Weekday Homily

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Saturday, 25 February 2023 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to progress through the season of Lent, each and every one of us are reminded through the Scripture passages today of the need for all of us to heed the Lord’s call for us to return to Him, abandoning our sinful actions and stubborn attitudes, listening to Him calling us to follow Him and to return once again to His loving embrace. Each and every one of us as Christians have been given the privilege of receiving the truth of God and we have witnessed this same truth being delivered and passed down to us through the Church and by the Wisdom given to us through the Holy Spirit. That is why all the more we should be more obedient to the Lord and dedicate ourselves and our time more to Him, and being more faithful to Him. But the reality is that, many among us Christians are lukewarm in our faith.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah,we heard the prophet speaking to the people of God about how if they were to stop committing sins and wickedness in their lives, distancing themselves from the many actions they had done in the past which were unworthy of their status as God’s chosen people. Historically and contextually, the prophet Isaiah made this comment and reminder to the people of God during a time when the people had been facing a lot of hardships and trials, difficulties, challenges and troubles. Back then, the remnants of the people of God only remained in Judah, the southern part of the once great and glorious kingdom of David and Solomon, as the northern kingdom that had separated and then committed grievous sins against the Lord had finally been destroyed, and most of its people were brought away by their Assyrian conquerors to distant lands in exile.

Then, the same forces of the Assyrians came up against Judah and Jerusalem itself, and almost conquered the city and the kingdom, bringing the same fate to all of the people of God there if not for God’s most timely and loving intervention. God crushed the forces of the Assyrians upon the prayers of the faithful king of Judah, King Hezekiah and the people of Judah, and through the intercession of the prophet Isaiah himself. Through all these experiences and examples, the Lord wanted all of His people to know that if they chose to remain in their state of sin and rebellion against Him, they would suffer the same fate as those who had rebelled and sinned against God. The Lord reminded all of them that on the other hand, if they were to repent from their sins and turn back to Him, they would receive the grace and blessings, the wonderful things that their faithful predecessors had once received.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord calling one particular tax collector named Levi, whom He called to follow Him, to become one of His disciples. This Levi as we all should know, would become St. Matthew, one of the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangelists. Back then, the tax collectors were greatly hated and reviled by most of the society, and especially by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who deemed them as irredeemable sinners, wicked and greedy, and even as traitors to the Jewish nation, as their roles in collecting taxes and money for the Romans and the other rulers of the land, made them complicit in the minds of the people in betraying their own people to these rulers and conquerers. They were therefore often ostracised and rejected, hated and despised by much of the community of the people of God.

It was exactly to these people that the Lord went to minister, reaching out to them and calling on them to follow Him, just as He had done with Levi. While those Pharisees and teachers of the Law shunned and reviled the tax collectors and others whom they deemed as wicked sinners and those unworthy of God, God came straight at those people and reached out to them, showing them His love and kindness, the desire to be reconciled and reunited with them. He showed that He loved us all equally, and everyone had the same chance to be reconciled with the Lord and be saved, and in fact, as the Lord Himself said, it was those who were seemingly the furthest away from His salvation who needed the most help. That was why the Lord went straight at them and called them to come back to Him, and the response was truly amazing, as those tax collectors and others came to the Lord, and for St. Matthew, he even dedicated himself wholeheartedly to Him.

On the contrary, many among those Pharisees and teachers of the Law refused to believe in the Lord, all because they were full of pride and ego, thinking that they were superior and better than all others, and that they could not have been wrong in their way and judgments, and as such, they viewed the Lord’s actions negatively, in line with their prejudices and biases that they maintained, and refused to let go. They hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord and His teachings, His truth and Wisdom and hence remained in the state of sin and darkness, being dragged down by their own pride and wicked desires and greed for power, fame and glory. All these are reminders for each one of us that we should not let ourselves be swayed by those temptations, and we should instead follow the example of Levi, in rejecting the wickedness of sin and return to the Lord with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this season of Lent, let us all therefore reflect and discern carefully on our lives so that we may learn to walk down the right path in life, and journey well in faith. May all of us continue to live our lives with renewed zeal and dedication to God, keeping in mind what we do and say, so that we do not end up walking down the path of sin and wickedness. Let us remind ourselves that sin and disobedience against God will lead us down the path of ruin, while obeying God and persevering in faith in Him will lead us to true justification and happiness with God. Let us choose the right path and commit ourselves to follow the Lord, becoming good and worthy examples of our faith for others to follow, so that more and more may be inspired to follow the Lord through us, just as St. Matthew and many other innumerable saints turned sinners had done to inspire us.

Let us all remember that the Church is truly a hospital for sinners, and that even the worst of sinners who turn to the Lord and repent sincerely from their sins will be forgiven, and can become the greatest of the saints. Let us all look forward to a life truly worthy of the Lord and journey well through this holy and blessed season of Lent. May God be with us always and may He empower and strengthen us so that we may always be true to Him, and be strong in facing and enduring the many challenges of this world. Amen.

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Friday, 24 February 2023 : Friday after Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are called to focus on the matter of fasting as highlighted throughout the Scripture readings today. During the season of Lent, there are two days in which we are all required to fast, which is the Ash Wednesday at the very beginning of Lent, and then on the Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord, the day when we commemorate our Lord Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross just before Easter. We are also called to Abstinence on those two same days, and all Fridays throughout the season of Lent and throughout the entire year. This practice of fasting as well as abstinence are all meant to help us to redirect our lives and attention towards the Lord and away from the many temptations and wickedness of sin and evil all around us.

In the past, the Church practiced a much stricter regime of fasting and abstinence than it is today, which is still actually practiced by our brethren in the Eastern Catholic Churches as well as our separated brethren in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox faith. They fasted essentially for the entire season of Lent and adopted a stricter form of abstinence in which unlike our current practice of only not allowing the consumption of red meat in Abstinence, they all abstain from all consumption of meat and fish, and also even egg and milk during the whole duration of the season of Lent, in conjunction with fasting right up to the glorious moment of Easter Vigil. This practice of fasting did have its roots from the Jewish traditions and the customs of the Apostles and the early Church fathers, as a means to self-mortify one’s body and flesh so as to restrain the temptations of the flesh and the worldly pleasures, and help one to refocus their attention towards the Lord, as intended.

However, in its implementation, this practice of fasting had veered off from its original intent, as the people of God fasted and did all that was asked of them, but it had not been done with true sincerity and understanding of why the fasting was done in the first place. As the prophet Isaiah highlighted it in our first reading today, the Lord lamented the actions of the people who did not have true faith and commitment to Him, as they continued to act in ways that were contrary to His Law and commandments. The people complained that God did not notice their actions, their fasting and other faith practices, but God countered with the detailing of how they had not been sincere in living their lives with faith, as was evident in how they continued to sin even though they fasted, and did what the Law prescribed them to do.

It means that the people were only doing all those for maintaining superficial appearances and formality of obedience to God’s Law and commandments. They were merely going through the motions when they practiced fasting and other expressions of their faith, while their hearts, minds and souls, their bodies and whole beings were still enslaved to sin and evil. They still did things that were against the Law of God, in acting selfishly and in hurting others, in doing things that brought about scandal to the Lord and to His Holy Name, among other things. All these show us that it is indeed possible for one to do everything that has been told to him or her to do, obey the Law and commandments of God, and yet, remaining in the state of sin and separated from God, because he or she has no real and genuine faith in the Lord.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples of St. John the Baptist who came to Him asking why the disciples of the Lord did not fast in the manner that they and the Pharisees had done, and the Lord responded that they would indeed fast at the right and appropriate time, when the Lord would be taken away from them. Not only that, but those who follow the Lord and call themselves as His disciples will give Him the kind of fast that He desires. It means that unlike the Pharisees or the disciples of St. John, especially that of the former, for which fasting means observing and being particular about the details and the rituals of fasting, rather than to focus on the reason and purpose why they fasted in the first place, the Lord’s followers ought to remind themselves of why they fast, and they should fast because they desire to become closer to the Lord.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to progress through this season of Lent, let us remind ourselves that as we fast, abstain or do whatever practices that we are going to do throughout the duration of this holy and blessed season, we ought to do them not because we seek fame or praise for our actions, or because we feel obliged to obey the rules and laws regarding the Lenten practices, be it by the Church or the practices within our parishes and communities. Instead, we should do everything because we truly desire to rend our hearts, our minds and souls, our whole being, regretting all the sins and wickedness that we have committed in life, and for all our disobedience against God and the lack of faith in Him. We should make good use of this season of Lent to draw ever closer to God and to follow Him more wholeheartedly.

That is why, brothers and sisters, all of us are called to do whatever we can, even in the smallest things we do, in what we say and how we interact with one another, in bringing God’s love and truth, His light and hope to the midst of our lives and our communities. Let us all be more loving and forgiving towards others, and be more generous in giving, of both time, attention and maybe material help, to all those around us who are in need. God has placed them in our reach because it is through us that He expected us to share our blessings and good things, to help those who are less fortunate. That is why we should not ignore the calling that God has given to each one of us, to be more loving and charitable, especially to those who are less fortunate than us, in whatever way it is. We must remember what the Lord Himself had told His disciples, that whatever we do for the sake of our brothers and sisters, who are least and last among us, we do it for the sake of the Lord Himself.

May all of us therefore continue to grow ever stronger in faith, draw closer to the Lord and do whatever we can so that this season of Lent will be truly meaningful and fruitful for us, in helping and leading us on our way and journey back towards the Lord. May all of us become sources of inspiration and strength to one another so that each and every one of us may become ever more committed and faithful to the Lord, and help many more souls on their way to salvation. May God bless us all in our Lenten journey, in our every good works and endeavours. Amen.

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Thursday, 23 February 2023 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures, we are all called to remember that each and every one of us have been given the choice from the Lord to follow the path that He has revealed before us, or to turn our back against Him and walk away from Him, by continuing to live in the state of sin. All of us have been given the freedom to choose, the free will to discern the path that we are going to choose in our path forward in life. That is why the Lord reminds us today, through His Church, at the beginning of this Lenten season that we should be very careful and vigilant in how we live our lives so that we do not end up falling into the path of sin and evil, and we do not end up making the wrong choice because we are swayed by the temptations of the world.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we heard of the Lord’s reminders to the people of Israel, which He gave them through His servant Moses, who led the people of God in the great Exodus from the land of Egypt, where the Israelites were enslaved. First, we must understand how the Lord has led them all out of Egypt through Moses and his brother Aaron, performing great wonders and miracles, and leading them even through the sea itself, as I am sure we are all aware of. During the journey to the land He has promised to them, God gave His Law and commandments, and made a Covenant with them on Mount Sinai. But the people even at that early stage already showed signs of rebellion and unwillingness to obey God’s Law and commandments.

They made for themselves a golden calf to be their god, and offered sacrifices to it, despite having witnessed and experienced all the things that God had done for them, in saving them from their troubles and slavery. Those who disobeyed the Lord and persisted in the rebellion were crushed by God, and at that day, when Moses returned from the Mount of God, three thousand people in total perished by their refusal to repent from their sinfulness, while the rest also had to endure the bitterness of their disobedience. Then, in another well-known occasion, at the place known as Massah and Meribah, the Israelites rebelled again in opposition to God because they complained and disagreed about their state in the desert, despite God having provided for their every needs, every step of their way.

In all those occasions, including the time when God finally led them all to the boundary of the Promised Land, and when they refused to enter because of the reports from the scouts they sent to find out more about the place, which brought fear to their hearts, God punished all of their whole generation for their continued hard-hearted attitude and wickedness, their stubbornness and refusal to believe in Him. They were barred from entering into the Promised Land, and the journey which was supposed to be a relatively short one, ended up becoming a sojourn in the desert lasting a whole period of forty years, in which the entire generation of those who had rebelled and refused to follow God, save that of Caleb and Joshua, who remained faithful to the end, perished and died. Like what happened in one occasion when the rebelling Israelites were struck by the plague of fiery serpents, many died for their rebellion and sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what those examples and experiences highlighted to the people of Israel back then and also to all of us is that, those people made their choice of action, in rebelling against God and in disobeying Him by their own free will. They have been given so much by God, provided and helped throughout their journey, and even throughout that forty years period of punishment and delay, God still provided the people with everything that they needed to survive and even flourish in the middle of a hot and lifeless desert. Whatever the people did in disobeying God and rebelling against Him was therefore their own free will and free choice, as there were also those who remained firm in their faith in God, and did not fall into the sinful and rebellious ways. What is clear is that the path of disobedience and rebellion lead to death and destruction, while faith leads to salvation and liberation in God.

God Himself has said that those who kept their faith in Him will be blessed and will receive the fullness of His grace, and while the path that He was leading them towards will not be an easy one, but there is great merit for one to choose to remain faithful to God and to obey His Law and commandments. In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that unless they take up their crosses and follow Him, there will be no salvation and path forward to eternal life for them, and He said clearly that even He Himself, as the Son of Man and Saviour of all, would have to endure great persecution and sufferings, as He eventually did at the moment of His Passion, when He chose willingly to bear the whole entire great and unimaginably heavy burden of our multitudes of sins, so that by His suffering and death, He might bring us all to the assurance of eternal life.

The Lord reminded us all that following Him is something that we should do, and we have the free will to choose that or to continue to live in the state of sin as what we may be more accustomed to in this world. His path is likely going to be a difficult and challenging one, as we often will have to resist the many temptations all around us, and as was evident from the example of the Israelites in the past, many of them and our predecessors failed to do so. Many veered off and fell off the path that God had led them through, and were tempted and ensnared by sin instead, tempted by their pride and ego, their greed and desires, their jealousy and lust, among others. But this should not discourage us from following the Lord. Instead, it should keep our flames of faith burning bright and strong, as we help one another to remain faithful to God.

Today, we should be inspired by the great examples and faith shown by St. Polycarp, a great Church father and our holy predecessor, who was a bishop of the Church, the Bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor. St. Polycarp was known to be one of the disciples of St. John the Apostle, the last surviving Apostle of the Lord back then, and he was entrusted with the care of many of the faithful in the often persecuted but still thriving Church. He was regarded as one of the three greatest Apostolic Fathers, the successors of the Apostles, together with Pope St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch, each of whom were great role models and sources of inspiration in their own right. St. Polycarp corresponded frequently with the other Church fathers and was a great example to his flock, caring much for their spiritual needs.

And during a time of great and intense persecution of the Church by the Roman state, which carried out many rounds and episodes of persecutions and attacks against the Church and the faithful, St. Polycarp helped to lead his flock to remain faithful to God, and to endure the hardships and challenges that they had to face in the defence of their faith in God. In the end, St. Polycarp himself was arrested and persecuted, when he was already in the advanced age of eighty-six years old. Even then, in that old age, he remained strong in his desire to love and serve the Lord, and in persevering through the hardships and sufferings that he had to suffer, together with the rest of his flock, which was truly an example of them carrying their cross with the Lord. St. Polycarp died a martyr, inspiring countless others to follow the Lord more faithfully and with greater love, and I hope he has inspired us similarly too.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore renew our faith and commitment in God as we enter into this holy and blessed season of Lent. Let us make good use of this time and opportunity that God has given us so that each and every one of us may distance ourselves from the many temptations of sin, the allures of worldly fame, glory, pleasures, and the pressure from our pride, ego, greed, jealousy, ambition, and more. Let us all control all those desires and negative things within us, and help one another to be strong in enduring the challenges and trials of this world, carrying our crosses together faithfully with God. May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and give us all the courage to continue to live our lives as good and dedicated Christians, blessing our every works and efforts, our every endeavours at all times. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 February 2023 : Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today marks the beginning of the season of Lent with this commemoration of Ash Wednesday. On this day as we receive the imposition of ashes on our forehead, we are all reminded of the fickle nature of our existence in this world, and how we are not meant to last forever in our current life. Eventually, we shall reach the end of our lives and existence in this world and we shall be made accountable for our lives and how we have lived them. And unless we remain vigilant and keep in mind the commandments, the precepts and the Law of God, we may end up falling into the wrong path, tempted and swayed by sin and evils all around us. Hence, that is why we have this season and time of Lent to help us to reorientate our lives and redirect our attention and focus back towards the Lord once again.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, we heard of the Lord calling upon His people to return to Him, to entrust themselves once again to His providence, love and grace. We heard the Lord calling on all the people to repent and turn away from their many sins and wicked ways, and how He is truly merciful, compassionate and filled up with great and most generous love for each and every one of us. According to historical evidence and signs, the prophet Joel lived during the time after the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, the exile of the remnants of the people of God to distant lands of Assyria and Babylon. Hence, what the Lord spoke to His people through the prophet Joel was a reminder that despite all the wicked things that the people had done, ultimately, His love for them still prevailed.

Yes, the Lord truly loves all of us, His people, His children and all those whom He has cherished. He did not create us all in order to destroy or punish us, but it was by our own disobedience and sins which we have separated and sundered ourselves from the fullness of God’s love and grace. God still loved us regardless, as He despised our sins and wickedness, but not us personally. What He wants us to do is to distance ourselves from those sins and wickedness, and to turn away from all the rebellious and sinful attitudes that are unworthy of Him. If only we can embrace His love, compassion and mercy once again, we will receive the fullness of His forgiveness and grace, and we shall be lifted out of our predicaments, troubles and trials in life. He has always promised us all that He will care for us and liberate us from our troubles, and He has indeed fulfilled it all.

In our second reading passage today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, we heard about the Apostle speaking to the people of God regarding the salvation that God Himself has brought upon His people. St. Paul reminded us all how the Lord has sent us His own beloved Son to be our Saviour, and to provide us with the sure and guaranteed way out of the darkness and the predicaments of our lives. He showed us all the proof and manifestation of His ever enduring love for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Through Him, all of us have seen the light of God’s salvation, and therefore we are reminded today at the beginning of this season of Lent, that having seen and received the love of God shown to us through Christ and all that He has done for us, even to the point of enduring all the sufferings for us, and dying on the Cross, we are all called to return to the Lord once again with faith.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers regarding the matter of fasting and why one should be fasting and how they ought to be fasting in the right manner. Contextually, at that time, the people of God especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had not been living their lives with genuine faith, as they were doing all those things like fasting and even almsgiving for appearances, fame and praise by others. The Lord Himself often criticised the Pharisees for parading themselves and their piety before others, showing off just how faithful and dedicated they were to God, so that they could be praised by everyone and be esteemed and respected as they desired. That is why, He told His disciples and hence all of us that whatever we do in life, we have to do it out of genuine faith in God and because we truly love God and His people, our fellow brothers and sisters.

During this season of Lent, we are all called to genuine conversion of heart and to rediscover once again the love that we ought to have for God, to put our trust once again in Him and to renew our commitment to Him, distancing ourselves from the wickedness of the world and from the corruption of sin, and coming to Him seeking for forgiveness from our many faults. As I mentioned earlier on, God truly loves each one of us, and while He despises our sins, He truly wants us to be reconciled to Him, and this season of Lent is the perfect opportunity and time that He has given us again and again, for us to spend in reflecting upon our lives and think carefully of what we should be doing moving forward in life. Should we continue to walk down the path of sin and rebellion against God, indulging in the many worldly vices and temptations? Or should we instead seek the Lord with renewed vigour and zeal?

This Lent, all of us are called to spend more time with God, to be more faithful and committed to Him, and the practices that the Church has called us to do this Lent, which includes the fast and abstinence we ought to do today on this Ash Wednesday, as well as greater love and charity, generosity and almsgiving, all these should be done because we have the desire to love God more, to come closer to Him and be reconciled with Him, and not because we want to be recognised and praised in our faith, as the Pharisees had once done. That is why we are reminded today that our actions and observances of Lenten practices should be done out of focus on the Lord and the Lord alone, and not to satisfy our greed and worldly ambitions, or to gain us fulfilment and good feeling. This Ash Wednesday is a good reminder of this need for us to turn back once again towards God with faith.

Today, on Ash Wednesday, as we have ashes imposed upon us, on our head or on our forehead, let it be a reminder for us that we are all sinners in need of God’s healing and mercy, and let that ash not be a symbol of pride, for us to show off our faith to others. Instead, the ash should be a reminder instead of our humility and our need of help and regeneration from God, that as we rend not just our bodies, but also our hearts, minds, our souls and our whole beings, we commit ourselves to the Lord into a whole new existence that is focused and centred on Him. Let the ash be the commitment that we make to distance ourselves from our sinful past, ever reminded of our mortality and how sin has led us down this wrong path. And let us all rise again from the ashes, through our commitment to live our lives with greater faith and confidence in God, from now on.

Hence, as we enter into this season of Lent, let us all rediscover the love we ought to have for God, putting Him once again as the centre and focus of our lives. Let us also nurture the same love that we should have for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us, as God has also called us to be generous in loving one another, and we ought to do it unconditionally and willingly, not because we seek for benefits or return of what we have given. Let us all make good use of this time and season of Lent, and may all of us have a great experience in our preparation throughout this blessed time, that we may grow ever closer to God and be worthy to receive the fullness of His grace and love. Wishing us all a most blessed, holy and fruitful Lenten season. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 February 2023 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us as Christians are called to be righteous and good, worthy of our Lord, virtuous and full of God’s grace in all things. All of us are called to be humble and good disciples and followers of our Lord, doing His will and committing ourselves to His cause first and foremost in our lives, and not giving in to the many temptations all around us, the temptations of pride and our human ego, and of worldly greed and desires, which can lead us down the wrong path of sin and evil. This is particularly timely and apt considering that we are going to begin the season of Lent tomorrow with Ash Wednesday, and hence, today we should spend some time to reflect on what we have just heard in the Scriptures.

In our first reading today, we heard from the prophet Sirach the words of reminders and encouragement which he spoke to the people of God regarding the matter of following the Lord and obeying His Law and commandments. The prophet Sirach told the people of God that they ought to be righteous and to do good always in their lives, in their every actions, and that they should be ready to endure challenges and trials for the sake of the Lord and for their faith in Him. He reminds all the faithful that their calling as the people of God is to keep their faith and trust in God even in their darkest and most difficult moments in life, and they ought to remain focused on God and His path despite the many temptations, pressures and coercions to do otherwise.

Contextually, the Book of Sirach was written by the author about two centuries prior to the birth and life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a few centuries after the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon. During all those centuries and right up to the time of the prophet Sirach, the people of God had often been disobedient and rebellious against God, often not following the Law and commandments that He has set before them and preferring to do things in their own way, and allowing themselves to be led by their own wicked desires and ambitions, their pride and ego, which led them to their downfall. The prophet Sirach himself lived at a time of renewed difficulty for the faithful as it was during the beginning of the persecution of the faithful by the Greek authorities of the Seleucids, which would eventually lead to the Maccabean Revolt.

Hence, the prophet Sirach’s words were timely reminder to the people of his time and even to all of us that they must always remain true to their faith in God despite the many trials and challenges that they might have had to face along their life and journey. The prophet told them all to remain strong in faith and to do what the Lord had taught and commanded them to do so that in all things they would be truly worthy of God, and be righteous and good examples in the midst of their own community and as inspirations and good role models for many others all around them. All of them are reminded to be humble in accepting God’s help, grace and guidance in every single moments of their lives. They should inspire others to live their lives faithfully as well and not instead be sources of scandal for the Lord and their faith because of their actions.

In our Gospel passage we then heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples and teaching them that, in order for them to truly become His disciples, they all must be ready to abandon their prideful and ambitious thoughts, and their many temptations of worldly glory and status, power, influence, fame and more, among many other things. This happened just after the disciples failing to cast out the evil spirits from a boy who was possessed and struck deaf and mute, as we heard in the Scripture readings yesterday. The disciples were unable to do so because they were lacking in faith, and were likely swayed by pride and hubris, thinking that all the miracles and wonders they performed were due to their own powers and abilities, and forgetting that they did all that by the grace and power of God.

They were all reminded that in following the Lord they must be humble and obedient to God, and to put themselves after Him and others around us. Basically, pride, hubris, ego, ambition, greed and all those things will not bring us any good things at all. It will only end up leading us down the wrong path in life, bringing us further and further away from the righteousness of God. All of us as disciples and followers of the Lord must be like what the Lord Himself said, as He took up one child and told them that their faith ought to be like that of the little child. Why is that so? That is because the faith of a child is truly pure, pure in faith and purpose, as unlike all of us who are laden with worldly concerns, desires and attachments, a child had none of that yet. Essentially as Christians, all of us are reminded to have the same kind of faith and life, wholly centred on the Lord and His truth.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Peter Damian, a great saint and Church father, whose life and works can truly inspire all of us to be faithful to the Lord in many ways, as he himself led a good and devout life, filled with faith and dedication to God. St. Peter Damian was a great intellectual and theologian who gave up the greatness of secular and worldly life to become a Benedictine monk. He was renowned for his great piety and dedication to his mission and works, in his efforts in reforming the Church and Christian faithful, beginning with his own Benedictine community, and then in tandem with the efforts of a few Popes of that time, beginning with Pope Gregory VI and up to Pope St. Leo IX and his friend, Pope St. Gregory VII.

Back then, the corruptions of worldly vices, attachments, ambitions and sins have slowly crept up into the Church and into its various communities, affecting both the clergymen and the laity alike. St. Peter Damian helped to reform the Church through his great vision and desire to root out from the Church those worldly corruptions and vices which had caused so many scandals and for so many of the faithful to fall into sin and evil ways. He rooted out corrupt practices and helped to straighten the ways of many of the faithful, in his various capacities as Papal envoy and legate, and as a member of the College of Cardinals, his role as a Cardinal and hence close Papal confidant and advisor was crucial in the reestablishment of order and virtue in the life of the Church of that time. And despite his high office and influential position, St. Peter Damian remained humble and thoroughly committed to his calling, and not swayed by worldly temptations of power and glory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all discern what we have just discussed, including the life and examples of St. Peter Damian in remembering that as Christians each and every one of us are also expected to live our lives with genuine faith in the Lord, and root out from ourselves, from our hearts and minds, the corruption of sin and temptations of pride, ego, ambition, hubris, greed and others. Let us all remind ourselves of this as we are embarking on the journey through the season of Lent beginning tomorrow on Ash Wednesday, that through this penitential time and season, we may always be growing ever closer to God and distance ourselves from sin and its wickedness. May God bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 20 February 2023 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Scriptures, each one of us are reminded to have faith in the Lord and to entrust ourselves to the Wisdom and the providence that God has provided us with, as He has always ever been faithful to the Covenant which He had made with us and our ancestors. All of us should keep in mind to do what the Lord has told us to do, living our lives wholeheartedly to walk in His presence at all times. Each one of us are called to be good and faithful disciples of the Lord, giving our time, effort and attention to Him, and to do His will at all times, and to follow Him with faith, making sure that we remain well connected and attuned to Him in our lives so that we may truly be close to Him, and committed to Him in each and every moments of our lives, being good examples and role models to each other.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard the words of the prophet Sirach speaking about the Wisdom of God, which He has imparted on all those who trust and believe in Him, as He is the source of all Wisdom, knowledge and truth. The prophet Sirach also highlighted how there are many things in this world, in this universe and existence that are not known to us, and even the best of our human intellect and understanding cannot comprehend the full truth and knowledge of the universe, as we can only behold parts and pieces of the knowledge and the truth. But through the Lord and the Wisdom He has imparted to us, all of us have received greater understanding and appreciation of the truth from God, and we have better understanding of how God has loved us so much and did so much wonders all around us, all these while.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of how there were argument between the disciples of the Lord and the teachers of the Law who disagreed with the Lord and His disciples, as the disciples of the Lord there then also failed to heal the possessed son of a person who brought him to them, hoping that the disciples could heal him and cast out the evil spirits and demons from him. It was there then that the Lord admonished the people and His disciples, all those who still did not have genuine faith in Him and His power, and instead depending on their own flawed and imperfect knowledge, power and intellect rather than to trust in the Lord and to believe in His Wisdom and power. That was why those disciples failed to cast out the demons from the possessed son, as they did not have enough faith in God to do so.

Rather, they most likely must have trusted more in their own power and abilities, or might likely even think that it was by their own power and greatness, their own abilities and intellect that they had cast out the demons and evil spirits, performed other miracles and great deeds that they had done in the past. However, they forgot that they all did everything by the grace of God, guiding them and providing for them. It was the Lord Who gave them the authority, power and ability to forgive sins, to heal the sick and to cast out demons, and to make whole those who have been afflicted with various sickness and troubles. Yet, those disciples had grown proud and ambitious, and thought of themselves as greater than they were supposed to be, as if it was by their own power and abilities that they had performed all those miracles. That was why they could not heal the possessed son.

At the same time, those teachers of the Law and the Pharisees who doubted the Lord, His power and authority, were also those who were blinded in the similar manner by their own achievements, position and ambition, as they thought that they were the sole possessor of wisdom and power over the people of God. They were always highly regarded and respected by the rest of the community, and this made them to be very careful and particular in guarding their privileges and powers, not allowing those like the Lord and His disciples to threaten them in any way. That was why, despite their supposedly superior knowledge, intellect, capacity and expectation, and despite their knowledge and understanding of the Law and the Prophets, they failed to recognise the Lord’s coming, His truth and His Wisdom which He had often made truly evident and real before them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having discussed and discerned the words of the Lord contained within the passages of the Scriptures today, let us remind ourselves how the season of Lent is coming very soon, as it begins just this Wednesday with the Ash Wednesday celebration. All of us should make good use of the opportunities provided to us to get ever closer to Him, to renew our relationship and bond with God so that we may come to understand better His truth and love for us, and everything that He had done for our sake. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the temptations of pride, ego and ambition, and all the worldly desires and wickedness present all around us which may end up causing us to fall into the path of rebellion and sin, and to fail in our faith just as the disciples of the Lord and those Pharisees and teachers of the Law had done in the past.

Let us all hence continue to live our lives and moving forward with faith, renewed and rejuvenated, strengthened and encouraged by all that we have heard today. God has always been generous with His love, kindness and wisdom, and He has given us everything we need to progress forward in His path, showing us His guidance and help through various means. Now what is left is for us to have the humility in our hearts and minds, to allow Him to lead and guide us down the right path. We also ought to have faith and trust in the Lord, and do whatever we can to let His Wisdom and strength to encourage us to continue to struggle and to persevere even amidst the toughest challenges and hardships, and continue to do what we can as good and faithful disciples and followers of our Lord.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our faith journey especially as we are about to enter into the season of Lent this week. May He guide us in all of our actions, words and deeds, empowering us with the Wisdom and providence, allowing us to do great and wonderful things for His greater glory, now and always, at all times. May God bless us all in our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He bless us always and more, and inspire us all to be ever good role models and examples, for the help of others around us. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 February 2023 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in this Sunday, which marks the last Sunday before the beginning of the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday just this coming Wednesday, all of us are reminded to be holy and loving, to be filled with all righteousness, virtues, goodness and justice so that we may truly become worthy disciples, followers and children of our Lord and God. We are all reminded that as Christians, as God’s followers and people, all of us are expected and called to be His holy people, as the ones to be the examples and beacons of His light and truth in this world, and this call is truly timely and right for us at this moment, just as we are about to enter into this holy season of Lent in preparation for the most solemn and joyful celebration of the Holy Week and Easter.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Leviticus in which God spoke to His people, the Israelites, reminding all of them of the obligations that each and every one of them have as His people, in doing His will and obeying His Law and commandments, in being holy and devout people, that are truly worthy of being called His children and His flock, as the people whom He had rescued by His own hands from their enslavement in Egypt. God reminded all of His people that they all have to be righteous, virtuous, holy and good just as He is holy, or else, if they did not do so, they would scandalise their faith and the Lord Himself. He told them all to be loving to one another as well, which is essentially doing what He has decreed and taught them through His Law and commandments.

Then, in our second reading passage today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, we heard of the call of the Apostle telling all the faithful to keep themselves holy and truly worthy of the Lord, echoing what the Lord Himself had told Moses in the Book of Leviticus. St. Paul told the faithful and hence to all of us that we have to keep in mind that we are all Temple of the Lord’s Holy Presence, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and thus because we are the dwelling place of the Almighty and Most Holy God Himself, we must not defile this Temple that is our body, mind, heart and soul, our whole being with wickedness of sins and our unworthy actions, words and deeds that bring about scandal to our faith and lives as good and dedicated Christians.

Contextually, we must understand that the Temple of God is a most holy and sacrosanct place where God Himself dwelled, His Presence coming down from His Heavenly Throne to be with us all His people. In the earliest days, during the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites built the Holy Tent of Meeting as the centre of their entire community, and it was upon the Holy Tent that God’s very own Holy Presence descended upon, to the Ark of the Covenant placed inside the Holy of Holies within the Holy Tent, with God Himself seated upon the Cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Tent and especially the Holy of Holies was considered so holy only those who were allowed could be permitted entry, and like the later Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem, the House of God, even the High Priest was only permitted to enter the Holy of Holies only during one solemn occasion in the whole entire year.

Similarly, the Ark of the Covenant was also considered so holy and sacrosanct that touching it is considered taboo, and in fact, an incident happened earlier on in the Scriptures where a priest of the Lord died on the spot the moment he touched the Ark upon trying to hold it and prevent it from slipping and falling down to the ground as it was being transported by King David to Jerusalem. The point that I want to highlight here is that, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy of Holies of the House of God, where historically God’s Holy Presence resided, were all considered so holy and sacrosanct that no imperfections, wickedness and sin can or should ever be in its presence and place. How is it related to us all then, as the aforementioned Temple of the Holy Spirit, as the Temple of God’s Holy Presence?

Each one of us have received the Lord Himself, wholly in the flesh, in His own Most Precious Body and Blood that He has given us all most generously and lovingly in the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, that He has instituted Himself at the Last Supper, and passed down to us through His Apostles and other disciples, through their successors in the Church, right up to our Pope, bishops and priests, all those who have been given the faculty and the authority and power, in their role as Alter Christus, in offering the same gifts that the Lord Himself has offered, and turned the bread and wine into the very essence, reality and Holy Presence of God, in the Most Precious Body and Blood, the Most Holy Eucharist that we all have partaken and received.

As we believe that the Lord Himself has come into our midst and dwelled within us through the Eucharist, which is not just mere symbol or reminder, but real Body and Blood of Our Lord, hence, how can we not then endeavour to keep ourselves holy, blameless and spotless just as the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies of the House of God were kept holy and sacrosanct? In addition, as St. Paul mentioned, we are also the Temple of the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit has also come upon us through the Church, since the day of the Pentecost right up to now, as all of us who have received the Sacrament of Baptism has also received the Holy Spirit from the Lord Himself, and for all of us who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation, this gift of the Holy Spirit has been further reaffirmed and strengthened in us all.

That is why as Christians, all of us must do what we can to keep our lives holy and worthy of the Lord, distancing ourselves from sin and wickedness of the world, from the excesses of worldly desires and ambitions, and from the corrupting nature of sin. We must resist the temptations of sin, and do what we can to help and inspire one another to continue keeping our beings, the Temples of God’s Holy Presence, good and worthy of Him. How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by heeding what we have heard from the Gospel passage today, in which the Lord highlighted to all of His disciples and hence to all of us, what it truly means to become one of His disciples and followers, to be truly filled with love of God, and the righteousness and virtues that He has taught us all.

As we heard from our Gospel passage today, what is important for us as Christians to do with our lives is essentially to love, to be filled with God’s love, which in itself is already obeying God’s Law and commandments. The Lord Jesus Himself in another occasion, before the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had summarised the Law as a whole into two main commandments, that is to love God first and foremost with all of our hearts and strength, and then to love our fellow brothers and sisters in the same way, just as much as we love ourselves. It is our Christian calling and vocation for all of us to be always grounded in love, in our every words, actions and deeds, so that by our love everyone may truly know God’s love and that we truly belong to the Lord, and hopefully more and more people may be inspired to follow our examples and believe in the Lord as well.

We have to love sincerely and generously, and as the Lord mentioned in our Gospel passage today, we should not just love because there is something in it for us, or that we stand to benefit from loving that person, as that kind of love is not the kind of true, Christian love that we are called to show. We have to show what the Lord Himself has shown us by His own examples, that in loving us all so greatly, all of us who have often hurt and betrayed Him, abandoned Him and rebelled against Him, He chose to willingly embrace His Cross, bearing upon Himself the whole burden of the innumerable sins of the world, of all mankind, past, present and future, so that by loving us that way, He may bring us all to eternal life. Christ Himself has shown us how we ought to live our lives with genuine Christian love, as He Himself had done, and now, the question is, what are we going to do then, brothers and sisters?

Let us all therefore embark on a new journey of faith, and renew our conviction to remain faithful to God, as we are about to enter into the season of Lent this Wednesday with the Ash Wednesday. Let us all renew our conviction to love the Lord wholeheartedly once again, and with the resolve to love one another most generously, forgiving those who have hurt or pained us, and helping one another to grow ever stronger in faith, by living our own lives most worthily and by doing what God has taught and shown us all to do. Let us all make good use of whatever time and opportunities that God has given us all, and do our best to make our whole beings truly worthy and holy Temples of His Holy Presence, not just for this upcoming Lent, Holy Week and Easter, but for the rest of our lives, till the day we encounter the Lord once again in His heavenly abode. May God bless us all and be with us always in our journey of faith and life, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of our faith in God, which underlines our very existence and life, and which we ought to take seriously if we have not yet done so. Faith is very important for us as without genuine faith, it is very easy for us to fall into the temptations of Satan and all the other persuasions, temptations and pressures for us to abandon God’s path and to disobey Him, leading to us falling ever further away from the salvation and grace of God. Without faith, our existence will become meaningless and sundered from God’s grace and love, and hence, through what we heard in our Scripture passages today, we are yet again reminded to have true, genuine faith in God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we essentially heard the summary of what we have been listening to in the past two weeks if we have been attending weekday liturgies and Masses, in which the history of the salvation of mankind had been put up in detail, showing us all the history of how mankind had fallen and then rose again from the depth of sin and their wickedness. We have heard in those preceding days how mankind was created out of the greatest love from God, and how they fell into sin through their disobedience and refusal to listen to God, preferring instead to follow their own pride, ego, ambitions and worldly desires that eventually led them down the path of sin and to their downfall. This had been highlighted again and again in these past two weeks, as we heard how our ancestors fell into sin against God.

However, amidst all the sins that our ancestors committed, the sins of Adam and Eve in disobeying God, the murder of Abel by his own brother Cain, the wickedness of mankind that led to the Great Flood, and also the hubris and pride of man that led to the events surrounding the Tower of Babel, there were still moments of goodness, reminding us all that we mankind have the capacity to do good if we so desire it and make the effort to do so, as we heard of the faith of Abel who devoted his whole offering to God, giving Him only the best of what he had. Then we have also heard of the story of Enoch, while not highlighted in the readings of the previous days, but Enoch was the only one among all mankind back then not to suffer death, but raised up to Heaven because of his righteousness and obedience to God.

And of course we heard again and are reminded of the faith of Noah, who remained faithful to God when the rest of the world were full of wickedness and refused to listen to God. Noah devoted his life and all his efforts to build the Great Ark, through which God saved him and his family while the rest of the wicked men and women were destroyed by the Great Flood. All those examples highlighted to us all share the same pattern and characteristic, in that all these people, our holy predecessors, had great faith in God and listened to Him, while allowing Him to do His will through them, and they consequently received great grace and help from God, reminding us yet again that we are all beloved by God, despite our many sins and disobedience. God wants to be reconciled with us and to forgive us our sins, and to this extent, He has given us His own beloved Son, to be our Saviour.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of that same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Saviour of the whole world, Who revealed Himself to three of His disciples, St. Peter, St. James and St. John on top of Mount Tabor, in the event known as the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Jesus revealed the truth about Himself before His disciples, how He was not merely just the Son of Man and a Prophet of God, but was also the Son of God Most High, the Holy One, Who has come down into this world, the Divine Word of God, incarnate in the Flesh to be the Son of Man. As He revealed Himself, being present with Moses and Elijah atop Mount Tabor, He revealed to the disciples and to all of us, how He has fulfilled everything that He Himself had said through His servants, in promising salvation and liberation to all of them.

Moses represented the Law that God had given to all of us, which Christ would indeed renew and remind to all of the people, reminding everyone of the true purpose, intention and meaning of the Law, which is God’s Love for each and every one of us, and also the love that mankind ought to have for Him, as well as for one another. Without faith in God, we cannot be truly obedient to Him and His Law and commandments, and that is why we are reminded to always be willing to listen to the Lord, in His reminders to us to obey His Law and commandments wholeheartedly and sincerely, and not just paying mere lip service or obeying things just for appearances like many of the people in Lord Jesus’ time liked to do. All of us are reminded to be truly devoted to the Lord, doing our best to follow the ways of the Lord as He has taught us through His Church.

Meanwhile, Elijah represented the Prophets of God, and all that the Lord has spoken and promised to His people throughout time. The Lord came into this world as the proof and fulfilment of all of His past promises, and through this example, all of us are reminded that God is forever faithful to the Covenant which He has made with us, and He will not abandon any of us to darkness and destruction, unless we ourselves have chosen to side with the devil and disobey the Lord willingly, as many of our predecessors had done. Just as Abel, Enoch, Noah, as well as Abraham, David and many others of the worthy and holy people in the Scriptures have shown us, God will reward all those who have been faithful to Him, while He also still patiently called and wanted all those who have not walked in His path to follow Him, right up to the very end. But should we still choose to disobey Him to the end, then there is nothing else that awaits us other than eternal damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect upon the Scripture readings we have heard from today, all of us are called and reminded of the responsibilities that we all have as Christians to be the bearers of God’s light and truth, as the ones to proclaim His love and mercy to the world, and to help one another in our journey of faith that we all may be ever closer to God and His salvation. May the Lord continue to help us and strengthen us all in our faith, so that we do not lose our faith and trust in God even through the darkest and most difficult moments of our lives. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures that highlighted to us the importance of obedience to God and entrusting ourselves to the Lord and His path, and we have to walk in God’s path while obeying His will and commandments as Christians, or else we cannot truly call or consider ourselves as genuine people of God or His followers, as each one of us will be expected to do what is right and just in our every actions and deeds throughout our lives, in even the smallest and least significant things we may do in our lives, in our every moments, we may always put the Lord at the forefront and centre of our lives and existence, and not to fall into the temptations of evil and sin, which had led our predecessors down into the wrong paths.

In our first reading for example, we heard the well-known story and tale of the building of the Tower of Babel, a great tower that man planned on building and which supposedly would rise to reach the Heaven itself. Back then, probably just a few generations since the Great Flood of Noah, which we have heard in the past few days of Scripture readings, mankind had once again flourished and prospered, and rebuilt the civilisation and the communities that had been completely destroyed and eradicated by the Great Flood, which God sent into the world to cleanse it from all the wickedness of all the sons and daughters of man, which was so great that except for Noah and his family, no one else deserved to be saved.

However, as we evidently can notice from what we heard in our first reading passage today, the descendants of man through Noah did not learn much from the lessons of their ancestors, as they began to commit sin once again, disobeying God and growing proud upon their power and achievements, and they began to plan to ascend even to the heights of Heaven itself, which would indeed mirror and is a parallel of what happened when Satan, our great enemy and the Deceiver, fell from grace and power, as he tried to supplant and overthrow God as the Lord and Master of all the Universe. Back then, Lucifer, as Satan was commonly known before his fall, became full of pride and ambition, and rebelled against God, only to be defeated and thrown down from Heaven.

In a similar manner therefore, we heard how those people at that time tried to build the mighty Tower of Babel and attempted to scale the heights of Heaven itself, going proud and haughty from their powers and accomplishments, and thinking that they had no need for God anymore, and that they could therefore do anything as they liked. God therefore reminded them all of their place, and sent upon them a great punishment and something which was meant to disturb and stop their foolish plan, by confusing their language and ability to understand each other. Hence, ever since then, everyone had been speaking their own languages, and no one in this world could perfectly understand everyone else in their tongues and speeches.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the Lord Jesus telling His disciples and therefore to all of us, what we all need to do as His disciples and followers, that we all need to carry our crosses in life and follow Him faithfully, and not allowing our pride, ego, ambition, worldly desires and all sorts of temptations present all around us to distract us and to draw us away from the salvation and grace in God. The Lord reminded all of His disciples and all of us that we all need to be faithful and committed to God and His path, and resist the wickedness of the world, so that we may truly be found worthy by Him upon His coming once again into the world, and not to end up in the damnation and destruction reserved to those who are proud and haughty, like the devil himself and all others who followed his path.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, as Christians, each and every one of us are reminded as always of the need for each and every one of us to align ourselves to God and His path, resisting the many temptations and efforts from the devil and all of his temptations, persuasions and pressures for us to abandon our faith and obedience to God. All of us have to remember that we need to be truly faithful and committed to God, and we have to do our best to glorify Him by our lives, and live our lives daily with faithful and good intentions, with actions that are centred on God’s path and His commandments, so that we may inspire many others on how they all can follow the Lord faithfully as well in every possible opportunities in life.

Today, all of us should follow the good examples set before us by the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, who have been called by God to a great and holy existence, and to a great mission in evangelising and inspiring the members of the Body of Christ, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, in everything that they said and did. These Seven Holy Founders, whose feast we celebrate today, dedicated their lives to answer God’s call through a vision that they all shared and received from God, which encouraged them to leave the wickedness of worldly ways and to dedicate themselves wholly to God, as they endeavoured to build and establish a new community of the faithful people of God, eventually known as the Servites or the Servite Order. Their great personal piety and sanctity and devotion to the Lord, as well as their love for their fellow brethren are great inspiration to all of us.

Let us all hence follow the great examples shown by these saints, so that hopefully each and every one of us may also come ever closer to God and may become good role models and sources of inspiration to each other, in our every moments and opportunities throughout life. May the Lord continue to guide us and help us, and strengthen us in our resolve to live our lives faithfully in His path. May God bless us all and bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 February 2023 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded yet again of God’s love, His kindness and compassion to each one of us which He has repeatedly shown again and again throughout time, and in how He gave us all the perfect gift of His love, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to be our Saviour and Hope. As we heard from our Scripture passages today, we are all truly blessed and beloved by God, Who made and renewed His Covenant with us all, His people, again and again, from time to time. We have been shown mercy and love, just as how God saved Noah and his family from the Great Flood, and also in how Christ, the Son of God, came into our midst to save us all from certain destruction.

In our first reading today, we continue to hear the account from the Book of Genesis, and this time, as mentioned, it is still about the time when the Great Flood occurred and wiped out almost all life on this world, except for all those who were brought into the great Ark that Noah built upon the instructions from God. All those who were inside the Ark were spared and kept alive because of the faith that Noah had in the Lord, in obeying His Law and commandments. All the other children of mankind were crushed and destroyed by the Great Flood because of their wickedness and sins, their refusal to follow God’s ways, and all of those wickedness which had accumulated and disgusted the Lord, to the point that He released the Great Flood to cleanse the whole world, as there was no more virtue and righteousness in the world back then save than what was found in Noah and his family.

God rescued Noah and brought him and his family safely through the Flood and we heard in today’s first reading passage of the moment when the Flood had finally receded from the world, and Noah and his family offered a great thanksgiving to God, to which God responded by reassuring him of His love and faithfulness, establishing a Covenant with him, and renewed His love for all of the people, all of the children of man. At the same time, however, He also highlighted that should Noah and his descendants commit sins against the Lord once again, doing what those who perished during the Great Flood had done, then they too would have to suffer for their sins and wickedness. Essentially, God reminds us all that He loves us all sinners, but He does not approve of the wickedness that we have committed.

The love which God has for each one of us is also reflected in His promise made to all of us, in how He promised not to destroy us anymore through the water or the same Flood, by placing His own bow on the clouds, which we see during and after rains, the rainbow, as a reminder to Him and to all of us of this love and the Covenant which God had made with Noah that day, and which He has constantly renewed and reestablish again and again with us. Then, God made His new and everlasting Covenant through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, by Whose coming into the world all of us have seen the light and hope that God wants to bring into our midst, showing us all the path out of the darkness and all the temptations of sin and evils all around us.

In our Gospel passage today, that is exactly what we have heard from the story of the Lord asking His disciples about Who He truly was, as the disciples spoke about Who they thought He was, with St. Peter proclaiming courageously that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Holy One and Saviour that was promised from God, and the One Whom all of them and all of us have to follow. This then led to the Lord revealing that the truth was such that in His role and part in bringing about our salvation and liberation from sin, He would have to be opposed and made to suffer, to endure painful and humiliating trials and persecution at the hands of all those who refused to believe in Him and oppose His works, and finally to die a most painful and humiliating death on the Cross on our behalf, and for the sake of our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can clearly see just how much God has loved all of us, that He was willing to endure all of those things for us, to get us all out of the darkness and from the precipice of destruction. He put Himself at the crossfire, enduring the worst punishments for our sins, all on our behalf so that each and every one of us have the sure path out of the darkness and into the light. God has chosen to come into this world and willingly bore our many sins and burdens associated with them, so that we can be free from them, be reconciled and reunited with Him. That is all which God had done for us, all because of His ever amazing love and kindness, His attention and compassion towards us which He has never ceased to show us, despite our frequent stubborn attitude and refusal to obey Him.

That is why today all of us are reminded that we should not harden our hearts and minds, and resist Him and His love anymore. Like what St. Peter did in his moment of weakness in allowing Satan to tempt him and to speak through him, all of us must resist the temptations of worldly desires, ambitions, of our own pride and ego, and all other things that may cause us to become ever more distant from the Lord and His salvation. We have to be resolute in resisting the incessant efforts from the devil in trying to lead us to our downfall and damnation. We must remind ourselves of God’s ever enduring and present love for us, and strive to love Him therefore in the same way, rejecting the excesses of worldly pleasures and sins, and doing whatever we can to live our lives faithfully as Christians, as those who profess our faith in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in our journey of faith through life so that we may ever walk faithfully and righteously amidst the many temptations to sin and may we all be good examples and role models, inspiration and strength to one another. May God bless us always and remain with us, guiding us throughout our every good endeavours and efforts, through every good and faithful deeds in life, now and always, forevermore. Amen.