Weekday Homily

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Sunday, 27 February 2022 : Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we gather together and listen to the words of the Lord in the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded how all of us have to be true to our faith in God, to be righteous and good in all things just as He has commanded and taught us to do in our lives. We have to be active in living our faith and not just paying lip service to the Lord only. We cannot be idle and ignorant of what the Lord had told us to do, through all the guidance He has shown us through His Church.

In our first reading today, we heard from the book of the prophet Sirach in which the Lord spoke to His people regarding how a person can be seen and witnessed from his or her actions and deeds, from their words and all their interactions, just as a tree’s qualities can be seen from its fruits among other examples. It was also mentioned how a potter usually tests his wares and products by testing them with fire, and all the hidden flaws will be revealed that way. Nothing can be hidden away and all can and may be revealed.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we cannot fake our faith, or think that we can deceive others by our appearances if deep inside we do not truly have faith in the Lord. That was why, sadly, many people found it difficult to believe in God because many among us Christians do not even practice our faith and behave in the manner appropriate to our identity as those who believe in the Lord. That is exactly why many were scandalised by what they had seen in the attitudes of Christians, who behaved not according to what the Christian truth is all about.

This same sentiment is echoed by the Lord Himself as we heard it in our Gospel passage today, in which we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples regarding the matter how people should be truly faithful to God and be willing to reflect on their own attitudes first before they judge others or condemn others for being less faithful or worthy than they were, which was unfortunately a rather common situation among the people of Israel at the time, particularly among the members of the Pharisees and the elders and the chief priests.

They were the ones who always thought highly of themselves and conversely looked down on others, condemning others they deemed to be unworthy of God and His salvation like that of the tax collectors and prostitutes, or those who were possessed or were suffering from diseases and other afflictions. They thought of themselves as worthy and justified in their actions, in their exclusivity and refusal to engage in genuine dialogue with the Lord and His disciples, and instead preferring to hinder Him and putting obstacles in all the occasions and the places wherever He went to.

That was the example of what the Lord said as the blind leading the blind, and a man with a plank in his eye who chose to point out the speck in another’s eye, while ignoring the plank in his very own eye. Unfortunately, this was a common attitude not only just among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, but also among us Christians as well. Many of us often think of ourselves as being better than others and are easily prejudiced and biased against those whom we perceived to be less than worthy of the Lord and His saving grace as well as love.

That is exactly how we fell to this same trap of self-righteousness, selfishness, self-aggrandisement and other traps that have often trapped many of us since the beginning of time. Ever since man first fell into sin, we have always struggled against the allures of worldly desires, of personal desires for pleasure and satisfaction, for self-fulfilment and happiness, often even at the cost of others around us. That was how mankind often brought about suffering to others around them, all because they thought first and foremost of themselves first, ignoring others and their needs.

And as long as our internal predisposition and orientation are not set right as we should have, then we will likely fall again and again into this path of sin, wickedness and evil, this path of selfishness and jealousy, of self-preservation and the desire for personal glory, satisfaction and attainment. This is why today, on this Sunday all of us are reminded by the words of the Lord Himself, that we have to begin making the efforts to nurture within us all, a true heart, mind and soul that are all attuned towards the Lord, filled with genuine faith and love for Him.

In our second reading today, we heard St. Paul in his Epistle and letter to the Church and the faithful in the city of Corinth, speaking about the matter of sin and death. He spoke of how sin is the sting of death, for through sin brought about by their disobedience and by succumbing to their desires, man had brought upon themselves the suffering and punishment of death. Sin is the weeds that the devil has sowed in our hearts, as we heard in one of the parables of the Lord, when the enemy came to sow the seeds of weeds among the seeds of good wheat.

Then St. Paul also spoke of how the Lord has triumphed over sin and death, and through Him, He has shown us this path of victory against sin and evil, against death and all the tyranny and bondage that they had over us all these while. Yet, it is us mankind who have often fell back again and again into sin, because we do not have that strong and genuine faith in the Lord, and we still have too many and too strong attachments to sin, to the many temptations and desires found in this world, to all the things that often distracted us in our journey towards the Lord.

First of all, as mentioned earlier, it is important that as Christians we have to realise that we must always be vigilant against our ego and pride, our desires and all the temptations present all around us. We have to be humble and to rid of ourselves all the excesses of our pride and ego, which often were the sources of our downfall. If we allow those things to mislead us and distract us from the path of God, then very easily we will end up following the wrong path in life, and falling ever deeper into the traps of sin, and eventually to eternal death and suffering.

If we do not want this to happen, then first of all we have to reorientate our lives from one that is centred on ourselves, our ego and desires, into new lives that are centred on God, on His truth and love. This is what the Lord wants from us, and this is what this Sunday’s Scripture readings had been intended to, in order to wake us up from our slumber in this world, and so that we may stir and do our best to seek the Lord with a renewed conviction, zeal and passion in our respective lives.

We have to realise that we are weak and imperfect, and we often need help in our journey through life. We cannot just solely depend on ourselves and our power alone, but instead we have to cooperate and work with God, allowing Him to lead us down the right path. And in order to do that, often we have to be in touch with Him and ourselves, knowing how sinful and flawed we have been. Otherwise, if we allow pride and ego to fill our minds and hearts, then in our self-righteousness, we will end up shutting the Lord out, and consequently, we will only end up getting more and more distant from one another.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, instead of us comparing who amongst us are better, more worthy, more righteous, more pious or holy, let us all realise that we are all sinners in need of God’s healing and mercy. And the Lord is the only One Who can provide us our true happiness in life, and in Him we can put our full trust always. He has called us all to follow Him, and all that remains is for us to follow Him and trust Him wholeheartedly from now on. And as Christians, we should help and inspire one another in this journey of faith, supporting and strengthening one another instead of trying to outdo or compete with each other, nurturing in ourselves a heart filled with love for God and faith and trust in Him.

May the Lord, our most loving God, continue to bless us and guide us, and may He continue to watch over us, and help us to remain humble and committed to Him, that we may resist all the temptations of our ego and pride, our desires and the attachments we have to our worldly temptations and concerns. May God bless all of our good endeavours, works and efforts, in all things, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 February 2022 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the Lord’s words speaking to us through the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and commit ourselves at each and every moments of our lives, doing the best in whatever opportunities we have been given to serve Him and to follow Him in His ways. As Christians, all of us have been called to show faith in all of our actions and to be truly trusting and full of love for the Lord at all times.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, a reminder for all of us to be faithful to God in all things. St. James spoke of the many past examples of how those who had faith in the Lord were not disappointed, and eventually all things shall turn out to be how the Lord has always intended it to be. The Lord has always provided for His people in need, in His own good time. The prophet Elijah that was mentioned in the example had been taken care of by the Lord during the hardships he encountered, and as he came by the house of the widow of Zarephath, her faith in the Lord allowed her to survive with her son through the great years of famine that happened at that time.

St. James also reminded all of us on the power of prayer, and how prayer is a very important aspect of our Christian faith, for without prayer, we cannot genuinely say that we truly know God or that we have good and genuine relationship with Him. And as we have to remain connected to God, and develop that faith in Him, without a good prayer life that is living and growing, then we cannot live our lives as true Christians. And we cannot be Christians just in name only. We have to live our lives with faith and make that faith apparent in what we say and do.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard how the Lord told His disciples to allow the children to come to Him. The disciples initially refused to let the children to come to the Lord and tried to turn away those who have come to the Lord. However, the Lord rebuked all those who have barred the children from coming to Him and telling them that they must allow them to approach Him, and indeed, He praised those children and saying that unless they modelled themselves after those children and the faith that they had in Him, they would have no part in Him and His Kingdom.

What the Lord meant by this is that all of us have to be truly faithful to Him, to love Him seriously and genuinely, and to trust in Him wholeheartedly much as how children is genuine and true in all the things they do. A child’s faith is pure and when a child believes in something, the child will believe without any reservations. This is the kind of faith that the Lord wants us all to have as well, faith that comes without reservation, and love that we have for Him which is not corrupted and tempered with various selfish desires and other things.

In our lives, all of us are reminded by the Lord to show faith in all things, to be filled with genuine love that we ought to have for Him. We have to dedicate ourselves to the Lord and commit ourselves, our efforts and attention to Him, in whatever we say and do, in all things so that we may always be good role models and inspiration to one another in how we live our lives with faith. Are we able and willing to do this though, brothers and sisters in Christ?

We are often distracted by the many concerns and things present in our lives, in all the temptations surrounding us, all the worldly things that often became obstacles in our journey towards the Lord. We are often spending too much time and effort, putting our attention on these worldly matters rather than to trust in the Lord. We spent a lot of time worrying and being concerned about how our lives will turn out to be, not realising that God is journeying with us and has been there with us all this time.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to reorientate ourselves once again towards God and turn towards Him once again with faith. Let us all walk once again in the path that the Lord has shown us. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully and help us in our journey of faith, growing ever more in our trust and love for Him. May God bless us always, in all of our actions, words and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 25 February 2022 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded yet again as we have been for the past few days by the Apostle St. James to be righteous and good in our way of life, so that by the path that God has shown us we may always remain true in our path and do not end up falling deeper and deeper into sin. This is important because it is very easy to us to succumb to the temptations of worldly desires and the many other temptations and pressures that can lead us down the wrong path in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from St. James the Apostle again reminding all of us the faithful to be patient and faithful, to be dedicated and to be true to the Lord in our faith and devotion to Him, as how St. James mentioned the patriarch Job, one of the well-known figures of the Old Testament. Job was faithful and obedient to God, and even when later on he was tested by Satan who wanted to see if Job would remain faithful after he took away everything that he loved and held precious, Job remained faithful to the end, and did not forsake the Lord or abandoned Him for the pursuit of worldly satisfaction and pleasures.

Job humbled himself before the Lord and he accepted all of his sufferings and afflictions as his own, not blaming God or others for them. He humbly submitted to the Lord and although he did anguish and agonise over the sufferings, but he remained faithful, and grew to love the Lord all the more, and coming to know what God had truly intended, Job eventually was blessed so much more than what he had lost earlier on, and the Lord blessed him for the remainders of his days, and he became a great inspiration and example of faith for the later generations.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke to us all through His disciples regarding the question that the Pharisees posted to Him regarding the matter of marriage and divorce. In the Law of Moses, according to the interpretation of the Mosaic Law and the Jewish traditions upheld by the Pharisees and the elders, divorcing someone’s spouse was allowed under the Law. This was allowed as long as a certain procedure was followed and a letter of dismissal was made, which in practice made it relatively easy for one to get a divorce and then later on remarry again as they wished.

However, the Lord reminded His people and therefore all of us that this is not what the Lord intended for us. In the matter of marriage, the Lord had decreed from the very beginning that such a union is a union blessed by God and made firm by Him, and hence, they must not be separated. The Church has upheld this sanctity of marriage as it became one of the seven Sacraments, the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Marriage is not just merely a process or a transaction, but rather a Covenant between a man and a woman, united and blessed by God.

This is again a reminder from the Lord and His Apostles for us that each and every one of us ought to be truly faithful to the Lord. We should not allow our desires and all the temptations of the world to distract us and mislead us down the wrong path. For among the many of the reasons why a person would end up divorcing his or her spouse were the desires they had for worldly pleasures and satisfaction, and the inability of the couple to obtain this within their respective marriages, and hence, adultery and adulterous behaviours became commonplace.

All these were due to the lack of genuine and strong faith in the Lord. This lack of faith, the lukewarmness of many Christians ended up leading many down the path of temptation and eventually destruction. If only many more of them followed the examples of Job, his perseverance and faith in the Lord, there would have been so much lesser wicked deeds by mankind, and many more people would not have committed sins against God. The Lord wants us to be reconciled with Him, and has always patiently sought us out, only for many of us to reject Him or ignore Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore spend our time today and henceforth to reflect on our relationship with God and our actions in life thus far. Are we able and willing to dedicate ourselves more and more to the Lord? Are we willing to lead a more blessed and holy life, one that is deeply attuned to the Lord, obeying His will, His Law and commandments? Are we able to be good role models and inspirations to one another in life? Let us discern all these and think in what way we can be ever better disciples of the Lord from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 February 2022 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called and reminded by the Lord not to be corrupt in our actions and deeds, in our way of life and how we treat one another in this life. We have to keep in mind that we are all called to seek life that is greater than what we are often desiring and are familiar with. We are called to a life of holiness and virtue, to be filled with the grace and blessings of God in all things, and to dedicate ourselves to the path that God has shown us.

In our first reading today from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle, we heard the words of St. James speaking against the actions of the rich and the mighty, whom at that time often oppressed and manipulated the poor and the weak for their own selfish desires and benefits. Many of the rich and the powerful often sought to advance their own ambitions and to fulfil their own desires and plans, which often led to the sufferings of others through exploitation and many other things that man often did in order to secure their own advantages and privileges, and which often led to confrontations when their desires were not fulfilled.

Do note that St. James did not condemn the rich for the sake of condemning them, and neither did he or the Church condemn the rich as they were. Rather, what St. James was addressing, in truth, was the attitudes and actions carried out by many among the rich because of their wickedness and inability to resist the worldly temptations all around them. Just as I myself often mentioned in earlier occasions, wealth and riches themselves are not inherently evil or wicked. We must remember that riches and goods of the world when used appropriately and for good purposes can even be great boon and source of joy for many people.

Rather, it is our own often unhealthy attachment and obsession over those riches and worldly goods that we have to be wary for. Otherwise, as many of our predecessors have experienced, we may find it difficult for us to resist those many temptations and may end up enriching ourselves or seeking our own personal happiness and pleasures while causing hurt, suffering and pain to others. And it is by these actions and wicked deeds that we shall be judged by the Lord in the end. That is why we must do our best to be righteous and virtuous in all things just as the Lord had told us to do.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord reminding His disciples and followers to be good role models in faith, that they should be exemplary in their actions and be inspiration to one another. Their actions and deeds, their words and interactions should not bring about division and scandal to the Church and the faith. Most importantly, they must not mislead and corrupt the innocent faithful and members of the community to the wrong path by their actions. And this is why, it is important for us to discern carefully our path going forward in life, in obeying God and doing what He has commanded us to do.

The Lord also spoke rather harshly about how one ought to cut off their feet and legs, limbs, or their eyes should those parts led them to sin against God. But just as I mentioned earlier regarding the matter of the rich and the powerful, those body parts and organs of ours are not inherently evil on their own. Rather, it is our own desires, our hearts, our minds and thoughts that can mislead us down the wrong path should we allow the corruption of sin to run free through our hearts and minds, that is if we give the devil free rein to lead us down the path of sin and death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to resist the temptations to sin, and resist the allures of worldly temptations of glory, fame, wealth, pleasures among many other things, and trying our best to prevent us from developing unhealthy attachments and obsessions over worldly things. Instead, all of us are called to remember all that the Lord had taught and shown us, in how we ought to be righteous, loving and dedicated in following Him. We are all called to do our best to be the bearers of God’s light and truth in our darkened world today, to be His witnesses among our own communities and in various places we are at.

Now, are we willing and able to contribute to the best of our abilities in doing so? Are we able to give our best to the Lord and focus ourselves on Him? The Lord has given us many opportunities, a lot of blessings and talents for us to make use of and to share with those who have need of them. Let us do whatever we can, and wherever we are able to, to help one another to be ever more faithful to God. May the Lord be with us always, and may He bless us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 23 February 2022 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures all of us are called to do what we can to contribute to the works of the Lord, the mission and the actions that we have been called to do as the followers and the disciples of Our Lord and Saviour. As Christians we have to do whatever we can to do the will of God and to support one another in doing so, and not to do things for only our own personal glory and achievements, satisfaction or pleasure.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle in which the Apostle spoke of the futility of many people who make plans and ambitious aims, concerted efforts and other things to advance their own often selfish and greedy goals in life. All those things that man have often done to preserve themselves, their gains and self-interests are ultimately meaningless because no matter how many things we accumulate and gather in life, we will never bring them forth beyond this life.

That is why, St. James told all of us the faithful people of God that we should not immerse ourselves in worldly desires and all the corrupt and wicked things that are present in our world today. We have to do our best to resist the temptations to sin, or else we may end up falling away further and further from the path of God. Many of our predecessors had fallen in such a manner, and unless we heed the words of the Apostle St. James, we may end up suffering the same fate as well, forgetting God and His ways as we got distracted by the many temptations of this world.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples when the latter tried to stop a person performing works and miracles in the Name of the Lord, just because they did not belong to their group. The disciples must have seen the man as a rival to their work and influence, and unwittingly, without them knowing it, they actually had done exactly what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Lord had often done, in trying to stop the Lord and His disciples in their works of carrying out the will of God.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were also thinking that they were doing the work of God as they opposed the Lord and His disciples, thinking that they alone had obeyed and followed the Lord in the right manner. As such, they ended up obstructing and made it difficult for the Lord to perform His works, and that was the unfortunate result when man allowed their worldly desires, their greed and ego, their ambition, jealousy and others to cloud their judgment and lead them down the path of disobedience and sin.

The Lord therefore had reminded His disciples and thus, also all of us that we cannot allow those things from distracting and misleading us any further in life. We have to resist the temptations of worldly ambitions and thinking that we do things for our own benefits and glory. The disciples must have thought of that as they went to the Lord asking Him to prohibit the other man from doing his works in His Name. But the Lord immediately reminded them that as long as he works in His Name and for His glory, that is all that matters.

Now, all of us as Christians are called to reflect on these things, keeping in mind how we are going to live our lives from now on. We are called to refocus our attention towards the Lord and model ourselves on our great and holy predecessors, whose examples should inspire us to follow in their footsteps in being faithful to God. Today, we celebrate one of those great saints, namely that of St. Polycarp, a holy bishop and servant of God, and devout martyr of the faith and the Church.

St. Polycarp was one of the early Church fathers and successor to the Apostles, who was a contemporary of the disciples of the Twelve Apostles, and might have encountered and corresponded with some of the Apostles, especially that of St. John the Apostle. He collaborated with the other leaders of the Church and helped the Church in the place under his responsibility to grow and prosper, even through the times of great hardships and occasional persecutions from the Roman state.

He continued to work hard and devote his time, effort and attention to the people entrusted to him, even until a very advanced age, and it was at that time, when he was already eighty-six years old, that he was martyred in the defence of his faith, likely during the time of one of the persecutions against Christians. He had proclaimed the Christian truth and faith with great courage throughout his life, and to the very end, he showed that not even suffering and death could stop him from doing so, for the greater glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore do whatever we can to follow in the footsteps of St. Polycarp and our many other holy predecessors, in putting God as the focus and emphasis of their lives, in making their lives worthy of Him through their actions and commitment. Let us all not be distracted and tempted any further by worldly temptations from now on, and instead be good role models for one another and assist each other in our respective journey of faith towards the Lord, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 February 2022 : Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates together the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, a great celebration marking the unity of the Church through the leadership of the great Prince and leader of all the Apostles and his many successors throughout history up to this day. Today we remind ourselves of this unity we share as God’s one united people, in one flock of all the faithful, gathered together in His Presence and embrace.

We may find it strange that we are celebrating this Feast over a chair. What is so special about this chair that we are celebrating it in the first place? What is the significance of this Feast? As mentioned just earlier on, this Feast is a reminder of the unity that we as God’s people, from all the whole world share in the one Church, one leadership, with Christ as the Head of the Church, and with St. Peter and his successors as the Vicar of the one true Head of the Church, the Vicar of Christ, our Popes.

The celebration of the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is not just a celebration over any random chairs or seats. Instead, we have to understand that in the context of the Church, the Chair here is the real and physical representation of the authority of the bishops as the seat of their authority. This seat is known as the Cathedra, from which the Cathedrals got their name from. It refers to the church where the Cathedra of the bishop is located at, as the physical and real symbol of his authority as the shepherd of the faithful in his diocese.

And for St. Peter the Apostle, who is the first Bishop of Rome and Pope, it is all the more special to all of us, for all of Christendom because he is not just like any other bishops, but he has been entrusted with the special role as the Vicar of Christ, as the one to lead the entire Universal Church. He and all of his successors have this special obligation and responsibility as the Vicar of the true Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, that the Chair of St. Peter is therefore that very powerful symbol of the universal authority and primacy that St. Peter and his successors, the Popes have on the entire Church.

Thus, while there is indeed an actual, physical chair used by St. Peter as a treasured relic that is placed at the Altar of the Chair of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, but this is not just what we are celebrating today. Rather, through this great Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, we remember and celebrate the continued unity of the Church, all the flock of the Lord’s faithful under the guidance and the leadership of the Successor of St. Peter, our Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, remembering how he and his predecessors from St. Peter have dedicated themselves to lead the people of God in this often turbulent world.

Today we remember the words of the Lord Himself, establishing and entrusting the Church to St. Peter, whose name means the ‘Rock’ so that the Church He has established may be built upon the firm foundation of the Rock of faith that is St. Peter, and assisted with the strength of the pillars of the faith of the Apostles. Because of this, the Church is united to the Lord, the Chief Shepherd of all, the Good Shepherd, through the many shepherds whom He had called and appointed to lead and guide His people, His flock, that is the Apostles and their successors.

Now, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as God’s people and His Church, let us do our best in whatever we can do to remain strongly united as one people and one Church, obeying God’s truth, Law and commandments which He had revealed and passed to us through His Church, through our shepherds, the Apostles and their successors, our Pope and the many bishops and priests that had faithfully served Him through all the ages. Let us entrust ourselves in the Lord ever more and strive to work more for the unity of the Church and pray for our Pope in particular and for the other bishops as well.

Like what St. Peter exhorted to the faithful and the elders of the Church in our first reading today, in one of his Epistles, we hope that our bishops will continue to serve the Lord faithfully, for the greater glory of God, giving themselves humbly to bear witness to their faith and to show good examples to all the faithful on how they ought to be faithful to the Lord. Today, we all ought to help them in their governance of the Church by our continued support, prayer and companionship, to remind them that we are one community of God’s faithful people, and they are our shepherds.

Let us give them our fullest support and do whatever we can in our own capacity, making use of whatever opportunities that God has given to us, so that we may continue to grow ever closer to the Lord under the leadership of Francis, our Pope, the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle. May the Lord continue to bless him and all the other bishops, our shepherds, that they may continue to faithfully serve the Lord and be faithful and committed in their courageous efforts to proclaim the Gospel and the salvation in God, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 21 February 2022 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded as Christians that we need to be more humble and be more willing to listen to the Lord, to trust in His Wisdom and judgment, and not to allow our ambitions, our human desires, the jealousy and fear in our hearts and minds from misleading us down the wrong path. We must be vigilant lest we end up allowing those things from preventing us in doing the will of God and obeying Him wholeheartedly as we should.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle in which the Apostle spoke of the importance for all of us as Christians to be humble and be exemplary in our lives, resisting the temptations of pride, ego and jealousy, of human ambition and the desires of worldly glory. He reminded all Christian faithful to rid themselves of all these things which could lead them to sin against God because this caused them to bring hurt to others, in doing things that were meant to protect their own self-interests, all of which are contrary to the teachings of the Lord.

That is why, St. James told them and all of us to put our trust instead on the Wisdom of God, the truth and and the virtues that came from God, and which He has freely bestowed and given unto us. If we depend solely on our own strength and power, then very quickly we will realise that we will easily fall into the many temptations present all around us. That is why we have to heed the Lord’s words and calling as He calls us to turn our backs against the allures of sin and evil, and to embrace His love, His truth and wisdom.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples and the people regarding how His disciples could not drive away the evil spirits from the son of a man who brought him to the disciples to be healed. The Lord had indeed sent His disciples to go before Him and carry out His works. To them the Lord had entrusted the authority and power even over demons and evil spirits, the ability to conduct miracles and to heal people from their physical and spiritual afflictions.

However, as implied from the accounts of the Gospel, it was likely that the disciples to whom the man had entrusted his evil spirits possessed son had grown proud of their achievements and works, and they might have thought that their miracles and all the wonders that they did were because of their own greatness and power. Thus, through pride and ego, they had fallen into the traps of the devil, and became greedy and failed to trust in the Lord in Whose Name they were doing their works. Hence, that was how they likely failed to cast out those evil spirits.

The Lord reminded all of them and us as well, that everything we have came from the Lord, all the graces and blessings, all power and might, and hence, we have to humble ourselves and ask Him for His guidance and strength, instead of being proud and thinking that every successes we have achieved, we have done it by ourselves. The truth is indeed that for every successes we have achieved, it was all because God was at our side, guiding us and strengthening us along the way, even if we may not have realised it, and even if we have failed to appreciate His blessings and guidance, and ignored Him.

Today, all of us are called to deepen our trust in the Lord and renew our relationships with Him. The Lord Himself said, that they had to pray and commit themselves to prayer, because it meant that those disciples had not been in tune with the Lord, and had not truly developed a strong and genuine relationship with God. The Lord has reminded us all to maintain that relationship that we ought to have with Him so that we may not end up losing our path in life and falling deeper and deeper into sin and evil.

That is why today we should heed the good examples set by our holy predecessor, whose feast we are celebrating, namely that of St. Peter Damian, holy bishop and Doctor of the Church. St. Peter Damian was a renowned Benedictine monk and a great reformer of the Church, who was appointed as a Cardinal of the Church and as a close assistant and confidant of Pope Leo IX. He was entrusted with the task of reforming the Church together with other leaders of the Church, resisting the temptations of the world to corrupt the clergy and the members of the Church. These were the same corruptions caused by pride, ego, ambition and greed mentioned by St. James in our first reading today.

To that extent, he worked on books and resources that inspired the struggle and efforts to reform the Church, cleansing it from the many accumulated years of simony and other heinous and wicked actions of the clergy and laity alike, purifying the Church from many corrupt influences. He worked among many secular and religious leaders to ensure that the reform efforts could proceed and expand, despite the many challenges and opposition that he and the Pope and other leaders had to face in the reforms they had persevered through.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be inspired by the great faith and courage that St. Peter Damian and many other of our holy predecessors had shown. Let us all devote our time, effort and attention to live our lives ever more worthily of God, and trust in Him more. We have to deepen our relationship with God, spending more time with Him, be more humble and listen to Him more instead of listening to the whims of our pride, ego, ambition and hubris. All of those will only lead to our downfall, and we should not allow ourselves be misled by them.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, and may He empower us all to live ever more faithfully and to be ever greater examples of virtues and faith in life. May all of us draw ever closer to Him and grow ever more in our faith in Him, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 February 2022 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us clearly through the passages of the Sacred Scriptures, regarding the need for all of us to show love in our lives, to be full of love and to be loving in all things, for the essence of being Christians is truly that of love. We cannot be Christians and we cannot call ourselves as such unless we truly have love in us, and show that same love in our actions and interactions, in all situations and to everyone, without exception. To be genuine Christians and to be filled with true Christian love is not something that is easily done.

That is why today we are reminded by the Scriptures to be loving to one another without exception, to be genuine in loving and caring for others, even to our enemies and those who hate us. That is what is so different about genuine, Christian way of love, the love that transcends even hatred and animosities. To be Christians means that we have to learn to love how the Lord Himself has loved us and how He had taught His disciples how to love, and model ourselves based on His servants, such as the example of King David mentioned in our first reading today, in him still loving and forgiving King Saul despite all the efforts by the latter to harm and kill him.

In our first reading from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard of the time when David was pursued by Saul and his men, as the former was a fugitive fleeing the court of the king after Saul tried to have David killed. Contextually, David had been chosen by God to be Saul’s successor as King over all of Israel. The prophet Samuel himself, who anointed Saul as King of Israel, had anointed David in the same way to be King of Israel. Then, David had also defeated the champion of the Philistines, Goliath, and was hailed by the people in an even greater salutation than Saul had received.

Therefore, Saul had likely been overcome by jealousy, by fear and insecurity, as he feared losing the kingdom, the wealth, prestige and power that he had gained as king. Thus, he also allowed the devil to enter into his heart and tempt him, and as he brooded in fear, he ended up contemplating to kill David, so that he could get rid once and for all the threat to his rule and kingship. Saul’s son Jonathan, who was David’s close friend warned him, and David managed to escape, and he and his band of men became a band of adventurers roaming around the land while evading Saul and his men.

Therefore, as we heard in our first reading today, when David finally encountered a very vulnerable Saul in the desert of Ziph, his men led by Abishai, one of his closest advisors and confidants wanted David to seize the initiative, kill the king and seize the throne for himself. After all, David had been chosen by God to be the rightful king of Israel to replace Saul. David had every right to kill Saul, especially after all that he had done to harm him and to persecute him, forcing him to live as an outcast away from the people of Israel.

Yet, as we heard, David would have none of it. He rebuked his fellow men and told them that they could not touch Saul or his men, and particularly Saul because although he might have fallen from grace and sinned against God, but he was anointed by God through the prophet Samuel, and it was not right and just to kill God’s anointed one regardless of the circumstances. Instead, David spared Saul with great magnanimity, and when later on he showed Saul just how close he was to kill him and seized his throne there and then, and yet sparing him, David showed not just Saul but all of us as well what being a follower of God should be like.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus spoke of this to His disciples as well, as He highlighted how His way and that of His followers must truly be unlike anything that the world had ever known before, as others would have told that we must love those who love us and give us happiness, and hate those who have made our lives difficult, persecuted us and made us humiliated and to suffer many things in life. Many would have said that we have no need to spare our enemies and we should hate them and get our revenge against them.

But the Lord Jesus revealed His message and truth, His teachings and way that was so revolutionary and different that all who had heard Him then must have been stunned, surprised, amazed and taken aback by what they had heard from the Lord. The Lord told them not only to love those whom they love and those who have benefitted them, but He told them to love even their enemies, all those who have hurt and persecuted them. He told them not to bear grudges or seeking revenge, and instead, they should even pray for them and continue to love them regardless. This is in essence, what true Christian love is all about.

And the Lord Himself has shown us the best example, when He forgave all those who persecuted Him and cried out for His death, namely many of the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, the chief priests and many among the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the Sadducees. The Lord forgave all of them from His Cross, as He was hung between the Heaven and the earth, praying and asking His heavenly Father not to hold their sins against them because of their ignorance and as they did not know fully what they had done and why they were doing so. To the very end, the Lord wanted us to know that His love for us is truly great, pure and unconditional.

Not to forget that He has forgiven all of us, we all who are sinners, regardless whether our sins be great or small, many or few. All of us have bountifully received from God Himself the assurance of salvation and eternal life through Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. The Lord has forgiven us despite our many sins and shortcomings, our constant refusal and stubbornness to listen to Him and the difficulties to get us to obey Him and His Law and commandments. He still patiently loved us and tried to help us in every possible opportunities, from generation to generation, again and again, loving us even when many of us rejected Him.

As St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians, in our second reading today, Christ has become the New Adam, as compared to the old, first Adam, the progenitor of the entire human race. The disobedience and sins that the old, first Adam had brought into this world had been overcome by Christ, the New Adam, Whose coming into this world brought forth the long promised salvation that God had intended ever since the time when mankind first fell into sin, and yes, that was during the time of the old Adam. Through Christ, all of us have been brought into a new existence in God, a life of sanctity and purity, filled with love for God and for one another.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, the question is, are we willing and able to follow the Lord and His examples, the examples of His many servants and disciples, such as what was shown by King David of Israel when he spared King Saul, his predecessor, and acted with great honour and virtue then, as well as in various other occasions? All of us have received the love of God, and we have witnessed the love of God made manifest, and now we are all reminded that we have the obligation to show that same love in our daily living, in all of our words, actions and deeds, in our every works and interactions.

Let us all make good use of the time, the opportunities, the many blessings and wonders that God had granted to us, all that He has provided for us so that we may find our way to Him, by leading a most faithful and dedicated, loving Christian life in our respective communities, in our families, among our relatives and friends, and even among strangers and even, as the Lord mentioned, amidst all those who despised us and in the plain sight of all those who have hated us and made our lives difficult. We are all challenged to be ever better Christians, first of all in loving God and then in loving our fellow men, even our enemies, genuinely from our hearts.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and forgiving God show us the way to be ever more loving, more filled with genuine and warm love, so that we no longer be selfish and be self-indulgent, in only caring for ourselves, but also be filled with strong love for our fellow men, especially for those who have been unloved. May all of us be great witnesses and bearers of the love of God in our communities, now and always. Amen.

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Saturday, 19 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to words of great wisdom from the Scriptures reminding us to be careful and vigilant in our words, actions and deeds, so that we do not end up falling into the path of sin and evil. That is why we have to listen to the Lord and His teachings, His truth and love. We have to heed the teachings and all that He has given to us and revealed through His Church, so that we do not end up going down the wrong path in life and be separated again from the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the Apostle regarding the importance for all of us as Christians to be careful with our words, with our actions and deeds, for it is all too easy for us to make mistakes through our tongues and our hands, and the things that we have received and been blessed with, our words, wisdom and talents can be easily used for both things that are good or wicked, depending on our intentions.

As St. James wisely said, that we must not underestimate our words and actions, for even with the seemingly least significant and smallest of those words and actions, we can cause truly great and wonderful deeds, as well as very wicked and terrible acts that can bring about a lot of pain and suffering on others, whether directly or indirectly, or whether physically or mentally or even both. Such is the nature of our words and actions, that even in the seemingly smallest and least significant of things, we can end up causing great harm on others as well as causing great good if only we desire it and choose to do what is good instead of what is evil.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard then of the Lord Who was transfigured before the eyes of His three important disciples, Peter, James and John at Mount Tabor. At that occasion, the three of them saw the Lord glorified, revealing His true nature to them, as the Divine Word Incarnate, as One Who was not just the Son of Man, as the Saviour of the world, but also as the Son of God, the Divine Word of God, the Logos, incarnate in the flesh, showing His truly great glory and majesty at that occasion on the mountaintop.

Having seen all that they had witnessed, the three disciples were reminded by the Lord to listen to the words that His Son has spoken, and to follow Him in whichever path that He would be leading them towards. The Lord wanted all of them to trust in His words, in His wisdom, truth and love. And that is exactly how they would be able to find their way through life, and doing what the Lord had taught them to do. It is by putting God as the focus of their lives, and allowing Him to lead them and guide them in their path.

Unfortunately, brothers and sisters in Christ, more often than not, many of us prefer to trust in our own ideas and judgments, ignoring the reminders and the wisdom that God has given to us. We prefer to do things that we think is the best for us, and in doing so, we may end up causing hurt and suffering to others through our words, our actions and deeds just as I mentioned earlier. And that is because many if not most of us will tend to think about ourselves and our needs first, before even thinking about others or considering about them.

Therefore, that is why today all of us as Christians are reminded that each and every one of us need to redirect our attention and focus towards God. We are all reminded that we need to have faith and trust in the Lord, and allow Him to guide us in our actions and in all things, or else, otherwise, we may end up falling in our path towards God and His salvation, and end up in the wrong path in life, as we follow the temptations of our desires and our whims rather than following the true path towards God and His salvation.

All of us are called to be more vigilant against the many temptations all around us, and the allures of sin. We have to deepen our relationship with God, and the best way is for us to always spare some quality time with the Lord, communicating with Him, speaking with Him while at the same time, making the effort to listen to Him speaking in the depths of our hearts and minds. Too often we have been distracted by the many things that happened all around us, our ego, greed and desire among many other distractions that kept us away from finding out the path to God and His love.

Let us therefore do our best to follow the Lord and deepen our faith and relationship with Him from now on. May the Lord continue to watch over us and remain with us, guiding us through in our journey towards His grace and love. May God be with us and bless us in our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 18 February 2022 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Scriptures a reminder for us of the need for us to be active in our faith, in the way we live our lives. All of us have been called to contribute whatever we can to the efforts and works of the Church. That is what is meant for us to walk faithfully in life and following in the path of God, and what being true Christians is all about. We have to be doing our best in our every day moments through life, even in the smallest things that we do and say.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. James the words of the Apostle regarding the matter of faith and good works related to that faith. This is a continuation of what St. James the Apostle had spoken in these past few days of readings this week, regarding the matter of faith and works, which in essence cannot be separated from each other. Without faith, works are meaningless, and at the same time, without works, and indeed, good works rooted in that faith, then our faith is dead and meaningless too.

St. James and his Epistle is well known for this stance, as it is a reminder that Christians and faithful people of God, we cannot be idle and think that once we have received baptism, then we are already fine and have no need for any effort, just needing to wait for God to grant us the salvation and eternal life He has promised us. That is not what the Lord intended for us, brothers and sisters in Christ. Most importantly, we must also realise that the Lord has always told us to do good, to obey His Law and commandments and to be righteous in all things, and all these cannot be done with idleness and ignorance.

In one occasion we heard the words of the prophet Ezekiel that even the righteous who commits sin shall have to answer for those sins that were committed and shall have to suffer the consequences and perish should those sins remain unrepented and unforgiven, and conversely, sinners who sought to be forgiven and were forgiven their sins shall be saved. This goes on to show just how our faith in the Lord does not guarantee us salvation without us living that faith in life with genuine desire to love God and without the effort to seek the Lord at all times.

Having faith in God does not prevent us from sinning, and even after baptism, we can still commit sin against God. Indeed, many of the great sins committed in our world past and present were sins committed by baptised Christians. Temptations and the pressures to commit sin will still be present in our midst, and unless we keep our guard on and remain vigilant in resisting those temptations, we may find ourselves falling again and again into sin. That is why our faith must be active and full of daily contributions and efforts. Baptism is not the end of the journey but rather the beginning of a new life in God.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord spoke of something similar as we listened to Him telling His disciples and followers that unless they pick up and carry their crosses in life, then they were not truly His disciples and followers. If they want to follow Him, then they have to take up their crosses in life and bear them, altogether with Him. The Lord therefore reminds us of the same words that St. James had said, that faith without good works is as good as dead. There can be no genuine faith without dedication and there can be no salvation unless our faith is genuine and true.

That is why today, as we heard today’s Scripture passages, we are all challenged to be better Christians, and to be more faithful to God, more than just in name or formality only. As Christians all of us have the obligation to follow the Lord, to be faithful to Him and to dedicate our every living moments to glorify Him and His Name. Today, let us all discern carefully how we are going to proceed further in life, thinking of how we should act in ways that are worthy of us as God’s own beloved people, as those whom He has considered to be His own children.

Let us all therefore help one another to do our best in living our lives with the fullness of desire to do the will of God, to put Him and His truth above all else, dedicating ourselves and our every living moments to glorify Him and to bring forth the salvation in our Lord to many more people. For it is through us and our own exemplary lives, actions and deeds that we can do what God had told us to do, in making use of our talents and gifts, in order to bring God and His light ever to each one of us, His beloved ones.

May the Lord be with us all as we continue to walk through this journey in life so that we may be found worthy at the end of it all. May the Lord continue to watch over us, strengthening us with the resolve and courage to resist the temptations to sin, and at the same time, granting us the courage and strength to live virtuously from now on, if we have not yet done so. May God bless us all and our every good works and endeavours, full of faith in Him, now and always. Amen.