way of the Lord

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Sunday, 6 December 2015 : Second Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are presented with the clear messages from the Sacred Scriptures, which told us the essences of Advent, what it means to have this Advent season before the coming of the Christmas season, and what we should do in this Advent time in order to make it meaningful and good, useful and relevant for our salvation.

As we have discussed on the previous Sunday, the season of Advent came from its name Adventus, which means the coming, the heralded arrival of the Messiah, and the waiting that happened before it truly came to fruition, the expectation and the hope of mankind throughout the ages, awaiting for the salvation that had been promised to them by the Lord Himself, that He would succour them from all the evils and the darkness that had enslaved them for so long.

And in this time of Advent, we remember the moment of waiting, of expectation of the Lord’s coming by those who lived before His time, when they have yet to know of the Good News and the Saviour, hoping that one day God would reveal to them the truth about their salvation, after their disobedience had sundered them all apart from the Lord’s grace, and cast them out from the worthiness of being received in the holy presence of God.

And although now we have known the Saviour, Who have been revealed to us through Jesus, the Saviour Himself, it does not mean that we can rest easy and ignore everything else. Indeed, God had saved us all through His Saviour, by His sacrifice on the cross, but just as His salvation is offered freely to us, we have to make sure that we ourselves are worthy of the salvation which He had offered us.

If we continue to dwell in the darkness and live in the state of sin, disobeying the laws and the commandments of God, then when the time comes, as Jesus had said to His disciples, He will not recognise us and He will reject us, condemning us into the eternal suffering in hell for our disobedience. This will come on the day of Judgment, when He will come again to separate His faithful flock from all those who have refused to listen to Him.

This is an important message that all of us have to take heed, the meaning and the purpose of the Advent season, the time when we ought to reflect on the way we have lived our lives, as a moment when we really should find a moment to step back from our busy life schedules and think about our actions and our devotion to the Lord, on whether our faith in Him had been really genuine, or if it is merely superficial and without real love for the Lord.

What does Advent mean for us? It is a time for reminding us of the waiting before the coming of the Messiah, and indeed, we know that He will come again a second time, just as He had promised, and therefore, all of us are not preparing just for all the festivities and the celebrations of Christmas, or all the revelry, the gift exchanges and the merrymaking, the food and the drinks that are associated with Christmas, but we are preparing for the true joy that will be ours if we ready ourselves to welcome our Lord when He comes again in His glory.

Advent therefore is a time not just for preparation to buy all the gifts that we are to exchange and to give others during Christmas, and it is certainly not a time for us to go to the shopping centres and look out for the best dresses to wear on our Christmas celebrations, to look good on others when we visit the houses on the Christmas Day. Rather, it must be a time when we truly look deep into ourselves, reflect and pray for discernment, that we will be able to celebrate this Christmas with Christ at the very heart of our celebrations.

The season of Advent is a time for us to change ourselves for the better, if we have not already done so. It is a time for us to repent and to turn away from our sins. In the Gospel reading today, St. John the Baptist, who heralded the coming of the Lord and Saviour, preached about the need for repentance, for mankind to turn their back against the wickedness and the evils that they had committed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should heed St. John’s warning, as many of us even now are still unaware or are unable to appreciate the importance of Christmas to us. We are often so preoccupied with ourselves, with all the glories, wonders and pleasures of this world that we ended up being distracted and tempted by all those things. We become selfish and self-indulgent, seeking to satisfy ourselves and our own needs first before that of others.

In this, let us learn from the examples of St. Nicholas of Myra, a saint and holy bishop whose feast we also celebrate on this very day. He was in fact what was behind the inspiration for the commercial Christmas figure of Santa Claus, the elderly figure in red and white who gives presents to children and to all the families on the Christmas night, which inspired countless commercial products related to the celebrations of Christmas.

This is where we must be careful too, lest we are brought to the materialistic and commercialistic culture of how the world wants to celebrate Christmas according to them. Indeed, the real St. Nicholas of Myra liked to give gifts to children and this is likely where the myth of Santa Claus began. But the world had overlooked all that St. Nicholas of Myra had done for the Church and the faithful and focused instead on the wrong things to suit their own selfish purposes.

St. Nicholas of Myra was known to be present at the very first Ecumenical Council of the Church held at the city of Nicaea in the year of our Lord 325. St. Nicholas was known to be a very devout man, who was committed to serving his flock in the region of Myra, and he was also concerned about the faith of many of the faithful throughout the entire Universal Church.

When at that Ecumenical Council, the heresiarch Arius, who proposed the teachings of Arianism, contrary to the truth of God, by denying the divinity of Christ, and when he spoke to the Council trying to explain his ideas and teachings, those nonsense heresy so enraged St. Nicholas of Myra that he literally went up from his seat and punched Arius the heresiarch in the face.

We see how Arius, who had been corrupted by his own human desires, and by his own selfishness, had misled countless souls into damnation, as many other heresiarchs had done before and after his time, both outside and even inside the Church. And unchecked, these heresies and aberrations bring great harm to mankind and to all the people of God. In this, we have to heed the example of St. Nicholas of Myra, courageous in loving one another, courageous in giving, and courageous in defending his faith against the heresies of men.

Let us all therefore make this Advent season a truly meaningful one, by committing ourselves anew to our God and to His ways. Let us all be loving and be charitable, sharing our blessings with those who have less or none, so that the joy of Christmas will not be ours alone, but be shared with the whole world, so that the world that sees the Light of Christ, will be called to repentance and redemption in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 December 2015 : Second Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When the Lord brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o Lord, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Sunday, 6 December 2015 : Second Sunday of Advent, Memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Baruch 5 : 1-9

Jerusalem, put off your garment of mourning and unhappiness, put on the splendour and glory of God forever. Wrap yourself in the mantle of holiness that comes from God, put on your head the crown of glory of the Eternal One.

For God will show your splendour to every being under Heaven. He will call your name forever, “Peace in Justice” and “Glory in the Fear of the Lord.” Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights. Look towards the East and see your children gathered together from the setting of the sun to its rising, by the voice of the Holy One, rejoicing because God has remembered them.

They left you on foot, taken away by the enemy. God will lead them back, carried gloriously like royal princes. For God has resolved to bring low every high mountain and the everlasting hills, to fill up the valleys and level out the ground, in order that Israel may walk in safety under the Glory of God.

Even the forests and the fragrant trees will give shade to Israel at God’s command. For God will lead Israel with joy by the light of His Glory, escorting them with His mercy and justice.

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Saturday, 5 December 2015 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Scripture readings today speak to us about the hope which we have in the Lord, the happiness and true joy, the salvation and goodness that we shall enjoy because of the faith and devotion which we have in the Lord. And when God comes again to gather His faithful ones, He will bless us with the eternal life and grace He had promised us.

But in the meanwhile, as we still await the day of our salvation, we have to heed what Jesus our Lord had said in the Gospel today. Many people in this world today, as it was in the past, still dwell in darkness and they were unable to find their way to the Lord. And it falls to us to do something in order to help one another, so that all of us will be found worthy in the end when the Lord comes again.

The Lord spoke about the parable of the harvest and the workers, where He spoke of the field and the harvest that is ready to be gathered, and yet there were no labourers to collect the harvest. These were meant to show us about how in this world there are so many opportunities for us to do great and good works, and yet, we have not capitalise on the opportunities given to us, and the abilities given to us, to help each other to reach out to the Lord and His salvation.

The field here refers to this world, the vast fields of the earth, all of its people, all of the communities, societies, all the nations and the groups that are in this world. The master of the field, the Lord of the harvest is the Lord our God Who owns the world and all that is in it. The labourers and the workers that God had referred to in the Gospel actually refer to all of us, who are God’s people, His servants in this world.

What our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to convey to us is that we who follow the Lord has this obligation to go forth and beyond from our comfort zone, and go to harvest the fruits of the Lord’s labour on earth. The opportunity mentioned was how so many people are waiting in this world, to hear and to witness the Good News of the Lord, and yet as long as no one is available to bring to them the Good News, they will be ignorant of the truth forever.

And all of us, to whom God had revealed His truth, and to whom the teachings of the Lord had been taught, by the Church, therefore have the responsibility of passing on what we have known to those who have yet to know. And if we think the way to do so, is just by preaching and stating the truth to others about the Lord, then we are really mistaken.

For the best way to spread the Good News and the Lord’s truth is by practicing it ourselves. No one will believe in whatever we preach about God if we ourselves do not practice what we preach. No one will believe in us if our actions show contrary to what we have said. Indeed, it will only serve to scandalise God and to make people further away from salvation.

We have been called by the Lord to be His workers and servants, to help Him to gather all the rich harvests of this world, that is the souls to be saved from the clutches of the devil, from the tyranny and enslavement by sin and death. It is our task and responsibility to not let these fall into the darkness, but let us all work together, as one people, and as the members of God’s holy Church, to bring all mankind to eternal life and salvation which can be found only in God.

May Almighty God be with us always, and may He bless us and strengthen us, that we may be able to carry out our duties as His workers and servants, that we can help gather as many souls as possible, out from the jaws of death and from the claws of sin, and into the blessing of eternal light and the glorious life found in the Lord, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 December 2015 : 1st Week of Advent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 146 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! How good it is to sing to our God, how sweet and befitting to praise Him! The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals their broken hearts and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of stars, He calls each of them by name.

The Lord is great and mighty in power; His wisdom is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.

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Friday, 4 December 2015 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings told us about the merits of keeping up faith in the Lord, and the importance of keeping hope in Him Who cares for us and Who blesses us all daily with life and all its goodness. It is a reminder that we do not live alone or suffer in this life alone in this world, but rather we have our Lord Who is constantly with us, guiding us and protecting us.

God never failed His people and He had never, and will never ever break the promises He had made. He had promised to bring us all mankind into His salvation, and that is precisely what He will do. He always fulfil whatever He had promised, and He will always love us all, no matter how sinful and wicked we were. Yet, it was always us mankind who have disappointed Him, rejecting the love which He had shown us, and spurning His care and compassion for us.

Let us just ask ourselves, to look into our own lives and how we have acted in this life. How often is it that we put God aside and forget about Him in the pursuit of our own selfish goals and desires? It is in our nature to be focused only on ourselves and ignore all other things. And we do not remember God until the time when we actually ‘need’ Him.

Yes, do we remember God in our good times? Maybe sometimes we do, but do we give Him thanks for every blessings He had granted us? Or did we just take all of His kindness for granted? This is the tendency that all of us have, that we tend to gloat and be proud of our own achievements, and glorify ourselves in front of others, praising our deeds and greatness, but not giving due thanks to God for all the things which He had blessed us with.

First of all, are we thankful of this life which God had granted us? Have we shown gratitude for every breath we take, the allowance we have been given by the Lord to live in this world and to enjoy all the good things we have and possess? All the graces and blessings of this world have been made available to us, and yet, many of us were not thankful, and instead we demand more, and we even become angry at God for not listening to our wants and wishes.

This is why it is important for us to understand in this season of Advent, the importance of rediscovering our true focus in the Lord. It is important for us to prepare ourselves thoroughly to be able to welcome our Lord’s coming properly and with piety, as we go on to celebrate Christmas in the coming few weeks’ time. Otherwise, our Christmas celebration will become empty and meaningless, and our joy will become illusory and merely satisfying the desires of our flesh rather than truly bringing us true joy in Christ our Lord.

Let us in all this, heed the examples and the life of St. John Damascene, or St. John of Damascus, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. John Damascene was a devoted monk and priest of the Lord in what is now Syria, hailing from Damascus, which would become his appellation in the years to come. He was committed to the Lord and showed his great faith by commissioning numerous writings and works that helped to prevent the faithful from following erroneous teachings and heresies.

St. John of Damascus also stood up for his faith against heretics and all those seeking to destroy the Church, including the infidels which by that time had conquered the lands where St. John lived. More and more persecutions and harsh treatment against the faithful ensued, but St. John Damascene remained as a bright light amidst all the darkness, and his works became an inspiration to many of the faithful, both those who were around him and those further beyond, including us all living today.

Through St. John of Damascus, God showed us that to become one of His disciples and faithful ones, we cannot just live in accordance to our wishes and satisfying our own desires. There will be times when we will be challenged to stand up for our faith and to defend it before others who seek to destroy the Faith and persecute the faithful.

In that case, will we be able to put forth our strength and our commitment to the Lord as St. John Damascene had done? St. John had put his trust in the Lord, and even though he often encountered difficult times, but the strength which he drew from the Lord allowed him to persevere on and to keep on trying to help the cause of the Lord, and show God’s love and truth to more and more people.

Therefore, now the challenge comes to us, as the present day disciples of our Lord. Are we able to commit ourselves to the Lord and to recognise all the good things that God had done for us, His people? God had protected St. John of Damascus, and all of His other faithful ones, and blessed them in various ways. Even though they were in trouble and in difficulties, but God did not leave them alone.

God will bless us and strengthen us at all times, and when challenges come our way, He will help us and protect us. Now we must understand His love and seek to be able to show our gratitude to Him Who had given so much for us. Let us all draw closer to our God, and as we go on through this season of Advent, let us all prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually and physically so that all of our beings may be able to celebrate with true joy the celebration of Christmas. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 4 December 2015 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 13-14

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Thursday, 3 December 2015 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest and Patron of Missions (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we remember in our memory the great saint and missionary, St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of missions and the saint whose many works had allowed for the propagation of the faith and the spreading of the Church throughout many parts of the world, including and especially that of Asia and its many regions.

St. Francis Xavier is a role model for us all, and many still walked and followed in his footsteps even after all these years. After all, without his contributions, there would not be the Church in the many parts of Asia, such as India, Malaysia, Singapore and Indochina, Indonesian Archipelago, China and further beyond even up to Japan. This great saint is one of the many saints whose efforts spearheaded the evangelising mission of the Church to the many peoples who have not yet heard about the Lord.

And in his journeys he encountered many difficulties, challenges, and even rejections by the people to whom he was going to minister and preach. There were those who refused to listen to the word that he preached, the Good News that he had carried with him, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But all these did not make St. Francis Xavier and his fellow missionaries to give up, and instead he tried all the harder.

What we heard in the Scripture readings today are the exhortations and reminders for us that as a follower and disciple of our Lord, we all have certain obligations and missions that have been entrusted to us. And one of our chief tasks is for us to be witnesses of God’s truth and the Good News of His salvation, and preach these to the people, in particular those who have not yet heard of them, or to those who have fallen and failed along the way.

And we cannot think that the works of St. Francis Xavier and all those missionaries who have toiled and laboured hard for God and for His people are done and completed. The work is always there, and there is always likely something for us to do, for the sake of those who are still lost and who are still unable to find their way to reach out to the Lord.

We are the new missionaries of our own time, just as it becomes the obligation of all the faithful to testify for their faith and become witnesses for our Lord, and be the bearers of His salvation to many more people. In this we have to heed the mission which God had entrusted to His Apostles and to the other disciples just before He was about to leave and ascend into Heaven.

His command was so that all the nations will receive the baptism of the Lord and that they will listen to the Good News and believe in all that the disciples of the Lord, as the witnesses God has appointed to be those who will be able to testify the truths that Jesus Himself had revealed to the whole world. And through us, many good works will be done for the greater glory of God and for our own salvation.

As those who have been called and chosen from the world to be the followers of Christ, we cannot profess to be ignorant of the plight of those who have not yet attained salvation in the Lord because they have not yet heard or witnessed the Good News of our God. Instead, it is our duty and obligation to show them the way to the Lord. We have to do our best, so that we may each other be able to find our way to the eternal life God had promised all of His faithful.

Therefore, as we prepare for the coming of the joyous and festive season of Christmas, let us all also take note that we should not forget about the less fortunate and those who are weak, sick and dying. Rather, let us all share whatever goods and blessings we have with one another, so that we can enjoy together and celebrate together the spirit of Christmas, that is thanksgiving for all the goodness and love God had shown us all.

Let us all imitate Him in all of our words, deeds and actions, so that in all the things we do, we will inspire many others, those who look at us, hear us and witness our acts, will see God’s works being done through us. In the footsteps of the missionaries like St. Francis Xavier, we as the new missionaries of the Lord should practice what we believe in, or else no one will believe in what we preach or teach to them.

Let us all lead by example and be inspiration to others around us, inspired by St. Francis Xavier and his works. Let us all devote ourselves, our time and our commitment to bring God’s Good News to more and more people, so that more and more souls can be saved from death and damnation, and be brought together as one people into the glory of Heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 3 December 2015 : Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Priest and Patron of Missions (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Corinthians 9 : 16-19, 22-23

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel : I am bound to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave in order to gain a greater number. To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak. So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.

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Wednesday, 2 December 2015 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the great love of God, the love which He had shown to us all ever since the day when He created all things and all of us from nothingness. This love He had manifested to us in many forms, caring for us and for our forefathers, as He will also love all those who are yet to come, but the greatest expression of His love came through Jesus, His Son.

For in Jesus is our salvation and redemption. We know how He came into this world, and by taking into account our own sins, and putting all of those burdens upon Himself, He took up all the sins of the entire world, and having bore all these, He made all peoples to be righteous as long as they accept Him and welcome Him as their Lord and Saviour.

For our destiny was once to perish and to be destroyed, since because of our disobedience, the sins that have tainted our bodies, minds and souls, we have been made unworthy of our Lord Who despises all forms of sins and wickedness. However, we have to note how strong God’s love is for us, as His love surpasses even His hatred and disgust for our sins and wickedness.

It was this love that was manifested in Jesus, and through Him, God showed His love, care and concern, especially for those who are lost on their way to Him, those who have little or nothing, those who are hungry and thirsty, and all those who are sick and dying, and indeed all of us, since we are all sickened by sin, the disease that is slowly eating away at our beings from the inside.

And God Who loves all of us will not leave us alone to rot and die alone in the darkness. Neither will He let the devil and his fellow fallen angels to take us away in chains to suffer with them for eternity in hell fire. Sin leads to death, and death leads to hell, but God had made it known that death and evil will not have the final say. Death has been defeated and conquered by He Who conquered death, Who rose by His own might and power to be the first to be risen from the dead.

And He also showed His love by feeding us, as we witnessed in the Gospel today, in how He showed compassion for those who were hungry, the people who followed Him, and fed them with the loaves of bread, multiplying few loaves of bread until He could feed the entire crowd of thousands of men, women and children. All who were fed were made full and satisfied.

But this was not all that God had provided, for the food that satisfied the stomach is only temporary and will not last. Instead, God provides for us the very eternal and true food, the sustenance that rejuvenates us and our souls, bringing us hope and light when we lie in darkness and when evil days and the wicked spirits lie around us, waiting for our destruction.

And that food is the Body and Blood, Most Precious and Holy, which our Lord had given to us all in the Eucharist, and by partaking in those gifts, we have welcomed the Lord Who is now dwelling within us and Who is with us, as the ultimate sign of His love. He is always with us, protecting us and guiding us, just as a Shepherd guides and leads His flock into the right paths and away from harm.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, after witnessing and understanding so much about God’s great love for us, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to Him, and remember that as we make our preparations to celebrate Christmas, it is important that we put Christ at the centre of our celebrations, of our joys and happiness, so that we may give Him thanks, He Who had brought us a new hope by His entry into the world, and He Who showed compassion to us when we are downtrodden and destitute. May God bless us always, now and forever. Amen.