Sunday

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Sunday, 12 June 2016 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 2 : 16, 19-21

Yet we know that a person is justified not by practicing the Law but by faith in Christ Jesus. So we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may receive true righteousness from faith in Christ Jesus, and not from the practices of the Law, because no one will be justified by the works of the Law.

As for me, the very Law brought me to die to the Law, that I may live for God. I am crucified with Christ. Do I live? It is no longer me, Christ lives in me. My life in this body is life through faith in the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me. In this way I do not ignore the gift of God, for, if justification comes through the practice of the Law, Christ would have died for nothing.”

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Sunday, 12 June 2016 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 7, 11

Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom the Lord sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no deceit.

Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To the Lord I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin, You removed my guilt.

You are my refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Rejoice in the Lord, and be glad, you who are upright; sing and shout for joy, you who are clean of heart.

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Sunday, 12 June 2016 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Samuel 12 : 7-10, 13

Nathan said to David, “You are this man! It is YHVH, God of Israel, Who speaks : ‘I anointed you king over Israel and saved you from Saul’s hands; I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives; I also gave you the nation of Israel and Judah.'”

“‘But if this were not enough, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise YHVH by doing what displeases Him? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife for yourself. Yes, you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now the sword will never be far from your family because you have despised Me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself.'”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHVH.” Nathan answered him, “YHVH has forgiven your sin; you shall not die.”

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Who has shown to us all how He is the Lord and Master of all things, the Lord and Master of all life. He is Lord over life and death, and nothing is impossible for Him, even to restore life to those who have died. In the first reading we witnessed how Elijah prayed to God for the sake of the widow, whose son has just perished from the famine and sickness, and God listened to the prayer of His servant, returning the life back to the boy.

And as a perfect parallel to what Elijah has done in the ages past, the Lord Himself, when He came into the world as the Saviour, Jesus, did the same with the dead son of a grieving widow of Naim. We witness yet again the greatness of God as He returned the life back to the son of the widow of Naim, showing to all that He has authority even over life and death, something that no other person or being has.

And in the end, all these can be linked to the most important aspect of our faith, as we know that our Lord Jesus emptied Himself, endeavoured to suffer great pains and horrendous persecutions for our sake, and carrying the burden of the cross, on which was laid the entirety of the burden of mankind’s sins and their consequences, He died on the cross, a shameful death, but yet death did not have the power over Him. And neither did death has any power or authority now, and in the future to come.

He has shown through His own glorious Resurrection, by the power and authority which He has over all things, that He has freed all things from the bonds of death, beginning with Himself, as He has conquered death and hell itself, triumphant in the battle against evil and wickedness, against sin and the corruption of the soul. Through His perfectly selfless act of love, He has overcome that darkness which have kept mankind chained all that while.

We mankind have often feared death, and not just then at that time, but even now as well. And this is rightly so, because we see death as the end of all that we ever know, all that we ever have and all we have enjoyed in this life, and from where there is no turning back, no way out. And that is why some others looked for easy death, to escape from whatever pains and sufferings they had in this life.

Then let us reflect on what we have heard from today’s Scripture readings, how the Lord Jesus has shown His power and authority over life and death. First of all, we should not fear death, nor should we ignore it entirely. Death is not the end of all things we love and know, and it is not something that we should be overly worried about. It was our fear of death in fact which has led us to do things that bring us even closer to the eternal death.

What was I talking about? I was talking about those who have done all they can to preserve themselves, often at the expense of others, and at the same time, while they acted in selfishness to sustain themselves, they may cause difficulties and suffering for others. And for this, let us all reflect the parable which Jesus told His disciples and the people at a different occasion.

Jesus told them all about a rich man who had plenty of grains and crops, who was thinking about how he ought to contain all the wealth that he was gaining, and all his barns had been fully filled up. He was thinking of tearing down all of his barns and build even bigger ones to contain even more of the grains and crops. But God chided him saying that he was a fool for thinking that he had such a control over his life, or that he can have more of what he wanted. If He is to take away his life on that very day, then all that he had gathered would come to nothing.

God reminded us through this story that neither should we be fearful of death nor should we be ignorant or be dismissive about it. Death is a reality of life, the result of our sinfulness, our rebelliousness against God and His ways. But death does not have the final say over us, so long as we believe in the Lord, Who has conquered death and risen from the dead.

Death is not the end of the life as we know it, but rather a turning point, the beginning of a new life that is to come. It is the end of our earthly journey, and for us all who remain faithful to the Lord and remain worthy of Him, it is the ending of our years of exile from the Lord, the years of tribulations and sufferings, and marking our entry into the new life blessed by God, eternal life which He has promised us all who believe.

Thus as Christians, all of us have this fundamental belief in the Lord our God, Who has triumphed over death, and Who is loving to all of us, and it is His desire that we are all saved from that certain death. Mankind has been created out of God’s love for us, and we were intended for a life filled with joy with our God Who is loving and compassionate. Through sin we have been separated and sundered from that perfect love.

And death which was not our due become ours. God did not intend for us to suffer and die, but to enjoy the fruits and the happiness in this world, for He truly loves us all with all of His heart. He did not create us to make us suffer, but to be happy, and yet by our shortcomings and disobedience, we have brought trouble on ourselves. Death came to claim us, but the Lord Who always loves us regardless of whatever we have done, He has provided us with the way out.

And that way out is Christ, our Saviour. Do we really believe in Him? Do we believe that in Christ is our way to salvation and eternal life? If we believe so, then should we not be more like Christ our Lord in all things? The Lord has said to Martha when He came to Lazarus to resurrect him from the dead, that He is the Life and the Resurrection, and all who believe in Him shall not die but have life in them.

Now it comes to the question, how do we believe in Christ? Do we just say, oh I believe in You, o Lord? Is that all? Is that sufficient? Faith is not just about that, and it is certainly not enough if we just say that we believe, without actually acting out in the name of that faith which we have for the Lord. It means that as Christians, all of us must go forth and show that faith which we have in our Lord, the Risen Lord Who is Lord over all things and over life and death.

And we have been tasked by God to go forth into the world and preach His salvation to all the world, that they may hear His message, internalise those messages and turn themselves towards Him with all of their heart, mind and soul. So, in order for us to do this, we have to do it ourselves first, practicing obedience and faith in God in our own actions and deeds.

Let us all commit ourselves to the Lord anew from now on, and let us commit ourselves to do the work which the Lord has assigned us to do. And may God also help us and guide us in this path, that our lives may be filled with joy, knowing that God has always been faithful to us, and He will bless us and free us from the dangers of death. And may He awaken in us the strong desire to love Him and to commit ourselves to Him with all our heart, no longer bound by the chains of sin, and no longer bound by fear of death.

In God all of us can trust, and in Him, we shall find our salvation. Let us all go forth knowing with joy that the Lord is with us, helping us on this way, this journey we have, and we need to start from now, preparing ourselves for the day when the Lord comes to judge us, and hope that we are found worthy of His promise. May God bless us all, and remain with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 7 : 11-17

At that time, a little later after Jesus healed the servant of a captain, He went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Galatians 1 : 11-19

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it but it came to me as a revelation from Christ Jesus. You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.

But one day God called me out of His great love, He Who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and He was pleased to reveal in me His Son, that I might make Him known among the pagan nations. Then I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there I returned again to Damascus.

Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other Apostle except James, the Lord’s brother.

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my Protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing; o Lord, my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Sunday, 5 June 2016 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 17 : 17-24

After this, the son of this housewife became ill. And such was his illness that he stopped breathing. She then said to Elijah, “What did you do, o man of God? Have you come to uncover past sins and cause my son’s death?” He answered, “Give me your son.”

Taking him up from her lap, he carried him up to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. Then he called on YHVH, “O YHVH, my God, will You afflict even the widow with whom I am residing by letting her son die?”

Then he stretched himself on the child three times and called on YHVH, “O YHVH, my God, let this child’s breath return to him.” YHVH listened to the pleading of Elijah and the child’s breath returned to him, and he lived. Elijah then took the child and brought him down from the upper room. He gave him to his mother and said, “See, your son is alive.”

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that your words really came from YHVH.”

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Sunday, 29 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we commemorate the great Solemnity of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi or Corpus Domini. On this great solemnity, which is traditionally also celebrated on the previous week Thursday, we celebrate the very centre of the mysteries of our faith, namely the fact that our Lord and God, had given Himself to us, through the offering of bread and wine which He transformed into the very essence and matter of His own Body and Blood.

And this perfectly summarises our faith in the Real Presence of God in the Eucharist, which we believe to be the complete and real transformation of those elements of bread and wine into God Himself, and not just some mere symbolic representations or memorial of what the Lord had done at the Last Supper. At every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest did what Jesus Himself had done at that moment, when He gave His own Body and Blood for the salvation of all those who share in them.

But lest we misunderstand or think wrongly of it, we should look on the common misconception about the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Firstly, indeed the bread and wine which the priests offer in the same manner as the High Priest of God, Melchizedek had offered them, had been transformed completely in matter and substance to that of God Himself, and yet at the same time, visually they remain as bread and wine, and by taste, they still taste like that of bread and wine.

We tend to link and relate what our senses have received and felt with our understanding and comprehension on things that are around us. And that is why, indeed, it is not easy for us to understand and accept that the mere bread and wine is the very same as the Lord, Master and King of all the universe, including that all of us, and how the wholeness of that great Divine being is contained in His entirety, within that small piece of bread or within that small volume of wine.

But it is the same, with how the same Lord and God has become a humble and mere Man, the Lord and Master of all the universe becomes like one of His own creations. It is part of the great mysteries that is our faith, and requires all of us to overcome our doubts and our reluctance to believe in what our Lord has taught us, the truth which He brings us all.

If we read the Gospel today, what Jesus had done there, the famous miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish, where Jesus multiplied them to fill the stomachs of five thousand men and countless thousands other women and children, and yet still managing to gather twelve basketful of leftover bread, all of these are beyond our normal human comprehension, and yet it shows once again the reality of God, Who He is, and what He is going to do to us and show to us through His love.

By feeding the people, Jesus is showing Himself as a Shepherd, as a loving Father and Lover of us all, that He intends to give us good things and bless us, and through the same love, He established a new and everlasting covenant with us all, not with the blood of animals, goats, lambs or doves, but with the very Blood and essence of His own, the Precious Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, offered and given for us all for our salvation.

In the past, God has established His covenant with mankind many times, and renewed them many times, by the sealing of the covenant with the offering of the fats and blood of lambs and goats on the holy and blessed altars, just as what He had established with Adam, with Noah, with Abraham, Moses and all the other figures we knew from the history of our faith, but all these were imperfect offerings and serve only temporarily.

Indeed, as the Epistle to the Hebrews and in the other sources mentioned, when the priests offered the sin offerings of goats and lambs on the altar, they were offering these for themselves, as well as for the sins of the people who had been entrusted to their care. And no amount of animal blood offering and sacrifices can erase the great entirety of the sins and wickedness of all mankind. Only One can do so.

And that one source from where salvation came, was the Lord, and is the Lord our God Himself, Who by His own will and power, came to share in our own humanity, taking up the form of our own flesh and blood, so that by uniting us to Himself in spirit and in the essence of our creation, He may gather us all and bring us to share with Him the glory of His salvation, and the eternal life He brought with Him.

After all, what is more precious than the very Blood of the Lamb of God, Who is flawless and perfect, without blame and holy? It is the only one that can heal us all and free us all from our sins, from all of our faults and iniquities for all eternity. The saints and martyrs as represented in the vision of St. John in the Book of Revelations wore white robes that has been cleansed in the Blood of the Lamb, because they worthily share in the Body and Blood of our Lord, and have been tested, and their faith has been found true and worthy of God.

Thus, it is a reminder to all of us as well. Have we been faithful to God, and have we shared worthily in the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord? When we welcome the Lord Himself through the Eucharist into ourselves, in reality, the Lord Himself has come to dwell in us, and we become the Temple and House of our God. And if God dwells in us, certainly, we should make sure that this Temple, that is our body, our mind, heart and soul are clear from filth and fornication.

Henceforth, shall we all reevaluate our lives, all of our actions and deeds? Shall we all remember the things which we have done all these while? Have we kept our Temple of the Lord’s Presence that is our body, mind, heart and soul worthy and in good condition? If we truly believe that Jesus our Lord is truly present in the bread and wine which have been transformed into the very substance and essence of our Lord, should we not think many times before we even contemplate sinning before God?

And if any of us are to doubt Him because we think that in every sacrifice of the Mass, Christ is being made to repeat again and again the sacrifice for the salvation of our souls, as some of those who refused to believe has accused the Church of God, then we ought to know and understand that, the priests, whom God had called and chosen from among us, are all His representatives, who lead all the faithful to offer their prayers and offerings to God, and to unite it with the sacrifice made by our Lord at the Altar of Calvary.

This means that the Holy Mass and the Eucharist we celebrate there is the same sacrifice which Jesus our Lord made at Calvary, when on that day, He laid Himself to be hung on the cross between the heavens and the earth, that by that singular and ultimate offering, God may deliver us all from our sins and from our fate of damnation and annihilation into eternal life.

Therefore, from now on, let us all rejuvenate our devotion to our Lord in the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Eucharist. Let us redouble our efforts in committing ourselves to He Who has given His all, even shedding His Blood for our sake. He has not even hesitated to lay down His life for us, so that we may live.

Let us all devote ourselves to Him and His cause, and from now on, do only things that are in accordance with His will and His ways, that our bodies and hearts, minds and souls may be free from sin and be a worthy House and dwelling place for our God, that we may find place in His salvation. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 May 2016 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, Corpus Christi (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 11b-17

At that time, Jesus welcomed the crowd of people who came to Him, and began speaking about the kingdom of God, curing those who needed healing. The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell Him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for we are here in a lonely place.”

But Jesus replied, “You yourselves give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves and two fish. Do You want us to go and buy enough food for all this crowd?” For there were about five thousand men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Make people sit down in groups of fifty.”

So they made all of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and raising His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them; He broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. They ate and everyone had enough; and when they gathered up what was left, twelve baskets were filled with broken pieces.