord did all of these because of His ever enduring and ever present love for each one of us, the love which He desires to share with us, and which He has manifested clearly before us through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, the manifestation of God’s love and mercy in this world, making this love and mercy tangible and reachable to us.

Lastly, from our Gospel passage this Sunday taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the moment when the Risen Lord appeared before His disciples, and gave them the gift of His Holy Spirit, revealing at the same time that He has truly risen from the dead and was not merely a spirit. He was truly indeed Risen in the Body and Spirit, and He gave them all the authority and power to forgive sins, to perform the many miracles and signs, just as we have heard in our first reading today. Then we also heard about how St. Thomas the Apostle, the one who often doubted the Lord was not there when the Risen Lord first made His appearance, and how he challenged the Risen Lord to appear before him so that he could ascertain whether he was truly Risen or not.

That was just precisely what the Lord did, as He appeared before all the disciples including that of St. Thomas, and asked the latter to do as he had wanted to do, to put his fingers and touch the marks of the nails and the wound at His side. We heard how St. Thomas finally believed and made the public profession of faith, ‘My Lord and my God’ before everyone. Through this event, we are yet again reminded that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God had truly risen from the dead and triumphed over sin and death. And through Him all of us shall receive the assurance of eternal life, which has been provided to us through what He had gone through on the Cross, and as He triumphantly rose from the dead, the manifestation of the Divine Love and Mercy of God, having been made accessible for all of us.

This is why on this Sunday as we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter and also the Divine Mercy Sunday, we are reminded of this Aspect of the Lord in His most generous and rich mercy towards all of us. The Divine Mercy has revealed Himself to us through one St. Faustina Kowalska about a century ago, who made known the revelations through her diary, which went through many hurdles and struggles before finally being accepted by the Church as part of its official teachings. Today, the devotion to the Divine Mercy is one of the most popular devotions in the Church, with millions praying the devotion daily and more. This is truly a very heartening matter as through this particular devotion to the Divine Mercy, the Merciful Aspect of God, many people are coming towards the Lord seeking His forgiveness and healing.

For all of us members of the Christian faithful, we are reminded that if we seek God sincerely with a repentant and contrite heart, God, the Divine Mercy, in His infinite and boundless mercy will show us His compassion and love, and will heal us from all of our afflictions, our sins and wickedness, our corruptions and evils. And this is why as we commit ourselves anew to the Lord, the Divine Mercy, we should continue to do our best in this world to be truly faithful to Him in all things, becoming good role models and inspirations for one another and for others around us, to show the love and mercy of God to the world. And we are constantly reminded this Easter season that through God’s most wonderful love and mercy, we have been brought into the path towards eternal life and true happiness with God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore put our trust and faith in the Divine Mercy of God and continue to live our lives most faithfully in the manner that we all should do as Christians, that is as the disciples and followers of Christ. All of us are reminded that we should not remain idle in our faith and lives, but we must embody God’s love and mercy in our daily lives, in doing our very best to show love and compassion to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must always practice love and charity in our everyday actions, in everything that we say and do, in our every interactions with one another, to our brethren around us and even strangers in our midst. May the Lord, the Divine Mercy continue to bless us all and guide us with His compassion and love, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! He has triumphed and conquered sin and death, and has brought us all into a new Hope and Light of His salvation, let us all rejoice and be glad! All of us have come to this most joyful and happy occasion of Easter, and on this Sunday, the day of Easter Sunday, we remember all of the preparations that we have done in getting ourselves ready to celebrate this most momentous and important occasion. It is at the core of our Christian beliefs and faith that we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Son of God Who has been crucified for the sake of all mankind. And this belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is truly important because without the Resurrection then our faith is nothing more than an empty faith and belief.

Without the Resurrection of the Lord, then Jesus Christ is no more than just a mere Man or a Prophet like others, and worse still, it might have affirmed what the Jewish elders and chief priests had accused the Lord of doing, that is being a False Messiah and as someone who has blasphemed against God. But the reality is that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and this faith has been passed down to us for generations after generations to our present day through the Church of God. The Resurrection is something that we ourselves have not seen, experienced and witnessed and yet we chose to believe in this truth, just as many of our predecessors had done before us. All of us truly believe in Jesus Christ, in Him being the Son of God Incarnate, in everything that He had taught and revealed to us, and in His suffering, death and resurrection.

People always debate on whether Christmas or Easter is the greater and more important celebration. The truth is that it is more complicated than it seems to be, and it is truly imprudent and inappropriate to compare the two of them. The reality is that both of them are very important events in the history of our salvation and neither is complete without the other one. But ultimately, Easter is more important and crucial to our salvation because without what happened at Easter, then the Child born into this world at Christmas would just be another one of the countless mankind that had been born into this world, just like any one of us. If Christ never rose from the dead, then everything that He had taught, all the prophecies that He had fulfilled all ultimately would have come to nothing, and His followers would have eventually scattered and ceased to exist just as what had happened to so many other False Messiahs.

But at the same time, Christmas is important because it provided the foundation for what happened during the whole Holy Week and Easter. In Christmas, we have seen the manifestation of God’s love made Man, the Divine Being Himself being incarnate in the flesh and appearing before us. After spending nine months in His mother Mary’s hallowed womb, the Lord Himself was born into this world and showed Himself to us, from the once intangible and unapproachable, transcendent beyond imagination into the realm of reality, approachable, touchable and tangible to us. Through Christmas, we know that God has made His salvation clear and tangible to us, and not merely just a mighty deed done from afar, but a real action from a loving God Who has assumed our Humanity, and becoming Man as we are, He has united us all to Himself and made His salvation available to us.

That is because by His perfect obedience to the Father’s will, Christ as the New Adam and the New Man showed us all what all of us mankind are supposed to be, pure, blameless, full of faith and obedience to God. God has created us all in His image and likeness, but we have all been corrupted due to our fall into sin, failing to resist the many temptations that prevented us from truly achieving our full potential in what we have been meant to be. God created us all good and perfect, all full of grace and holiness, just as the Lord Himself has shown us in His perfect humanity, untainted by sin. But we have been led astray by sin and because of this we have been forced to wander off in this world and suffer the consequences of our disobedience and lack of faith and trust in God.

Our Scripture readings this Easter Sunday then highlight to us all the things which the Lord had done to overcome sin and death, and reunite us all with our most loving God and Father, our Creator and Master. Christ our Risen Lord has endured the worst of sufferings and challenges, trials and pains, by Him embracing willingly our many sins and their punishments upon Himself, by making Himself the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God to be slain for the New and Eternal Passover and Covenant that God wanted to establish with us all. The sacrifice and offering of our Risen Lord has been accepted in His perfect obedience, as the one and only worthy offering that is good enough to redeem and heal us all from our afflictions and corruptions by sin, as our Eternal High Priest, offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our salvation.

In our first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the great testimony of faith from St. Peter the Apostle, the Lord’s chief disciple who spoke courageously and full of the Holy Spirit after he and the other disciples had received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, fifty days after the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. He spoke bravely and courageously on behalf of the Lord because he himself had seen and witnessed everything that happened, and as recorded in the Scriptures, he and many others had seen the Risen Lord Himself in the flesh, in the glory of His Resurrected Body, which has transcended death. Initially, he and the other disciples were afraid because of the intense pressures, intimidations and efforts by the Jewish elders and chief priests who sought to keep the news about the Resurrection from spreading, even to the point of spreading false stories about how the disciples had stolen the Lord’s Body from His tomb.

But there St. Peter stood courageously before the many people assembled in Jerusalem for the Festival of the Pentecost, proclaiming all the good things that the Lord had done and accomplished through the same One Whom the people had persecuted and crucified just weeks earlier, and Who had died and yet rose again gloriously from the dead despite the lies and the falsehoods that the Temple authorities and the members of the Sanhedrin attempted against the Lord. He proclaimed the salvation which the Lord had won for all of us, the people beloved by God because of His triumphant Resurrection from the dead. And because they themselves have all experienced it, St. Peter and the other Apostles and disciples, all the witnesses of the Resurrection that our Gospel passage today had presented to us and all the great deeds that the Lord had done would not remain silent, and they proclaimed them all in great joy.

In our second reading this Easter Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians, in which he exhorted all of them to seek what is holy and worthy, and not in earthly and worldly things. He challenged the faithful people of God to live in the manner that they have been called and expected to do as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own beloved and holy people. Therefore, this is the same reminder to all of us that we should always be truly be active and committed in each and every moments of our lives, in carrying out our every actions, words and deeds in the manner that the Lord had taught us all through His Church. We should not merely be faithful in the manner of formality only, but we must be like the Apostles, who courageously and faithfully defended their faith in the Risen Lord.

This Easter season and beyond, we are also reminded that as Christians, as Pope St. John Paul II once famously said, that we are all Easter people, and Alleluia is our song. This means that all of us are called to live a truly holy and worthy lives, lives that are truly active, committed to God and missionary, full of compassion for one another and righteousness, justice and virtues in all of our actions throughout life. We must have the right disposition and attitude in life in order for us to be able to follow the Lord worthily in our lives. And just as the Israelites still continue their journey after crossing the sea out of Egypt, which is a symbolism and prefigurement of our baptism, therefore, baptism is not the end of our journey towards God, but rather, marks the new beginning in this journey we have towards God. As we renew our baptismal promises, we are reminded of this commitment that we have in following God and obeying His commandments.

Essentially, we are called to proclaim the Lord and His Resurrection, His Good News and salvation to the world. But in order to do this, we must first live our lives worthily as good and faithful Christians, and this is something that many of us have difficulty doing because we face so many obstacles, temptations and challenges in our daily lives. And this is why as we enter into this joyful Easter season, we have to renew our commitment and dedication to the Lord, in doing our best to live our lives worthily and to commit ourselves to a truly holy and blessed existence in God, in all of our actions, words and deeds, and in how we interact with others around us. We cannot be hypocrites who claim to believe in the Lord and yet act in the manner that is contrary to our faith and beliefs in God.

That is why as we all enter into this joyous season of Easter, celebrating the Lord’s glorious Resurrection, let us all strive to commit ourselves to be ever more faithful and sincere in following our Risen Lord in everything that we say and do. Let the transformations and conversions that we have experienced during the Lenten season continue to bear their fruits through this time of Easter and beyond. May all of us be faithful and ever more courageous witnesses of Our Lord and His Resurrection, being good role models and inspirations to our fellow brothers and sisters, helping ever more people to come closer to God and His salvation. May our Risen Lord continue to bless us all and give us His light of Hope, and strengthen us in our resolve to follow Him wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 April 2025 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week, the holiest and most important of all weeks and periods in the whole entire liturgical year. This Sunday marks the Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, in which the moments surrounding the Lord’s Passion or suffering is highlighted to us, in this most solemn week when the Lord fulfilled all of His promises of salvation to us, bringing unto us the fulfilment and perfect completion of everything that He had planned for us from the very beginning, the plan of bringing us all back to God’s loving embrace the moment that we fell into sin through disobedience and rebellion against Him. On this day we remember the Lord embarking on this most important mission which has been entrusted solely to Him alone in order to bring us all out of the darkness and back into God’s light and grace.

In our Gospel passage this Sunday, which was read before the triumphant procession with the Cross and the blessed palms, we heard of the account of the time when the Lord was about to enter into the city of Jerusalem for the last time prior to His Crucifixion, at the appointed time when He would accomplish everything that had been planned for our salvation. We heard how He sent His disciples to prepare the time of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, getting a colt or a young donkey that had never been used or sat on before. This fulfilled the prophecy which God had made through His prophets, particularly the prophet Zechariah who prophesied about the coming of the Messiah or Saviour, the King of Kings, Who would come on a donkey to the Holy City of Jerusalem, marking the coming of God’s salvation for His people.

That is why by this action of this triumphant entry of the Lord into the city of Jerusalem, the people of God and hence all of us are shown God’s fulfilment of everything that He has promised to us, everything that He had said that He would do for those whom He dearly loved, and He came on a donkey instead of a great and fearsome warhorse, highlighting the manner by which He would accomplish this mission. He came into this world not to subjugate it to His will or to force us all to obey Him, but rather as our loving and compassionate King, Jesus showed us all this most generous love in restoring hope in our hearts, through His coming that fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets and the promises of God. And while Jesus came to Jerusalem with great pomp and celebration, it was all to obey the Father’s will and for Him to suffer for our sake on the Cross, to be the Source of salvation for all of us who believe in God.

Then, from our first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the prophecy of the Suffering Servant, the One Whom God sent to be with His people, the Saviour Who would suffer on behalf of all of mankind. This was indeed a curious and strange prophecy because the common understanding by many of the Jewish people by the time of the ministry of Jesus and His works, was that the Messiah would be a mighty, conquering King Who would restore the Kingdom of Israel as how it was during the glorious days of David and Solomon, and that He would be born into the House of David. But little did many of them realise that the Lord did not intend for that, as His plans and ways are truly beyond that of man’s comprehension. Firstly, He chose to be born into a poor family in Nazareth, the simple family of a carpenter, and then, He would accomplish His mission through suffering and not through war and conquest.

And that is how the narrative of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem then shifts to the sombre details of the sufferings and the trials that the Lord’s Saviour had to endure as we heard from the first reading today onwards to the Passion Reading, showing us what we are going to experience throughout this coming week, this Holy Week commemorating our Lord’s Passion, His sufferings and all that He had to endure in His mission to bring us all to salvation and eternal life. God has never forgotten about us and while we are suffering the consequences of our sins and wickedness, He has always persisted in loving us so generously and lovingly as a loving Father loving His children. And in order to save us all, He has given us all His own Son, manifesting His love in the flesh, so that by His perfect obedience and His ultimate loving sacrifice on the Cross, He might offer us the assurance of eternal life and true freedom from the bondage and domination of sin.

From the second reading this Palm Sunday taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in Philippi, in what is now part of Greece, we heard of the Apostle speaking about the obedience of Christ, the Son of God made Man, Who has come into our midst and revealed God’s love for us, and as just mentioned, how this perfect obedience of Christ, as the Son of Man, as the New Man, the New Adam, has for His Father’s will, counteracted perfectly the disobedience of our ancestors that had once led us all into our downfall. By acting as our High Priest in offering the perfect offering of His own Most Precious Body and Blood, and by His perfect obedience, His sacrifice has been accepted by the Father for the atonement of all of our innumerable sins and flaws, allowing us all to access His love and grace once again.

Therefore, as we remember then everything that the Lord Jesus, Our God and Saviour had done for us as we recall our long Passion reading today, the story of the sufferings which Our Lord had to endure in the midst of this ultimate show of His genuine love, all of us are reminded on why we celebrate this Holy Week with such great dedication and faith, and with such great effort and intensity, because ultimately, it was God Himself Who has loved us all so intensely first that He has done such a deed for us. And today as we recall the story of everything that happened in Our Lord’s Passion let us keep our gaze upon the Cross of Our Saviour, the Cross with the figure of Our Lord crucified on it, His wounds and everything that He had done for us. Each and every one of His wounds have been caused by our wickedness and sins, and He bore all these punishments for us.

That is why as we enter into this Holy Week with today’s commemoration of Palm Sunday and the beginning of the Lord’s Passion story and experience, let us all appreciate and internalise why we celebrate this most important series of events in the history of our salvation. Let us remind ourselves on how God has reached out to us, His beloved people, with love and generous mercy and compassion, that He was willing to forgive us all our sins even when we do not deserve such a nice treatment. We should have suffered eternity in Hell and be damned for all of our rebelliousness, disobedience and sins. Yet, by God’s mercy and His grace, and by Him extending to us this assurance of salvation through His Son, made available to us through the Church and the Sacraments, we have been led through the darkness and into the Light of Christ.

This Holy Week should be different from our past Holy Week observances and experiences, especially if we have not truly devoted ourselves, our time, attention and effort to focus ourselves and our whole lives to the Lord, to the One Who has overcome sin and death by His most painful and sorrowful death on the Cross. And by the glorious Resurrection that He has shown us at the end of this most Holy Week, the triumph of Our Lord over sin and death by His Resurrection reminds us all that if we put our faith and trust in the Lord our God, we will be truly be victorious in the end, sharing in His joy and majesty. We shall no longer be bound by the tyranny and power of sin, evil and all the things that had kept us separated and sundered from God’s fullness of grace and love for us. That is why we should strive our best to focus ourselves well this time of the Holy Week, to centre ourselves upon the Lord’s Passion, all the sufferings that He had to endure out of love for us all.

May the Lord our most loving God and Father continue to guide us all through our lives and especially through this upcoming celebrations this Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum so that each and every moments of this most solemn and sacred period be truly fruitful and faithful to Him. Let us all continue to do our best to follow the Lord ever more faithfully each day and let us continue to be good role models and examples in our faith and in how we live our lives so that our lives may truly be exemplary and be good beacons of God’s Light and truth to all mankind. May God be with us all and be with our every efforts and good works in all things, and may He bless our Holy Week observances and time. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 April 2025 : Fifth Sunday of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the occasion of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, and this reminds us how close we are to the beginning of the Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum, with the former beginning a week from now with Palm Sunday. Therefore, as we enter into this moment of contemplation and reflection, and remembering what we have just heard from our Scripture readings earlier on, the Word of God, we are all called to keep in mind how we ought to prepare ourselves well so that we may truly embody our faith and belief in our every moments in life, that we may truly bear the rich fruits of this Lenten observance and practice that hopefully we have carried out well and faithfully throughout this blessed time and season of Lent provided to us.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord said to His people, reminding them all of the great deeds which He had done before them and their ancestors, mentioning how He had opened the path for the Israelites through the sea, and crushing the forces of armies, chariots and horses sent to chase after them. We heard how the Lord reminded His people of everything that He had done in guiding them to the land that He has promised to them from the time of their forefathers, opening the path before them and clearing their enemies and those who sought their downfall and destruction, leading the armies of His people to triumph and victory. All those things God had done for the people that He truly cherished and loved, but unfortunately they and their descendants forgot about them and ignored the Lord.

That was why He sent them these reminders and made them known His intentions and thoughts just as He had done through His prophets, like that of Isaiah. God wanted all of His people to know that He is always with them and that He will not abandon us, unlike just how unfaithful and weak our faith and obedience to Him have been. He wants all of us to know that we are all precious to Him, and none of us are to be separated from Him. God will do whatever it takes to help us to find reconciliation, healing and forgiveness through His most generous and rich mercy, calling on all of us to embrace His love and to put our trust once again in Him. If we know we are truly beloved by God, would it not indeed make us happy and hopeful knowing that we have God by our side, journeying with us together and supporting us in each and every moments of our lives?

Then, from our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Ephesus, we are being reminded of the great love which God has given to us, and the grace that He has bestowed upon us, His beloved children and people, by the Covenant which He has established and made firm through His own only Begotten Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the One sent into our midst to reveal to us the manifestation of God’s most generous love and mercy, which He has freely given to all of us so that we may receive life through Him. And as St. Paul highlighted in that passage today, through Christ we have received the promise of the Resurrection, the ultimate triumph against sin and death, which we all shall share just as we have shared in His sufferings and death on the Cross.

By His death and resurrection, Christ our Lord has overcome sin and the world, and broke free the chains that prevented us from coming back to the Lord, our most loving Father and Creator. Our disobedience and refusal to obey the Lord’s truth and Law prevented us all from being reunited with our God and Father, and it was by Christ’s most selfless and loving sacrifice on the Altar of His Cross that He has offered on our behalf the perfect and most worthy offering on behalf of each and every one of us, so that He may redeem all of us, bringing about healing and atonement for each and every one of our innumerable sins, which had corrupted and ruled over us, dominating us, but now by the power of God, we have been made free and worthy once again to receive the fullness of His love and grace.

Then, last of all, from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist we heard of the moment when the Lord Jesus encountered a group of Pharisees and teachers of the Law who sought to trap Him with the case of a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. According to the Jewish laws and customs, especially the extra strict and rigid rule enforced and followed by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, such an act of adultery would have led to punishment by stoning to death. That was why the Pharisees asked and pressured the Lord to respond to the case of the adulterous woman with the wicked intention of hoping that they could find something wrong in what He was to say and therefore they could accuse Him or advance their own cause. 

For example, if the Lord had said that the adulterous woman should be forgiven and shown mercy, as His enemies would have expected Him to do, given His penchant for outreach to sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors, then the Pharisees could accuse the Lord of colluding and siding with sinners, disobeying and refusing to obey the commandments of the Law of God. On the other hand, if the Lord said that the adulterous woman ought to be stoned for the sin that she had committed, then it was exactly what the Pharisees themselves would have done, and thus they could add on or gain to their own popularity and cause by claiming that what the Lord Jesus taught was affirming the teachings and the ways of the Pharisees.

But the Lord calmly evaded the argument as we all have heard, while those Pharisees continued to pressure Him to take action on the adulterous woman. It was there and then that the Lord in His Divine Wisdom told those people that if any one among them had no sin in them, then that person could cast the first stone to be thrown at the woman. And we heard how one by one, all those people left, beginning from the oldest, who likely had committed the most sins and disobedience to God, to the youngest ones among them. The truth is that, there was indeed one person there at that place who was without sin, and that was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. And although He could indeed have cast the first stone, Jesus showed us all the meaning and importance of God’s generous mercy and forgiveness.

He showed this to us all by forgiving that woman from her sins, pardoning her from the faults that she had made. Not only that, but as we heard, the Lord also told the woman that she should sin no more and live her life in the manner that is worthy of God from then on. And it is here exactly where we are reminded of what God has always desired to do with us, to forgive us all our sins and to bring us back to His loving embrace, while at the same time reminding us that we should no longer disobey Him, or to remain in the state of sin. Instead, all of us are called to embrace wholeheartedly the mercy which God has for us, and to change our way of life so that we are no longer corrupted and defiled by sin and its allures, showing that we truly commit ourselves to God and to His path of righteousness and virtue.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we are all expected to live our lives in the manner that God has shown and taught us to do, to be truly inspirational and exemplary in each and every things we do in life, in our every words, actions and deeds so that our every moments in life truly embody our belief and faith in God. God has called on all of us to be a truly holy and righteous people, those whom He had called and chosen to be His own. Therefore, we should indeed heed His call and do our part so that we may truly be worthy to be called the children and holy people of God. May our Lenten observances and practices help us all to draw ever closer to God, walking ever more courageously in the path that He has shown and led us through.

May God be with us all, and may He continue to bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, in our desire to be reunited and reconciled with Him, so that one day all of us may enjoy forever the fullness of God’s glory and love. Amen.

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Sunday, 30 March 2025 : Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday being the Fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, we celebrate the occasion of Laetare Sunday, which in parallel to the Gaudete Sunday during the Advent season, marked the moment when we temporarily pause the penitential nature of our Lenten observance and focus ourselves for a while on the expectation of the great joy that we are going to celebrate in a short moment from now. And if Gaudete Sunday marks the moment when we focus on the joy of Christmas and Christmas season to come, therefore today on this Laetare Sunday, we rejoice and anticipate the great joy that is to come with the fulfilment of God’s plan of salvation for all of us mankind, which He fulfilled through His Passion and what we commemorate through the Paschal Triduum and the glorious Easter season.

This word ‘Laetare’ means joy, and it came from the first part of the Introit sung or chanted today during the liturgical celebration this Laetare Sunday, namely, ‘Laetare, Jerusalem, et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam.’ which means, ‘Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and gather round, all you who love her.’, representing the joy which is anticipated for all of God’s holy people, that despite the sufferings and persecutions which they had faced, but they would all see the glorious salvation of their Lord and Master, which He has fulfilled and accomplished through the sending of His own only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made flesh and having manifested the perfect love of God, gave Himself to all of us to be our Saviour and Liberator, delivering us all from the clutches of sin.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard from the Book of Joshua in which the story of the time when Israel, the people of God finally reached the Promised Land after forty years long of sojourning in the desert during their journey from Egypt to the land of promise. The people of Israel had been punished and forced to endure the consequences of their rebellions and disobedience, their lack of faith and trust in God, when they constantly rebelled against God and refused to follow His path, and ultimately, when they, lacking trust and faith in God, grumbled and complained in fear of their lives when scouts sent to observe the Promised Land of Canaan told them of the mighty people who lived there. Despite the assurances from God and Moses, and the other faithful members of the people, many of the Israelites rebelled against God and therefore, God made them to wander in the desert for the whole period of forty years long, until almost the whole rebellious generation had perished.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this number ‘forty’ truly has a very important and symbolic meaning throughout the Scriptures and the history of mankind, as this number was used frequently to show a relatively long period of time, and is also commonly associated with a period of waiting, preparation and penance, a period of purification and renewal, such as what happened when Noah was in the Ark with his family, and the Great Flood came forth over a period of forty days, and also with the forty years that Israel spent wandering in the desert, which then related also to the forty days which the prophet Elijah went through in the journey from the land of Israel to the Mountain of God in seeking God, and lastly with the forty days that the Lord Jesus had spent in preparation for His ministry as He went to the desert to fast and where He was tempted thrice by the devil.

This passage is a reminder for all of us that in the end of our own ‘forty days’ of preparation during this time and season of Lent, we will enter into the glorious season of Easter, remembering the Resurrection of Our Lord and the triumph He had won against sin and all the forces of evil and darkness. The joy that the people of Israel experienced and the celebration which they went through in performing the first Passover feast in the land of Canaan is the kind of joy that we also experience and remember today on this Laetare Sunday, as we remember the joy of Our Lord’s coming and all that He had done for our sake, in delivering us all from the darkness into the light, and in bringing us all the assurance of salvation and eternal life from God Himself. This day, our focus are ever more directed towards the coming of Easter, and we should be reflecting ever more on what we truly believe in as Christians.

In our second reading, taken from the second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we are all reminded yet again that through Christ, that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God manifested in this world as Man, and by everything that He had done, in bearing our sins and all the punishments and pain associated with all those sins, He has won for all of us the greatest triumph and victory, and showed us all that sin and death do not have the final say over us and our fates. Instead, through Him, and by our faith in Him, Christ, Our Lord and Saviour has opened for us the way to reconciliation and reunion with our most loving God and Father. And therefore, all of us should appreciate just how beloved and fortunate all of us are, to have received such a great grace from God, and we should truly be sincere in repenting from our many sins and faults.

From our Gospel passage this Sunday, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, each and every one of us are reminded through the well-known story of the prodigal son, where the younger son of a rich man’s family sought to get his inheritance earlier on and enjoy them in his life, and after having received his part of the inheritance from his loving father, he went off quickly to the distant lands to enjoy all the riches and fruits of his possessions, the inheritance that he had received without any care, and lived a hedonistic and pleasure-filled life, full of debauchery with all the people whom he encountered during his time in that distant land. This is a representation of us mankind having been tempted and deceived by sin.

That younger, prodigal son eventually realised his mistake and foolishness when he had run out of his money, wealth and inheritance, and all of his so-called friends and all those who were around him disappeared and left him when he had nothing else left on him. He tried to survive for a while in a very despondent state, working in a pig farm, and as we heard, no one would give him even the pig food to eat. That was when the prodigal younger son realised and decided to return back to his father, to beg him to make him one of his servants instead, as he could choose to remain there in the distant lands and die of hunger, or to swallow his pride and seek the father’s mercy and forgiveness instead, and remain alive, as those servants of his father were all living in plenty and happiness.

Through this parable, the Lord wanted to show us all the love that He has for each and every one of us, the constant and persistent love and compassionate care which He has given generously to us, with the father in the story representing the Lord Himself, the elder son being those who have followed the commandments of the Lord and His Law, and was also in a way a representation of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law at that time, while the prodigal younger son represents those sinners who have decided to come back to the Lord, seeking the mercy of their Heavenly Father just like the prodigal son seeking the reconciliation with his father after having committed such a grievous mistake and error of living in debauchery and squandering his inheritance. They may also represent us who have received the truth of God earlier on, as compared to others who have not yet received it.

We heard of how the father in the parable was so joyful upon hearing that his younger son has finally returned to him, that he had returned despite probably being thought of having been lost or dead. And thus, the father threw a great feast and celebration to welcome his return, only for the elder brother to be angered by such a reception. And we heard the Lord Himself explaining how what happened to the prodigal son is something that we ourselves ought to be experiencing in our own lives. This is because each and every one of us are also sinners who are seeking God’s forgiveness and mercy. And through the figure of the elder brother, the Lord was also criticising the actions of those Pharisees and teachers of the Law who often prided themselves for their righteousness and being biased, judgmental and prejudiced against their own fellow brothers and sisters.

This means that those people behaved just like the elder brother who thought that he was more worthy of the father’s love just because he seemed to be the more righteous one and the one who had been by the side of the father all the while. But the father’s love is given to both of his sons equally, and both of them were equally precious to him, just as the Lord loves each and every one of us equally, all His beloved children, though sinners. Even the greatest sinners, should they be willing to embrace God’s mercy and forgiveness, will be given the fullness of His grace and kindness. And this is why we should never lose hope in the mercy, compassion and kindness of God. If we allow ourselves to be misguided in thinking that we are unworthy of God’s love, or if we are too proud to admit that we are sinners in need of healing, then we will never receive the forgiveness of God.

That prodigal, younger son could have perished in the distant lands, all alone and in poverty if he did not swallow his pride and chose to be humble, begging and seeking his father’s forgiveness and mercy. It was his conscious choice to return to his father with a regretful and contrite heart that the prodigal son has been forgiven and received once again the fullness of the father’s generous love. Therefore, in the same manner, all of us, who are sinners, will receive the fullness of the Lord, our Heavenly Father’s most generous love and kindness, mercy and compassion if we choose to obey Him and come back to Him with sorrowful and repentant hearts. Are we then willing to make the commitment to this path, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to acknowledge our sinfulness and our imperfections, flaws and mistakes that had kept us away from God?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to journey through this blessed time and opportunity this Lenten season, let us all realise how fortunate we are to have been given such a wonderful opportunity for reconciliation with our loving God and Father, and make good use of the great opportunity given to us to seek His love and mercy once again. Let us all not harden our hearts and close our minds anymore to Him, but do our best instead to glorify Him by our lives, by our humble obedience and desire to be forgiven and to be fully loved again by God, our loving Father, Who loves each and every one of us equally without exception. And as those who have received this faith and blessing from God, we, as the elder children, should also be welcoming to our fellow brethren, especially all those who have not known God and His mercy, reaching out to them and sharing God’s love with them instead of judging them and being prejudiced against them, or being jealous of God’s love and mercy which have been shown to them too.

That is why let us all pray fervently today, on this occasion of Laetare Sunday, that God may continue to show us all His mercy and kindness, His compassion and love. Let us remind ourselves of the great joy that we are expecting and coming soon with the glorious season of Easter to come. Let us rejoice because God’s salvation has been shown to us, and He has been willing to welcome us all, His beloved though prodigal children so that by His compassion and love, all of us may be forgiven our sins and be reunited with Him. May the Lord our most loving Father continue to be with us throughout this season of Lent, and help us to remain firm and steadfast in our faith in Him, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 23 March 2025 : Third Sunday of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday being the Third Sunday of Lent, all of us are called to examine our lives and actions, especially in how we have observed this Lenten season, this time provided for us to reorientate our lives so that we may once again be attuned to God, our most loving Father. We are all reminded that sin is something that can truly harm us and bring us into destruction unless we distance ourselves from those sins and wickedness. We must resist the temptations to sin against God, not allowing ourselves to be easily swayed by the devil’s lies and false promises, all of the things which may lead us into the path towards our downfall and destruction. This is something that the devil desires to do with us, and we must not let him easily has his way.

In our first reading this Sunday, we heard of the passage taken from the Book of Exodus in which the moment when the Lord appeared for the first time to Moses was recounted to us, the moment when God went to call Moses to be His servant and to be the one to lead the Israelites, the people of God out of their slavery in the land of Egypt. And at that time, Moses had been in exile in the land of the Midianites away from Egypt because though he was raised as an Egyptian prince, but by his act of murdering an Egyptian that persecuted an Israelite slave, Moses feared the Pharaoh’s anger and hence fled to the land of the Midianites, where he established a family with the daughter of Jethro who took him in and cared for him. It was at that time when the Lord appeared before Moses at Mount Horeb as we heard today.

In that apparition of the Lord in the miraculous burning bush, we heard of God telling Moses to go to Egypt, to confront Pharaoh and to tell him that he must let the Israelites go. He also told Moses that He knew and was fully aware of the sufferings and challenges that His people had faced in their lives in Egypt, persecuted and enslaved by the Egyptians, denied their basic rights and exploited, and even had attempts at genocide made against them when the earlier Pharaoh feared that the Israelites were continuing to flourish and grow in number despite their enslavement and persecution. And the Lord told Moses that this was why He sent Moses to set into motion everything that He has foretold and promised His people to do, to lead them out of the land of their sufferings and slavery into the land promised to them and their forefathers.

Through this reading we have received, we are reminded that just as the Israelites were shown mercy of God and led through the guidance of Moses by the hands and power of God, out of the land of their slavery through the desert where they journeyed for forty years before they finally reached their promised land, therefore each and every one of us, the beloved people of God are also called to remember God’s generous love and mercy, which He has shown to us constantly and persistently despite our sins and disobedience against Him. But at the same time, whole He showed His love and compassion towards us, the examples of the Israelites and their journey in the desert should serve as an important reminder for us that this journey which we are going through in our own respective lives’ journey is not going to be an easy and smooth one.

This was mentioned in our second reading passage this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful people of God in the city and region of Corinth, we heard of the words of the Apostle to the faithful regarding the reference that St. Paul made to the time of the Exodus of the Israelites as well. This reference to the time of the Exodus and how the Israelites stumbled and disobeyed God repeatedly during the Exodus, and how many of them perished on the way because of their sins is an important reminder for us that while God is truly loving and merciful, but He also abhors sin and evil, wickedness and disobedience against His Law and commandments. And that means, in our own lives, if we are to allow the temptations of sin to lead us astray, then we will have to account for them before the Lord at the time of the Final Judgment.

This means that we cannot presume that we can continue on living in the state of sin without repentance and forgiveness for our many sins, wickedness and evil actions. Yes, God is indeed ever loving and merciful towards us, His beloved children, but at the same time, as mentioned, God is also a holy and just Lord, in Whose Presence no sin or evil can exist or remain. Therefore, we must make sure that we rid ourselves of all sorts of sin and impurities in us, repenting from our wicked ways and manners which are unbecoming of us as Christians, as God’s holy, chosen and beloved people. Each and every one of us ought to live our lives in the manner that is truly pleasing to God, committing ourselves to follow Him in His Law and commandment, obeying Him wholeheartedly and removing from ourselves the corruption of sin.

We must remember how God’s love and compassion had made it possible for us to have hope today, the hope that we have received from the most loving and selfless sacrifice which Christ our Lord had offered on the Altar of His Cross at Calvary. Through this loving sacrifice, and the perfect offering He has offered for our sake, Christ Our Lord and Saviour has provided all of us the path out of the darkness and tyranny of sin, opening for us the gates of Heaven itself, giving us the straight path to salvation, should we be willing to commit ourselves to the path of repentance and embrace God’s mercy and forgiveness. We must be thankful that God our most loving and patient Father has always loved us so patiently and wonderfully all these while, and we truly should not take His love for granted.

From our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we have heard of the words of the Lord reminding His disciples and all those people who were listening to Him, that all of them ought to be vigilant in their lives against sin, and pointed out the fact that everyone is a sinner, all in need of God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing. The Lord pointed out that just because some people suffered from certain tragedies and events, that does not mean they were greater in their sins or faults, and most importantly, there should be no prejudice, bias or attitudes that lead to elitist and exclusivist actions like what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done against their fellow brethren, in thinking that they were better than those whom they considered to be unworthy and unclean, priding themselves in their own pious actions and observances of thr Law.

We are also reminded that we have been given this opportunity in this life to be truly fruitful in our every actions and moments, to be fruitful with the fruits of our faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that have been given to each one of us. We must therefore remember our ultimate destination that is Heaven, God’s mercy and love, His promise of salvation and eternal life to all of us, distancing ourselves from all the wickedness and evils of this world, all those things that may lead us astray in our path towards the grace and love of God. Each and every one of us should do our very best to inspire and to be good and worthy role models to our fellow brothers and sisters. During this time and season of Lent, we are reminded to humble ourselves and to rend our hearts and our whole beings from pride, from all sorts of arrogance and wickedness, to distance ourselves from the path of evil, and wholeheartedly embracing the love and mercy of God.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to strengthen our faith within us, empowering each one of us with the courage to continue glorifying Him by our lives, by our every moments and actions, through our devotion and commitment to His cause, now and always. May our Lenten observances and journey be blessed by God, and may they be truly blessed and fruitful. Amen.