teachings of the Church

by

Tuesday, 13 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, we are all reminded that each and every one of us should be willing to listen to God, to heed His words and the calling which He had made to us in each and every moments of our lives, as He has constantly done so, in reaching out to us and calling on us to return to Him and to embrace His love and grace once again. It is by our disobedience that we have fallen into sin and therefore been sundered from the fullness of God’s grace and love, and therefore that is why we have to wander and suffer in this world, as consequences of our rebelliousness and disobedience. But God truly did not wish for our destruction and damnation, and He truly wants each and every one of us to be reconciled and reunited with Him, and that is why He has always provided us with the means, help and guidance in order to do so, and we should heed what He has told and reminded us of.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the continuation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel which he received from God was told to us. We heard how in that vision, the prophet Ezekiel was tasked to speak to the people of Israel, the people of God, in order to remind them of the words that the Lord wanted to share with those people, the lamentations, the groaning and the woes which He had for them, for all of their stubbornness and unwillingness to listen to His words, despite everything that He had done for them. It was their own wickedness and disobedience, their refusal to follow the path that God has set before them which led them to their then predicament and hardships, as they were enduring exile and sufferings far away from the lands that they had been uprooted from, the lands of their ancestors.

Yet, God still cared for them and loved them nonetheless, and He reached out to them through His many prophets and messengers with this specifically in mind. God loved His people, each and every one of them, and He sent them prophets like Ezekiel and many others so that they might recognise their errors and wickedness, and embrace once again the path of God’s righteousness and virtues. And not only that, but He even sent us all, His most beloved Son, His only Begotten One, Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate to manifest to us His ever enduring and present love, and as our loving and Good Shepherd, He wants us all to be found and gathered from this world, each and every one of us, the lost sheep of the Lord’s flock.

In our Gospel passage today, this is what we have heard from the Lord Jesus Himself, Who told His disciples the folly of their debates and their struggles with each other to determine who among them was truly the greatest and the first among the disciples of the Lord. He told them all that they ought to have the faith like that of little children because it is this kind of faith which is truly pure and genuine, not tainted and corrupted by the desires of the world, truly loving God and committing oneself to follow Him wholeheartedly instead of being so immersed and preoccupied by worldly matters and desires that we end up forgetting our true and most important mission in life as Christians, that is to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and might, and to love one another in the same way as well.

The Lord then also reiterated this love which He has for each and every one of us. He told His disciples using the comparison with that of a shepherd and owner of the flock who would leave behind his ninety-nine safely accounted flock of sheep to seek for the one that had been lost to him. This is a representation and reminder to every one of us of just how beloved we are by the Lord and how precious we truly are to Him, that God will not let any one of us to be lost to Him. He will always show us His patient love and mercy, reaching out to us ever consistently and patiently to bring us out of the darkness into the light of His salvation and grace. That is why we all should heed His love and appreciate just how blessed all of us are to have been beloved in such a manner by our loving God, our Shepherd and Father.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, two saints whose lives and commitments to the Lord, actions and examples have been great inspiration for each and every one of us. Pope St. Pontian was the leader of the Church at the time when the Church and Christians throughout the Roman Empire was persecuted for their faith in God, during the tumultuous years of the upheavals that were also facing the Roman Empire in that era. Pope St. Pontian and his predecessors, Pope St. Callixtus I and Pope St. Urban I also faced internal divisions and challenges such as from St. Hippolytus, whose feast we are also celebrating today. This St. Hippolytus, also known as St. Hippolytus of Rome, had been elected as a rival Pope or Antipope over the controversy of the Pope’s decision to extend absolution and forgiveness to Christians who have committed grave sins.

St. Hippolytus was among those who advocated rigorism and stricter attitudes against those Christians who have committed serious and grave sins such as adultery and idolatry, and thus, allowed himself to be elected by his supporters as a Rival Bishop of Rome and Antipope, which led to a bitter division in the Church which lasted through the next two Pontificates, up to that of Pope St. Pontian’s pontificate. When the persecution of the faithful intensified and led to the arrest of both Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, it was told that when they were exiled to the Sardinian mines, they were reconciled with each other, with Pope St. Pontian apparently voluntarily resigning his Papal office to allow the election of a worthy successor to continue the office of the Supreme Pontiff while St. Hippolytus also repented his schism, which had led to the division of the Church. Eventually they were both martyred for their faith in God but not before they helped to restore unity in the Church and inspire many with their great courage and faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed in our Scripture readings earlier today and as we have heard from the great examples and inspiration shown by Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus, let us all as Christians continue to strive to be faithful and committed to God, rejecting the evils and wickedness of this world, and follow Him in all of the ways of our lives. Let us all be willing to work with one another, overcoming our differences and seek forgiveness for one another just as Pope St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus had shown us. Each and every one of us as Christians should be great role models and examples for our fellow brethren in everything that we say and do, in our every efforts and endeavours in our lives.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey of faith in life, and may He continue to strengthen and empower us so that in everything that we do, we will always continue to glorify the Lord by our every actions, words and deeds in life. May God bless each and every one of us and may He bless our every deeds, efforts and good works in all things, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 12 August 2024 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded to obey the Lord as we are all His people, and we are all created by Him and are all under His dominion and rule. At the same time, we are also reminded to show the same obedience to the laws and customs of the land, to the place and the states that we have pledged allegiance to, as far as we continue to carry out our obligations and responsibilities as God’s faithful and committed disciples and followers. Today’s Scripture passages and discourses are reminders for us that we can indeed be both faithful Christians and also dutiful and law-abiding citizens of our respective countries, states and territories.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the moment when Ezekiel saw a heavenly vision from God was told to us. In that vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God shown to him, manifested as the Great Throne of God and the Lord enthroned on it, above the Angels, the Seraphim and Cherubim surrounding Him, and the Thrones, the Angels supporting His Throne, revealing God Himself in all of His Divine and Almighty glory. The Lord showed Himself as a truly great and amazing Being beyond the comprehension of man, full of glory and power, and this is in fact a good reminder for us today, as people living in the world where many people have lost their faith in God in this much secularised world, where many marginalised God and His Presence in our midst, and others still also made God to be so personal and human-like that we end up forgetting that He is the Almighty God, Lord and Master of the whole Universe.

Through His Incarnation in the flesh, by His coming into our midst as the Son of Man, in Our Lord Jesus Christ, God has indeed made Himself to be visible, approachable and within our reach, unlike how God had been depicted and shown in the Old Testament, such as what we have heard in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel we have just discussed, and also other occasions like that of Moses’ encounters on the Lord and the prophet Elijah who also encountered God face to face. Earlier on, no one could look at the Lord and live, except for those whom God allowed it, but even then, like what Ezekiel did, he still looked down and fell on his face when he saw God in all of His glory. Through His incarnation, God made Himself personal and approachable to us, by sharing in our human existence. However, this does not change the fact that He is still the same Almighty God, Lord and King over all of us, Whom we ought to obey and follow.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which we heard of the Lord Who told His disciples that He would soon face trials, tribulations and challenges, to be handed over to His enemies and suffer death. This was a premonition of what would soon happen during the time on the Cross, during His Passion, His suffering and death for the sake of all of us mankind. In that, He was telling them all that He was obeying His Father’s will, to do what He has wanted to do for us, to open for us the path to redemption and eternal life. Through His selfless and most loving sacrifice on the Cross, He, as our Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, offered Himself to be the most worthy sacrifice and offering for the atonement of our sins and wickedness, for all the things that had caused us to be separated from God, His love and grace.

Then, we have also heard how the Lord spoke to them with regards to the matter of paying taxes to the temple, when they were confronted by the temple officials. At that time, all the Jewish people had to pay the temple taxes which were levied to them on top of the other taxes that they had to pay to the local rulers and their Roman overlords. The Lord told them all that because they were all God’s children, they were all free and not bound to anything, save that of the Lord Himself, their obligation and obedience to Him. However, the Lord also said that they all ought to follow the rules and ways of the land, and to do what they were all asked to do by the temple officials. Thus, all of us as Christians, we also should do our part in obeying the laws, rules and regulations of our countries and states, of any organisations or places that we belong in, as long as they do not directly contradict our obligation and obedience to God, to His Law and commandments.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a religious whose life and devotion to God, action and great piety can serve as great inspiration for all of us to follow in how we ought to live our own lives as faithful and dedicated people of God. She was born in Dijon in France to an influential family and she was raised up well to be a refined and beautiful woman. She married Baron de Chantal who gave her the surname she would be later known as, and had a sizeable loving family. She was known as an excellent manager of her family’s estates and was a good daughter-in-law to her husband’s father, and was also renowned for her great charitable actions and works in the community, caring for the poor and needy in her community. When later on her husband was killed in a hunting accident, she took on a vow of chastity and devoted herself henceforth to God.

She eventually became a close friend of St. Francis de Sales and wished to become a nun, eventually establishing the order of the Nuns of the Visitation after she left all of her property and matters to her children. Together with the other sisters in her then small congregation, she was unusual in her approach to her ministry in that they all courageously went forth to the community to minister to the people who were needy and poor, neglected and unloved instead of staying cloistered in the monasteries. Her great piety and sanctity soon inspired many people to follow her examples and to be touched in their hearts, leading many ever closer to the Lord and His path. The great faith and examples shown by St. Jane Frances de Chantal should also therefore be inspiration for every one of us to follow her great examples in our own lives, and to be truly faithful to God while also being an active and contributing citizens of our respective countries and states, and as members of our various organisations.

Let us all therefore as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people continue to be truly faithful in all things, dedicated and committed in everything that we say and do so that we may always be sincere in our actions, our words and deeds, in everything that we do in life, so that we ourselves, like St. Jane Frances de Chantal, we may be good role models and examples for our fellow brothers and sisters around us. May all of us be blessed and strengthened by God, and may God continue to empower and encourage each and every one of us to live our lives to the fullest and to the best of our abilities in all things and circumstances. May God bless our every good works and endeavours, all for His greater glory and for the good of our fellow men and women. Amen.

by

Sunday, 11 August 2024 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures presented to us, we are all called to remember God’s providence and love for each and every one of us, in how He has constantly reached out to us with generous love, kindness and compassion at all times. He has provided us through His various means, helped us all when we have difficulties and challenges, in His own unique and mysterious ways. Essentially, He never abandoned us and has always wanted us all to be truly blessed and provided for, at all times. Ultimately, He gave to us the ultimate gift in His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, through Whom God has saved all of us and gathered us all once again, giving to us all the gift of the Living Bread from Heaven.

In our first reading this Sunday, taken from the First Book of Kings of Israel and Judah, we heard of the moment when the prophet Elijah, who had been sent to minister to the people of God in the northern kingdom of Israel. At that time, Elijah had been persecuted and oppressed by the Israelites and their king, Ahab, and his wife, Queen Jezebel, both of whom had disobeyed God and persecuted His prophets. The latter in particular was very hostile against Elijah because of his role in leading to the deaths of four hundred and fifty priests of Baal, the false god promoted by Queen Jezebel, as Elijah showed everyone that God is truly the one and only True God against the false god Baal at Mount Carmel, where a contest was held between Elijah, the sole representative of God, and Baal’s four hundred and fifty priests. The Lord showed His power before His people, while Baal was impotent.

Elijah was persecuted afterwards, and he had to flee into the desert. We heard his frustrations and sufferings when he expressed it to the Lord there. But God reassured Elijah and strengthened him, giving him the courage and resolve to carry on with his mission despite the challenges and trials he had to face. He sent to Elijah an Angel bearing food and drink for him to consume and to be strengthened in his body. Through the food that he received, he was empowered, and making the journey of forty days and forty nights, he eventually went all the way to the Mountain of God, Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai, where the Israelites once established a Covenant with God at the time of their Exodus, and where God revealed Himself to all of them. It was there that God would appear to Elijah as well, reassuring him and strengthening his resolve to continue to minister to the stubborn and rebellious Israelites.

Then in our second reading this Sunday, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, we heard of the reminders with St. Paul told the people of God of the great grace and love which all of them had received through the Lord, by the grace of His love, of the loving Father the Creator, the presence of the Son in this world in our midst, and by the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit in all of us, who have received the gift of the Spirit of God from the Father Himself through His Son. That is why all of us as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us should always strive to be ever faithful and committed to Him, and to be exemplary in all of our lives and actions. We should always be righteous and just in all of our dealings and attitudes in life.

And as St. Paul himself mentioned to the Ephesians, that they all had to imitate the Lord’s own examples in loving us and in showing us His commitment to the Covenant which He had made with us and constantly renewed with us. God has always shown us all His patient and ever enduring love, His most generous love and kindness, His compassion and mercy which He has kindly extended to each one of us without exception. Even the greatest of sinners have access to God’s generous love and mercy, and He has always been patient in guiding and leading us all to Himself. He has given us all ample opportunities, moments and times for us to embrace Him and His loving kindness, His mercy and forgiveness, and for us to repent from our sins and change our ways in life. But that is up to us to choose, to make a stand and be faithful to the Lord in all of our lives.

In our Gospel passage, from the Gospel according to St. John, we heard the continuation of the discourse on the Bread of Life which we have begun last Sunday, when the Lord told them that He is the Living Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life, through Whom God wanted to give us all the assurance, nourishment and promise of eternal life, that all who worthily partake of His Body and Blood, all shall receive the fullness of His grace and love, and receive the promise of eternal life. We heard how the Jewish people and many among those who have heard Him openly grumbled and doubted Him because He told them that He is the Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life that God would give to His people, comparing Himself to the manna, the heavenly bread that their ancestors had received and consumed, and how this Bread of Life is far better than all that manna in the past.

The Lord reiterated again that He is the Bread of Life, and this is a precursor and premonition of what would soon happen, when the Lord Himself offered His Body and His Blood at the moment when He accomplished and perfected His mission through His Passion, His suffering and death on the Cross. By His willing acceptance and shouldering of all of our many sins and wickedness, our faults and mistakes, God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, had taken up upon Himself, as the Paschal Lamb, the Sacrificial Victim to be offered on the Altar of the Cross for the forgiveness of all of our sins. Through His offering of this most perfect and worthy of offerings, He Who is also our Eternal High Priest, had created for all of us the New and Eternal Covenant, the one Covenant through which God reconciled us all to Himself and restored us to the state of grace.

And all of us receive from Him, through His Institution of the Most Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, which we commemorate every year on Holy Thursday, His very own Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood, which have been broken and shed for us from His Cross, the same ultimate sacrifice that He has performed and offered on Calvary on Good Friday. Each and every one of us who partake of His Most Precious Body and Blood receive this same Bread of Life that Christ our Lord had promised to us, and He therefore dwells in us, making us all part of the same Body, the Body of Christ, the Church of God, uniting us all into one people, one flock of those whom God had called, chosen and saved from this world. It is through God Himself that we have been saved, and we should not squander this great opportunity that has been granted to us.

Through what we have therefore heard from the Scripture passages this Sunday, each and every one of us are reminded of God’s most generous love and kindness which He has always given to us, His providence, love and patient nurturing and care, which He has always given us freely. Therefore, recognising this fact and reality that we are truly blessed to have been loved in such a manner by the Lord, our most loving God and Father, let us all strive to live our lives worthily for Him, to love Him first and foremost in all things and distance ourselves from any forms of sin or corruptions that can prevent us from coming towards the Lord and His loving Presence. Let us also realise that while God’s love and mercy have been extended to us freely and generously, as mentioned earlier, we need to embrace His love and mercy, and act upon them so that we can be truly reconciled and reunited with Him.

Hence, let us all continue to do our part as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, so that in each and every moments of our lives we will always put our faith and trust in Him, believing in His Providence and help, in all the guidance, strength and all the things that He will bless us all with in our respective journeys in life. There will likely indeed be challenges, trials and difficulties we may encounter in our journey, but as long as we remain faithful to the Lord and trust in Him throughout our journey, in the end, we will be triumphant with Him, and we will receive the fullness of all the wonders and blessings, the graces and all the good things that God has promised and reassured us with, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May all of us continue to walk faithfully in the path that Our Lord has shown us, and let us all continue to inspire one another to do the same, to be ever faithful at every moments of our lives. Amen.

by

Saturday, 10 August 2024 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr, who was remembered for his great faith and commitment to the Lord and to His Church, and for his contributions to the needy and the less fortunate in the Church which he called the ‘true treasures of the Church’. Through all the great examples of this holy man of God, all of us as Christians are reminded of our duty and obligations, calling and mission as God’s beloved and chosen people so that we may truly embrace what He has entrusted to us, all the talents, gifts, opportunities and all that He had provided to us so that we may truly be fruitful in all of our lives and actions, in living our lives as true and worthy Christians at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Corinth in which we heard of God’s providence to all of us, the gifts and blessings which He had imparted upon us all, in its many diversity and uniqueness, all that He has endowed and granted to us. He has given us all those things so that we may make good use of them for the benefit of everyone around us. That was why St. Paul mentioned about how those who sow meagrely would also reap meagrely while those who sow generously, they would reap great and rich harvests. This is a reference to how the Lord would want us to make good use of the many blessings and gifts that He has given to us so that by our actions and contributions, many great and wonderful things may happen amongst us and our brethren around us.

We should not be selfish and keep whatever God had given to us, or else, what we have been given would be taken from us and given to others who would be more deserving of those gifts. God does not want any one of us to be idle and He wants each and every one of us to be ever active in committing ourselves to His cause and to all the missions and works He had entrusted to us. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of this reminder through the account of the Gospel according to St. John in which the Lord Jesus told His disciples that ‘Unless a grain of wheat shall fall upon the earth and dies, it remains alone, and it only bears much fruits if it dies, blessing others with great bounty of its fruits.’ This signifies first of all the premonition of what the Lord Himself would have to suffer, as He would suffer and die on His Cross, at the moment of His Passion, for the salvation of the whole world.

But it also symbolises and represents the need for all of us Christians to be like Christ in obeying the Lord’s will, His Law and commandments, and to follow His examples in doing whatever He had done out of His great and ever enduring love for each and every one of us. As Christians, that is as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us have been called and entrusted with the various missions and opportunities in our respective areas in life that God has led us into, and which He has directed us all to journey through. That is why, as His people, His followers and disciples, each and every one of us should do our best in whatever we can do, so that our lives, our every actions, words and deeds may always be filled with God’s grace and love, and that we will always glorify Him by our every actions, in every moments of our lives.

As Christians, our actions should always embody our faith in the Lord, and we must always be sincere in living our lives as God’s followers and disciples. In all of our interactions with each other, we should always continue to show love and kindness to one another, to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We must always love one another, our fellow brethren, especially those who are less fortunate and troubled, and the more blessed we have been by God, the more we are reminded and called to share our bountiful blessings with one another. This is why we are reminded on this day to be truly loving towards our brethren, to be genuine in our every actions, words and interactions, ever filled with generous love just as the Lord Himself has loved us most generously all these while.

As mentioned earlier, today we mark the glorious memory of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr. He was born in the region of Valencia in eastern part of Spain today, and was a Christian whose parents were St. Orentius and St. Patientia, which according to the traditions of the Church were martyrs of the faith. He encountered the future Pope St. Sixtus II in Zaragoza nearby from Valencia, and they both moved from there to Rome. Later on, Pope St. Sixtus II was elected as Pope and leader of the Universal Church, and he ordained St. Lawrence as a deacon, entrusting him to be among the seven deacons in Rome, and then as the Archdeacon of Rome, a very important position in the Church at the time, as he was entrusted with whatever possessions, treasury and riches that the Church possessed, and their distribution to the poor and the needy in the community.

At that time, the Roman Empire was launching another round of intense persecutions against Christians during the reign of the Emperor Valerian. All those who were arrested and convicted, made to suffer and condemned to death also had their properties and wealth seized for the state, as a way for the state to gain and enrich itself from the sufferings of the righteous and innocent Christians throughout the Empire. Thus, when the Pope himself and many other Christians were martyred, St. Lawrence knew that sooner or later he himself would be arrested, persecuted and martyred, and thus, he quickly worked to distribute the treasures and riches available to the Church to the poor and the less fortunate, and to others who were deserving of these. When he was eventually arrested by the authorities and ordered to surrender the treasures of the Church under his care, St. Lawrence gathered the poor and the needy of the community and told his persecutors, that they are the treasures of the Church. He was martyred shortly afterwards, a courageous servant of God to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be encouraged and strengthened in our commitment to God, and be active part of His Church and the missions to reach out to everyone in this world, to those who have not yet known the Lord and to those who have been facing hardships and difficulties in life. From the examples, courage and commitment showed by St. Lawrence, Holy Deacon and Martyr, let us all therefore be always active in our lives as Christians, to be truly loving and missionary in all of our actions, words, deeds and interactions with others around us. Let us all be generous in giving and sharing our blessings with one another, helping each other to carry our own crosses in this life and to follow the Lord ever more faithfully. Let our lives be truly enriching and life-giving to everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

by

(Singapore) Friday, 9 August 2024 : Singapore National Day (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the National Day of Singapore, the day when our country became an independent and sovereign nation, at the time when Singapore has to stand on its own as a country, determining our own fate and managing our own affairs. Today fifty-nine years ago all these happened, and this day we recall everything that had happened on that day, our history together as a nation, and more importantly the journey that has passed since then. All these years, the fifty-nine years that we have grown together as a nation is a very important journey to every one of us living in Singapore, both for Singaporeans and all the others who call this country home as well.

On this day, we rejoice together as a nation, but as always, we must never forget to give thanks to God for everything that He has blessed us and our nation with. We always recall whatever the Lord had said, including what He has told His disciples and the Pharisees, ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’ This means that each and every one of us as Christians are also called to be good, dutiful and responsible citizens of our respective countries, and in our case, it means our obligations, duties to Singapore, our beloved country that we are all living in, just as we give our best to the Lord as His holy and beloved people. We have to do what is right and just, worthy and appropriate for us all as Christians, as those whom God has called and chosen from this world.

As Christians and the residents of Singapore, we have to live our lives in a way that is truly worthy and exemplary, showing everyone how our Christian and Singaporean values stand out amidst the many wickedness and vile things around us in this world. As Christians, we are reminded of the virtue of faith, hope and love that we must have in us, the righteousness and justice that God has shown and taught us all so that we may truly be committed and faithful to Him in all things. And as Singaporeans and other residents of Singapore, we uphold the great values of meritocracy, tolerance and harmony, respecting people from different backgrounds, different religions, races and culture, treating everyone equally and accepting our differences in a society that is very highly diverse.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Kings, we heard of the passage that happened right after the young King Solomon of Israel, shortly after he succeeded to the kingship and rule over Israel from his father King David, prayed to the Lord asking for His help, strength and guidance so that he might be a good and wise king to rule over God’s people. He asked for wisdom and not for earthly glory, power or wealth, as what most people would usually have asked of the Lord. And for that the Lord granted him not only what he had asked for, giving his a great wisdom that would make him truly wise beyond compare, but also great wealth, power and glory during his reign, all of which made King Solomon truly famous and well-renowned even right up to this day.

And as we heard this today, we are all reminded that our country and all of us as citizens and residents of Singapore should also ask the Lord for His wisdom and guidance, so that each and every one of us may be truly wise in our choice of actions and paths in life, in whatever we decide to do, so that our every actions, words and deeds, our every interactions and contributions may truly be exemplary and worthy, not just as Singaporeans and Singapore residents, but also as good and faithful, holy and devoted people of God. We should also not allow the temptations of worldly glory and power to distract us and to mislead us into the wrong path, leading us to disobey the Lord, His Law and commandments. We should always strive to be obedient to God and to follow the rules and laws of the state as far as we are able to.

Then, we have also heard in our Gospel passage today the Eight Beatitudes, also known as the Sermon on the Mount, in which the Lord told His disciples a series of eight blessings for those people who have lived virtuously and righteously, those who sought not the glory of the world but rather the betterment and the prosperity of their fellow brethren, for the common good of people, which are universal virtues and values not only for us as Christians, but also in our responsibilities and duties as the citizens and residents of this country we love, Singapore. Each and every one of us should heed the Lord’s reminders and message, His calls to us to embrace His path and to do whatever He has shown and taught us to do.

Each and every one of us should continue to do our best to contribute to our country, to our community and our fellow brothers and sisters around us. And even as we celebrate and commemorate this joyful day with all the festivities and all of our National Day songs, all the fireworks and other events we enjoy, we have to remember that there are our fellow brothers and sisters around us who are not as fortunate as we are in our midst. We should always continue to do whatever we can to be more charitable and generous in giving, helping all those in our communities and societies, in our neighbourhoods and amongst us, so that no one will be left out to survive on their own. After all, a strong country is a country where its people are concerned and caring towards each other, following what the Lord has told us in the Beatitudes.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and our nation Singapore. May He continue to strengthen and guide especially our leaders and those who have been entrusted with the power and governance over us, so that they will continue to exercise their power with responsibility, with virtue and justice at all times. May God also bless each and every one of us so that we will continue to grow in love and charity, and do our best to help one another that no one is left out, and we may truly celebrate together this important event of our National Day, as one united people. May God bless Singapore, now and always. Amen.

by

Friday, 9 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard from our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded of the impermanence of worldly things, of all the worldly glory, fame and greatness, of all the things in this world that will not last forever. The Lord alone is the One Who will give us lasting peace, joy and happiness, the true treasure of our lives. If we seek the glory and power of this world, then sooner than later we will realise that there is nothing in this world that can truly give us true happiness and satisfaction, one that is lasting and permanent. If we seek something of this world, we will realise that it can only satisfy us to a certain extent, and as we may often realise, that we cannot be truly and fully satisfied by what we seek in this world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Nahum, we heard of the Lord’s words proclaiming the downfall and destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire, which at the time of the prophet Nahum’s ministry, was still a great and powerful Empire, which had conquered the northern half of the once united kingdom of Israel, and brought many of its people into exile, those who were among God’s people. In their great triumph and hubris, they often blasphemed against God, and thought that their power would last forever. But as the Lord spoke it clearly through the prophet Nahum, that the days of Assyria and its glory were numbered, and true enough, not long after these words were spoken by the prophet Nahum, Assyria was defeated and destroyed, and Nineveh, its glorious capital was razed.

It is an important reminder for us that all the glory and power of this world are ultimately illusory and passing in nature, and none of them will last forever, no matter what. If we seek worldly glory, pleasures, fame and satisfaction, we will likely end up disappointed, to see that whatever our designs are for this world, we will never be fully satisfied and we will never be truly happy. Each and every one of us are called to reorientate our lives and regain our true focus, that we no longer spend so much time and attention on worldly matters, and instead we should seek what is more important in life, that is nothing else than the Lord Himself, and how our lives are called to be sanctified and holy, to glorify the Lord by our every actions, words and deeds. Each and every one of us should be ever more focused and centred on the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, we are again reminded of this as we listened to the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, that if they wanted to follow Him, they ought to take up their crosses and follow Him. First of all, it was a reminder from the Lord to His disciples and ultimately also to all of us that being a follower of His is not going to be an easy thing, unlike what some or even many of His disciples that time might have thought. Back then, it was commonly thought that the Lord, as the Messiah or Saviour, would have brought about the glorious restoration of the Kingdom of Israel, and many among the Lord’s disciples might have thought of Him as the mighty conquering King Who would liberate Israel, and therefore they would gain good and wonderful lives from being the trusted followers of His.

The Lord told them the reality that being His disciples and followers would require them to face challenges and difficulties, and things would not be as rosy as they thought it would be. They would have to suffer just as He, the Lord Himself would have to suffer, all the persecutions and challenges, trials and difficulties in all of His ministry and works. Not only that, but He Himself would have to face rejections, condemnations and even betrayals and trial, and finally condemned to die for mistakes and sins which He did not even commit. Yet, He willingly did all of that out of His love for each one of us. He willingly embraced His Cross, taking it up so that by His ultimate and most loving sacrifice, He would open for us the path to eternal life and true happiness with Him.

The Lord reminded us all that in following Him, we must be ready to face the challenges and difficulties in this world, and that we may not have it easy. There may be moments when we may want to give up the struggle and journey as the Lord’s disciples and followers because of what we may encounter and have to experience in the midst of our lives as Christians in this world. But whatever happens, if we remain firmly rooted in our faith in God and continue to trust in Him, we will receive from God true and lasting fulfilment, satisfaction and joy, despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to face in our journey. The path of the Lord may seem to be the more difficult and challenging one, but is one that leads to true and lasting joy, while the path of the world leads to nothingness and disappointment although it may likely seem to be easier and better.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also known better as St. Edith Stein, a German convert from Judaism to Christianity, and who later became a Catholic nun, as a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was remembered for her courageous life and ministry throughout the difficult years of persecution by the NAZI German regime at that time, who persecuted all the Jewish people and even the converts like herself. St. Edith Stein herself was called to the Christian faith after having encountered and been exposed to the brilliant works of St. Teresa of Avila, a Discalced Carmelite saint and Doctor of the Church, whose writings, life and examples would inspire St. Edith Stein to become a Christian and later on to become a Discalced Carmelite herself.

St. Edith Stein joined the Discalced Carmelite just as the NAZIs began intensifying their efforts to attack and eradicate the Jewish communities in Germany, and as St. Edith Stein and her other fellow sisters’ lives might be endangered, they were relocated to Netherlands, where it might be safer for them. However, eventually Netherlands itself came under the NAZI rule after it capitulated in May 1940, and the NAZIs began targetting the Jews living in Netherlands as well. Eventually, St. Edith Stein and other Catholic converts from the Jewish community wee arrested and brought to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, where they were all killed by gassing with a poisonous gas. St. Edith Stein remained firm to her faith throughout all these arduous journeys, and died as a martyr for her faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be reminded from what we have heard and discussed on the passages from the Sacred Scriptures and from the life and martyrdom of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also known as St. Edith Stein, that we may often have to suffer through the challenges and trials in this world, but we must also remember that all the things in this world are ultimately impermanent, and all things, including our sufferings and trials will pass. It is the Lord alone Who is always ever constant and will be there for us to the very end, and He will lead us all into the ultimate triumph and glory with Him. We must keep up our hope and faith in the Lord, and do our very best so that we will continue to persevere through whatever challenges and trials we may encounter.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey of faith and life, and help us to persevere through whatever we may face going forward in our respective lives. May He empower each one of us to be ever more committed and faithful disciples of His, in all things, now and always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 8 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the Covenant which God had made with each and every one of us. He has established this most wonderful Covenant as the sign and proof of His ever enduring and wonderful love for us, which He has repeatedly shown us, again and again despite our constant rebelliousness and disobedience against Him. God has always been loving towards us and He desires for us to come back to Him with the desire to be healed and to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness. He has always called on us to respond to His call, as He embraced us all and bringing us close to Him, giving us all His Beloved Son to reassure us all of His love and salvation, and establishing His Church to gather each and every one of us, and bringing us out of the darkness and into the light.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord reassured His people, those remnants of the Israelites in the southern kingdom of Judah that He would establish a new Covenant with each and every one of them, and that He still cared for them and loved them regardless of everything that He told them would happen to them. At that time, the people of Judah had been living through a hard time, pressed on all sides by their many enemies and subjugated by the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah had been sent as the final prophet God sent to the land and people of Judah to tell them of their coming destruction and conquest by the Babylonians, to tell them the consequences of their wickedness and sins.

That was why the prophet Jeremiah often spoke of the coming ruin of Jerusalem and Judah, the downfall of the Temple of Jerusalem, all of which drew the ire of those who refused to accept the truth of God’s words. Many among the people still thought that they did nothing wrong, and that their ways of disobeying God’s Law and commandments were not an issue. But God made it clear that while He loved each one of them, He did not condone all the wickedness and evil deeds that they had committed, and their sins had been the ones that judged and condemned them to their fate. That was why their cities would be destroyed and thrown down, all because of their hubris and sins in worshipping pagan idols and gods instead of the Lord their God, Who has cared for all of them all the while.

But God still loved His people nonetheless and desired their repentance and reunion with Him. That was why He still sent them prophets and messengers, one after another, all the way to the prophet Jeremiah himself, to help remind His people of the errors of their ways, so that they hopefully might be touched in their hearts and return once again towards God. God’s love and compassionate mercy have always been generously shown to us, but we have to embrace His love and mercy, and do what is necessary so that we may receive the fullness of His love and kindness, and be forgiven from our many sins that had separated us all from His love and grace. God reminded us all that we have been made partakers of this new Covenant He has established with us, and we ought to honour our part in it.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which the Lord told His disciples about Who He was, as He asked them who they think that He truly was. It was there that St. Peter spoke truthfully and courageously that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Holy One of God, the Messiah and Son of God that has come into this world to bring about its salvation. He was therefore chosen by the Lord Who knew the great faith which St. Peter had in Him, the great love and commitment that he would make, that he was entrusted with the governance and leadership of the Church that God was establishing in this world, to lead the other Apostles and disciples as the Lord’s Vicar, the very first Pope and Supreme Pontiff, whose successor now is Pope Francis, our current Pope.

Through what we heard in our Gospel passage today, we are again reminded of God’s love that He has established His Church to gather each and every one of us His lost sheep, so that we may all be found and gathered together, united as one people and flock, no longer scattered and lost from the Lord, but having been reunited with Him through the Church and the many shepherds that He had sent to help us find our path in life, like that of St. Peter and the other Apostles, the other disciples of the Lord and their many successors throughout time, right up to our bishops and priests today. But at the same time, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord also reminded us all to obey Him and His words, just as He told St. Peter when He rebuked his temptation by Satan, to dissuade Him from carrying out His ultimate duty, of His suffering and Passion on the Cross.

It reminds each and every one of us as part of this one united Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, we are all called to unite ourselves to the Lord, and to devote ourselves to His path, following Him and His leads, as He guides us all to the right path. Wr must always strive to do what God has taught and shown us to do, so that in everything we do, we will always proclaim God’s truth and Good News, and proclaim Him and His love to all the people around us, to the whole world. In each and every moments of our lives, we should always be committed to the Lord, be faithful to Him and be evangelising and missionary in our attitudes and actions. This is what we are expected to do as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, those whom He had called and chosen from this world to be His own.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the great and famous St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, popularly known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is now Spain, and he was brought up early in a monastery for his education, learning art and theology, eventually becoming a priest. It was later on that the Pope, who was sending missionaries to help against the Cathar heresy that was then rampant in southern France, sent Cistercian monks there without much success, and those monks encountered St. Dominic who was on his way back from a diplomatic mission. St. Dominic therefore went to the region of southern France, establishing himself and some others in his group in a monastery in the region of Prouille in southern France.

He spent many years there preaching to the people and ministering there, calling upon them to return to the Lord and to His Church, and eventually establishing the Order of Preachers in Toulouse during his ministry there. It was largely due to his tireless efforts and that of his fellow Dominican preachers and priests that many among the Cathars were convinced to return to the Holy Mother Church and to the orthodox Christian faith, abandoning their Gnostic-dualist heresy, and saving the souls of many among them. St. Dominic was also credited with the beginnings of the rosary devotion, as it was told that the Blessed Mother of God, Mary herself appeared to him in a vision, presenting to him the rosary, which was also instrumental in converting many of those who had fallen astray from the Lord back to His path.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we have discussed earlier on from today’s Scripture passages and from the lives and examples of St. Dominic, let us therefore do our part to be good and worthy disciples and followers of the Lord, following in the footsteps of St. Dominic and the other disciples of the Lord, our holy predecessors. Let us all continue to be grateful to the Lord for His ever generous and enduring love for us, and continue to do our part so that in each and every actions we do in life, we will continue to live worthily as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, in His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, helping our fellow brothers and sisters to come towards the Lord and His salvation. May God bless us all and be His Church always, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He generously ever poured down upon us, showing us His mercy, love and compassion, just as we have often been reminded of. At the same time, we are also reminded to seek the Lord and His mercy, His forgiveness and love, just as how the Syro-Phoenician woman had done in our Gospel passage today, that our sincere and strong desire to seek the Lord, to find His love, mercy and compassion shall liberate us from the bondage of our wickedness and sins, and deliver us into a renewed life blessed and strengthen by God and His grace. God has always loved and been kind to us, and He has also always been full of mercy and forgiveness for us, but we have to be cooperative with Him, allowing Him to come to us, to transform our lives for the better.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, in which God would restore His people, the Israelites once again, to be His blessed and beloved people, restored and empowered, saved and liberated from their troubles just as He had done for them many times previously. These words of the Lord which He spoke to His people, the remnants of the Israelites living in the kingdom of Judah, would indeed come true in the upcoming decades. And these came after the Lord has spoken of all the misfortunes, destructions and hardships that they all would have to encounter in their path, as they had disobeyed Him and disregarded His Law, His commandments and precepts, and thus, they would have to endure the consequences of their actions. This showed us all that God truly loves each and every one of His people, but He does not condone their actions.

As a loving Creator and Father to His people, as their Lord, Master and King, God has always cared for them all as He has constantly shown throughout history and as recorded in the Old Testament, but at the same time, as a just and holy God, as mentioned, He does not condone their sinfulness, wicked actions and deeds that are contrary to the way and the teachings which He had passed on to them. He does not want any one of them to be swayed into the wicked path in life, into the path of darkness from which there could be no escape or hope. That was why God chastised His people, punishing them and correcting them but with the ultimate intent of leading them all towards Himself and restoring them to the state of grace together with Him. God does not desire our destruction, as it was us who have willingly chosen to reject His salvation and grace.

God remembers the Covenant which He had made and established with His people, and through Jeremiah, He wanted to remind them with all of that, that while He abhorred their sins and wickedness, but He still wanted them all to return to Him and to repent from their many sins and evils before it was too late for them. That is why, it is also a very important reminder for all of us that we should not take God’s love, compassion and mercy for granted. God has always been very patient with us, but at the same time, we must realise that if we continue to resist Him and refuse His love and kindness, it may come to pass that it ends up too late for us to accept God’s favour, love and mercy, and when it is too late for us, it is by all those sins and wickedness that we shall be judged by, and we shall be condemned by all those wicked and evil attitudes which we have carried out in our lives.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, as mentioned earlier we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and a Syro-Phoenician woman who had come to seek His help with regards to her very sick daughter. The Syro-Phoenician region was outside the lands where the Israelites lived in, and at that time, that region was also not where the descendants of the Israelites lived in, and therefore the Syro-Phoenician woman in the reckoning of the Jews would be considered as an outsider and a pagan. And for many among the Jews, the Syro-Phoenician like the other Gentiles were considered unworthy and unclean, and it was often taboo for a Jew like the Lord Jesus Himself to mingle and interact with the non-Jews like the Syro-Phoenician woman. Not only that, but the Jews at that time also had a rather exclusive and elitist view of themselves as God’s chosen people, and looking down on others who did not believe in God as they did.

Thus, when the Lord seemingly mocked the woman and was being rude in replying harshly to her by stating that He was only sent to the people of Israel and that the food should not be given to the dogs, it was a representation of the folly of the prejudices shown by the Israelites and their descendants against those others whom they had deemed to be inferior and less worthy than them as God’s disciples and followers. But the Lord showed His disciples and others, including all of us that even among the non-Israelites, there could be great and wonderful faith too. The Syro-Phoenician woman ignored the insults and kept on asking the Lord with great faith, even humbling herself, saying that even the dogs gained the scraps of food from the table. This is a representation of just how one with great faith shall be blessed by God, and God’s love is in truth, for everyone, and not just for any particular group of people. All of us, regardless of race, background or origin, have all been called and chosen by God to be His beloved people.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of two great saints and holy men of God, whose lives and dedications to God can serve as great role models and inspirations for each and every one of us in how we should live our own lives as Christians. Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan both had lived truly virtuous and worthy lives that have shown us all what it truly means to be true and genuine, faithful and committed Christians, as God’s holy and committed disciples and followers. They have lived their lives with great faith in their own unique ways, that even when they faced difficulties and challenges, they continued to persevere on in trusting in the Lord and in being faithful to Him. They did not let the hardships, oppositions and all the other obstacles they encountered to dissuade them from their efforts and good works for the sake of the Lord and for His people.

Pope St. Sixtus II was one of the important and influential leaders of the early Church, who has dedicated himself as the Pope and thus as leader of the whole Universal Church, to lead the faithful and the Church through turbulent and difficult times. He led the Church through a time of challenges and divisions, as there was a particularly divisive Novatian heresy that happened just prior to his pontificate, which caused divisions in the Roman Church, and also in relationships with the Church in Africa and in the Eastern parts of the Roman Empire. Pope St. Sixtus II dedicated himself to heal the rifts and divisions in the Church, while at the same time, he also led the Church through the difficult times of persecutions and oppressions by the Roman state. It was during one of these oppressions, during the reign of Emperor Valerian that Pope St. Sixtus II was martyred. He remained firm in his faith and commitment to God, to the very end.

Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was an Italian priest who lived and ministered to the Church and the people of God during the Renaissance period, at the time when there were lots of challenges facing the Christian faithful, both from the corruption within the clergy and laity alike, and when the moral and spiritual standards of the people of God were waning. St. Cajetan committed himself thoroughly to minister to the people of God, devoting himself to reach out to those who have been lost from the Lord, calling upon them to return to Him. He established a congregation named the Theatines, gathering those who wished to follow the Lord’s call and serve the people of God, particularly those who were poor and less privileged. Through his efforts and works, St. Cajetan impacted the lives of many and brought many ever closer to God and helped them to come to God’s salvation and grace.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remind ourselves that we all should have strong and genuine faith in the Lord, devoting our time and effort to follow Him wholeheartedly. Let us all continue to follow in the good examples and in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan. Let us all continue to walk in the path which the Lord has shown us, and continue to show our love for God and for our fellow brethren, in all and every one of our actions, words and deeds in life, now and always. May God be with us all, and may He empower us in faith, now and always. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 6 August 2024 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we mark the great and most glorious Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, marking the moment when Lord Jesus revealed a glimpse of His true identity and glory as the Divine Son of God, the Holy One incarnate in the flesh to the three of His disciples at Mount Tabor. On this day we recall that most wonderful moment when Our Lord revealed His salvation through His Son, showing us all how God has fulfilled all the promises which He had made with us all, His beloved people, so that through His Son, His love has been manifested in the flesh and became approachable and tangible for us. And at the same time we have also been shown what we are all expected to be like, to be transfigured ourselves from our current worldly lives into new lives truly blessed and filled by the grace of God.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Daniel in which the Lord showed the prophet Daniel a great heavenly vision that was a prefigurement of the coming of the Saviour into this world, and at the same time, revealed to the people of God some of the truth of the identity of this Saviour Whom God had promised and would send to be with His people. He showed them that God would send His Son into our midst to lead us all into the ultimate triumph and victory, liberated and delivered from all the darkness around us, gathering each and every one of us to return back to His heavenly Father, to be the One through Whom all of us are assured of God’s salvation and grace, fulfilling all of His promises and reassurances to us.

Daniel saw the vision of One of a Great Age, a figure that represents God the Father, the Creator of all of us as the One seated in Heaven, ruling over all of Creation. Back then, no one would have known anything about the identity of the Lord, Who in truth exists in Three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son of Man shown in Daniel’s heavenly vision clearly prefigured the coming of Christ, the Son of God Incarnate and His role in the story of our salvation. After all, to whom would God grant all dominion, power and authority, such a great responsibility, the kingship and power, that everyone in all of creation ought to serve this Son of Man? It is clearly none among us all mankind, for we are all equal to each other, and neither the Angels nor any other beings that God had created. He must therefore be God Himself, in His aspect as the Son and Word of God, united to the Father, the Creator, and the Holy Spirit.

Thus, it was indeed a prefigurement of the One Whom God would send into this world, One Who is co-eternal, consubstantial, that is of the same nature and substance as Himself, the Divine Son of God, the Word by which God had created this world, Who would enter into this world, incarnate in the flesh through the acceptance of His mother Mary, who accepted the mission entrusted to her by the Archangel Gabriel, to bear the Son of God Himself within her. That is how He came to be known as the Son of Man as well, because through this Incarnation, He has taken up flesh of man, the complete and full nature of our humanity, and become the Son of Man, the Son of Mary, His beloved Mother. But all these were yet to be fully known and understood by the people of Daniel’s time and afterwards, up to the time of the Lord Himself.

Thus, in our Gospel passage today, as mentioned earlier, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord was transfigured before His three disciples at Mount Tabor, when He revealed His true Divine glory and nature which had been hidden behind His human nature and appearance. He revealed to the three disciples that He was not just merely a Man, or any ordinary human beings or a Prophet. For He is no less than the Almighty God Himself in the flesh, having His full Divine nature manifested together with His human nature, in the one Person of Jesus Christ, the One Whom the three disciples called Lord, Teacher and Master. It was there at Mount Tabor that the Lord manifested Himself and revealed Who He really was to the world, through His three disciples, appearing before them with His Divinity bared freely to be seen.

We heard how the Lord appeared before St. Peter, St. James and St. John together with Moses and Elijah, which was actually an important symbolism and was meant to reveal not just the Lord’s Divine nature, but also the fact that He was indeed the One Whom God has sent into the world, the One He has promised to us to deliver us from the destruction caused by our sins and wickedness. The Lord showed that He is indeed the culmination of the Law and the Prophets of God, with Moses representing God’s Law and Elijah representing God’s many prophets and messengers. That both of them appeared to the Lord at Mount Tabor showed that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah or Saviour that has been prophesied through the prophets, and that He would also uphold and reveal the full truth and meaning of God’s Law. He is the One through Whom God would make all things right once again.

Now, at that moment we also heard how St. Peter told the Lord that they ought to build three tents, one for Himself, one for Moses and one for Elijah. This was then met by a rebuke from the Father, Who spoke to them through the clouds, telling them all to listen to and to obey His Son, His Chosen and Beloved One. Then the heavenly vision and the figure of the Transfigured Lord disappeared, and the Lord with His disciples went down Mount Tabor, and afterwards, they would go on to Judah and Jerusalem, where the Lord would face His sufferings or Passion, bearing up the Cross for the salvation of all the whole mankind and the whole world. This is what is meant by obedience, just as the Lord Jesus had the choice to remain on that mountain, on the place and moment of His glorious Divinity, His majesty and power. He chose to obey His Father’s will, emptying Himself of His glory and power, and assuming the humble condition as a slave, to suffer and die for all of us.

Today therefore, as we rejoice and celebrate in this great moment of the revelation of Our Lord’s glory and majesty, we are therefore called to follow in the examples set by the Lord Himself, and follow Him as we all should do in each and every one of our respective lives. We should walk in His footsteps, remembering the great love, kindness and compassion which God has shown us all throughout the way, all these while. And at the same time, we all should continue to remember that through His glorious Transfiguration, the Lord wants to show us all that we are all called to seek this same transfiguration of our existence and lives in this world. For by sharing in our human nature and becoming the Son of Man, God has united Himself through His humanity with all of us, and through His Transfiguration, the Lord showed us all what we all are ourselves going to be like after we have transcended from this human and worldly existence to the new and everlasting life beyond death.

All of us are called to return to the Lord and be fully reconciled and reunited with Him, to assume once again our blessed and graceful existence and appearance, which God had created us all with, to be perfect and wonderful once again, free from all defects and wickedness due to our sins, full of grace and love, just as how God created us all in the very beginning. Let us all therefore strive to live our lives to the fullest, serving God at all times and glorifying Him by our very lives, in each and every moments. Let our lives shine with the fullness of God’s light, truth, hope and love, and be the beacons of His light and truth, as a glimpse of our own transfigured selves, and encourage one another, our fellow brothers and sisters, so that each and every one of us will remain firm and true in our path towards God and His salvation. May the Lord, our most gloriously Transfigured Lord continue to bless and guide us all in His path, and strengthen us in faith, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 5 August 2024 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in which we are told of the story of God’s enduring love and kindness for each and every one of us, while at the same time He also wants us to turn away from all sorts of wickedness and evils, all the sins which we have committed in our respective lives. We must not easily be swayed and tempted by all the temptations and falsehoods present all around us in this world, which many of our predecessors had been tempted by, and led to them falling into the path of wickedness of sin, distancing themselves from God’s grace and love. We are all reminded that God has always loved each and every one of us, and He desired for all of us to be reunited and reconciled fully with Him, and that was why, He has reached out to us through His loving Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and also His Blessed Mother, Mary, whom we commemorate today.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which we heard of the moment when there was a confrontation between Jeremiah and one called Hananiah before the king of Judah, Zedekiah, who also happened to be the last king of Judah before its destruction. Hananiah was a false prophet because he was not sent by God and did not speak according to whatever He has willed and desired, but instead presented his own thoughts and false ideas to the king and people of Judah. There were also others like him, the other false prophets who had led Judah and its people astray ever further from God, even as the Lord had constantly reminded His people through Jeremiah and many of his predecessors. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s truth, telling them how Judah’s days were numbered and the kingdom would soon be destroyed by the Babylonians, the city and the Temple, the House of God would soon be destroyed as well.

On the other hand, Hananiah spoke to the king and to the people of Judah the message that they wanted to hear, the message of false comfort and consolation as he spoke of how the yoke of Babylon would be destroyed and that the kingdom and people of Judah would be freed from their enemies. Hananiah and the other false prophets were pandering to try to gain favours with the king and the people by telling them whatever they wanted to listen to, all the good things and happy things which were indeed nice to be listened to, but which could not be further from the truth. According to historical and Scriptural evidences, they were also aligned with many within the kingdom of Judah then who were trying to align the kingdom with the forces of the Egyptians, hoping that their politics and alliances would be able to regain Judah its independence and freedom from Babylon. Unfortunately, it was exactly this which led to the ultimate downfall and destruction of Judah, just as Jeremiah had told the people.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel of St. Matthew in which the Lord Jesus showed God’s generous love for His people, as He Himself has manifested this love and kindness to them, through Himself in the flesh. He showed everyone how God ultimately loves every one of us, even as He chastised and punished His beloved ones for their sins. For example, as we have heard in our first reading today, on how He chastised the people of Judah and earlier on, those in the northern kingdom of Israel, for their many sins and wickedness, but He warned them many times before everything would come to happen, just as He had done through the prophet Jeremiah. This shows us all that God wants each and every one of us to embrace His love and to get rid from ourselves the taint of sin, evil and wickedness, all of which can lead us to our destruction and downfall.

This is because we must realise that while God is forever ever merciful and loving, kind and compassionate to us, but at the same time He is also a just and holy God, in Whose Presence, no sin and wickedness can exist and remain. He wants us all to be forgiven from our many sins, and showing us all that His love is greater than whatever this world can grant to us. He gave us all His Beloved Son, revealing to us the fullness of His love personified and made manifest, approachable and tangible for us. That is why as we heard in our Gospel passage today, the Lord showed His care and love for the people who had come to Him in their many thousands upon thousands, as all of them came together and were miraculously fed with the five loaves and two fishes that the Lord had multiplied and gave to all of them to eat, to be satisfied and filled, just as He fed them spiritually with His words and teachings.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we are all reminded of is the need for us all to reorientate our lives back towards the Lord, to follow Him wholeheartedly once again and to reject all sorts of evil and sins. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the path of sin and wickedness, and we must not let the wickedness of this world to lead us astray in our path. Instead, we must allow God to come into our lives and to lead us to the path of righteousness and justice. Each and every one of us are therefore called and reminded to return to the Lord our most loving God, and to be truly faithful to Him in all things, to grow ever stronger in our love and dedication for Him. It is by doing all these that we can become true and genuine Christians, filled with God’s ever generous and wonderful love and grace, in everything that we say and do, in every moments of our lives.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four Papal Major Basilicas and it is the most important Marian church in the world. On this day, we remember the memory of the establishment of this great House of God, dedicated to His Blessed Mother by the original title of Our Lady of the Snows. According to the traditions of the Church, during the time when the Church and the faithful had just recently been emancipated from the relentless persecutions of the Roman state, about seventeen centuries ago, a Roman patrician or nobleman and his wife, both of whom were Christians, and who had no heirs, prayed to the Lord and made a vow to dedicate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. They asked the Lord to show them how they could properly dedicate their possessions, and the Lord answered with a great miracle.

On the fifth day of August, which henceforth became as is today, the day of the commemoration of this event, a miracle of snow happened, falling during the height of summer in the often hot Roman summer. The very site where the snow had fallen marked where the faithful couple dedicated their possessions to God, establishing the Basilica dedicated to the Mother of God herself, which would therefore become the Basilica of St. Mary Major. In this great House of God, through His mother, Mary, Holy Mother of God and all of us, many people had come seeking God, His love and forgiveness, one of which ways was through the popular Marian icon, Salus Populi Romani, which had protected the city and the people of Rome in many occasions, and inspired more Marian devotions elsewhere in the world, bringing even more people ever closer towards God through His loving Mother.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us as Christians have also been called to be the faithful bearers of our Christian faith and truth, and to lead others towards the Lord and His salvation. As we have heard from our Scripture passages today and discussed with this great event of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, let us all therefore first remind ourselves of God’s great love, and consider just how fortunate we are to have been loved in such a manner by the Lord. And then, let us all continue to propagate and showcase this great love of God in our world today, by living our own lives worthily in the path that God has shown and taught us. May the Lord continue to bless each and every one of us, our every efforts, that we may continue to glorify Him at each and every moments of our lives. Amen.