Weekday Homily

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Monday, 14 August 2023 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded of the need for us all to obey the Law and the commandments of God, which He has given and provided to us so that we may find our way to Him and gain the path to eternal life. All of us have been given the assurance of salvation in God, and we have to do what we can to follow Him and His path, while at the same time still obeying the rules and ways of the world as long as they do not contradict that of the Divine Law and commandments. All of us should be truly faithful to God in all things, and be truly obedient to Him, in what He has told and commanded us to do, and not just paying lip service to Him or just merely having an outwardly obedience to His Law and commandments, but lacking in faith within us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses, the leader of the Israelites, towards the end of their forty years long detour and sojourn in the desert, continued to remind the people of God to be faithful and true in their faith in God. It was part of his long discourse and reminders to the people of God to turn away from their usually stubborn and rebellious ways, and embrace at all times the path that the Lord has shown them. Back then, the Israelites had repeatedly disobeyed the Lord, His Law and commandments, and they had not been obedient to the reminders that He and His servant Moses had given them, and that forty years long journey was part of that punishment foe their lack of faith and commitment to the Law, and their rebellions against the most generous love of God.

Moses reminded the people of Israel of everything that God had done for them, for their ancestors before them, all that He had provided for their well-being. He reminded them of the Covenant which God has made and established with them and their descendants, and what they should do as part of that Covenant, which is to walk faithfully and righteously in all their lives, in their actions, words and deeds. That was what they were expected to do as part of their Covenant with God, that just as they have become God’s people and counted among His flock, His beloved ones, thus, all of them were expected to live their lives righteously and faithfully in accordance to what the Lord had taught them to do, through His Law and commandments. Just as the Lord has always proved to be ever true and committed to His Covenant, thus, the same was also expected of the people of God.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the encounter between the Lord and His disciples with the temple officials and tax collectors who asked the disciples whether they and their Master paid their temple taxes and dues, which the Lord then highlighted with a simple parable, showing that as God’s people, in fact none of them were supposed to have to pay those, as they have belonged to the Lord, and it is indeed to the Lord alone that they should give their full obedience and commitment. It means that they should be truly faithful to the Lord, in all of their actions and way of life, and give their best to the Lord in their obedience and actions, in how they interact with one another, in their adherence to the path and precepts that they have followed, instead of just merely obeying the Law externally, ironically, which was how many of those temple officials and the Pharisees had done.

Essentially, the Lord was making the point that while all of us should still follow and obey the customs and laws of the world, like that of paying taxes and obeying the rules and customs of the land, more effort should be done in how we follow the Lord and His Law and commandments wholeheartedly, more than how we put the effort and attention to obey the worldly laws and ways. Those Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and temple officials and tax collectors were often pious outwardly and were very particular in how the Law and the commandments of God were to be carried out and lived in the community, and they adopted a very particularly strict and rigid interpretation of those laws and commandments. However, in their preoccupation and overemphasis on their way of observing and practicing those laws and commandments, they ended up losing sight on what is important, and that is, to be truly devout and committed to the Lord.

They became proud of their actions and achievements, and ended up placing so much focus on themselves and their way of observing the Law of God, that the Lord ended up having no place in their hearts and minds. Their ego and pride, their ambitions and worldly attachments filled them up and prevented them from truly being faithful to God, and hence, we are reminded of the same things which Moses had reminded the people of God in our first reading today, that God loves every one of us equally and wonderfully, and He does not distinguish or discriminate against any one of us, unlike what those temple and religious officials liked to do against those they deemed to be sinners and unworthy of God, those who did not agree to their ways or those whom they deemed to be tainted and corrupted by sin, forgetting the fact that they themselves were also sinners in need of healing from God.

That is why, today all of us as Christians, we are all reminded that we need to grow in our true love and dedication to God. We should not allow our prejudices, biases and desires, our ego and pride to come between us and God. This is why we should seek and be inspired by the great examples set by our holy predecessors, the holy men and women who had lived their lives worthily and righteously in God’s path. Today, the Church celebrates the feast of the renowned St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose actions should be great inspiration for us all in how we ought to live our lives as faithful, loving and devoted Christians. St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest and missionary well-remembered for his works and dedication to God, in proclaiming Him to many people throughout his missions, in his time and efforts spent to reveal more of the Lord to those who have not yet known him.

As a Conventual Franciscan, St. Maximilian Kolbe spent some time in the Far East, in Japan and other places in Asia, in spreading the Good News of God, and was also active in promoting the devotion to the Blessed Mother of God, Mary in her Immaculate Heart and love for all of us. St. Maximilian Kolbe was also remembered for his publications and editorial works with the periodical Knights of the Immaculata, promoting devotions to the Lord and His Blessed Mother, calling on Christians to holiness. Eventually he returned to Poland where during the years of the Second World War, he was eventually arrested and brought to the infamous Auschwitz prison, where he and other priests and friars were incarcerated. It was there then another very well-known action that St. Maximilian Kolbe did, happened, as he offered himself in exchange of a Polish inmate who was to be executed because he failed to escape from the concentration camp.

At that time, the NAZI German regime oppressed many of the people and they indiscriminately tortured and executed many people in the many concentration camps they established, especially in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Many tried to escape, and while some succeeded, many including that Polish man failed and were bound to be executed. When that man, named Franciszek Gajowniczek cried out, ‘My wife! My children!’, St. Maximilian Kolbe offered his life in exchange of the man. Hence, St. Maximilian Kolbe was led to the execution cell, and was eventually executed after several days, dying as a martyr and a true Christian, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the Lord and doing what God Himself has done for us, that is to give his life for the sake of another, just as Christ Himself has suffered and died, and given His life for us and our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us are reminded that we should all also be like St. Maximilian Kolbe and other saints, holy men and women of God, who have truly loved the Lord and loved their fellow brothers and sisters, even to the point of facing hardships, trials and even martyrdom in doing so. Let us all be truly faithful once again to the Lord, and let us all be inspiration and great examples to one another in faith just as St. Maximilian Kolbe and other saints have been our inspiration. May God be with us always and may He bless and empower us in each and every moments of our lives, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 August 2023 : Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are reminded of our faith in God and of everything which the Lord had done for our sake, as we listened to the passages of the Scriptures which detailed to us just how faithful and committed the Lord to the Covenant which He has established and ever renewed with us. God has always watched over us and loved us since the very beginning when He created us, and He never abandoned us in our time of distress, and even when we have often rebelled against Him and betrayed Him for other idols and pagan gods. He has sent us His servants and messengers, all those whom He has given us to lead and guide us down the right path, away from the wickedness of the world. All these He had done for us so that we may not be permanently lost to Him, but that we may be reunited with Him once again.

In our first reading today, taken from the First Book of Kings, we heard of the moment when the prophet Elijah reached Mount Horeb, the Mountain of God after a long journey of forty days and forty nights from the land of Israel. At that time, Elijah was fleeing from the pursuits of those who sought his destruction and death, namely those who sided with Jezebel, the wicked queen of Israel who together with her husband, Ahab, the king of Israel, had brought the people into sin against the Lord, through their promotion of pagan worship and the establishment of idols and their many altars throughout the land. Elijah had a showdown before the people of Israel against the priests of Baal that were promoted by Ahab and Jezebel, in which the Lord decisively showed His might and power against the false god Baal, by showing that He is indeed the one and only true God.

And because of the slaughter of the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal by the people following that contest at Mount Carmel, Jezebel vowed to destroy Elijah, which led him to flee away from the land of Israel in self-imposed exile, and God called upon him to walk all the way to Mount Horeb after having provided him with sustenance to strengthen and encourage him. God called Elijah to go up the Mountain to meet Him so that He might reveal to him whatever He has planned for the people of Israel and others. As we heard then, the Lord appeared to him in a gentle breeze, and not in great earthquake and fire that preceded before His coming and appearance. This is a reminder to all of us that God is not all fearsome or wrathful, and despite all of our delinquent, stubborn and rebellious attitudes, He is still willing to embrace us and He calls upon us to return once again to Him.

God wanted us all to know of His enduring love and kindness for us, His generous compassion and mercy, in His constant efforts to reach out to us, and to lead us all to Himself through the path of righteousness and justice. God does not want us to lose our way, and wants us all to keep our faith in Him at all times. He sent us His Son, so that through Him all of us may see His love and kindness, His mercy and compassion personified and made concrete, tangible and approachable, and we heard all that in our Gospel passage today, as we listened to the story of the famous miracle of Jesus appearing before His disciples and walking on the water towards them. That story reminds us all that God is always in control over us and our lives, and we must always have faith in Him, and not in any other false idols and distractions, or other means and worldly things that we often think of depending on, instead of trusting in the Lord our God.

As we heard in that Gospel passage, the disciples of the Lord were sent ahead of Him while He prayed, and they encountered a great storm and large waves in the water, and they must have indeed been very terrified at what they experienced. The Lord then appeared before them and encouraged all of them, saying to them that they should not be afraid, because He was there with them. And when they were still fearful and doubtful, St. Peter asked the Lord if it was really Him, and asked that if it was really He Who spoke to them, that he could be allowed to walk on the water towards Him just as the Lord Himself had done. And sure enough we heard how St. Peter began to miraculously walk on the water until when his faith and trust in the Lord wavered again, and he began to sink into the water. While the Lord did chide him for his lack of faith and trust in Him, He rescued and helped St. Peter, and then also calmed the storm and the waves for the rest of His disciples.

Through this story and all that it represented, we are reminded of God’s Presence in our midst and how He is always with His Church, no matter what happens. The boat with the disciples in them represented the Church of God, the assembly of all those who believe in God, as they traverse through the darkness, sufferings and hardships, as well as the opportunities and other things present in the world. The Lord guided all of His disciples and followers to Him, as the true Head of the Church, which is as His Body, is inseparably connected to Him. The disciples represent the leaders of the Church, which St. Peter as the first Pope was significant because he represented the link between us and the Lord, as His Vicar on this world. He and his successors, the Popes are these Vicars entrusted with the leadership and guardianship over the whole people of God.

As we can see, St. Peter and the other disciples were not perfect, as they were all humans just like us, and were sinners who turned away from their sinful ways, embraced the Lord’s call and mission, and became great disciples and missionaries through whom God performed many great works, and reached out to many of our brothers and sisters, many of whom were saved and put on the right path thanks to the constant dedication shown by those holy men and women who had chosen to answer God’s call and to walk in His path. Like Elijah and the prophets in the past who had given their lives to the service of God, all of God’s disciples, the Apostles, the innumerable saints and martyrs all have given their best to the Lord, in living lives that were truly worthy of the Lord, and in being great role models and inspirations for one another, so that many more may come to believe in God through them, and hopefully therefore, through each one of us as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, all of us are called to put our trust and faith once again in the Lord, and to believe in Him wholeheartedly, remembering that each one of us are truly beloved and precious to God. All of us are God’s chosen and holy people just as He has chosen and called the Israelites in the past, cared for them and blessed them. And thus, we are all precious and important to God, and each one of us should keep this in mind as we continue to follow Him in all that He has shown us and led us through. Like what St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans in our second reading today, all of us should be grateful and thankful that God has extended His love and grace towards each and every one of us, the same love and grace that He has extended and shown to the Israelites in the past. All of us are God’s people and hence we really should strive to be holy just as our Lord and God is holy.

Let us all therefore grow ever stronger in our faith and conviction to follow God in all things, and to do our best in our every day living so that in our every actions, words and deeds, in our every interactions and good endeavours, in our every commitments and attitudes, we will always show great examples of our faith and dedication to God. May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator continue to bless each and every one of us with His great kindness, grace and blessings, and may all of us draw ever closer to Him, and be ever more courageous and committed to live our lives worthily as His true disciples and in all of our actions, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded to continue to be faithful in God and to trust in Him at all times. We should do whatever we can to walk faithfully in His Presence, doing His will and obeying His commandments. Each one of us as God’s people, all of us have been called to holiness and entrusted with the Law and commandments that He has given us because we have received His truth and Good News, and the teachings and explanations of those same truths through the Church, which had preserved the Good News from the Lord and His Apostles, and also through the Wisdom and the knowledge granted to us through the Holy Spirit that has been sent unto us, dwelling in us, as God Himself has come down to dwell with us and within us. How can we then, as His beloved and holy people, act in ways that are contrary to His path? Unfortunately, many of us are still lacking in strong and truly genuine faith, and have acted waywardly and away from the Lord’s true path.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we continue to hear the reminders said by Moses to the whole assembly of the people of Israel, after the discourse that he went through with them in our first reading yesterday, telling them of the greatness of God and all the love which He has imparted upon them, all the wonderful things that He has done for their sake, in guiding and leading them through their darkest and most difficult moments. He had performed many signs and wonders, crushing all the enemies and opponents of His people, protecting them all from hardships and challenges, persecutions and oppressions, providing them with food and sustenance, drink and help throughout the entire journey in the desert, providing and loving them even as He chastised and punished them for their disobedience, rebellions and stubborn attitude, in refusing to obey Him and in disobeying His Law and in their betrayals against Him.

Today, we then heard from Moses reminding the people that the Lord, YHVH, alone is their God, and they should only worship and follow Him alone, and remember the Law and commandments that He had given all of them. He reminded the people of everything that God had promised to their ancestors, the Covenant that He has established with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and which He had remembered and was fulfilling at that very moment, through His guidance and deliverance of all of the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt, leading them each day by hand, to the land that He has promised to the same Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to their descendants. Moses reminded all of them that even in the good times that they would be having in the future, when they were well-fed and taken care of, in the blessed new lands they would live in, they must never forget about God and continue to follow Him faithfully as they should always do.

Each and every one of them should have strong and enduring faith in Him, as faith is something that anchors us to God and to His truth, His path and His love. As we all heard from our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus chastised some of His disciples for not having enough faith in Him, and therefore failed to cast out evil spirits and demons that had possessed a young boy. The disciples had been entrusted and given the power and authority to heal, perform miracles and other great works, including casting out demons and evil spirits, and yet, it was likely that at that moment, they had grown proud and forgot about whose power and authority by which they had performed all those miracles, and perhaps, they thought that it came from their own power and strength, or that when the evil spirits proved to be resilient and strong, they faltered and gave in to fear, and that was likely why they could not cast those out from the young boy.

Therefore, that was why the Lord chastised and reminded the disciples that they must first have strong faith and trust in Him, so that they may indeed do what God has commanded and entrusted for them to do. The same therefore applies to each and every one of us, the members of His Church as well. All of us as Christians have been called to remember our Lord and all that He had done for us, the Covenant and the enduring love that He has always ever shown unto us, from the very beginning, and how He even sent us His deliverance through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour and Guide. Through Him, His works, and ultimately His suffering and death on the Cross, the Lord has led us all from the darkness and tyranny of sin and death, into a new life and existence blessed and full of His grace, free from evil, and free to live once again as children of God’s light and truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us are called and challenged to follow the Lord wholeheartedly, and we are all called to be great role models, inspirations and examples for each other, in how we live our lives, so that others may see God’s light and know His truth, through our every actions, words and deeds. And today, all of us should be inspired by the great examples set before us by our holy predecessors, particularly that of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a holy woman of God whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Jane Frances de Chantal was born into a noble family in what is now France, and was a woman of high standing and reputation, who married another noble, Baron de Chantal who was killed early on, which left St. Jane Frances de Chantal as a widow at a young age with several children.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal took good care of her family, while at the same time establishing a new order for women who had been rejected because of them being in poor health or by being advanced in age by the order religious orders. The sanctity and great examples showed by St. Jane Frances de Chantal who dedicated herself to the cause of the Lord, inspired many others to follow her and her good examples, in serving God and in doing His commandments and Law. Many came to be convinced to be followers of Christ, and many still came to join the order that St. Jane Frances de Chantal had established, and performed so many wonderful things to the people of God. She also showed us all what it truly means for us to be faithful as Christians, in doing God’s will at all times, and in following God’s commandments and Law, living a life truly holy and worthy of God.

May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all as He has always ever done, all these while. May God be with us always and may He empower and help each one of us in our journey of faith and life, now and always, inspired as always by the saints and the holy men and women who came before us. Amen.

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Friday, 11 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of everything which God had generously done for us, in all the love which He has shown and bestowed upon us. All of us should not harden our hearts against Him and we should do well to remember everything that He had done for us, in all the wonderful things He had blessed us with, in all of His providence and help, and more. He will always stand by us no matter what happen, and all of us who have faith in Him and trust in His providence and help will be protected and guarded especially in the hours of difficulties and hardships, and in the end, all of us shall be triumphant together with God. God will remember the ones who have always kept His Law and precepts, and all of us who have remained true to Him despite the challenges and trials that we may face in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses gathered the whole people of Israel before him, and delivering God’s words unto them, to those who have witnessed God’s good and loving actions, as well as His anger and wrath directed to all those who have disobeyed His Law and commandments, and betrayed Him for the pagan and false idols. Moses reminded all of them, those whom the Lord had brought out of the land of Egypt, and their children and descendants, including those who probably had been born during the forty years sojourn in the desert, of all the things that God had done for all of them, in His kindness and compassion, in everything that He had done for their sake, in advancing before them and leading them to battle against their enemies, in crushing the enemies of God’s people and scattering them, keeping them safe throughout the way.

God has also provided them with food along the entire journey, despite their repeated and constant complaints and ungrateful attitudes, in complaining against what God had provided for them, even though God had most generously provided them with the bread from heaven itself, the manna that He sent to them every single day except for the Sabbath day, and even providing for the Sabbath itself by providing them twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath. He also provided all of them with the flocks of birds to supplement their food, and for their drink, according to the traditions, Moses got the water to come out from the rocks, and it was even told that a rock followed the Israelites wherever they went, and pure, clean and amazing water flowed out from it, as if indeed from the Lord Himself.

God had indeed loved His people so much, despite everything that they had done to Him, in rebelling against Him and rejecting His love. He also sent His Son into our midst, to dwell and journey with us, so that by His coming before us, all of us may enter into a new relationship with God, reconciled and reunited with Him, redeemed and freed from the slavery of sin and death. But in order to follow Him, we have to be ready to embrace Him and His path wholeheartedly, that is to obey His Law and commandments, distancing ourselves from the temptations of evil and sin, from all those things that kept us away from the path of God and His salvation and grace. In the process, we may also encounter opposition and hardships, trials and attacks, hardships and challenges, just as the Lord Himself had endured when He walked in our midst.

We are all called to remember the amazing love by which Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, our Saviour had done for our sake, in carrying His Cross with ultimate love, the love with which He cared for us, in enduring for us the greatest humiliations and sufferings, the rejection and the oppression of the world, so that through all those things, we may all be reconciled to God, our loving Father and Creator. By His enduring and eternal love, He offered Himself as a most worthy sacrifice and as atonement for our many and innumerable sins, which He cleansed for us, as we are made whole once again through the breaking of His Most Precious Body and the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood. And we are therefore called to remember this great and wonderful love, and hence expected to show the same love towards Him and towards our fellow brothers and sisters.

This is why today, all of us as Christians are called and reminded to love the Lord more and more, and to do whatever we can so that in our every words, actions and deeds, we may always proclaim the glory of God, and to be the great shining examples and role models of our beliefs and faith in God, in all occasions. Each and every one of us are called to be faithful and committed disciples of the Lord, so that we may lead more and more people to the salvation in God, in the manner that many of our faithful and holy predecessors, the holy saints, men and women of God had done in their lives and examples in life. All of us should reflect brightly the light of God’s truth and grace, just in the manner how the saints’ lives reflect brightly God’s glory, hope, light and truth, proclaiming His Good News at all times.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Clare, also known as St. Clare of Assisi, a contemporary and follower of St. Francis of Assisi, another renowned holy man of God. St. Clare was a native of Assisi who was inspired by her family devout practices and commitment to God, which made St. Clare and her siblings to be deeply committed to God from their early youth. St. Clare refused to marry a young man proposed by her family later on, and chose to commit herself wholly to God by joining the life and mission of St. Francis of Assisi, gathering other like-minded individuals, which later on became known as the Order of Poor Ladies, gathering all the women who were interested in the charism and living of the Franciscans instituted by St. Francis of Assisi, with St. Clare herself as the founder.

St. Clare herself lived in a convent of Benedictine nuns for a while, living a prayerful and devout life, and eventually went on to live together with her order of religious sisters, the Order of Poor Ladies or the Order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, where she eventually became the Abbess of the community of the San Damiano sisters. She remained in her ascetic and holy lifestyle, caring for the needs of those in her community and lovingly reached out to those who were in need in the society. In a well-known and documented miracle later on in her life, St. Clare was renowned for her miraculous defence of her convent from the rampaging attacks of the armies of the Holy Roman Emperor that were then attacking the region where her convent was located at. St. Clare remained steadfast and trusting in the Lord despite the approaching soldiers, and entrusted herself wholly to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as she hoisted up the monstrance which miraculously shone with great and blinding light that terrified the attacking enemies, who thereafter left the convent and the town undisturbed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord in the manner that our holy predecessors had done, especially in the faith and dedication that St. Clare has shown us. Let us all remember the amazing love that God has for us, and the dedication that He has shown us, and which St. Clare and many other saints have reflected in their own lives and actions. May all of us be the shining beacons of the light of Christ’s salvation and the grace of God. Amen.

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Thursday, 10 August 2023 : Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the Feast of St. Lawrence of Rome, the great man of God who was one of the seven deacons of the city and See of Rome, and hence was a very important and prominent member of the Roman Church at that time. St. Lawrence was also the first among those seven deacons, as the Archdeacon of Rome, a position of great importance as he was indeed the right hand man of the then reigning Pope, Pope St. Sixtus II, whose feast we have just celebrated a few days ago. St. Lawrence of Rome was martyred at about the same time as Pope St. Sixtus and quite a number other Christians, who were persecuted during an episode of attack against the Church under the reign of the then Roman Emperor Valerian.

St. Lawrence himself was born in what is today part of Spain, where the later Pope St. Sixtus II met him in what is today Zaragoza, then known as Caesaraugusta. According to Church traditions, his parents were also Christians and were themselves martyrs, likely prior to the mission and works of St. Lawrence as deacon in Rome. Pope St. Sixtus II and St. Lawrence both travelled to Rome, where the former eventually became Pope succeeding his predecessor, Pope St. Stephen I. And as a trusted friend and member of his close inner circle, St. Lawrence was therefore appointed as the Archdeacon of Rome, responsible for the distribution of goods and for the care of the faithful people of God in the Diocese of Rome. He held the control and key of the treasuries and material goods of the Roman Church, and he did his duties most obediently, committing himself to care those entrusted under his supervision.

Then, at that time, the Roman state under Emperor Valerian began an intense persecution of Christians, arresting Pope St. Sixtus II and many others, who were martyred for their faith. As was customary, all those who were executed by the Roman state had their possessions and property confiscated and gathered to be added to the Imperial treasury. Hence, in order to avoid the property and goods of the Church meant for the people of God, especially the poor and the needy to fall into the hands of those who did not deserve them, St. Lawrence quickly worked to distribute the property of the Church to those who needed them, to the faithful so that they would not be seized. The Roman prefect of the city demanded and ordered St. Lawrence to hand over all the goods and properties of the Church, which was then responded by St. Lawrence who gathered the poor and the needy, and showed them as the true treasures of the Church.

That enraged the Roman prefect such that he ordered St. Lawrence to be arrested and tortured, and put on a great and hot gridiron, where this holy man of God was put to suffer terrible tortures. Yet, St. Lawrence fearlessly and courageously faced those sufferings and his upcoming martyrdom with calmness and joy, knowing that everything that he and the other martyrs had to suffer, were nothing compared to the true joy and glory that they would receive through the Lord. According to the Church traditions, St. Lawrence even cheerfully commented to his tortures to turn him over as in his own words, ‘I am well done on this side. Turn me over!’ All these showed just how courageous and brave St. Lawrence was in enduring those great persecutions and hardships, for the sake of God and His people. Eventually, he was executed and died as a martyr like many others.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all the examples which St. Lawrence, holy deacon and martyr had shown us exemplified what we have heard from our Scripture passages today. In our first reading passage, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in which St. Paul spoke of those who sowed meagrely and how they would also reap meagrely while those who sowed generously would also reap generous harvests. This is showing how our faith in God must be truly filled with true dedication and commitment to God, and not merely an empty faith and proclamations only. Like St. Lawrence, who devoted himself to the cause of the Lord, that he risked his life in doing his mission and in ensuring that the properties and goods of the Church entrusted to his care did not fall into the wrong hands, and faced suffering and martyrdom for those, thus, we should also do our part in living our lives with true dedication and faith.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard a related account of the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples using a simple parable of comparing a grain of wheat that ought to fall to the ground and ‘die’ first so that it might bear plenty of fruits as the seed in the wheat would then germinate and grow into a new wheat plant that would bear many new wheat crops, and hence, be truly fruitful. This is related to the famous phrase of ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians’ which reminded us all of the sufferings and hardships that many of our predecessors had to face in the midst of living their faith. Yet, their faith and commitment to God, their courage and bravery, like what was shown by St. Lawrence as mentioned earlier, should inspire all of us to live our lives with great faith and dedication to God, and to be inspirational in our way of life.

This means that in our every moments and in our every words, actions and deeds in life, all of us should do our best so that we may be the shining light of God’s truth and love, the light of hope for many of our fellow brothers and sisters who may be facing a lot of hardships and challenges in their lives. Like St. Lawrence, whose faith and commitment, courage and dedication had strengthened the faith of so many of those who came after him, in how they endured the challenges and persecutions against their faith. All of us should live in accordance to the Law and the path that God has shown us, the path of His righteousness so that we may all walk down this path and not be swayed easily by the temptations of worldly glory and by the fear of sufferings and death. Becoming Christians mean that we have to be prepared to suffer for the Lord, but we must always remember that we never suffer alone, for the Lord is always ever by our side.

May the Lord continue to watch over us and strengthen us in our ways, and may His wonderful saints, St. Lawrence and many of our other holy predecessors continue to inspire us by their great examples and role models, and may they intercede for us sinners, that God may deign to show His mercy and kindness upon us, especially in the moments of our hardships and challenges. May God bless us always in all things and may He empower us all to be His worthy disciples in all things. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we gather together to reflect upon the words of the Scripture passages we heard earlier, we are all reminded to be always full of love for one another, and never be biased or discriminatory upon anyone in our lives just because they have a different origin, background, skin colour, lifestyle, or other worldly constructs and distinctions that we might have used in the past to discriminate one against the other. We are all reminded this day that God truly loves each and every one of us, and He has blessed us most wonderfully and magnificently, in many things, and we are all called to be filled with the same love that God has for us, in how we love one another, especially for the less fortunate and the suffering amongst us. We are reminded to make sure that no one should be left out especially in our world today, when many are struggling to make their ends meet each day.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the time when the Lord sent out through Moses, the scouts of the Israelites to take a look at the lands which He has promised to all of them and their ancestors, the Promised Land of Canaan. At that time, the Lord had led His people through the desert from the land of Egypt where they were once enslaved, and He had made a Covenant with them, revealing to them all His Law and the Ten Commandments which He gave them in order to guide and help them in their lives and journey. However, when the scouts relayed back the news from the Promised Land that they had seen, in how wonderful the lands truly were and how bountiful they were, but with all the mighty people living in them, the people became scared and fearful, afraid of going up against those people.

Hence, that was where we saw the great rebellion of Israel against God, Who had provided and cared for them all those while, and Who had patiently guided and helped them along the way. Despite having seen the great works of the Lord, His signs and wonders, and everything that He had done for their sake, all of His miracles and might before the Egyptians and all the others, the people of God frequently doubted the Lord, disobeyed Him and His Law, and disregarded His commandments and instructions. And this ridiculous abandonment of God and doubt against His providence was the final straw which eventually led to the Israelites having to endure a forty years long sojourn in the desert before they were finally allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

Then in the Gospel passage today, we heard of the interactions between the Lord Jesus and a Canaanite woman who had a daughter who was beset by evil spirits and demons, which was initially met with great apathy and indifference by the Lord, Whose words might even be considered as really offensive, because He blatantly said that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the Israelites, and then dismissed her with the words comparing her to the dogs, when He said that it is not right to take the bread from the children and feeding them to the dogs. Yes, it might indeed seem at first that the Lord was being very rude and unfair to the Canaanite woman, but the Lord Jesus actually did all those on purpose so as to highlight the folly of the biases and the common prejudices which the Israelites themselves had against the non-Jewish people all around them.

We must understand the context in which back then, the Jewish people had grown proud of their unique inheritance and status as the chosen people of God, the direct descendants of the original Israelites, to the point of looking down greatly on all the other non-Jewish people, and this was an even worse attitude shown by their leaders, like the chief priests and the elders, and the Pharisees, who prided in their exclusive right to the grace and love of God, and in the Law, customs and practices which they had zealously guarded and enforced to all the people of God. It was such that they condemned all those who did not follow the Law and practice them in the manner that they themselves had demanded it to be, as sinners and unworthy of God.

The Lord used such harsh language to refer to the Canaanite woman to highlight the uncharitable and inappropriate nature of such treatment of one’s fellow brothers and sisters, and how the people of God back then had reached such a state, that He would like to show them an example with the great faith of the Canaanite woman, to break up and to discard all those prejudices and biases. As contrasted with what we heard in our first reading today, of the faithlessness of the Israelites in the face of hardships and trials, the Canaanite woman, who was not even counted among the chosen people of God, entrusted herself and her daughter so thoroughly in the Lord that not even the Lord’s harsh words and attitude could deter or stop her from persisting in seeking His help.

This showed just how strong her faith in God was, and the Lord therefore used her faith as an example to all of His disciples as the inspiration that all of them ought to follow in their own lives. It also showed us all that we must never be biased to another person, no matter what origin and background that someone might have, as each and every one of us are equally precious and beloved by God, and all of us are truly worthy of God as long we are faithful to Him and obey Him in all of His Law and commandments, and walk in His path at all times. Each one of us have been given this reminder so that we may indeed be truly committed to the Lord and His path, just as the Canaanite woman and our many predecessors had done, all the holy men and women who had lived their lives with virtue and righteousness, all those who showed true faith in God.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also better known by her name of Edith Stein. She was born into a religious Jewish family in Europe, in parts of what is now Poland. She became an agnostic later on in life, and during her studies and pursuit of academic career, she came to be acquainted with the story and life of St. Teresa of Avila, a great Carmelite saint and reformer, who led her to embrace God and to be baptised as a Catholic. She wanted to follow in the footstep of her patron saint, and became a member of the Discalced Carmelite, but was initially dissuaded from doing so. Instead, she became a tertiary member of the Order, dedicating herself to a life of prayer and ministry to the people all around her and to her community of the faithful.

Back then, at that time, great troubles and conflicts happened throughout Europe during the rise and hegemony of the NAZI rule in Germany, which saw the attempts of Adolf Hitler and his party and supporters to destroy and eradicate the Jewish people all throughout their dominions. St. Edith Stein, as a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith, was one of the many people deemed by the evil NAZI regime as those undesirables and those to be exterminated, by their ideology that championed the supremacy of their own racial background. She and other religious sisters were sent to the Netherlands to help safeguard them against the NAZI efforts to destroy the Jewish people, but eventually St. Edith Stein was arrested with many other Jewish Catholic converts, sent to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp and was martyred.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the examples of the Canaanite woman and that of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Edith Stein, all of us can see how God called all of His people to holiness and greatness, and how everyone who has faith in Him will be blessed and honoured by God. Those who think that they are better than others simply because of their racial background or because of certain criteria and parameters, will likely stumble and falter because they placed their trust in their own sense of superiority and power, and not in their faith in God. This is why we should learn to trust more in the Lord and to resist the temptations of worldly pride, ambitions and our ego, which can easily lead us to our downfall. We should learn to love one another equally, and not be blinded by bias and prejudice, and do what we can to love the Lord our God, first and foremost before all else.

May God be with us always, and may He strengthen our faith and trust in Him, that we may not easily fall into doubt and fear, or uncertainties and temptations. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, all of us as God’s people are reminded of the need for us to remain humble and also to put our trust always in the Lord. The Lord has shown His love and most generous kindness towards us, and He has always been patient in leading and guiding us, showing us the path of righteousness and justice. However, it is often that many of us gave in to the temptations of our desires and pride, our greed and ambitions, that we ended up shutting the Lord out of our lives and keeping Him away from our hearts and minds. As our Scripture readings highlighted to us, there had been many occasions in the past where man has been swayed and tempted by the temptations of worldly glory and ambitions that they fell into sin and evil.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the story of the confrontation between Moses and his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, both of whom wanted a share of the limelight and the prominence of Moses’ leadership over the people of Israel, and being biased against Moses because of the woman he married while claiming that the Lord could also speak through them. Essentially, they both committed sins against God and against Moses by their slander and actions, as they were really jealous of the position and the prominence that Moses experienced in his leadership, and how he was chosen by God for this role. It was mentioned how Moses was really a very humble person, who did not seek for glory or greatness, as was evident very early on, before he even went forth for his mission to Egypt, as he was unsure and reluctant to take up the role of the leader of God’s people because of his lack of eloquence unlike that of his brother Aaron, and presumably, also his sister, Miriam.

Miriam and Aaron in turn were likely jealous of all the attention and the importance which Moses had received, and thus desired to have the same benefits and privileges that Moses had as well. Then, the Lord made it very clear to all of them and to all of the people that His favour and choice rested on Moses alone, and that it was Him Who chose and empowered Moses for his mission and ministry as the leader of the Israelites, and not the efforts and the persuasions of those who sought the same position as Moses, like that of Miriam and Aaron, or any others who attempted to usurp the leadership of the Israelites, such as in another occasion when a portion of the Israelites rebelled under the leadership of Korah and those who sided with him. And just as how God swiftly dealt with those rebels and crushed them, thus Miriam and Aaron were punished by God with a plague of leprosy to clearly show to everyone, the obvious sign of Divine displeasure.

In our Gospel passage today, the same attitude was shown by those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law and the elders of the people who criticised the Lord’s disciples because they deemed them to be unlawful in their behaviour. They criticised the Lord’s disciples as they did not wash their hands in the manner prescribed by the Law of God as revealed through Moses, which if we understand the context, had become very highly detailed and ritualised by the time of the Lord and His ministry. According to the Jewish traditions and Church history, those practices of purification and handwashing became so elaborate and complicated, that the people might very well ended up losing sight of the importance and meaning of those practices and customs altogether. While indeed, such practices had good reasons to maintain hygiene in a society living in especially crowded conditions during the Exodus, but it was more of the uncharitable and proud attitude of those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law which was criticised by the Lord.

Those people were swayed by their own pride and greed, and tempted by the allures of worldly glory and fame. Their privileged status and position within the Jewish community made them to be clouded in their judgment, as they deemed themselves to be infallible and better than all others, especially those who were not in accordance to their ideals and ways, those who did not obey and fulfil the Law of God according to their particularly strict and rigid understanding and appreciation. Hence, the Lord rebuked them and chastised them for their attitude and lack of true faith in God. They behaved exactly just like how Miriam and Aaron had done in the past, as they placed their own qualities, power and might, their own intellect and status above that of the love for their fellow men and women. Their condemnation and acts in ostracising those who need the Lord’s help the most, were particularly criticised by the Lord.

This is why, today, each and every one of us are reminded not to allow our emotions, our pride and greed, our ego and all the negative things and thoughts, the temptations and evils all around us to tempt and pull us away from the path towards God’s righteousness and grace. Instead, we should learn from many of our holy predecessors, the holy men and women who had gone before us. We should reject those excesses of worldly attachments and desires, and strive to put our focus on the Lord and place Him at the very centre of our lives and existence. Each and every one of us should be inspired by the examples of those who have answered God’s call, and embraced Him wholeheartedly, just like Moses himself, who dedicated his whole life to God, and hence God sent him to His people to be His servant and messenger, and as the leader to help His people out from the darkness of slavery and into the light of freedom.

Today, the Church celebrates together the feast of a great and renowned saint, whose life should be a great source of inspiration and strength for us as Christians, in how we ourselves should behave and live our lives as faithful and devoted followers and disciples of God. St. Dominic, also known as St. Dominic de Guzman was the great founder of the Order of Preachers or Ordo Praedicatorum, better known as the Dominicans after their founder. St. Dominic was born in what is today part of Spain where according to tradition, his mother gave birth to him after having dreamt of a dog that leapt out of her womb with a flaming torch on its mouth which set the whole earth on fire. Later on this would be part of the Dominican traditions and hagiography which linked the great courage and passion with which St. Dominic dedicated his life in preaching the Good News of God, and the charism of the Order, which is truly related to that vision which St. Dominic’s mother saw.

St. Dominic devoted his life to the Lord and soon became a priest from a young age of twenty-four, spending a lot of time travelling around and proclaiming the Good News of God to more and more people, especially to those who have fallen astray in their path and forgotten their faith in God. St. Dominic was also working with the other contemporaries of his time, who were working against the dangerous heresy of Catharism, which had befuddled many of the faithful and dragged them into the wrong path. St. Dominic and many others, and those who were inspired by his examples, ministered for many years among the areas affected by the Cathar heresy, and managed to bring many back to the Holy Mother Church and salvation in God. It was also during this mission that according to tradition, St. Dominic received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who gave him the rosary and therefore began the popularisation of the rosary devotion amongst Christians. St. Dominic dedicated himself to the very end of his life for the sake of the salvation of souls.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we be inspired by the great examples and the dedication which St. Dominic has shown us all through his exemplary life and actions? Shall we all be renewed in our commitment to God and in our desire and willingness to walk down His path? Each and every one of us are part of God’s Church, and we all share in the same calling and commitment to live our lives worthily and to become the missionaries and witnesses of our faith in the Lord. All of us should keep in mind all that we have reflected upon today, and do whatever we can so that we may be truly God’s worthy followers, and as the great role models and inspirations for one another in faith. Let us all turn our back against the evils and temptations of this world, and all the wickedness of pride and ego which had brought about the downfall of so many of our predecessors, and return to the Lord with all our heart. May God be with us always and may He empower each and every one of us in our every good efforts and deeds, now and always. Amen.

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Monday, 7 August 2023 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the love of God which He has always provided upon us, from time to time again, that He showed us His care and providence, when we were in great need and were facing hardships. The Lord never abandoned us or ignored us when we were in need, and when we were calling out to Him, and He has patiently loved us despite our frequent disobedience and refusal to obey Him and our wayward lives and wicked actions, abhorrent and evil in His sight. He still loves us all regardless and cares for us, sending His messengers and blessings on us, hoping on all of us to be called to repentance and to embrace His rich forgiveness, mercy and love once again. He does not want any one of us to be lost to Him because of our rebellions and downfall to sin.

That is why the Lord reminded us through the Church with our Scripture readings today, of the moments when He had taken care of our predecessors, as we heard from the feeding of the people of Israel during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land with the manna, the bread from heaven, and also then with the well-known story of the Lord Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand men and many others with the mere five loaves and two fishes made available to Him. Through all those events, we are all being reminded of just how wonderful God’s love is for us, that He still patiently cared for us despite our frequent stubborn and rebellious attitudes, in not listening to Him and in constantly being ungrateful despite having been so blessed and beloved by the Lord in so many circumstances. God still loves us all regardless, and wants us all to know of His love.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Numbers, we heard of the moment when the Israelites rebelled against and disobeyed God when they were all complaining of the manna that they received daily from the Lord as sustenance and food, to help and strengthen them in the journey through the mostly lifeless and resourceless desert. They complained because they compared what they had then in the manna every morning and the other sustenance that they were having in the desert, such as the flock of birds sent to their camp every evening, and the water provided to them, with the variety of goods and food that they had when they were still enslaved in the land of Egypt. This was a classic case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, as they were thinking that even their old condition of being enslaved and treated as less than human beings were better than to follow the Lord to the assurance of the Promised Land, and everything that the Lord had done for them.

Nonetheless, the Lord continued to provide for them and helped them throughout their journey, patiently, through Moses, His servant, whom we can also notice and feel of just how frustrated he was from today’s reading passage, as he had to contend and endure the rebellious and hard-hearted attitude of the people that he was leading through all those years of hard journey and sufferings. The Lord helped His servant Moses and encouraged him to continue on, despite the challenges and hardships that he had to face, the ungrateful things that he had to face. This was how the Lord kept on caring for the people that He had called and chosen, loved and shown compassion towards, despite of their lack of faith and care for Him. Many years later, when He came into this world through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that was how He blessed the five thousand men and many others who came to listen to Him, with the bountiful food and sustenance in the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes.

At that occasion, the Lord showed pity on the people who followed him, a great multitude of them in the wilderness with no food sources nearby and they were all hungry. Hence, the Lord miraculously multiplied the five loaves of bread and the two fishes that were found and presented to Him. This showed them all what it meant to be truly loved by God and at the same time, showing forth His power and truth of His nature as the Saviour of the world and the Lord of all. It was also a premonition and prefigurement of what He Himself would do at the end and culmination of His ministry, when He would lay down His own life and offer for all of us His own Most Precious Body and Blood for us to partake and share. The Lord loved us all so much that He was willing to endure the worst of sufferings and humiliations, and to let Himself be broken and shared among all of us, as the Bread of Life, the Living Bread of Heaven, in His own words. By this, the Lord wants us to gain passage to eternal life and to be truly reunited with Him.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of great saints, holy servants of the Lord whose lives and actions hopefully can inspire us in our own lives and actions, that we may always do our best to live our lives worthily of the Lord, and to thank Him and be grateful to Him for everything that He has always done for us. Today, we honour the glorious memories of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, who suffered during the trials and hardships, the martyrdom at the time of the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Valerian, when many suffered and die died for their faith in God, and then as well as St. Cajetan, a holy priest and man of God, who was remembered for his dedication and love for the Lord, and for inspiring many others to follow in his path and examples, in living lives that are truly worthy of the Lord, good and righteous in all things.

Pope St. Sixtus II was the leader of the Universal Church during the difficult time of the middle third century when there were tumultuous events, conflicts in the world and also divisions among the faithful, due to various disagreements and heresies that were widespread during that time. According to Apostolic traditions, Pope St. Sixtus II devoted his life and efforts to reunite the Church, and led the faithful through those difficult and turbulent years, and brought back many of the wayward to the Holy Mother Church. He and many others, including another great saint, St. Lawrence of Rome, was martyred during the persecution of Christians during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valerian, faithful to the very end. Meanwhile, St. Cajetan was a lawyer and diplomat by profession in his earlier years, and then became a priest, dedicating himself to healing the sick, particularly focusing on the spiritual healing of those who have been separated from God and His love.

St. Cajetan laid the foundations for and established the Theatines, also known by its official name of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular, together with Archbishop Giovanni Petro Carafa, who would eventually elected as the Pope and leader of the Church as Pope Paul IV. He also interacted well with his contemporaries like St. Jerome Emiliani, another famous priest dedicated to the well-being of the faithful and those who were suffering, assisting the latter with the foundation of the Congregation of the Clerks Regular, or the Somaschan Fathers. Through all of his work and dedication, St. Cajetan, like that of Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions, they all showed us how we all should respond to God’s call and love, which He has always shown and lavished upon us. Each and every one of us should do whatever we can so that we may truly be faithful and worthy of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore commit ourselves with renewed zeal and faith to the Lord, following the great examples set by Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions in martyrdom, St. Cajetan and many other holy men and women of God who had devoted their lives and works for the greater glory of God. May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us so that we may draw ever closer to Him and His love. May God bless us all and our every good efforts and endeavours. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 August 2023 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we celebrate the occasion of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, celebrating and rejoicing at the occasion when Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the whole entire world, Son of Man and Son of God, was transfigured, that is transformed in His being and appearance, to reveal to the three of His closest disciples at Mount Tabor, His true nature and His intentions to all of us. When the Lord revealed Himself in all of His glory that day, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, two very well renowned figures from the Old Testament, He laid bare everything that He had planned from the very beginning, the plan to save all of us mankind, His beloved ones, from the certain destruction and hardships, the sufferings due for us due to our wickedness, disobedience and sins.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel, we heard of the account of the heavenly vision that Daniel received regarding two figures, One was named as the One of Great Age, while the other One was named as the Son of Man. This vision of Heaven and all of God’s glory clearly indicated and revealed to all of us of the true nature of the Messiah or the Saviour that had been long awaited by the people of God. Why is that so? That is because in the heavenly vision of Daniel, he saw not just God in all of His majesty, glory and power, but he also witnessed and saw the Son of God, the One Who would be sent into the world to be the One through Whom God would fulfil and exercise His plan to save all of His beloved ones, in Jesus Christ, His Son, Our Lord and Saviour.

Daniel saw how the One of Great Age, Who is the Father, granting dominion, power and authority to the Son of Man, His beloved and begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Son of God, to be the One to establish anew the Eternal and New Covenant with each and every one of us, and to bring forth unto us the long-awaited salvation and liberation from all the tyranny and dominion of sin and evil. Kingship and dominion have been granted to Him, the One to be born as the Son and Heir of David, so that God might indeed fulfil the promises He made to David, how the House of David and his throne would last forever. This is because Christ Himself, Who has embraced our humanity and being born into this world, is to become its King and Master, the Lord over all universe and Creation, to reign over us all forevermore.

In our second reading, we then heard from St. Peter the Apostle in his Epistle, who wrote about the experience of the Transfiguration, in which he himself and the other two of the Apostles, St. James and St. John, personally experienced at Mount Tabor. He spoke of the experiences that they had, when their Lord and Master was transformed before their very own eyes, revealing His divinity and power, that He was not just mere man like any others, or like any other prophets and servants of God in the past, but that He is a Being far greater than any others, even as compared to Moses and Elijah who had also made an appearance at the moment of the Transfiguration. Jesus Christ, the Transfigured Lord and Messiah, was indeed not just a mere Man, but also God Himself in the flesh.

This is exactly what our Christian faith truly believes in, in the central tenet of belief in the person of Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour, He Who is both Son of God and Son of Man, having two distinct, unique and yet inseparable natures united in His one Person, with two Natures, both Divine and Human, being distinct and yet inseparably united in a perfect union of love in the Person of Jesus, the Transfigured Lord and Messiah. The Transfiguration of the Lord is therefore a revelation of Who the Lord Jesus truly is, and what His agenda and will is for us, what His ministry and works entailed for us, in all that He would do for the sake of our salvation and liberation from the tyranny of sin and death. And at the same time, His glorious Transfiguration is also a premonition and prefigurement of what will happen to us at the end of days, if we remain truly faithful to Him and stay on His path.

In our Gospel passage, detailing for us the events of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, we are brought to focus our attention on the moment when the Lord appeared in all of His Divine glory with Moses and Elijah, who as mentioned were very famous and important figures of the Old Testament. First of all, Moses was the leader of the Israelites during the time of the Exodus from Egypt and also the journey of the Israelites towards the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. Moses was the one who received the Ten Commandments and the Law of God, and hence he represented the Law of God, which God revealed and passed down to all of us, His people, to help lead and guide us all to the right path. His appearance before the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of His glorious Transfiguration served to highlight that the Lord Jesus came to fulfil and perfect the Law which God has given us, to explain and to reveal the true meaning and intentions behind the Law that God has so generously provided for us.

Not only that, but Moses also represented the role that Christ Himself would do, in the former’s foreshadowing of the Latter by his leadership in bringing the whole people of Israel out of the land of their slavery in Egypt, and by whose works and hands, God led His people out of the land of their suffering and misery, and even brought them through the Red Sea, opening the very sea itself before them and crushing the forces of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians sent to chase after them. In the same manner, the Lord Jesus as the Saviour of all and as our Eternal High Priest has led us all mankind, God’s beloved ones, to go out from and leave behind the state of our enslavement and domination by sin. Through His Son, Whom He has sent into the world, God led us all by hand, to go out from the darkness and enter into the new Light of His Presence and truth.

He led us all by His suffering, death and Resurrection, and through the water of baptism, that just like the Israelites who have crossed the Red Sea from slavery in Egypt into their freedom, we may all pass from the darkness and slavery of sin and death, into the Light of God and His salvation and grace, to be reunited with Him and to be wholly reconciled through the forgiveness of our many sins, which Christ Himself had atoned for us through the outpouring and perfect offering of His Most Precious Body and Blood. Thus, God is leading all of us, His beloved ones, out of the darkness of sin, to enter once again into the great light and purity of heart, mind and soul which we have always been intended to be, and one that is represented and shown to us by our Lord’s own Transfiguration. That Transfiguration shows us what each and all of us mankind are always meant to be, to be glorified and worthy of God, full of God’s grace and light, and free from the darkness of sin and evil.

Then, the appearance of Elijah before the Lord highlighted the fact that Elijah was often considered both by his contemporaries and others in the later eras as the greatest and the most prominent of all of God’s prophets and messengers. Just as Moses represented the Law of God, thus Elijah represented the words of the prophets, all the prophecies and truths which God had revealed to His people through them. And therefore, the Lord Jesus is first of all the fulfilment of all those prophecies, affirmed by Elijah’s appearance at Mount Tabor, while at the same time, He is also the One to bring forth into this world the Good News, the news of God’s truth and salvation, revealing the true intentions and meanings of God’s Law and commandments, His plans for all of us, revealing all of these to us with the greatest clarity, through His teachings and words, and through the Holy Spirit and Wisdom that He imparted upon us and His Church.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard and understood the significance and the symbolic importance of the events and things surrounding the Lord’s glorious Transfiguration, let us all realise that this Feast that we are celebrating and are rejoicing in this Sunday is a reminder and call for us to embrace once again the true nature of our beings, that is of the Light, as God’s beloved children and people. Each and every one of us have been created by God with the intention of the sharing of His everlasting love and grace, and we were meant to live in perfect bliss, harmony and joy with Him. However, all of these had been denied to us thanks to us and our own ancestors and predecessors own disobedience and rebellions against God, through which sin had defiled and corrupted us, and gained its dominion over us. This is something that our Lord’s Transfiguration is calling us to reflect, that we must remember our true nature, undefiled and uncorrupted by sin.

The Transfigured Lord is showing all of us, of what and who we all can be, if we truly embrace the Lord’s path and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. The Lord is showing us what we should be, if we want to walk down the path that He has shown us and called us to walk in together with Him. And through His Transfiguration, He also showed us all that His love, His light and Holy Presence is no longer unreachable and unapproachable by us, because by His Incarnation, He has made us to be within reach of salvation and eternal life, through Him and with Him, as He restored us and our connection with God. By His indwelling in the flesh of man, His full Divine glory and majesty are now made accessible to us, as compared to how in the days of the Old Testament, when Moses and Elijah alone could have seen the glory of God to their faces and lived, as everyone else would have been struck dead and be destroyed on the account of their sins and wickedness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves and one another this day, that as we rejoice and celebrate the glorious memory of the Transfiguration of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, let us all commit ourselves once again anew in the path that the Lord has shown us, and obey Him, in all that He has told us and taught us to do in our lives. Let us all turn away from the wickedness of the world and from all the allures of sin and evil, and obey the Lord ever more wholeheartedly from now on. Let us all walk down this path of faith from now on, together with Christ, Who is journeying and walking with us, leading us down this path of faith, calling upon us to trust in Him. There will be hardships, challenges and trials likely facing us in our journey forward, but we must always remain firm in faith, reminding ourselves ever always, of the glory and true joy of our future Transfigured selves, in the hope and light of the Resurrection.

One day, with the Lord, we shall no longer suffer anymore, and everything will be all good and right again just as the Lord has always intended for us. In the meantime, let us all be exemplary, inspirational and great role models of our Christian faith and living in all of our words, actions and deeds, in our every interactions and efforts, good works and endeavours for the greater glory of God. May the Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who has been Transfigured in glory at Mount Tabor, continue to shine His light upon us and help us in our journey and dedication towards Him, now and always, that we too may be the shining beacons of His light and truth, in every occasions and opportunities. Amen.

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Saturday, 5 August 2023 : 17th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of one of the four greatest churches in the whole Christendom, namely one of the four Papal Major Basilicas in Rome. This Basilica that we are celebrating today is the greatest of all the churches and edifices dedicated to the Blessed Mother of God, Mary most Holy. Hence, we celebrate today the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. In that great Basilica was displayed the very popular Icon of the Blessed Mother of God, known as ‘Salus Populi Romani’, or the Protectress of the Roman People, which is a very old and ancient Byzantine icon dating to the early days of the Church, which became an important and integral part of the devotions in this great Basilica.

The story of how the Basilica of St. Mary Major was founded cannot be separated from the miraculous occasion of Our Lady of Snows, which was a miracle that happened when snow fell in Rome, at the exact site of the Basilica of St. Mary Major at Rome’s Esquiline Hill, during the Pontificate of Pope St. Celestine I, about a hundred years or so after the ending of official persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan. At that time, it was told by Church traditions that an elderly and devout Christian couple prayed to the Lord and through His Mother, to show them how they ought to best give their whole assets and properties for the good of the Church and the faithful, and thereafter, as mentioned, miraculously snow appeared and fell upon the Esquiline Hill in Rome at the height of summer, on this date, the fifth day of the month of August, which was also the date when the Basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Snows, named such after the miracle, was dedicated to God and to His blessed Mother, as gifts from the aforementioned devout couple, who dedicated their wealth for the good of the Church and the faithful.

Ever since, this great Basilica had seen endless streams of the faithful, many pilgrims and others who sought for the help and intercession of the Blessed Mary, Mother of God. Countless Popes have also entrusted themselves, the Roman people and all Christians to the protection of the Blessed Mother of God, whose love for the Lord, her Son, our Saviour, is an inspiration for all of us, and is also the means by which all of us can love the Lord with ever greater commitment and devotion. Pope Francis, our current Pope and Vicar of Christ for example, has always visited this Basilica of St. Mary Major, to the blessed and miraculous Icon of Salus Populi Romani at every occasions before and after his Apostolic Journeys outside of Italy, entrusting to the Lord through Mary, His blessed Mother, the missions and works that would be carried out and accomplished in all those trips and journeys.

On this blessed day, when we mark the anniversary of the dedication of this great Basilica dedicated to the Mother of our Lord and God, we remind ourselves once again that as Christians, all of us should be exemplary in our way of life and in our faith in God, because we are all ourselves the Temples of the Lord’s Holy Presence, where the Lord Himself dwells, in our hearts and minds, in our whole bodies and in our whole beings. Just as the Basilica of St. Mary Major and other consecrated and dedicated churches and chapels are great Houses, consecrated and dedicated for the divine worship of God and God alone, thus, all of us who are the ‘Living Stones’ and the ‘Living Church’, the public manifestation of the Lord’s kingdom in His visible Church, all of us are the Holy Temples of the Lord’s Holy Presence, through His own Precious Body and Blood which He has given to us, and which we have partaken in, and also through the Holy Spirit that God has given to us and dwelled within us.

That is why, just as the great Basilica of St. Mary Major and other holy edifices and Houses of God had been set aside, purified and made worthy of the Lord, thus, it is very important that all of us realise just how much more precious it is for us all, as the Living Houses of God’s Holy Presence, to be truly worthy of Him and to consecrate ourselves to the Lord, to dedicate and commit ourselves to His cause and path. Each and every one of us are called to holiness and greatness, set aside and taken from the darkness of this world. The light and love of God, His truth and glory have been given to us, the seeds of faith and love, hope and truth have all been sown in us, awaiting for us to provide them the best and most appropriate conditions such that they may truly bear fruits of faith and love in us, and that our faith in God may be truly genuine and living, not just merely a formality or empty faith.

That is why, as we rejoice together in the memory of the dedication of this great House of God dedicated to His blessed Mother, all of us should remind ourselves to renew our own dedication to God, and to commit ourselves anew to the path that the Lord has shown us. And there is no better way to do this than to look upon the very examples and good model that Mary herself has shown us with her exemplary and most wonderful life. Mary, in her total commitment to the Lord, and in her wholehearted dedication to her Son, to all that she has been entrusted with, we may be inspired to follow her good examples and be strengthened with the same love and devotion to the Lord, in all the things that we say and do, in our every actions and works, in our every deeds and interactions at every moments, in our lives, in every opportunities and time provided to us.

Let us all be the shining and great examples of faith and dedication to all those around us, by our commitment to a life of virtue and faith, righteousness and justice so that in all the things we say, act and do, we will always ever be truly devoted to the Lord. Let us all distance ourselves from the darkness and wickedness of sins and evils all around us, and let us all turn towards the Lord with renewed conviction and desire to love the Lord our God with ever more zeal and faith, and to be the missionary and evangelising disciples that can be the means through which more and more people all around us may come to know of the Lord and His salvation and grace. Let us all be the great inspiration and examples to others, and help one another in the conduct of our faith so that hopefully in all and everything that we say and do, we will always be filled with heartfelt dedication to God.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Master, be with us always, and may His blessed Mother Mary, our patroness and protectress, our blessed mother and gentle guide, continue to help us and intercede for us sinners. May the Lord be with us all His Church and faithful ones, and may He bless our every good works, efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.