Weekday Homily

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Thursday, 26 December 2019 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, the day after Christmas, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Stephen, also known as the Protomartyr or the first Martyr of the Church. This came about because as recorded in the early part of the Acts of the Apostles, as we heard in our first reading today, this courageous and faithful servant of God faced great suffering and martyrdom just shortly after the establishment of the Church.

St. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the Apostles of the Lord to be those who were commissioned and ordained as Deacons, the originators and the first members of the venerable Holy Order of the Diaconate, as those who were tasked with the care of the needs of the faithful and the distribution of the common goods of the Church, helping the Apostles in their works and ministries.

St. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen from among the faithful, and he was a great and dedicated servant of God, filled with the grace of God and with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, which became evident as he stood trial for the false accusations of blasphemy that were levelled against him by those who deemed him and other Christians as enemies and threats. St. Stephen defended the truth of God courageously and with great wisdom before the Sanhedrin or the council of the elders of the Jewish people.

St. Stephen spoke at great lengths on the history of God’s saving works among His people and His plan for the salvation of us all. He spoke courageously and without fear on the arrival of the Messiah in Jesus Christ, Whom the Sanhedrin had just recently rejected and sent to Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death on the Cross. St. Stephen spoke of how God has performed His wonders and works of salvation despite the rejection and stubbornness showed by His people.

St. Stephen was hated and attacked because he courageously stood up for the truth, and he mentioned exactly what the Lord Himself had said when He was on trial before the Sanhedrin, that the Son of Man is seated at the right hand of God, which made the members of the Sanhedrin to become even angrier at him. They attacked and stoned St. Stephen to death, which he accepted gracefully, forgiving his enemies and killers just as the Lord Himself had done.

We may be wondering why we remember the painful and terrible martyrdom of one of God’s faithful servants just right after the joyful celebrations of Christmas. But in fact, this is a timely reminder for us all that Christmas itself cannot exist and do not have its full significance without linking it to the greater scheme of the whole plan of God’s salvation, and that includes the Passion, the suffering, death and eventually Resurrection of the Lord.

The same Child born in Bethlehem more than two millennia ago and celebrated every year in Christmas is the very same One Who in just thirty-three years later, would bear the most painful and terrible burden of the Cross. It was because of what happened during the Passion and the Resurrection of the Lord that made Christmas fully meaningful, for the Child born and celebrated on Christmas day is then not just like any other children, but the Child destined to be the Saviour of the world.

And to become the followers of Christ just as St. Stephen had done, and many others of our holy predecessors had done, it requires us to be ready to face persecution, oppression, rejection, suffering and all sorts of things that Our Lord Himself had endured. If the world has rejected the Son of God and its Saviour, the Lord Jesus Himself said that the same will also happen to those who follow Him.

Indeed, not all the time we will face trials and challenges. Throughout the long history of the Church there had been good times and moments too, when people enthusiastically welcomed the truth and salvation of God, kingdoms and nations were converted to the true faith among many other examples, but this must not then make us forget of the many sacrifices and challenges that our predecessors including that of St. Stephen had to endure throughout the history of the Church and the works of God’s salvation.

Today we celebrate this feast in honour of St. Stephen because we remember the courage he has shown and faith he has in the Lord, that he willingly endured the painful suffering and martyrdom for the sake of the Lord and His people, in becoming great witness of his faith. And at the same time we are also reminded that as Christians, all of us who believe in Christ, the Child born the Saviour of the world that we have just celebrated at Christmas, we must be ready to defend our faith in the manner that St. Stephen had done, not with confrontation or violence, but with wisdom of God.

The Lord Himself in our Gospel passage kind of foretold what would happen to St. Stephen and many others of His followers, as they would suffer for Him. And yet, He also reassured them of His providence and protection, and how the Holy Spirit Himself will be upon them all, giving them the strength, courage and wisdom, as what we have evidently seen in St. Stephen the holy martyr. Are we able to follow in his footsteps?

As we progress through this Christmas season therefore, let us all always remember the strength and spirit of St. Stephen in committing himself to the Lord, and let us all therefore always remember that Christmas and all of its joys came about because of the Lord Jesus, our Saviour, Who should be at the very centre and focus of all of our celebration and happiness in this blessed season.

Shall we renew our faith and rededicate ourselves to God this Christmas season, by endeavouring to love first of all, God with greater love and fidelity, and then also our fellow brothers and sisters, sharing our wonderful blessings and joy, the joy of Christmas, with one another? May the Lord continue to be with us and watch over us, His beloved people, and may He bless us all in our works and deeds. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 December 2019 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Masses (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, after about four weeks of Advent, all of us finally reach this moment of the day of Christmas when we celebrate the birth of the Lord and Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ. Today is indeed a day of great joy that finally after the long wait, the world has finally seen its Saviour, a long awaited moment and a new hope dawning on us mankind. Christmas is indeed the celebration of Christ, through Whom all of us have the reason to rejoice.

And everything was because of God’s love for each and every one of us, that beautiful and enduring love through which God made the impossible to be possible, that mankind, once fallen and condemned to damnation and destruction by our sins, could be saved and brought into a new existence through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. Through Him all of us received the fullness of God’s love and wonders, which manifested fully in our midst through Christ.

That is why we celebrate this Christmas, and why we need to prepare ourselves throughout the season of Advent so that we may be able to celebrate it worthily. And why is that so? That is because many people today have forgotten what Christmas actually means and its true significance for us. For the duration of the season of Advent, we have continuously touched on the topic of how Christ has been forgotten and removed from the focus and emphasis that He should have received.

Instead, what we have and often see all around us this time of the year, is the celebration of greed and human selfishness, feeding our desires and wants, focusing on all the celebrations and glamours, all the paraphernalia and glitters, gifts and presents, all things except the One Whom we ought to be celebrating about, Christ, the true joy and meaning of Christmas. What we have is instead a secularised, materialistic celebration of human greed.

As Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us today are challenged and called to embrace the true meaning and nature of Christmas, especially in how we celebrate Christmas in our homes and within our families and communities. Are we celebrating Christmas as how the rest of the world celebrates it? Are we having all the parties and merrymaking, while leaving. Christ out of all the joy altogether?

What does Christmas truly mean for each and every one of us? Is it about the holiday that we are getting? Is it about the happiness of seeing so many coloured lights and blings all around us? Is it about all the songs and Christmas hymns, all the food and things we usually enjoy and are associated with the joyous Christmas season? Well, yes, we can celebrate and enjoy all these, but it is very important and indeed crucial that we remember the very heart and reason of Christmas in all of our joy and celebrations.

At the heart of our celebrations, we must remember that it was because of the works that the Lord has done for our sake, that we can rejoice and be happy in the first place. If not for the Lord having loved us so much that He was willing to embrace our humanity, the Divine Word and Son of God becoming the Son of Man in the flesh, there would have been no Christmas, and there would be no reason for us to celebrate, or to hope.

As Christians, all of us must know what Christmas is truly all about, and how Christmas fits in the greater scheme of things, within the whole history and framework of God’s salvation. Christmas is not just like any other birthdays, and it is not just celebrating any person’s entry into this world, for Christmas when celebrated on its own has no real meaning and purpose. It is exactly because we know what the One Whose birthday being celebrated in Christmas would be doing through His life and ministry that gave Christmas its full meaning and purpose.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that Christmas has a truly special significance, because the One born today over two millennia ago in the small and humble town of Bethlehem in Judah was not just any baby, but is the One promised by God to be the Saviour for all of His people, as the prophet Isaiah spoke of Him, as the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Divine Word Incarnate.

And even still, if not for what this Saviour of ours has experienced through His life and at the culmination of His earthly mission, the fullness of significance of Christmas would not be here with us. Christ willingly endured sufferings and pains in His Passion, taking up His cross and being condemned to death although He was without fault or sin, and therefore bore upon Himself all of our sins and punishments for those sins.

All these happened precisely so that He may save us from our fated destruction because of our sins, the sins of our ancestors who have disobeyed God and walked down the path of sin. Just as He saved His people Israel from their slavery in Egypt and made them to be His own, thus through Christ, God has saved us from our slavery to sin, and made us all to be His own beloved people.

It was that same Child born at Christmas day over two millennia ago Who eventually fulfilled all that God has said to be, and promised to His people, the King Who came into this world to redeem His people, by embracing our humanity, and uniting His humanity to our own, that by sacrificing Himself on the Cross, He gave us the sure pathway to redemption and the fullness of forgiveness, mercy and grace in God.

This is the Good News that God has revealed to us, and which He has sent to us through Christ His Son. And yet, this Good News, which mankind had awaited for so long, and ought to rejoice at, has often been forgotten these days, because the world was simply too busy and too distracted to recognise Him and to understand all that He has done for our sake. That is why so many of our Christmas celebrations and all that we see around us are bereft of Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having discussed in quite some details on the importance and meaning of Christmas, what is it that we then should do? Perhaps we should indeed look at the way how we celebrate Christmas, whether we have been celebrating it in the wrong way, that is as how we often see and perceive it in our world today, empty of its true meaning and purpose, Christ not being at the centre of all the celebrations and merrymaking.

If we have not been celebrating Christmas in the right way, it is still not too late for us, brethren, as the Christmas season has just begun today. Perhaps, this is a timely reminder for us to keep our Christmas observation and celebration to be centred on Christ, its namesake and true meaning. And how do we do this? We can do this by making our Christmas less about ourselves, our desires and all, and instead, share the joy and love we have, especially with our less fortunate brethren.

We must know and understand that not everyone can celebrate Christmas as we do, and there remain many out there who are not able to be joyful or to celebrate in this Christmas joy and festivities, either because they do not have the means to do so, those who are poor and marginalised, all those who have to struggle even to meet their daily needs. And there are also those our brethren who are living in places where being a Christian can mean great suffering and even death.

Hence, even as we rejoice this Christmas day and season, we are all reminded not to be overboard in our celebrations and in our festivities, and rather than spending excessive amounts of money and resources on making an extravagant Christmas celebration, let us instead spare some for those who have less or little, and share our joy and blessings with them in whatever way we can.

In fact, sometimes sharing our joy does not mean giving gifts or money or anything of value. Often what people need is time, love and genuine attention, things that often cannot be bought or obtained by money or wealth. How many of us are so busy preparing for Christmas and forgot to actually spend quality and meaningful time with our loved ones and immerse ourselves in the true joy of Christmas?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today therefore, as we celebrate Christmas, we are all challenged first of all to put Christ back in the centre of our every Christmas joy, merrymaking and celebrations, and then, we are also called to be mindful of those around us who can be part of our joy and celebration as well. Ultimately, Christmas is a celebration of love, joy, hope and peace, a celebration that is universal, and we should share this joy whenever we can.

Let us all therefore return to the true meaning and joy of Christmas, putting Christ right at the heart of everything we do and enthrone Him in our hearts as the King of all of us, and let us all be witnesses for the Lord through our worthy and meaningful celebration of Christmas, that by showing how our Christmas joy was indeed about Christ and our joy of having received salvation through Him, we may bear witness to this truth to many more people whom we encounter in life.

May God bless us and our Christmas celebrations, and may He be there with our families so that all of us may indeed celebrate with true meaning and purpose, glorifying God and giving Him thanks for all the loving things He has done to us, and for the rich and generous mercy He has shown us that He gave us Christ as our Lord and Redeemer as we celebrate it this Christmas. May all of us have a most blessed and wonderful Christmas season. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 December 2019 : 4th Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are almost at Christmas and our wait for the great celebrations as almost over, and today is the last day of the season of Advent, the time which the Church has especially provided for us all to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christmas. Now, let us then ask ourselves if we are all truly ready to welcome the Lord and rejoice in Him this Christmas?

Have our Advent activities been fruitful, brothers and sisters in Christ? Have we made good use of the time provided for us to have a profound change and preparation in our hearts and minds, in our way of life and in our predisposition to be able to celebrate Christmas worthily, with true joy and with the right focus and intentions? Are we still celebrating Christmas in the wrong way, by forgetting about the One Whom we ought to be celebrating about?

As we recall the Scripture readings we have just heard today, we should inspect ourselves and see how we have progressed through this Advent and in our own journey of faith. Our first reading which was taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel told us about the conversation between king David and his advisor, the prophet Nathan, about his desire to build a great house for the Lord, the idea which would eventually become the great Temple of Jerusalem.

However, God had a different plan, and told king David that it was not His will that the House would be built by him or during his reign as king, as instead, it would be his son, the future king Solomon, who would be the one to build the great house for God. Nonetheless, if we read through the other parts of the history, it was king David who laid much of the foundations of the effort, preparing much goods and materials necessary for the foundation of the Temple.

In this reading alone, there are a few things that we should take note of carefully. First of all, when God spoke to king David that it would be his son who would build the Temple of God, and how God would make the reign of David’s son secure, God was in fact speaking not just of the literal son of David, that is Solomon, but also foreshadowing of the One Who would be the fulfilment of all of God’s many promises, that is Christ, to be born as Heir and Son of David, Who would be the One to build the Eternal dwelling of God among His people.

And how did that happen, brothers and sisters in Christ? It was by His incarnation in the flesh, that the Divine Word and Son of God entered into this world and born as the Son of Man, through Mary, His mother. Through this singular act, of God becoming one of us, He has dwelled in our midst and built His House forever, the foundation of which is His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And just as the first Temple is the place where the people of Israel worshipped God and was the visible symbol of God’s presence among His people, thus the new and everlasting Temple in Christ which Our Lord Himself has built, is the focus and heart of the Church that He has established in this world, and is composed of all of us who believed in the Lord. All of these were made possible because God has loved us so much and endeavoured to do so much for us, that by His entry into this world, that we celebrate in Christmas, all of us have a new hope in Him.

In our Gospel today, we heard of the father of St. John the Baptist, Zechariah, who was so filled with the Holy Spirit that he sang with a great joy, blessing and thanking God for all that He has done for His people, not just that He has blessed him with a son, but even more so that because of that son he had, through the works that the son would accomplish in proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, the world would be called towards God’s salvation and love.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, is this the same kind of joy that we have and which we are preparing for this upcoming Christmas? Or is our joy instead one that is empty and self-centred, and not centred and focused on Christ? Because Christmas is just tomorrow, let us ask ourselves, and indeed, remind ourselves, what is the true meaning and joy of Christmas to all of us. We should be joyful as Zechariah had been, with the right intention in heart and mind.

And just as I mentioned earlier, how king David prepared lots of things and materials to build the House of God, let us all the also prepare ourselves to have a wonderful and most meaningful Christmas celebration, not in the festivities and merrymaking, but rather by putting Christ at the very centre and heart of our celebrations, remembering God’s great love for us that made Christmas possible in the first place.

Let us share the joy and love of God in Christmas to everyone, and let us all bear witness to Christ, by doing our best to live as how we should be living as Christians, filled with God’s love and generously sharing this love with one another. And may God be with us always and may He bless our Christmas celebrations beginning tomorrow. Amen.

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Monday, 23 December 2019 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the messenger of God whom He has revealed through His prophets to be the one who would prepare the path for the coming of the Messiah, as we heard from the prophet Malachi in our first reading today, as the prophet spoke of the coming of the messenger who is also the prophet Elijah, to prepare the path for the coming of the Messiah.

It is timely for us today to listen to these readings from the Scripture to remind us of what this person and servant of the Lord had done for our sake, when he did what the Lord had commanded him to do, in all the works he had done, in calling the people to repentance and to turn away from their sins, and instead embracing the truth of God and prepare themselves to welcome the Lord’s Saviour Who was about to come.

And this servant of God was none other than St. John the Baptist, the one sent to prepare the way for Christ, born of his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. It was this same Zechariah whom we heard from in our Gospel passage today, singing praises to God, thanking Him for all that He has done for His people, at the time when his son, St. John the Baptist was born. St. John the Baptist was born at the time when Zechariah and Elizabeth were both already very old and past the childbearing age.

At first, when an Angel of God came to Zechariah proclaiming how he and his wife would have a special child even in their old age, as the one whom God has promised to His people for a long time, Zechariah did not believe at first and doubted the Angel, saying that he and his wife could not have a child at such an age. As a result, he was struck dumb and could not speak until everything that the Lord has spoken came true, as Elizabeth became really pregnant and gave birth to St. John the Baptist.

What we have heard today in our Gospel passage was the moment of great joy and wonders that happened to Zechariah, as right after St. John the Baptist was born, Zechariah was freed from his dumbness. Zechariah gave out praise to God, and everything came to be as the Lord willed it. And that child would go on to become a faithful and dedicated servant of God, dedicating his whole life to the service of God, calling many people to repentance and to turn towards God, baptising them in the Jordan as a symbol of their renewal.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, then what is the significance of what we have heard in our Scripture passages today? It is that each and every one of us should appreciate first of all just how much God had done for us, in giving us so great a gift of salvation, that through His Son, He has willingly come to dwell in our midst, embracing our humanity to be a Man, through Whom all of us have received the reassurance of new hope and new life in Him, guaranteed by nothing less than His own Blood and life.

God sent us all of His prophets and messengers, right up to St. John the Baptist, all with the intention to remind us and to help us to find our way to Him, that we may be touched in our hearts and minds, that we may be able to see the love that He has showered us with, and which He has generously given to us in Christ, His Son, which we celebrate with much joy in Christmas, celebrating the moment when His love has manifested in our midst in the flesh.

And because of this, then we are also then called to follow in the footsteps of St. John the Baptist and innumerable other followers and disciples of the Lord who have dedicated their lives and all for the sake of the Lord, especially today that of St. John of Kanty, as his feast day is celebrated on this day. St. John of Kanty was also known by his Latinised name of St. John Cantius, a great and renowned philosopher and teacher of the faith from what is now Poland.

St. John Cantius was remembered for his great contributions in the area of Catholic education and philosophy, being not just a priest but also a great Professor of theology at the famous University of Krakow. He was a brilliant and intelligent man, just as he was also pious and faithful in all of his deeds. St. John Cantius however had to go through trials and difficulties, facing false accusations and lies from his fellow academics and forced out of his teaching role in the university, and sent instead to a parish.

St. John Cantius was fearful and worried of the challenges he had to face in the parish that was beset with difficult tasks, and yet, he gave it his all and dedicated himself completely to fulfil the missions entrusted to him and did his best for the sake of his many parishioners, who eventually grew to love him and were touched by his holiness and tireless efforts to reach out and minister to them. Eventually he could return to his teaching role at the university and continued to dedicate himself to his last days.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. John Cantius was a great and intelligent man, and yet at the same time, he was filled with love for God, as well as great humility and also generosity and love for his fellow men. His great qualities and personal holiness should indeed become our inspiration and strength, our beacon of light and hope, that we should follow in our own journey of faith in our lives. Are we able to walk the path that St. John Cantius had walked on, brothers and sisters in Christ?

As Christmas is truly already upon us, just two days from now, let us all ask ourselves if we have made use of this season of Advent meaningfully to prepare us to celebrate worthily and meaningfully the upcoming joy of Christmas? If we have not done so, then perhaps we may want to recall again what the faithful servants of the Lord, St. John the Baptist and St. John Cantius had done, and remember that as God’s faithful people, all of us are called to be witnesses for Him in our world, and what better way to do so than to be exemplary in our Christmas celebrations, truly focused and centred on God?

Let us all seek the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our strength from now, beginning from our upcoming celebrations of Christmas, that we should out God once again at the centre of our lives, our existences, our families and communities. May God be with us all, and may He bless us all in our journey of faith and Christmas preparations. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 December 2019 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this fourth and last Sunday of the season of Advent, we focus on the last of the four themes that we are focusing on this Advent, namely hope, peace, joy and love. And this Sunday therefore, we focus on the theme of love in preparation of Christmas. As we all know, love is the most important of all Christian virtues, and is in fact the very reason why we have Christmas in the first place.

For without love, there would not have been Christmas and all of its celebrations and joy. In turn, there would not have been peace on earth, or a new hope for all of us mankind, and joy would have been dimmed and out of reach for us, because God’s love has not manifested among us. But thanks to God’s enduring love for each and every one of us, the love of God has been manifested in none other than His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

This has been clearly stated to us, in what the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus the Pharisee in one of the most well-known phrase in the entire Scriptures, from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 3, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only beloved Son, so that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have eternal life.’ And this is in essence, what Christmas and all of its joy is all about, a celebration of God’s ultimate love for us.

That is why, after reflecting in the past three Sundays on the aspects of hope, peace and joy that Christmas has brought us and which we will celebrate again very soon, it is timely that on this last Sunday of Advent before the time of Christmas that we look into the very core of the Christmas celebration itself, the love of God made Man, the love of God coming to dwell among us in Christ.

And this is what the Scripture passages today have delivered to us, in the fulfilment of God’s long promised salvation, beginning from the encounter between the prophet Isaiah and king Ahaz of Judah, in which the prophet Isaiah prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, clearly speaking of how the Messiah would come, through the sign of the Virgin bearing a Child, the One through Whom God would dwell among His people, ‘Emmanuel’, meaning ‘God is with us’.

At the time of the prophet Isaiah and afterwards, as the people awaited for the coming of the Messiah, the true meaning of those words in the prophecy of Isaiah was not fully understood, and it was only then, when the Archangel Gabriel came to Nazareth, upon a young woman and virgin betrothed to the local carpenter, Mary, the one who was destined to be the Mother of God and Saviour, that the fullness of God’s intentions was made bare to all.

The Archangel Gabriel was very clear, and he said that through the will of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary herself would bear the Son of God in her, God Himself incarnate in the flesh, just as St. Paul mentioned in the very beginning of his Epistle to the Romans, as a core tenet and belief of our Christian faith, that God became flesh, assuming the full nature of our humanity and become both Son of Man, as well as Son of God.

This was what the Angel of God reiterated to St. Joseph in our Gospel passage today, when he hesitated to take Mary as his wife because she bad become pregnant before their marriage and before it was to be consummated. The Angel also made a link and reference to what the prophet Isaiah had prophesied earlier, a prophecy clearly well known to St. Joseph and all the Israelites, which right there and then was coming to its fulfilment.

And it was God’s love that made all these possible, as all of us must remember that even though we are looking forward to the coming of Christmas, but we must also not forget why Christmas exists in the first place. Christmas exists because of Easter, and all that is related to the Easter celebrations, namely the Lord’s Passion, His suffering, death on the Cross and finally, His glorious Resurrection.

It was Easter that made Christmas fully meaningful and it is by understanding fully the grand scheme of God’s plan of our salvation that we can better appreciate why Christmas is so important to all of us. It is not just merely another holiday or moment to celebrate, to exchange gifts or to expect good things from one another. It is not just a time for us to have parties or good food and drink, or to shop and buy the latest apparels and paraphernalia.

Sadly, this is what many of us believe, and what many of us embrace as we think of Christmas as merely just another good time and time to relax and enjoy ourselves, forgetting the very reason why Christmas exists and why we even should be joyful in the first place. We have relegated the Lord to the least important place in our preparations and celebrations, and we have overlooked Him in Christmas.

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, that Christ has given everything to all of us, as He did not even hold back giving us the ultimate gift of all, that is the gift of His very own life, when He suffered and died on the Cross, willingly enduring all those pains and sufferings, bearing our sins and the consequences for our sins, so that all of us may live and not perish, as He Himself said to Nicodemus.

And it was because of all these that we can truly rejoice in Christmas! Indeed, if not for all that Christ has gone through for our sake, there would indeed be no reason to celebrate, because by our sins and wickedness, we would have been condemned to utter annihilation and destruction, eternal suffering and pain. Instead, Christ took all the pain and suffering to Himself, and through Himself, He offered us all the Way to eternal joy and life.

If the world had forgotten the reason for Christmas and the true joy and meaning, then should it not then be a challenge for us all as Christians to remind the world? What do I mean by this, brothers and sisters in Christ? I mean that we should show it in how we ourselves celebrate Christmas and prepare ourselves for the Christmas joy to come. It is how we then remind everyone Who it is we are truly celebrating about.

It does not mean that we should then reject everything that the world has celebrated about Christmas, but rather, we should celebrate in that manner in moderation, not to give in to excesses in all the consumeristic attitudes that are always prevalent during this season and time of the year. We should instead focus our celebrations on Christ, and the best way for us to do that, is to follow the example of Our Lord.

If God has loved us with so much love, and therefore brought us new hope, peace and joy through Christmas, then should we not then show the same love to one another? This is what in essence we need to do in our Christmas celebrations, brothers and sisters in Christ. We must celebrate the love, not the gifts; rejoice with our brothers and sisters, and not with all the glamour and bling of the occasion; love and forgive one another for anything that we have caused hurt to each other instead of being jealous or trying to outmatch each other in how we celebrate; reach out and share our joy and love rather than selfishly keeping all the joy to ourselves.

This is easier said than done, brothers and sisters in Christ, but we must not then make it as an excuse then to be idle and to continue our lukewarm attitude towards Christmas. Let us all instead be beacons of light showing the path to one another, guiding each other and inspiring our fellow brethren to celebrate Christmas more meaningfully by turning ourselves once again to God’s love in Christ as the one and true focus of our Christmas festivities and celebrations.

May God continue to love us all as He has always done, and bless us all in our good endeavours, and may He help us all to prepare ourselves heart, mind and soul for the coming joy of Christmas that we may celebrate it well, and not to forget to share the love and joy we have with one another, especially with those who had no chance to celebrate. May God bless our Advent preparations for Christmas. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 December 2019 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the holy Doctors of the Church, who was also a member of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits, and also a great priest and champion of the Counter Reformation efforts of the Church. St. Peter Canisius is truly a great inspiration and role model that many of us Christians can look upon as we ourselves progress in our own respective journeys of faith.

St. Peter Canisius lived at the time when the Church and Christendom were at a crossroads, at a time of great challenges and trials for the Church and the faithful, when many of the faithful began to walk away from the true faith at the time of the Protestant reformation, when many different alternative thoughts and teachings brought segments of the faithful to splinter away from the Holy Mother Church.

It was there then that St. Peter Canisius, as one of the earliest members of the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, was instrumental in the efforts to counter the divisions within the Church, in what was called the Counter Reformation. St. Peter Canisius was one among the Jesuits tasked with the works of re-evangelisation of traditional lands of Christendom such as in what is now Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Nordic countries among others.

St. Peter Canisius was remembered particularly not just for the zeal with which he carried out his mission, but also the love and gentleness with which he performed his works and ministries among the people of God, even in difficult and challenging times. He advocated clarity in doctrine and preaching and discouraged attacks and insults against the Protestant populations, arguing that such methods made the spiritually sick and needy to become incurable.

Instead, spearheading the efforts of the Counter-Reformation and the gradual implementation of the reforms of the Ecumenical Council of Trent which rooted out many of the ills and corruptions then affecting the Church, St. Peter Canisius contributed immensely to the efforts of the Counter-Reformation by his courageous efforts and tireless devotion to serve the Lord by his outreach to those who have separated themselves from the Church, focusing on clarifying the confusion within the Church and explaining more clearly the truth of the Church.

To that extent, St. Peter Canisius wrote and authored the three volumes of what would be known as the Catechisms in the Latin and German language, the language of those who have been most affected by the reformation. This was one of his most renowned contributions to the Church, which was part of the reason why he was canonised as a saint and made as one of the Doctors of the Church in the year 1925 by Pope Pius XI. His contributions in leading the Counter-Reformation in Germany, reclaiming many areas to the Church was also a contributing factor.

And not just that, as St. Peter Canisius was also renowned for his deep devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, and his contributions to the area of Mariology which helped to deepen the then developing spiritual devotion to Mary, in which again he is remembered for his lasting contribution of adding the final part of the Ave Maria or the Hail Mary prayer with the final prayer and petition of ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen’.

As we can see, the inspiring examples of St. Peter Canisius in everything he has contributed to the Church and his important role in the renewal of faith especially among those who have lapsed in their ways, should be important reminder for us all as well, in how we ourselves should rediscover our faith in God and deepen our relationship with Him, especially through a deeper relationship with His mother Mary, to whom St. Peter Canisius and many of our holy predecessors had deep devotion for.

As we approach the moment of Christmas in just a few days’ time, it is perhaps timely that today’s commemoration of the memory of the glorious St. Peter Canisius reminds us of the need for us to be reconnected with God, and how as Christians all of us have that obligation and calling to be witnesses for Christ within our own communities, friends and families.

Just as how it was during the time of St. Peter Canisius, when many had fallen away from the faith, there are also today many people who had lapsed from their faith and became wayward in their lives. Have we become like one of them, when we allowed our faith to become lukewarm? We have lost the faith if we have allowed ourselves to treat our faith as merely just a formality, and especially, if Christmas has no further meaning to us than just another holiday.

If this is the case, then there is a need for us to reexamine our lives and reconnect ourselves to God. We need to seek the Lord again with a new love and zeal just as how we heard from our first reading today in the Book of Song of Songs, like that of a lover seeking his or her long lost lover. And once we have regained that connection with God, then our challenge is such that, we need to follow in the footsteps of St. Peter Canisius, and bring others back into the faith just as we have done.

And how do we do that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Not through confrontation or by being condescending as what St. Peter Canisius had said, that if we do so, we will end up making those who have rejected God to close themselves against Him even more. Instead, we should be role models of our faith, just as St. Peter Canisius has been a great role model for us. Live our lives full of faith, and practice what we believe in our actions, words and deeds, and in time, all those who see us, hear us and meet us will be touched by our faith.

Let us all seek the Lord with all of our hearts then, and endeavour to love Him more as we are about to celebrate the glorious celebration of Christmas in just a few days’ time. We should not allow Christmas to be just another holiday or festivity, but instead, let us all immerse ourselves in the true meaning and joy of Christmas in our Lord’s coming, and share the love which He has shown us to one another. May God be with us all and with our blessed Christmas preparations. Amen.

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Friday, 20 December 2019 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture reminding us all of the wonderful gift of God this Christmas, which is a reminder of just how loving God has been and how wonderful His love that He sent us His own Son as our Saviour and the One to deliver us all from our fated destruction. The Lord gave us all the ultimate and best gift of all, that by His coming into this world we may have hope and joy once again.

In our first reading today, we heard of the encounter between the prophet Isaiah and king Ahaz of Judah in which the prophet Isaiah asked the king to ask for a sign from God, as Ahaz was not a firm believer in God, leading a life of sin and disobedience against God. But Ahaz demurred and refused to ask for a sign from God, which in fact was not due to his humility by rather because he did not have enough faith in God.

The prophet Isaiah then proclaimed the famous prophecy declaring how the Messiah would come through a woman, and this Saviour would be known as Emmanuel, or ‘God is with us’, a prophecy of what God would do for the sake of His people, as fulfilled finally in our Gospel passage today, in the accounts of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary proclaiming that she would be the very woman whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken about.

Mary heard how she would become the Mother of God, as the Child she was to bear in her would be known as the Son of God Most High, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all. This was how God fulfilled the prophecy of the Emmanuel, for God has Himself come down to dwell in our midst, in the flesh by His divine incarnation, through Mary, His mother, that He became Son of God and Son of Man alike, two natures, fully divine and fully human each, perfectly united in the person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour.

Mary obeyed the Lord and allowed Him to fulfil His promised works through her, and for nine months thus she bore within her the Saviour of the world. If we contrast this with what we heard in our first reading today, in the lack of faith shown by King Ahaz of Judah, we can see how Mary on the other hand had such a great faith in God that she responded so wholeheartedly in accepting God’s will for her.

This is a reminder to all of us as Christians, how we all need to follow the example of Mary in her faith in our own lives. Mary is our role model in how she dedicated herself and her entire life to the purposes of God, showing us all what it truly means for us to be Christians. Are we able to walk the path that Mary has walked as we journey along in faith with God? And especially since Christmas is rapidly approaching us, we need to ask ourselves, how have we prepared ourselves to celebrate it?

Are we going to be like Ahaz in our attitude, in lacking the faith and in immersing ourselves in worldly pleasures and revelries commonly associated with Christmas? We can see just how prevalent excessive consumerism and materialism are in our Christmas celebrations, where everyone’s concerns are about satisfying themselves and their desires, their wants for more glamour and seeking more glory for themselves.

Ironically, the One Whom we ought to be celebrating has been forgotten and sidelined, the Child promised by God through His prophets including that of Isaiah as mentioned in our first reading today, conceived and born through Mary, His mother. This is why many of us have fallen deeper and deeper into sin, and further and further away from God and His path, precisely because God is no longer at the centre of our lives and existence.

If God is not within our hearts or if we have sidelined Him for other, worldly pursuits in life, then are we not just like Ahaz, who preferred to remain as he was, seeking worldly justification and not following the path of the Lord, leading his people into sin? We should instead be inspired by Mary, the Mother of God as I have just mentioned earlier, in her good examples of faith and dedication.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now that Christmas is just less than a week away, are we able to say ‘yes’ to the Lord calling on us to be faithful to Him and to follow Him on the path that He will show us? Are we able to centre ourselves and our existence once again upon Him, entrusting ourselves to His providence and love? Let us all spend some time from now until Christmas, to prepare ourselves well so that we may indeed worthily celebrate Christmas with true meaning, intention and purpose.

May God be with us in this journey of faith, and may He bless us all in our good endeavours and works, and may He provide us with the courage and strength to walk faithfully ever in His presence, and help us in our moments of weakness and struggles in life, that we will always be firm in our conviction to love Him at all times. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 December 2019 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we progress closer through the last one week just before Christmas, we are being reminded yet again of the great works and wonders of God’s salvation as we heard in our Scripture passages of the stories of two of His great servants whom He has sent into this world to bring forth the salvation and the good promises that He has given them.

In our first reading today from the Book of Judges we heard the story of the Judge Samson, the one who was renowned for his great and mighty strength, that God sent to His people when they were oppressed and overcome by the strength of the Philistines. Samson was sent to free the people of Israel from the tyranny of the Philistines, and by his great might, he led the Israelites to great triumphs against the forces of the Philistines.

Meanwhile in our Gospel passage we heard of the coming of St. John the Baptist, another great servant of God whom He sent just ahead of the coming of His Saviour or Messiah, His own Son Whom He sent into the world in order to be the Saviour of all. St. John the Baptist also had a very important role, as he prepared the hearts and minds of many to welcome the Lord into their midst, calling them to repentance.

Both Samson the Judge and also St. John the Baptist were those who have been dedicated to God and offered as what was called the Nazirites, those who lived solely for the purpose of obeying God and His commands, dedicating their lives to God. That was why St. John the Baptist and Samson both kept their hair long and lived in the wild, as what the Nazirites commonly did, not touching any alcoholic beverages and devoting themselves to God.

Through these two faithful servants of God all of us are again reminded of the One Whom we truly celebrate about this Christmas, that is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and not the false celebrations of merrymaking, excessive partying and revelries, or of expensive and glamorous Christmas gifts and celebrations, Santa Claus and all forms of the over-hyped secular celebrations of Christmas that are often plenty all around us this time of the year.

The two servants of God, Samson and St. John the Baptist also remind us that being disciples of the Lord is not an easy task, as both of them suffered and died a holy defender of faith each. Samson was tricked by a woman sent by the Philistines to tempt him and in the end, he was captured, blinded and humiliated by the Philistines. But Samson remained faithful and he prayed to God to give him one last burst of strength to defeat the enemies, and he brought down the whole place with him and many hundreds of the enemies of the Lord.

The faith of St. John the Baptist was also exemplary, as he spoke firmly and courageously against the wickedness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and also against the adulterous behaviour of king Herod of Galilee, which ended up with him being imprisoned. Eventually, by the wicked act and will of Herodias, the woman whom king Herod was in adultery with, St. John the Baptist was beheaded in prison, remaining faithful to the very end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we recall the good and faithful lives of the judge Samson and also St. John the Baptist, how are we doing with our own lives as God’s followers and servants? The two holy predecessors of ours have dedicated their lives to God, even through trials and difficulties to the very end. Are we able to dedicate ourselves to God in the same way that they had done with their lives?

We are all called to centre our lives, all of our efforts and works on God from now on. And let us begin by remembering the focus of our upcoming Christmas celebrations. If we have been too engrossed in our preparations for all the merrymaking and joyful celebrations, then let us all put Christ in the middle of all of our joys, so that our happiness and joyful celebrations is not for our sake alone, but rather to rejoice because God has loved us all so much that He has given us His Son, to be our Lord and Saviour.

May God bless us all now and always, and may He guide us in our journey of faith, that we may faithfully walk in His path, inspired by the examples set by His servants, Samson and St. John the Baptist. May God be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 December 2019 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the coming of the Lord’s salvation and the hope which all of us have received in sharing that joy the Lord has promised to His people. We heard first of all from our first reading, how the prophet Jeremiah spoke of the time of the coming of God’s day of salvation when He would send to His people the Saviour and Deliverer.

And if we understand the context and condition upon which the words and prophecy of Jeremiah was delivered, we will appreciate even better and more of how significant this promise of the Lord was to the people to whom Jeremiah had delivered the words of the Lord. At that time, when the prophet Jeremiah performed his ministry, the southern kingdom of Judah was in its very last throes of its existence.

The great empire of Babylonia was threatening the existence of Judah, having destroyed the earlier empire of Assyria who had in turn destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel over a century prior and brought most of the northern tribes of Israel into exile in far-off lands. Babylonia had conquered Assyria and all other smaller nations, and it was just some time before it would crush Judah and conquer Jerusalem.

Yet, despite all their troubles and trials, caused by their disobedience against God, the people of Judah still continued to sin and disobey God, and they did not put their trust in Him. They mocked and rejected Jeremiah, and made him to suffer if we read on through the rest of the Book of the prophet Jeremiah. Nonetheless, as we heard from what the prophet spoke of in today’s first reading, God still loved His people despite all that they have done.

He was still faithful to the Covenant that He has made with them and with their ancestors, a Covenant that He constantly renewed again and again, as the prophet Jeremiah mentioned how God saved His people during the time of their Exodus from Egypt, when by His great power and through the Ten Plagues and other miracles, God brought His entire people Israel out of their slavery in Egypt under the Pharaohs.

And Jeremiah mentioned how God would no longer be remembered as the One Who saved His people from the Egyptians and their slavery, for He would save them yet once again, out of their then present predicament and problems, mentioning how God would remember His people and bring them back into the lands that once belonged to their ancestors, mentioning the northern kingdom of Israel in that same prophecy.

This was a prophecy of what was to come, that although Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed because the people continued to sin and lead wicked lives in opposition to God, but God would still lead them to freedom as He has once done before because truly, He loved them all very much. And that promise and prophecy would indeed come to fulfilment many decades later, when King Cyrus of Persia freed the descendants of Israel and allowed them to return to their homeland.

And now, all of us have known how God had yet done another even more wonderful act in saving His people, and this time it is not just the children of Israel that God has saved, but indeed, all of mankind, for God has extended His salvation to all the peoples, of all the nations and of all the races, through none other than His own beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ Whom He had sent into this world to be our Saviour.

It was what the Lord reiterated to St. Joseph in our Gospel passage today, when he was reluctant to take Mary to be his wife when he heard that Mary somehow had become pregnant with a Son. The Lord reassured St. Joseph that Mary was pregnant with the Child Who was to become the Saviour of all, God’s own Son Whom He had sent into this world to be the One by Whose hands, not just the sons and daughters of Israel, but all the children of mankind would be saved.

Thus, the Lord would then be known not just as God Who saved the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, and neither would He be known as the One Who freed the Israelites from the exile in Babylon, but forevermore, by His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, He would be known as the Ever Loving God, full of compassion and love for His children and all of us, His beloved people, that He was willing to endure the full burden of the Cross for the sake of our salvation.

It is indeed timely that we are all reminded of all these wonderful loving acts of God just within a week from Christmas, so that each and every one of us may remember what is all of our Christmas preparations and celebrations are for, and how we should put the Lord, Our Saviour at the very centre and focus of all of our wonderful joy and festivities this Christmas. If we have not done that yet, it is not yet too late for us to reorientate ourselves now.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as today’s Scripture passages have reminded us all of how loving and compassionate God has been to us, that in Christmas He has given us all the wonderful and most perfect gift of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, let us all dedicate ourselves to God and His love for us, and make our upcoming Christmas celebration truly meaningful. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 December 2019 : 3rd Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we begin entering the seven days period leading to Christmas, with the special liturgical readings from the Scripture that are meant to direct our attention to the One Whom we are celebrating in Christmas. It began therefore with the account from the Book of Genesis in our first reading today of Jacob blessing his sons, with a special blessing to Judah, through whom eventually the Messiah would come into this world.

And in the Gospel passage today we heard from the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew on the long genealogy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, all the way from the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, linked to what we heard from the Book of Genesis, as the Lord descended through Judah, and then to David, the famous King of Israel, through whom God also promised to make the house of David to last forever and to reign as king for eternity.

All these are leading to the coming of Christ, the Messiah or Saviour of the whole world which had been long prophesied and promised. Everything was fulfilled when Christ was born in Bethlehem as prophesied, more than two millennia ago, in a poor and dirty stable, born as the King of Kings and the King of Israel, the Heir of David and the Saviour of all. And this is the essence of true Christmas joy and what we are celebrating, Christ as the focal point of all our celebrations and festivities.

How are we then, brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, spend our time preparing ourselves for Christmas and its festive season, given that it is now just about one week away? Are we going to do what the rest of the world have been doing all these while, by spending our time shopping and buying the latest Christmas merchandises and goods, by busying ourselves in getting gifts for the celebrations or worrying about what decorations we are going to put up?

We can see just what kind of enormous marketing and advertising going on every year for the Christmas season, endlessly promoting more and more of the secular Christmas cultures and celebrations, all the paraphernalia on Santa Claus, all the Christmas traditions and folklore customs, the fairies and elves, and all sort of things not founded on the true meaning and intention of Christmas.

It is not that we cannot celebrate Christmas as how the world celebrates it. Indeed, if we can spread the joy of Christmas and even spread the true meaning of Christmas by sharing in the joy of this period, then perhaps that will make our Christmas celebrations even more meaningful and wonderful, not just for ourselves but also for others, even for those who do not belong to the Church.

The issue here is that we should not allow ourselves to be swallowed up by the excessive consumerism and materialism that are behind the secular celebrations and festivities surrounding the worldly Christmas. We should not be affected or swayed by the temptations to seek more pleasures and happiness for ourselves, by vying for the best Christmas gifts or celebrations, and most importantly, as we have discussed earlier, our celebration must be centred on Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we quickly approach the time of Christmas this year, are we able to challenge ourselves that we may celebrate Christmas this year with full understanding of its true purpose and intention, its meaning and truth? Are we able to celebrate Christmas with newfound love for God and dedicate ourselves to Him anew beginning from now if we have not done so?

And now, let our Christmas joy be complete, as we turn ourselves away from the meaninglessness and futility of the worldly pursuits of glory, happiness and satisfaction in all the sorts of things that the world has always promoted, and instead, let us all turn towards the Lord with all of our heart and love Him from now on with all of our strength. May God be with us all and guide us through this journey of faith, that from now on, Christmas will truly be a blessed celebration of God’s love for us. Amen.