Weekday Homily

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Thursday, 28 February 2019 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God through the Scriptures speaking to us about the need for us to realise at first, just how sinful we have been all these while, in our actions and deeds, in our words and in how we deal with one another in our respective lives. And we must realise how sin can be very dangerous for us, if we do not do anything in order to resist the temptation to sin, and to keep ourselves free from those sins.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach, we heard about the reminder that sin is truly our great enemy, and how each and every one of us are sinners, whether it be great or small, significant or minute, but each one of us have sinned, and sin has corrupted our hearts, minds, and our very existence. Sin is disobedience against God, and because of sin, we have been sundered and separated from God’s grace.

But in the same reading we also heard how it was said that God’s compassion and mercy were indeed very great. This in fact is not wrong, as God’s love and compassion for each and every one of us is indeed very great, that He patiently waited and tried to reconcile us to Himself, through His many prophets and messengers, all those whom He has sent into our midst to call us back to Him, that we may repent from our sinful ways.

Yet, what the prophet Sirach reminded each one of us is that, we must never test God, by trying out His patience and by continuously being disobedient through our constant sins before Him. We also should not think that sin has no consequence for us, as perhaps at the moment when we sin without having any repercussions, doing what are wicked and sinful in the sight of God and men, no one may seem to hold us to account for our sins, but the time of reckoning will come for us, at the time that we least expect.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because it does not matter what status, power, glory or wealth we have in life, but all of us will eventually have to face death in the face, and death is the ultimate equaliser for all, as whether we are rich or poor, strong or weak, intelligent or not so intelligent, influential or nobody, we are all bound to die because of our sins. Just as sin came because of our disobedience, thus death came because of sin.

The Lord reminded us as well in the Gospel passage today, that each and every one of us must be wary of sin, in all of the things that we say and do, that we do not end up falling deeper and deeper into this trap of sin that has ensnared many of those who have gone before us. He used such dramatic expressions and language, telling the people to chop of their hands, their legs, plucking off their eyes if those have caused them to fall into sin, not for them to listen and obey to His words literally, but rather, for us all to understand that sin truly is dangerous.

Sin is like a terrible and dangerous disease that can easily and rapidly spread unless we do something about it. Our hands, legs and limbs, our eyes and all our organs are all without blame by themselves, and they are all capable of both good and wicked deeds alike. By themselves they are neither good nor wicked, for it is our hearts and minds that are filled with either things that are holy or unholy in nature.

What God wants each and every one of us to do is that we must make the conscious effort to cut ourselves off from sin, not by mere external actions, but through total internal and wholesome conversion, of our hearts, minds and souls, so that while once we may have lived in darkness and filled with sin, now we should begin anew, in a journey that is filled with a new purpose, that is to serve God with all of our strength.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all awaken ourselves from our long slumber, and realise how fortunate each and every one of us to have been given these opportunities by God. He has given us chances after chances to bring our lives into order, and to turn our sinfulness back into a life of faith and dedication. Let us all not wait any moment longer, for none of us can know the exact moment of our death, and when it comes, it may already be too late for us.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen us throughout our journey in life. May He grant us the courage to live faithfully according to His ways, and help us all to refocus our lives on Him, that we may gradually move away from our sinful past, and enter into a new and more meaningful existence in faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 February 2019 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the wisdom of God, and how each and every one of us ought to have this wisdom in us, and indeed, not just to have the wisdom, but to practice that wisdom in our own lives, in our every actions and deeds, so that we may truly walk in the righteous path of the Lord, and be worthy in the sight of God.

The disciples in today’s Gospel reading came up to Jesus and complained about the person who tried to do what the disciples had done, by calling upon the Name and therefore, the power of Jesus Christ, God’s Saviour, to cast out demons. They did not want the person to be able to claim to work in the Name of God, seeing the person as a rival to their own works and influence, even probably as a threat to their own position.

This is caused by their trust in the wisdom of man, in the understanding of how things work in this world. This world is filled with jealousy and conflicting human desires, with human ego, ambition and pride. This world is filled with the ambitions and desires of men, who wants more things for themselves, more glory for their own, more pleasure for their own bodies and minds, that ends up causing pain and suffering for others.

That was also why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were opposed to the Lord and His many works among the people. They clearly saw how the Lord performed His miraculous deeds, His healing miracles and the powers He has shown before them, that could not have come from any other sources beside that of God. They have also listened to His teachings and all of His words, all filled with the revelations of truth, and yet, they still refused to believe.

In fact, they opposed the good works of God and persecuted the Lord and His disciples, making their lives and their works very difficult as they opposed them at every possible opportunities. Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because they think not in the way the Lord thinks, and they did not put their trust in divine wisdom, but in their own limited and corrupted human wisdom and understanding, clouded by their own ego and pride, human greed and desires.

They thought that they could not have been wrong with the way they lived up their faith, and when the Lord apparently criticised and rebuked them before the people in their presence, they became agitated and were angry, refusing to listen to the words of wisdom, and instead, drawing even more from the hatred and jealousy, the greed and desires found within their hearts and minds. As a result, they failed to recognise the truth that Christ has brought upon them.

They were all trusting too much upon their own human wisdom, power and understanding. And as a result, they were not able to comprehend God’s actions and will, and they acted in ways that were contrary to the wisdom of God. God desired that all of us put our trust in Him, in His wisdom and power, for all the actions and deeds we have done all these while, we did them out of self-preservation and self-glorification rather than to live in accordance to the will of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to reflect on our own lives, and think carefully about our course of actions. Are we able to focus our trust and attention to the Lord from now on, instead of being filled with ego, pride and human desire? It is not easy for us to do the former actions, and it will require us to make the effort to commit ourselves to a new way and outlook of life. And we have to put God truly to be at the centre of our lives.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen us in our conviction to live ever more faithfully in accordance with His will. May He guide us on our journey of faith, that we may grow ever deeper in our love for Him and that we may dedicate ourselves ever more to Him. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Tuesday, 26 February 2019 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the importance for us to remain focused on our path as we progress in this life with faith. The first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Sirach mentioned what we must do in our service towards God, in remaining humble and committed to the Lord’s will, and in enduring the difficulties and challenges that we may encounter on our way to Him.

In the Gospel passage today, we also heard the same message, as the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples yet again of the impending moment of His suffering and death. The disciples who heard Him speaking of such things for a few times were surprised and confused, even as they themselves continued to debate and argue among themselves, on who was the greatest among them all. In essence, the disciples did not yet fully understand what following the Lord truly means for them.

At that time, the people of God thought that the Messiah or the Saviour that would come into their midst, would be the One to liberate them all from their earthly oppressors, and that the Messiah would restore the Kingdom of Israel, and gathered back the whole separated nations and tribes of the Israelites. He would become their King, and the whole nation of Israel would be glorious and beloved by the Lord once again, as it was in the days of David and Solomon.

Therefore, many expected the Lord Jesus to become the liberator and Saviour for the whole nation of Israel, hoping that He would be the liberator that they have long awaited for, to free them from the power and the tyranny of their Roman overlords and masters. They resented the fact that they had to work for the sake of their overlords, paying heavy taxes and giving part of their hard-earned income to the Romans.

They expected the Lord Jesus to become their King, and they hoped that those who followed Him closely would gain the advantage and influence, power and glory with Christ, their Lord and King, much in the same way as how the worldly rulers were often surrounded by greedy and power-hungry courtiers and nobles, all seeking to gain more influence and power, wealth and fame for themselves. The disciples therefore acted in this manner as we heard in our Gospel passage today.

But little did they know that in reality, for us to be true disciples and followers of the Lord, it requires our commitment and readiness to surrender everything to God, and to humble ourselves even to the point of being ready to be humiliated, and to die to our ego and pride, for indeed, following the Lord and becoming His disciples do not provide us with any forms of earthly glory, fame and power, but rather, the promise of true and everlasting glory with God in the world that is to come.

When the disciples bickered for power and for influence, for position and fame, they failed to understand that the path that the Lord has called them to, would be filled with opposition and difficulties, with challenges and obstacles, that as the disciples proceeded in following Jesus and His path, they gradually came to understand and know. Many of them would suffer themselves for the Lord’s sake, suffer martyrdom and painful death, defending their faith in Christ their Lord and Saviour.

And the perfect example of obedience was shown by none other than Christ Himself, Who as the Son perfectly obeyed the will of His heavenly Father, fulfilling the long promised salvation which God has willed and promised His people. Christ showed His perfect obedience, taking up His cross and walking up the painful path of suffering to the hill of Calvary. And in dying on the cross, Christ redeemed all of us from the tyranny of sin, and bring us all to the new hope of eternal life He brought to us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to imitate the examples of Christ, His obedience to the will of His Father, His perfect humility in assuming the position of a slave, and to suffer in the way that totally and completely humiliated Himself, and yet, all of that He did for the sake of our salvation. And He Himself said that all those who follow Him must share in His cross, pick up their crosses and follow Him.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and are we able to dedicate ourselves to the Lord, obeying His will and commandments, as the Apostles themselves had done? Are we able to love God wholeheartedly and dedicate ourselves thoroughly to Him just as Jesus, our Lord has loved His heavenly Father so perfectly? Let us all reflect on this today, and think deep in our hearts and minds, what are the things that we can do in order to grow ever more faithful to God.

May the Lord continue to bless us all and may He continue to love us, just as we ourselves also grow more in our love and devotion to Him. May God bless all of our endeavours and good works, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 25 February 2019 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God through the Scriptures, speaking to us about the faith that we should have in the Lord, the Source of all our hope, from Whom we gained all wisdom and truth. As long as we place our trust in God, we shall never be disappointed. Challenges and difficulties may come our way, but by the strength that God has given us, we shall persevere in the end.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the healing of a man who was possessed by evil spirits. The father of the man brought him to the Apostles, but the Apostles were unable to cast out the evil spirit, and the evil spirit continued to possess the man. The Lord essentially rebuked His disciples to whom He made clear that they lacked the faith necessary for them to perform the miracles that He has given them the power to do.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to remember that we must have true and genuine faith in God, or else, without faith, whatever it is that God has blessed us with, everything will be meaningless and empty. And for us to have faith does not just mean that we say that we believe in God, or act in a manner to show others that we are God’s believers, but rather, we must be thoroughly attuned with God’s will, that deep within our hearts, we truly are united with God, knowing His will and loving Him.

That was why the Apostles were unable to cast the evil spirit from the man, because even though God has given them all the power and authority over the evil spirits and to heal physical illnesses of the flesh, when He commissioned them, but without a strong and real faith in them, those power and authority given to them meant nothing. Faith connects us to God, and faith is the link that undoubtedly unites us to the Lord and He is truly present within us when we are faithful to Him.

Indeed, it is easy for us to say that we believe in God, but it is totally a different case about having true faith in Him. Having a true, genuine faith often requires us to devote ourselves from the deepest part of our hearts, and we often have to make sacrifices and commitment of ourselves, in ways that require us to put God at the very centre of our existence. God must be the reason and the focus of all of our actions, otherwise, our faith in Him is not complete.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we may have all the gifts and talents given to us by God, but unless we have that faith which we should have within us, we shall not be able to utilise those gifts for the right purpose and for the right intention. And that is why, within the Church today, there are so many people present within our communities of the faithful, and yet, there are so few among us who have made use of our talents and capabilities to serve the Lord in a meaningful and sincere way.

And many of us do not have a good and healthy spiritual life, that is a life filled with prayer and communication with God. Prayer is not meant for us to make a litany of requests and demands as what many of us frequently have done, but rather for us to quieten ourselves down, and refocus our attention on God alone. It is when we are attuned in such a way with God, that truly meaningful conversation between us and Him can take place.

Today, all of us are called to rediscover our faith in God, and not just any kind of faith, but faith that is genuine, true and steadfast at all times, that we may truly serve God faithfully in all occasions, and give our very best, out of love for Him. Let us all grow stronger in our love for Him, dedicating ourselves to the good works that He had entrusted to us. Let us also deepen our relationship with God through prayer, that we may know better what His will is for each and every one of us.

May the Lord continue to strengthen in each and every one of us, the faith that we have in Him, that we may grow ever more committed and dedicated in obeying His will and in doing whatever it is that He has taught and commanded us to do with our lives. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 February 2019 : Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we are called by God to be people who are filled with love and forgiveness, to be compassionate and to be merciful to all those whom encounter in this life we have on earth. God showed His love to all of us, when He spared us from our fated destruction, although we truly have deserved to be destroyed and be annihilated because of our disobedience and therefore, our sins.

God made us out of His love for each and every one of us. He gave us life and provided everything for us, and God in fact gave and entrusted the whole creation to us, that we may be His stewards of the creation. And yet, instead of gratitude and love that we should have shown Him, we have betrayed and abandoned Him for the devil and all of his lies and false promises, falling into sin as a result.

Yet, God did not give up on us and He continues to love us all despite of the sins we have committed. Yes, He does despise our sins, and sin has no place in His presence, but He still loves us all in our beings, as He has always done ever since He created us mankind. God could have easily destroyed and banished us into eternal damnation if He had desired it to be such, but He did not do that because He truly still has that boundless and wonderful love for us.

Unfortunately, sin is a reality present within each and every one of us, the sons and daughters of man. Sin is a very dangerous disease that is within us, trying to destroy us from within, corrupting not just our bodies, but also our hearts and minds, and our eternal souls. Unless we remove this taint of sin from within us, we will not be able to be reconciled with God, and that is, when we continue to remain in this state of sin, and refuse to cast these sinful ways aside, then we will fall into eternal damnation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if only we can understand and know of all of those things that we have done throughout the long history of mankind thus far. All the sins and wicked things we have committed all these while, from the time that we have first disobeyed God until this very day. For so many years all of the combined wickedness of our sins have truly become a massive mountain of sin, of unimaginable dimensions.

And yet, in the end, despite of all these, God still loved us all dearly, and even wanted us all to be redeemed and saved. Are we not ashamed at the sins that we have committed, and how we have not recognised the love which God has shown us, all these while? He has been willing to forgive us all these sins, and indeed, He desires to do so, despite of our constant and continued impertinence and stubbornness.

God is so patient and loving, so merciful and kind towards us. This is what each and every one of us have to realise, that for every sins we commit further in life, we are just going to make the Lord even more hurt, for all the compassion He has shown to us, and yet we are so stubborn and resistant to the love He is showing us so generously. God wants to forgive us our sins, and yet, we are the ones who have resisted to be forgiven.

Let us all look at some examples from the Scripture passages today, beginning from our first reading today. It was a story of the encounter between David and king Saul of Israel. In order to understand better the context of what happened at that time, we must look into the historical background of the relationship between the two of them. King Saul was the first king chosen by God to be king over His people Israel, while David was the one whom God had chosen to be the successor of Saul as king, after the latter fell from grace.

David was still a young man when he rose to great prominence after he defeated Goliath, the giant Philistine champion during battle between the Israelites against the Philistines. And David became a commander in the king’s army, gaining more and more influence and fame, as he won victories after victories, and God’s grace was clearly with him. Meanwhile, Saul, who disobeyed God’s commandment, and persisted in his disobedience, was growing further and further away from God’s grace.

Saul saw in David a great threat to his authority and legitimacy as king, and therefore, he tried in all various kinds of ways, to remove the threat of David, treating him with much suspicion and hating him, having tried to kill David in several occasions. If not for the assistance of his close friends, including that of Jonathan, one of Saul’s sons, David would have been killed by the plotting and the attempts of the king.

David had to run away and live as a fugitive for many years, and what we heard in our first reading passage today happened during those years when David was in the run. He has suffered much at the hands of the king, who wanted him to be dead. Yet, when David and his followers found the perfect opportunity to kill the king instead, when the king and his retainers were sleeping in a cave, David conscientiously and resolutely refused to do so.

David had all the opportunity to do so, a perfect timing and chance to turn his own fortunes completely upside down. He could have ended his period and time in exile and stopped all the sufferings and pains he had to endure as an exile and criminal. He could have seized power as the rightful king of Israel, as the one who had been anointed by God through the prophet Samuel to be the true king. And yet, David did not do all these. Instead, he still treated Saul with respect, and indeed, as his king.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now, let us all look at our own lives and actions thus far. Have we been as forgiving as David had been to those who have hurt us and slighted us? Or have we instead acted with vengeance and hatred, with jealousy and anger? It is definitely much more common for us to do the latter than the former. Many of us are unable to let go of that hatred, of that anger, of that jealousy and bitterness within us, and as a result, we continue to hold grudge against one another.

Perhaps we should reflect on the great patience and mercy that David has shown to Saul, and even more so, the even far greater patience, mercy and compassion that God Himself has shown to us, His people. God has been ever so patient with us, despite all of our constant disobedience and actions that had made Him to be angry with us, again and again. But as a loving Father, He continues to love us regardless, and in His actions, He wants us all, His beloved children, to walk down the right path.

King David has followed this very example shown by the Lord Himself, in practicing mercy and forgiveness, compassion and love through his own actions and in how he dealt with those who have slighted him and made his life difficult, principally that of Saul, his predecessor. Now, we are challenged today, to do the same with our own lives, to think of all those whom we may have hated and held grudge against all these while.

Are we able to forgive others just as God has forgiven us? It is not easy to forgive, as forgiveness requires us to let go of the anger and all the emotions, the greed, the desires and the pride present within us. Our ego and pride often come in between us and the ability to forgive, as we often think that to forgive others means that we must humble ourselves such, and let go of the animosity we are feeling towards the other person. And then, we also often refused to be forgiven, because the same ego and pride within us made us to resist forgiveness, as we do not like to think that we have erred or made a mistake in some way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing and are we able to let go of the ego, pride and the anger within us? God Himself has shown us the way, and He Himself has forgiven us so generously, full of compassion and mercy. He forgave us for all of the multitudes of sins we have committed and all the wickedness that we have done in life. Although our sins are numerous beyond count, God loves us, and forgives us, and then, how can we not forgive our fellow men our sins to one another too?

Let us all from now on, therefore, turn towards God with all of our hearts, with all of our strengths and with the strong conviction to love the Lord and to be filled with His compassion and love. May the Lord, our loving God and Father, be our Guide and may He show us the way forward in life, in forgiving all those who have wronged us, all those who have hurt us, just as He Himself has forgiven us our sins. Let us all also be courageous in life, to change our way of life, from that of sin to that of righteousness.

May God be with us always, and may He empower us all to live with faith from now on, that we will draw ever closer to Him, and be worthy to receive from Him to promised eternal life and glory that He has given to us all, His beloved and faithful people. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 February 2019 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Scripture passages remind us of the need for us to be faithful to God, in all of our actions in life. By having faith in God it means that we must put our complete trust in Him, and we must dedicate ourselves to His way and walk in the path that He has shown us, even though those paths He led us to may be the ones that bring us pain and sufferings. To be a faithful servant of God, sometimes we need to suffer and even to face persecution, humiliation and disgrace.

Let us take for example, the names of those mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews, part of which is our first reading of today. In that passage, we heard the names of Abel, Enoch and Noah. These few people who were mentioned were those who have walked on this earth at the beginning of our history, those who were considered and mentioned to be righteous among the sons and daughters of men, descendants of Adam and Eve.

First, that of Abel, he was the son of Adam and Eve, younger brother of Cain. Abel offered the pleasing sacrifice of a young lamb while Cain offered what the Lord did not command him to offer, that is of his crops. When Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God, Cain was filled with jealousy and hatred, slaughtering his own brother out of anger and that jealousy within his heart. As a result, Cain sinned against God, and when God confronted him, he persisted in his disobedience by denying his involvement in such a wicked act.

And then, Enoch was mentioned as a most righteous man, more righteous than anyone living on earth at the time, and who obeyed the Lord so faithfully and completely, that God took him up into heaven directly, and Enoch did not suffer from death, much like how the prophet Elijah would later be taken up into heaven on flaming chariots before Elisha, his disciple and successor. God showed His love and faithfulness to those who have been faithful and committed to Him.

For Noah, in the recent days we have just heard how God commanded him to build up a great Ark, as He was about to wipe out all those wicked sons and daughters of men who lived at that time. The wickedness of those people were such that, God has to rescue Noah, his family and all that He wanted to preserve even as He struck against all those who were wicked in their ways and unrepentant in their sins.

All of these faithful servants of God certainly did not have an easy life, persecuted and ostracised, humiliated and made to suffer because of their faith in God. God Himself was also suffering through His begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who came into this world to be our Saviour. As we heard from our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus openly proclaimed and predicted the coming of the persecutions He was about to face, and the pains He had to go through, ultimately leading to the sacrifice on the cross.

This is a reminder for us that the path which the Lord shows us, the way that He wants us to take will not be an easy one, as they will be filled with difficulties and challenges. For us to be good and committed Christians, we need to face this reality, that our lives may have to be changed dramatically if we want to be God’s disciples. That is because we have to walk in the way conforming to God’s will, which are often in opposition and are incompatible with the ways of this world.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Polycarp, a renowned holy bishop and servant of God, a committed disciple of the Lord and witness of His truth, and also a brave and courageous martyr of the faith. St. Polycarp is regarded as one of the three most important Apostolic Fathers, the early Church leaders and successors of the Apostles, together with Pope St. Clement and St. Ignatius of Antioch. St. Polycarp was one of the earliest Church fathers who wrote extensively and helped to establish the sacred traditions of the Church.

He was dedicated in his work, and in his ministry to those faithful who were entrusted under his care. St. Polycarp devoted his life to serve the Lord and His people, so thoroughly that even through the difficult times of persecution and opposition against the Church and the faithful, he led them all through those difficult and challenging moments. That was how he was eventually martyred, by impaling and stabbing when even fire failed to harm him. St. Polycarp remained true to his faith in God and dedicated his life to His service.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to reflect on our own lives, on what we ourselves can do to give our lives in commitment to God, to serve Him and to love Him all of our lives, even as we are aware of the consequences and challenges that are awaiting us if we decide to do so. Let us remember that ultimately, in the end, the glory of God and His eternal life and blessings will be ours, if we persist and triumph through this challenging moment.

May the Lord continue to guide us all, and through the intercession of St. Polycarp, and the other holy saints, holy men and women of God, may we draw ever closer to God and may we grow ever deeper in our love and commitment towards Him. Amen.

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Friday, 22 February 2019 : Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we commemorate the occasion of the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, bringing us into focus to the Chair or the Seat of authority which St. Peter the Apostle, the leader of the Apostles has, in his position as God’s own Vicar on earth, as the one to whom God had entrusted His own Church, all the collective body of the whole faithful, the Church of God, which He has built upon the firm foundation of the Rock of faith, St. Peter, His Vicar.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, what is so significant about this ‘chair’ of St. Peter the Apostle that there is a special feast day to commemorate it? This chair does not refer to any physical chair, even though in St. Peter’s Basilica, there is indeed a wooden chair installed on the apse of the great Basilica, above the Altar of the Chair, which was one of the actual chairs that St. Peter has once used as the Bishop of Rome.

The meaning of the word chair here goes deeper in the sense that, the chair refers to the authority that the Lord has granted to His Apostles, and in this case, to St. Peter, the special authority above all the other Apostles and disciples, as their leader and therefore as the leader of the entire Universal Church, as the Vicar of the true Head and Leader of the Church, Christ Himself.

Each bishops of the Church have a chair or cathedra, their seat of authority, which is located in the church called cathedrals precisely because of the presence of this seat. And each of the bishops have been given the authority over their respective dioceses, which correspond to the flocks of the faithful people of God, and that authority is presented in the seat of authority, the cathedra of the bishop.

And for the Bishop of Rome, they are the successors of St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, to whom a special authority has been granted, as the Gospel passage today mentioned, specifically that the Lord has entrusted His whole universal Church to the care and the leadership of St. Peter, whose name in Aramaic language means ‘Rock’, the rock of faith on which God built the foundations of His Church.

Therefore, the chair of St. Peter that the feast day today celebrates, commemorates that divine authority which has been given to the Church through its leader, St. Peter, as the one tasked, with the aid and support of all the other Apostles and leaders of the Church, with the governance and guidance of the direction of the Church, where it is moving towards and its efforts in evangelisation and in the salvation of souls.

Therefore today we are reminded of the great challenges that the Church is facing, in its numerous commitments and good works in our world today, in the evangelisation of the people of God, the spreading of the truth of the Gospel, in the salvation of souls and the works of God’s mercy, as well as the oppositions and challenges from all those who do not wish to see the work of God to be successful, especially those who are under the power and influence of Satan and his fellow deceivers.

And at the forefront of it all, is the Pope, as the successor of St. Peter, as the Bishop of Rome and the Supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ and leader of the entire Christendom, of all God’s faithful people. Of course, the Pope is not alone in bearing all the burdens of his office, as at the heart of it all, the Pope is at the same time also sharing his ministry of the episcopate with all the bishops, the successors of the Apostles.

Therefore, the Pope leads the efforts of the bishops of the universal Church, as the chief of the shepherds that God has appointed over His people, to guide the people and the souls of God’s beloved ones to the right path, leading them down the path towards God, while resisting the temptations, the falsehoods, the pressures and challenges that come from the world, from the devil and all forces seeking the destruction of us all.

And in all that we have seen in our present day world and in our Church today, the works of the Church, especially that of its leader, our Pope, our Supreme Pontiff and Christ’s Vicar is definitely not an easy one. There are plenty of challenges and obstacles, one after another, are adding up in the path that the Church is taking, in its journey through the tribulations and trials of the world today.

That is why, our role as Christians, that is as all those who compose the Body of Christ, the Church, is very important, as each and every one of us have important roles to play in our respective areas and specialties, to support the Holy Father, our Pope and leader, in the efforts and works that he is driving the whole Church through, amidst all the turbulences and challenges that we are facing together as the whole Church in this journey of faith.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore grow in our devotion and commitment to God as Christians, as members of His Church, through our obedience to the Law and the commandments laid out by the Church, and trust ourselves to the leadership and guidance of our Holy Father, the Pope, the Vicar of Christ. Let us all do whatever we can in order to serve the Lord better, by making good use of the gifts and the talents that He had entrusted to each one of us.

May the Lord continue to watch over His Church, particularly as we are going through difficult moments and challenges, that the Church may continue to persevere through all of these difficult times, especially for the Pope, our leader, that he may continue to faithfully carry on the mission and works entrusted to him since the time of St. Peter, the first Pope. May God bless us always, and may He continue to love His beloved Church, forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 21 February 2019 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of God in the Scriptures speaking to us regarding the salvation which God has given to all of His people, the Covenant which He has made with all of us mankind, through which He restored us all from the state of disgrace and sin, into a renewed existence in grace and beloved by God.

God has brought Noah and his family, who alone were faithful among the many wicked and unrepentant sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, safely through the Great Flood that destroyed everything in the world, and through the Ark, brought them all into a new life on a renewed earth. And God made a new Covenant with Noah and his family, with him and all of his descendants, that include all of us living here today.

The Covenant that God has made is a Covenant of love, the promise of love between God and His beloved people, in which the two parties involved entered into a most solemn and honourable agreement and binding decision, to be committed to each other, to be devoted and to love each other with sincerity and genuine desire. And God loved His people as He has always done, not desiring their destruction but salvation and liberation from sin.

And because a Covenant is contracted between two parties and is binding between them, therefore, if God Himself has entered into the agreement with us all, and willingly committed Himself to us, then we mankind, who are also part of this same Covenant, must therefore also love God in the same manner, and commit ourselves to a loving relationship with Him. If we love God, then we must be willing to walk in His ways, and change our way of life to do what He has taught and shown us to do.

And God renewed His Covenant as we have heard in our Gospel passage today, through none other than Jesus Christ, His own beloved Son, sent into the world for this very purpose, that is to renew the Covenant He had once made with His people, with a new and everlasting Covenant that surpasses every previous Covenants, sealed with nothing less than the pure sacrifice and the Most Precious Blood of Christ, flowing down from the cross.

Yet, are we able to love Him as He has loved us so dearly? Many of us have not been able to commit ourselves in the same manner as our Lord as loved and devoted Himself to us. He has loved us so totally, so as to give everything for our sake. Many of us love instead the many tempting things in the world, not even giving our attention and time for God. We look for things such as worldly glory, fame, prestige, wealth and power.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as long as we are distracted by all of these temptations, we will not be able to give ourselves totally and wholly to God, and we will always end up failing and falling into sin again and again. We need to make the conscious effort to resist those temptations to sin. Otherwise, we will easily be swayed by the devil and all those who have always been trying to tempt us, day after day, at every moments.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Damian, a holy and devout servant of God who should become our inspiration in life. St. Peter Damian was a renowned Benedictine monk who eventually rose to the rank of Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, as one of the closest confidants of the Pope, for his vigorous reforms and commitment to the renewal of the Church at the time, in which corrupt practices were rampant.

St. Peter Damian dedicated much of his life to the eradication of the wicked practices and sins present within the Church, both among the clergy and the laity at the time, when the Church members and officials were deeply embroiled in scandals pertaining their worldly ambitions and ways. St. Peter Damian led the effort to eradicate all of these excesses and wicked practices, helping the Pope at the time to steer the Church through the difficult times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to follow the examples and the commitment shown by St. Peter Damian in living an upright life dedicated to God. We are called to abandon our past attachments to sin, and repent from our past disobediences. Indeed, this is not something that can be easily done, but unless we make the conscious effort to do so, we can see how the devil’s wickedness have once again struck at our Church, both among the clergy and the laity alike.

We have seen all sorts of scandals involving the clergy as well as those counted among the laity, and how all of these are causing hurts and difficulties to the efforts of the Church to bring more souls to the salvation in God. Let us therefore begin from ourselves, the effort to purify our lives and to bring about a renewal of the Covenant of love that God has made with us, through Christ, His Son, our Lord and Saviour.

Let us all turn once again wholeheartedly towards the Lord, loving Him and placing Him at the very centre of our lives. Let us all seek to walk faithfully in His ways, and do our best to obey Him from now on. May the Lord our loving God continue to love us and bless us, each and every days of our lives. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 February 2019 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the wonders of God’s love for us all, His beloved people. God has blessed all those who are faithful to Him, and provided for the needs of those who trusted Him and placed their focus on Him. The Lord saved Noah and his family through the great Ark and He also saved the blind man from His predicament, by restoring the sight which that man had lost earlier.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all we heard from the Book of Genesis, the account of how the Great Flood wiped all lives from the whole earth, except for all those that Noah and his family gathered in the great Ark. The Lord kept them safe from harm and protected them from danger. The Ark floated through the storm and the flood until the flood started to recede, and all of the survivors went on to repopulate the earth. This was God’s promise of love and salvation to all those who have been faithful to Him.

God then promised His people that He will never destroy them with flood again, and showed His promise with the rainbow, that appeared every time a great rain falls on the earth. Ultimately, this reminds us of the fact that God loves each and every one of us, and He does not wish or desire for our destruction and suffering. All those who have perished during the Great Flood was caused by their own disobedience against God, their wickedness and sins.

God did not condemn the people to hell and destruction, but instead, the people of God themselves have consciously rejected God’s love and His generous offer of mercy and forgiveness. God has given all of them many opportunities, chances after chances for them to repent from their sins and to turn away from their disobedience. However, they still chose to be tempted and to disobey God regardless of the consequences of their sinful ways.

Yet, even with all of those attitudes, God still wants to help us all, out of His ever great love for each and every one of us. He extends His mercy and love, and He wants to touch us and heal us, in body, mind and soul, just as He stretched out His hands in order to heal the blind man. The blind man, who must have suffered from his blindness, was completely cured from his condition, and he could see once again.

We can only imagine just how joyful the man must have been, at the very moment when he was able to see light once again, in a world once filled with darkness and despair, that light piercing through his vision, allowing him to see clearly once again must have been such an unimaginably joyful experience for the blind man. That is exactly what each and every one of us experience when we are freed from sin, and receive from God the gift of faith and everlasting life.

Once, we have been sinners and we have disobeyed God, but God in His rich and wondrous mercy gave us a new lease of life, and a new hope when we were in the depth of darkness. He has blessed us with all these things because He loves each one of us very tenderly and greatly, that He has given us His only begotten Son, as Our Saviour, and Christ has suffered and died for us all on the cross, for the sake of our salvation.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, the question for us is that, are we able to love God and dedicate ourselves in the same manner as God has done for us all these while? Are we able to commit ourselves to love God with all of our hearts, minds and with all of our strength just as He has done, in His great patience and compassion, although we have constantly sinned against Him? We are called to love God and to serve Him, from now on. Let us all turn towards Him, and devote ourselves to Him with all of our abilities from now on, and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2019 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about the faith which we ought to have in God, for all the wonders that He has done for our sake, from the very beginning of time. God has blessed us all His people since the beginning, even when we have disobeyed Him and sinned against Him, by not following what He has commanded us to do, and His love for us still prevailed against His anger at our sinful actions and deeds.

In today’s first reading, we heard the account of the building of the Ark of Noah, the great Ark that God commanded Noah and his family to build, in order to rescue themselves from the wicked generation of the people of his time. At that time, out of all the descendants of men, Noah and his family alone were still righteous and obedient before God, while all other people followed the path of sin, wicked and deviant before God.

But God, despite of the anger He has towards us mankind because of our sins, ultimately, He still loved us even more than He was angry at our sins. He created us out of His immense and boundless love, and as a result, He wanted to save us all from our predicament. Yet, it was us mankind who have often erred and refused to follow and obey Him, again and again, many times, despite His constant and thorough reminders towards us.

Noah spent over a century building up the Ark upon God’s instructions given to him, but during all those years, none of the people, except those within Noah’s own family, believed in the Lord and the message of His upcoming wrath, the Great Flood which He would send into the world, to wash it all away from the great wickedness and sins that the sons and daughters of men had committed. None of them believed and repented, and as a result, when the Flood began, and the Ark sailed away safely, all the rest of humanity perished.

In the Gospel passage today, the Lord was also doing the same among His people, as He taught the disciples and all those who have seen Him performing many miracles and healing among them. He saw the doubts and the lack of faith which were still in their hearts and minds, that has become a barrier for them from truly being able to understand and appreciate the love and the truth which He was bringing unto them.

They saw His miracles and marvellous deeds, but their hearts and minds were still burdened by doubt, and by the sins in their flesh. They were after all, mortal beings, corrupted and dirtied by sin, much as their ancestors had been, like all those who at the days of Noah, refused to believe in God and continued to live in the state of ignorance, both of their wickedness and sin, as well as their impending doom.

That is why God rebuked His disciples and chastised them for their lack of faith in Him, as they still put their trust in worldly matters such as food and provisions, rather than to put their complete trust in God. They are still creatures of the flesh, easily swayed by the demands and the desires of their bodies. God’s words and truth have not yet been planted and taken root deep within them yet. But God did not give up on them, and continued to teach them and guide them to the right path.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today many of us have not obeyed the Lord in the way that we should have done it. And many of us are still easily swayed by worldly desires and thoughts, and thus were distracted in our journey of faith towards God. But God has always been kind and loving towards us, and He is always ready to extend His merciful love towards us. Now, what matters is for us to accept His generous offer of mercy and love.

Are we willing to be forgiven by God? Are we willing to attune ourselves once again to His will and to His ways? Then we need to have a profound change of heart and attitude in life, that we should no longer be self-centred or be egoistic in life, but instead, learning to put our trust in God, in He Who alone is able to give us true joy and happiness in Him. Let us all grow ever more in our faith in God, and take up the chances that God has given us, to be forgiven from our sins, and to receive from Him the promise of eternal glory and life. Amen.