Weekday Homily

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Friday, 15 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is related to the Feast which we have just celebrated the day before, that is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. And while yesterday we rejoice in the glory of the Holy Cross and the triumphant victory which our Lord Jesus Christ had won because of His sacrifice on the Cross, today we remember that behind the Cross, precisely at the foot of the Cross, was Mary, the mother of our Lord.

For Mary was ever faithful and devoted to her Son, Whom she followed throughout His life and ministry in this world, ever loving Him and caring for Him at all times, even to the point of following Him to the Cross at Calvary. It must have been painful and unbearably excruciating for a mother to have to witness her Son being made to suffer, tortured and rejected by the people whom He had loved, and the pain which Mary had felt upon seeing the nails piercing the hands and the feet of her Son must have been tremendous.

This was what the prophet Simeon had foretold to Mary and Joseph, at the time when they brought the Baby Jesus to the Temple to be presented to the Lord. He foretold that a sword would pierce the heart of Mary, the mother of our Lord, but through that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed. It is the thought which Mary always had for her Son, ever placing Him at the forefront of her mind, and the care and love He had for her, which she now shows us from her wounded heart.

Therefore, today, all of us look upon Mary, the Mother of our Lord and God, whom her Son had entrusted to us as our Mother, and vice versa, that we have also been entrusted to her as her adopted children. And in her we see the sorrowful eyes which have gazed on the suffering of her Son, as He took up His cross, walking the long path from Jerusalem to Calvary, seeing her Son rejected and trampled upon, loathed and made to suffer, bearing the burdens of our sins, the entirety of mankind’s unimaginably huge burden of sin.

Therefore, that is why the sorrow of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows is clear, even unto this very day, because even though God had loved us and He even willingly laid down His life for our sake, sacrificing Himself on the cross for us, but we continue to sin and commit what is evil in the sight of God, refusing to obey God and His laws, and continuing to do what is against the Law of God.

Every single sin that we commit, every single one of our failure in doing what we could have done to obey God’s will, are every wounds that have been inflicted on our Lord Jesus Christ, the wounds and the whiplashes that tore at His Body, which made Him to suffer and to bleed. And all of these brought more sorrow to our loving mother, who loves each and every one of us just as she loves her Son.

Yet, we mankind continue to walk down our path towards destruction, by our ignorance of the Lord’s ways and teachings, by our refusal to repent and to turn away from all of our sinful ways. That is also why Mary made so many appearances in various times and places, including at Fatima, which centenary of her Apparition we celebrate this year.

Every time Mary, our mother made her appearance, she called upon her children to repent from their sins and to turn away from their wicked ways. She showed them the horrors of hell and what awaits those who are not faithful to God. That is because each and every one of us are precious to her, for she is our mother, and she loves us just as she loves and tenderly cares for her Son Jesus. She does not want even a single soul to end up in the damnation of hell.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on the great sorrows of Mary, our loving mother and the mother of our Lord, who have witnessed just how great the love God had for us, that for our sake, He was willing to die for us, that each and every one of us may have life in us, let us all therefore spend some time to think about what we have done in our lives thus far, and what we have not done in accordance with God’s ways and teachings.

Let us from now on turn ourselves wholeheartedly and completely towards the Lord, our God, and through the guidance shown upon us by His mother Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, may all of us be able to find our way to the salvation and eternal life found in Him alone. Let the sorrowful heart of our loving mother Mary remind us of the need for us to reject all forms of sin, and live with faith, zeal and devotion from now on.

May all of us draw our attention to the Blessed Mother Mary, and through her may all of us find our most direct path to her Son. May the Lord continue to bless us and be with us all the days of our life. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 September 2017 : Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this great occasion today, all of us celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a feast that originated with the discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem by St. Helena. The cross is a symbol that is both essential and inseparable from our Christian identity, for the Cross and more importantly, Jesus Who was crucified on the Cross, is the centre of our faith.

For we believe wholeheartedly that the Cross is the means by which our Lord Jesus had brought forth for us our salvation from sin and death. It was once the symbol of the ultimate humiliation, a practice done by the Romans, who crucified those who were considered the great enemies and threats to the Roman state. It was reserved to the worst of the criminals and it was meant as a symbol of ultimate infamy and defeat. And yet, because of our Lord Jesus Christ and His death on the cross, that Cross, the Holy Cross of Christ has become the symbol of ultimate glory and triumph.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are called to look upon the Holy Cross, just as in the days of the ages past, in our first reading, we witnessed how the people of Israel were afflicted with the plague of the fiery serpents because of their disobedience and insolence actions against God. Their refusal to obey God and their wickedness caused the anger of God to be stirred against them, and the fiery serpents struck them and many died.

The fiery serpents were reminders for the people that because of their sins, they have been made mortals and they have been struck and would be struck by death, which is the ultimate consequence for their sins. They would suffer because of their sins, and if anyone then contemplated on their situation, it might seem that their fate was sealed, and everything was hopeless and meaningless. Yet, that was not what the Lord intended for those whom He held dear in His heart.

He told Moses to fashion a great bronze serpent, that when the bronze serpent was lifted up high above, the people throughout the camp of the Israelites could see the bronze serpent, and those who have been bitten and yet saw the bronze serpent, was spared from death. This is the grace and the proof of God’s love for His people, even though they had been disobedient and having refused to listen to Him, or appreciate His love and kindness.

Jesus Himself compared this to His sacrifice on the cross, prophesying about it to Nicodemus, that just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent high, the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, would be raised up as well, on the Cross, as what indeed happened on that day at Calvary, the hills where Jesus was crucified and condemned to die a criminal’s worst death. He died among thieves and sinners, and was accused falsely of wrongdoings that were not of His doing.

But Jesus accepted His death willingly, and willingly He suffered for our sake, as we believe that Jesus took upon Himself, the entirety of the burden of our sins, all of our wickedness, our shortcomings and disabilities, all of our disobediences and lack of faith. He has willingly took up all these upon Himself, because of His great and everlasting love for each and every one of us. We might have denied Him and not been faithful to Him, but He could not possibly deny His love for us, just because of how great is His love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross that we celebrate today precisely celebrate the loving sacrifice of our Lord, by which He has saved us from our fate of death. And through that He has also utterly changed what was once the symbol of ultimate humiliation, shame and defeat, into the instrument of salvation, and the symbol of ultimate triumph, glory and hope.

That is why the cross of Christ is the centre of our faith, because we believe in the Crucified Christ, and that is why the Crucifix is such an important element of our faith. There are those detractors who sneered at us and complained that we have not done it right with the Crucifix, because Christ had risen from the dead, and that it is inappropriate to show the Lord crucified on the Cross. And yet, that is the reality that all of us must know, that the Cross without Christ is nothing.

The cross without Christ is just a mere cross, without meaning and without significance. An empty wooden cross may be an evidence that Christ is no longer dead, but has risen in glory. Yet, the presence of the Body of the Lord on the Cross, is a stark and constant reminder to us that Christ has been crucified for us, and that He has willingly taken up the flesh of our kind, that He might suffer in our place, and to die in our place, so that we may live.

There can be no Resurrection without the Suffering, Passion and Death of our Lord at Calvary. Thus, the Holy Cross and Christ Who hung on it is inseparably and intimately linked to the whole mystery of the Resurrection, and thus to the central tenet of our faith. And we follow the way of this same Lord and God, Who had been born into our world, and sharing our pains and sorrows, dying for our sake on the Cross, and Who has risen in glory, to show us the way that each and every one of us as Christians ought to follow.

The Lord Jesus told His disciples and the people, that if they want to follow Him, then they must be ready to pick up their crosses and follow Him. And by this, He was not referring to the physical crosses made of wood, or the crosses and crucifixes that we often wear on ourselves. Rather, what He meant was that, all of us must be ready to suffer as He had suffered, if we want to remain faithful to Him. There will surely be challenges and obstacles that we are going to face in our journey.

The question is, are we able to bear those crosses faithfully? Are we able to stay strong despite the pressure for us to give up the fight and the temptations calling us to turn away from God’s path, just because it is too difficult and challenging for us? How many of us face the temptations and choices in life, where we must choose between obeying God or satisfying our own needs and seeking our own comfort?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all not be ashamed to carry the cross of Christ, but carry the cross with zeal and commitment, knowing that in the Holy Cross of Christ lies our salvation, and indeed our only hope to be freed and liberated from the tyranny of sin and death. Let us all remember that no matter how hard the challenges and difficulties in life we face, that Christ had suffered for each and every one of us, and bear upon Himself the consequences for all the multitudes of our sins, as painful and unimaginably horrible they may be, so that we may live.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to the Lord, He Who has been crucified for us, Who gave up His life and suffered for our sake, that we may have life in us. May the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, and as we walk in His way, bearing proudly the crosses of our faith, may we remain resolute and strong in our commitment to Him. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded through the readings from the Scriptures, both from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in Colossae and the Gospel passage, of what we all need to do as Christians, as those who belong to the Lord and are faithful to Him. We cannot be true Christians unless we obey the Lord with genuine and sincere faith.

In the first reading today, St. Paul reminded the faithful of the need to set our minds on the matters of the Lord, and beyond our usual earthly concerns and commitments. We should be righteous in all of our ways, and resist the temptations of the flesh, and all the pressures that are pressing on us to abandon our faith in God. We have to learn to resist those temptations and put our effort to do what the Lord had asked us to do, even though it may not bring us popularity, renown or greatness in the sight of the world.

It is easier for us if we just succumb to those temptations and give up the struggle, and yet, if that is the path we have chosen, we may end up falling into damnation and eternal suffering which awaits all those who do not walk righteously before God, and those who committed wickedness in their actions. Ultimately, we have to realise that what is acceptable according to the world may not be acceptable to the Lord, and vice versa.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect on our own lives, through introspection of our actions and deeds in life. Have we been truly faithful to the Lord in all that we say, in what we do, and in how we interact with one another? Have we endured suffering and difficulties as we proceed on with our lives? Do we realise that all of that are the tribulation and trials that may await us all, who believe in God and remain faithful to Him?

The way of the world is the way of sin, the way of darkness, and the way of rejection of God’s love, filled with selfishness, greed, inappropriate lust and desire for the pleasures of the flesh. And all these things are incompatible with the way of life that Christians should adopt. And yet, it is something that we are often bombarded with, and inundated with in our society today.

Are we able to persevere through the temptations and challenges? Are we able to remain true to our faith even though those whom we know and care for denounce us because of our faith? That was what happened to the many saints and martyrs who remained true to their faith and refused to give up their faith even though there were those who pressured them to give up and apostasise.

In this perhaps we should also follow the good examples of St. John Chrysostom, the brave and courageous saint, who remained true to his faith even amidst challenging moments and times. St. John Chrysostom was the Archbishop of Constantinople who was renowned for his commitment and devotion to the faith, preaching against heresies and even against those who abused their authorities.

It was renowned that St. John Chrysostom even went up against the Empress of the Empire, who was criticised openly by St. John Chrysostom for her excesses, for her extravagance and lavish lifestyle, including many of the wealthy nobles and courtesans. He was exiled twice for the opposition and righteous works he had done, and for what he had faithfully committed for the faith and the Church, and yet, he did not give up to the very end.

From St. John Chrysostom all of us should learn the courage and the faith with which he conducted his actions, for the good of his flock and all those whom God had entrusted to his care. Each and every one of us should follow in his footsteps and learn from his deep faith and devotion to the Lord. May the Lord bless us all, and may He empower each and every one of us to become ever more faithful to Him. St. John Chrysostom, holy saint of God, pray for us. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Most Holy Name of Mary)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, in which we honour the Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, Mary the ever-blessed Virgin, through whom the Saviour of this world has been born to us. And today we celebrate the aspect of her name, which is second only to her own Son, in majesty and power, for even the devil will tremble at the holy name of Mary.

Why is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because, just as the devil and his forces fear the Lord greatly, and at the Name of Jesus, as St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Philippi mentioned, all knees shall bend and bow down before the Lord, and not even the devil can resist that, for after all, for all of his fearsome appearances and attempts to scare us, he is still a mere creature of God, and God has decreed his final defeat.

And the devil also rightly fears Mary, and at the mere uttering of her name, because he knows perfectly that through Mary, his final defeat had come. Through Mary, all of his devices and plans to ruin mankind and to drag many souls into hell have been thwarted, for through her, the world and all mankind have seen their salvation in Jesus Christ, Who came through Mary, born through her.

It was also not just that fact that Mary is the Mother of God that terrorised the devil and his demonic forces, as it was also her faith and dedication to the Lord, as shown in her devotion to her Son Jesus, throughout His whole life and ministry that the devil had seen the failure of all his well-developed plans. Just as the devil was unable to tempt Jesus as shown in his failure to tempt Him three times in the desert, he was also unable to bring down Mary in the same manner.

That is all the more reason for Satan to be terrified at the mere utterance of the holy name of Mary, as is the case for the Name of Jesus our Lord. And he knows just how active and involved Mary is in the salvation of all mankind, for she continues to remind us all, whom Jesus her Son had entrusted to her own care, to be her own adopted children, represented by the entrusting of the Apostle St. John to her as He laid dying on the cross.

Mary had appeared numerous times to the people of God, in various occasions and at various times, especially at times of war, of wickedness and great sins. She appeared to various people, calling them to repentance and to turn away from their sinfulness. She did this so that, through what she had told them, for example in Fatima, which centenary of her apparition there we celebrate this year, she told the three Fatima children of the horrors of hell, and how mankind would end up there should they continue to walk the same path as they had done.

Through her intercession and works among her children, Mary has brought forth many souls who were lost to God and under the clutches of Satan, and freed them so that they might return to the loving embrace of her Son. If only we can have faith in the Lord Jesus through His mother, and love Him wholeheartedly through our love for His mother, surely many of us would not have been lost, and would have been saved.

Therefore, let us all from now on entrust ourselves to the loving care of Mary, our mother, and when challenges and difficulties come our way, let us not be hesitant to ask her for help, that she may intercede for us, and pray for our sake, asking her Son to help us and to provide for us. And when Satan and his temptations, all of his forces come to assail us, let us not worry, but with the fullness of faith, call upon Mary and utter her holy name before all.

For she will come down hard upon Satan, and by the will of her Son, Satan will not have his way, for his final defeat has been affirmed, and he will have absolutely no power or control over any one of us. Let us all therefore, dedicate ourselves ever more to the Lord Jesus, through our devotion to His mother, and loving her all the more, just as she has loved us all and prayed for us all the time. O Blessed Mother Mary, pray for us sinners. Amen.

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Monday, 11 September 2017 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us heard how we should put our trust in the Lord and not to harden our hearts or to close our minds to Him. We should entrust ourselves to the care of God, Who will take care of us and bless us with whatever we need. We witnessed how the Lord healed the sick man, showing His love for the man, and His mercy for the suffering He had.

But there were still those who opposed Him and refused to listen to Him, as shown in the actions of the Pharisees who laid traps to trap Jesus in His actions, hoping that by healing on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of wrongdoing and disobeying the Law, and therefore arrest Him and get rid of Him, Whom they came to see as a great rival in the sight of the people.

Yet in this, they did not do what the Lord had commanded them, and instead, they were doing what they thought was right for them. They were trying to safeguard and satisfy their own self interests, instead of obeying what God had told them to do. They were appointed as the leaders of the people and as the guardians of God’s laws and commandments, and yet, they have not done what was asked of them.

They did not work for the greater glory of God but rather for themselves. And through all of these therefore, all of us as Christians must heed what the Lord Jesus had said and done amongst His people, as He has shown us the example of what we ought to be doing as those who walk in His path and believe in Him. We cannot be hypocrites in our faith, who are outwardly pious and good, and yet God and His precepts have no place in our hearts.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect upon our own lives, our actions, words and deeds in this life. Have we been righteous and loving as Christ has been righteous and loving in all of His deeds? Have we acted in the manner that the Lord had taught us to be, following what the Church had taught us? Have we shown care, love and compassion to our brethren who are in need of love?

Many of us are not taking the necessary actions that are needed for us as Christians to be truly faithful and devoted to God. Many of us think that to be Christians is something that is easily done, and require little or even no effort from us. And if we think that being a Christian is an easy one, and we have not encountered difficulties thus far, perhaps then we have not stepped outside our comfort zone and do what has been expected from us.

Therefore, let us from now on strive to be ever more like our Lord Himself, stepping out from our comfort zone and challenging ourselves at all times to be ever faithful to the Lord through our words, actions and deeds. Let us all do what we can in order to commit ourselves to God and His ways, by extending our hands to help those who are in need, and caring for those who are hungry and homeless, those who are sorrowful and those who are sick.

Let us challenge ourselves to do ever more and do not be disheartened by what we will likely to encounter in our respective lives as we become ever more faithful to God. There will indeed be opposition and even ridicule and rejection for our works and actions, but that was exactly what had happened to the Lord Jesus as well. We must take heart and not be tempted to give up or to make compromises on our faith.

May the Lord help us in our journey, and may He empower each and every one of us to become ever better disciples of His. May the Lord bless us all in our endeavours, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 September 2017 : Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday all of us heard from the Scriptures about the importance for each one of us as Christians to be good listeners, and to pay close attention to what the Lord had taught us, that we will not fall into the temptations of the devil, and that we will be able to live harmoniously and in peace with one another.

This is important because each and every one of us make up the living Body of Christ, the Church. And in the ages past, and even until today, disagreements and lack of peace and harmony among the faithful has become a great source of sorrow for the Lord and for all of us. We have witnessed so many periods of disunity and divisions to the Church because of the falsehoods and the heresies that the devil had struck the Church with, tempting its members to deviate away from the Lord and His truth.

Divisions in the Church has happened many times, and it is often due to the disagreements coming from personal preferences and ego, the pride and ambition of the members of the Church who refused to let go of their ego that they might listen to the voice of reason and the truth as espoused in the teachings of the Church. Instead, we saw how many people broke away from the Church over their disagreements.

Many people refused to listen to reason, and they closed their hearts and minds to the words of truth, because they felt that their way and their thoughts, opinions and methods alone were correct and others were wrong. That was exactly how and why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law refused to believe in Jesus, as they were adamant in keeping their beliefs about the laws of Moses, and to them, Jesus and His teachings were unacceptable.

That was how many of the people embraced heresies and went into open rebellion against the teachings of the Lord in His Church, and even decided to make their own ‘churches’, as splinters being forcefully torn apart from the holy Body of Christ, His Church. Yet, from time to time again, the Lord and His Church prevailed, and all those who tried to impose their falsehoods on the faithful faltered, because God was not with them.

How should we handle these matters then, brothers and sisters in Christ? First of all, if we refer back to what we have heard in the Gospel passage today, we will see that violence or anger is not the way for us to adopt, as none of these will end up in good results. As I have just mentioned, one of the main reasons why the divisions and disagreements have occurred was because of the stubbornness and the ego of the parties involved, that they refused to listen to the reason and the truth.

If we ourselves also end up being filled with anger, violence and hatred against others simply because they disagree with us or because they believe in falsehoods of the devil and in the heresies mentioned, then it may be difficult for us to reconcile our differences and for us to show them the way to the truth of God. Instead, as what the Gospel has shown us, we should seek to communicate and have dialogue with the ones involved, through prayer and seeking guidance from the Lord.

Why is that so? That is because it is easy for us to lose ourselves to our emotions, anger and hatred if we do not let God to take charge of our actions. We should open our hearts first and listen to the Lord, asking Him what is His will for us, and how we should proceed forward, especially when dealing with those who disagree with us, or with those who espouse the false teachings and ways of heresy. That is why I emphasised earlier on the importance of listening, and not just listening, but attentive listening in all of us.

Many of us are too ready and willing to shout out our ideas and proposals, our suggestions and demands, and yet we are not ready to allow our ears and our minds to listen to what others have to say. And if we are not even able to listen to what others are saying, how can we then convince them to listen to us? How can we convince them to believe in our true faith if we do not lend them a listening ear and mind first?

I am not saying that we should compromise on our faith or allow those who have fallen into heresy to continue in their sinful ways, as that is in itself a great sin, for then we will not just end up condemning them to the fires of hell, but also ourselves for having failed to help them and by compromising our faith. Rather, what we all need to do is to show an open-minded and welcoming attitude, and through that, to bring everyone to the invitation to prayer and discernment.

That is also how we ought to resolve the disagreements that will surely come up from time to time amongst the different members in the Church, between the priests and priests, between the priests and the laity, and amongst the laity themselves. As Jesus Himself said that, when two or more are gathered together in His Name, He Himself will come among them and be with them. How can we go wrong if God is with us, and His Spirit gave us His wisdom?

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time today to think through carefully about how we have lived our lives thus far, and how we have acted in our dealings with one another. Have we thus far acted with pride and ego in our actions, and have we refused to listen to the words of others but instead being stubborn and unreasonable?

Can we heed what the Lord had told us all through the Scriptures? Shall we all restrain our ego, our pride, and the desire to be the first and the greatest in everything? Let us all also learn from the examples of our Lord Jesus Himself, Who even though He was the Almighty God and King of all kings, but He willingly lowered Himself and came upon us, that He might serve us His people and show His everlasting love.

Shall we all overcome our innate reluctance and unwillingness to be attentive listeners and open our minds and hearts to others? Shall we then do our best to bring together all the scattered children of God, all those who have been separated from God’s loving Church, by welcoming them back with love and compassion, and by gathering them to the Lord in prayer, by showing them through our own examples, that in prayer, they may come to realise the errors of their ways and come back to the Lord in repentance?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all do our very best from now on, that we may be able to listen to God as well to listen to our brethren, let us all throw far, far away all forms of ego and pride, all the things that have become obstacles on our path, all that have caused divisions and disagreements among the faithful people of God. Let us all reject all that Satan was trying to do in order to detract us and to snatch us away from God’s salvation.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He give us the strength and the courage to do His will, to surrender ourselves to what He wants us to be, and to be faithful disciples, who are concerned about our brethren, especially those who have fallen away from the path towards God’s salvation. Let us all be good and attentive listeners while at the same time being good evangelisers, through our gentle and loving actions showing the truth about God.

May the Lord bless us all and every endeavour we make, that eventually all the faithful people of God may be united together once again in His Church, without any more divisions or disagreements. May He continue to guide His Church and empower all of its members to always walk faithfully in His ways. Amen.

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Saturday, 9 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Claver, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard in the readings today from particularly the Gospel, that we cannot be like the Pharisees, who refused to believe in Jesus simply because according to them, Jesus had disobeyed the laws of God as revealed through Moses because He often performed His healing miracles on the Sabbath day.

In fact, sometimes the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law purposely placed sick and possessed men or women, at the places where Jesus were teaching the people during the Sabbath day so that they hoped they could trap Jesus in His own actions and they then could accuse Him of disobeying the Sabbath law, thus allowing them to charge Him.

However, Jesus countered their argument, by citing the historical example of king David, the well-known and highly respected king of the nation of Israel. At the time of his great need, hungry and chased by his enemies, David and his men took the bread of offering normally reserved only for the priests, also on the Sabbath day, which was normally forbidden. But in that case, they were under difficult situation and help was greatly needed.

Through all these, we see how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law failed to understand the true meaning and intention of God’s laws and commandments. They thought that everyone ought to obey the Law as God is a fearsome God Who imposed His laws and commandments on His people, and therefore, all the laws including the law of the Sabbath was treated as inviolable and they persecuted those who did not obey.

But God did not give us all His laws so that He could burden us or pressure us to do all that He has commanded us to do, that we ended up fearing Him and trembling before Him. No, His main intention is love, and He wants each and every one of us to be able to love Him wholeheartedly just as He Himself has loved us first. The Law of God is the Law of love, designed to keep us faithful in His ways, and to help us to learn about God and to devote ourselves ever more closely to Him.

Thus, in the same manner, the law of the Sabbath was instituted, because by setting aside one day when the people might stop their daily business and work, and when they may cease their constant worries and attention on the worldly matters, they might be able to spend that time with God, and strengthen their relationship with Him through prayer and devotion. But, this has been forgotten by the people, and the Pharisees enforced the Law of the Sabbath for the sake of doing it, and not with the purpose of allowing the people to love God more.

That was why Jesus pointed out the errors in their teachings and ways, since they even abhorred good deeds and works that were done on the day of the Sabbath. They did their sacrifices and prayers on one hand, but on the other hand, they discouraged the people from doing what the Lord wants each one of us to do, that is to be loving and to be gracious in how we love, towards both God and to our fellow men and women.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remember that the Lord Jesus Himself said that when we show our love, care and attention to the least among our brethren, we have done it for none other than the Lord Himself. Therefore, let us all Christians devote ourselves, our time and effort to show love and genuine care for others, especially those who are in need.

Perhaps we should also follow in the footsteps of St. Peter Claver, a devout and holy priest, whose dedication to the slaves in the New World, now the Americas became renowned and remembered by many, who looked up to his examples and commitment. He was a Jesuit priest who worked among the poor and the slaves in that area, converting them and teaching them about the faith.

And he did not hesitate to stand up for their sake when they were poorly and unfairly treated, and St. Peter Claver showed us therefore an example of how we as Christians should live, not through hypocrisy and arrogance like that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, but through genuine love and devotion, via our care for those around us who are in need of our help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on devote ourselves in the same manner as St. Peter Claver had done. Let us love one another and love the Lord, devoting ourselves more wholeheartedly from now on. May the Lord bless our loving works and continue to strengthen in us the desire to love Him and to serve Him through all that we say and do. Let us all also ask for St. Peter Claver to intercede for us. Amen.

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Friday, 8 September 2017 : Feast of the Nativity 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 day when our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was born from the womb of St. Anne, her mother, without any taints of sin just as she had been conceived without sin. This is a day when we rejoice because the Mother of our Lord and Saviour has been born to us.

Some may be wondering why is it that we as Catholics and Christians give so great an honour to Mary, and still yet some may even and has indeed already accused us of idolatry towards Mary and had the very wrong idea and preconceptions that we worship Mary as if she is a goddess. No, this is not the case, brothers and sisters, for there is indeed a very clear dividing line between our worship of God and the honour which we gave to Mary and the other holy saints.

Mary is honoured even more than other saints because of the very simple reason that she is the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, and One of the Holy Trinity of God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, and upon the obedience of Mary to the will of God, God Himself came in the flesh, and was conceived in the holy womb of Mary. And through the dogma and traditions of our faith since time immemorial, we have believed that because of this, Mary herself had been set aside by God.

Yes, we all know about how she was conceived without any taints of original sin, unlike that of any other human beings, who were tainted as the descendants of the first sinners, Adam and Eve. That is because Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, bearing within her the New Covenant of God made through Jesus Christ, her Son, Whom she bore within her womb for an entire nine months. But this at the same time did not elevate her to the status of a divine, unlike what some would like to charge upon us and our faith.

We honour Mary, firstly because we honour her Son and worship Him as our God and King. As it was in the olden days, the mother of a king was highly regarded and respected, honoured and given the same honour as what was accorded to the king, by the virtue of the mother having bore forth the king and took care of him in his early days until he came of age and was capable of taking over and exercising his own authority as a king.

If that was therefore how the kings of this world brought honour upon their mothers and parents, and if that is how we mankind honour the mothers of our rulers, then should we not have done the same with the Mother of our one and only True King, Jesus Christ? Should we not have done the same with the Mother of our God Himself? For His Kingship is greater than any of those of the worldly kings and rulers, and therefore, we honour Mary rightly and justly because of this.

And in Mary, we see a living and vibrant faith, based on total surrender and commitment to the will of God. She is the greatest among all the saints not just because she is the one closest to the throne of her Son in heaven, but also because of her very own exemplary life, filled with love for God, and with devotion to her Son, by following Him throughout His life, throughout His worldly ministries, and even unto the foot of the cross.

Therefore, on this day, on the celebration of the nativity or the birth of the Mother of our Lord and God, Mary, most Blessed Virgin and loving Mother, let us all reflect on the life which Mary had led, her commitment and total surrender to God’s will, and how she has shown us the way forward, that through her we may reach out to her Son, and find our salvation in Him. Let us all rejoice together, that the birth of Mary has brought the new hope of all of us, that as we gaze on her, we see through her, the coming of our salvation in her Son.

Mary, blessed Mother of God, pray for us sinners, and intercede for us before your beloved Son Jesus, our Lord. Be with us through our times of distress, and guide us on our way, so that we may be able to find our path, and walk along that way through your help, to Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the readings taken from the Sacred Scriptures, all of us are reminded that each and every one of us have been called by God to be holy, and to be those who had been entrusted to be the fishers of men, to gain for God a holy people, converted and turned from their sinfulness into righteousness.

All of us as Christians, as those who have been called by God, and who had been baptised in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, have been gathered and called by God to be His people, sealed with the Sacraments of Initiation, of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. However, out there, there are still many people who have not yet heard of the Lord and His salvation, and there are also still many people who are living in sin because they do not know the way to go on forward, trapped in the darkness of their sins.

And all of us are called to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, who had been called to gather the race of man, from all nations and states, from all languages and backgrounds, from all kinds of peoples, that all of them may be gathered in the holy presence of God, having been redeemed from the darkness and from their sins. This is what the Lord wants each one of us to do, because the works that He had begun through His Apostles had not yet been complete.

Why is that so? That is because the Church which the Apostles built has been founded upon the faith and the good works that they had done, in going forth to the various places and showing the truth of God to the people, calling many of them to repentance and to turn away from their sinfulness, embracing the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord, Saviour and God.

And all of us, led by the successors of the Apostles, our bishops and priests, are the ones who have been called to continue their good works. We cannot stand idle thinking that we do not have any obligations or needs to do as Christians, that is as those who follow the Lord and obey His will. We cannot be lukewarm or inactive Christians whose actions do not show that we truly belong to the Lord and that we are faithful to Him.

If we then wonder if we are capable of doing what the Lord had asked us to do, let us all remember that many of the Apostles and disciples of the Lord were merely fishermen, tax collectors, and sinners, many of them who came from the low strata in the society, and many were poor and uneducated. He did not choose the mighty, the powerful and the intellectuals to serve Him, but instead, He called on normal people, whom He then transformed wonderfully to be His disciples.

Are we still not sure on what we are to do then, brothers and sisters in Christ? Let us all remember that each and every one of us have been given unique abilities and talents by the Lord our God, and we should make use of these talents and abilities for the good of our brethren in need. We should be active as the members of the Church of God, as Christians, to bring the Word of God to others whom we are in contact with.

Do not worry about how we are going to do it. Instead, let us just place our trust in God, and let Him guide us in our efforts. Let us then do our best, to the best of our abilities, that in each of our actions, words and deeds we will always bring glory to God, and we will always be exemplary in all that we do, so that through us, many more people will be saved. May God be with us always and may He continue to bless us in our good works. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 September 2017 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the works of Jesus among His people, curing the sick, casting demons and evil spirits out from those who were possessed. We heard how the people sought for Jesus, hoping that He would touch them and heal then from their sicknesses. And Jesus, having pity on them, healed them and made them whole again.

But at the same time, when Jesus was begged to stay at that place where He had performed the miracles, Jesus said to His disciples that He must go on to other places, and not to stay in that place for too long, for there were also many other people who needed His help and providence, and He was sent into this world so that all the people might hear the word of God’s truth and be saved through Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what then is the significance of what we have heard in the Scripture passages today? First of all, the Lord is calling us to serve Him and to do His good works among the people, by caring in the same manner as how the Lord had cared for His people. The Lord has entrusted us all Christians to care for one another, and the authority has been given to us, through the Church, for those whom God had appointed, to cast out demons and to bring healing to the people afflicted.

Yet at the same time as we have heard in the Gospel, we see how it is easy for us to be tempted to remain in our comfort zone and to be slack in our faith. Why so? Just as Jesus was begged by the people to stay at where He had performed His healing miracles and exorcisms, all of us will also be tempted to remain within our comfort zone, within the boundaries of what we are familiar and comfortable with, that we end up refusing to do what we should have been able to do as Christians.

In this, therefore, all of us are challenged to do what we can do, and contribute in whatever way we can, to show love, care and concern for others, especially to all those who are less fortunate than us, those who are without love and affection, to those who have been rejected by others and by the community. All of us should be loving in all of our actions and deeds, and we should reach out to those who are needy, and share with them the blessings we have received from God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, have all of us been devoted to God in this manner? And have we done what the Lord had challenged us to do in our lives? Have we as Christians committed our time and effort in order to touch the lives of others around us? Or have we rather ignored the plea and the cries of the needy and the hungry, those who were suffering and in pain?

Let us all from now on dedicate ourselves anew, walking faithfully in God’s ways, and do whatever we can, beginning from ourselves and from all those whom we encounter in life. We may think that as a mere human being and as a mere person, we may not be able to do a lot or in a significant manner for all those who need our help. Yet, everything needs a beginning, or else it will never begin. If we do not start to take action now, when will it be then?

Let us all renew our effort and double down on what we can do, to care for those who need our help. Let our actions and works be the extensions of the good work of God. May the Lord also bless us all and help us on our path, that we may always be ready to do the work of God, and following the footsteps of our Lord, Who is ever ready to extend His merciful grace to those who are sick, physically and spiritually. May He be with us always and with our endeavours. Amen.