Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to remember our duty as Christians, to do God’s will in our lives and to follow what the Lord has commanded us to do, to be righteous and just in all of our deeds, that all of us be examples in faith for one another, and not to act as how those wicked and evil people had acted, in their selfishness and greed, in their arrogance and prejudice against their own fellow men.

Many of us have been lukewarm in our faith, and in how we lived our respective lives. As a result, we have not been able to and we should not regard ourselves as genuine followers and disciples of the Lord, until the moment when we are able to overcome our natural selfishness, greed and pride, all the ambitions and arrogance in our hearts and minds, which are often significant obstacles in our journey towards the Lord and His salvation.

This was not of course, how we were created. God created us man, in His own image, and intended to live in perfect harmony and love with Him, and with one another. He wanted us to be like Himself, existing in perfect love and harmony between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the love which was so perfect that there is nothing like it exist in this world. But He wanted to share with us this love, and that was why, He created us.

Unfortunately, greed and pride entered into our hearts and minds, when we were tempted by the sweet lies and falsehoods of the evil one, who appeared to our first ancestors and tricked them to disobey God, by pulling the strings on their desire for knowledge, for greatness and for equality with God. They were swayed by those lies and as a result, they fell into temptation and sin, by disobeying God’s words.

Ever since, we have lived under the bondage and tyranny of sin and evil. We have been conditioned in this world, to follow the urge of our own desires, the pressures of our pride and the allures of worldly pleasures and goodness, which distract us from our true destination and focus in life, that is God. But, as Christians, now we are challenged to go beyond all these temptations and obstacles, and strive to be who we are supposed to be, that is, God’s beloved and righteous children.

And in order to do this, we have to realise that there are probably a lot of things that we have to do in our lives, in order to live up to the expectations of our faith. We have to overcome those natural tendencies of greed, of pride, of desires for worldly temptations and goods, and for prestige, fame, glory, as well as many other things that often distract us from God. How should we then move forward from now on?

This is where we should rediscover the depth of our faith, and commit ourselves to a renewed vigour in our relationship with God. For too many of us, faith is empty and meaningless, and we do not have a genuine relationship with God. Nay, in fact, we are so busy and were so preoccupied with our myriads of worldly businesses and works, in the various temptations we face daily, that we forget what we, as Christians, have to do.

That is why we became selfish, proud, arrogant and unloving. We became jealous at the achievements that were made by others around us, and wanted nothing but our own self-glorification and satisfaction. This is what we must avoid, that as Christians, we must instead get rid of the pride in our hearts, and resist the temptation of our desires and the allures of the pleasures of the flesh.

Let us deepen our relationship with God, through deep and genuine prayer, by spending quality time with Him, that we may know what is His will for us, and what He wants each and every one of us to do in our respective lives. We are called to be true servants of God, and we should do this, by living our lives filled with God’s love, and showing that same love to one another.

Let us follow the path which God has shown us, the path of humility and obedience, and turn ourselves, our heart, mind, body and soul, indeed, our entire being, to the Lord and serve Him from now on, wholeheartedly, and be worthy of Him and His eternal glory, which He will give all those who are truly faithful to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the Scripture passages chosen bring us to reflect upon the nature of the Church, its significance and our role as members and partakers of God’s Church and its numerous works and ministries among the people of God in this world.

In the first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Corinth spoke of all of us, God’s people, who believe in Him and who have received baptism, the Sacrament through which we have been liberated from our taints of sin, have been made into One Body, the One Body of Christ, the Church.

By baptism, we have been made members of this Church, and have been united to one another, by our Communion with Christ. That is because by our common Baptism, and by our worthy reception of the Lord’s own Most Precious and Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist, we have become One Body and One Spirit in Christ.

But then, it does not end there, brothers and sisters in Christ. The story of our Christian life and our salvation by God does not end just by our baptism, or by our membership in the Church, or by our faith in God. Rather, it is by our continuing faith and fulfilment of that faith through our concrete and good works that we live a good and exemplary life in God.

Many of us have this misconception, both within and outside the Church, that we are saved by faith alone. No, this is not completely true, as yes, faith is what saved us, but our faith cannot be an empty faith that is meaningless and useless for us. Instead, our faith must be substantiated and proven by our actions, our words and our deeds, through the good works we do, in accordance and guided by our faith.

That is why, as members of the one Body of Christ, the Church, we are called to follow the commandments which God has given us, and the mission which He has entrusted to His Church through His Apostles. As Christians we are called to show true Christian love and compassion to one another, especially to those who are suffering, in pain or those who are experiencing great sorrows.

We are called to be beacons of hope and light for one another, that we may guide each other in our respective journey of life. And we have to do this through our actions, which we do in accordance with God’s will and with how God has taught us to do. But we must also remember that we cannot do everything on our own. We must be able to work together with the other members of the Church, our fellow brethren in faith.

That is because to each one of us, God has given different gifts and talents, each according to our abilities and to how God has intended us to live, and how He created us. St. Paul mentioned this in the same passage taken from the Epistle to the Corinthians, when he told the people, that not everyone can be Apostles, or speak with tongues, or perform miracles and wonders. To each and every one of the disciples were given various and diverse gifts.

This means that in the Church, we cannot exist by ourselves or do everything on our own. Instead, we must learn to work together, making good use of each others’ strengths and learn to help one another in overcoming our respective weaknesses and shortcomings. It is only by good and concerted effort from each of us, members of God’s Church, that many wonderful good works will come to fruition, for the benefit of all those who seek God’s salvation.

Are we able then to strive to work together with our fellow brothers and sisters in faith? Especially for all of us in the Church ministries, we must be able to work together, overcoming whatever grievances, prejudices, misunderstandings, conflicts, gossips, lies, and other obstacles that often appear within our Church groups and establishments. Otherwise, if we allow all of these things to be in the way of our efforts to build a vibrant and evangelising Christian communities, then it will cause much setback for the good works of the Church, many souls can be lost, and the blame will squarely be on us.

This is why, from now on, let us all come to realise the contributions that each one of us can give, for the common good of the Church and all the faithful, in all the talents and gifts that God has given us. Let us all work together, and coming together as a community that prays for each other, that is concerned for the well-being of one another, and that wants to see each and every one of its members to be spiritually filled by God’s love. Let us all turn towards God with a renewed zeal and courage.

May God bless us all, and may He continue to be our Guide, that each and every one of us may be filled with the strong desire to love Him and to love our fellow brethren, through our actions and deeds, and be truly committed and living our lives in accordance with our living and vibrant faith. Amen.