Weekday Homily

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Saturday, 23 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded by the words of the Scriptures to rend and discard from ourselves all the traces of sin and evil, of all wickedness and the disobedience we have against God. Today through the words of the prophet Jeremiah and the Lord Jesus Himself, all of us are called to seek what is holy and good, worthy of God and get rid from ourselves the attachments to worldly desires and sins, of all things that kept us away from God and His path. The Lord is calling us to return to Him with righteousness and true love, devotion and commitment to Him.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah of the moment when Jeremiah embarked on his mission to preach the words of the Lord to the people of the kingdom of Judah, which he had been sent to. The people of Judah and their kings and leaders had long disobeyed the Lord and turned back into the path of sin, evil and wickedness, and for that, Jeremiah told them all that they would pay the consequences for their disobedience and sins, but yet at the same time, God still loved His people and wanted to show them His mercy, to forgive them and be reconciled with them.

The Lord called the people to change their ways of life, to abandon their false and pagan gods and idols, all those that had mislead them in the wrong path, and to leave behind their wicked deeds and all their past transgressions. He reminded them of what they ought be doing as His followers and people, to purify themselves and to follow Him once again with faith, to glorify His Name by their deeds, to honour once again the Law of God and all that God has placed in their midst to guide and help them in their journey. The prophet Jeremiah called on them all to atone for their sins and to enter once again into Covenant with God.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers with the parable of the sower of seeds of wheat and the weeds that were sown by the enemy of the sower. Using that parable, the Lord showed how the wheat represents everything good that God had sown in us, with the sower representing God Himself. The enemy on the other hand represents the devil and all of his wicked forces bent on seeing our destruction. The weeds therefore represent the temptations of desire, greed, pride and the many sins that they had sown in us, and in trying to steer us away from the path towards salvation into the path towards damnation instead.

That is why, when the parable stated that the sower did not tell his servants to remove the weeds right away, it can be interpreted in two ways. First, it is representative of how there are both good and bad things within each one of us, and in the end, we will be judged by our good and bad deeds, and those who are found worthy shall enjoy eternal life and true happiness with God, while those who are found lacking in faith and unworthy will be consigned to an eternity of suffering and punishment, all because of their own conscious choice to reject God and to abandon His ways, just as the people of God had often done in the past.

Then another interpretation is that, the wheat represents the righteous while the weed represents those who are wicked, all of whom are living in this world, represented by the field. If we continue to disobey God and refuse to repent from our sinful ways, then we are like the weeds which will be collected in the end and thrown into the fire. Instead, all of us are reminded and called to follow the Lord, to be like the wheat, by our righteous life and actions, by our commitment and obedience to God’s will. We have that choice to make, whether we want to be faithful to God or whether we prefer to walk our own path, which likely leads us down the path of destruction.

Today, we should therefore look upon the good examples set before us by St. Bridget of Sweden, a great and holy woman, faithful servant of God whose feast we are celebrating this day. St. Bridget of Sweden was a renowned mystic and religious, who became a lady-in-waiting for the Queen of Sweden, while being renowned for her many charitable works and activities, in her care for the poor and the needy. After her husband’s passing, her continued desire to serve the sick and the poor inspired her to establish a religious order, which would later on be known after her as the Bridgettines. They were all committed to the care of the sick and the poor in the community.

St. Bridget was known for her pilgrimages across Christendom, partly because of the need for her to validate the foundation of her religious order. Throughout those pilgrimages, she continued to minister to the poor and the sick, even in the midst of the Black Death pandemic that was raging back then. When she was in Rome where she remained until her passing, she continued her many good works, which made her well-remembered by the people, who were touched by her generosity, love and kindness. All of us should also be similarly inspired by the faith and love that St. Bridget had shown, in following the Lord and His commandments.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our path in faith, and may He give us the strength and courage to remain firm in our conviction and commitment to serve Him in each and every moments of our lives. May the inspiration from St. Bridget of Sweden empower us all to walk ever more faithfully in God’s path and may all of us be ever more zealous and dedicated in all things, in being the wheat that is truly worthy of the Lord. Amen.

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Friday, 22 July 2022 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, a prominent disciple of the Lord who was described throughout the Gospels as one of the closest woman collaborators of the Lord, who travelled together with the other disciples and who was present during the important moments especially surrounding the Lord’s Passion, His suffering, death and resurrection. St. Mary Magdalene was also known to be the one to have seen the Lord the first among the disciples after He was risen from the dead. In that way therefore, she was the one to deliver the truth of this Good News to the disciples.

Hence, that is why the Church has always treated St. Mary Magdalene as an equal to the Apostles or Isapostolos, counted among the great saints whose prominence and honour in the Church are considered equivalent to those given to the Twelve Apostles and the other Apostles. Pope Francis, our current Pope raised the celebration of St. Mary Magdalene from a Memorial rank to that of a Feast a few years ago, in order to reflect this nature, and he also referred to her by her well-known title of Apostola Apostolorum, or the ‘Apostle to the Apostles’. This is a reference to what I just mentioned earlier, that St. Mary Magdalene was the one to bring the Good News of the Resurrection to the Apostles.

Just as the other Apostles were sent forth by the Lord to spread the Good News, the Gospels of truth and love of God to all the peoples of the whole world, hence St. Mary Magdalene prefigured all of that, by her role in bringing the same revelation of truth to the disciples, to the Apostles and all those assembled and waiting in uncertainty and fear after the Lord had been condemned to death and crucified. St. Mary Magdalene was the one to whom the Lord appeared first, to bring this Good News of hope and encouragement to the Apostles, and to remind them that He was truly risen from the dead just as He Himself had predicted and revealed earlier on.

St. Mary Magdalene was indeed a truly great saint and servant of God, but if we look upon her origin and background, according to various traditions and Scriptural evidences, we can see that she was far from the ideal disciple that we may think that she must have been. St. Mary Magdalene was often conflated with another woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, or that of a prostitute and sinner, and in one of the Gospels, it was explicitly mentioned that she had seven demons or evil spirits driven out from her by the Lord, which strengthened the link between her and her less than ideal origin.

Regardless whether she was an immoral woman or prostitute in her earlier life, or whether she was just another ordinary woman out of many at the time, that was not important. What matters was that, St. Mary Magdalene chose to leave behind her past life, flawed and terrible as it might have been, and instead followed the Lord wholeheartedly as a disciple. She followed the Lord faithfully, even when the other disciples fled after He was arrested at the time of His Passion and suffering and death. She was among the ones who waited on the Lord, together with His mother Mary, as He laid dying on the Cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Mary Magdalene, her faith and dedication to God, all that she had done and the commitment she had made to the Lord should be good inspiration for all of us to follow. Her conversion and then commitment as a faithful servant of God is an inspiration and hope for each one of us, that God has called all to be His disciples, and not even the greatest sinners are excluded from the path to salvation and eternal life. What matters is for each one of us to recognise our sinful ways and to return to the Lord with contrite hearts and with the openness to embrace His way and truth.

Like St. Mary Magdalene, even many of the other greatest saints of the Church were once sinners, and some of them committed great sins previously in their respective lives. Yet, what made them to be respected and venerated greatly later on were their commitment to change their lives and in embracing the path that the Lord had shown them. They responded to God’s call and were converted to the true path of God. The Lord was with them and He brought them to the right path, and through them He did many wonderful and great deeds, because those saints allowed Him to lead them on in their lives that they became His greatest disciples and servants.

All of us have also received the same calling, and all that remains is for us to respond to God’s call. It is completely up to us how we shall respond to Him and how we are to follow the path that God has shown us. Each one of us have been given various opportunities and chances to do God’s will, and even the smallest and seemingly less significant things that we do actually have a great impact way beyond our imagination. We are all called to do our part as Christians, to be the examples and inspirations to all our brothers and sisters, that by our good examples, as St. Mary Magdalene herself had done with hers, we may bring the truth and Good News of God to more and more people out there.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and may He bless us in our every good works and endeavours. St. Mary Magdalene, holy disciple and follower of the Lord, the Apostle to the Apostles, pray for us all! Amen.

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Thursday, 21 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we heard the reminder of how much God has loved us and how much He had done for all of us, throughout all the time. God has always shown us His patient care and love, and He was always ever patient although we have often disregarded His love, disobeyed Him and being wayward and wicked in our way of life. The Lord wants us to listen to Him, hearken to His words and to follow His path that we may not end up falling into the wrong paths, and be trapped by the whims of our desires and sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah in which the Lord spoke of the great and wonderful things which He had done for them, and all the love He had shown them throughout the ages, and yet at the same time, of how those same people had rejected Him and refused His love, in worshipping pagan idols and gods, offering sacrifices to them and by doing what were wicked in the eyes of the Lord. They had not been faithful to God and disregarded His reminders and calls, persecuting the prophets who had been sent to them in order to remind them to be faithful to God and to be reconciled with Him.

Today we are then presented with the words of the Lord speaking to the disciples regarding the matter why He always preferred to speak in parables, as the disciples were wondering why He did so. The Lord told all of them that He revealed the secrets and truths of the kingdom of Heaven to them, while those who have not committed themselves to Him and refused to believe in Him would not understand or appreciate those words of truth that He has spoken to them. The ones who were willing to listen to the Lord would receive the revelation and the truth, by their faith and the guidance, the wisdom and the Holy Spirit that the Lord would grant them.

All these are therefore reminders for us, that we should not harden our hearts and minds against the Lord, especially viewing how in the past, many of our predecessors had faltered and fallen off unto the path of sin precisely because they shut themselves off from the Lord, were proud and haughty, and unwilling to listen to the Lord calling in their hearts and minds, for them to seek His truth and to repent from their wayward paths. They often trusted in their own abilities, intellects and strengths rather than to trust in God and in His providence, all of which had been given freely by God to guide all people to Himself.

As such, that is why many had fallen in the past in the path towards redemption in God. That is why we are reminded that we ourselves should not fall into that same path and traps, of temptations and worldly attachments that can easily lead us astray in our journey towards the Lord. That is why we are called to live our lives from now on with greater and more genuine faith, dedicating ourselves to the service of God and glorifying Him by our lives and actions. And today, we should reflect upon the great examples and inspiration that had been shown by one of our predecessors, namely that of St. Lawrence of Brindisi.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi was a renowned priest and member of the Capuchin Franciscans, who throughout his life had dedicated himself to God and to the people he was ministering to, actively establishing monasteries and communities of the faithful, working hard to reach out to the people of God, and through his many works, helping to restore the lack of spiritual life and connection with God that many people back then often experienced. Through his many works and writings, he exposed the errors of the heretical and wayward teachings of many preachers who fell out of the Church and led to the splintering of the many factions during the ‘reformation’ period.

The commitment and hard work of St. Lawrence of Brindisi reminds us of the kind of faith and love that each and every one of us as Christians should have for the Lord. He has given his time, life and efforts to serve and glorify the Lord, regardless of the challenges and hardships that he had to encounter. Are we also capable of this kind of faith and dedication, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able to entrust ourselves wholly in the Lord and be truly faithful and committed to Him? And are we willing to listen to Him and to welcome Him and His truth and love into our hearts? These are important questions that we should be reflecting on this day.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey, and may He continue to strengthen each one of us so that we may always walk faithfully in His presence, inspired by the examples of His saints, of St. Lawrence of Brindisi and that of innumerable other holy men and women, saints of God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop 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, all of us are being reminded that each and every one of us have been called in different ways by the Lord, to follow Him and to commit our lives to a faithful and virtuous Christian living, that each and every one of us may bear rich fruits of our faith and actions. Each one of us are challenged and called to follow the Lord in everything we say, act and do, and through Him, we may do truly wonderful things and impact many others in the way that we may never have thought possible before. All these are possible if we let the Lord guide us in our way and journey.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah of the calling of this prophet whom God had called to be His servant and messenger to the people of the kingdom of Judah. At that time, the people of Judah had slipped once again into the path of sin and evil, disobedience and wickedness, and hence, God called Jeremiah to be His instrument and as the one to deliver His will and His words to those same people, and He reassured Jeremiah that He would guide him and show him the way, giving him the wisdom and strength to persevere through whatever challenges that he would have to face when Jeremiah was doubtful and unsure about his calling.

Jeremiah was lacking in confidence because he was still relatively young and inexperienced, but by obeying God’s call and doing what the Lord had told him to do, Jeremiah would go on to become one of the greatest of the prophets, enduring a lot of trials and challenges for the sake of the Lord and His people, and patiently enduring them and continuing to do the work of God despite all that he had to go up against, all because God was with him and that God gave him the strength, wisdom and courage to endure even the worst of persecutions. Through this example, we can see how God was always faithful to the promises He made and how He was always with His faithful ones, and what a faithful servant of God can do with God’s guidance and strength.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the Lord telling His followers the famous parable of the sower. In that parable, the Lord spoke of a sower who sowed seeds that fell on various places, some on the roadside, while others fell amongst the thistles and brambles, and others fell on the dry, rocky ground, while some fell on rich, fertile and good soil. Each of these led to different outcomes in the seeds being sown, as those that fell on the roadside were eaten up by the birds and were destroyed, while those that fell on the rocky ground could not grow roots or gain water and was scorched by the intense sun, while those that fell among the thistles and brambles were choked to death.

Only those seeds that fell on the rich and fertile soil managed to grow well and not only that, produced many more times than its weight and number, as they grew well and bore many fruits, and they became bountiful and great. The Lord would later on explain the meaning and significance of this parable to His disciples, telling them that the seeds represent the Word of God and the gifts that God had given and granted all of the people, such as what He had given to His prophets like Jeremiah and many others, including the Apostles and disciples, the innumerable saints and martyrs, and ultimately, all of us.

In essence, the Lord has given us all the means, the guidance, the gifts and various opportunities that He blessed us with, in our unique circumstances, that through Him and His providence, each and every one of us may find the means to contribute to the good works of the Church, in doing good things and obeying the Law and commandments of God. But this requires active participation on our side, our commitment and time, and our contribution to cultivate the gifts and talents that we have received. If we do not provide the optimal condition for our faith and actions to develop, then just like how the seeds that fell into the wrong places failed to grow, we too shall not be fruitful in faith.

Today, all of us should therefore model ourselves based on the examples set by our holy predecessors, one of whom the feast we are celebrating today, namely St. Apollinaris. St. Apollinaris was the Bishop of Ravenna who was remembered as a very dedicated shepherd to his faithful flock, working tirelessly for the evangelisation of the people, enduring and suffering persecutions for his faith. He suffered several episodes of almost death experience and hardships, and he endured them all with faith. All those did not discourage him from continuing to work hard for the sake of the Lord. His faith and continued dedication became inspiration for many others, including us in the present day.

Let us all therefore heed the good examples set by our holy predecessors, the prophets like Jeremiah and also the many saints and martyrs like that of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Let us all dedicate and commit ourselves to the Lord in the same way as our faithful predecessors had done, and strive to be exemplary and inspirational ourselves in our way of life, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 July 2022 : 16th 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 Scriptures, speaking to us about God Who leads all of His people back to Himself as our Shepherd, as He showed us all the path to return to Him and to once again be worthy of His grace and love. The Lord has always reached out to us, and ceaselessly tried to be reconciled with us. He seeks for us to turn away from the path of sin and ruination, revealing to us His truth and love, so that hopefully we may embrace Him wholly and completely, and renewed once more in faith.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words of the prophet Micah speaking of the Lord’s love for His people, as the Shepherd for them, guiding them once again throughout their lands, providing and caring for them as He has always done. The prophet Micah spoke of the Lord’s great and generous love, His mercy and compassion which He has always shown to the people. At that time, the people of God were wayward and unfaithful, preferring to follow their own paths and ways rather than obeying and listening to God. The Lord sent Micah and other prophets to help them all find their way towards Him.

The prophet therefore reminded the people of God’s love and at the same time also presented their petitions and prayers, asking the Lord for the forgiveness and mercy, that He might once again look favourably upon them, though they all had sinned against Him, rejected Him and been stubborn in their rebellion against Him. The prophet was also calling on all the people to embrace the right path, abandoning their sinful and wicked way of life. And the Lord Himself told us the same thing when He came info our midst, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that we heard in our Gospel passage today.

In that passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and followers regarding the matter of obedience to God and in following Him and the Law of God wholeheartedly. And while His family was waiting outside for Him, the Lord uttered those words. On a glance, it may seem that the Lord was being rude to His parents and family, but in fact, what He was saying was that while He honoured and respected His mother and His family, but it does not mean that He was restricted and limited by the ties He had with His family. He made Himself available to all of us, and called us all to follow Him, and to do the will of God. That way, we become the brothers and sisters in God’s great family, the Church.

All of us are reminded to turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and commitment, doing whatever we can to glorify Him by our lives. If we are faithful to the Lord and if we do what we can to follow Him, then the Lord surely will also protect us and give us His blessings and graces. But that depends on us whether we want to commit the effort and time to walk in the path that God has shown us. More often than not, we prefer to walk down our own path and follow the whims of our desires and the many temptations of this world rather than willing to listen to the Lord or obey His commandments and ways.

As long as we continue to be stubborn and to resist the Lord then there can be little progress that we can make in our journey towards Him. Each and every one of us are called to open our hearts and minds, and allow the Lord to come into them, so that He may touch our hearts and minds with His love. We should also strive to get to know the Lord more so that we may be better able to live in the manner acceptable to Him and worthy of us as Christians, as those whom God had called to be His own people. All of us should seek the Lord with renewed faith and commitment, and we should begin from ourselves and our own lives.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our best to entrust ourselves to God and to do His will. Let us all do what we can in serving Him and in glorifying Him by our exemplary lives and actions. All of us should do what we can to proclaim the Lord, His truth and love to all those whom we encounter through life. We should allow the Lord to lead and guide us down the path of righteousness, and help us to remain true to Him, in all the things we say, do and act, in all of our interactions with our fellow brothers and sisters, and even strangers and acquaintances all around us.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, in each and every opportunities and times that He had granted us, so that we may live ever more worthily as those whom the Lord had called and chosen. May all of us and our lives be good inspiration for one another, and may we draw ever closer to God, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 18 July 2022 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures today, we are reminded of the great issue that is facing many of us, God’s people in this world, and that is the issue of faithlessness, infidelity and the general lack of faith and commitment that many of us have exhibited and shown in our lives. Many of us have not truly believed in the Lord wholeheartedly, and many among us are lukewarm in our faith life, not living our lives in the manner that we are expected to live them as active and committed Christians. Instead of following God and His path, we chose to follow our own paths.

In our first reading today, we heard from the prophet Micah speaking the words of God to His people, who was ministering to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah during its later years of its existence. The prophet Micah brought the words of the Lord to His people, who have often disobeyed Him, erred in their ways and chose to worship the pagan idols and gods, persecuting His prophets and messengers sent to them to remind them of their wicked ways. Hence, Micah often spoke of the upcoming destruction of both Jerusalem and Judah, and also that of Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel, all due to the people’s lack of faith and sins.

In today’s first reading passage, we heard the Lord admonishing His people for their sins, and reminding them at the same time of all that He had done for them, in liberating them from slavery in the days of their ancestors, all the blessings and graces that He had given them among many other things He did for them, and how they had spurned and rejected that love, preferring to live their lives in their own way, choosing to obey worldly ways and disobeying the Law and commandments that God has placed before them. At the same time, through Micah, God also told His people that He still loved them nonetheless, and was calling them towards reconciliation with Him.

That was when we heard the famous phrase from the Book of the prophet Micah, ‘to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ That in essence, summarised what each and every one of us, as God’s beloved people, need to do in order to walk in God’s path faithfully as we have been called to do. More often than not, it was always our pride and ego which led us to disobey the Lord, His Law and commandments. That was what happened to the people of Judah and also as we heard in our Gospel passage today, to the people of the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry.

In the Gospel today, we heard how the people asked the Lord publicly for miraculous signs, which the Lord replied to with great astonishment and disbelief, because we have to understand that, as the Lord had performed many miracles and signs, throughout all the time that He was going around Galilee and all those places He had publicly shown His power and miracles. However, the people still refused to believe in Him and they would not open their hearts and minds to welcome Him. God had shown them many signs and wonders, but because the people had hardened their hearts and closed their minds against Him, that was why they lacked faith.

It was the same attitude which they had shown the Lord in the past as well. The people to whom the prophet Micah spoke to also hardened their hearts against God, and all of these were because they were too proud to admit their mistakes and imperfections. The people at the time of the Lord Jesus, particularly those belonging to the intellectual and societal elite, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, all were too proud to admit that they could have been wrong, and they constantly asked the Lord to prove Himself, because to them, they had placed themselves in that mindset, that the Lord, His actions and teachings were wrong while they were right.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by our pride and ego, our selfish attitude and more, then it will be easy for us to fall into the wrong paths, as our predecessors had done. That is why through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded to get rid from ourselves all traces of this pride and ego, this attitude which prevented us from reaching out towards the Lord and finding the path towards Him. We have to instead humble ourselves before God and before one another, and cultivate in ourselves the strong desire to love the Lord and to commit ourselves to Him. We have to open our hearts and minds to welcome the Lord into our midst.

Let us hence do our best in our lives, to live our lives full of faith, with virtue and justice, and to walk with humility in the path that God has shown us. Let us allow God to lead us down the right path, and allow Him to bring us into His eternal kingdom, by our exemplary and faithful lives. May God bless us all and our good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 July 2022 : Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us are called to remember to trust in God and in all that He has planned for each one of us. We must have trust and faith in Him, because through God alone that there is true hope and way out of our troubles and predicaments. God knew all that we need and all things in our hearts and minds. In how the Lord cared and provided for Abraham, our renowned father in faith, and how He reassured both Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, the Lord showed us that all of us have nothing to fear.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Genesis, the account of how the Lord came to visit Abraham and his wife Sarah in a disguise. The Lord was immediately recognised by Abraham, who welcomed Him into his tent and dwelling place, giving Him the best hospitality that he could provide. The Lord then came and ate of whatever Abraham provided for Him, before telling him the good news that He had come to personally tell Abraham, by saying that what He promised to him when He made and sealed the Covenant, would finally come true at last.

The Lord made a Covenant with Abraham, then named Abram, a middle-aged man who was childless because Sarah, then known as Sarai, was barren and unable to have any children. As such, Abraham was prepared to pass on his inheritance to his servant named Eliezer, as he was without a son. God promised Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars, through the means that God would give him, and despite the age of Abraham and his wife Sarah, everything was possible for God.

Abraham did falter for a while in this, as he listened to the advice and pressure from Sarah, for him to take one of her slaves, named Hagar, to bear for himself a son. That led to the conception and birth of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. Although now Abraham technically had a son then, but the Lord again reiterated and emphasised that the son through whom Abraham would pass on his inheritance would be that of his son with Sarah, to be named as Isaac. And even the name Isaac itself has a deep and profound meaning which may not be immediately apparent to us.

The name Isaac means, ‘the one who laughs’ or ‘the one who rejoices’ which can be a reference to the great joy which Abraham and Sarah must have experienced when their long-awaited child was finally born. At the same time it also refers to what happened after today’s first reading passage, when Sarah heard about what the Lord spoke to Abraham, how Sarah would bear a son within a year, and Sarah, in partial disbelief, laughed upon hearing those words, which the Lord knew about and told her when she tried to deny it, that she did laugh.

We can see from the first reading story of Abraham, Sarah, God and the son promised by God to both Abraham and Sarah, that trusting and having faith in God will not lead to disappointment. Instead, when man tried hard to do things their own way, that would lead to complications that they might not have foreseen earlier on, as for example, the birth of Ishmael, the son between Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s slave eventually became friction and trouble for both Hagar and Ishmael when Isaac, the promised son for Abraham and Sarah was born. Ishmael and Hagar had to be cast out and sent to the wilderness, although in the end, God did provide for them and made Ishmael the father of many great nations too, for he was also a descendant of Abraham.

We see in that how God even made what was imperfect and flawed into ideal, still fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. Not only that Isaac, his promised son and heir became the father of nations, but even Ishmael too, the son born because Abraham and Sarah were impatient with God’s promise. God still showed His love, care and providence for us all, His beloved ones, no matter what. He blesses those who are faithful to Him, and even those who have fallen off the path, God still patiently tried to reach out to and to be reconciled with them.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the moment when the Lord came to visit the house of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who were all His friends. Mary and Martha welcomed the Lord into their house, and we heard of how while Mary was by the Lord’s side throughout the time, listening to the Lord speaking and teaching to her, Martha was very busy preparing everything for welcoming the Lord, likely busy with the cooking and all the other house chores and works.

And as we heard, Martha became a little irritated that Mary did not help her at all with her work and preparations, and she told the Lord to tell Mary to give her some help. That was when the Lord told Martha that what Mary did was not wrong, as she was truly making good use of the time, and welcoming the Lord not with all the busy preparations and celebrations, but by opening her heart and mind, and by being present there with the Lord, cherishing every single moments of His Presence.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all called to realise just how often we have ignored the Lord and not cherishing His Presence, His love and grace in our lives, all because we are too busy with too many things and preoccupations that we fail to focus our attention and efforts on the Lord. The Lord has always been present in our midst, but many of us are too preoccupied with our worldly desires and other things to be able to notice His Presence.

What Martha did was not wrong. In fact, Martha busied herself because she wanted to give her best to serve the Lord, to be the best provider of hospitality and care, love and attention to Him. She did all that out of love for God, but her way of doing things made her distracted from her main purpose of serving the Lord. And if that action done out of noble and good intention could end up distracting Martha, then all the more if our worldly pursuits and desires ended up distracting and leading us away from God’s path.

In our second reading today, we heard St. Paul writing to the Colossians, in his Epistle to them, regarding the revelation of God’s truth and love to His people, which He had made available to all of us through His disciples, the Apostles and saints, and through His Church. He did all these so that we may come to know Him more, and therefore, will be able to follow Him with greater commitment and dedication. If we do not know the Lord as much, then how can we become close to Him, and how do we know what we need to do in order to be faithful to Him? That is why as Christians we are called to deepen our relationship with God.

And that is also why through our Scripture readings this Sunday, all of us are called to appreciate more the Lord’s Presence in our lives, just in the way Abraham immediately recognising the Lord’s Presence even when He came to him in disguise. All of us often fail to realise that God is ever present in our midst, watching over us, and caring for us. Many of us are too focused on our troubles and trials, or are too preoccupied with our worldly ambitions and plans, our many attachments and other matters that we overlook the Lord’s ever present love and kindness in our midst. God is and has always been there, but we are often too blinded and distracted to notice Him.

That is why we are all called to be committed in our Christian living and work like Martha, but at the same time not forgetting the presence of God and cherishing His presence in our midst like Mary, and like our father in faith, Abraham, we should recognise the Lord and His loving works and presence among us. Each and every one of us as Christians are called to be true and faithful disciples of the Lord in all things. Let us allow God to lead and guide us in every opportunities so that we may grow ever closer to Him, and continue to glorify Him through our lives, our words, actions and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patronal feast of the members of the Carmelites religious order. This day is a celebration of the great patroness of all the Carmelites as well as the Mother of all of us the faithful people of God, who through the apparition she had made to St. Simon Stock, who was one of the founders and early leaders of the Carmelites order. Back then, almost a millennium ago, the Carmelites was the only religious order founded by the Crusaders in the Holy Land, and it was told that some of their members had resided in the vicinity of Mount Carmel, which led to the association with Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

It was told that when St. Simon Stock went to relocate the orders works and property to England from the Holy Land, the Blessed Mother of God appeared to him and handed to him the now famous Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother promised that all those who wear that brown scapular with faith and commit themselves to the Lord will receive grace and help on the hour of their death, and that they will receive the assurance of eternal life. This was the beginning of the now famous devotion of the Brown Scapular wearing, in which many of the faithful wear the brown scapular as a sacramental.

Today, as we celebrate this Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, one of the Marian feasts and celebrations of the year, we are all called to reflect on the examples and the faith that Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel has shown in her own life, in her commitment to God and all that she had done as part of her mission and ministry, in loving her Son, our Lord and Saviour, and not only that, but after He entrusted each and every one of us to be His mother’s own children, Mary, our Lady of Mount Carmel never ceased to reach out to us, appearing before us and providing us with help from time to time, including in encouraging the devotion of the brown scapular.

Through Mary, God has shown us His saving grace, not only that He shows us His love, but through His own mother’s obedience and love all of us have seen the sure promise of the everlasting joy and happiness with God in Heaven. However, we must also accompany all these with real action and commitment to live our lives faithfully according to the path that God has shown us all. Otherwise, faith that is without action and concrete works, will be truly dead and meaningless, as it will in fact hinder the path of one’s journey towards God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, for those who have particular devotion of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we ought to remind ourselves that the sacramental brown scapular itself serves as a reminder and mark for us to keep in mind that we belong to the Lord, marked by His Sacraments, that of Holy Baptism, and for most of us, the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation, among the other Sacraments that we have received. Each and every one of us as Christians are members of God’s Church, and are also expected to do as the Lord had told us to do, and what He had taught us to do in our lives.

Today, as we reflect on the readings of the Sacred Scriptures and on the role of Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the path of our journey towards salvation in God, let us all reflect whether our attitudes in life had been correct thus far, whether we have let our pride and ego, the temptations of worldly power and glory from misleading us down the path of ruin. If this has been the case, then we should begin making the effort to turn back wholeheartedly towards God, and do not allow the devil and other forces from leading us further down the path of ruin.

As I often mentioned, the best example for us to follow is none other than the faith which Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel herself has often shown, in her full obedience and commitment to God’s works and missions, in her love for God and for all of us, and in her righteousness and virtues. Each and every one of us have sinned and erred in one way or another, and some of us have sinned more while others sinned less. Nonetheless, all of us, each and every one of us are called to the forgiveness by God and to be reconciled to Him. Through Mary, our mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we can find an easier and better path towards the Lord, our God and Saviour.

Let us all hence renew our faith in God and devote ourselves to Him ever more through our own devotion to His blessed Mother, the most wonderful Lady of Mount Carmel. Let us all share our faith with one another, and strive to do our best to live a virtuous and exemplary Christian living from now on, obeying the Law and commandments, the will of God at all times. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 15 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures that reminded us again of the great love and compassion that God has for each and every one of us. The Lord has shown His kindness towards us again and again, from time to time, so that through Him we may receive pardon for our sins, blessings and graces that strengthens us and keeps us strong despite the many challenges and trials that we may have to endure from time to time. Each and every one of us are so fortunate that God has always reached out to us and showed us a lot of His patient and enduring love despite all of our disobedience and wickedness.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the interaction between king Hezekiah of Judah and the prophet Isaiah at a time when Hezekiah fell mortally ill and was about to die, and the prophet himself told the king to get his house and affairs in order as he was soon about to die. The king lamented the shortness of his life and beseeched the Lord to show mercy to him and to spare him the fate of early death, out of compassion for all the faithfulness that he had shown Him, the obedience that Hezekiah as king has sshown the Lord as opposed to the wickedness and disobedience among many of his forefathers.

The Lord heard Hezekiah’s plea and granted his wishes, and the Lord not only cured him from his illness but also extended his life by another fifteen years, as a show of His most generous mercy and love, and also to show that as God, He has the power and control over all things, and hence, Hezekiah should continue to serve Him and to do His will. The Lord showed mercy to Hezekiah and extended His love to His servant in the hour of greatest need. This was what we have heard from our first reading today, detailing to us one example of God’s most enduring love for each one of us.

And not only that, as in our Gospel passage today, we also heard of the Lord confronting the Pharisees who criticised His disciples for plucking the grains of wheat in the field on the day of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was and today is still a holy day that according to the Law of God, ought to be preserved and observed as a day of holiness, the holy day of the Lord in which the people should refrain from doing work and spend the day in honouring and worshipping God. The Pharisees in particular, together with the teachers of the Law observed this Law and interpreted it as strictly as possible, not allowing any kind of work or action at all, even things that are good or beneficial.

Unfortunately, that led to the confrontation in which when the disciples were really hungry and were likely in the wilderness, far away from any places where they could obtain food, the disciples had no choice but to eat of the grains of the field, or else they would be suffering from hunger. The Lord therefore told the Pharisees that their version and interpretation of the Law ran into danger of disregarding the true intention and purpose of the Law, which is to help mankind find their way back to the Lord, and to guide them in the right path that they may become ever closer to God and be more worthy of Him.

Instead, what the Pharisees had done ended up causing great inconvenience and hardships for the people of God, who became overly and unjustly burdened by the Law, and ended up causing more and more people to fall away from the path towards redemption. They closed the gates towards God and His grace by their inflexible and exceedingly strict interpretations of the Law, and they also closed themselves off from listening to the truth that God Himself has willingly revealed to them, through Jesus Christ, His Son, the One Who told them all that the Law of the Sabbath and as well as the whole Law itself was made for mankind, and not the other way round.

It is yet again another reminder of just how fortunate we all are to have been beloved by God, that He continued to patiently showed us the path to His salvation and grace, giving us the blessings and all that allowed each one of us to turn towards Him with faith once again. And therefore, it is only right that we dedicate ourselves to Him with love, and do our very best to follow Him wholeheartedly, all the days of our lives. Today, we should model ourselves through the life and inspiration set by St. Bonaventure, whose feast day we are now celebrating, a truly holy and great saint who should become our role model and example in life.

St. Bonaventure was a holy and dedicated man, who spent most of his life serving the Lord and His Church, as a priest, theologian and philosopher, and then later on as a bishop and Cardinal of the Church, as a close assistant and confidant of the then Pope in governing and reforming the Church of God. Through his many works, he led the blossoming of Christian theological and philosophical studies, and also with his help, the Pope worked towards the reform of the Church, removing the worldly excesses and temptations that had been creeping into the Church, leading more and more people to a more holy and committed existence in their faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, just as St. Bonaventure dedicated his life to God and His Church out of his love for Him, therefore all of us should also remember all the love and kindness that God has shown us, and do our very best to show that same love in our lives, in how we remain firmly faithful in God and in our exemplary living, and in loving one another, in the same way that we love ourselves and God, and not to harden our hearts against Him as the Pharisees and others had done in the past. May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us always with the courage to do more, in our lives, in glorifying Him at all times. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 July 2022 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love and the consolation that God can give us, and we are reminded of all that God had done for us, His beloved people in the past. Through the Lord alone we can find true joy, peace and satisfaction, and there is nowhere else that we can gain this true happiness except that through God. That is why each and every one of us are called to turn towards Him, placing our trust and hope upon Him. All of us should spend the time and effort to come towards God and to communicate with Him, that we may know His will for us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which the prophet spoke of the prayers and wishes that the people of Judah had made to the Lord, which the prophet gathered and offered to the Lord. The prophet Isaiah beseeched on behalf of the people the Lord’s providence and love, the peace that they desired and the happiness that they sought in Him, when they were distressed and troubled. Chronologically, at that time, the kingdom of Judah where the remnants of the faithful Israelites remained, was surrounded by powerful enemies, especially that of the rapidly growing Assyrian Empire.

The Assyrians then had just recently destroyed and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, as well as other nations and countries surrounding Judah, and for the case of Israel, the Assyrians brought their inhabitants and people off into exile in faraway regions of Assyria and Mesopotamia. They therefore also threatened the existence of Judah, which certainly must have terrified many in that kingdom and country. But the Lord reassured His people and revealed His presence and guidance for them through His prophets, including that of the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah therefore helped the people to communicate with God, for them to know His will and all that He has promised to them, while at the same time, Isaiah also pleaded on behalf of the people regarding their predicament and troubles. The Lord certainly already knew all about the sufferings and trials that His people were suffering from, as He knew everything that happened in the world. However, the petitions and the pleading from the people would have moved Him to come to their rescue, as that showed just how the people were willing to follow the Lord and have faith in Him.

The Lord has called on us to come to Him and to seek His help and love, just as we heard in our Gospel passage today. The Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people the famous words, “Come to Me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” And to this, He also added on that His burden and weight were light, contextually as compared to the other burdens and weights that we will have to bear if we trust instead in other means and ways instead of putting our faith and trust in the Lord.

What this ought to remind us is first of all that, being Christians does not mean that we will have an easy and comfortable life. On the contrary, we may have to suffer and persevere through many challenges and trials as we navigate this world as faithful Christians, in each and every opportunities and moments throughout our lives. There may be a lot of obstacles, more for some, less for others, in our path in life as Christians. But in the end, following the path of the Lord will lead us to the ultimate victory and triumph with God, and in the end, the sacrifices and sufferings we may have to suffer will be well worth it.

Today, let us all discern and reflect on the examples that were presented to us by St. Camillus de Lellis, the saint whose feast the Church is commemorating on this day. St. Camillus de Lellis was a dedicated priest who spent a lot of his time and effort in caring for the well-being of his flock, all those who came to him seeking help, and he cared for them all, making sure that they gained access to physical and medical care and attention, as well as spiritual and mental guidance, to help them to persevere through the many challenges of the world. St. Camillus de Lellis spent a lot of time and effort for the poor, the sick and the needy, and helped them in various ways.

Not only that St. Camillus de Lellis spent a lot of effort to care for the sick, doing what he could to help those who were suffering, but eventually, he was inspired and touched through all of his experiences, to establish a religious order and congregation dedicated to the care of the people who are sick and suffering, which came to be known after their founder as the Camillians, also known officially as the Order of the Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm. Through this congregation, St. Camillus de Lellis called and inspired many people to come and help in the many charitable efforts and works that the Camillians would later be well known for.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do whatever we can to follow the Lord and to entrust ourselves to Him, knowing well that through Him alone there is hope and salvation, true joy and everlasting happiness. Let us all also be called and inspired to follow in the great examples of His saints, like that of St. Camillus de Lellis, in sharing the truth and knowledge of the love and compassion of God in how we interact and deal with one another, in showing genuine care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters, now and always. May God bless us always, and may He continue to guide us and strengthen us through the challenges and trials we may face, in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.