Weekday Homily

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Friday, 2 December 2022 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to remember the love and kindness which God has shown each one of us Christians, and all of His beloved ones, that He came to rescue us from our predicament and fate, leading us into the path towards everlasting life and true joy with Him, a path that He has shown us, as light and hope lighting our way out of the darkness surrounding us in our lives. We are all reminded that it is in God alone that we have our salvation and hope, and it is through Him alone that we shall receive justification and grace, and liberation from the bondage of sin, death and evil which had always hounded us all these while.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah of yet another one of God’s reassuring words for His people just as we have heard all throughout this week, reminding them all of everything that God has done for them and then what He will do for all of them, as He gathered them all from being scattered all over, and returned them to their lands, to enjoy once again His favour and grace, His love and providence. Back then, the land of Israel and its people were far off from the once glorious days of their predecessors, of the great kingdom of David and Solomon. They had faced great challenges and trials, difficulties and humiliations, all because of their lack of faith in God and their disobedience and sins against Him. Yet, the Lord continued to show His love towards them and sent them His help and providence, again and again.

Historically, the people of God would be scattered all throughout the world, uprooted from their lands, as consequences for their sins. Yet, the Lord would gather them once again, leading all of them towards Him and returning them back to their lands, as He had done when He moved the heart of the King of Persia, Cyrus the Great, to allow the people of Israel, who have regretted their sins and the faults of their ancestors, and being repentant of those sins, to return once again to their homeland, the Land promised to their ancestors. What God spoke about in our today’s first reading through the prophet Isaiah to His people was indeed a proclamation of what would happen when He led them all back to their land, an expectation of the happy and glorious days to come, and in fact, also a lead-up to what will one day happen at the end of time, when God finally leads all of us, His beloved ones, back to Him.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord healing two blind men who came to Him, begging Him to heal them from their blindness. They asked Him and believed that He could deliver them from their troubles, and indeed, the Lord healed and allowed their eyes to see once again. They were saved from their predicament by the power of God, and became yet another proof of God great power and also love for His beloved people. God brought them out of the darkness and back into the light. God has restored hope to them and made them whole again, and that same thing is what He will also do to all of us, to each and every one of us who have faith in Him and are called to follow Him and to walk in His path. We are God’s people, and He is our Lord and Master.

That is what we really need to reflect on in this season of Advent, recalling the great love, compassion and mercy which Our Lord has shown us and which He has generously given to us. Through Him, all of us have received a new hope and the light that pierced through the darkness of despair and evil that surrounded us. It is Him Whom we are expecting and preparing for this coming Christmas, the source of our rejoicing and celebrations, the source of our strength and life. This Advent is a time for us to contemplate all these and to prepare ourselves so that we may indeed celebrate Christmas with proper understanding and appreciation of everything that God had done for us all, His beloved people. We have to make good use of this season of Advent to prepare ourselves, body, heart, mind and soul, so that our whole being may be ready to welcome the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend the time this Advent to reconnect ourselves with God and to strengthen our relationship and connection with Him, so that we may draw ever closer to Him and become ever more committed to His path. Many of us have not been doing this and many have been spending their Advent and Christmas on the wrong things, both their time and effort, as they were swayed by the worldly ways that Christmas has often been celebrated all around the world. Instead of celebrating and commemorating the birth of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Love of God made Man, and brought into our midst, we have put Him aside and forgotten about Him, which led to us distancing ourselves ever further from Him and His path.

We are all reminded that we are all so blessed that God has willingly shown us His love and compassion, just as the Scripture passages today earlier on had shown us. Therefore, it is only right and just that we should appreciate and reciprocate that love that God has shown us with our own love and devotion towards Him, doing our best to follow Him and His path, doing His will, listening to Him and walking in the path that He has shown us, His commandments and Law, and showing the same love He has shown us, to our fellow brothers and sisters, that through our love, kindness and compassion, more and more people may come to know the love of God and be brought ever closer to Him and to the salvation and eternal life in Him.

May the Lord our most loving and compassionate God continue to help and guide us through this blessed season of Advent so that we may make good use of this time and season of Advent to prepare ourselves to be ever more worthy to celebrate the true joy of Christmas, and be inspirations, role models and examples in how we live out our faith, glorifying God by our lives and showing others what it truly means to be Christians, as our Lord’s followers and disciples. May God bless us all at all times, and may He bless our every good efforts, works and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 1 December 2022 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that the Lord our God is our Rock and Foundation, and in Him alone we will find a firm and steady support for ourselves, regardless of whatever trials, hardships and struggles we may encounter throughout life. The Lord alone is the source of our true strength and without Him we shall have nothing and our existence has no meaning at all. Yet, many of us still chose to build our lives upon unstable and shaky foundations, based on worldly things, resources and matters, and not on the Lord and His providence. We have often left the Lord out of our lives and put Him aside when in truth He should have been at the very centre of our lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord speaking to His people through Isaiah regarding what He will do to them, in providing for them, protecting them and leading them into glory, rescuing them from their troubles and their enemies. They shall once again see happiness and true joy through God’s providence and love. Back then, during the time of the ministry and work of the prophet Isaiah, the people of God left in the land of Judah, the southern half of the once united kingdom of Israel, were facing great trials and challenges, as their enemies rose up all around them, threatening them and drowning them by their great power. Yet, the Lord reassured them that if they remained firm in their faith in Him and trusted in Him, God will always be by their side and they will be saved in the end.

At that time, the kingdom of Israel, the northern domain of the people of God, north of Judah had just recently been destroyed by the conquering and rampaging Assyrians who crushed the entire kingdom of Israel, subjugating its people to humiliation and exile, bringing many of them to the distant lands away from their homeland. Their constant refusal to listen to the Lord, their sins and wickedness had brought about that consequence, as they were all humbled from their haughty attitude against the Lord’s faithful, His many prophets and messengers whom they had persecuted and rejected. However, it did not mean that God did not love His people or forsake them. He still loved them, but those wayward ones indeed had to face their consequences first, and know that what they had suffered, came because of their own actions and choices.

Then, the Assyrians also came up against Judah after they had crushed the Israelites. King Sennacherib of Assyria brought a massive and powerful army against the kingdom of Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem itself. Conventionally, by the wisdom and understanding of the world, the people of Judah and Jerusalem were doomed, and they should have shared the fate of their northern brethren. Yet, while Sennacherib uttered blasphemies and nasty words against God and His people, the people of Judah, who had been faithful to the Lord by the leadership of their king Hezekiah, remained firm in their faith and were not swayed by the persuasions, coercions, threats or ridicule by the king of Assyria. The Lord did not abandon His people and He stood by them, exactly just as what we have heard in our first reading today.

That is because while Sennacherib boasted in the greatness of his worldly power, the might of his army and his vast armaments, the Lord reminded him and humbled him, telling him just how futile his boasting and how fleeting his power and glory actually were. The Lord sent His mighty Angels to stand guard over His City, and He sent them to crush the armies of the Assyrians, where the whole vast multitudes of Sennacherib’s army was destroyed, and the king of Assyria had to return back to his lands in shame. According to the Scriptures and historical evidence, he was assassinated by his own sons soon after, marking the most ignominious end for this king who had boasted against God and uttered blasphemy against Him. Meanwhile, the people of Judah and Jerusalem were saved and triumphant, under the power of their Lord and true King, God Himself.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord’s parable of the houses, in which He highlighted two houses built upon two different foundations, one of insecure and shaky sand, and the other of solid and firm rocky foundation. In that parable, the Lord Jesus highlighted how all those who had no real and genuine faith in Him are like those who built their houses upon the unsteady foundation of sand, and gave examples of those who called on Him and claimed to know Him, and yet in their hearts and minds, they had no place for God and God is not at the centre or the focus of their hearts and minds. The Lord reminded us all therefore that if we are truly to call ourselves as Christians, then we must indeed have genuine faith in Him, and we cannot merely be faithful on the outside, but is empty of faith inside.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter and progress through this season of Advent in preparation for Christmas, let us all therefore reflect on our faith and life, whether we have indeed been true believers of Christ and His truth, and whether we have made Him the firm foundation of our lives, or whether we have chosen to make other worldly things and matters as the foundations of our lives instead of God. We do not have to go and look far beyond what we can see in how many people celebrate Christmas. Christmas has become so secularised and focused on many worldly forms of pleasures and joys that we end up losing sight of what Christmas is all about, and what we are in fact celebrating. We must not forget that the Lord Jesus is truly the reason why we rejoice as we prepare for the glorious celebrations of Christmas.

That is why, let us all purify our hearts and minds, and clear our thoughts and discern carefully our way of living, and our preparations for Christmas in particular so that we may indeed be worthy to celebrate it with proper disposition, understanding and faith. Let us all lead by example through our lives so that we may help others to see the truth of God, and anchor our lives firmly on Him, our Rock and our Strength, our Foundation and our Salvation. May the Lord continue to bless and guide us in our journey of faith, and may He empower us all to remain faithful and committed in our Christian living, now and always, evermore. May all of us have a truly blessed and fruitful Advent. Amen.

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Wednesday, 30 November 2022 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the Feast of one of the great Twelve Apostles of the Lord, namely that of St. Andrew the Apostle, also known as St. Andrew the First-Called because he was indeed one of the first if not the first one among the Twelve Apostles to be called by the Lord to be one of His followers. St. Andrew the Apostle was once a fisherman of the region of the lake of Galilee, together with his brother St. Peter, the chief of all the Apostles and first Vicar of Christ, as well as the sons of Zebedee, St. James and St. John, another two of the Twelve Apostles. Altogether, the four of them were the first of the Twelve Apostles to follow the Lord, and were the Lord’s first disciples, leaving everything behind in order to follow Him.

St. Andrew according to the Gospel of St. John and tradition was also one of the disciples of St. John the Baptist, and was one of the two disciples who became first followers of Christ because St. John the Baptist at the moment when he baptised the Lord Jesus at the River Jordan proclaimed, ‘Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world’, revealing that the One he had just baptised, was truly the One Whom God had promised, the Messiah and Saviour of the whole world. St. Andrew and the other unnamed disciple of St. John the Baptist therefore decided to follow the Lord from then on, and it was likely hence that St. Andrew was the one who introduced the Lord to his fellow fishermen, his brother St. Peter as well as the brothers St. James and St. John as mentioned.

St. Andrew the Apostle was often present at many important events in the Lord’s ministry as mentioned in the Gospels. He continued to carry out his ministry amidst the challenges and trials of the world, and all the persecutions facing the faithful after the Lord has suffered, died on the Cross and risen from the dead, and sent out His disciples and the Apostles to the many distant parts of the world to proclaim the Word of God and the Good News of His salvation to all the people in those places. St. Andrew himself according to Apostolic and Church traditions, went to the various regions in the distant north from the Holy Land, in places like Scythia, which corresponds to the modern day parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. He also ministered to the people in other places like the Balkans, establishing the See of Byzantium, which would later on became the principal See of Constantinople of his successors, and Greece among others.

St. Andrew later would suffer martyrdom as described by the traditions of the Church, as he was arrested and condemned to death in the region of what is now Greece. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross, which henceforth would be known as St. Andrew’s Cross. He remained firm in his dedication and faith in God, doing his best in fulfilling God’s missions and calling entrusted to Him. St. Andrew continued to persevere in the mission which the Lord has given him, to the very end. He chose to suffer and die rather than to abandon His mission and to endure the hardships of this world rather than to stay silent amidst proclaiming the words of God’s truth against the falsehoods and evils of this world. His examples, faith and convictions should inspire us in our own way of observing the Law of God and in following His path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect together on this Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle upon the actions and life work of this Apostle and holy man of God, let us all discern our own actions and way of life, in how we live our lives as Christians in our world today. Have we placed the Lord our God as the centre and focus of our lives, or have we instead allowed ourselves to be swayed by the many temptations and allures of this world that we end up being drawn further and further away from the Lord and His salvation? It is important that we reflect upon these today as we continue to progress through the season of Advent in preparation for the great celebrations at Christmas. That is because we must not be ignorant of our calling and mission as Christians, to be the beacons of God’s light and hope in our world today.

Often we may think that we are unworthy or incapable of doing what the Lord has entrusted to us to do, but this is because we do not realise or understand that it is not we who make ourselves worthy of the Lord or decide whether we are worthy or not. Instead, it is God Himself Who calls and has called upon all those whom He deems to be worthy. After all, He knows everything in us, all in our hearts and minds, even to the deepest of our secrets. Nothing is hidden from His All-Knowing might, and hence, He knows perfectly what we are capable of, and He empowers each one of us with unique and variety of gifts, blessings and opportunities to do His will, and to be fruitful in the missions that He has entrusted to each one of us. All of us should follow in the footsteps of St. Andrew the Apostle, and the other Apostles and saints.

The works that the Lord had entrusted to His Apostles and disciples are still far from being completed, brothers and sisters in Christ. There are still many areas where there are people who have not yet known the truth, wisdom and salvation in God, and there are many of those who can be called closer to God and His truth, His salvation and grace by our lives and actions. We have been entrusted with many things by the Lord, and sometimes we ourselves do not realise this, as we are often too preoccupied with worldly matters, our desires and ambitions that we end up being blindsided and unable to realise what a great opportunity that we have been given by God, and how we often squandered those opportunities and gifts, in ignoring and not answering to the call that the Lord has made upon us to follow Him.

Let us all therefore entrust ourselves to the Lord, following the examples that saints like St. Andrew the Apostle had done. Let us all allow the Lord to lead and guide us in our lives so that we may truly walk faithfully down the path that He has prepared for us. Let us all be active in the faithful living and carrying out of our Christian duties and obligations, in being true and shining beacons of God’s light and truth in our world today. Are we willing to commit ourselves to this path? And are we willing to commit our effort, time and attention to do what the Lord had called us to do and entrusted in our care? Let us ask St. Andrew to intercede for us, that God may always be by our side and strengthen us in whatever struggles and paths that He has called us to walk through, now and always, evermore. May our lives, and especially this time of Advent be a truly fruitful one. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 November 2022 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded of how fortunate we are for having received the revelation of truth from God, of the coming of His future return, and how we shall all be partakers and inheritors of His glorious kingdom, when He comes again at the end of time. We are reminded that God will deliver us into a new existence and life free from the bondage and sufferings due to our sins and wickedness. The Lord has reassured us that He will never abandon us to the darkness, and all of us who are faithful to Him shall receive from Him the gift of everlasting grace and life, freedom from the darkness of sin and death. No longer shall we have to fear the threats of evil and the attacks of Satan, the evil one, because our Lord will lead us to His great triumphant victory in the end.

However, along the way there will indeed be plenty of challenges, trials and obstacles facing us. Hence, we really have to be patient and committed to the Lord, with all of our hearts and minds, so that we may remain firm and true in our faith in Him, and not be tempted to walk away and abandon Him for other comforts and pleasures in the world. And that is why we have to remind ourselves in this season of Advent of what we are expecting in the coming Christmas, as we approach the time of rejoicing because we see the coming of the hope and new life in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are reminded that we rejoice greatly as we have seen the light of Our Lord’s glory and all that we shall enjoy in Him, the eternity of perfect bliss and happiness in His presence.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself praised His heavenly Father for all that He had planned for the salvation of all mankind, and how everything had indeed been fulfilled and accomplished perfectly through His coming into this world, He, the Son of God and Son of Man, incarnate in the flesh and born of His blessed Mother Mary. Through Christ, all that God has promised all of us and our ancestors and predecessors, all mankind from the beginning of time had come to a full circle and perfect accomplishment. He has shown us the fullness of God’s love manifested before our own eyes, where God became tangible and approachable, and hence, showing and proving to us that whatever He has promised us all and our predecessors are not merely empty promises.

Indeed, it was not just that the love of God has been made manifest in this world and tangible to us, but through His actions, especially by His suffering and death on the Cross, Christ has delivered us the ultimate expression of God’s ever enduring love for all of us. As He Himself said that there is no greater love than for someone to lay down one’s life for a friend, that was exactly what the Lord had done for our sake. The Lord has shown us just much beloved we are and how precious we are to Him, that despite of our constant stubbornness and rebellion against Him, He still reached out to us and loved us nonetheless. His salvation has been extended to all mankind, even those who have hurt and persecuted Him. He is the one Lord of all, and all of us are His people, His beloved ones.

If God has loved us so much then we really need to ask ourselves, why then we have often neglected and ignored Him in our preparations for Christmas? Why have we spent so much time and effort in preparing and immersing ourselves in the festivities and merrymaking and yet, Christ is nowhere near the centre or the focus of our celebrations? The Lord has given us the wonders and riches of His love, and yet, we have not responded to His love with openness and willingness to embrace that love. How often is it that we remain stubborn in our refusal to embrace God’s love and mercy despite Him having patiently cared and reached out to us all these while? We have been busy preparing for Christmas, but is it the true Christmas that we are truly preparing for? Or is it the Christmas of our fancy and desires that we are actually looking forward to.

Let us all consider all of these very carefully even as we continue to progress through this season of Advent. We should not let the distractions and temptations of the secular and worldly Christmas from misleading us down the wrong path this season of Advent. Instead, we should do better in deepening our understanding of God’s love and compassion for us, and how we can do better in our respective lives to do what God has called on each one of us to do. We should this time of Advent to reflect on everything that God had done for us, in loving us and in showing us mercy and forgiveness, even when we have repeatedly disappointed Him and disobeyed Him, betrayed and rejected Him. Such pure love that God has shown us should be reciprocated and responded with our own love and devotion towards Him. But many of us realised it only too late that God has loved us so much.

Too many times we have been too busy with ourselves, our desires and pursuits in this world, blinded by our ego and pride, and as a result, we end up falling deeper and deeper into the path of worldliness and sin, and distracted away from the path of God’s righteousness and truth. Unless we keep this in mind and do our best to steer ourselves away from worldly temptations and resist their influences, we may likely end up going down the wrong paths, and end up being found unworthy to receive the Lord’s glorious inheritance on the Day of Reckoning. Is that what we truly want, brothers and sisters in Christ? To gain the temporary and short-term pleasures and happiness of the world, we sacrifice and forgo our assurance of eternal life in God?

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey, and may He strengthen our faith, resolve and commitment to follow Him wholeheartedly in our way of life. May God be with us always and may He encourage us to walk down the path of righteousness and justice, and be ever vigilant against the allures, coercions and pressures of worldly corruptions, evils and temptations, as well as by deepening our relationships with God. May God bless our every actions and interactions, and give us the strength to carry out our calling and duties faithfully in life. Amen.

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Monday, 28 November 2022 : 1st Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this season of Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas, through the words of the Sacred Scriptures we heard today, all of us are being reminded that there will be the time when the Lord comes again in His glory, to gather us all, His beloved people and all of His faithful ones, that all of us may find rest and true happiness in Him. And we are reminded too that we should have faith in God and in His providence, and that in Him we shall have sure hope of eternal life and salvation, and we should believe in Him wholeheartedly and sincerely, devoting ourselves, our time, effort and attention to serve Him in each and every moments of our lives. Especially also during this Advent season, we are all called to rediscover our connection and strengthen our relationship with God, Whose coming celebrate this upcoming Christmas.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah regarding the promises that God brought to His people regarding the coming of the time of glory, joy and liberation for all of them, as He will deliver them from the hands of their enemies. The Lord never forgets all of them and has always put them in His thoughts. The Lord proclaimed of the future coming of His eternal and righteous dominion over all, when He will rule over all the people and the nations of the world, and where the old wickedness, evils and filth of this world will all be swept away and replaced with the righteousness and justice of God. They will all live in the presence of God, enjoying the fullness of His love and grace, and they will not suffer or have any more need any longer, because they will find perfection with and through God.

And that is what we are looking forward to as we journey through this season of Advent, in preparing ourselves for the joyous and glorious celebration of Christmas that is coming soon. We all know that Advent is a time for preparation for us so that we can celebrate Christmas worthily but how many of us truly know what it is that we are really celebrating in Christmas and its significance to us? Christmas marks the birthday of Our Lord and Saviour, the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has dwelled in His mother’s womb for nine months, and then appearing to us in the flesh, as He was born into this world, that the Saviour of this world finally made His appearance and became tangible and approachable by all of us. In Christ is the culmination and the completion of all that God had proclaimed and reassured His people with, all the promises of salvation and grace.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard a seemingly different narrative, that of an army captain or centurion whose beloved servant was very sick to the point of death. This army centurion, which by the conventions of the time was most certainly not a Jew, and might likely be a Roman, a pagan and outsider by the standards of the people living in the land of Judea and Galilee back then, came to the Lord with great faith, one that the Lord Himself praised before all. For this army centurion, although one of high rank and therefore would have been expected to demand assistance from the Lord, instead humbled himself before everyone who might have witnessed the encounter between him and the Lord, and he had so much faith in the Lord that he went all the way to Him by himself, asking Him personally for the favour for his servant’s sake.

Peculiarly, we may also notice that the army captain also said to the Lord that He should not come to his house when the Lord was making a move towards there, because he was unworthy to have Him enter under his roof. This is the same phrase that we mention every time the priest in the Holy Mass raised the Most Holy Eucharist, the Most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord before us after the Agnus Dei or Lamb of God, saying, ‘This is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb’, and we respond with the exact same words that the army centurion had spoken. This is the profession of our faith and also our humility, realising just how unworthy we truly are for the Lord to come into our midst, and yet that is what He had done for our sake.

Back then, what the army centurion had done was also very shrewd and right, as it was considered taboo and wrong for a Jew to enter the house of a pagan. According to the strict observance of the Law by the Pharisees and the elders, that would have made the Lord Jesus and His disciples unclean by merely stepping into the army centurion’s house. Hence, the army centurion might have wanted to prevent that unfortunate circumstance, which would have generated more reasons for the enemies of the Lord to attack and persecute Him all the more. But nonetheless, what matters is that the army centurion had such great faith in the Lord that essentially he did not have to witness the Lord actually performing His miracles before his own eyes in order for him to believe in Him.

Contrast this to the attitudes of the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and all the elders who continued to doubt and question the Lord, refusing to believe in Him and His truth, and even accusing Him of blasphemy and colluding with demons when they themselves had seen many miracles and wonders performed before their own eyes, and heard all the wisdom and good things that the Lord had spoken before them, and which had fulfilled the prophecies and predictions made by the prophets, a fact that they were all certainly familiar with. What is the reason then for the contradiction and contrast, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because for all of those people, they had no faith in them, and in their pride, ego and self-righteousness, they had closed the gates of their hearts and minds against God.

Hence, today as we continue our journey through this blessed season of Advent, let us all reflect on our attitudes in life, in our way of life and in how each one of us have responded to God’s call in our lives. In our preparation for Christmas in particular, have we realised and understood the true meaning and importance of Christmas to us? Or have we allowed the extreme commercialisation and secularisation of Christmas to affect and influence us? It is not wrong for us to celebrate Christmas the way that we are familiar with, but we must not allow that to distract us from appreciating and celebrating the true meaning and importance of Christmas. We should do our best to observe Christmas with the true spirit and understanding of what we are celebrating, and we should maintain our focus on the light of truth and salvation that Christ has brought into our midst.

May the Lord, our God and Saviour, born into this world and incarnate in the flesh, revealed to us and through Whom we have been made sharers in God’s most generous love and inheritance, continue to guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He strengthen each one of us in our resolve so that we may always be ready to follow Him and walk in His path at all times. May God bless us and our every good endeavours and efforts, all for the greater glory of His Name, and may He help us to prepare ourselves well so that we may indeed welcome the season of Christmas worthily with faith and true joy, in Christ, the One in Whom we truly should be celebrating and be rejoicing about. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 November 2022 : First Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday the Church marks the beginning of both the new liturgical year cycle as well as the season of Advent. This season of Advent marks the time of preparation and spiritual discernment for all of us as we are getting ourselves ready to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour at Christmas. Thus this season of Advent is meant to be a time of recollection and realignment in our lives that we may truly be ready and worthy to celebrate Christmas, not the worldly ways of how Christmas is celebrated but rather the true Christmas, the celebration of the birth or Nativity of Our Lord Jesus, as we welcome Him into our midst, to dwell among us and be with us, God made manifest and tangible. Through Him we have seen the love that God has for each and every one of us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord spoke through Isaiah, His prophet to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, speaking of what will happen at the end of time, when God will raise Jerusalem and His people to the highest of the highest, where He shall rule over them forever, and the people from every nations and every ends of the Earth will come flocking to Him, referring to how God will rule not just over Israel or Judah, but also over the whole world, over all of mankind. Through His prophecy made via Isaiah, we all heard how the Lord reassured His people, and hence us all, that He will be with us, and will raise us up on the last day, when He will judge all the living and the dead, from all time, and those who are worthy will be brought into His everlasting kingdom while those who are found unworthy will be cast out into eternal damnation.

Contextually, this message was presented by the Lord to His people at a rather low time in the psyche and experience of the people of God then, the descendants of Israel and Abraham. That was because at that time, the northern kingdom of Israel had just recently fallen to the conquering forces of the Assyrians, who had destroyed the kingdom and its capital city of Samaria, and brought many of the people of the northern kingdom into exile, scattering them off in distant lands away from their ancestral homeland. Not only that, but the Assyrian king Sennacherib even almost destroyed Jerusalem as well if not for God’s mighty intervention. All of that happened because of their constant disobedience and rebellion against God, and they had to face the consequences for their lack of faith and their betrayal against God. But the Lord still reached out to His people and wanted them all to be reunited with Him, and hence, He gave them this reassurance through His prophets like Isaiah and many others.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the words of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and all the people assembled that the Son of Man will come again at the end of time, at the moment when no one will expect and when many will be caught being lax and unaware of the fact that they have to account for their lives and existence before God, and answer for their failures to follow Him and obey His Law and commandments. St. Paul speaks of the same thing in his Epistle and letter to the Church and the faithful in Rome in our second reading today, as he reminded the faithful there to remember their obligations and missions as Christians, and not to be lax or complacent in how they live their lives. They were reminded to uphold their faith in God most faithfully, and to do their best to live righteously as Christian believers, behaving and doing things in the manner that they had been shown and taught to do by the Lord and through His Church.

After hearing from the Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that on this First Sunday of Advent, we focus one of the aspects of Advent in the anticipation of the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, that is Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. This Sunday therefore we are focusing on the Theme of Hope, the Hope that we have in Christ, our Lord, Whose birth we commemorate this coming Christmas season. Throughout the Scripture readings we heard this Sunday, we can clearly see this Hope being presented, as the Hope for the people of God Who were expecting the coming of God’s Saviour and liberation, just as He has proclaimed and promised to them, throughout time, again and again, from prophets to prophets, and messengers to messengers. It is this Hope that the people were holding onto firmly even as they suffered throughout all those years, humiliated and enduring hardships.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore at the very beginning of this season of Advent reflect carefully on our way of observing it and how we are preparing ourselves for the coming of the joyful season of Christmas. Let us ask by asking ourselves, what is it that we await for in Christmas? And what is it that we rejoice for in Christmas? We may not realise it but the ways that many of us and this world are using in preparing to celebrate and celebrating Christmas are not reflecting and showing what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. In whatever we see all around us these few weeks and in the next upcoming few weeks, what we see is all about excessive secularisation of Christmas, and all about glamour and merrymaking, but one that is lacking the true reason why we ought to rejoice in the first place.

We rejoice because of the Hope we have received and been reassured of by the Lord Himself, the Hope of salvation, eternal life and liberation from the chains and bondage of sin and death. Yet, in many of our celebrations, we place excessive emphasis on the many secular practices, customs and observances of Christmas, where the birthday Boy Himself was often sidelined, put aside and ignored, and instead we spent a lot of time and are spending a lot more time on the festivities, glamorous displays, of Santa Claus, Father Christmas, all the reindeers, glitters and snow, and all those things that should be merely accessory and accompanying the joy we have in the Hope in Christ we gained through Christmas. Yet, those things have often occupied the centre stage, and the Lord is often forgotten, ignored and laid aside on the festivities that bear His very own Name, Christmas.

Therefore, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate Christmas appropriately and worthily, let us all reflect on what Christmas is truly all about, and think of how we can do better in making our Christmas celebration a truly genuine and worthy one, which reflects the true meaning, importance and significance of this event. Let us all focus on that great Hope we have seen in Christ, the Light of God and His salvation that has appeared in the midst of our darkened world filled with sin and evil. That way we will realise that whatever we plan for Christmas, if we have been following the customs and habits of the world, are really excessive and unnecessary. We have to remember that we celebrate Christmas because we are grateful, full of joy and happiness because of what our Lord and Saviour had done for us, in restoring Hope to each and every one of us.

Let us also keep in mind that there are those brothers and sisters of ours who cannot celebrate Christmas the way we often celebrate it. There are Christians all around the world who are still being persecuted, and who endure daily sufferings just because of their faith in God. There are places where Christians have to be very careful or lest they may be persecuted, or even lose their lives if they are found out to be believers of Christ. This was just like how it was during the early days of the Church, and how it was also during the many times throughout history when the Church and faithful Christians endured a lot of trials, challenges and many martyrdoms happened. But they all remained firm in their faith in God because of the Hope which they have seen in Christ, their Lord and Saviour.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all restore the true dignity and meaning of Christmas by restoring our focus on the true reason for Christmas, that is Christ Himself. Let us all focus our attention on Him and embody the true spirit and joy of Christmas in ourselves, in how we act and in how we prepare ourselves during this season of Advent. Let us all bear the Hope of Christ, His light and truth in our every words, actions and deeds, and be the beacons of His light and hope to the nations, especially to those who have been bereft and denied of hope and courage, of comfort and strength. But we can be their encouragement and strength, brothers and sisters, and if we can, through our actions and support, in whatever way we can do to bring the Light and Hope of Christ to our suffering brethren, then we truly have understood the true meaning and significance of Christmas, and are ready to celebrate it worthily.

May all of us progress through this season of Advent with the right spirit and motivation, and do our best to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas in all of our preparations and expectations. Let us remind each other of the Light and Hope that we have received from Christ Himself, Our Lord and Saviour, and bear that Light and Hope in our own lives, that we may inspire many others to find their way to the Lord and to His salvation. May God bless us always and may He grant us the strength and the courage to do our best in glorifying Him ever always by our lives. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 November 2022 : 34th 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 mark this last day of our current liturgical year, and beginning the season of Advent tomorrow, we are all reminded again of what awaits us at the end of time, if we are to remain faithful to the Lord. We are reminded that we have always been intended to live in everlasting happiness and bliss. The Lord created each one of us to share and bask in His love and grace, but unfortunately because of sin, through our disobedience against God, we have been sundered and separated from God. But that did not stop God from loving and caring for us. In fact, He redoubled His efforts to reach out to us and wanted to help us out of our predicament and troubles.

That is why, He revealed to us His plans and His works, in how He will liberate all of us from the clutches of sin and death. He showed St. John the Apostle of what will come at the end of time and awaits those who are obedient to Him, listened to His call and answered it, and embraced His path towards salvation and eternal life. St. John saw through the Lord’s Angel, a vision of the New Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, one that is heavenly and perfect, unlike the old, worldly Jerusalem, at the end of time. That all will happen after the final triumphant victory over all sin, evil and death, and when Satan, with all of his forces and all those who have rejected God, betrayed and abandoned Him, and refusing to embrace His compassionate love and mercy, have been cast into eternal suffering and annihilation.

Essentially, St. John saw the revelation of what true paradise is like, in which mankind will no longer suffer any want or need, or endure any more physical, mental or spiritual hardships and pains, sufferings or trials, or challenges and difficulties because they have already existed in God’s presence and gained perfection through Him. No longer shall they ever be separated from Him again, and they shall exist forever in His Presence, continuously praising Him and enjoying the full fruits of their hard and faithful labours in this world. I am sure that is what many of us are looking forward to in our lives, as we want to be reunited with God and to find our way to achieve this eventual state of oneness with Him. However, the path going towards this state will be one that is filled with obstacles, challenges and trials.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all realise that living as Christians is not an easy as it may seem to many of us. Some among us may have or have had this misconception that being Christians means that we have been assured and guaranteed salvation and grace from God without us needing to do anything else. As the Apostles mentioned, and sacred traditions and teachings of the Church ought to remind us, that if our faith is not made alive through real and concrete actions and deeds rooted in that genuine faith, then that faith is dead and meaningless to us, and will not avail us on the path towards salvation and eternal life in God. Our dead faith is no better than that of unbelievers and hypocrites, and we must keep that in mind lest we end up walking down that path.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus Himself reminding His disciples and hence all of us to be vigilant and ready for His coming, the coming of the end times as He has promised. This means that we should indeed not remain idle in living our lives as Christians, but we should do our best to practice our faith and to live this life as justly and filled with righteousness as possible, doing our best to obey the Law and commandments of God. This is how we are called to embrace God’s path and how we can find the surest path to the eternal life through God and His salvation. We have to be active in proclaiming God’s words and truth, His love and kindness through our own actions, by which we show the world and all those whom we encounter in life, what true Christian love is all about.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us spend some time to reflect upon our lives and our actions in this world. Let us use this opportunity and the reminders that God had presented to us throughout these few weeks to help us to discern carefully our path forward in life, that if we have been wayward in how we live our lives, we may find the true path towards the Lord and His salvation. We have to keep ourselves firmly centred on the Lord and keep our focus on Him so that we can strive to resist the temptations to walk away from Him and betraying Him for the comforts and pleasures of the world. We have to be ever vigilant and strong, and be inspired by the examples of our holy predecessors, who have committed themselves to God and devoted themselves, often suffering a lot in the midst of their efforts to walk in the path of God.

And we are all called to show that same love for God to our fellow brothers and sisters as well because as Christians, each and every one of us, even strangers and all those whom we encounter in life, and even those who have hated, hurt and persecuted us, are all equally beloved children of God. Hence, it is important that all of us diminish our sense of self-importance and hubris, diminishing our pride and ego so that we may truly and genuinely show the love that God has taught and shown us to one another. Just as the Lord Himself has loved us when we are still so despicable, rebellious and wicked, so we are called to love one another in the same way, and be great examples of what it truly means to be Christians, as the disciples and followers of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our path and journey of faith through life, and may He empower and strengthen us that we may persevere more amidst the many trials and challenges in life, and all that we may encounter in our path. May He stay by our side and lead us through the challenges and trials of the year ahead, and grant us the grace and blessings in the path we walk, that we may remain true to Him and be good examples and inspirations for one another. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 25 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that we must not be ignorant of what we are all called to do as Christians in our daily living, and to heed the signs of the times. For each and every one of us as Christians, we are all called and expected to make good use of our lives and all the talents, abilities, opportunities and all other things that the Lord had granted us, so that our lives may be truly fruitful and worthy of God. We must not be idle in our lives or worse still, act in ways contrary to our beliefs, as what unfortunately many amongst even us Christians have done, and are currently doing in our lives. To do so is truly unbecoming of our Christian identity, and is truly a scandal of our faith, which is something that many amongst us have to account for in the end.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, we heard of the moment of the final defeat of Satan, the great enemy at the end of time, and the ultimate triumph of God and the faithful over all those who have long persecuted the holy people of God. The Lord will triumph over all evils and all the forces of the wicked, and that vision of St. John saw of this great victory and the final defeat of evil serves to encourage all the faithful people of God who at that time had been facing a lot of struggles, trials, challenges and persecutions, having to endure prison, and even martyrdom for their belief and faith in God. Many, like St. John himself, had to suffer because they believed in God and refused to worship the pagan gods and idols, or the Emperors, who back then were often regarded as divine.

All the things that St. John witnessed in his heavenly vision became source of hope and encouragement for the Christians all over the world who were persecuted for their faith. St. John the Apostle witnessed how the mighty forces of the devil met their deserved end and defeat, crushed and conquered by the might of God, and God will come to save His people, just as He has once saved the people of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt and from the tyranny of the Pharaoh. Also highlighted in today’s passage of St. John’s vision is the occasion of the Last Judgment, when all the people, living and dead, all will be assembled before God and face their final and eternal fate, be it that their names are listed in the Book of Life and hence worthy of God, and therefore worthy of enjoying the eternal bliss and joy with God, or whether their names are not found in the Book of Life, and will be cast out into eternal darkness and oblivion, to suffer for eternity.

In the relatively short Gospel passage we have heard from today, the Lord reiterated this again, as He reminded all of His followers that the coming of the time of reckoning can be anytime, and while no one will know or have known the exact time and occasion of when it will happen, but the signs from the Lord are clear. And anyway, regardless whether the coming of the Day of Last Judgment is imminent or not, we must always be ever ready to welcome the Lord when He comes again, and it means that we should always be ever prepared in everything we say and do. In all things we must always be filled with the zeal, passion and faith to live our lives faithfully as is expected of us as Christians, and not to allow temptations of the world to distract or even mislead us down the wrong path. We must be careful or else before we realise it, we are already deep in the path towards damnation and destruction.

Clearly, as we heard from all these passages from the Scriptures, we are all being reminded as we have been in these past two weeks towards the end of the current liturgical year, of how important it is for us to remember to always put the Lord as the centre and the focus of our lives and existences. We should not replace Him with other focuses or pursuits which we may have or desire. Unfortunately, more often than not, this is exactly what happened to us Christians, as we are often easily distracted and tempted to succumb to the allures of worldly comforts and pleasures, to all of our greed and ambition, our pride and ego. And all of these can lead us to our ultimate downfall if we are not actively resisting those temptations and pressures, as well as striving to live our lives in a most genuine, Christian manner as we have been called and expected to do in our lives.

Today, we mark the occasion of the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, one of the great saints of the Church and one of the most renowned martyrs of the faith. Hopefully by reflecting upon her lives, actions, examples and faith, we may find inspiration and strength to dedicate ourselves and our own lives to God in the way that this holy woman of God had done. St. Catherine of Alexandria was the daughter of nobleman or a Roman governor in the land of Egypt, during the years of the final persecutions against Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian and his fellow co-Emperors and successors. One of those, Emperor Maxentius conducted intense persecutions against Christians in his domains, and St. Catherine went directly to the Emperor to rebuke him for his actions and cruelty against Christians.

At that time, such an action definitely merited death penalty, not only because St. Catherine was a Christian but she dared to rebuke the person of the Emperor, who by the time had become very feared and powerful position. Yet, this holy woman of God fearlessly defended her faith before the Emperor and others, and not even many pagan philosophers, the best of the best assembled by the Emperor to debate her can best her in wisdom and understanding, and she utterly trounced them through God’s wisdom and power. St. Catherine also resisted the temptations of power and worldly comfort herself when the Emperor, who was mesmerised by her beauty and eloquence, tried to woo and persuade her to become his bride. She chose to suffer and die in martyrdom than to betray her faith and principles.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hence strive to do our best to obey the Lord and His commandments, as well as putting Him as the centre and focus of our lives. Let us all be genuine in being faithful to Him and do whatever we can to live our lives, in even the smallest things and actions we do, in accordance with His will, His Law and commandments. As Christians we have been called to love God first and foremost, and then to love our fellow brethren in the same manner without distinction or prejudice. Hence, let us try our best to do that, so that by our faith made manifest and alive through our actions and works, we may truly be deemed worthy by the Lord on the Day of Judgment, and receive from Him the promised everlasting life and joy. May God bless us all in our every works and efforts, for His greater glory. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that no matter how challenging and difficult the obstacles, trials and persecutions we may have to face in being Christians, as those whom the Lord had called and those who had devoted themselves to Him, we must always have faith in God and in the fact that in the end, the Lord will be triumphant. And all of us who remain faithful to the Lord will be justified and share in the triumph and victory of He Who conquers sin, evil and death. That is something which all of us need to remember, as we continue to progress through our lives and activities daily, so that we do not end up losing sight on the true destination that we will reach through Christ.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Revelations, we heard of the details of the vision of St. John the Apostle seeing the great defeat of Babylon the great, the mighty enemy of all the faithful, and how the persecutions and oppressions against the people of God will finally cease and those who persecute them will face their just consequences and punishments. The Lord will not let those who are faithful to Him to suffer without good reason and without being avenged, and their blood and sufferings will be paid dearly by those who have inflicted hurt on their own brothers and sisters, and those will be thrown down and cast into the eternal darkness and annihilation together with the devil and all of the other forces of the wicked and evil, all the fallen angels, demonic spirits and more.

Some people back in the early days of the Church associated that Babylon with what is in fact a connotation to the time when the Babylonians under king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and Jerusalem, a few centuries before the coming of Christ, and destroyed the city and its Temple, persecuting the people of God and bringing them into exile. That Babylon by the time of the Lord and afterwards would come to be associated then with Rome, and its bitter persecutions of Christians. That association became even stronger after the Romans, like the Babylonians in the past, destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple just less than four decades after the Lord Himself had predicted it, and there were many among the people of God who were killed or suffered because of that.

Hence, naturally Rome was seen as the great Babylon, and the Lord’s retribution and victory would be won against it. Indeed, later on after almost three centuries of persecutions, the Christian faith and Church was finally tolerated and the persecutions were mostly gone, and eventually the Roman Emperors themselves and the whole entire Empire would adopt the Christian faith as their faith. However, it also means that the vision of St. John the Apostle have not yet taken place yet, unlike some early Christians who would have believed that the events as recorded in the Book of Revelations to be happening immediately, or very soon afterwards. But only the Lord Himself knows the exact moment when all of that will happen.

The Gospel passage today essentially spoke of what I had mentioned just earlier, about the Lord Himself proclaiming to the people how the city of Jerusalem, its Temple and all the people inside it, will face destruction because of the forces arrayed against them in the coming years, which would indeed come true during the first Roman-Jewish war that came about because of the rebellions from a certain segment of the Jewish people against the Roman rule which eventually led to the great and bitter conflict culminating in the siege and downfall of Jerusalem, and how the magnificent Temple built just a few decades earlier by King Herod the Great was thrown down and destroyed right to its very foundations. Everything happened as the Lord had proclaimed, and He warned His followers of the signs of what would happen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the lesson we then ought to learn from our Scripture passages today is that, while we may face daunting moments and trials, hardships and persecutions in our journey towards the Lord, but we must not give up our faith in God and we must not give in to the temptations, coercions and pressures to follow in the flow of the world, all the demands of those who seek to subvert the truth of God, and all those forces seeking our downfall and destruction. We should stand firm in our commitment to the path that God has shown and led us into, and follow the good examples set by our faithful and dedicated predecessors, all the saints and martyrs who had given their all to glorify God by their lives and examples.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his many companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, consisting of both the Christian missionaries who came to Vietnam to proclaim the Lord’s Good News and the local Christian converts and communities of the faithful. Like that of in the early days of the Church, the then Vietnamese government and authorities persecuted the Christians and the Church as they were highly suspicious of them because the missionaries came from foreign countries whom might be seen back then as attempting to sow dissent and act as agents to the foreign powers which back then had begun to interfere in the political and societal establishment of Vietnam and its neighbours.

To that end, the authorities persecuted Christians all throughout Vietnam, as people like St. Andrew Dung-Lac, who was one of the first local Vietnamese ordained to the priesthood, as well as the foreign missionaries, other leaders of the Church and more of the general Christian population, were gathered up, arrested and eventually put to death. Yet, despite the great challenges that they had to endure, most of those Christian faithful remained firm in their faith and chose to suffer and die rather than to betray their Lord and Master. Their courage and piety, their great dedication to God became inspiration for so many other people who are encouraged to remain firmly faithful to the Lord despite the challenges and trials facing them. Therefore, we too should be inspired and encouraged in the same way as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed zeal and conviction, with the strength, courage and spirit to dedicate ourselves, our every actions and deeds, our every energy for the sake of the Lord, for His Church and for His people. May the Lord continue to guide us all through this journey of faith, and may He empower us all to be ever stronger in faith and to draw ever closer to His grace and love, like that of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions in martyrdom, the Holy Martyrs of Vietnam, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 November 2022 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbots)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures all of us are presented with the reality of being Christians in that we may face hardships, persecutions, and even may lose our lives in the midst of us living our lives faithfully as Christians. Each one of us are reminded that while persecutions and sufferings may be in our path, and we may have to endure them for a while, there is no path for those who continue to refuse to believe in God and those who persecute His people, as those will end up being crushed and defeated by the triumphant Lord, Our God and our Saviour, Who will come again at the end of time, at the time of His choosing, to gather us all who are faithful to Him, and cast into the eternal darkness and destruction, all those who rejected Him to the very end.

In our first reading today, we heard of the story from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, continuing the account of the past two weeks as we continue to progress through the final days of the current liturgical year, as a reminder for all of us how things will turn out eventually in the end. St. John witnessed in his heavenly vision the Seven Angels of God bearing the last and final plagues that will rise against those who are wicked and all those who continue to side with Satan and the other wicked ones, and continue to rebel against Him. Those who are righteous will be remembered by God, and the moment of His coming will be close with all the manifestation of God’s wrath, as He will come as He has promised, to gather each and every one of us who remain faithful to Him, the living and the dead, to rise together with Him into a new life and existence, totally and completely free from the bondage to sin and evil.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus told His disciples of all the things that they would experience going forward, as they continued to carry on their ministries, missions and vocations, as His Apostles, disciples, servants and missionaries among the peoples of various nations. He presented to them frankly and truthfully of how the world that had rejected Him and persecuted Him would likely persecute them as well. Just as much as they would indeed enjoy rich fruits of their efforts in mission and evangelisation, causing countless souls and people to come to know the Lord and be saved, they also had to contend against the many challenges, persecutions and rejections from all those who refused and would refuse to believe in the Lord and His truth.

And all of those things indeed came true as the early Church and Christians came under intense persecution firstly from the Jewish authorities, the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, and then later on from the local governors and eventually the Roman state and government itself, resulting in many years, decades and centuries of terrible persecutions against the Church and all Christians. And even three centuries later, when the Christian persecutions were ended and the faith was finally tolerated and accepted, persecutions, challenges, trials and rejections still continued to happen, from time to time, again and again throughout the past two millennia of the history of the Church and its presence and works in our world, even right to the present day.

Throughout the world, there are still various kinds of difficulties, challenges and persecutions facing the people of God all over, as they face hardships and trials just for even being believers of Christ and for showing their faith in Him. Many had to practice their faith in secret, and many were, and are still suffering daily, even in prison and torture for their continued belief and faith in the Lord, their God and their Saviour. Yet, many of them remained steady and firm in their faith, and they did not give up despite the various pressures, coercions and efforts to make them turn away from their faith and betray the Lord. And still in other places, while it is alright to practice the Christian faith, Christians are facing challenges, trials and also oppositions to their very beliefs and way of life, and many are forced to choose between their faith and the fashionable ways and thoughts of the current world.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two great saints whose lives ought to inspire us all in how we ought to live our lives with faith, namely that of Pope St. Clement I, one of the earliest Popes and Vicars of Christ, a holy martyr of the faith, and also St. Columban, a renowned and holy Abbot, both of whom were dedicated to God in their own unique ways, and whose lives and actions showed great deal of faith and commitment to God. Both of them can show us what it truly means to be Christians, to live our lives worthily of Him in all of our words, actions and deeds, that we may indeed come ever closer to the Lord and find our way to Him, to His grace, love, salvation and eventually, eternal life with Him in true happiness and joy.

Pope St. Clement I was the successor of St. Peter through St. Linus and St. Anacletus, as the fourth Pope, Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome and therefore the leader of the Universal Church. He led the Church through the difficult years of persecutions and hardships, particularly during an especially bitter era of persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian. Christians throughout the Roman Empire were persecuted for their faith, and many perished as martyrs in refusing to obey and worship the Roman Emperor as a divinity and betraying their one true God, Jesus Christ, their Lord and Saviour. Amidst all those challenges, Pope St. Clement I led the Church, which grew gradually despite the hardships and martyrdoms, and he was well known for his many letters or Epistles, helping to strengthen the Church and keeping all the faithful together and united in Christ. Eventually, this holy man of God himself perished in the persecutions, but he remained faithful to the very end.

Meanwhile St. Columban lived at a different era when Christians were already free to practice their faith and Christianity was in fact already the dominant faith throughout the region. However, there were a lot of lapses and corrupt practices within the Church in various places, which St. Columban in his works and efforts as a missionary and then as an Abbot, tried hard to help to reform the Church and excise the excesses of worldly attachments and impurities from the Christian faith, the Church and the faithful people of God. He had to go up against powerful people, even the leaders of the Church in the region of Gaul, now France, where he worked and ministered in. Yet, despite all the opposition and hardships, St. Columban remained committed to his mission to the very end, and many were converted through his efforts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we can see from the examples set by those two saints, let us all therefore renew our own commitment to live our lives truly worthily as Christians, in dedicating our works, efforts, our every words, actions and deeds to bring glory to God. Let us all therefore continue to work hard in doing the will of God, and being vigilant that whenever is the Lord’s second coming, we will always be ready to welcome Him into this world, and receive from Him the crown of eternal glory, and to enjoy forever the inheritance and true joy that He has always intended for us, His beloved children and people, the jewels and pinnacle of His creation. May God bless us always, and may He continue to guide us in our journey of faith through life, always and forevermore. Amen.