Weekday Homily

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Thursday, 23 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. George, Martyr and St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures which spoke to us about the Lord and His truth, which He has revealed to us all through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And this truth has been passed down to us through His Apostles and disciples and through His Church, and defended by many who had devoted themselves to the Lord and remained faithful despite all the oppositions and even persecutions they encountered.

In our first reading today we heard of the story of the persecution of the Apostles, who were opposed by most of the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council who were also opposed to their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. The Sanhedrin and many of the Pharisees had tried hard to clamp down on the activity and the works of the Apostles who were then rapidly gaining converts to the Christian faith among the populace. They even put the Apostles under arrest and wanted to try them and condemn them, but God sent His Angel to free the Apostles.

The Apostles remained firm in their faith and despite the efforts of their opponents and oppressors to stop them from doing their works and from proclaiming the truth, the Apostles did not fear all the threats and persecutions, and as they bravely said before all the Sanhedrin that they would rather obey Divine authority and the Lord’s commandments rather than to listen or obey to human authority especially when that authority ordered them to do what is obviously and completely contrary to the Divine mandate and instructions.

And their words there before the Sanhedrin matched what the Lord Jesus Himself told the Pharisee Nicodemus, in their secret meeting, when the Lord spoke of Himself as the One Whom God had promised us mankind as the Saviour, and because He was sent from above, He spoke of things that are heavenly in nature and from God, and His truth was known to only those who were willing to listen to Him and believe in Him. And that was what the Apostles had also spoken and preached before the people of God, which the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin had also heard and yet refused to believe.

And the Lord also put it very plainly that those who believe in Him will have eternal life through Him while those who do not believe in Him will not. And thus, this is why the Apostles having been called and sent out to the world to carry out the will of God refused to stop their works just because of the unreasonable opposition from the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin on the account of their jealousy and personal hatred and agenda against the Lord. They had been sent on the mission to save countless souls, and they would want to see it through to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what the Lord had asked us to do as part of our Christian calling. We have been sent out into the world like that of the Apostles, continuing their works and doing what we can to bring God’s truth to all of the peoples for the salvation of souls. Are we all willing to commit ourselves to the Lord in that way? And are we willing to commit our time, effort and attention to serve the Lord with all of our hearts and with our strength?

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. George and St. Adalbert, two devoted servants of God and holy martyrs who have given their lives in service to God, toiling and doing what they could through their lives to be inspirations to all the faithful. St. George was a Christian soldier, a member of the Praetorian Guard or the personal guards of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, while St. Adalbert was a Bohemian bishop and saint, who was involved in the works of evangelisation and in establishing the Church in various places.

St. George was a member of the elite Praetorian guards who guarded the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who was infamous for his great persecution of Christians living throughout the Empire. And especially among the members of the army and the Praetorians, Christians who had to practice their faith in secret had a truly difficult time. But St. George stood firm and refused to offer sacrifices to the Roman Emperor as required by the law and by the order of the Emperor himself, and as such, publicly declared himself as a Christian.

Suffering greatly from the torture, pain and the persecution, St. George endured it all and remained true to his faith, refusing to recant his faith even under the pain and certainty of death. It was told by tradition that St. George was beheaded on the city wall of Emperor Diocletian’s capital in Nicomedia, and afterwards, many people began to venerate St. George, inspired deeply by the saint’s great and deep devotion to the Lord and for his righteousness and courage.

Meanwhile, St. Adalbert was the Bishop of Prague in what is now Czech Republic, ministering to the people of God at what was then the frontier of Christendom. Many pagans still lived in the area of St. Adalbert’s diocese, and the Church there was still being established. St. Adalbert had to face much difficulty and opposition from those who still held on their pagan ways, and his opposition to the pagans’ practice of slavery and polygamy among others earned him enemies within the nobles and courtiers.

But St. Adalbert remained firm in his faith and in his conviction to serve God and His people. He continued to fight for the Church in those difficult and challenging moments, and endured all sorts of tribulations in the process. In the end, he left behind his diocese and stepped down as bishop, and set out as a missionary to the still pagan Prussians in what is now eastern part of Germany and Poland. It was there that St. Adalbert was martyred for his faith after attaining some successes among the pagans.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we can indeed see how these faithful and holy predecessors of ours have inspired so many of us to follow in their footsteps in how we ought to be faithful to God and serve Him through our lives. We are all called as Christians to continue on the works of the Apostles and the saints, and we are called today to reflect on this calling. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves to God in this way, brothers and sisters?

Let us all draw ever closer to God and find our strength in Him, seeking to be ever more faithful and devoted to Him as the Apostles, and also St. George and St. Adalbert had shown us through their lives and works. May God give us the strength to persevere and to give our very best in our service to Him, in each and every single moments. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the wonderful love of God by which He will certainly protect us, provide for us and guide us down the right path in life. With God’s love and providence, He has provided for us the assurance of a new life and existence in Him, through none other than His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading today, we heard of the efforts of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council in trying to silence the Apostles and the other followers of the Lord by arresting some among them and putting them into prison hoping that such a harsh and drastic measure would make the followers of Jesus scared and bullied into submission to the orders and demands of the Sanhedrin. They wanted to stop the teachings of Jesus from being spread any further in the community of the people of God.

But they were not successful in doing so because God was with those who were faithful and dedicated to Him. He watched over them and sent His Angels to free them from their bondage in prison. The Angels freed them and brought the Apostles out to safety, and obeying God’s will, those Apostles continued their ministry in the public by the Temple without fear, astounding all of those who thought that they had managed to contain those Apostles and the truth and teachings of Jesus.

And in the Gospel today, the Lord further reiterated this love and commitment He has for us all through that now famous words, ‘For God so loved the world, that He sent His only Begotten Son, that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have eternal life through Him.’ These words are what the Lord spoke to Nicodemus, as the affirmation of God’s infinite love for us, and which had manifested in reality and in the flesh in the very person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of all.

That God was willing to go to that extent of doing so much for us, giving us the best and the ultimate gift of His love through His Son, is a clear testimony of His enduring love and compassion for us. And it is not just that. Christ came into our world, but He even endured all of the punishments due for our sins, scorned, rejected and humiliated as He went through His Passion, and was lifted up high on the Cross to die for our sake. He endured it all, and gave us all the assurance of eternal life through that.

He has also promised His Apostles that He would send them the Holy Spirit, the Advocate to be their strength and guide even after He had departed from them on His Ascension. And indeed, the Holy Spirit of God came upon them all and gave them the strength and courage to carry out their difficult and challenging missions, and as we heard in our first reading today, the Lord’s assistance and providence for His faithful ones remained throughout, and He showed that He would always be with us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to follow the Lord as how the Apostles had done, and are we willing and able to continue their works as they had shown us in their courage and commitment? The works of the Apostles, their missions and their efforts are still far from being done as the Church and the world today is ever more in need of God and His love, and it is now up to us all to continue the works that the Apostles had started, in bringing God’s truth and love, His light and hope to this troubled and darkened world.

And today, especially in these difficult times that we are facing, in many communities in our world, how are we going to be those beacons of light and hope showing many people who are suffering and in despair that God is still there for them all? Let us be a people filled with hope and the light of God, the Easter people, sharing the faith and hope of the Apostles, who had been guided and strengthened by God in all things. Let us all bring the Easter joy and hope to everyone, that all of us may endure these challenges together, and bring more and more people closer to God and His salvation. Amen.

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Tuesday, 21 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the salvation which God has bestowed upon us all through Christ, His beloved Son, by which all of us have been delivered from the precipice of destruction and death. That is what we have heard in our readings today, as we learn how we ought to love as Christians, living in grace and filled with the love of Christ in all things, as how the first Christians lived.

In our first reading today we heard from the Acts of the Apostles on the lives of the first Christians, on how they cared for one another, being very generous with their care and love, their sharing of God’s blessings with one another that no one were left out. They lived in the state of a wonderful bliss and grace, filled with the Holy Spirit, as people who have been reborn anew in God through the Spirit, exactly what the Lord had said to Nicodemus during their meeting.

The Lord had told Nicodemus that everyone who believe in Him ought to be reborn again in the Spirit, and this referred to the Baptism that we have all received at the time when we received that Sacrament, whether as infants or as adult converts. And through Baptism, all of us have been made sharers in the Lord’s Passion, suffering, death and resurrection. We have become sharers in His death, as we die to our sins and wickedness united to the Cross of Christ, by which He bore all of our sins and died for us, and then we are united in His resurrection into new life.

Yes, and this is how we enter into this new life and existence in God, a new life filled with love and the grace of God, an existence in the Holy Spirit of God. And we are also reminded how the Lord has also called us to reflect on the salvation which He has given to us, this new hope we have received through His Sacrifice on the Cross. The Lord Jesus revealed to Nicodemus how He Himself would do as how Moses lifted up the bronze serpent to save many of the Israelites who rebelled against God, and He Himself was lifted up on the Cross for all to us.

All of us, who have rebelled against God and therefore fallen into sin, are just like those Israelites who suffered and were about to perish from the folly of their actions, their rebellious attitudes, and the Lord had mercy and took pity on all of them. When Moses interceded on behalf of the people and crafted the bronze serpent that all who saw the bronze serpent would not die but live, it was a prefigurement of what the Lord Himself would be doing for the fulfilment of His promised salvation.

This time, it was the Lord Himself Who interceded on our behalf, as our High Priest, lifting Himself up on the Cross, offering His own Precious Body and Blood as a worthy sacrifice, the slaughtering of the Paschal Lamb for the atonement of our sins. He has done all these because of His everlasting, ever-enduring and most magnificent love for us all, that even when we have sinned against Him and wronged Him on so many occasions, He is still patient for us, waiting for us to return to Him and to be reconciled with Him.

He has given us all a new lease of life, giving us a new hope of life and a new existence through Him. He has called us all to embrace His mercy and forgiveness, to be cleansed from the many corruptions of our sins and to walk once again in His grace and in His path. As Christians, are we then willing and able to commit ourselves to walk with God down this new path in life? Are we able to endure the challenges and trials that we may encounter along this journey of faith?

Now, all of us are living in a particularly difficult time in our lives with so many troubles besetting many of us and our communities in this year alone. This is why perhaps it is time for us to be those beacons of hope and the light for others to brighten their lives and light their way out of the darkness. Are we willing and able to bring hope to our fellow brothers and sisters around us, especially to those who are in need of hope, in need of love, care, attention and some compassion? Let us look at the example set by our predecessors in faith for inspiration.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Anselm, one of our holy predecessors, who was a renowned bishop and a Doctor of the Church. St. Anselm was remembered especially for his role as the Archbishop of Canterbury and therefore the Primate of England, originally a monk and abbot who laboured hard throughout Christendom in reforming the Church and the faith, and was then entrusted with the role of the leader of the Church in England by its king.

St. Anselm devoted himself to his office and calling, leading a virtuous and upright life, and showed exemplary faith throughout his years in ministry, and had to go up against even the opposition from the king and his enemies, that in fact he had to endure exile twice from his See. St. Anselm devoted himself and his life to reforming the corrupt practices of the government and the Church at his time regardless, giving his trust fully in God and bringing His love and compassion to all of his flock.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all embrace God’s love and compassion fully as St. Anselm had once done, and pass that same love and share them to one another. May the Lord be our guide and help us in our journey of faith, that we may always be faithful in walking down the path that God has set before us. May the Lord give us the strength and the courage to persevere through the various trials and difficulties we may have to face along this journey. Amen.

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Monday, 20 April 2020 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us as Christians are reminded of God’s presence in our midst and within our lives as we are called to put our trust and faith in Him more and more especially during difficult and challenging moments of our lives, as we have truly become God’s own beloved ones, His children whom He had gathered from among the nations and received from Him the gift of His own Holy Spirit and love.

In our first reading today, we heard of the moment when the Apostles St. Peter and St. John had just been released from their ordeal of being interrogated by the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council. The members of the Sanhedrin were unhappy at the works and the teachings that they carried out in the community and wanted to silence all of them by threatening them not to preach anymore in the Name of the Lord Jesus, but this was not enough to stop the Apostles from the resolve to serve God in the same way.

The disciples were joyful to receive the two Apostles back safely at their place, and they prayed to God, giving thanks for all that He had done for them, and at the same time also praying for the guidance and strength to be able to face the challenges and trials that would certainly come their way. They trusted in the Lord fully and asked Him to stretch out His hand and provide them with strength and healing for their sake through Jesus Christ, His Son, that they might be able to endure through the difficult moments.

In our Gospel today then we heard of the encounter between the Lord Jesus and Nicodemus, one of the respected members of the Pharisees, who was one of the few Pharisees who were sympathetic to the cause and the teachings of Jesus. In fact, as mentioned by the Scriptures, Nicodemus was even faithful to the point of becoming Christ’s secret follower, and he together with Joseph of Arimathea helped to embalm and prepare the Body of Jesus for burial after His death.

Nicodemus was interested in the truth which was taught by the Lord and he was deeply intrigued by what he had heard in those teachings that Christ delivered to the people. And he told the Lord in that encounter as described in the Gospel, on how he truly believed that Christ had indeed come from God and was sent by Him into the world for its salvation. The Lord then told him that no one can truly see the kingdom of God unless he or she was to be born again from above, and in the Spirit, which intrigued Nicodemus even further.

What did the Lord mean by being born again in the Spirit, brothers and sisters in Christ? In truth, the meaning of this born again in the Spirit is first and foremost, fundamentally lies in our Sacrament of Baptism which all of us as Christians had gone through either as infants or as adult converts to the faith. But all of us share in that same Baptism, by which we have all been marked by the sign of faith, and sealed by that same Baptism, receive the fullness of God’s grace and also the gifts of His Holy Spirit.

Essentially what we have heard from the Lord is a reminder that through our baptism, we have been ‘reborn’ into this new life and existence in God, that we no longer live just according to our flesh, but also according to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit that we have received from God. This is significant because we are then called to live in holiness and strive for that holiness at all times, in all of our actions and in our every interactions, words and deeds. Are we able to do that, brothers and sisters in Christ?

We are challenged to do more as part of the Church and as a member of the faithful people of God, to be truly faithful in our words and actions that we truly embody and personalise what we have believed in. We are called to be genuine witnesses of His Resurrection and truth in our own communities, to be faithful even in the midst of opposition and challenges we may encounter throughout this journey of faith.

May the Lord be with us always, just as He has been with His disciples, blessing them and providing them with strength, courage and with His wonderful providence during their faithful commitment to the work of the Gospel and salvation. May God be with us and may He give us the strength and courage to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Second Sunday in the season of Easter we celebrate what is known as the Divine Mercy Sunday as instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in the Jubilee Year of 2000 AD. This Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted according to the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who saw the vision of the Lord in His aspect of the Divine Mercy a few times and wrote about her experiences, which took a few decades before they were officially approved and accepted by the Church.

In those visions of the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska saw the Lord appearing to her and showing her His infinite and great mercy, His love and compassion for all of us mankind. The Divine Mercy of God manifested to her in His divinity, pouring forth from His heart two bright rays of red and white shining forth showing the outpouring of the love of God to us mankind, His divinity and humanity mingled into one, and by His Most Precious Blood we have received, we have been healed from our sins.

The Lord called for this devotion to this Divine Mercy to be made popular and spread among His people, dedicating the second Sunday in the season of Easter to be the Divine Mercy Sunday, as a kind reminder that this joyful and wonderful Easter season is a time for us to appreciate just how fortunate we have been that the Lord had gone through the worst of sufferings and humiliations that He bore in His Passion and death, that through Him and His Resurrection, we now receive the assurance of life eternal.

The Divine Mercy devotion calls on us all mankind to focus our attention once again on the Lord, to ask Him for His mercy on us and the whole world through His wondrous saving work, in the shedding of His Body and Blood, as a perfect offering for the redemption of our sins. That is why the Divine Mercy devotion has in particular become very popular and widespread as the world and many people seek healing from the Lord for their many ailments, the sickness of sin and the corruption of evil in our lives.

Through the Divine Mercy of God, all of us are brought to remember that Christ our Lord is our Eternal High Priest Who has offered Himself for the atonement for our sins, as we recall this whenever we recite the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers with the words, ‘Eternal Father, I offer You, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world,’ and the other one ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.’

Through all of these, and linking with what we have just heard in our Scripture passages today, we will realise that we have to have faith in the Lord and believe that through Him there is a hope for us and for our salvation. That is why we heard of the story of the doubt which St. Thomas the Apostle had in our Gospel today, when he, usually the most doubtful and cynical of the Apostles, refused to believe that the Lord had risen from the dead, and wanted tangible proof before he was to believe that the Lord had indeed been resurrected.

It was only when the Lord Himself had appeared before him and the other disciples that St. Thomas came to believe in the Lord and in His Resurrection. St. Thomas from then on became a firm believer, and since then he laboured hard for the sake of God and His people, ministering to the various communities and proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to many others, founding the community of Christians in the southern parts of India, known as St. Thomas Christians who endured for many centuries and beyond after until this very day. St. Thomas himself was martyred in the defence of his faith in God.

What we have heard thus far is a reminder for each and every one of us to have more faith in God, to believe in His ever generous and wonderful mercy. God has always been merciful to us, loving and ready to forgive us, and He extends this rich offer of mercy without any hesitation at all. But it is us mankind who have hesitated, took our time, being stubborn and resisted the efforts of the Lord Who has tried to be reconciled with us. We are like St. Thomas who doubted the Lord, who refused to believe fully and unconditionally, or worse still, like many of the Pharisees who hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in God’s truth.

Many of us carry on living in the state of sin, living our lives as we have lived them so far, indulging in all sorts of evils and wickedness. But we must realise that sin is truly dangerous and unless we get rid of ourselves these sins and wickedness, we are in great danger of falling into eternal damnation because of those sins. This is because death and hell are the consequences for our sins, and unless we repent from them and are forgiven and reconciled with God, we may end up in an eternity of regret and despair.

It is God alone Who is capable of healing us from our sins, making us good and whole again. No one else has the power to forgive our sins, and that is why we need to have this forgiveness and healing by the Divine Mercy of God. In this Sunday, we are all called to focus our attention on the Divine Mercy, His loving face and countenance directed towards us, His ever present care and compassion towards our fallen state and our wretched situation. This is why we need to focus our attention to the Lord and embrace His mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all called to be the disciples of the Lord in all things, to be His followers and to bring forth His mercy, His light and love to all the people of God. We are all called to share this faith which we have, to embrace this love and mercy and show them in the same manner to our brethren out there who are still living in the darkness, to those who are still ignorant of the truth of God, those who have yet to know of God’s infinite love and mercy.

The Lord wants us all to bring forth this light of hope, the hope for the Divine Mercy to our fellow brethren, just as how St. Faustina Kowalska tried for many years to bring forth the attention to the devotion to the Divine Mercy according to the visions that she had received. And this is important especially in our troubled and darkened times, during this particularly difficult year when the whole world is facing so many challenges, from the pandemic that occupied the minds of most people and made many suffer, to the other forms of natural disasters and also political instabilities suffered by several communities.

During this time, many people do not know where they ought to turn to for help, and many people has lost their path. They sought consolation in other things, either to distract themselves from the sorrow, or to find temporary happiness or pleasures, which would not last. This is why we should be the witnesses of Christ our Lord, the Divine Mercy in our communities and in our families, among every brothers and sisters whom we encounter in our daily lives and whom we interact with, and even with the strangers and other people we encounter as well.

Let us all, through our words and actions bring forth the exemplary Christian faith and life that shine brightly as beacons for others to follow, to inspire others and to guide many in their path of life, that they may find true consolation, happiness, joy and peace in God, the Divine Mercy, Who is ever ready to forgive us and to be reconciled with us, and Who is always ever filled with love, in each and every moments of our lives. May God continue to guide us all in life, and may He grant us the courage and strength to be ever more faithful, now and always. O Divine Mercy, we trust in You. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 April 2020 : Saturday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us as Christians are called to get rid of faithlessness and unbelief from our hearts and minds. We are all called to reflect on what we have heard in our first reading on the faithlessness of the Pharisees and many other members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, as well as the lack of faith of the disciples of the Lord Jesus as mentioned in our Gospel passage today, which spoke of how the Lord appeared to His disciples right after His resurrection from the dead.

In our first reading today, we heard of the culmination of the story of the healing of a crippled man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Apostles St. Peter and St. John. The two Apostles made many people to believe in the Lord by their miraculous works and by their courageous testimony of faith. They were feared by the Sanhedrin because they apparently invoked the Name of the very same Jesus Whom they thought they had successfully gotten rid of through the crucifixion.

But many of those who were opposed to the Lord and His works remained adamant in their refusal to believe in Him and His teachings despite what they had themselves witnessed and heard, and despite having heard how the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead as He Himself proclaimed and predicted it, something that could not have happened had Jesus not been the real and true Messiah. Yet, those who were opposed to Him refused to open their hearts and minds to believe in the truth and in their hardened state of heart and mind, they were astounded by the miraculous healing.

They even tried to prevent the teachings and efforts of the Lord and His disciples to spread any further, by attempting to contain them through fear and pressure. But the Apostles, encouraged and strengthened by the Lord through the Holy Spirit were no longer the same people who cowered and hid in the fear of the repercussions from the authorities. Instead they openly defied the orders from the Sanhedrin and continued to carry out the missions which God had called them to do and entrusted to them.

In our Gospel passage today then we heard of the disciples of the Lord who did not believe at first that the Lord had risen from the dead, and even when some of them had seen the Lord and shared the news to the other disciples, many among them still refused to believe. It was only when the Lord Himself suddenly appeared before them all that they came to believe in Him and in His resurrection. The Lord reproached His own disciples for their lack of faith in Him and told them to trust Him more.

Now, we may be quick then to criticise those people for having little faith, but before we do so, perhaps we may want to think and reflect of our own lives and actions. Have we not, in our own lives, been doing the same as what they had done? Have we not been disobedient and unfaithful at times, just like those doubters among the Sanhedrin and those disciples of the Lord who refused to believe in His resurrection at first? Certainly we have encountered those moments or times when our faith is being tested and wavered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the significance of these Scripture passages for us today is that all of us ought to put greater emphasis in our faith in God. As Christians, we are God’s chosen people, all those who have believed in Him and chosen to dedicate ourselves through our Creed in Him. Therefore, we should know what it is that we should have, and essentially, it is faith in God that we need to have, trusting in Him and putting our lives in His hands. We are truly fortunate to have God by our side, and we really need embrace God and His love for each and every one of us.

Being reminded today of the unfaithfulness of men, let us all strive to get rid from ourselves all taints of unfaithfulness, disobedience and sin, and instead begin a renewed life without the corruption of sin. Are we able to do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we able to lead a truly Christ-like existence and life from now on going forward in our respective lives?

May the Lord Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Saviour be with us always, and may He strengthen us all in faith and help us to be ever more committed in all and every moments of our daily lives. May the Lord be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Friday, 17 April 2020 : Friday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we continue celebrating the Easter joy, we are brought to reflect on what we have been called to do as Christians, all who believed in Christ and His truth, His resurrection and glory, and the salvation which He has promised to all of us. In our first reading today we heard how the Apostles faced stiff opposition from the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council. Then in the Gospel we heard of the appearance of the Lord Jesus before His disciples in Galilee.

In the first reading, we heard how the Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin after they healed a crippled man by the gate of the Temple of Jerusalem, and made many people to believe in Jesus and His truth and teachings. This, coupled with the baptism of over three thousand people at Pentecost were seen as a great threat by many of the members of the Sanhedrin, many of whom were the members of the Pharisees and the elders who viewed the Lord Jesus as a fraud and a threat to their authority and power.

That was why the Sanhedrin interrogated the Apostles and were hostile against them as many of the Sanhedrin tried to prevent the teachings and works of Christ from spreading any further among the people. But the Apostles could not be silenced and they spoke with such great wisdom and courage that they stunned the members of the Sanhedrin who knew that the Apostles were merely uneducated fishermen of Galilee following Jesus. What they did not know is that the Lord had given His disciples the strength and wisdom through the Holy Spirit.

And it was with great courage therefore the Apostles spoke of the Lord’s resurrection and their faith in Him as they have themselves seen the Lord risen from the dead with their very own eyes on several occasions, one of which was described in our Gospel today. In that passage, we heard of the Lord appearing by the shore of the lake of Galilee, initially not recognised by His disciples who were in the boats looking for the fishes. The disciples initially could not find any fishes, but when they followed the Lord’s instructions, immediately they caught plenty of fishes and then they recognised the Lord.

Through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, therefore we are reminded of what the Lord had called us to do, to go forth to the nations and gather the people of God in His Church. What we heard in the Gospel is the symbolic representation and revelation of what the Lord had called His Church and all of His faithful ones to do, namely to be witnesses to their faith and to the salvation in Christ, by being ‘fishers of men’, alluding to the disciples catching the large number of fishes in the lake by the Lord’s instruction.

The Church is often represented with a boat, and in that occasion, the boat the disciples were in represented the Church of God, with the disciples as the leaders of the Church at the helm. Those multitudes of fishes were those that God had gathered through His Church, with the number one hundred and thirty-three representing the traditional belief of the number of nations and peoples that God had created in this world, from the descendants of men.

Therefore, essentially the message that we have received is that all of us are part of this Church, and as we are members of this Church, we also share the responsibility and the calling to reach out to our fellow men, to all those who have not yet heard of the Lord’s salvation and truth. And the readings also remind us that we are bound to encounter challenges and difficulties, obstacles and even persecutions as how the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord were persecuted for their steadfastness in faith and their refusal to back down from ministering to the people of God amidst the threats from the Sanhedrin and other authorities.

But we do not need to worry since ultimately, God is and will always be with us in our journey. As He was always with His Apostles and disciples throughout their ministry and journeys, and with His guidance, all of us and His Church will be in good hands, as He guided His followers in standing up courageously for their faith and proclaim the truth of God to every ends of the earth. The Lord gave them the strength and wisdom to do so, and in the same way we too will be provided for.

Are we able to devote ourselves in the same way as the Apostles had done? They had brought God’s light and hope to a darkened world, and they had restored the hope of many and brought many closer to the path of salvation. Are we able to do the same in our own respective communities as well, in bringing hope to our world especially since so many people suffered through numerous challenges this year alone. Are we able to bring consolation and happiness once again to those who are sorrowful and despairing?

Let us all spend some time to reflect on our calling as Christians in life, and discern how we can best give our lives in the service of God and His people alike. Let us all be the bearers of God’s Good News and also His fishers of men, encouraging more people to believe in God through our own faith and commitment from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 April 2020 : Thursday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture on this Thursday of the Easter Octave, all of us are reminded of the mission which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us, for us all to continue His works and the works of the Apostles, in bearing witness to His truth and to proclaim the salvation of God and the Good News to all peoples of all the nations, through our works and deeds, words and actions.

In our first reading today we heard the continuation of the story of the moment when St. Peter, leading the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, spoke to the multitudes of people gathered in Jerusalem for the festival of the Pentecost. He spoke bravely and passionately of the Lord and the salvation which He has brought to the world through Christ, His Son, and the sacrifice which He has offered on the Cross at Calvary.

By the wisdom given to him through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle St. Peter spoke convincingly to the people by explaining the Scriptures and showing how the Lord Jesus was indeed the Saviour of Whom the prophets and the leaders of Israel had been preaching and prophesying about from the time of Moses to the days of the kings, the prophets and beyond. And by the healing of the crippled man by the Temple Gate, this served to prove that the Lord Jesus is indeed the one and true Messiah.

For the Apostle healed the man by the power of the Lord invoking His Holy Name, by Whom the man was therefore healed. Had the Lord Jesus not been the Messiah of God, or a fraud or false leader as many of the Pharisees and the members of the Jewish High Council always argued, then the crippled man could not have been healed from his ailment. Therefore, many people believed in God that day and gave themselves to be baptised, beginning the first community of Christians.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the time when the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples for the first time after His Resurrection right after He appeared to the two disciples who were on their way to the town of Emmaus. The Lord appeared before His surprised and frightened disciples, telling all of them not to be worried of what they had seen and witnessed, as it was indeed happening as all that He had been telling them about His upcoming suffering, death and resurrection.

The Lord reassured them all and showed them that it was indeed Him Who appeared to them in the flesh, alive and well, and not as a ghost or as a dead being. That was why He asked them for food to eat, as it was known then that spirits and ghosts do not eat or consume any food. He showed them His wounds to show that He indeed suffered and died, and the crucifixion was all real. And yet, before them, the same One Who suffered on the Cross, was all alive and triumphant, having won the ultimate victory against evil, sin and death.

Having seen and witnessed all of these on a few occasions, it is no wonder that the Lord’s disciples were willing to give it all to the Lord and to the mission that they had been entrusted with, persevering through persecutions and challenges, oppositions and obstacles along their way. And although we ourselves have not seen or witnessed the Risen Lord in person, but surely we believe, inspired by the sacrifices of the numerous faithful and dedicated servants of God who had given their all in the service of the Gospel of truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are therefore reminded and even challenged yet again to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles of the Lord, all those who have dedicated their whole lives to serve God and to commit themselves to speak up for the truth even amidst opposition, persecution and suffering. Are we able to accept our part in the greater works of the Church, embracing our calling as Christians to be witnesses of our Lord in our respective communities?

Let us all listen to the Lord’s call and give our very best, and let us be more attentive to Him, give Him more of our focus and attention from now on. May the Lord strengthen us all and give us the courage and resolve to be faithful in each and every moments of our lives. May God, our Lord and Saviour bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 April 2020 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the passages of the Scriptures in our readings today we are called to recall that hope which we have in God, as we have received the healing from God and have our lives renewed and rejuvenated through our faith. In our first reading we heard of the miraculous healing of a paralytic by the Apostles, while in the Gospel today we heard of the testimony of the two disciples of Jesus who saw the Lord on their way to Emmaus.

In that first reading passage, we heard how St. Peter and St. John performed one of their first miracles as the Apostles of the Lord, after the Lord had ascended into heaven and entrusted to them to continue the works which He had begun on earth. The crippled and paralytic man sat at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem, and used to beg for money and for mercy from the passersby. When the two Apostles passed by, the crippled man also asked them for money, but St. Peter told him that he had nothing on him except what had been given to him, the power and authority to heal him in the Name of Jesus.

St. Peter showed the crippled man that the Lord has the power to heal him and make him whole, and by His power, the man was restored to health to the amazement of everyone who had seen the miracle, as everyone knew that the man had been a cripple for many years. And this was a great proof to all that the works of Christ had not ended with His crucifixion and death, but in fact was just beginning as He sent forth His disciples to all the ends of the earth to proclaim His truth.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the passage about the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus, and they had been disheartened and made uncertain by the loss of their Master, Jesus Who was sentenced to death, crucified and died on the Cross. They found it hard to believe when the other disciples said that the Lord had risen from the dead and how others had seen Him appearing before them in His Risen glory.

That was exactly when the Lord Himself appeared before them to strengthen their faith and to make them into even better witnesses of His resurrection and truth. They did not recognise Him at first, and He used the opportunity to strengthen their faith by explaining the Scriptures and reassuring them how everything had taken place just as the prophets had foretold it, and how the Lord Jesus was indeed the Messiah Whom they had been long waiting for.

The moment their eyes were opened and they realised how it was Jesus Who had been with them all those while, they immediately ran back to Jerusalem in joy to share the good news to all the other disciples, testifying yet again how the Lord had indeed risen and how He has appeared before all as proof that He had indeed been triumphant and conquered sin and death. All of these were why the Apostles and the disciples were so passionate about serving the Lord and proclaiming His truth to the nations, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, that many of them suffered and died in martyrdom.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us must have this same passion and excitement inside us to be the bearers of God’s truth and the witnesses of His resurrection. This same truth and revelation had been passed down to us through the Church, through the hands and works of many throughout the centuries and millennia who had suffered and endured persecutions to stand up for their faith and for what they believed in, that is the faith in the Risen Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called and reminded of our duties as Christians to bring the light of Christ into this world. At this time when the world is facing so many problems and when it is engulfed in so much darkness and despair, we are all here to bring light into this world, to bring and deliver the light of Christ and the hope in Him, to brighten the lives of many and to restore many more people to hope and to happiness through our faith and devotion to the Lord.

Are we able and willing to be that bearer of light and hope in our communities? This is why we are called to turn our gaze to God and be full of trust in Him, so that everyone who see us and witness our words and actions may also find hope through us. Let us all behave and act in ways that restore hope to those who are suffering, the downtrodden and those who are despairing. Let us tell them all that we still have hope in God, and if we put our trust in Him, we will definitely not be disappointed.

May the Lord give us the courage and the strength to carry on living with more hope and with greater faith and devotion from now on. May God be with us always and may He guide us through our lives that we may bring forth this joy of Easter of our Lord’s glorious resurrection to our fellow brothers and sisters in need. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 April 2020 : Tuesday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us about the courage that St. Peter had in speaking up on the truth about the Lord’s resurrection before the multitudes of people gathered then in Jerusalem for the festival of the Pentecost. St. Peter called on all the people gathered to believe in the Lord and in His truth, the resurrection that He has gone through and the glory with which He had appeared in His triumph over sin and death.

Many people became believers on that day, and they all believed in the Lord and asked to be baptised in the Lord. Over three thousand people responded to God’s call and became the first of the Christian communities, which from then on began to spread beyond Jerusalem and Judea, as the Apostles and many other disciples of the Lord went to various places proclaiming the Good News of salvation and the Risen Lord to the people in those far-off places.

They all proclaimed what they had themselves witnessed, heard and believed, from what Mary Magdalene had seen at the tomb of the Lord when on Easter Sunday, the Lord appeared before her near His empty tomb, showing first to her before to the other disciples how He has risen from the dead as He Himself had said and predicted. It was this faith in the Risen Lord that allowed the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, together with the strength and the courage of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to persevere in faith and in accomplishing their mission.

There would have otherwise been no reason at all to believe why these group of people would be so willing to suffer and even die in defending what they believed in, and had they believed in something that is a mere lie or untrue, then everything would have quickly fizzled out and the disciples would have been scattered and the movement died out within just short few years. On the contrary, since they believed in the truth, and truth of God no less, they persevered and passed on their faith all the way down to us today.

On this day we are reminded yet again what this joyful and glorious Easter season is all about. It is more than just celebrations and merrymaking just after we have done all of our Lenten observations and all the penances we have done during that period. Rather, just as we recall on Easter day, that we renew our Baptismal promises there and then, and for all those who have just been baptised all the same, each and every one of us as Christians are charged with this responsibility and calling to be God’s true and faithful disciples.

God has called on us all to be His witnesses and to be His bearers of the Good News just as the Apostles had done with their own lives. He has called on us all to bear His Good News and His light and hope to this world darkened with fear and evil that we may truly brighten the lives of many of our fellow brethren and help make their lives to be better. And we now live through these particularly difficult and challenging moments which have caused many to lose their faith and to be filled with despair and fear.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and able to dedicate ourselves to this calling, our Christian calling for us all to live as the disciples of the Lord with all sincerity and devotion? Are we willing and able to dedicate our time, effort and attention to bring God’s light into our respective communities, both in our outreach to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters, as well as to all those who have yet to know God? Are we able to spend the time and effort to reach out to our fellow brethren who are suffering now?

Let us all be the light and hope of the world, reflecting upon ourselves the true light and hope of the Lord, which can dispel much of the darkness that are currently surrounding many of us in this world, from all the troubles, uncertainties and problems we are encountering in the first few months of this year alone. Let us all be good examples of virtue and faith that all who see us and witness our works may truly come to believe in God through us and come to be saved as well together with us.

May God, our Risen Lord and Saviour be with us always, and may He strengthen us in our resolve and give us the courage and strength to live ever more courageously and carry out our missions in life with greater zeal and devotion from now on. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.