Weekday Homily

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Wednesday, 25 October 2017 : 29th 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 Lord through the Sacred Scriptures reminding us all to be always ready and to be vigilant in living our lives, so that we may be always ready for the Lord when He comes again suddenly at the time of His own choosing. Otherwise, we may end up being caught unprepared and be considered unworthy in the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the Scriptures we are reminded that sin is our very dangerous enemy, which has always been present from the moment when our ancestors disobeyed the Lord and thus fell into sin. Sin has enslaved us and kept us under its tyranny for many ages, until the time when the Lord came unto us and brought us His salvation.

The Lord came, bearing His truth and offer for mercy and forgiveness of our sins. And through His many parables and teachings, the Lord Jesus wanted to remind each one of us to be holy and good in all of our actions and deeds, in all the things which we say and show to others. And we have been given these bodies, minds and hearts that we may use them for the good and faithful purposes in God.

Yet, many of us would rather allow sin to enter into our minds, into our hearts, into our bodies, our whole being, that those sins brought about corruption and wickedness. Sin is indeed a disease, like cancer, that is slowly eating us from within. And many of us do not realise that we have this affliction in us because we have often been desensitised to sin. We have committed sins and disobedient acts in our lives so much that they become somewhat like our second nature.

But if we do not do anything about this, we will end up falling into condemnation, when Our Lord and Master comes, and He will reject us because He is disgusted by our sins and wickedness. It is by our sins and by our righteousness that we will be judged, and should we be complacent in living our lives according to our faith, instead falling into the many temptations of this world, we are all in great danger, of losing our eternal souls to eternal torment in hell.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us tend to take our faith for granted, just because we often think that because of that faith, then we are fine and that there is nothing else that we need to do. That is why there are so many of us Christians who have been lulled into a false sense of security and safety, and we end up becoming lapsed in the practice of our faith. This is also how sin ends up having a way with us, anchoring itself in our hearts and minds.

We have been freed from the tyranny and enslavement by sin through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose death on the cross broke forever the hold and power which sin and the devil have over us, and through His loving sacrifice, He has liberated us from the darkness and kept us from our fated destruction. Yet, many of us are tempted again and failed to resist those temptations, and many was such because they were incapable of resisting the temptation to sin and disobey God for our own personal gain.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on these matters, and let us think about what each and every one of us as Christians can do in our lives in order to change ourselves for the better, so that while once or indeed now, we may still experience the corruption of sin, through our thoughts, words or actions, we may then seek to be forgiven from our sins, and to sincerely repent from them, that we may gain true righteousness in God.

Let us delay no longer, but from now on devote ourselves completely to the Lord, so that through all the things we do, we will draw ever closer to Him. Let us not think that we still have time, and that the Lord will forgive us nonetheless. Any sins that remain unconfessed and unforgiven before God will become great obstacles in our path towards God’s salvation and grace.

May the Lord inflame us with the spirit and courage in order to live faithfully according to the Gospels of Christ, so that in our actions, we may show true faith and commitment to that same faith, that we may draw ever closer to God and be worthy of His eternal life and glory. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 24 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings tell us that as Christians, all of us must always be vigilant and be ready for the Lord, as He will indeed come again just as He has promised to us His faithful ones. And when He comes again, it will be at a time we least expect, and many of us will be caught unprepared.

And if we do not take heed of the Lord’s reminders, we may end up at the wrong side when the Lord judges all of creation. Do we want to be counted among those whom God will reject and condemn? If that happens to us, we will only have regret with us and by then it will be too late for us to change anything.

We have to realise that God has given us every opportunities available in each of our lives, giving us the chance to be righteous and do what is good in our lives. He has shown us the way forward, and yet, many of us have not followed in His footsteps. Instead, many of us continue to dwell in the darkness and refuse to come into the light, by doing what is sinful and wicked in God’s sight.

Sin is the great disease affecting all of us mankind, and sin is the fruit of disobedience against God. Ever since Adam and Eve, our ancestors had sinned by their disobedience against God and followed instead the devil’s words, sin had become a part of mankind’s history, corrupting all of us by its wicked nature.

But God Who loves each and every one of us did not want us to fall into damnation in hell, for the very simple reason that He loves us dearly. He created us for a single purpose, that He may love us and may share the perfect love He has in Him, that all of us may also be like Him in everything, and forever may enjoy the heavenly bliss of our God.

That is why He sent to us our Redeemer, in Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son, through Whom He gave us the only way out of our predicament. For without Christ, all would have perished because of their sins, and all would have fallen into the eternal damnation in hell. It was the loving sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus on the cross which had brought us a new hope, the hope of salvation and forgiveness for our many sins and trespasses.

As mentioned in the first reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, Christ has become the New Adam, as compared to the first and old Adam. By His perfect obedience He has shown us how each and every one of us should act in our lives, fully attuned and in full obedience to God’s will, just as Jesus was obedient to His Father, even unto accepting death on the cross.

While from the old Adam we have been corrupted by sin, from the New Adam, that is Christ, we have received the hope of eternal life. As such, if we want to have a way forward in this life, we must reach out to the Lord and seek His salvation. And how do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by turning ourselves from the path of sin towards the path of God, by obeying Him and following His examples in our own lives.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, the founder of the Claretians also known as the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a religious order of people devoted to God, following the vision of their founder, who was a great preacher and priest, spending time preaching and teaching about the faith to the people of God. Many people followed him and listened to his preachings, and were converted.

He did not have it easy, as there were many who were not pleased at his works, and thus opposed him. Yet, St. Anthony Mary Claret did not let these to trouble him, and continued to work among the people of God, and even when he was appointed as Archbishop of Santiago in Cuba. In his new capacity, he expanded the missionary efforts as well as establishing numerous infrastructures such as seminaries for the proper education of priests, as well as hospitals and schools for the benefit of his flock.

By seeing the examples of St. Anthony Mary Claret, we see just how in many things all of us Christians can follow from the examples of this holy saint, both for our own good and for the sake of our brethren. We should turn away from sin, repent and change our ways, doing what God wants each one of us to do in our lives, and then help one another in our path towards God.

May the Lord help us and bless us in our journey, that we may be thoroughly converted to the cause of the Lord. May He empower and give us all the courage needed to say no to sin and to the temptations of the devil and the world. May all of us draw ever closer to Him and receive from Him the promise of eternal life. Amen.

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Monday, 23 October 2017 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Scripture readings we are presented with two very interesting contrasts in the passages we heard, both involving very rich men, who had plenty in worldly terms, blessed by God in all that they do, bountiful with all sorts of wealth and possessions, yet with very different outcomes.

In the Old Testament, we heard how Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites and father of many nations was mentioned. Then in the Gospel, we heard the Lord Jesus telling us in a parable about a rich man who had plenty of grains stored in numerous granaries, earning him great amount of riches and wealth.

But the contrast lie in the fact that while Abraham put his trust and faith in God, as he was ready to leave behind everything in the land of his ancestors to travel into an uncharted territory solely based on God’s call, the rich man mentioned in the Gospel had trust only in himself and in his riches. The rich man mentioned in the Gospel was happy with his many riches, but not satisfied, because he wanted to have more.

Abraham placed his trust and faith in God, believing that in all he has received, all of them were due to the grace and blessings from God. He was satisfied in what he had received and was willing to give back to God what He deserved, that is his love and commitment. That was why God blessed him and chose him among many others, to be the father of many nations and as the progenitor of the race of the first chosen people of God.

The rich man in the Gospel put his trust in his wealth and possessions, and loved them more than his love for God. He was thinking about them all the time, worrying that he would not have enough barns to store all of his grains and not enough storehouses to contain all of his wealth. But God rebuked him, saying that all that he had gained would be for nothing, as if his life was to be taken away that very night, all the wealth and possessions he had would not save him.

It is therefore an important reminder for each and every one of us, that we should realise that the true treasure of our life lies in God alone, and in God we have that inheritance and promise of eternal glory that last forever, and not temporary in nature. Meanwhile, all kinds of worldly assurances and matters can be easily destroyed and perish, and if we put our trust in these, we will only be disappointed in the end.

Let us all therefore spend some time to reflect on our lives. Let us all think on how we have led our lives thus far, on whether we have spent too much time trying to assemble for ourselves worldly glories, fame, wealth and renown, to the point that we have forgotten what it is that we really should be doing with our lives. We should devote ourselves, our effort, our time and attention to the Lord, so that in all the things we do, we do not do them for our own selfish gains, but for the greater glory of God.

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. John of Capestrano, a renowned holy man and priest, who was a Franciscan friar and preacher, giving himself wholeheartedly to the Lord, abandoning behind all forms of worldly glory, as he was once an influential ruler and governor of the province of Perugia in Italy. He left everything behind and joined the Franciscan order to serve the greater purpose of God, trusting everything to Him.

St. John of Capestrano travelled through many cities and villages throughout Europe, preaching against heresies and excesses of human nature. He called many people to repent from their sins and to turn once again towards God. He was also involved in many embassies sent by the Pope to the rulers of Christendom, going from place to place to combat heresies as well as to settle matters of state, or broker peace between kingdoms and rulers.

The examples shown by St. John of Capestrano should inspire us all as Christians, that we should put God ahead of everything else in our lives. There will indeed be plenty of temptations urging us to do otherwise, but we will do well in obeying God and putting our trust in Him, as Abraham our father in faith, St. John of Capestrano and the many other holy saints had done in their lives.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to God, by learning to be faithful in all the things we do in life, by trusting God in each and every moment of our lives, and by learning to let go of the temptations of material goods, wealth and all other things that do bring us temporary pleasure and happiness, but in the end, bring us only to disappointment and become obstacles in our journey to reach out to true happiness found in God alone.

May the Lord bless us always, and may He continue to guide us in our path, that in our journey towards Him, we shall be able to draw closer to Him and find justification through our faith and commitment in Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 October 2017 : Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mission Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we see how God had called us and chosen us from among the nations. He has called us to follow Him and to become His disciples, and yet, many of us are often reluctant to follow Him, because of our lack of faith in Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Gospel passage today, all of us heard of how the Lord Jesus confronted the Pharisees who attempted to trap Him with His own words, when they asked Him whether they should pay taxes to the Romans, specifically to the Roman Emperor, the Caesar, or not. They hoped that by His answers they could find fault with Him.

If Jesus were to answer that they should not pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, then the Pharisees could easily seize that moment and reported Him to the Roman authorities, as a great treason against the Roman state. The collection of tax was a very important matter for states at that time, just as it is today. Anyone who refused to pay tax to the government, would immediately be considered as rebels.

And then if Jesus answered that they should pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, then the Pharisees could have also used that statement against the Lord, as the Jews were quite unhappy at the taxes imposed on them by the Romans. That was why in various times throughout the Gospels, we heard how the tax collectors were reviled by the Jews because they were seen as traitors to the nation and country.

Therefore, whichever answers that the Lord gave them, each of them would lead to difficulties and trouble for Him. But, the Lord knew what to do, and He simply told all of them, that since the silver coins bore the image of the Roman Emperor, they belonged to him, and it was right for the people to return them to who they belonged to. And He said that they should give to God what belongs to God.

The Pharisees were unable to respond to the statement made by Jesus, since they recognised in that statement an inviolable truth, and they could not refute what the Lord has said. Their attempts to blackmail and strike at the Lord had ended in failure, because God was not with them, and they were serving their own selfish interests, instead of obeying the Lord’s commandments.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we may think what the Pharisees had done were bad, and indeed they were, for they were putting their own selfish interests and personal jealousies and issues against the Lord ahead of their responsibility to guide the people of God, who had been entrusted to them, to the truth of God. Yet, if we look carefully on what happened, and reflect on our own individual lives, we should realise that in fact in many occasions within our lives, we have done something similar.

How is that so? That is because whenever we do not give to God what belongs to God, we are doing what the Pharisees had done. They were unable to give themselves to the Lord, that is by obeying His laws and precepts wholeheartedly. Instead, they persecuted the faithful who listened to the truth. In the same way, whenever we are too preoccupied in our daily activities and busy schedules, we tend to forget about God and our obligations to Him.

It has been too often throughout our history, that we mankind have wandered away from the path that God had set upon our feet, because we have been tempted to do what the world wanted us to do. We have also been spending so much time with our worldly concerns, that we shut the doors of our hearts and minds against God. God wants to come unto us and to be with us, but we rejected Him, because we would rather satisfy our personal desires instead of obeying God.

Let us ask ourselves, on how much time we spent with the Lord every day? How much time do we spare for Him in prayer, to talk to Him and to listen to Him speaking in our hearts? I am not saying the time we spent in our prayers and our petitions, but rather, in quality time which we spend with Him, knowing what it is that He wants for us to do in our lives. Too often we find ourselves rushing from one activity to another, without even turning to look at the Lord.

We often sidelined the Lord and only came to Him when we are in great need for help. Besides that, He is practically forgotten and non-existent in our lives. But that is not what we should be doing, brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather, what we heard in the Scripture passages today are reminders for all of us Christians, that first of all, we must give what it is that we owe the Lord, for each and every one of us, our lives, and our very breaths are due to the gift from the Lord, and without Him, we would not have existed.

Therefore, just as He has loved us dearly and cared for us, then we should also love Him back with as much enthusiasm and intensity, giving our very best to love Him, not just through words, but also through actions, loving the poor, the weak and the lonely, those who have none to love and care for them. Remember, the Lord Jesus said that, in a parable, that all which we do for the least of our brethren, we do them for the Lord as well.

Then, let us also remember to be good citizens and obedient people, observing the laws of the land as long as they are not contrary to the divine laws of God. This is fulfilling what we heard in the Gospel today, that we should ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’ After all, the states and nations we belong to have taken care of us, and provided for us in various ways. It is only right that we return the favour wherever possible.

Last of all, today we also mark the occasion of the World Mission Sunday, on which day we remember our mission as Christians, which God has given us. The Lord has blessed us so much in our respective lives, in one way or another. Should it not be rightful for us then to follow Him and obey His commands? And how do we do this? We should go forth and proclaim the truth of God, our mission in this world, by our words, as well as through our actions.

That means, we must be exemplary as far as possible, and strive as best as possible to show care and concern for our brethren, and even for our enemies and all those who disliked us. This is our mission as Christians, that we touch others through our own lives, anchored firmly in God’s love and truth, that we may bring them closer to God and to His salvation.

May the Lord help us in these endeavours, and let us pray that through our missionary efforts, united with all those missionaries who have committed their entire lives, we may bring everyone together closer to God, that we may be saved through Him and in Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 21 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words from the Sacred Scriptures, telling us all about what we should be doing as the people of God, as Christians who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God Who has revealed Himself and His love for each and every one of us. And we are called to be faithful just as our predecessors have been faithful, in this manner, as we heard about the examples of Abraham, our father in faith.

We must have faith in God, and place our complete trust in Him. As Abraham, our father in faith, had been faithful to the Lord, so must we, as his children in faith, be faithful to God. And perhaps, it is good for us to explore what happened at the time of Abraham, when he answered God’s call and followed Him. Abraham was a very rich man who hailed from the region now located in the present day Iraq, at the site where very ancient civilisation existed, the ancient city of Ur.

At that time, Abraham was truly blessed with everything a man would ever need, from wealth to worldly possessions, having many cattle and servants, truly a rich and respected man, who was married to his wife Sarai. He was indeed blessed in everything, except for one thing, that his marriage to Sarai was not blessed with the presence of a child, or a son, born from him.

Nonetheless, he still lacked nothing, and had nothing to worry about in life. Yet, when the Lord God called Abraham, he willingly listened to the Lord and followed Him, leaving behind many of his worldly assurances and comforts, and travelled from his ancestral land of Ur to the land of Canaan, which God promised that it would be his own, and that He would grant him a son as well.

Abraham took that very important step of faith, entrusting everything to God. He was willing to let go of all the privileges and comfort he had in life, and travelling into the unknown, trusting that God had a plan for him, and that He would take care of him. Abraham trusted the Lord, and set off on the journey to Canaan, and from time to time again, he showed his faith in God.

When the Lord tested Abraham, by asking him to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, the promised son whom God had granted to Abraham, even though he certainly had some queries and uncertainties in his heart and mind, but he did not let those to dissuade him from being faithful and obedient to God, his Lord and Master. He listened to the Lord, obeyed Him, even to the point of being willing to give his only beloved son to God. God saw Abraham’s faith and blessed him.

As we can see in this example, Abraham was faithful to God, not just in words but also in deeds. He devoted himself to God in his works and in all the actions we can read in the Book of Genesis, Abraham showed us all how to be truly faithful to God in all things we say and do. He had shown us the example to be followed, and we should do well to follow in his footsteps.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be truly faithful as Abraham had been faithful. It is often that we are unable to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to God because of the many temptations we encounter in our lives. We often find ourselves unable to let go of all the good things we have in this life, be it money, possessions, worldly fame, personal glory and other things that distract us from the Lord.

And the tendency is for us to desire ever more and more of these things. Even after we have received all the wealth, power, prestige and others, we cannot be satisfied and want more. As a result, these things become obstacles in our path to devote ourselves to the Lord. Are we able to let go of these and put our complete trust in the Lord as Abraham, our father in faith had done?

Let us all spend some time to reflect on our lives and how we have lived them thus far. Let us be thoroughly committed in all things, and focus our attention from now on to serve the Lord and to glorify Him, no longer distracted by our worldly desires and the temptations of this world, but be truly faithful and have a living faith inside each and every one of us, as Abraham had been. May the Lord be with us always. Amen.

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Friday, 20 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day each and every one of us are reminded that in our faith and in how we live our lives according to that faith must be true and genuine, and we must not do as what the hypocrites like to do. The Lord Jesus often compared many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law as hypocrites, as those who have not done as the Lord had commanded them to do.

What is a hypocrite exactly? A hypocrite is different from an unbeliever in that an unbeliever does not believe in God completely, and they often show it through outward signs, words or actions. On the other hand, a hypocrite is someone who is outwardly seems to believe in God and is a member of the faithful and yet in reality, they have no real faith in them.

The actions of a hypocrite in faith are done for the purpose of showing off their piety and devotion, just as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done, but they did these as mentioned, for their own personal glory and advancement, instead of for the greater glory of God as they should have done. God rewards the faithful for their deeds, as mentioned in the Scriptures today, but those who committed what is evil shall be judged accordingly.

Therefore, when we live our lives and go about our daily businesses, we must keep in mind that we have to practice our faith and do our works following what the Lord had taught us and indeed, commanded us all to do. We cannot just say that we have been saved without any need for further involvement or efforts just as some would say. The Church believes that each and every one of us are saved through faith, but not faith alone.

What does that mean? That means, according to the Epistle written by St. James the Apostle, faith without good works is as good as dead and meaningless. Faith without good works and good intentions for those works, is the same as the faith of a hypocrite. An empty faith without proper focus on the Lord is meaningless, and God knows everything inside our hearts, minds, indeed our entire being.

It does not matter how well we try to hide it, but the fact remains that God knows all that we ever think of, whatever we keep in the depths of our hearts and minds. And if we have not done what the Lord wants us to do, He will know it. He will also know if we have done His works, even though others might not have noticed them. And it is for these works that we will be judged, be it for the better or for the worse.

Those who have been righteous in their actions, and practiced their faith openly through those actions will be rewarded by God. Meanwhile, those who have not been truly faithful, are hypocrites, and do things for the sake of recognition and pursuit of worldly glory and human praise will be punished, condemned and be rejected by God. This is what each and every one of us need to know.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on therefore be true in our devotion and commitment to God, that in every words that come from our mouth, in every actions that we do towards our brethren, we will always show faith, and not faith that is to be praised or applauded, but instead for the greater glory of God. Pride, greed and human desires may tempt us, but we must resist those temptations if we are to be true disciples of the Lord.

Let us all cast aside our pride and desires, and in the depth of our hearts, let us enthrone God as the Lord and Focus of our entire lives. Let us renew our devotion to Him, and be wholeheartedly committed to love Him and to serve Him, all the days of our lives. May the Lord be with us, and may He continue to guide us in our journey of life. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the Sacred Scriptures all of us are reminded of the love which God has shown us mankind, by wanting to forgive us from our sins and trespasses. All have sinned and fell from the grace of God, and should have merited them all destruction and damnation, according to St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome.

Yet, the Lord still loves each and every one of us, for if He has not loved us, He would not have created us in the first place. He created us so that all of us, each and every one of us may experience His love and compassion, and share in that love. God Who is all perfect and filled with perfect love has no need for us or for our love, and yet because He wants to share that love with us, that is why He created us.

And because He has created us out of love, despite of our downfall and sinfulness, He still wants us to be freed from our bondage to sin, because He hates and despises our sins, but not us as human beings personally. As long as we are still capable of being forgiven, God will forgive us many times. But this also require from each one of us the commitment to repent from our sins and leave behind our sinful past way of life.

Yet, this is definitely easier said than done, as there are many who are adamant and stubborn in their refusal to leave behind their way of sin. The Lord Jesus used the example of the people of Israel who in the past refused to repent and to listen to the message and the words of the prophets sent to them by God. They hardened their hearts and became angry at the prophets, seizing them, torturing them and ended up killing many of them.

In the same manner, as Jesus compared it with, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were adamant in their refusal to believe in Jesus. They continued to walk in their path of sin, of pride and haughtiness, of human greed and desire. There were lots of temptations, of power, of worldly glory and the pleasures of the flesh that prevented many from being able to commit themselves to the cause of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is an important lesson for each and every one of us, reminding us that we must not be complacent in how we live our lives in faith. And we must be aware of just how much suffering that sin can cause us, because sin makes us to be separated from the fullness of God’s love and grace. And it is easy for us to lose our way and to be tempted as the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and their ancestors had been tempted.

To be a true Christian, many of us must truly live in accordance with our faith, and believe in God wholeheartedly, often through our very actions and deeds in life. We often make compromises with the world and its ways, so that we can live comfortably without worry, but by doing so, we allow ourselves to be swayed away from God’s righteousness and into the path of our downfall through sin.

Today, let us all reflect on the lives of the holy saints and martyrs whose feast we celebrate this very day, first of all the Holy Canadian Martyrs and then St. Paul of the Cross, a holy priest of God. The Holy Canadian Martyrs were brave and courageous missionaries, all of them were Jesuits, belonging to the Society of Jesus, who went to the uncharted and new lands of what is now known as Canada in the New World.

The Jesuit missionaries travelled through very difficult terrains and went from villages to villages, enduring difficulties through various weather conditions in the wilderness to proclaim the Good News of Christ to the people who were still pagans and unbelievers at that time. Some of the people were willing to listen to them, and gradually many of them gave themselves to be baptised and were converted.

Yet, there were many others who refused to believe in God, and they made life very difficult for the courageous Jesuit missionaries. Eventually, they arrested and tortured the missionaries, and made martyrs out of them, much in the same way as what we have heard happening to the prophets sent to the people of Israel in the old times. The sins of mankind and their stubbornness made them to refuse to listen to the truth.

But does this stop the Church and God’s servants from trying to bring those who were stubborn towards the truth and salvation in God? No, in fact, it only spurs them all the more, trying to save the souls of as many as possible, many of whom were misguided by their lack of understanding about our faith and about the Lord our God. That was what St. Paul of the Cross was doing in his life, working for the greater good of the people of God.

St. Paul of the Cross was remembered for his work in founding the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, or also known as the Passionists. Through his works and dedications, he called many people to be thoroughly converted to the Lord, to turn away from their mistaken and misguided way of life, and be penitent throughout their days of life. He was also committed to a life of charity and work among the people of God, and their works had inspired many more people to join in his efforts and be converted to God’s cause.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, all of us should follow the footsteps of our holy predecessors, and not those who refused to listen to God and repent from their sins. There will indeed be difficulties and challenges, as those who went before us would have known and understood. But we must persevere, and we must realise that it is not just us who need to have a change of heart and conversion, but even more so, those around us also need the same conversion.

It is through our works and participation that we will be able to help our brethren on their way towards the Lord, following the examples of the Holy Canadian Martyrs and St. Paul of the Cross. Let us all renew our commitment to God, and to serve Him through our actions all the days of our lives. May God be with us always and may He empower us to be true Christians always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 October 2017 : Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of one of the four writers of the Holy Gospels, or the Evangelists, namely St. Luke the Evangelist. The Gospel he wrote, the Gospel according to St. Luke, was known for its rich attention to details, showing in great detail especially the early life of Jesus, from the time when He was still in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother.

St. Luke was told to be a renowned physician and doctor who became a follower of Jesus. He then accompanied St. Paul in his travels across the Eastern Mediterranean region, and visited many places, during which he recorded many of his experiences. It was possible that the Acts of the Apostles itself was written and recorded by St. Luke on top of his involvement in the writing of the Gospel of St. Luke.

St. Luke was dedicated to serve the Lord through his eloquence with language and the literary works. That was how he helped to record the works and life of the Lord Jesus and His Apostles, that in the end, a comprehensive collection of the Word of God could be compiled, in the form of the Gospels, the Epistles of the Apostles, and also the Holy Bible as a whole with the accounts of the Old Testament.

Through the Scriptures and particularly the Holy Gospels, many people have been touched by the Word of God, and therefore, were converted to the Lord’s cause. The Gospels contain within them the Word of God Himself, for they contain the words directly spoken by the Lord, as well as accounting the life of the Divine Word made flesh, Our Lord Jesus.

The examples of St. Luke, his dedication and hard work, together with that of the other Holy Apostles and disciples of the Lord should become sources of inspiration for each and every one of us Christians, as in the Gospel passage today, we are reminded of our obligation as those who believe in God and as those who follow Him and obey His laws. In that Gospel passage, we heard how the Lord Jesus commissioned and sent His disciples ahead of Him to do His works.

He sent His seventy-two disciples ahead of Him in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord to those places He were to visit. The disciples were told to preach the Good News to the people living in those places, and if they were receptive to the message of God, they were to continue dwelling there and bless the people. But if the disciples were rejected and the people refused to listen to them, they were to leave that place.

This passage serves as a reminder to all of us Christians, that in our world today, there is still indeed a great need for us to do what the Lord Jesus had sent His disciples to do at that time. Why is that so? That is because just as there were many who had not yet heard about the Lord Jesus and His truth at that time, there are also still many people living in our time who are still ignorant or purposely shutting themselves from God’s truth.

And this should bring our attention to the other words that the Lord Jesus spoke, the well-known phrase of ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’ This is the reality of our world today, as Christians living in the world still filled with darkness and sin, and yet with tremendous potential for conversion and change. And each and every one of us Christians are these labourers of Christ, the workers of the field of the Lord, that is this world and the multitudes of mankind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are many ways in which we are able to serve the Lord, as St. Luke the Evangelist has shown us. St. Luke proclaims the Word of God through his writings and literary works, documenting the important moments of the history of our salvation, providing a safe anchor for all the faithful to adhere on, the Books of the Gospels through which many people had been saved because they listened and repented from their sins.

And others still went about, preaching the truth by words and by actions, as we see our holy predecessors, the holy saints and martyrs, who had devoted their lives to the Lord, caring for the people of God, and showing tender love for them, by calling them to the Lord’s salvation and forgiveness. We can do much to emulate their examples, and follow in their footsteps.

The reason why there are so few labourers for the plentiful harvests of the Lord, is because of our reluctance and refusal to obey the call of the Lord, either because of our fears and uncertainties, or because of our lack of faith in God and the distractions which prevented us from being able to commit ourselves completely to the Lord’s cause. This is what we must overcome, brothers and sisters in Christ, by actively engaging ourselves in our faith life, and committing ourselves to God.

Let us all devote ourselves, our time, effort and attention to serve the Lord with all of our hearts. Let us be faithful and dedicated servants of the Lord, that through our every actions, no matter how small they are, we may bring many more people and souls closer to the salvation in God. Let us be active in our faith, and live according to what the Lord had commanded us to do. May the Lord be with us all, and through the intercession of St. Luke the Evangelist, may He always inflame our hearts with the love for the Word of God. Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Lord Who rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law because of their behaviour, in how they were so engrossed with the purity of the exterior and maintaining their appearances that they ended up forgetting the purpose of their faith. They focused on the exterior applications of the faith, and all the details that they forgot what it is that they need to do in their lives as followers of God.

In order to give us all some perspective and background on what happened, we must understand how the social class and group of the Pharisees came about. At that time, as the kings of of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were long gone, and ever since the Jewish people returned from their exile in Babylon, the most influential members of the community were the priests and all those who were devoted in maintaining the laws and customs of the Jews.

They preserved the laws and customs as passed down to them through the many generations of the Israelites ever since the days of Moses, when God first gave the Law to His people. But, as time passed, the laws and customs have lost its true meaning and purpose, as they became things of formality and intertwined with the many worldly concerns and regulations.

And the Pharisees were those who believed that the people of God must live strictly according to those laws, as in the earlier times, many of the people had abandoned the Law and lived immorally, as we can read in the Book of the Maccabees, detailing what happened approximately one hundred and fifty years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus, when many Jews followed the Greek customs and those who obeyed the Lord were persecuted.

While the intention was initially good, but in its implementation, the Pharisees lost the focus of their actions, and they ended up, by the time of Jesus, doing their activities, their prayers and public exposition of their faith, not for the greater glory of God, and neither for the good of the people, but rather, for their own self-aggrandisement and glory, and to be praised by the people for their piety.

Therefore, that was why the Lord was angry at them and rebuked them, because while outwardly they might appear to be good and faithful, yet, in their interior, in their hearts and minds, God did not have a place, for they were filled with pride, with desire and greed for fame, for worldly glory, and all the other things that God told us, we should not have with us.

Let us all reflect on our own lives and actions, and think if we have been truly faithful thus far. Have our faith been greater than that of the Pharisees? Not in terms of the outward expressions, but rather in the greater picture, in the entirety of our faith. If we do not have God at the centre of our lives, and do everything for the sake of God and not for our own self-benefit, or for our own glory, then no matter how much it is that we do, it is useless and meaningless.

Ultimately, all of our words, deeds and actions should be made for the greater glory of God, for the purpose of serving Him and His people. And in this manner, we should learn from the faith and commitment of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the holy saint and martyr whose feast we celebrate today. St. Ignatius of Antioch was the second bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Peter the Apostle who founded the diocese at Antioch, and was one of the important early Church fathers.

St. Ignatius of Antioch was crucial in his role of developing the early Church structures both in Antioch, within his diocese, as well as beyond. He led the people of God through difficult times, when being Christians equate suffering and challenges from the Roman state. He was arrested by the Roman authorities and was sent to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, where he was placed into the Colosseum, facing great beasts.

Yet, through all these suffering and the martyrdom at the hands of the lions and beasts, St. Ignatius of Antioch remained strong in his faith, and rather than surrendering himself and abandoning his faith to God, he remained true to the faith he held, and inspired many others to do the same, despite the persecutions and tortures he faced. God is always first and foremost in his heart and mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all devote ourselves anew to the Lord, following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Antioch and the other holy saints. May the Lord help us and guide us in our path, by sending His Spirit to empower us and to give us the courage, to remind us that He is truly the Centre of our lives, and that we should do our best to commit ourselves, through our actions, every single days of our lives, to the Lord, our loving God. Amen.

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Monday, 16 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about being called by God and believing in Him, through what we have heard and witnessed. In the Gospel passage today, Jesus the Lord compared the people of Israel at the time of His coming with the people of the city of Nineveh, to whom the prophet Jonah had been sent.

In the past week, we have been listening to the story of the prophet Jonah and how he initially was reluctant to follow God’s orders telling him to declare to the people of Nineveh the message, but eventually he obeyed and went to Nineveh. He told the city and the people of Nineveh that the entire city would be destroyed because of the sins and wickedness committed by them.

The entire city believed in the message of the prophet Jonah, and repented from their sins, turning from their wickedness, sincerely showing forth their repentance. And God forgave them their sins. He spared their city and the entire people from destruction. When the prophet Jonah was angry at God’s seemingly sudden turnaround and change of mind, He explained that after all, He loved each and every one of them, regardless of their sins.

The key message here is that, if only that they are willing to repent from their sins, then God will forgive them. But if they refused to repent and believe in the Lord’s message, and continued to walk in the path of sin, then God will reject them because of those sins. It was due to sins unconfessed and unrepented that many had fallen into damnation and into the fires of hell.

And why did Jesus make the comparison with the people of Nineveh? That is because while the people of Nineveh believed and repented. On the other hand, the people of Israel at the time of Jesus and their ancestors refused to believe in God, either through the prophets sent to remind the Israelites, or through the Lord Jesus Himself. They hardened their hearts and closed their minds against God.

That is why God was angry at the people of Israel, for not following the examples what the people of Nineveh had done. The people of Israel always took pride in themselves being the chosen people of God, and as the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and yet, the people of Nineveh, often considered as a pagan and unbeliever, belonging to the Assyrians who were often reviled in the history of Israel as the destroyer of the northern kingdom, in fact believed in God and repented.

What the Lord wants each and every one of us to know is that, for all of us, God has given the equal chance for redemption and forgiveness, to be reconciled with Him and to be transformed from the creatures of darkness and sin that we were once, into the creatures of the light. But it is ultimately up to us to make the conscious choice between obeying and following God, or to abandon God and walk in the path of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us should heed the examples of our holy predecessors who have gone before us, devoting their lives for the sake of God and His people, loving God their Lord through all of their actions. St. Hedwig or St. Hedwig of Silesia was the wife and widow of the Duke of Silesia in what is now Poland, renowned for her great piety and love for her people, while St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a holy woman renowned for her devotion to God, particularly to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

St. Hedwig was renowned for her great piety and exemplary religious life, devoting her time to care for her people, and she spent much of her time for charitable purposes and in the proper upbringing of her children. In fact, one of her sons and daughters is now considered as a candidate for sainthood himself, as two years ago the case for the beatification of Henry II the Pious, son of St. Hedwig was opened. St. Hedwig devoted herself completely to God after she was widowed, and joined religious life, to live in a life filled with prayer and commitment to God.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque meanwhile was a nun and mystic who received many visions from the Lord, showing her particularly the aspect of His Most Sacred Heart. It was through her visions that the now popular devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was propagated and promoted among the faithful. She wrote extensively about her experiences and all that the Lord Jesus told her.

In her own way, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, as well as St. Hedwig had inspired countless numbers among the faithful and those who did not believe in the Lord alike, calling all of us to the salvation and reconciliation with God. Through these holy saints, God wants to call us and to give us a chance at redemption, and now the choice falls upon us. Are we willing to listen to God’s words speaking to us in the depths of our hearts?

May the Lord bless us with strength, courage and the ability to devote ourselves anew to our God, listening to Him and following Him in our lives. Let us turn our backs from sins and from all the wickedness that we have committed in this life. May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower us to be ever better disciples of His. Amen.