understanding the faith

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Friday, 19 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the matter of obeying the will and the commandments of God, not just superficially but also understanding the whole meaning and purpose of the Law in our hearts and minds. In that, we have heard the reading from the Book of Exodus relating to us the moment of the first Passover in Egypt, and then also the encounter between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law regarding the Law of the Sabbath in the Gospel today.

In the Book of Exodus, God had performed many powerful wonders and miracles before His people and before the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, as the latter continued to refuse to let the Israelites, the people of God, to go free from their bondage and return to the land promised to them and their ancestors. As such, God sent Ten Great Plagues to the land of Egypt, causing great destruction and harm on the Egyptians who continued to harden their hearts against God.

And the last of the great plagues was also the greatest one, the plague of death that afflicted all the firstborn children of Egypt, which ‘passed over’ the Israelites, as they had followed what God had exactly instructed them to do in our first reading passage today. They were instructed to take a young lamb less than one year old to be slaughtered for the Passover and its blood taken to mark the doorposts and lintels of the houses of the Israelites.

That was the very first Passover celebrated by the Israelites, following the commandments of God and listening to His instructions. And He also instructed them to remember that celebration of the Passover and to celebrate it every years in remembrance of that very night when the Lord had brought His people out of slavery and bondage, freeing them from the hands of the Egyptians and their Pharaoh.

That is what the Lord has intended when He asked of them to celebrate the Passover and to remember the love which He has shown to them, His great compassion and faithfulness, His steadfastness and commitment to the Covenant which He had made with their ancestors and which then He had renewed with them as well. But in time, the people ended up forgetting why they celebrated the Passover in the first place, just as the Gospel passage illustrated to us.

In that passage, we heard the exchange between the Lord Jesus and the teachers of the Law on a different matter, that is on the matter of the obedience to the Law of the Sabbath. That Law stated that all the people of Israel must not perform any work or labour on the day of the Sabbath, and which the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees interpreted very strictly to impose a total ban on work on the day of the Sabbath.

And when the Lord Jesus and His disciples seemed to disobey the precepts of the Sabbath Law, by performing work and miracles on that day, which the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees contested on many occasions, they became even fiercer in their criticism and opposition to the Lord. But they did not understand that the Law of the Sabbath was not meant to be understood or used in that manner, much as the Passover was at the time of Moses.

What happened was that the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees had become superficial in their observation of the Law and the commandments of God. They focused on the external observation of the laws and customs, and were focused on the fine details of such observation, but failing to realise the very purpose and intention of why that Law was made in the first place, that is because God loves His people.

The Law was never meant to oppress or make the people suffer and have a difficult life. On the contrary, it was meant to help and guide the people on their way and journey towards God so that they would not end up losing their way through that journey. It was God’s love for us that He has given the Law as a means for us to guide ourselves and to keep ourselves disciplined in faith, so that we may become closer to God.

And the Lord used examples from the past, using the example of king David himself, who ate of the bread of offerings which were reserved only for the consumption of the priests, when he and his followers were desperate and hungry without food. Essentially what the Lord mentioned here is that, the letter of the Law must not be separate from the spirit of the Law. The letter of the Law is what the Law in its literal meaning as the teachers of the Law understood, but the spirit of the Law is the intention and the purpose of the Law, which is God’s love for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, today’s Scripture readings are challenging us to reflect on our own lives. Have we lived our Christian lives and faith in a manner more like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, in only understanding the letter but not the spirit of the Law? Have we spent our Christian lives only following the rules and regulations of the Church because we think that we have to follow or obey them, or do we have deeper understanding of the meaning of those laws?

Let us all therefore deepen our faith in God, and spend time and effort to become ever closer to God, that we may become better and more committed Christians, no longer focusing on superficial faith, but instead to the deeper spirituality in our hearts, and in building genuine relationship with God from now on, in our community. May God bless us always in this endeavour. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the trust that all of us must have in God, for He alone is capable of supporting, guiding and providing for us, giving us the strength and courage required for us to remain strong despite the adversity and challenges we have to face in life. We should not lose faith in Him and instead, keep our trust in Him ever stronger.

In today’s first reading, we heard of the doubt and uncertainty which Moses showed the Lord in the Book of Exodus the moment when God called him at Mount Horeb through a miraculously burning bush. Moses was unsure of the role into which God has called him, and wanted assurance from the Lord as he was not confident of his own abilities and strength in having to do what the Lord has entrusted on his shoulders.

But the Lord quickly reassured him and told him what he ought to say before the assembled people of Israel, that He was with him and that He has sent Moses into their midst to be the one who would deliver them out of slavery, and bring them into the land promised to them and to their ancestors. God Himself revealed to Moses what He was about to do in order to bring His people out of the land of Egypt.

Certainly, it was not something that Moses would enjoy doing or have things going his way easily. In order for him to carry on what the Lord has commanded him to do, Moses had to endure a lot of difficulties and challenges throughout the many years that he was leading the people of Israel through the times when they were still in Egypt, when he led the people out of the land of Egypt, and as he led them through the desert.

Moses had to endure a lot of troubles and pain, humiliations and pressure from the people, who refused to listen to him and defiantly reject to obey the will of God and His laws. Yet, God was always with him, guiding him and providing for him along the way. He was always there for him, giving him guidance and advice, and strengthened him to carry on his duties as the leader of the whole nation.

This is what we heard in our Gospel passage today, as the Lord spoke to the people about the yoke that He has brought into this world, His yoke that is lighter than the yoke of the world. This yoke is referring to the difficulties and challenges that all of us as Christians may have to endure as we remain true and faithful to our commitment as those whom God has called to be His own people.

But this yoke is much lighter indeed compared to the yoke of sin, which is the yoke of slavery and bondage caused by our sins and all of our disobedience against God. The yoke of sin may seem to us to be less troublesome, more appealing and less painful, and they may even seem to be enjoyable, but we must not be tempted or fooled. This is Satan’s trick to bring us into our downfall by making the path to our ruin less painful and more appealing than the reality.

The sufferings we may have to endure in this world indeed can be difficult and painful, and Moses himself had suffered the same kind of difficulties and challenges, and he also agonised over them. However, we must persevere, be courageous and strong despite these temptations, as in the end, those sufferings we have to bear as those who are faithful to God are just temporary but the sufferings caused by sin will be for eternity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew towards God from now on, doing whatever we can to be good disciples and followers of the Lord, as those who are truly worthy of being called as true Christians. May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey and may He strengthen us in our faith, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 17 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the calling of Moses to be the deliverer of God’s people in the famous encounter he had with the burning bush, which all of us are surely familiar with. God called Moses from within the burning bush that miraculously do not burn, to send him to the Pharaoh of Egypt and to convince him to let the Israelites go free from slavery.

He is calling Moses to be His servant, His worker and His mouthpiece among His people and to the Egyptians and their Pharaoh. God then revealed to Moses what His plan was in freeing His people from slavery and bondage. He was to go to Pharaoh and present God’s words before him, and should he refuse, God’s power and majesty would force Pharaoh and the Egyptians to submit to His will, as what He eventually showed through the Ten Plagues.

In the Gospel passage today then we heard about the Lord Jesus speaking to His heavenly Father in His prayer, thanking Him for all that He has done. The Lord has planned everything for the salvation and liberation of us all, all mankind, from the slavery of sin. And He has done it all through none other than His Son, Jesus Christ Himself, Whom He sent into this world to be our Saviour and Liberator, much like Moses had been sent to the Israelites to be their deliverer.

The Lord has finally revealed the plan for His salvation, to save all of us from destruction due to our sins, through His Son, and the Lord Jesus joyfully thanked His Father for the truly Good News, revealing the truth to His disciples and later on through the Holy Spirit. It is truly a great joy that has come into this world, just as the coming of Moses brought about a great joy to the Israelites who have long suffered in slavery.

We can see therefore the clear parallel between the two readings today, one from the Old Testament and another from the New Testament. And we can see how Moses and his works in the liberation of Israel is a kind of prefigurement of the works which God Himself would do for the liberation of all of His servants. The old Passover itself is the foreshadowing of the one and true Passover that Christ Himself brought with Him.

All of us are the ones who have received this Good News and the truth which Christ has brought with Him into this world. But now, let us spend some time to reflect on our own lives and how we have responded to the Good News and the truth God has revealed to us. Have we been faithful and have we devoted ourselves to God all these while? Or have we instead walked down our own path and disobeying God all these while?

Look at the example of the Israelites themselves, after they have left Egypt and as they journeyed through the desert. The Israelites have received the wonders of God’s power and love, as He brought them out of the land of Egypt with many miracles and intervention. And yet, they refused to believe and continued to disobey Him repeatedly. They rejected His ways and His laws, and chose a golden calf to be an idol for them to worship, committing many wicked deeds along the way.

Are we going to follow their examples too? Are we going to disobey the Lord and choose to follow the twisted path of the Israelites as well? If all these while we have not been living our lives with faith, what are we all waiting for then? We have such a loving God and Father waiting for us to return to Him and yet, we have been so stubborn in our refusal to listen to Him all these while.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day let us all reexamine how we should live our lives from now on, and let us all grow ever stronger in faith, and commit ourselves ever more, in living our lives aligning ourselves to God’s truth. May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey and may He continue to bless us each and every days of our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 16 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, remembering and honouring Mary, the great Mother of God who appeared to St. Simon Stock of the Carmelite Order, a Crusaders era religious order founded by pilgrims and missionaries in the Holy Land centred in the area known as Mount Carmel. It was told that Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to St. Simon Stock showing him the brown scapular.

And that was how the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is always identified with the brown scapular, which has been a popular sacramental in the Church. The devotion of the brown scapular has been popular for the past several hundred years in the promises of the Blessed Mother of God that all those who wear the brown scapular with faith will be saved by God, as the devotional wearing of the scapular indicated one’s consecration to Mary, God’s own beloved mother.

Today, all of us ought to reflect upon the great gift of this brown scapular and how we have been given a lot of means by which we can strive to reach out to God’s generous offer of mercy and salvation through Him. And the Carmelites always consider the Blessed Mother of God as the perfect model of their faith and life, because the Carmelites believe in the value of prayer and contemplation, which Mary embodies very well.

Through this devotion of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, all of us are reminded that Mary has always led us towards her Son, and pointed to us the way to follow as we proceed on in this life. She has always patiently prayed for us and helped us along the way, seeking for us to be saved. For Mary is truly our mother, our loving spiritual mother who has been entrusted to us by Christ Himself, just as He entrusted us to her from the Cross.

Today, all of us are called to reflect on our own respective lives thus far in this world. How have we carried out our lives and actions all these while? How have we lived our commitment as Christians that are expected to do what the Lord had taught us to do and called us to do through His Church? If we have not been faithful as we should have all these while, then should we not make the effort to begin in this journey of faith from now on?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in this world there are plenty of challenges and temptations that often become great obstacles in the way of our journey towards God. There are a lot of temptations, be it the temptations of money, of power, of worldly glory, of sexual pleasures and immorality, of many other allures and pleasures of the world that can cause us to deviate from the path leading towards God.

This is where we should spend some time to reorientate ourselves and rearrange the way we live our lives. And I recommend the faithful devotion of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel if we have not done it yet, as something that can help us in this journey towards God’s grace and salvation. But at the same time we must also be careful, not to end up making empty devotions, such as when we do the prayers and devotions not for the right purpose and intention.

This is where we should look upon the example of Mary herself, the Blessed Mother of God, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose faith and devotion to her Son is truly inspiring and wonderful. She surrendered herself completely to the will of God and obeyed His commands completely, giving herself totally to the mission entrusted to her. And even until now, she is still doing what she has been doing, in helping all of us to reach out to her Son and be saved.

Mary has always directed us to her Son, Our Lord, and we should do well to follow her example and faith. We should renew our lives with faith and with the resolution and commitment to live our lives from now on with righteousness, turning away from sin and wickedness, and instead, doing only what pleases God. Let us all ask for the intercession of Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, that she will always intercede for our sake, we who are sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Monday, 15 July 2019 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture where we heard first of all the beginning of the Book of Exodus in which the people of Israel who have been living for many years in the land of Egypt were resented by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, who were afraid at their continuous growth and thriving community. The Pharaoh resorted to enslaving the Israelites and putting them under strict control and attempted even to wipe their young generation by ordering Hebrew boys to be killed.

The Pharaoh and the Egyptians treated the Israelites very terribly and they suffered a lot over those years when they were in slavery. But God did not forget about them or abandon them in the moments of their difficulty. Eventually, He sent them a deliverer, in the person of Moses, whom He prepared and protected despite the Pharaoh’s orders to kill all the newborn male babies of Israel. In time to come, he would be the one through whom God worked to free His people from bondage.

In the Gospel passage, God sent yet another Deliverer, and this One was sent into the world to save not just the people of Israel, but in fact the whole race of man, from our slavery, that is much worse than the slavery of the Israelites. For all of us mankind are in truth, have been enslaved to sin, because of our disobedience against God and His will. And sin has therefore subjugated us to its power, and because of that, we have been subjected to death as well.

Unless we are freed from this bondage to sin, we will end up being drawn deeper and deeper into the power of sin, and in the end, there will be nothing for us but destruction, suffering and pain that never end. But God’s love had made our salvation possible, through the giving of His own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our Saviour. And Christ, by the power of His divinity and authority, and by His loving sacrifice on the Cross, brought us all into the promise of eternal life free from sin.

Unfortunately, just like when Moses was sent among God’s people, the Lord Jesus encountered a lot of oppositions, a lot of challenges and difficulties. And He put it plainly to His disciples in our Gospel passage today, that His coming into the world would not bring about immediately an era of eternal peace and happiness, unlike what the people at that time expected. The people expected that the coming of the Messiah would herald an era of great peace and glory for the people of Israel.

Moses had a lot of challenges as well, because his message to the people of God was initially met with skepticism and doubt, and they grumbled when the Pharaoh hardened his heart and made the people to work even harder when Moses performed great miracles before him and insisted that the Israelites were freed. And after God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt, there would be many more challenges that Moses had to endure.

Along the way, the people constantly grumbled and refused to obey the Lord, even putting a golden calf as an idol they worshipped, following the pagan idols of the people they encountered along the way, acting in ways that were wicked and grumbling that they had been led into the desert to die, while they were at least having good life and plenty of food and drink in Egypt although they were enslaved.

In the same way therefore, many of us are also attached and bound by sin, as we resist the efforts of the Lord in bringing us closer to Him and to His righteous ways. The Lord Jesus had to go through a lot of resistance and opposition throughout His years of ministry, and many were against Him, as He Himself said that His coming into the world would bring about controversy, divisions, troubles, and difficulties for all those who follow Him.

The reason for this is because of sin, and because of the dangerous allure of sin that constantly tempts us to pursue the path of sin. And we have to understand that just as God freed His people from the bondage of slavery, He is also freeing us from the bondage we have to sin. In fact, it is God alone Who is capable of freeing us from the bondage to sin. He alone is capable of forgiving our sins.

But are we willing to be forgiven from our sins? It is often that we enjoy living in the state of sin, because sin seems to be better, more attractive and more enjoyable than the path that God shows to us. Therefore, it is important that each and every one of us are aware of the dangers of sin, and that we need to have the strength and resolve to resist the temptation to sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, perhaps today we can be inspired by the good examples of St. Bonaventure, a devout and holy servant of God, whose life is truly an inspiration for each and every one of us. St. Bonaventure is a Franciscan who was renowned for his great many works and wisdom, for his great contributions to the Church and in the ministry of the episcopate he exercised, and later on as a Cardinal of the Church, he inspired many others through the ages to live an upright life before God.

Are we able to follow in his footsteps, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to turn our hearts and minds totally to God and serve Him from now on with all of our strength? Let us all seek Him with ever greater conviction and be more courageous in living our lives faithfully. There will be plenty of challenges and difficulties along the way, but I believe that with God by our side, everything is possible.

May the Lord be our guide and may He continue to strengthen us along this journey, that we may walk ever more faithfully by His side, each and every days and moments of our lives. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 14 July 2019 : Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we listened to the Lord speaking to us about the matter of the Law of God being put inside our hearts and minds, that each and every one of us may know how to live our lives truly in accordance with what God has willed for us and with what He has taught us all to do. For God’s Law is not just a mere formality or law to be obeyed without understanding what the Law is all about, or else, our obedience will be without meaning and purpose.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the reminder from God to His people that He has given them His Law and His commandments, and He has revealed these to them so that they may come to be faithful and be obedient to the way which He has shown all of them. God showed them all how they could be righteous and upright in their words, actions and deeds.

Unfortunately, they frequently disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him, walked away from His path and turning away from His laws and commandments, preferring to follow their own volitions and obeying false gods and idols instead. And all these were because of their failure and refusal to listen to the will of God and to the Law of the Lord, which they thought as a restraint and oppressive regulations.

But they failed to understand what the Law truly means, as were their descendants, who preserved those very same laws and commandments, and failed to understand their meaning even until then. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law preserved the Law and enforced strict obedience to them on the people. They enforced hundreds of rules and regulations, and were focused on the details of the Law, but failed to know why the Law was there in the first place.

And the Gospel passage which we have heard today put our understanding of the Law into a new understanding, as what the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples using the famous parable of the Good Samaritan can tell us. We know this story of a good Samaritan man who helped a person robbed on his way to Jericho, while two other people, a priest and a Levite ignored him and just passed him by without helping him.

Now, we should understand deeper the symbolisms that exist in this parable, as the Lord wanted His disciples and all of us to know that it was not external piety and obedience to the Law that matter, but rather, our internal disposition, alignment, understanding and harmony with the Law that actually matter. The reality is that at that time, the society and the people of God were quite biased and had quite a bit of prejudice on the three people mentioned in the parable by Jesus.

The priest is usually a very respected person, as the priest symbolised the unity and link between God and man, as the one who is not just knowledgeable about the Law and God, but also as the one who offer the people’s sacrifices to God. Priests were also anointed by God to be His servants, and therefore, they were very essential in the livelihood of the people of God, and thus, commanded a large amount of respect.

Meanwhile, the Levite belonged to the tribe of Levi, from which priests were usually selected from. They were so important and honoured in their role, chosen by God, that they were traditionally not counted among the twelve tribes of Israel because they were supposed to be dwelling in all places, wherever there were need for priests. They were the descendants of Aaron and the priestly caste, and therefore also commanded a great deal of respect.

But the Samaritan was usually treated with disdain and prejudice, indifference and even hostility at times, just because they were seen as outsiders, pagans and people who were unworthy of God and His grace. The Samaritans were those who lived in the region of Samaria, the former site of the northern kingdom of Israel and were descended from a mixed heritage of some of the northern tribes of Israel and those pagan peoples that were brought into that place when the Israelites were exiled.

As such, the Jewish people in Judea and Galilee were often very wary, prejudiced and opposed against the Samaritans, whom they deemed to be pagans and unworthy. But yet, in what the Lord Jesus presented in the parable, it was exactly the same Samaritan who the people despised and often treated badly that was moved by the plight of a person who was robbed and left to die on the roadside.

And we should understand this with the fact that the Jews would not even touch or talk to a Samaritan, as evidenced in another part of the Gospels when the Samaritan woman of the Samaritan town of Sychar found the Lord Jesus strange for willingly talking to her, a Samaritan while He was a Jew. But that Good Samaritan not only showed pity on the injured Jew, but even took him to an inn and paid for his whole stay and mended his wound.

If we compare the behaviours and actions of the three people mentioned, the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan, it is quite obvious that the Samaritan did what the priest and the Levite did not do or refused to do. The greatest irony is that the two people who were commonly highly respected and praised for their obedience and observance of God’s laws did not do what the Lord has commanded them to do.

And on the contrary, the person everyone thought the least likely to be obedient to God, namely the Samaritan, had shown true faith and obedience to God’s commandments, by loving one of his own brethren, even though he was a Samaritan and the injured man was a Jew. That is the true essence of the Law and what God has wanted us all to do ourselves. The Law of God is about love, love that is pure and true, genuine and does not discriminate.

There is no point for us to be externally pious and appear to be good and law-abiding, if in our hearts we do not internalise and understand the meaning of those laws. That was what the priest and the Levite had done, which the Lord also used to subtly criticise the lives and the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who have lived their lives in such a way, focusing on the external applications of the Law but not understanding why the Law was given to us.

Instead, all of us are called to love generously and be truly creatures of love, imitating the examples of none other than our beloved Father, Our Lord and God Who has loved us so generously and patiently, caring for the needs of all those who are dear to Him. God cares for each and every one of us without exception, and even we have sinned against Him and even after we have been obstinate in our rebelliousness, He continued to love us all regardless.

This is what the true essence of the Law of God is about, the love which God has for us, and which we therefore should also have for Him. And the love which we have, we should also love our fellow brethren, our brothers and sisters in our midst. Let us all be true disciples of the Lord from now on, and show love in our every words and actions from now on, so that we will be filled with true faith and love for God.

Let us all therefore not be hypocrites in our faith, but instead be sincere in our faith and in everything we do from now on. Let us all put the Law of God, the Law of His love in our hearts and minds, and make ourselves the instruments of His love. May God, our loving Father, be our guide and be our example, that each and every one of us may follow in our own lives, living our faith with dedication and conviction. Amen.

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Saturday, 13 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Henry (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures speaking to us about living faithfully in God’s loving care and providence. God will never abandon those who are faithful to Him, and in fact, as we all should know, God will seek out even those who have fallen away from Him and left Him. If only we mankind realise just how great is the love which God has for each and every one of us.

In the first reading today first of all we heard of the last instruction which Jacob, the father of all Israelites told his twelve sons just before he passed away, and then followed by the worries that the brothers of Joseph had, when they saw that their father had passed away. They were worried that Joseph would take revenge on them for the terrible treatment he had suffered in the days of his youth, when they plotted and almost killed him and abandoned him to the slavers of Midian.

But Joseph reassured his brothers that it was far from him from desiring any form of revenge on his brothers, as it has been the will of God that everything happened as it had happened. Joseph was meant to go before his brothers to Egypt, to prepare the way for his entire family and to save all of them when the time of the great famine came. If it was not for Joseph suffering all those years, the whole family of Israel might have perished.

Of course, it had been tough for Joseph, but Joseph remained faithful throughout those turbulent and difficult years. He did not forget the Lord’s hands guiding him through the difficult times, and by the gift which God gave him in interpreting dreams, he managed to get himself out of slavery and prison, and even became the Regent and second most powerful man in Egypt after the Pharaoh himself.

That was what happened when someone kept his faith and trust in God rather than resorting to using one’s own ways and powers. God will not abandon us to destruction, and even though it may seem at times that we have a lot of trials and challenges ahead of us, with little hope and light in our path, but God will give His aid to us in His own mysterious ways, through mysterious venues and people we meet along our journey.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the same reassurance that Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown to His disciples as He told them that they were truly beloved by God and has nothing to fear from those forces of the world that can bring about our destruction. For nothing in this world can destroy us completely and totally, except for the judgment of God. God alone has the power to judge us and our eternal soul into damnation.

And God does not willingly cast us out into the eternal darkness, unless it has been by our own conscious choice that we reject God’s love and kindness, compassion and mercy willingly without regretting and being ashamed of our sins and wickedness. Yet, are we aware of this love which God has for each and every one of us, or have we been so busy and preoccupied with ourselves and our worldly desires that we fail to recognise this?

On this day, we celebrate the feast of St. Henry, who was the Holy Roman Emperor and therefore the greatest ruler of Christendom approximately one thousand years ago. He was remembered for his great holiness and leadership, in his commitment to serve both God and His people, in his countless efforts to improve and grow the Church of God in supporting the expansion of dioceses and in building of many Church infrastructure, as well as in his commitment and service to His people.

He devoted his whole reign and life to the good of the Church and the people entrusted to him, and for his great love for God and for the trust that he has shown in the Lord and His Church, St. Henry, holy servant of God and Holy Roman Emperor should be our inspiration in how we ought to live our own lives in this world as well. We should be inspired by his zeal and piety, his dedication to God and for his love to his fellow men.

Let us all therefore also put our trust in God from now on, turning to Him with all of our hearts and with all of our strength, living our lives with a renewed purpose, that is to love Him and to serve Him ever more faithfully from now on. May God bless us all and our good endeavours. Amen.

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Friday, 12 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Scripture passages speak to us about the reassurance that God gives us mankind, because of the great love He has for each and every one of us. He has reassured His faithful servant Jacob, also known as Israel, in our first reading today from the Book of Genesis, and He also reassured His disciples in our Gospel passage, when He sent them to be witnesses and to be evangelisers of the Good News.

In the first reading today, we heard of Jacob who was on his way to the land of Egypt, having heard the news that his beloved son Joseph, once thought to be dead, was in fact alive and was the powerful Regent of Egypt. In his heart, Jacob still doubted that it was the truth, but God came to Him in a dream and reassured him that this was in fact true, and he would once again reunited with Joseph and his whole family.

God assured Jacob that it was the way meant for Jacob and his family, in going to Egypt to survive through the difficult years of famine, and He would always watch over His people wherever He brought them to. And He remained faithful to that promise, even many centuries afterwards, when the people of Israel after many generations were oppressed by the Egyptians and their Pharaoh in slavery.

He sent them Moses to be their deliverer, freeing them from the yoke of the Pharaoh and brought them out of the land of Egypt and returning them to the land which He has promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their forefathers. God guided them along the way, and even though the people were rebellious and wicked, He continued to lead them on regardless while punishing them for their disobedience, like that of a father disciplining his child.

In the Gospel passage today, we then heard about the sending of the disciples of the Lord, as they were sent out to lead the way for the Lord’s coming, working among the people of God, ministering to them and delivering the truth of God to them, and God made it clear to them that their tasks were not easy. There would be challenges and obstacles they would have to face, and they would suffer rejection and persecution.

But in the end, God is always ever faithful and loving, and He will not abandon His faithful ones no matter what. He would be with them and He would guide them through the difficult times, providing them with what they need and giving them the necessary strength to persevere through the most difficult challenges. As the Lord said to His disciples, even those who are closest to them could betray them and bring harm to them, but regardless, He will always keep them in His love.

That is why we need to keep our faith in God, knowing that when everything else is lost, and when we think that no one else in this world cares for us or believes in us, God is always there for us, no matter what. And we need to know this, so that we too may believe in Him. Many have fallen deeper and deeper into sin and into despair because they had no faith in God’s love and providence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, all of us as Christians, who have been called to succeed and continue the good works of the Apostles, we also ought to put our trust in God, just as Jacob and the Apostles have been faithful and trusting in God. Let us all draw ever closer to Him, let us all trust Him with more commitment from now on, and devote ourselves, our effort and time to serve Him.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey of life, and may He strengthen us in faith, that each and every one of us may draw immensely from the font of God’s love and grace, from His providence and care. May He empower us to live ever more Christian-like, each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the exchange between Joseph and his brothers, as the former wanted to keep Benjamin as a hostage as part of a ploy he planned to test his brothers. Judah spoke up passionately in defence of his brothers and also Benjamin, pleading for Joseph to release Benjamin. At that time, they did not know yet who Joseph actually was.

The brothers defended Benjamin who was accused of stealing from the Regent of Egypt, that is Joseph, and they showed concern that their father Israel would die if Benjamin was to be arrested and taken away, and they also kind of showed regret having sent Joseph off earlier on, abandoning him to the hands of the slavers of Midian. And Joseph was touched by all the love that the brothers showed to each other, so much so that he was overwhelmed by his emotions and eventually revealed himself to his brothers.

And in the end, the twelve brothers were united once again, and Joseph, the brother once thought lost, was reunited with his other brothers, and eventually this good news came to Israel who was left behind in Canaan. Ut was a happy ending for the bitter pain that the family had to endure, especially for Israel, who had to accept the painful fact of his beloved son’s death earlier on.

It is then for this same reason that God in our Gospel passage today, through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, sent out His disciples to the many places He was about to visit, to prepare His way for him and to call on the people to repent from their sins and to be willing to accept the Good News and the truth of God. Through this, the Lord wanted to reconcile His people to Himself, and to gather them back from being scattered away in the darkness of the world.

However, at the same time, just as it was difficult for the sons of Israel to be reunited, the Lord also revealed to His disciples that they would encounter challenges and difficulties along the way, people who would reject them and refuse to believe in them, those who were stubborn and hardened in heart. But at the same time, He also reassured them that He would be with them, and those who refused to believe essentially had rejected salvation on their own volition.

All of us are therefore also called to go forth and be witnesses of the truth of God, by virtue of our Christian baptism and therefore membership of the Church. As members of God’s Church, all of us are called to be examples and role models in faith so that by our good examples and living faith, many others will also come to believe in God through us and our actions. There will indeed be challenges along the way, but we should not easily give up our efforts just because of those.

Today, let us be inspired by the good and faithful example of St. Benedict of Nursia, also known as St. Benedict the Abbot, who was famous for his inspiration for what would eventually become the Benedictine religious order, and also for his rigorous and disciplined rule, the Rule of St. Benedict, which became a model for many other religious orders and faithful communities in how they lead a life of faith.

St. Benedict of Nursia was a Roman noble who was intelligent and bright, and yet, was disappointed with the immorality he discovered when he went to Rome to further his studies. Eventually, he retired away from the city and found a place of solitude, where gradually he developed a hermit-like lifestyle of solitude and prayer, and more and more people came to join him. That was how the Benedictines first came to be, a gathering of men who wanted to seek God through prayer and internal peace.

The faith, piety and love which St. Benedict had for God is truly an inspiration to each and every one of us as Christians, for through his examples, many have been inspired to follow a better and holier way of life, turning away from sin and the temptations to sin, embracing instead the noble and true path of the Lord. Let us also be inspired by their examples and lead a better, more Christian way of life from now on in our own lives.

May the Lord be with us, and may He continue to guide us, through the inspiration and examples of St. Benedict, that we may grow ever closer to God and we may be more faithful in all things we say and do. May God bless us all and our good endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 10 July 2019 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the tale between Joseph, the son of Jacob or Israel and his brothers in Egypt at the time when the whole world experienced a widespread famine, and Joseph, having been abandoned by his brothers many years before, had become the powerful Regent of Egypt. And the brothers of Joseph came to him without knowing who he actually was, and Joseph recognised who they were.

There is some sorts of parallel today, in what we heard in the first reading from the Book of Genesis and the Gospel passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew, as the Gospel passage recounted to us the moment when the Lord Jesus chose His twelve chief disciples, the ones who later on would be known as the Twelve Apostles. In both, there are twelve individuals involved, in the first reading being the twelve sons of Israel, and in the Gospel, the twelve disciples of Jesus.

The number twelve has a particular significance in the Bible as it represents the completeness of things, as the whole nation of Israel eventually came from these twelve sons of Jacob, becoming the twelve tribes of Israel. And the reunion between Joseph and his brothers in today’s passage was also no less symbolic and significant, if we understand the intention of why the Lord called His Twelve Apostles.

Since the time of ancient Israel, the twelve tribes of Israel have been torn apart many times, because of their disagreements and conflicts between them, and the division would become permanent when the ten northern tribes formed the separate kingdom of Israel and the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the kingdom of Judah after the death of king Solomon.

When the northern kingdom was overrun and destroyed by the Assyrians and then followed on by the destruction of the southern kingdom by the Babylonians, the tribes and the people of Israel were scattered all over the place, and later on, all over the world. It was just like the separation that happened between Joseph and his brothers, when the jealousy of the latter made them to plot to abandon Joseph to the slavers of Midian.

And what did the Lord Jesus called His Twelve Apostles for? He called them all first with the mission to go to the towns of the Israelites, to the lost sheep of Israel, to gather them all back to the fold of the Lord, essentially to reunite all the scattered people and the tribes of the Lord. When He told them not to go to the pagan territories, it was not that the Lord was biased against the non-Jews and the pagans, but it was because at that time, the primary objective was for the Word of God to be preached to the people whom God had first called.

Therefore, after this mission has been completed, with the suffering, death and resurrection of Our Lord, and subsequently when the Lord commanded His Apostles and disciples to go forth to the nations and baptise them in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the mission of the Apostles were expanded to include the evangelisation of the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people, but with the same intention.

And this intention is for them all to bring together all the scattered flock of the Lord, from all peoples and from all the nations, all who have been scattered and separated from God because of their sins. Sin has been the cause of the sundering of the love between God and mankind, and many have been lost to the Lord because of their sins. It is now up to us, brothers and sisters in Christ, as the ones who now bear the same responsibility that the Apostles had once borne, for us to carry on their mission and reach out to all those who have not yet heard of God’s truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore reflect in what way each and every one of us will be able to dedicate ourselves more closely to the Lord, and in what way we will be able to contribute through our own actions and examples, in living our lives with genuine faith so that many more will come to believe in God through us.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our path, and may He continue to bless us all in all of our endeavours from now on. May He strengthen us and encourage us to live ever more faithfully from now on, and give us the wisdom and strength to carry on living as true Christians. Amen.