Weekday Homily

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Thursday, 26 July 2018 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. They are St. Joachim and St. Anne, according to the tradition of our faith. On this day we focus on the great faith which both of these faithful servants of God had, in the upbringing of the Blessed Mother of God from her infancy and through to her adulthood.

Although the life of St. Joachim and St. Anne was not recorded in the Scriptures, but through sacred tradition and history of the Church, and through our own observation of the nature and characteristics of Mary, as a faithful and obedient servant of God, who was an exemplary role model for all of us, therefore, it is just right that her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne must have been made of the same qualities in life.

And this is contrasted to what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, beginning from the book of the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament, where the Lord spoke to His people through the prophet, of a lamentation of their disobedience and bad treatment of the Lord, even after all that He had done for their sake, loving them and protecting them from harm and from their enemies.

They have turned away from the path which He had shown to them through His prophets and messengers. The people had built up idols and false gods as the ones to whom they worshipped, and they forgot about God and all the good things which they have received and been blessed with. They disobeyed His laws and commandments, and instead, they turned to sinful ways and performed what were wicked in His sight.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is linked to what we heard in our Gospel passage today, when the Lord spoke to His disciples and followers about why He always taught them in parables. Through the parables, the Lord was in fact trying to explain to the people about the truth and the Good News in ways that were more easily understandable and relatable to them. However, whether they benefitted from those efforts depended on whether they were open in their hearts and minds to the word of God.

When the people of God hardened their hearts and minds against God, essentially what they were doing was that they refused to listen to the Lord, and rejected Him, as it was often that they failed to recognise God’s presence in their midst. They were often preoccupied heavily by worldly concerns and matters, to the point that they ended up focusing on the wrong things in life, including worldly glory, fame, recognition, wealth and pleasures of the body and the flesh.

All of those things are obstacles and hindrances that prevented us from finding our way to God and from recognising the Lord Who is in our midst and Who is always trying to reach out to us, speaking to us and calling us in the depths of our hearts. We have not responded favourably to the Lord Who has always showed His greatest efforts to be with us and to work with us, in every possible way and at every possible opportunities.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to continue to walk down this path of rebelliousness and disobedience? Are we going to continue to harden our hearts and resist our Lord’s efforts to help us? If we continue to follow down this path, then I fear that there is nothing else for us in the end, except for damnation and suffering, for when we reject God’s love and mercy, then we do not deserve His mercy and forgiveness.

Instead, let us all look upon the great faith and dedication that holy saints, St. Joachim and St. Anne have shown in their lives, which became great role model for their daughter, Mary, who herself is the great role model for all of us Christians. Let us all seek to resist the temptations of worldly glory, the corruptions of sin and the allure of Satan, and turn towards God with all of our hearts, minds, strength and might.

May the Lord be with us in our journey of life, so that we may turn towards Him with genuine love and sincere dedication, that inspired by St. Joachim and St. Anne, we may find our true direction and purpose in life, to be righteous in all things and to serve God to the best of our abilities. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 25 July 2018 : Feast of St. James, Apostle (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of St. James the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Lord Jesus, also known as St. James the Greater, the brother of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. He was counted among those, together with St. Peter and his brother, St. John, whom the Lord always called to be by His side during the important events in His ministry, such as the resurrection of the young daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration and the Agony in the Garden.

St. James was among the first if not the first of the Twelve Apostles to face martyrdom in the performance of his work and mission, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The king Herod Agrippa was recorded as the one who arrested St. James and then brought about his execution as a martyr of the faith. But even before that, St. James had managed to perform his ministry in faraway places where his popularity remains to this very day.

It was told that St. James went to the faraway areas of Iberia, now areas known as Spain and Portugal, which were indeed far away from the land of Judea, from where the Apostles began their missionary journey. He preached the Good News of the Gospel in those regions, establishing the foundations of the Church and sowed the seeds of the faith among the people in that region.

At that place, which is now famous for the pilgrimage of St. James, or the St. James’ Way, culminating at the Cathedral of St. James of Compostela or Santiago de Compostela, it was told that, the Holy Apostle performed his many works, and even had apparition of the Blessed Virgin at that place, now known as Our Lady of the Pillar after the place where the apparition took place.

St. James performed many other, unrecorded missionary works and evangelising activities before he returned to Judea, and under the reign of king Herod Agrippa, as mentioned earlier, was arrested and beheaded as the first Apostle to be martyred. Yet, through his martyrdom, many more Christians took up the cross and followed his examples, doing even more work of evangelisation in many places, calling ever more people to turn to the Lord and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.

In the first reading today, what we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Corinth was in fact a summary of what we have just discussed. St. Paul himself mentioned how the faithful would be persecuted and be condemned by others, facing difficulties and challenges that would make their life difficult, and yet, in each of them, is found great treasure hidden in our physical existence, which he compared to a treasure hidden in a clay.

And in the same passage taken from the Epistle, we know what this treasure is. It is the Lord Himself Who has come to dwell in us, and share with us His love. All of us who have shared in the Lord through the Eucharist, receiving His Body and Blood into ourselves, and have faith in Him, are those who have been called from the world to be the Lord’s disciples and followers.

To each and every one of us God has revealed His truth, which He preserved through His Church. And through this, we are to share in the cross of Christ, which is the cup that the Lord mentioned in the Gospel passage today. And it is a reminder to each one of us, that we are also called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, to serve the people of God, one another, and to love God with all of our hearts.

Through the Gospel passage today, we are reminded, just as we have been through the life, suffering and martyrdom of St. James the Apostle, that following Christ is not one of seeking personal and worldly glory. The Apostles St. James and St. John came with their mother to the Lord, asking for special favours and positions above and over the other Apostles, at that time still thinking of discipleship in the worldly manner.

Indeed, the same can be said of us as well, those who are in the Church. There are indeed many among us who think about following the Lord and being His disciples in materialistic and worldly manner. But that is not what being a disciple of Christ is truly about. To be a follower and disciple of Christ means that we have to learn to die to ourselves and our ambitions, pride, greed and all sorts of things that prevented us from truly following the Lord in our hearts and minds.

Therefore, let us all pray that today and from now on, each one of us as Christians will be able to carry out our duties and responsibilities as followers and servants of our God. May the Lord also strengthen our resolve to live in faith, and to devote ourselves ever more to Him through all of our actions and deeds. May He inflame in us the spirit of faith and love, and zeal which He has also given to St. James and the other Apostles.

May He continue to empower each and every one of us to live with ever greater devotion to our role as Christians, in loving God first and foremost, and then loving our fellow men and women, at all times. May God bless us all, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 July 2018 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the word of God in the Scriptures, we can hear how God is calling us all to follow Him, that is to abandon all of our past, sinful ways, and turn towards Him with all of our hearts, with all of our strength, and with all of our capabilities. He is calling us to have a total conversion of the heart, mind and of our whole being, to become His people, His beloved children.

In the first reading today, taken from the book of the prophet Micah, it was an exhortation by the prophet, which is both in form, a prayer and a reminder for the people of the great love which God has shown His people, Israel, ever since the time He chose them to be His people, all the time He has blessed them and guided them, giving a bountiful land to be their inheritance. The prophet Micah was calling the people to repent from their sins and turn towards God once again.

God is always ever merciful and loving towards His people, despite His anger at the sins and disobedience which they have constantly shown to Him. But of course, His mercy and love requires us to be receptive and to actively accept His generous offer of mercy for it to take effect in our lives. We cannot assume that we will be forgiven if we refuse to obey the Lord, and continue to live our lives in our usual, sinful ways.

Instead, He wants us to have a conversion as mentioned, from those who walked in sin and disobeyed Him, to be those who listen to His will, and do what is right and just in our lives, as He mentioned in the Gospel passage today to the people, telling them that all those who have done God’s will, is the mother, brothers and sisters of the Lord. It means that all those who obey God, belongs to God.

And those who belong to God, will not be lost from God, for the Lord will gather all of His sheep, His beloved ones, as a loving and good Shepherd. God will not abandon all those who have been faithful to Him, and indeed, even to those who have not been obedient, He is always ever obedient to the Covenant and the promise which He has made to all of us mankind.

That is why, He chose willingly to accept suffering and death on the cross, for our sake. No one in the right mind and in the right worldly logic will consider suffering, less still to die for someone else, if he or she does not love that person so much, that he or she is willing to do such an act of selfless love and compassion. And as St. Paul said, Christ is even better, for He chose willingly to die for us all, sinners and disobedient people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all called to reflect on our lives, on whether we have been good disciples of the Lord all these while. Have we obeyed the Lord with our actions and deeds in life, or have we instead been listening to all the falsehoods, lies and the temptations of the evil one? Have we been true disciples of Our Lord, in all of our words and actions?

Let us today examine the life of a holy and devout servant of God, whose examples we can perhaps incorporate into our own lives. St. Sharbel Makhluf or St. Charbel was a famous saint originating from what is today Lebanon, a member of the Maronite church, who was a faithful and devout monk and priest. He devoted his whole life to God, and was exemplary in his prayer life and dedication to serve God.

St. Sharbel Makhluf has done what he could have done, to love the Lord Who has loved him first. And in his pious devotion to Him, he showed us all, how we mankind should turn away from all of the distractions of the world, and focus our attention towards God instead. It does not mean that we have to join religious life and monkhood as St. Charbel had done, but truly, we must have a change in our life for the better.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all able to commit ourselves anew to the Lord, Our God? Are we able to turn away from all the wicked things which we have done in our lives, and have a new life that is centred on God? These are the questions we have to keep asking in our minds and in our hearts, as we continue on living our daily lives in this world.

Let us all renew our commitment to be faithful and good children of God, as those who do the work that God wants us to do, and listen to Him speaking in our hearts and minds, by having a good spiritual relationship with Him through prayer. May God be with us all, and may He continue to bless all the works He has done through us. Amen.

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Monday, 23 July 2018 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the anger of God being directed at the Israelites as He spoke it through His prophet Micah. At that time, the prophet Micah was ministering to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, whose people and king were disobedient and rebellious against God, worshipping pagan gods and idols instead of their loving God and Master.

God saw the disobedience in His people, which had led them to fall into sin. But yet, God ultimately still loved them all, and that was why He sent them His servants, Moses, Aaron as mentioned by the prophet Micah, as well as the many prophets who were sent, including Micah, to the people of Israel. They were sent to guide them to the right path, to get out of their sinful attitudes and works.

But they still refused to believe the prophets and the messengers sent to them to remind them. Instead, they hardened their hearts against God and rebelled all the more, from time to time, again and again. They persecuted the prophets and made life very difficult for them. But God still wanted to give them a chance, and therefore, He sent them the promised Messiah, Our Lord Jesus, His own begotten Son, to be our Saviour and Lord.

In the Gospel passage today, we see yet again another instance of the people doubting the Lord and His works among them. They have seen His miracles and signs, and yet, they continued to doubt Him just as they have refused to listen to the prophets and the messengers of God. The people have seen and heard all the wonders of the Lord directly, and the Messiah Himself was in their midst, but they did not recognise Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am sure that many of us are wondering why that is so. That is because many of us are so filled with pride and with self-centred attitude in our hearts and minds, that all of us are unable to allow God to enter into our hearts and minds. We are so preoccupied and so busy, with all the distractions present in our daily lives that we end up failing to realise God performing His works among us.

God is always present in our midst and He is always doing something in our lives, for our benefit, according to His will. And indeed, He wants to speak to us, to communicate with us, and to be with us, having a good and deep relationship with us. But more often than not, we did not want to listen to Him, and we preferred to occupy ourselves with other activities and things that we enjoy more, because to us, they provide us with pleasures of the body and the flesh.

That was why, we revel in the praise of people, when they praise our achievements, intellectual and physical marvels and greatness. And we become even more filled with pride and arrogance, as well as with greed and desire for more of those worldly pleasures and enjoyments. And in that preoccupation, we end up being lost in our own world and forget about the Lord.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we among those who have fallen into this category of people? Have we lived our lives with ignorance of God’s presence in our lives and failing to recognise just how much God has loved us, cared for us and provided for us all these while? Perhaps we should imitate the examples shown by St. Bridget of Sweden, a renowned holy woman and one of the patron saints of Europe.

St. Bridget of Sweden was born into a noble and relatively rich family, who was a devout believer and devoted herself to the poor and the less fortunate in the community. She eventually inspired the foundation of several religious orders, which were devoted to the spiritual well-being and development of those who decided to devote themselves to the Lord inspired by the holy saint’s examples.

St. Bridget herself carried out a famous pilgrimage to Rome amidst a plague-stricken Europe in order to gain permission from the Pope to start her religious order. She would remain in Rome henceforth, ministering and caring for many in the community with genuine faith, always with a smiling face and gentle disposition, inspiring many more people to turn towards the Lord and repent from their sinful ways.

St. Bridget reminds us all that in order for us to be able to realise God’s presence in our lives, first of all, we must be humble and generous in giving, as St. Bridget herself had shown us. We cannot be so full of ourselves or so prideful and haughty, that we spare no place for God in our hearts and minds. Naturally, we will end up so self-centred that others have no place in us.

Let us all therefore follow the examples of this holy woman, and learn to direct ourselves, our energy, effort and attention towards the Lord. Let us all seek to renew our faith and our commitment to live our lives filled with love for God, realising for ourselves, just how much He has loved us, despite all of our rejections and stubbornness. Let us all turn our hearts, minds and our whole being to Him, and be worthy of Him once again by living our faith in our daily lives. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 July 2018 : Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we focus our attention to Our Lord as our loving Shepherd, Teacher and Guide, by looking at what He had done for us, in various times and opportunities, to lead us into the right path and to the reconciliation with God, our loving Father. And this is ought to be contrasted to those who have misled and misguided the people of God, those who have made them to fall into sin.

In the first reading today, taken from the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke to His people through Jeremiah, condemning all those who have misled His beloved ones into sin, and He would scatter and destroy all of those who were responsible, because they chose to disobey Him and even to teach the falsehoods and lies to the others, especially those entrusted under their care. At that time, this referred to the kings and the false prophets and guides in the society.

But the Lord ultimately did not hate His people or wish for their destruction. Truly, He had shown us His anger, in many occasions throughout the Scriptures, but all of these were directed at the wicked and sinful acts we have committed in life. In that same passage taken from the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord also spoke of the hope that He would come to gather His people once again, to bring them back to His side, and to regain what He has lost to the darkness.

And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians, our second reading passage today, made it clear how this has come about, through none other than Our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whose coming, reconciliation and healing has come upon us mankind. Once we were divided and broken by our hatred and jealousy towards each other, by misunderstandings and lack of proper guidance.

Indeed, the Lord Jesus is the One and only Shepherd and Guide, the Good Shepherd, Whom all of us ought to follow, and not those who have not been faithful to the way of the Lord. All those were the false and evil shepherds, who were not at all concerned with the fate and the well-being of the sheep, that is the Lord’s people who had been placed under their care and stewardship.

The kings and the lords of the people had abused the power and authority given to them, by being transfixed and preoccupied with power and worldly glory. They accumulated for themselves wealth, honour, prestige, fame and all things that we always desire from the world, but in the process, they oppressed the people and led them away from the path of salvation, by forcing them to worship the pagan idols and false gods.

Similarly, during the time of Jesus, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, those who were greatly revered in the Jewish society at that time, because of their role in safeguarding the Jewish laws and customs, have also abused their privileges and authority as shepherds and leaders of the people, by misguiding them away from the true path of God, and into the false ways of empty and meaningless faith as how they prescribed it.

They placed their many customs, practices and rituals, developed over centuries and many generations of the Jewish traditions, as the most important part of the Law of God. They enforced the heavy burden of fulfilling these rules and regulations to the people, while they themselves did nothing to help the people to manage their burden. In fact, they themselves did not fulfil what they have asked others to fulfil, in the obligations to the law.

This is precisely what St. Paul mentioned in the second reading passage today, about the Law that the Lord would come to repeal and destroy. It was not so much as the destruction of the laws of Moses, but rather, the destruction and removal of the old laws and customs, which had been brought about by centuries of misunderstanding and lack of insight into what the Law of God was truly given to us for.

We need to come back again to the fact and reality that God loves each and every one of us, and by no means He wants us to feel burdened in coming to Him. In the Gospel passage today, we saw how the Lord Jesus came to a place to rest, and instead saw a large crowd of people who had been waiting for Him to teach them. Jesus and His disciples were tired, as they had been going around from places to places, teaching the people and ministering to them.

Yet, the Lord had pity and compassion on His people, whom He saw as a large flock without a shepherd, that is without anyone or any guide or authority to lead them. They were clueless and lost, and they came to Jesus, seeing in Him, the hope and the guidance which they had longed for. And the Lord had mercy on them, and loving them, spent hours more to teach them all, despite Him being physically tired from all the journeys and the activities.

That is what the Lord wants to show us, Who is the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd of all. The Good Shepherd knows all of His sheep, and He cares for all of them, that He does not want even a single one to be lost from Him. In another occasion, the Lord Jesus told His disciples about the parable of the lost sheep, in which the shepherd went all out to look for a single lost sheep amidst ninety-nine others who were with him.

And that is what the Lord Jesus had done, going all out for the sake of His people, who were lost, leaderless and without guide, or having been misled and misguided by the wrong and irresponsible authority figures, they were in real need for true guidance and leadership, which He alone could have provided. And there were so many of them, that the Lord could not have, in His most loving and compassionate heart, refused them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us are called to reflect on this reality, and on the love which the Lord, our Good Shepherd has shown to all of us. And we are called to reflect the same love which God has shown to each and every one of us. He has loved us all so much that He has given us His all, even to the point of being crucified and suffer such an imaginably great agony, just so that, because He died for us, all of us may live.

This is, in essence, what all of us as Christians must be for one another. We must be like Christ in all of our actions, and it means that we must be good shepherds, in our actions and in how we deal with others around us. We must show genuine love, care and concern, especially to those whom we know, who are in difficulty and in trouble. And therefore, as we know that sin is our greatest obstacle and trouble, we must indeed be ready to help all those who are trapped in the darkness of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all today therefore, renew our conviction in faith and our commitment to God, to live our lives worthily and filled with true love and devotion, first of all to God, and then also to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let us all reach out, like our loving God and Shepherd, to those who have no one to care for them. This is our obligation and responsibility as Christians, to be like Christ and to devote ourselves as the Lord Himself has shown us.

Let us not be filled with pride and desire, for worldly things and temptations as those who have fallen into the trap of those temptations throughout the Old and New Testament had shown us. Let us all instead be filled with humility and with love, that in everything we do, we do not do it for ourselves, but instead for God and for our fellow men. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 July 2018 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the reading from the Scriptures telling us about the lamentation of the prophet Micah who spoke against the wickedness of the people of God, who have sinned against Him and acted wickedly against His laws and commandments. This come at a time when the prophet Micah was going up against the whole nation of Israel.

In the Book of Kings, the prophet Micah was also mentioned, speaking up against the King of Israel, Ahab going to a battle against his enemies. There were other, false prophets who were with him, who spoke favourably of the king’s plan and assured him that God was with the king, while in fact, they were lying to him. Micah spoke the truth before the king and was rebuked harshly by the false prophets. Yet, in the end, it was Micah’s prediction that came to reality.

Therefore, this is in fact one way in which what we heard in the first reading passage today was fulfilled. God gave those who have disobeyed Him and betrayed Him to the pagan gods, the just and rightful consequences for their sins and disobediences. He wanted them to be reconciled to Him, and He wanted to forgive them from their sins, but it was the people themselves who were the difficult stumbling blocks in the path of reconciliation with God.

In the Gospel passage today, we heard of the same issue which the Lord Jesus had encountered with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who opposed Him and His works. They stubbornly hardened their hearts and minds against the Lord, just as those false prophets during the time of Micah hardened the hearts of the people of God because of their lies and falsehoods.

Yet, in all of these, we can see just how much the Lord cared for us all, despite our sinfulness, and despite how rebellious and unreasonable we have been. We have hardened our hearts against God for generation after generation, but God has always been ready to reconcile us to Himself, as long as we come to realise the extent of our wrongdoings and sins. This is why God kept sending to us so many of His messengers and servants, to call us to Himself.

And He sent us, as the Gospel today mentioned, the One Whom the prophets including Isaiah and many others had prophesied about, the Messiah or Saviour Who was to come into the world in order to save us all, God’s beloved people. This is why He sent us Jesus, His own Beloved and only begotten Son, to be that Saviour, to bring unto us the salvation which He has promised to us, to bring a new and everlasting Covenant to us.

And He gave us His all, to the point that He surrendered all and emptied Himself, and let Himself to be raised on the Altar of the Cross at Calvary. He became for us the source and hope of our salvation. What He wants from each one of us is that we may have a change of heart and mind, and be open to His love and compassion, to the forgiveness which He offers freely to each and every one of us.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we willing to accept this great love which God has given us so freely and willingly? Or do we rather continue in our path of rebellion against God? What is the choice that we want to make for ourselves? This is what we must decide, as the Lord has given us free will, to choose our path in the time to come. He has offered us His forgiveness, mercy and love freely, but ultimately, it is up to us, to collaborate with God in His mercy.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, a renowned Capuchin priest who was a great theologian, who produced a lot of works on theology and various other areas of the Church teachings and the faith. St. Lawrence of Brindisi was remembered for his great piety and devotion to God, in how he worked among the people of God and inspired many others, both through his actions and writings, to return to a life of holiness in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the holiness and inspirational life of St. Lawrence of Brindisi should also be our inspiration, in how each one of us should live our lives from now on. Are we able to turn towards the Lord with faith, with all of our hearts and minds, opening ourselves fully to His love? And are we able to follow in the footsteps of St. Lawrence, whose work and ministry among the people caused many who have fallen into heresy and falsehood to return to the true faith?

May the Lord be our strength and our Guide, that each one of us will always look up to Him as we continue to carry out our actions in our daily living. May the Lord bless us all and our every work, that in all things, we will always remember to glorify His Name and to be filled with grace at all times. Amen.

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Friday, 20 July 2018 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened first of all to the exchange between the prophet Isaiah and Hezekiah, the king of Judah. At that time, king Hezekiah fell very ill and was about to die, even during the peak of his years, still relatively young by the standard of that age and time. King Hezekiah was desperate and he turned to the Lord for help, through His prophet Isaiah.

King Hezekiah lamented that even though he has been faithful to God, and that he had led the people to return to the true worship of the Lord, abandoning their former pagan idols, but he was soon to die and perish due to his illness. He prayed to the Lord with tears and regret, asking Him to keep in mind whatever good things he had done in his life. And God heard his prayers, extending his life.

In this, and in what we have seen through the Gospel passage, in which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law criticised the Lord Jesus severely because He allowed His disciples to perform what was supposedly forbidden during the day of the Sabbath, we can see what the Lord’s true intention is for each and every one of us as Christians. As mentioned, He wanted mercy and not sacrifice.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that the Lord wants from us true and genuine love, dedication and commitment. He does not want faith that is just a formality or a faith which is just for show to others. For example, king Hezekiah of Judah has indeed steadfastly loved the Lord, casting aside the idols that had been worshipped throughout Judah until then, and restoring the worship of God back to the people.

This is the kind of love and commitment which the Lord wants from each and every one of us, and not the kind of superficial love which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law has often shown. Many of them wanted to be praised and seen in the fulfilment of the obligations of their faith, and hence, they ended up subverting the Law itself to suit their own misguided and wicked agenda.

The Lord Jesus is reminding us through these passages of the Scriptures, that ultimately, God made His laws and revealed them to His people for a singular purpose, and that is, to bring them all back to His loving embrace. The Law was meant to reconcile mankind to God, and not to push away man from His salvation. That is why, the Law was meant to turn mankind’s heart back to God, and God sought the love and faith in each and every one of us.

In the end, as long as we cling on to the Lord, and put our trust in Him, we shall not be disappointed, for He will be with us and will protect us. He will not withhold His grace from us, and we shall be truly satisfied. Of course, there will be trials, challenges and tribulations, but ultimately, in the end, what awaits all of us who remain faithful to God will be eternal glory and true joy with God.

And God remembers and knows all that we have done in life, whether it is good deeds or wicked deeds. He remembered the deeds of king Hezekiah, and blessed him and gave him new lease of life according to His will, as He was pleased with what Hezekiah had done. He did not forget those who have been faithful to Him, but remembering them to the time when He will grant them His inheritance.

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, we celebrate the feast of St. Apollinaris of Sweden, one of the early Church fathers, bishop of Ravenna and martyr of the faith. He was a truly dedicated servant of God, dedicating his whole life for the good of the flock entrusted under his care. St. Apollinaris endured many persecutions and hardships throughout his life that ended up with his martyrdom.

Yet, St. Apollinaris remained firm in his faith and conviction to serve the Lord and His people. He went through all the troubles and trials with faith, entrusting everything to God, in Whom he had complete and total faith in. This is a role model of the faith which all of us the faithful should adhere to, in all of our ways. Are we able to follow in the footsteps of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on our lives, and think of how our lives have been influenced by our faith. Have our faith been genuine and filled with true love for God, or have we rather allowed ourselves to be overcome by our attachments to the world and ended up sidelining God, and having a life that was not centred on God? Let us all think about this, and see what we can do in the time to come, to be ever more faithful and committed, to be ever more true in our faith.

May the Lord be with us and bless our efforts and works, that in everything we say and do, we will always do them for the love of God, and also for the love and concern of our fellow men, as St. Apollinaris of Ravenna had shown us. May God be our strength and be our Light, now and always. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 July 2018 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the prophet Isaiah mentioning both prayer to God and also the revelation of God’s promises in the book he wrote, which recounted what happened at that time during the life of the prophet. The prophet Isaiah lived during a time of uncertainty for the people of Israel, for at that time, the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes of Jacob, had just been conquered by the Assyrians.

The Assyrians destroyed the Israelite kingdom and carried off most of its people into exile in faraway lands. And an Assyrian army led by its king also came up to Jerusalem, besieging it and almost captured it, if not for the great intervention by God, Who destroyed most of the Assyrian army through His Angel. In that event, what we heard in the passage from the prophet Isaiah’s book came to reality. When the people of God was in need of help and assistance, God came to their help and answered their needs.

That was the promise that the Lord gave to His people, that should they turn towards Him, filled with remorse for their sins and wickedness, and with renewed zeal and commitment to live their lives in accordance to His laws, then He would once again bless them and be with them, rejuvenating them and making them a great nation and a prosperous people once again. He would be their God and they would be His people once again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we should also listen to the words of the Lord in the Gospel passage today, when He told the people, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Lord showed His reassurance for us, telling us that it is in Him alone that we can find complete and total happiness, joy and satisfaction. The Lord alone can provide this satisfaction and nothing else in this world can do the same.

The Lord has shown us this great favour, and He wants us all to know of His love and mercy, the compassion which He shows to all those who sincerely seek His forgiveness and those who want to be reconciled to Him. He does not turn away those who are in need of His help, and He always makes Himself available to those who come seeking His forgiveness. This is our loving God, and this is just how much He loves all of us.

But at the same time, we also have to remember that as mentioned in the Gospel today, that the yoke and burden of the Lord is light, lighter than that of the world. This goes on to say that to be a follower and disciple of the Lord, as Christians, we must be ready to face trials, challenges and difficulties, and we cannot expect to be just bystanders or let the Lord to do everything for us while we just enjoy the fruits of His labour.

And often, we will find that the burden of the Lord, the crosses that we have to bear, are indeed heavy, heavier and less appealing than the burdens and the yoke that the world tempts us with. Why is that so? That is because, while the burdens of the world, of sin and its temptations are deceiving in their appearance, so that we fall for its sweet falsehoods and later on suffer the eternal consequences and sufferings, the Lord’s cross is something painful but rewarding in time to come.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, the choice is on our hands. The Lord has given us the free will to choose which path we want to take. But we must very well know the consequence of our choice. Do we want to enjoy our lives now and suffer later for eternity because we chose the wrong path? Or do we rather suffer now for a while, but through our perseverance gain the eternal glory from God?

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide us in our path, so that in all the things we do, we will seek not the glory of the world, which is temporary, just as the mighty Assyrians was utterly humiliated and defeated by God. Instead, let us go forth, glorifying the Lord by our lives, as mentioned in every conclusion and dismissal of the Holy Mass.

Let us go forth with courage and faith, knowing that God is always with us, and that with Him alone, lies true and eternal happiness. May God bless us all and our endeavours. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 July 2018 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, listening to the word of God in the Scriptures, we listened to the wisdom of God being revealed to us, as He revealed His truth and His boundless intellect to us. Through the Holy Spirit, He inspired those who wrote the Scriptures, both the Old and the New Testaments, to reveal unto us, the greatness of His divine wisdom, far beyond any human understanding and wisdom.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord was chastising and rebuking the great king of Assyria, who at that time ruled over the most powerful nation in the region, and probably also in the world. The Assyrian Empire was vast and powerful, and ruled over many people and many territories it has conquered with its mighty army and forces.

It was therefore the reason for the hubris and pride of the king of Assyria, who has conquered and destroyed everything that he wished to conquer and destroy. But the Lord chastised him, reminding the people to whom the prophet Isaiah wrote his book, that is the Israelites and all of us, that God alone has all might, power and He alone is in control, and not us man.

This would later come to reality and fruition, when the king of Assyria, Sennacherib came up to Jerusalem and Judea, besieging the city of God. King Sennacherib of Assyria boasted proudly before the Lord and before His people, that his mighty army had conquered nations and peoples of all kinds, and none of their gods and idols could have stopped him, and thus, he made fun and disrespected the Lord by saying that not even God could have stopped him.

But the king was humbled greatly by God, when He sent His Angels to eradicate a total of not less than a hundred and eighty-five thousand from among the king’s army. The king had to return to his palace in shame, retreating in great defeat, and later on, his own two sons would betray him and murder him in the temple of his pagan god in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire.

Through these things we have just discussed, we can clearly see that there are many things that even those in power and those who are mighty could not have done with all the great power and might they had, if they did not cling on to the power and wisdom of God. Man can presume to know everything and to have might, power and greatness, but in the end, all must bend to the will and the power of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s will is absolute, and His power is also infinite and absolute, but at the same time, He gave us all the free will to choose what path we want to take in our lives, whether, we want to follow Him and put our trust in Him, or instead, place our trust in our own power, ability and might. From what we have seen in the evidence throughout the Scriptures, putting our trust in the power of man is not the best way to go.

Those who are strong and powerful, intelligent and ambitious, were in fact among those who would encounter the failure the fastest, as history had proven that many of them were unable to restrain themselves, their pride and greed, and ended up falling into sin and their endeavours fell apart, when they faced infighting and conflict over their unrestrained pride and unbridled greed.

Man has betrayed each other, even their closest friends and family members, husband has betrayed wife and vice versa, children has betrayed their parents and vice versa, just because they trusted in worldly provisions and in their own might and power. They failed to realise that whatever it is that they are fighting for, all of them are insignificant and foolish in the eyes of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, all of us as Christians must realise that we must put God first and foremost in our lives, and place Him at the very centre of our lives. May the Lord be our Guide at all times, and may He continue to strengthen our faith, and give us the courage to live with dedication to this faith which we have in Him. May God bless us all and our endeavours. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 July 2018 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Scriptures mentioned to us first of all, God’s assurance to His people in the kingdom of Judah, led by king Ahaz that He would be with them regardless of the opposition and troubles that they were facing at the time. At that time there were many enemies rising up against Judah, composed of the kingdom of Aram and the northern kingdom of Israel. The two kingdoms have allied themselves in a plot to destroy Judah.

The people had no faith in God, as they have often disobeyed Him and worshipped pagan idols and gods instead of worshipping Him. All of these they have done, despite the fact that God had performed so many good deeds and miracles among the people. He had delivered them from the hands of their former Egyptian masters who enslaved the Israelites for many years, and the enemies of Israel, such as the Amalekites, Philistines and many others were defeated by God’s might.

They did not have a faith that lasted a long time, and their lukewarm attitude and preoccupation in worldly matters ended up tempting them to walk away from the path which the Lord had shown them. That is because their hearts were filled not with love and desire to love God, but instead with pride, with selfishness and all sorts of wickedness that prevented them from being truly faithful.

In the Gospel passage today, the same problems were faced by the Lord Jesus, Our God and Saviour, Who went to His people in various parts of Galilee, performing miracles and many good works before the people. He healed the sick, including the mother of St. Peter among them, opened the eyes of the blind, loosened the tongues of the mute and opened the ears of the deaf. He even raised people back from the dead, as He had done with the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Naim and many more.

Despite all of these obvious signs, many of the people still refused to listen to the Lord or to believe in Him. They doubted Him and presumed to know Him, especially those who have known Him in Nazareth and having seen Him growing up in their midst, and therefore, assuming that He could not have performed all those miraculous deeds on His own, and doubting Him.

They failed to believe in Him, because they were too focused on the things of this world, and view everything from the perspective of the world. They allowed themselves to be swayed by the falsehoods and all the lies which Satan placed in their hearts to make them doubt and to harden their hearts and minds against the Lord Who tried to speak to them and to show them the truth.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of the accounts from the Scriptures telling us both of what happened during the years of the Old Testament, and during the time when the Lord Jesus performed His earthly ministry, all of us are called to reflect on our own attitude in life and how we have lived our lives thus far. Have we been faithful to the Lord, or have we instead lived our lives in our own way?

We are often too preoccupied in our respective, busy lives, filled with many concerns and desired of worldly nature, which prevent us from listening to the Lord calling us to Him, and which distract us from the path which we ought to take in our journey towards Him. That is why so many of us failed to respond to God’s call, and walked the same path as those who have disobeyed the Lord in the past.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to continue this attitude in life? Are we going to continue to live in sin and refuse to follow the Lord just because we think that we know what is better for us? Let us all today learn to be humble, that first and foremost, we must place God at the centre of our lives, as our focus and priority, and know that not everything in this world is about us.

And we have to learn to quieten ourselves, in our minds and in our hearts, so that we can find out better what it is that the Lord wants us to do in our own respective lives. This is why it is so important that all of us as Christians must know how to pray, and pray with the correct intention and faith. By having an active and vibrant prayer life, we can then better resist the temptations to sin and know better God’s will and love for us.

May the Lord be with us and be our Guide, that throughout our struggles and journey in life, and despite the challenges and tribulations that come our way, we will always remain strong and resolute in our faith and dedication to God. Let us all strive with a renewed faith, day after day, to be ever more faithful to the Lord in our lives. Amen.