understanding the faith

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Friday, 10 August 2018 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us that we need to do good in our lives and be generous in our giving towards one another, especially to those who are less fortunate and less privileged. And He said this pointing out at His own examples, in how He has loved us all generously with constancy even when we mankind have not been consistent in our faith and love towards Him.

In the first reading today, that is the gist of what St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth. He reminded them of the Lord Who gives each and every one of us good blessings and graces, that all of us have enough for ourselves, and are able to fend for ourselves. Now, then, surely we will come to wonder, why is it that in this world there are still sufferings and people who had not enough to survive and live, while there are others who are enjoying in great excess of wealth and all?

It is not because the Lord is unfair in His treatment to us, or that He is biased in His love for each one of us. Each and every one of us, regardless of our origins, our background, our cultural, linguistic, national differences and our appearances, physical and mental talents and abilities, and even those with disabilities, all are equally beloved by the Lord without bias and prejudice. Suffering comes about because of the abuse of freedom by God’s people, who chose to act unjustly towards one another.

And in the Gospel today, the Lord Jesus used a parable to explain this matter to the people, by comparing it with the grain of wheat that falls on the ground and die, and by that action, creating many more new life that came about from that death. This is a parable that foreshadows the moment of the Lord’s own Passion, suffering, death and resurrection, when He died on the cross in order to save all of us mankind.

That is the method by which wheat germinates into new wheat plant, such that even a single wheat grain is able to grow into a large new wheat plant that can generate many more wheat grains in turn. This signifies Christ’s willingness to die, so that by the breaking and the sharing of His Body, all of us who share in His Body and Blood may receive a share in the eternity of glory and life with God.

Today, these Scripture readings also have an additional significance as today we celebrate the Feast of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr of the Church. St. Lawrence was one of the pious and dedicated deacons of the Church of Rome, a position of honour and yet filled with great challenges and dangers during the time of great persecutions of the Church by the Roman Emperors, at that time the Emperor Valerian.

St. Lawrence ministered to the Church and to the faithful in the city of Rome and he had to endure harsh persecution and avoiding detection by the authorities while serving the needs of the faithful and the poor among them. Eventually, he was arrested along with several other leading members of the Church, tortured and condemned to death when he refused to recant his faith and abandon his God.

Through the blood of his martyrdom, St. Lawrence and his companions showed all of us great inspirations of faith, which inspired many other faithful to be courageous in their own faith. In fact, many more came to believe in the Lord, having been inspired by the great example of the holy martyrs. Thus the saying, “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”

Surely they would have also be tempted to give up their faith by the enticement of worldly guarantees and security of power, glory, wealth, possessions and material goods. Many of the martyrs were offered positions of power and worldly riches if only they would abandon their Lord and their faith, and worship the pagan gods of the Romans. Similar instances have also been recorded for many other occasions of martyrdom.

But they remained true to their faith and devoted themselves to God to the very end. God blessed them and kept them in His grace, and gave them the crown of glory promised to all those who have kept the faith and persevered to the very end. Now, all of us are called to follow their examples and strive to do our best to live our lives as good Christians, who obey the will of God and walk in the truth of God.

May the Lord continue to bless us and all of our endeavours, and may He strengthen us and empower us to live ever more faithfully, amidst the challenges and trials we may face, inspiring us to live by the examples of the holy saints and martyrs, particularly that of St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr. May the Lord be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 August 2018 : 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, the readings from the Scriptures today remind us of the renewal of God’s loving Covenant with all of us, His people, through what He has spoken via the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet mentioned about God having shown His mercy to His people whom He would gather and forgive, as He is their God and He no longer remembered their sins.

That is precisely just how wonderful is His love for us, and how great His mercy is for us. He has shown all of us, each one of us His magnificent and compassionate heart, always filled with love for us and desiring to forgive us from our sins and disobedience. God has given us this great grace through none other than His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our Saviour and our Hope.

And in today’s Gospel, we heard of the account of the Lord Jesus and His Apostles, in which He asked them Who they heard the people thought He was. And they all gave many answers, of the prophets and various holy people God has sent into the world. Then, Jesus asked them again, personally, Who they thought He truly was, and St. Peter answered with courage and faith, that He is the Son of God, Messiah and Saviour.

The Lord Jesus saw the faith in St. Peter and through that faith, He entrusted to him the governance and shepherding of His whole Church, as the foundation of that same Church He established in this world. St. Peter and the other Apostles are the strong base and foundation of this Church through which God exercised His authority and power to bring all mankind away from damnation because of their sins.

He gave St. Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and by this act, He gave His Church the authority and the ability to bring souls towards salvation and liberation from the bondage to their sins and disobedience. He has given all of us the obligation and duty to help our fellow brethren, all those who are still lost to the Lord and separated from His grace and love.

Therefore, each and every one of us are called to live our lives with faith and devotion to the Lord, so that by our exemplary attitude and actions, we may inspire many others to live their lives with faith to the fullest as well. And today, we celebrate the feast of one of our holy and good predecessor in faith, who has shown great faith in her life and in her actions. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also better known as St. Edith Stein, is truly an example for all of us.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was once a Jewish woman and later on atheist, who was a philosopher, and having the chance to encounter the Christian faith and truth, and eventually having found the truth in the Christian faith, she turned to the faith and became a Christian. Her pursuit of the truth and the knowledge of God eventually inspired her to join a religious order, and she became a Carmelite nun.

She lived her vocation faithfully and was involved in educating the young in the community. However, at that time, in Germany where St. Teresa Benedicta lived, rising anti-Jewish sentiments stoked by the NAZI party was growing stronger and stronger, eventually culminating in their takeover of power in Germany. Thus began the infamous persecution and genocide of the Jews that in the end caused millions to perish throughout Europe and beyond.

St. Teresa Benedicta, being born racially as a Jew, did not escape this fate, and she together with many others were arrested and eventually brought to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp and was martyred just days later through gassing in the gas chamber. The story of her piety, courage and commitment to the cause of her faith even amidst persecution and challenges continue to inspire many people right down to this time and era.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if St. Teresa Benedicta was able to commit herself to live faithfully to the message of the Gospel of Christ, why can’t we then do the same with our own lives? Why can’t we devote ourselves in the same manner as those who have gone before us, and showed us what it means to become a holy disciple and follower of God? We must realise that all of us have an obligation to do what the Lord had told us to do, and to live our lives to the best of our abilities, as those who walk in God’s path.

May God be with us in this journey of faith and life, may He empower each one of us to live ever more in accordance with His will, day after day. May the Lord bless us all and our endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 August 2018 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of St. Dominic, a holy priest and renowned saint of the Church. St. Dominic is remembered for his great piety and devotion to God, for his great missionary zeal and sanctity in life. He was particularly touched by the dangers of the Cathar heresy in southern part of what is now known as France. St. Dominic worked among the people who had been swayed by the Cathar or Albigensian heresy.

Concluding that it requires holy, dedicated and committed preachers and missionaries to convert the Cathar heretics and turn them back into the true faith, St. Dominic came to establish the religious order which would come to be known as the Order of Preachers, or Ordo Praedicatorum. This order would later on be more commonly known as the Dominicans after their famous founder.

St. Dominic never stopped labouring and working for the sake of God’s people, leading an austere and holy life thoroughly dedicated to God. Through the works that he and his many other fellow religious in the Dominican order had done, many of those who have fallen away into heresy had returned towards the Lord and were reconciled to Him.

St. Dominic has shown all of us what each one of us should be doing as Christians. There are many out there who are still lost from God, separated from the love of God and isolated away from the mercy and forgiveness of God. St. Dominic showed us of the need for us to reach out to these lost brothers and sisters of ours, or else they will be lost forever in damnation. Is this what we want to happen to them?

In the Gospel passage today, we heard about the faith which a Syro-Phoenician woman, a pagan according to the Jewish people, had in the Lord Jesus. She believed in Him wholeheartedly even when many others among the Jewish people failed to do the same. Among the Jewish people, they even doubted Him and opposed Him, refusing to believe in the truth that He has brought into the world.

The Syro-Phoenician woman came to the Lord asking for Him to heal her sick daughter, trusting in His power and ability to make her whole again. However, the Lord Jesus initially seemed to be unwilling to help her, and He appeared to be even very rude to her when He alluded to her being unworthy as compared to a dog unworthy of bread from the house master’s table.

But the Lord Jesus knew the faith that was in her heart, and He sees beyond just appearances alone. He was in fact pointing out to the people the meaninglessness of their racist and prejudiced attitude against the non-Jewish people or the Gentiles. At that time, the Jews, descendants of the people of Israel looked highly upon themselves and thought well of themselves as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as God’s chosen people.

And thus, they looked down on others, the pagans and Gentiles, whom they considered to be unworthy of God and His salvation, unless they adopt their Jewish customs and traditions in its entirety. They thought that they alone deserved God’s love and mercy, and not any others. But they were wrong, and the Lord Himself pointed out the fallacy of their haughtiness and pride.

There were great faith amongst those who were non-Jewish and those who were considered as pagans. It is the fact that each and every one of us must realise, that no sinner is beyond God’s redemptive grace and love, and God freely gives to all of us, His love and mercy. And indeed, it is through us all, Christians and members of the Church, that God exercises His work of love and mercy among all of His people.

God is calling all of His people to be reconciled to Him, just as He proclaimed through His prophet Jeremiah. He promised healing and comfort for all of His people whom He would call from among the nations, after having suffered the effects of their disobedience and the consequences for their sins. He still loved each and every one of them, despite all of their trespasses and sins against Him.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we stirred in our hearts to bring God’s words and truth to all of our fellow brethren who are still living in darkness and ignorance of God’s saving truth? We are all called to follow in the path set by St. Dominic, God’s faithful servant, whose faith and great zeal had caused countless souls to be reconciled with God and found God’s salvation.

Are we able to commit ourselves as St. Dominic had done? St. Dominic had given his whole life and dedicated himself to work of charity and evangelisation among God’s people, even enduring difficult trials and tribulations along the way. The same trials and tribulations will be part of our lives as well if we decide to follow in his footsteps. But that is what the Lord has called us all to be, to be His disciples, carrying our crosses and following Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore devote ourselves wholeheartedly, and renew our faith and zeal for the Lord. Let us all no longer be proud and arrogant, thinking that we are better than others, but instead, let us all realise that we have the capacity and the ability to help all those who are still struggling in faith. May the Lord bless us all, and be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 August 2018 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope 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 we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures, speaking to us firstly about the healing of the people of Israel, God’s people, which God promised to them, after they have been humiliated and cast down in shame. They have been humiliated and crushed by the Babylonians and their many other enemies, but God promised that although all of those came about because of their disobedience, He would restore them.

It is this transformation which the Lord wanted to happen to all of His people, to all those who are faithful to Him, and to those whom He has chosen to be counted among His own. And this is again presented in a different way in our Gospel passage today. In that passage, we heard the story of the Lord Jesus Who came to His disciples in the middle of a raging storm in the Lake of Galilee.

The disciples were together in a boat, without the Lord Who went on His own to pray in a secluded place. Suddenly, a great storm arose and threatened to sink the ship the disciples were in. They were greatly troubled and feared for their lives. They were very afraid that the waves and the wind would cause the ship to capsize and they would all perish. Not even good fishermen as some of the Apostles were, could have survived a powerful storm in the middle of the lake.

It was then that the Lord Jesus appeared to them and walked on the water amidst the storm. He appeared to them and initially they were very afraid, thinking that they were seeing a ghost. However, the Lord reassured them and came to them, and said that it was truly Him. St. Peter asked that if He was truly the Lord, then he would walk to Him on the water as He had shown them.

As the Lord called on St. Peter, the Apostle walked on the water towards the Lord, but then, overcome once again by fear of the wind and the raging waters, he lost faith and began to sink. The Lord reached out to him and picked him up, rescuing him from sinking. He chided him for his lack of faith. He then calmed the storm and everything became still, showing His power and authority.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the transformation that God is calling us into, from the state of unfaithfulness and lack of trust in God. While we have been corrupted by sin and by disobedience against God, we have been given this opportunity for redemption, if only that we can turn ourselves to Him with all of our hearts and with all of our strength.

But are we willing to commit ourselves to the path of repentance and reconciliation with God? First of all, we need to realise just how willing God is in forgiving each one of us sinners. He loves us all and wants all of us to be reconciled with Him. Now what we need to do is to open ourselves and allow ourselves to partake in God’s merciful love. Let us then follow the example shown by today’s saints, Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan.

Pope St. Sixtus was the successor of St. Peter as the leader of the Universal Church, during the time of the early Church when the Church was still frequently persecuted under the Roman Emperors. At that time, the Church and the faithful were persecuted during the reign of the Emperor Valerian. Many of the faithful and their leaders were arrested, tortured and martyred for defending their Christian faith.

But they trusted the Lord completely, and know that He would provide for them in the end. He would not abandon them and He would bless them for their enduring faith in Him. That was the source of the courage and the strength of the saints and martyrs, including that of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom. They trusted the Lord and devoted themselves completely to Him.

Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a renowned priest who founded the congregation known as the Theatines, with outreach efforts to the suffering and to the poor. He was also remembered for his effort in establishing a bank that worked with the poor and helped them to get by in life. His charity and commitment to the people of God, to the betterment of those who were physically and spiritually broken were truly commendable.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, having heard of the good examples set by those two venerable and holy saints, let us all practice this good faith in our own lives. Let us all be generous in giving, not just of our material goods but also of our own selves, in service to one another and in loving all the fellow children of God. In doing so, we are also loving the Lord our God. Let us all also grow further in trust and faith in the Lord.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to strengthen us all, day after day, living our lives with ever greater commitment and devotion, from now on and forevermore. May the Lord bless each and every one of us, His beloved children. Amen.

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Monday, 6 August 2018 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, celebrating the moment when Our Lord Jesus Christ was glorified and revealed the full truth about Himself, as the Son of Man Who is also the Son of God, fully Man and fully Divine. On that day, at the peak of Mount Tabor, the full truth about Christ’s nature was revealed to all of us through His disciples, St. Peter, St. James and St. John.

The Lord revealed that He was not just like that of any other prophets or messengers of God who preceded Him. In fact, He is God Himself Who incarnated Himself in the flesh of Man through the will of the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, via the womb of His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is fully God, for His divinity was never diminished by His assumption of humanity, and He is also fully Man, experiencing all that we experience save that for sin.

And He is truly the Messiah long awaited by the people of God, to whom God promised the coming of His deliverance. The appearance of Moses and Elijah, among the greatest and most prominent ones among God’s servants affirmed this truth. For Moses represented the Law of God, which He gave to His people through Moses, and Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law, while Elijah represented the prophets of God, and as mentioned, the prophecies were all fulfilled in Him.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is the significance about this event of the Transfiguration of the Lord today? It is aplenty, especially for all of us. Now, let us all remember that I just mentioned how the Lord Jesus is fully God and fully Man, united in His one person, indivisible and yet distinct. And by sharing fully in our humanity, save for that of sin, He has shown us all, who we are expected to become, to be the perfect Man, free from sin and from all chains that prevented us from becoming what God intended for us to be.

For God certainly never intended for any one of us to enter into suffering or trials in this world, and neither did He intend for us to be condemned into hell. We have been created to partake in the fullness of God’s love, shared freely with each and every one of us. Unfortunately, our disobedience led us to sin, and sin caused us to be separated and sundered from this grace and love of God.

That is why, it is imperative that each and every one of us take the necessary steps to ensure that we are moving towards that ideal and perfect state, which can be achieved only through faith and total commitment towards God. And this means that we should walk in God’s path and devote ourselves to do His will, in each and every action we take in life. It is important that we adhere to this, or otherwise, we may be distracted and fall off the path due to the temptations and challenges we face in life.

And then, it is also important we take note how we will encounter difficulties and challenges in our lives, especially if we should choose to commit ourselves to God. The same challenges and persecution have been faced by the Lord Himself, as He faced many opposition and obstacles to His works among His people. He was rejected and condemned by the priests and by the Pharisees, and many others refused to listen to Him or to believe Him.

But the Lord did not let His glory to impede Him from fulfilling His mission. He went down the mountain despite the desire of the three disciples to remain in the blissful glory on Mount Tabor. He and His disciples went down the mountain, eventually heading towards His Passion, suffering and most painful death, all so that each and every one of us, through the ultimate sacrifice Christ paid on the cross, may have life and eternal glory with Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today first of all rejoice because God is so loving and so merciful towards each and every one of us, that He has given us the perfect gift of His Son, through Whom the truth about our salvation has been revealed to us. And then, let us all know the sacrifices and difficulties that each and every one of us may have to face in the midst of living our lives as good Christians.

Let us all face those challenges with courage and strength, just as the resolution shown by the Lord, when He chose to come down the mountain of His glory, and down towards His crucifixion and death. Let us all follow the examples and the humility of Our Lord, in obeying fully the will of God, and by doing what He has told us to do, we may bring ourselves ever closer to Him and keep ourselves ever steady on His path, to the time when He calls us back to Himself. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 August 2018 : Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday of the Lord, we listened from the Scriptures, through which we heard about the Lord Who fed His people with food, to sustain them through life, beginning from the time of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites traversed the desert for forty years in order to reach the Promised Land. They took so long on the journey because they disobeyed the Lord and refused to believe in Him. They made complaints after complaints, that the Lord punished them for their disobedience.

But God never intended for them to be destroyed, and He never wanted to punish them unless it was necessary for Him to do so. When He punished them, He was like a father who disciplines his children, wanting them to be developing well and not be spoilt by their own lack of discipline and understanding of what it means to grow up into a good and obedient child. God was doing what was necessary to ensure that His children would not end up falling further into sin.

The Israelites were swayed by the ways of their neighbours and those they have encountered during their journey, including that of their Egyptian former slave-masters. Although their ancestors and they themselves worshipped the one and only True God Who has brought them out of slavery, but the love of gold and worldly pleasures tempted them into sin, as they could not resist the temptation of gold and the wealth of the world, when they carried off many golden vessels and items given to them by the Egyptians.

They ended up making the golden image of a calf, likely modelled after the pagan gods of the Egyptians, and claimed it to be their god. They would rather worship an empty, human-made idol made by human hands rather than the One Who created all of them and the entire universe, the One Who had also shown His might and power before them, by His ten plagues and the many miracles which He had performed in their midst.

And that is the story behind what happened to the people of Israel, and why they constantly sinned against God, grumbling and complaining, because they sought worldly pleasures and they wanted to satisfy their body’s desires. They felt the urge of their bodies to satisfy themselves with food and sustenance of this world, and when they could not get what they wanted, they rebelled against God Who has loved them so much.

But against these people, these unfaithful and ever ungrateful children, God was ever patient and loving, and He provided them with food, food from heaven itself, the bread called the manna, as well as large flock of birds that flew into the encampment of the people of Israel. They had enough food to eat, for not just a short moment of time, but for the entire forty years period of their journey. They were well taken care of, and when they were thirsty in the middle of the desert, God gave them crystal clear water to drink.

Last Sunday, we also heard about God Who fed His people, especially the Lord Jesus Who fed the multitudes of the five thousand men and countless more women and children. He blessed and broke the bread that miraculously were able to feed all of them, despite there was being only five loaves present, and with twelve baskets of leftovers. God loved His people, and He knew of their hunger, and that was why He fed them with food, to make sure that they did not suffer from the hunger.

However, today, it is reminded to each and every one of us, that we have received an infinitely greater gift of sustenance from God, one that does not merely satisfy just the hunger of our physical bodies. On the contrary, this perfect gift from God satisfies all of our needs, fulfilling our hearts, minds, souls and indeed, our entire being. This gift is none other than His own Most Precious Body and Blood, the Most Holy Eucharist.

Today, all of us are reminded that Christ Our Lord is the Bread of Life, as He Himself mentioned in the Gospel passage we have today. And this life is not just the earthly life and existence which we have now, but true life, that is everlasting, our eternal existence with God. Just as we need to eat food in order to sustain ourselves bodily and physically, and how those who lack food will eventually die, without the Bread of Life, we will perish eternally and suffer an eternity of true death.

Now, brothers and sisters, do we all realise just how beloved and fortunate each and every one of us have been? We are truly very fortunate and blessed to have God, Our loving Father, Who devoted Himself to our care and to our whole well-being. Just as He had taken care of the people of Israel every single day for forty years in the desert, He has also taken care of every single one of us.

First of all, He gave us life, so that we can live in this world. He gave us opportunities, one after another, to find our way and path to Him. And then, He gave us the promise of eternal life through His Passion, suffering and death on the cross. He gave us nothing less than His own life, so that we can live. And not just any life, but life of eternity, and an eternity of loving existence with God, through the sharing in His Body and Blood.

The Holy Mass is as we know it, the sacrifice of the Lord on Calvary which is happening at every moment the priest offers up the bread and the wine, and relating what happened at the Last Supper, when the Lord Jesus said, “Take this all of you and eat of it, for this is My Body…” and also “Take this all of you and drink of it, for this is the chalice of My Blood…” It is the same sacrifice of Our Lord that we participate in, and the same Body and Blood which He has given to His disciples at the Last Supper.

It is the essence and reality of bread and wine that has been completely transformed by the priest, in persona Christi, by His power and through the Holy Spirit, into the Lord’s own Body and Blood, which we receive as the sign of our reception of the Lord into ourselves and our Communion with the whole body of the Universal Church. The Lord Himself has come into us, in flesh and blood, and we took Him into our own body, which has then become God’s Holy Temple.

Unfortunately, there are still quite a few of us who do not realise this truth, or that they chose to ignore this fact. Many of us do not show the proper reverence to the Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, treating it nothing more than receiving and consuming a piece of bread. And many of us treat the Eucharist lightly and even with contempt, by the way that we receive the Lord.

What do I mean by that, brothers and sisters in Christ? We all know that the Lord is truly present in the Eucharist, but yet, some of us come to receive Him when we are not in a proper state to receive Him, meaning that we are not in a state of grace. We committed all sorts of mortal and serious sins, and yet, we come to receive the Lord with our sins without repentance and without regret for them.

Now, this is a serious sin against God and a scandal for our Church and our faith. St. Paul reminded us all through his Epistle to the Corinthians that each and every one of us is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God Himself. And it is therefore right and just for us to make sure that we keep this Temple holy and clean from defilement. Yet, many of us have defiled God’s holy Temple by our own sins and by our own refusal to repent.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore let us all reflect on our own lives. Let us all look again at all the things we have done in life thus far, both good and evil, and think of whether we have done what we should have done as the followers of Christ, or whether we have wandered off far away from God’s path. Let us all seek to rediscover the true purpose of our lives, that is to serve God and to glorify Him.

Let us all distance ourselves from the many idols and distractions present in our lives, so that we will no longer fall into the same predicament as that of the Israelites. Let us all distance ourselves from all these distractions and temptations, and do our very best to love the Lord from now on. God has loved each and every one of us so much that we could not have existed and lived without Him. We must repent from our sins and truly regret all the wicked things we have done in His presence.

Are we thankful to God Who has loved us and given us what we need in life? Have we taken His love for granted, and even betrayed Him or else abandoned Him for something we deemed to be better than Him, when He has done everything He could to provide for us and to give us His love, that He gave us nothing less than His life, bearing His cross and die for us? Should we not love Him with the same generosity and conviction in love?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called to turn to the Lord, Our God, with a renewed sense of purpose and with a new commitment, to love Him with all of our hearts, with all of our minds and with all of our might. He, the Bread of Life, has given us so much, for our sake, that now, we have to also love Him in the same way, devoting ourselves to Him, from now onwards.

May the Lord, Who gave us life and Who loves us dearly, continue to bless us and to be with us, every single day of our lives, that we may continue to draw ever closer to Him, and to love Him with ever greater passion, through our every actions, words and deeds. Let us all have the Lord as the centre and focus of our lives, that we may no longer be separated with Him, but growing ever more intimate in our relationship with Him, day after day.

O Lord, Bread of Life, be with us always, and dwell within our hearts that we may be sanctified by Your presence. May all of us be holy just as You are holy, in our every words, in our every dealings with others, and in how we show the same love You have shown us from the beginning of time, to one another, our fellow brothers and sisters in You, Our loving Father. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 August 2018 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest and Patron of All Priests (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture telling us about the trouble and opposition which the prophet Jeremiah had to face during his ministry in the kingdom of Judah, during the years just prior to the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The prophet Jeremiah warned the remaining people of God in Judah about the coming destruction, but they refused to listen to the Lord speaking through His prophet.

The king and his advisers, the nobles and the elites, the priests and most likely, most of the people hardened their hearts and minds, and closed their ears off from listening to the word of God. They persecuted Jeremiah and cast him out, and he had to suffer many rejections and troubles throughout the years of his ministry, just as the many other prophets and messengers of God had also suffered. The people of God had turned a deaf ear to their God.

Then, in the Gospel passage today, we heard about the story of St. John the Baptist, God’s herald and messenger, the last of the prophets who was sent to proclaim the coming and arrival of the Messiah into the world, that is Our Lord Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptist himself also encountered many oppositions, especially from the priests and the Pharisees, much as Jeremiah had once suffered.

St. John the Baptist has spoken the truth to the people, telling them of their sins and wickedness, of all their vile works and all the things that have kept them out of the grace and love of God. He was much reviled for this, and his enemies were aplenty, just as many people came to him to seek repentance and baptism in the Jordan. Yet, St. John the Baptist did not mince his words and continued to preach the truth.

And in the end, when he spoke up against the king, Herod, who had committed adultery with his own brother’s wife, Herodias, he was imprisoned and put to much suffering. Herod refused to kill the holy man of God outright, but Herodias, who was likely very angry at St. John the Baptist for his outspoken attitude towards her irregular and wicked relationship with Herod, plotted to kill him.

Although it was not exactly specified in the Scriptures, but it was likely because by being taken up as Herod’s wife, she would have real power, earthly glory, wealth and privileges that being the wife of a deceased former king, Herod’s brother, could not have given her. Thus, pride and worldly greed had likely caused that woman to fall into such a great sin, as described in the Gospel passage today.

Herodias had her daughter to dance seductively before Herod to get him to agree to the conditions she would prepare beforehand. Herod made promises and vows in his stupor, promising to give everything the daughter of Herodias asked for, even half of his own kingdom. In that state, Herodias managed to trick Herod into killing St. John the Baptist by asking for his head on a platter.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we also celebrate the feast of another famous holy servant of God, namely St. John Vianney, the patron saint of all priests. He was a French priest of a small parish in the town called Ars. As such he was affectionately called as the Cure of Ars. He was remembered for his great humility, his piety and devotion to God, his commitment to the flock entrusted under his care, as he ministered to them and listening to their confessions.

He became so popular and renowned throughout France and even beyond, that thousands came to him, seeking to have their sins confessed to him, or to have evil spirits cast out from them through exorcism. Yet despite his apparent popularity and charm, St. John Vianney remained humble, and in fact, with his popularity and apparent success, there were many trials and difficulties which many may not have realised, that all of them happened to this holy saint of God.

He had many opponents and naysayers who refused to believe in him, doubted him, persecuted him and made his life difficult, saying perjuries and lies about him, and slandering him before others. But St. John Vianney continued to carry out his priestly duties as best as he could, and he remained humble and obedient to God and to the will of his superiors in the Church. Nonetheless, the impact of his examples and actions reached out far and wide.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in all of the readings of this day and from the lives of the holy servants of God, we should come to realise that to be a faithful disciple and follower of Our God is not something that will be easy for us. Instead, there will be undoubtedly plenty of challenges, obstacles, difficulties, trials and all sorts of things that will cause us to want to give up the faith and abandon the Lord.

This is when we should be inspired by the examples and the courage of the prophets, such as Jeremiah and many other servants of God who suffered and yet did their best to show their faith to others, calling many others to righteousness in their footsteps. Let us all seek to follow the good examples and the dedication shown by St. John Vianney, that through our own exemplary and good faith, we may show many others how we should love God and dedicate ourselves to Him with all of our hearts. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 3 August 2018 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures, speaking to us about the difficulties which the prophet Jeremiah encountered during his ministry among the people in the kingdom of Judah. He spoke to all of them about the coming of the time of trials and challenges for the people of God, of when the city of God, Jerusalem and its Temple would be razed to the ground and destroyed by the Babylonians.

Jeremiah spoke with the power and authority from God, and yet, the people refused to believe in him. They labelled him as a naysayer and a prophet of doom, dismissing his words as false and insulting to their ears. Some of them, especially those among the powerful ones in the society even condemned him as a blasphemer for having spoken such harsh words against God’s city, Temple and its people.

They claimed to speak for the Lord and for His people, but yet, all the priests, the elites of the society and all those who opposed Jeremiah, all of them failed to reflect on their own fallen and wicked state of life, and they overlook their own sins and disobedience against God before they cast judgment against Jeremiah. This was the same judgmental and self-righteous attitude shown against the Lord Jesus, as we have heard in our Gospel passage today.

At that time, the Lord Jesus went to His home village of Nazareth in Galilee, speaking to the people in the local synagogue, proclaiming the word of God in the Scriptures and the fulfilment of the prophecies of the prophet Isaiah regarding Himself. And He said so not just with words, but His actions and deeds have preceded Himself, in all the miraculous deeds and powers He had performed throughout the region of Galilee.

But the people chose to ignore this fact, and instead, they were being judgmental by comparing Him with what they thought they knew about His background and upbringing, as the apparent Son of a poor family of the carpenter, St. Joseph, His foster-father. They assumed that because He was merely the Son of a carpenter, that He could not have performed all of the wonders that others had claimed that He had done.

In doing so they have done exactly the same as their ancestors had done towards the prophet Jeremiah. They doubted the Lord’s good works and intention for His people, and they hardened their hearts and minds, closing their ears and the doors of their hearts from the Lord Who had tried very hard to reach out to them. And the very reason for these unfortunate and unbecoming attitudes is none other than the pride that is within each and every one of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us have pride in our hearts and minds, and this pride and ego cause us to fall into temptation, the temptation of worldly power, prestige and the desire for what is great in the world. And we end up being self-centred and egoistic, thinking that we are better than others. It is why many of us have this tendency to be judgmental upon others and to look down on them.

Yet, is this what we should be doing as Christians? No, certainly not. The Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and God Himself has been prejudiced against, betrayed and struck upon, rejected and humiliated. How can we act in the same manner as those who have persecuted and rejected Him and His prophets? Instead, all of us should imitate the examples of Christ Himself, in how He reached out to all with love, with humility and without prejudice.

First of all, the Lord reached out to the most destitute and despicable ones in the society, as He sought the sinners and the most unworthy among all of God’s children, the prostitutes and tax collectors, and many others who had sinned against God. He was not prejudiced against them, and instead, showed them all the same love which He has given to each and every one of us, the sons and daughters of man.

And then, He called them to repent from their sins, and to be open to God’s love and mercy working their effects in their hearts, minds and existence. That is why all of us are also called to be role models in our respective lives, that through our following of the examples of Christ, each and every one of us may be brought to a renewed existence in God’s grace and love. Let us all be humble as Christ was, and in how much He has loved His people, even though His own had rejected Him.

May the Lord be with us in this journey of life, and may He strengthen the faith in our hearts, that each and every one of us will grow ever more faithful, day after day, and that we will be able to give our best to serve Him and to love Him ever more, from now onwards. May God bless us all and our every endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 August 2018 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops or Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures, beginning with the passage from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, where God told the people through the prophet, what His intentions are for us all, His beloved ones, those whom He had created. God had created each and every one of us, and He gave us the life that we now have.

He compared Himself to a potter, who created, moulded and reshaped the earthwork according to his own desires. Each potter has a vision of how the potter wants the earthwork and ceramic to end up like, be it the shape or the function. It is entirely in the hands of the potter that the fate of the earthwork is decided. Thus, God was saying that, He alone has the power over all of us mankind, as He is the Potter of us all, His masterpieces.

And in the Gospel passage today, all of us have heard about the Lord Jesus speaking to the people and to His disciples about a parable likening the kingdom of God to a large fishing net spread to capture many fishes in the sea. Many of the fishes are gathered and then later on sorted, with the good ones being kept while the bad quality ones are thrown away and discarded.

The Lord Himself explained briefly the meaning of this parable as He said of the coming of the end of times when all the souls of man will be judged, with those who are deemed to be good and worthy to be brought into eternal life and glory with God, sorted out by the Angels whom the Lord sent to gather His faithful people from among the wicked. Meanwhile the wicked will be cast out to utter darkness and eternal suffering.

But God did not intend for the wicked to perish or die, as ultimately every single one of us, be it good or wicked at this moment, are beloved to Him. Remember that God is always ever faithful despite the disobedience that we showed to Him. He will never abandon us even though we have abandoned Him. He will continue to give us opportunity after opportunity, chance after chance to change our ways and to repent from our sins.

The Lord therefore wants to mould us and change us in accordance with His will and desire. He wants each and every one of us to be transformed in body, mind, heart and soul into people of the light. All of us who have lived in the darkness, we are called to this new existence, that is existence in the light of God. We have to abandon our past darkness, the sinfulness that have kept us away from God.

That is why today, the second day of August is also known in the Church as the day of the Portiuncula Indulgence, when the Lord revealed to St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans of the special grace and mercy which He offers freely to all those who devoutly visit the House of God, confessing their sins and being part of the celebration of the Holy Mass, along with the intention of repentance and turning away from God.

But are we willing to allow ourselves to be forgiven our sins? God indeed freely offers Himself His mercy, but are we open to welcome Him to come into our hearts and to heal us from all the sickness and corruption caused by our sins? We need to allow God to enter into our lives and perform His wonders in our midst, and the way is for us to cooperate with God and not to harden our hearts.

Again comparing to a potter and his pottery works, if a piece of pottery is to harden before its shape is completed, then the pottery is very likely to break and shatter into pieces when the potter exerts force in order to change its shape. That is why normally potters will work on the pottery pieces while they are still soft and mouldable. Therefore, in a similar way, if we harden our hearts and minds, and are not receptive to God’s works in our midst, it is likely that we will end up harming only ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should instead look upon the examples set by the holy saints of God, particularly those of St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard, the two saints whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was a devout and committed servant of God, who as the bishop and one of the leaders of the early Church, strove courageously against the dangerous threat of heresies, especially that of the Arian heresy.

St. Eusebius was among the many defenders of the true orthodox faith, against all those who tried to subvert it and against all those who sought to turn the faithful people of God into false paths. He was persecuted, had his life threatened, and faced all sorts of insults and even troubles, to the point of being imprisoned under the authority of those who were sympathetic to the cause of the heretics and the pagans. Yet, St. Eusebius remained true to his faith in God and to his cause, and eventually, the true faith triumphed.

Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a devout priest who was the initiator and founder of congregation of religious and the faithful dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, the Real and True Presence of the Lord amidst us all in this world. He was renowned for his great faith and for his immense commitment and piety, which inspired many others to also follow in his footsteps and to strive to have the same faith in God.

Through the examples of these two holy and devout saints, all of us can see how each and every one of us as Christians can also be like them, in how we live our lives as faithful and dedicated servants of God. The Lord has called us all to Him, to be reconciled with Him, and to be transformed completely, from beings engulfed and corrupted by sin, into people truly worthy of God as His beloved children. Let us allow ourselves to be moulded into worthy vessels of His presence in our lives.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He continue to guide us and watch over us in our journey. May He continue to bless us and to keep us in His providence, that in all the things, the challenges and difficulties, the trials and tribulations we encounter in life, we will always strive to be ever more faithful to the Lord, our God. May the Lord bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 August 2018 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, 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 prophet Jeremiah, who made his grievances known to the Lord. The context of this passage was that, at that moment, the prophet Jeremiah was assailed by his many enemies, who opposed him and refused to believe in his words. Prophet Jeremiah had difficulties and challenges which he had to endure while he performed his mission among the people.

It was therefore only natural that he would feel so distressed and displeased with his situation at that time. But the Lord reassured him and told Jeremiah that He would always be with him and He will guide him in all of his ways, despite the challenges he might encounter. And He proclaimed to him all the good things that He would do to His people if they turned themselves to Him and repented from all of their sins.

Essentially, He would bless them bountifully once again, and He would love them completely once again without the barrier of disobedience and sin which had caused separation between them and their God. Through this redemption, they would be healed and they would be made whole once again, that while once they were cast away and humiliated because of their disobedience, they would once again become God’s beloved and chosen people.

This was the same promise which God kept on reiterating to His people through the many prophets and messengers that He sent to them. He called them all to embrace the forgiveness that He has given to all of them freely. According to St. Alphonsus Liguori, whose feast we celebrate today, in God there is plentiful redemption. And it is this belief in God’s great saving grace and the redemption He freely gives us all, that encouraged St. Alphonsus to establish the religious order known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer or the Redemptorists.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to the people what the kingdom of God is like. He compared it to a pearl of great value and a rich treasure found hidden in a field. In this parable, the Lord wanted us to know that looking for God’s mercy and love is truly something that we should look up for in life. To be with God and to be reconciled with Him is something that all of us should aspire to.

But the Lord in the same parable also wanted us all to know that, attaining the kingdom of God, that is to be reconciled with Him and to live in His grace is something that does not come easily for us without our commitment and effort. Indeed, God has given us and offered to us His bountiful and infinite mercy, but this mercy will only come into its full and complete fruition in us, if we endeavour to commit ourselves to be forgiven, that is through sincere and complete repentance from our sins.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are therefore called to reflect on our own lives, on whether we have allowed God’s mercy and love to enter into our lives. Have we been so preoccupied in life that we end up forgetting what is it that we are living for in this world? We do not live and we indeed should not live for the worldly things that many of us often desires, as those things are temporary and superficial at most.

Instead, we should seek for the true and everlasting treasure that is in God alone. It is God’s love that all of us should be seeking for, as we cannot live and survive without God’s love. God is the giver of our lives and it was because of Him that we exist today. If God withdrew from us His favour, grace and spirit, and by His will, should He have willed our destruction, every single one of us would have perished.

But God has always been loving and merciful to all of us, that even to the greatest sinners who repented and truly regretted having sinned before God, He would give salvation and liberation from their sins if the sinner truly, genuinely and sincerely showed the love which he or she had for God, and the total rejection of sin. It is ultimately our sins and wickedness that God despises and not our own self as human beings. We are, after all, God’s most beloved creations.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all strive from now on to look for God’s redemption, by following the examples set by St. Alphonsus Liguori and the many other holy predecessors of our faith. St. Alphonsus Liguori was renowned for his great piety and devotion to the Lord, as well as to the Blessed Mother of God, Mary, who is the best example for us on how to live faithfully in the way of the Lord.

He dedicated his whole life to God, to the service of God’s people and to the poor. He has given his all to bring God’s redemption to all the people, including to the least privileged, the poor and the greatest of sinners in the community. St. Alphonsus’ examples inspired many others, who joined the Redemptorists and became agents of God’s continuing work of mercy and love among His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, let us all do our very best to turn ourselves to God, to make Him the very centre and focus of our lives, remembering that He Himself has loved us first from the very beginning. He has given us so much in life, that it is only right and just that we should love Him with the same intensity and devotion. And let us all also be exemplary in faith and in our lives, so that in everything we say and do, we will always glorify God and help more and more people to be inspired to return to the Lord.

May God be with us all, and may He continue to guide us all our lives, giving us the strength and conviction to live our lives for His greater glory, and to bring ourselves ever closer to His merciful heart. St. Alphonsus Liguori, patron and founder of the Redemptorists, pray for us all. Amen.