teaching the people of God

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Friday, 9 September 2016 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)
1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22b-27

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward?

In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel. So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number.

So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it. Have you not learnt anything from the stadium? Many run, but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run knowing where I go. I box but not aimlessly in the air. I punish my body and control it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

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Saturday, 2 July 2016 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the prophet Amos who spoke the word of God about the promise of salvation and redemption of the people of God who had suffered for a long time, and who for a while had been left behind and abandoned to suffer the consequences of their sins and their wickedness.

This is a lesson for all of us as well, as it is showing us that first of all, the consequences of sin is suffering and eventually even death. If we do not repent from our sins, then our hope is dimmed and our chances are slimmed, as God while He loves us all, but His ways are against the ways of our sins and the ways of this world.

And this is reinforced by what we have heard in the Gospel today. The parable of the new wine and the new wineskins are reminders for us that our ways of life must be like the ways of our Lord. The ways of this world is against the ways of the Lord, and so if we do not give up on our sins and repent our wickedness, then I am afraid that it may be difficult for us all to find our way to the Lord.

God loves us all, but He detest our sins and wicked ways. Sin is what separated us from God and what will continue to keep us separated from Him unless we begin to make a difference in our own lives, shunning all forms of sins and wickedness, and begin anew in a life blessed with the grace of God. But this will not be easy as surely, challenges and difficulties will come our way.

It is really up to us to make a difference in our own lives. We must have that drive and dedication to commit ourselves and to change ourselves for the better. It is really up to us to stand up to the world and challenge the societal norms and ways, showing that it is not necessary that we should follow, conform or obey the ways of the world just because we live in it, and as the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ we are called to make a difference in this world.

And how do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by devoting ourselves to new ways, the ways of our God, and reject before us the ways of the world, the ways of sin and evil. When before we have acted with selfishness, jealousy, anger and greed, now we have to show selfless love, care, compassion and concern for one another, to show the love of God to this world.

But this will not be easy, as it is easy for us to say that we no longer want to follow the ways of sin, but it is entirely different for us to commit to the ways of the Lord. It often requires sacrifice, commitment and hard work, in order for us to be able to fully devote ourselves to our loving God. And it often requires all of us to let go of the things and the ways which we love, such as pleasures and the goodness of this world, the temptations of wealth and possessions, and to be someone who think of others first before himself or herself.

Let us all reflect on this, brethren, and think of what we can change in our lives. If we endeavour and want to commit to follow the Lord our God, then we have to be aware that truly, we have to adapt to the Lord and to change ourselves for the better. Otherwise, as what Jesus mentioned in His parable, the new wine will break the old wineskin, as they are incompatible.

Let us all follow the Lord with all of our heart and devote ourselves completely to Him without reservation or hesitation. Let us put our trust completely in Him, and let us no longer hesitate but seek Him with joy and hope in the life and glory He has promised to all those who believed in Him. God bless us all. Amen.