Weekday Homily

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Tuesday, 10 August 2021 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great feast of one of the Church’s most renowned saints, namely St. Lawrence the Deacon, also known as St. Lawrence of Rome. He was a most courageous servant of God and His Church, as he dedicated his life and efforts to serve the Lord in everything, even to the very end. He died a martyr in defending his faith and his Church, in showing the world and even those who oppressed the Church, what being Christians is all about.

St. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of the Diocese of Rome, which means that he served directly under the Pope, the Vicar of Christ and the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Universal Church. And as a deacon, he assisted in the important matters of the Church, which is made even more important due to the position of Rome as the Apostolic See and the Heart of the entire Christendom. St. Lawrence was in charge of works and efforts that are done by the Cardinals and the heads of the Roman Curia today, in managing the affairs of the Church, both in Rome and in relations to the wider, Universal Church.

St. Lawrence was the assistant of Pope St. Sixtus II, another great saint of the Church whose feast day we have celebrated just a few days ago, as their martyrdom happened just within moments of each other, with both persecuted and martyred under the rule of the Roman Emperor Valerian. St. Lawrence was the first among the seven deacons of the Church of Rome, and therefore sometimes is known as the Archdeacon of Rome. He was in charge of the Church treasury and the distribution of those goods to the Christian communities, especially to the poor.

At that time, persecution against the Church, Christians and their leaders were being ramped up and intensified, as the Emperor ordered the Church leaders and members of the faithful to be arrested and their properties and wealth seized for the state. And the Emperor also then released an order stating that all the leaders of the Church, the bishops, priests and deacons to be killed immediately even without trial. Pope St. Sixtus II was one of those who fell victim to this intensified persecution, as he was seized during the liturgical celebrations and then immediately executed.

The Roman prefect of the city demanded St. Lawrence, who was in charge of the Church treasury to surrender all the properties and wealth of the Church to the Roman state as per the law decreed by the Emperor. In order to avoid this, St. Lawrence quickly arranged to distribute all the wealth and properties of the Church under his care to the poor and destitute in particular while requesting for three days time so that he would be able to complete the distribution of all the goods and the properties.

When the prefect demanded to get the Church properties, St. Lawrence famously brought the poor and the destitute, the least and last among the society and showed them before the prefect, and said that those were the treasures of the Church. This angered the prefect so much that he ordered the execution of St. Lawrence, who was martyred by burning with gridirons. He defended his faith to the very end, and showed Christian charity and love to those who need them the most, even in the midst of bitter sufferings and persecutions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is in essence what we have also heard in our first reading today from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth, as the Apostle reminded them that all those who have done good deeds and obeyed the Lord’s Law and commandments will be blessed by the Lord and will be righteous and worthy, of the Lord’s grace and blessings. We are all called to do our best, in giving ourselves for the cause of the Lord, and to give ourselves to care for our fellow brethren, to show love, empathy and compassion for each other.

Today we are all also called to remember the Lord’s words in our Gospel passage today, as we heard Him speaking to His disciples reminding them that those who follow Him, they ought to serve Him and commit themselves to Him, and dedicate their hearts and minds wholly to Him. They should also die to themselves, which means that they ought to let go of their pride and ego, their desires and wishes, and their attachments to worldly pleasures and corruptions. And they should be selfless rather than selfish, to empty themselves from the excesses of the world.

That was exactly what St. Lawrence had done in his life and ministry, brothers and sisters in Christ, as he gave himself totally and completely to the Lord and to His people, finding joy and comfort in the true treasures of the Church, that is the people of God, of every races and nations, even the poor, the destitute, the last and the least in the community, all have a place in God’s kingdom. And all of us should indeed aspire to follow in the footsteps of this great servant of God, our holy predecessor, by emulating his life and examples in our own lives.

May the Lord continue to guide us through life and give us the strength and courage to live our lives with faith, with each and every moments, so that we may draw ever closer to Him, and that we may be ever more faithful and committed to Him. May God bless us all in our every good endeavours and efforts, and may St. Lawrence intercede for us all, sinners in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Amen.

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Monday, 9 August 2021 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are all called to do whatever that the Lord has commanded us to do, in His Law and commandments, and to be righteous and filled with virtue in all things, that we may be exemplary to all people, in everything that we say and do. He reminded all of us how He has patiently cared for us and showed His love towards each and every one of us, seeking us and reaching out to us whenever we falter and were in need of help.

Today, we are all called to remember God Who has shown us so much love that we are indeed very fortunate that we have been beloved in such a way. How else we should do in life then if not to commit ourselves to His cause and to follow Him in everything we say and do. It is our calling as Christians to be the Lord’s true disciples not just in name but also in deeds, and that we learn to commit ourselves to the good works that He has called us to do through His Church. And we are all part of this same Church, that is His Body, as the Body of all the faithful united with God, through Jesus Christ, the visible Head of the Church.

And as we heard in our Gospel passage today, that the Lord also expected all of us to be righteous and just in all things, in the ways and in the sight of mankind alike. For we are all called to be the bearers of His truth and love before all, and He has called on all of us to show true and genuine faith, and for us to obey the laws and the rules of the land, that we do not unnecessarily antagonise those who rule over the land, and perhaps may even persuade them and many others to come to believe in the Lord as well, through our virtues and efforts.

In our Gospel passage today, when the Lord was confronted with the temple tax collectors, who questioned the disciples on whether their Master paid taxes to the temple, the Lord spoke of how in truth the children of the Light, that is God’s children and people owed nothing and are free, and naturally are not bonded to pay anything to worldly institutions like that of the Temple of Jerusalem. Yet, the Lord did not tell His disciples to resist, and on the contrary, in fact told them to obey the rules and to pay their dues, although in a miraculous way, by asking them to obtain it embedded in the mouth of a fish.

Through what we have heard in our readings from the Scripture today, we are all called to be the Lord’s true and genuine disciples in our world today, putting our trust in the Lord and remaining faithful to Him while contending with the pressures and demands of the world. The question is, are we willing and able to commit ourselves to the path that the Lord has shown us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to turn towards the Lord with an open heart and mind that He may lead us and guide us down the right path?

Today let us all look upon the examples set by one of our holy predecessors as we look for the path to follow in being faithful to the Lord. The Lord has called St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to follow Him, and she, also known as her more popular name of Edith Stein, responded kindly with faith and dedication, committing herself wholeheartedly to the Lord. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Edith Stein was a Jewish convert to the Christian faith, inspired by the life story of her patron, St. Teresa of Avila, the reformer of the Carmelite Order.

She then committed herself to walk in the same path as her inspiration and role model, as she joined the Discalced Carmelites amidst the difficult years of existence for the Jewish population in Germany, then under the dominion of the rising NAZI party of Adolf Hitler, who was very hostile to the Jews and sought for them to be exterminated. St. Teresa Benedicta was sent to the Netherlands with some other sisters to protect them and provide for their safety, but in time, the fires of war caught up to them even to their monastery.

St. Teresa Benedicta dedicated herself to the Lord with her fellow religious sisters, and despite the challenges she encountered throughout the path she walked, she remained firmly in faith, even as she and others were arrested by the NAZI authorities, as they sought to seek retribution against the opposition by the Dutch bishops against the NAZI rules and policies. Eventually, St. Teresa Benedicta herself, as a Jew, was sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, and was martyred there, as a courageous defender of her faith in God, of her sanctity and virtues. She has always been ready to die for the Lord, in her own words, ‘to offer herself to the Heart of Jesus, as a sacrifice of atonement for the true peace’.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened and remembered the inspiring life examples of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the ever faithful sister Edith Stein, let us all therefore endeavour to live our own lives in such a manner, committed and dedicated to the Lord. May the Lord continue to strengthen us and empower us all, that we may ever draw closer to Him, and be with Him, in all things, so that we may always trust Him and strive to live Christian lives of virtue and justice in every moments of our lives. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 8 August 2021 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are all called to give thanks to God and to put our full trust in Him, as He has provided for everything that we needed, and gave us the strength and the support even when we might not have realised it and even when we have disobeyed Him and sinned against Him. He still cared for us and showed us all His love, and He still reached out to us, and for that we ought to give Him thanks.

In our first reading today, we heard how the prophet Elijah fled to the desert as he escaped the bitter wrath of Queen Jezebel of Israel, who together with king Ahab of Israel persecuted the prophets and the faithful people of God, promoting pagan and idol worship among the people. The prophet Elijah was a particularly courageous and dedicated opponent of the Queen and her efforts to corrupt the people of God in the northern kingdom of Israel.

At that time, Elijah had just recently won a great contest of the faith against the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal at Mount Carmel. The priests of Baal contended with Elijah to prove who was the true Lord and God, and they failed, as they could not prove that Baal is the true God, and no one responded to their prayers and calls. On the other hand, Elijah, although alone, as the only prophet of God left alive, prayed to the Lord and almost immediately a great fire came down from Heaven, burning the offerings many times over.

But although Elijah managed to prove before all the assembled who was indeed the true God, but he earned the ire and the hatred of Jezebel, who with the support of Ahab likely sought to kill him, and hence, Elijah fled to the desert with nothing left on him. As the prophet of God, Elijah had followed the Lord wholeheartedly, and left everything for His sake, going to wherever the Lord would lead him to. And thus, we heard today in our first reading today, the painful words of the prophet Elijah when he wanted to give up from all the struggles, all the sufferings, preferring to die than to suffer any further.

And that was exactly when God reaffirmed His support to Elijah, as He sent His Angels to provide for the prophet, bringing him food and water to sustain him, that he would not perish and survive, for God was always with him and would never abandon him especially in his moments of greatest challenges and trials. God proved His faithfulness and took care of Elijah, before calling him to embark a long journey to the mountain where Elijah would come to see Him in person, where God would reveal to Elijah His intentions and truths.

Then, in our Gospel passage today we heard the continuation of the discourse of the Bread of Life, where the Lord, after feeding the people miraculously with bread and fishes, revealed Himself that He would feed them and provide for them the true Bread of Heaven, that is His own Most Precious Body and Blood, His own flesh and His blood, as the Living Bread that came down from Heaven, to be partaken by all the people of God who believe in Him. The Lord revealed Himself as the Bread of Life through which all will come to have new life through Him, while many among them took this revelation with surprise and doubt.

Again in this story, we have heard how the Lord provided for His people in need, as God saw how those multitudes of people, five thousand men and many thousands more of women and children were all hungry and without food, as they had been following the Lord for days, likely to the wilderness where the Lord often worked in, and listened to His teachings. He miraculously turned a mere five loaves of bread and two fishes into a great feast that was shared by everyone and with twelve baskets’ worth of leftovers gathered in the end.

God’s love was manifest at that time, and there is no greater love than His gift for us in Christ, which far surpassed even the food by which He provided the Israelites during their forty years of Exodus, the sustenance He provided to the prophet Elijah, and the food He gave to feed all the five thousand men and thousands of other women and children. In Christ, His most Beloved Son, He gave us all the gift of life and the gift of hope, that through Him, we may receive hope and light to dispel the darkness of despair and by overcoming the tyranny of sin and death, leading us into the assurance of eternal life.

As St. Paul mentioned in his Epistle to the Ephesians in our second reading this Sunday, the Lord has shown us His love through Christ, and all of us are called to abandon our path of violence and hatred, of jealousy and anger, and distance ourselves from all evils, as we are also called to imitate His examples of love, in the selfless giving and offering of Himself, as He laid down His life and bore the Cross of our sins, that through His sufferings and many wounds, He would liberate and redeem us from our sins, and lead us into life eternal.

As our Eternal High Priest, the bridge between God and Man, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life has offered Himself as the perfect and only worthy sacrifice for the forgiveness of all of our multitudes of sins. He raised Himself on the Altar of the Cross, both as the High Priest offering on our behalf, asking God for forgiveness for our sins, and as the Sacrificial Victim, the Paschal Lamb of God, Who was slain and broken on the Altar at Calvary, bloodied and shattered, offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for the salvation of all of our souls.

And it is this same Most Precious Body and Blood which we have received in the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist, the same bread and wine transformed into the very reality and essence of Our Lord’s Precious Body and Blood, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, which we partake and share. God gave Himself for us, that He may dwell with us and among us, and that He may share with us not only the death of our physical bodies and sin, but also the most glorious resurrection into new life, as we share in His Resurrection at Easter.

This is why every time and every moment we share the Lord in the Eucharist, in every celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are constantly reminded that God loves us, brothers and sisters in Christ, loving us unconditionally and has always been there for us, through our highs and lows, sharing with us our joys and sorrows. We must not forget this truth, as all too often we will be tempted to think that no one cares for us or loves us, especially when we are in despair and suffering, which is all too common these days, with all that everyone in the whole world are still suffering and enduring with the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on us and our communities.

That is why we have to remind one another, brothers and sisters in Christ, to keep our faith in the Lord and to trust in Him as we continue our journey each and every day through life. And we should help remind one another that we have to trust in the Lord in the path that He has called us all to follow that we do not end up walking down the wrong path in life, for temptations are plenty in trying to mislead us down the wrong path, of sin, of darkness and of despair.

Let us encourage one another that we may remain strong and firm in our convictions and faith, and do not easily be broken by the pressures and the difficulties we face in life. And when we are able to help our brethren in need, wherever they are, let us do so enthusiastically and with genuine love, care and affection just as the Lord has done with us when He provided for us and cared for us, with all of His love and attention. Let us be the witnesses and the bearers of God’s hope and love within our own communities.

May the Lord, our most loving God, our Bread of Life and our Hope continue to be with us, guiding us and strengthening us through the challenges and trials we may face and encounter in life. May He give us the courage, strength and perseverance to remain faithful to Him and to keep our trust in Him no matter what. May the Lord be with us always, and remain with us, at all times. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we are called to be faithful to the Lord and to remember everything that He had done for us all, and we are called to reject the temptations to sin and to disobey His will and commandments, as we shall certainly encounter these in our journey of life throughout. And we should also encourage one another in how we live up to our faith, that we should inspire one another to be faithful to God.

In our first reading today, we heard the exhortations and reminders made by Moses from the Book of Deuteronomy, likely during the last moments of the Exodus, as the Israelites had been spending forty years in the desert, journeying and waiting for their time to enter the land promised to them and to their ancestors. The journey should not have taken such a long time, but the Lord chastised and punished His people for their disobedience and lack of faith in Him, when they openly rebelled against Him just as He was about to lead them into the Promised Land.

During that entire period of forty years, an entire generation of those who disobeyed and disregarded the Lord perished, just as the Lord had decided, that none of those in that generation, save for the two adult faithful servants of God from the days of the Israelites in Egypt, who remained faithful to Him, namely Caleb and Joshua, would remain and enter into the Promised Land. Joshua would be the one to succeed Moses in leading the Israelites as they marched to the land promised to them.

God spoke through Moses in our first reading passage today, as He reminded His people to remain faithful to Him and not be swayed by the temptations to sin and to disobey Him. Through Moses, God reminded all of them to remain strong in faith and not to forget about the Lord Who had saved them from their slavery in Egypt, and Who had guided them and provided for them and their ancestors, throughout the Exodus and afterwards.

But unfortunately, as we can see throughout the accounts of the Old Testament, the people of Israel did not remain faithful and continued to walk in the path of sin, falling again and again into disobedience against God. The Lord has patiently guided them and called them to return to Him throughout all those years without fail, sending to them various prophets and messengers, and leaders and guides to help keep them on their path, to chastise and to remind them when they have erred and fallen into the path of sin and evil.

Then He sent to His people, to this world, the Saviour of all, His own Most Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour, the Master of all. Through Him, the Lord brought His salvation into our midst, revealing the truth about His love and His intentions for each and every one of us. Yet, despite having seen all that He had done, all the miracles and wonders He had performed, and despite having heard all the wisdom and truth that they had received, they failed to appreciate this truth and the love of God, and still continued to doubt the Lord and questioned Him and His truth.

Hence, we heard the Lord again rebuking His people and telling them to be faithful, and to abandon their stubbornness and wicked attitudes. The Lord called all of them to believe in Him and in the truth and the pure, genuine love that He had brought into their midst. He told them all, including His disciples, that even if their faith is small, metaphorically symbolised as the mustard seed in size, but if their faith is true, everything will be possible for them, and all things will be in their favour through God, by their faith and commitment.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to commit ourselves to the Lord, and believe in Him in this manner? Today as we listened to these words of the Scriptures we are all called to turn towards the Lord with newfound faith and dedication, with genuine and pure love. We are all called to serve Him faithfully and to walk ever in His presence without fail. And we should seek inspiration in the examples of our holy predecessors, especially in Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Cajetan, whose feast days we are celebrating together today.

Pope St. Sixtus II was the leader of the Universal Church during the difficult time of the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire, when Christians faced series of persecutions while the rest of the Roman Empire were also undergoing upheavals and instabilities. Christians were often blamed for the troubles and issues that faced the state. Pope St. Sixtus II led the Church faithfully through this difficult period, encouraging the faithful people of God to remain true to their faith despite the challenges and trials that they had to endure, and when he was arrested and martyred, Pope St. Sixtus II remained firm in his faith and exemplary in his courage to stay true to the Lord.

Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was an Italian priest remembered for his dedication and care towards the poor and the sick, as he made the effort to care for those who were needy and for those who were suffering from incurable diseases. St. Cajetan spent a lot of effort, in establishing hospitals and care places, and also established the Congregation of the Clerks Regular, also known as the Theatines, assembling people who were like-minded and with the same desire to serve the Lord, responding to the Lord’s call and embracing their responsibility in reaching out to their fellow men.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the examples set by these two most dedicated saints, let us all in our own lives spent as much time and effort in order to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and faithfully so that in everything we say and do, we will always glorify the Lord and contribute to the good works of His Church, of which we are members and parts of. Let us all have true and genuine faith in the Lord, that as our holy predecessors have shown us, if we are faithful, even the greatest obstacles and trials will not hinder us from following the Lord.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us in faith, and may He encourage us and empower us to live ever more faithfully at all times, that we may dedicate our effort and time to serve Him, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 6 August 2021 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the great Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, remembering the moment when the Lord Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, was revealed in all of His glory and splendour before His three closest disciples, Peter, James and John. The Lord Jesus brought them up to Mount Tabor to be witnesses of His glorification, as He revealed for the first time the true nature of His existence, as One Who not just a mere Man, but also fully Divine, as the Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate.

The Lord revealed Himself before the three disciples to show them and to make them witnesses of the truth about Himself, which He had very carefully kept hidden most of the time. Many did not know Who the Lord truly was, and many thought that He was just a Prophet or Holy Man of God. Some others like many of the members of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law even doubted Him and questioned His authority and authenticity, and even accused Him of colluding with demons.

By revealing Himself to His disciples, which they later then revealed to others and written in the Scriptures, in an account for all of us to know the truth, therefore, the Lord had made Himself known to all so that everyone may see the Lord’s true intentions, by His coming into this world in fulfilling the Law and the various prophecies that had been made. Hence, we heard how the Lord met with Moses and Elijah on top of Mount Tabor, which is symbolic of the Law and the Prophets, that each of them represented.

Moses and Elijah were unique in that they were truly close to God, and both ended their earthly existence in manners unknown to us, as Moses was brought up to the Mount Nebo when he was about to die, and he died with the view of the land that the Israelites was to receive, at the end of their Exodus. Meanwhile the prophet Elijah was carried up into heaven on a flaming chariot in the full view of the prophet Elisha, his successor. Both Moses and Elijah therefore, were with God and as they came to meet up with the Lord, they symbolised the fulfilment of the Law, which Moses represented, having brought the Law of God to His people, and also the prophecies of the prophets, represented by Elijah, the greatest among the prophets of God.

These highlighted the Lord’s mission as He came to make the Law perfect and to make its full intentions and meaning known to us, as He taught His people and revealed to us through His Church. He Himself had said that He came not to destroy or override the Law, but to make it perfect and completely fulfilled, while mankind had erred in their interpretations and failed to recognise and appreciate the Law and its true purpose and significance. And His coming into this world also fulfilled the many prophecies that had been made about His coming, as the Lord came to save His people. The Lord has always been faithful to His Covenant, and He showed it to perfection in Christ, His Son.

But what is even more significant is what happened after the Transfiguration, as the Lord could have chosen to stay there in His glorious moment and majesty, just as Peter, His disciple had suggested, that they ought to stay there and to make tents to accommodate them on that mountain. The Lord then kindly rebuked His disciples, as His voice was heard, reaffirming yet again that Jesus was truly the Son of God and told them to listen to His words. The Lord returned to His original self, and then descended the mountain, to go to His Passion, suffering and death, which would then soon to come, facing His opponents and willingly embracing the weight and burden of the Cross.

How is all these significant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? The Lord has shown us all that we are all called to holiness through Him and with Him. Just as the Lord Jesus, Who shared in our human nature and existence has been glorified, the Transfiguration reminds us and shows us of our glorified future, our renewed and blessed existence in God, should we remain faithful to Him and His commandments, obeying His Law and listening to Him. All of us are called to holiness, to be like the saints of God, all of whom were once sinners, but who abandoned and rejected their sinful ways and the path of evil for a new life in God.

But at the same time it does not mean that we are going to have instantaneous glory and joy, as we have to expect challenges and difficulties, and even sufferings and sorrows in our journey, just as the Lord endured through His Passion, His suffering and death, before His final triumph and glory in His Resurrection. We Who share in our humanity with Christ, have therefore shared in His Cross, and His suffering and in dying to our sins, and we shall also share in His glorious Resurrection, entering a new life with God in the end, for eternity.

What we all need to do now is to commit ourselves anew to a life that is in accordance with God and follow Him wholeheartedly from now on, if we have not yet done so. Are we willing to embrace this path, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to seek Him with all of our might and strength, and strive to be exemplary in our lives, in giving our very best for the greater glory of God in all things? These are the things that we have been reminded and called to do as we enter into this celebration of the Lord’s most glorious Transfiguration, His exaltation and revelation to all of us.

Let us all seek to live a virtuous life in God, and look forward to our own glorious transformation and transfiguration in time to come, that all of us, holding firmly to our faith, will receive the fullness of God’s grace and blessings. May God be with us always, and may He, our Transfigured Lord, bless us all in our every efforts and good works, in our every faithful endeavours, always. Amen.

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Thursday, 5 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate the great feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four great Major Basilicas of the Church, and the principal Marian shrine of the whole world. We celebrate the moment of its dedication, honouring its dedication to the Holy Mother of God, historically known as Our Lady of the Snows, and also more popularly as the Protectress of the Roman people, the guardian of the Holy City of Rome, Salus Populi Romani. Our current Pope, Pope Francis often visited the famous icon of the Salus Populi Romani at the Basilica of St. Mary Major before and after his Apostolic Journeys around the world.

This great Basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome, dating from the earliest times that churches could be openly built throughout Rome and the Roman Empire. It was built on a place donated by an elderly noble Roman family, who according to the Church history and tradition, wished to give and contribute to the Church, and prayed that they could be given a hint of what they ought to do. The Lord gave them a vision, pointing to a miracle that would happen in the midst of summer back then, when snow fell heavily on a spot, where today the great Basilica now stands.

Therefore, according to tradition, the land was donated by the family to the Church, which then built a great church building dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, as it was told that by Mary, the Mother of God’s intercession and apparition to the elderly couple, that the building and the miracle came to be. That occurrence impressed a lot of people as snow fell in the midst of high summer in August, an occurrence that was truly miraculous.

As we celebrate the memory of the Consecration and Dedication of this Basilica to the Holy Mother of God, our loving mother and intercessor, the greatest of all saints, we are first and foremost reminded of the special role that Mary has always had in our salvation and our lives. Mary is our role model, showing us what it means for us to be committed and faithful disciples of the Lord, as she lived her whole life in total obedience to the will of God.

At the same time, Mary is also our greatest ally in the struggle we encounter daily through sin and its many temptations. She has always watched over us and interceded for us, all the more important for us because she is ever the closest to the Lord, her own beloved Son, in heaven. Who can better champion for our cause other than the Mother of God herself? And this is part of the reason for the strong Marian devotion that is anchored in the popular Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are reminded of Mary’s example of faith and dedication to God, and as rejoice in the anniversary of the Dedication of the great Basilica of St. Mary Major, we are all called to remember that we are all also the living Church, consecrated and dedicated to God through baptism and the rest of the Sacraments of Initiation. We are all the Holy Temples of God’s Presence, as we have shared in His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, His Real Presence, and the Holy Spirit sent down to us, dwelling within us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all remind ourselves that we have to strive to lead a holy life, a life dedicated to God and committed to righteousness and goodness in God. Unless we commit ourselves in this manner, we will not be able to come closer to the Lord, and through sin and evil, we may even be led further and further away from Him. And if we defile the sanctity of these Temples, that are our bodies, our hearts and minds, and our souls, then the sins and the wickedness we have done will weigh heavily upon us.

Let us all therefore do whatever we can in order to seek the Lord with a new spirit and commitment, and do whatever we can to glorify Him through our daily actions and deeds, so that in everything we do, we shall always follow Him and the examples set by His mother Mary, and all the multitudes of the holy saints and martyrs, all the blesseds and holy men and women who had gone before us to the Lord, those who were judged to be worthy of God by their virtuous life.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us with the resolve and courage to live our lives ever more faithfully with each and every passing moments. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Vianney, Priest and Patron of All Priests (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are called together to recall our Christian calling and mission, as entrusted to us by the Lord, our God, our Master and Saviour. He has called on all of us to follow Him and to be His disciples. As today we celebrate the feast of the great Patron of All Priests, namely St. John Maria Vianney, also known as St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, we are all called to reflect on our own calling and vocation in life.

In our first reading today we heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel, every men and everyone shall be judged based on their own deeds and actions, and all of them shall be held responsible for their contributions, as well as the failure to act and contribute when they were perfectly able to do so. Those who were righteous and fell into sin would be judged by those sins and also by their righteousness, while those who sinned and then repented, would also have a chance of salvation through his repentance and in abandoning the ways of the wicked.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord Who went through to many places, healing the sick and caring for those who needed Him and His guidance, as He ministered to them and showed His love to them. He sent His disciples to spread the same Good News and to do the same good works He had done, and in sending them, He has called and sent forth His servants, those who responded to His call and accept the Lord’s call, and walked in His path, doing whatever they could in order to do His will. And the Lord then spoke of how the harvest was plentiful, but there was a great lack of labourers to collect the harvest.

What does He mean by saying that, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that while there are plenty of opportunities for evangelisation and for the salvation of souls, that is the true meaning of this ‘harvest of the Lord’, but there were few who wanted to participate in the labour and efforts to bring this about. Just as the disciples and the Apostles in the old times, we are all called to be the Lord’s disciples, the witnesses of His truth, His salvation and teachings among the nations. But many of us have not responded to His call, and even some still rejected Him and abandoned Him.

This is why today, we are all called to hearken to the Lord’s call, to be stirred and to be moved to action, that we no longer be indecisive or doubtful, or be filled with wickedness and all sorts of infidelities. Instead, we should take the first step and respond to the Lord’s call, by embracing the Lord’s truth, His teachings and commandments, to our hearts. We are all called to model ourselves after St. John Vianney, in his life, faith and dedication to the Lord, and we also pray for our priests, that they may also be like St. John Vianney in their faith and dedication as well.

St. John Vianney was the simple parish priest of the church in the village of Ars in France. He came from a very humble background, and he almost did not become a priest as his education was stunted and he encountered many challenging moments in the seminary and in his formation. He failed some of the subjects and did not excel in the academics, and yet, this did not deter him from becoming a most dedicated and committed priest and servant of God later on. St. John Vianney became an ordinary and unassuming parish priest of a small and insignificant village of Ars, and yet his life and contributions would soon have a far greater impact on so many.

St. John Vianney dedicated himself to his flock, caring for the needs, especially the spiritual needs of the people under his care. The parish church was dilapidated and many among the people were apathetic to the Church. Their faith had dwindled and many lived in wretched and wicked state. Yet, St. John Vianney never gave up, and on the contrary, he redoubled his efforts even more, as he spent a lot of time in preaching to them and in reaching out to them, and spending long hours in the confessional, where more and more people over time would come to visit him and confess their sins to him.

St. John Vianney remained humble despite his growing popularity, as thousands and more flocked daily to see him and to confess their sins to him, and to seek advice from him. He lived his life in humble dedication to the Lord, spending time to care for the needs of the people of God and to bring them ever closer to Him. Indeed, he is the role model for all of us and especially all of our priests, all those whom God had called and chosen, and who have responded to His call.

Let us all pray that each and every one of us may find our path in life, that we may dedicate ourselves ever more to the Lord in all things, and that we may be ever closer to Him, and for our priests that they may ever be inspired to follow the Lord and the examples of St. John Vianney, the great priest and servant of God. Let us all be the faithful labourers in the Lord’s field, spreading the Good News of God’s salvation to ever more people, that more and more can be saved, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Lord, speaking to us about the faith that all of us must have in Him, we are reminded that we should not allow our desires and the temptations of the flesh to distract us in our faith and in our way of believing in God. Otherwise, we may end up falling into sin, and ended up like what some of our predecessors had experienced.

In our first reading today, we heard the unfortunate occurrence when the brother and sister of Moses, Aaron and Miriam ended up in a sort of power struggle with Moses, as the two of them grumbled that Moses alone had the opportunity to speak with the Lord and to speak on behalf of all the Israelites and to deliver God’s truth and messages to them. Aaron and Miriam desired that they too could be the ones who spoke of God’s words and truth just like Moses. They did not want to remain in the shadows of Moses and desired influence and limelight.

It was mentioned then that Moses himself was a very unassuming and humble leader, who did not take much of a fuss of things, including these rivalries and the disagreements over who ought to lead the Israelites. To Moses, he served the Lord and did everything for the greater glory of God. And yet, as we heard, there were those who were displeased and unhappy with his leadership, including those who were closest to him, his own siblings no less.

Thus we heard how Aaron and Miriam sought for power and attempted to seize control, only to face God’s wrath as God reaffirmed before all that Moses was indeed His chosen one, and it was not man who chose for themselves to be worthy of God but rather God Who chose those who are considered as worthy. God punished Aaron and Miriam, and yet, Moses asked God to be merciful and to show clemency to his siblings. Indeed, you can really see why God chose Moses to be the leader of His people, for his great virtues, his humility and patience.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the account of the moment when the Lord came to His disciples as they were battered by great storm, by the waves and the wind in the middle of the raging waters, as He went to pray on His own and the disciples were in the boat. The Lord appeared before the disciples amidst the waves, and they were all afraid, thinking that they were seeing a ghost, only for the Lord to rebuke them and to tell them that it was truly Him that they had seen.

Then we heard how St. Peter asked the Lord that if it was really Him, then He would allow him to walk towards Him on the water. And St. Peter truly stepped out of the boat into the water, and walked on the water for a while before beginning to sink, when his fears of the wind and the waves made him to doubt and stumble. The Lord rescued St. Peter and while making comment on his doubt and lack of faith, reassured him and all the other disciples, that He was with them, and calmed the storm before them all.

What is then the significance of the readings that we have heard today, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is to remind us that God chose us among the nations, and called us all to be His disciples. And if we think that we have to be great and worthy, and are capable to be His disciples, or on the contrary that we feel that we are unworthy of Him then we have to remember that God did not call the worthy, and rather, He made worthy those whom He had called to follow Him.

As Christians, we are all called to follow in the footsteps of the faithful servants of God like Moses and the prophets, and to follow His Apostles and the other disciples, all those who have given and dedicated themselves to the cause of the Lord. Are we willing to commit ourselves to the Lord, brothers and sisters? Are we willing to dedicate our time and effort, giving our contributions to God and to our fellow men, to the very best of our abilities?

Let us all therefore reflect on these words from the Scripture and on what we have listened and received today, from the Lord. May the Lord be our guide and may He continue to strengthen us in our journey of life, that we may always be ever faithful to His commandments and obedient to His will. May God bless us all in our every efforts and endeavours, from now on, always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 August 2021 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop, and St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops and Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened again to the love and kindness of God in providing for the needs of His people, as we heard the stories of God feeding and providing for them in the desert during their Exodus as described in our first reading today, and then the similar story in the well-known miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men and more by mere five loaves of bread and two fishes by the Lord Jesus, Who multiplied the food for them.

In that first reading passage today, we heard how the people were so ungrateful about the love and attention which the Lord had given them. They were complaining that they could not have the cucumber, leeks, garlic and other things that they used to eat in Egypt, a land that was fertile and bountiful, with all available produces, even when they were enslaved by the Egyptians and the Pharaoh. They were complaining that what they had was just the manna, which they detested.

In truth, the manna itself tasted quite fine, but the people were biased against it, despite the truth that it had been an immense honour and grace for all of them to even have any food at all throughout their journey throughout the desert. Instead of being appreciative of how the Lord had sent them manna, and not only just manna, but even flocks of birds daily to supplement their diet, as well as bountiful amount of water in the midst of the dry and lifeless desert, they chose to complain and refuse to obey the Lord.

They gave in to the temptations of their desires, their desire for good and pleasant life, a decadent and free life without restraint, which led them to wander off from the path that the Lord had shown them. They fell into sinful ways, and committed those sins against God. Moses himself, as the leader of the Israelites, was under great pressure all the time, as we can clearly see his distress as we heard in our first reading passage today.

And yet, the Lord was still ever patient with His people, providing for them ceaselessly and guiding them throughout their forty years of journey, even as He chastised and punished them for their sins, excesses and disobedience. God still loved His people very much, and this was why He showed love and compassion to them, and by feeding them as a very tangible and visible proof of this love, providing them with their essential physical and bodily needs.

As therefore we then heard in our Gospel passage today, how the Lord miraculously fed a multitude of five thousand men and many thousands of other women and children, with just five loaves of bread and two fishes, a story that many of us are surely very familiar with. God cared for all of them as they were hungry and were in need of sustenance after following Him and listening to His teachings for many days.

Through all of these, we are reminded that we are truly fortunate to have been beloved by God, Who wants to love us and care for us. Indeed, if it had not been for His love, we would have been crushed, destroyed and thrown into hellfire for our disobedience and sins. That the Lord still patiently tries, even to this day, in calling us to return to Him, sending countless prophets and messengers, and ultimately His own beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus to come and save us, are the ultimate proofs and signs of His everlasting love.

Therefore, all of us should be grateful for the Lord, and strive to do whatever we can to follow Him and obey His Law and commandments, which we can do by following the inspiring examples of the saints whose memories we recall and venerate today, namely St. Eusebius of Vercelli and St. Peter Julian Eymard. St. Eusebius of Vercelli was the bishop of Vercelli and a ardent defender of the true faith against the falsehoods of heresies which were plenty at his time. Meanwhile, St. Peter Julian Eymard was a holy and devoted priest well renowned for his piety and devotion to the Lord.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli was dedicated to his flock and endeavoured to keep them safe and faithful throughout the various challenges facing them, and he dedicated his time and effort to care for the spiritual needs of the people, living among them and showing true and genuine love for them. He endured trials and difficulties when persecutions and troubles come for the faithful, especially from those who believed in the heresies and followed the tenets of the heretics, and led to the persecution of those who remained true to the true faith. He endured exile and humiliations throughout his ministry, but those things did not deter him from his best for the sake of the Lord and His people.

St. Eusebius of Vercelli worked hard to reconcile the various divided factions of the Church, reaching out to the many people who had been feuding and been separated from one another due to misunderstandings and lack of guidance in faith. He visited many communities, and many were touched by his efforts, which brought the Lord to His people and helped many to turn away from their wrong paths and to be reconciled with their loving God and Father. His dedication and faith are things that we should be inspired to follow.

St. Peter Julian Eymard meanwhile was a faithful and dedicated priest whose devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary, the Mother of God inspired many to follow his examples, as he popularised the Forty Hours devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and established several congregations dedicated to the ministry of the Lord among the people of God. Many followed in his footsteps and committed themselves to the Lord in the same manner, abandoning their previous, sinful ways of life and embracing the path that St. Peter Julian Eymard has shown them. St. Peter Julian Eymard should be our inspiration in how we lived our own lives with faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore follow in the footsteps of our holy predecessors, and be worthy in all of our dealings and deeds, and do our best in all things, to glorify the Lord and His Name at all times. May God be with us all and may He bless us and all of our good endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 August 2021 : Eighteenth 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 about the love which God has shown to all of us, His generosity and compassion towards each and every one of us that He had revealed and delivered. From the very beginning God had always loved us and cared for us, and we really ought to be thankful for everything that He had done for us, as without Him and His love for us, we should have been cast to oblivion and fall into damnation, for all the terrible things and deeds we have done.

I refer to the sins our forefathers have committed, in abandoning the Lord and in refusing to believe in Him throughout history ever since the days of Adam and Eve, when mankind first fell into sin. They had refused to follow the Lord and instead chose to listen to the devil and his lies, his false promises and allowed themselves to fall into the temptations of human desires and wants, as we heard in our first reading today with the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In that story, we heard how the people of Israel ungratefully rebelled against the Lord and complained against Him for having freed them from the Egyptians.

At that time, despite having themselves seen God’s power and might repeatedly, again and again as God rained down plague after plague on the Egyptians and their Pharaoh, and saved them from the whole might of the Egyptian armies and their chariots, opening the sea before their very own eyes, the people of Israel still refused to believe in God, and still disobeyed Him and doubted Him. Again and again, God had proven His steadfastness and commitment to His people, and yet the people still complained and grumbled, saying that God was leading them to their deaths in the desert from hunger.

They had such little faith in the Lord, but the Lord still loved them all in the end. He Himself showed this as proof, as He sent to the whole nation, every day’s providence and supply, in the form of the manna, the bread from heaven, which appeared every morning without fail except on every Sabbath day. That was how the Lord provided for the people and made them to have enough each and every day for the entire forty years that they were journeying through the desert towards the Promised Land.

And not just that, He also sent them flocks of birds every evening for them to complement their food, and provided crystal clear and good tasting water to drink from the rocks, that the whole multitudes of the Israelites, God’s people, could survive throughout their journey in the desert without the need to worry about their sustenance and survival. For God has always taken care of them and took care of them all the time that they had no need to be worried at all, every single moments of their lives. Those things we have heard and which our predecessors had witnessed in the past were proofs of God’s love for us all.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard about the Lord Who spoke to His people after He had performed the wondrous miracle of the feeding of the five thousand people, in which the large number of people assembled before the Lord all were satisfied and filled with food after they were hungry for many days, having followed the Lord and hearing His teachings. He took the few loaves of bread and little fishes present, gave thanks and blessed the food, and miraculously, out of the little food available, a vast multitudes of supply came about, feeding everyone and made them fully satisfied with plenty of leftovers.

Having heard of all these stories of the Scriptures on how God provided for the need of His people, we are actually reminded that God provides and He is always caring towards us, ever knowing what we truly need in life, be it for sustenance or for guidance and help. God is always ever there, with us and journeying with us. We are all never alone, no matter what. But we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by despair and our human desires, by the temptations of worldly pleasures among other things.

That is why we have to trust in the Lord and to grow in love towards Him, He Who has given Himself so completely towards us, that by giving Himself to us, we may all be saved and gathered together from all the ends of the Earth, and find justification in God. This is what the Lord Himself referred to in our Gospel passage today, as He referred to Himself as the Bread of Life, far greater than the manna that the people of Israel once consumed during the entirety of their Exodus journey. Far greater also than the bread and fishes that the people at the time of Jesus consumed and ate until they were all full.

For the Lord Himself provided all of us with not any form of worldly sustenance, or even any provisions in the manner of the manna of the time of the Exodus. Instead, He did what was unthinkable, and seemingly impossible, that is to give us His own Most Precious Body and Blood, to be shared, shattered and broken for us all. When He spoke to the assembled multitudes as recorded in our Gospel passage today, He gave a premonition and advance revelation of what He would do for the sake of all of us, God’s beloved people.

For it was by His later suffering, rejection, torture, pain and eventually death on the Cross that the Lord had given to us His own Body and Blood, as the sacrificial offering on the Altar of the Cross, and which we then share with one another, as we partake in the Eucharist. The Eucharist, the Most Holy Eucharist, that we celebrate in the Holy Mass, is this very gift of Our Lord, as the Bread of Life, giving us all His own Body and Blood as spiritual and real sustenance.

All of us who have been blessed to receive this gift of the Bread of Life, the Communion in the Eucharist, are those who have received the assurance from the Lord that they will share in the eternal life that has been promised, as long as we partake faithfully in this sharing of the Body of Christ. Through our conscious love for God and for one another, for our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord, we have been called to follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

Are we able and willing to trust the Lord in all things, to give everything to Him, and focus our attention on Him from now on? Let us all be thankful for how beloved and cared we have been by God, all these while, and how He has always watched over us without cease. God Who has given us even His own beloved Son, and offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our sake is truly a most wonderful and magnificent Lord and Master. Let us all commit ourselves to the Lord and to His will and commandments, doing our very best in our every moments in life to be exemplary in all things so that we may inspire many others to follow the Lord as well.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each and every one of us in faith, that we may be ever more courageous in embracing our Lord with ever greater love and devotion. May we all walk in God’s path and strive for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.