Weekdays of Ordinary Time

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Friday, 1 November 2019 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great Solemnity of All Saints as part of what is usually called the Allhallowtide, a period of time when we focus our attention on the matter of life and the life to come, when we look upon the glory of the saints as how we usually celebrate the All Saints Day and also remember our beloved ones who have departed from us, on All Souls Day tomorrow.

On this day, we focus our attention on our great and holy predecessors, holy men and women whom the Church has thoroughly examined and determined to be worthy of the glory of heaven. They are those who have been canonised and declared as saints, as those who are believed to be with God in heaven by the many virtues of their lives, by their faith and dedication to God, and quite a few of them laid down their lives for their faith.

Today as we look upon those virtuous and inspiring predecessors of ours, we must understand well who the saints are, how they can help us in our own journey of faith, and what we can do to emulate their own good examples in our own lives. There are unfortunately many among us Christians who do not truly understand or even misunderstood the role of saints in the Church, and who the saints truly are.

First of all, saints are not equal or similar to gods or deities unlike those of the polytheistic religions or beliefs. We do not worship or adore the saints on the same level as our worship or adoration of God. Many Christians within the Church misunderstood or are confused with this and ended up worshipping the saints and prayed to them as if they are able to help us by their own power and might.

And there are also many outside the Church, both Christians and non-Christians alike who also thought that the saints are worshipped in the manner of the worship of the divine, which is clearly not true at all, and is a gross misinterpretation of our true Christian faith and practices. Instead, the saints are venerated and respected, as those who can intercede and pray for us before God.

It is important for us to take note that while saints are those who have departed from this world into the heavenly glory with God, this does not mean that they have been separated from us. In truth, they are still as much part of the Church as we are part of God’s Church. It is just that unlike us who are still struggling through the challenges and temptations of this world, as those who are part of the Church Militant, the saints of God are those who have triumphed through life and are enjoying the fruits of their virtuous life, as the Church Triumphant.

And as the members of God’s one and same Church, and having once walked on this world as we are now, certainly the saints of God are always thinking of us and praying for us. They want us to join them in the glory of heaven praising God as fellow brothers and sisters in faith. However, they cannot help us on their own power or ability as mentioned, as they are neither gods nor deities.

Instead, when we ask the saints to pray for us, they can then exercise that privilege they have, being closer in the presence of God than us, and having lived virtuously in faith, to ask God for favours on our behalf. This is what true intercession of saints is like, and not as what many have misunderstood in the true intention and purpose of saints in the life of the Church. The saints of God are essentially reflections of God’s light and glory.

There are two ways I can think of in order for us to be able to understand the concept of saints better. Let us all first think of the beautiful stained glasses of our churches, where those stained glasses usually depict the many stories of the lives of the Lord, His blessed mother Mary and also the many saints and martyrs of the Church. Those stained glasses are beautiful, but let me ask this of you, can the stained glass be seen when the whole church building is in total darkness without any source of light at all?

Certainly in that scenario, we cannot see the stained glasses at all, no matter how beautiful they are. They do not give light on their own accord. In the same manner therefore, the saints do not become glorious or mighty by their own power, but rather they embody the power and the glory of God. Just as the stained glass can be visible because of the light that pass through them, thus the saints also reflect the wonderful light of God through their own lives and examples.

God created us all to be beautiful and wonderful, but we have chosen to cover all those beauty and wonders by our sins and rebelliousness, preferring to act in the manner that is contrary to God and His will rather than to obey and follow Him. Compared to the stained glass metaphor again, it is as if we are like the stained glasses that are so filled with dirt and grime that they cannot be seen even with light being all around them.

The saints themselves were not perfect, brothers and sisters in Christ. They were just like us, same with us, as stubborn and sinful as we were, as wicked and unfaithful, unjust and corrupted by sin as we are. But what is most important is the fact that they made a conscious choice in each of their lives to turn away from sin and to embrace God and His ways fully, taking up His cross and followed Him wholeheartedly.

And then now, another way that we can compare or liken the saints to, is like that of a candle that cannot be seen on its own accord in the darkness, for candles cannot produce light on their own. Candles can produce light only when heat comes together with oxygen and the matter of the candle to produce beautiful flame that creates light. This is precisely the light that makes candles very precious, especially in the past before the advent of electrical power.

In the same manner then, let us all see the candles as our own lives. As long as the necessary conditions are not available, or that we prevent those conditions from coming together, the flame will not be initiated and no light will ever be produced from the candles. And thus, as long as our lives are deprived of the necessary conditions for us to be holy and just as the saints have been, we cannot follow in their footsteps.

And what are these conditions? It is the openness to the love and presence of God in our lives, allowing Him to enter into our lives and transform us from once beings of darkness and sin, into beings of light and filled with obedience to God. And as we allow the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives and transform us by our words, actions and deeds, then we will reflect the light and glory of God just as the saints and holy people of God had done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must truly be thankful that we have all those wonderful role models for us to follow, all those many saints and dedicated holy men and women. And the greatest among all these is none other than Mary herself, the ever blessed Mother of God. For Mary is the greatest among all saints and the most wonderful among all of God’s creatures, having not just been the Mother of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, but she was also exemplary in her faith and dedication to God all her life.

Mary’s total obedience to the will of God even at the moment of her greatest uncertainty and perhaps even fear, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her bearing the Good News that she was to bear a Child, showed us what true Christian living and discipleship truly means. And she was not just virtuous and righteous throughout her life, but she even followed her Son all the way to Calvary, seeing Him bearing the burden of Cross and having to die for the sake of all mankind.

Mary’s amazing faith and her role as the Mother of God give her the special privilege and status being the one closest to Jesus, her Son in His glory in heaven. This is why many of us Christians have particularly strong devotion to Mary because we believe that as the greatest among all saints and as the one whom her Son loves dearly, she is indeed our greatest intercessor before God, just as she is also the perfect role model for us Christians to follow.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now having discussed all these, let us all think and discern how we can make our own lives to be holy like those of the saints. Let us discern how we can allow God to enter into our lives and make us to shine brightly with His light so that we too can be examples and inspiration for one another in living our lives with good faith. Are we able to commit ourselves to God and to His path following the examples set by our holy predecessors?

Let us all be thankful for the wonderful gifts and opportunities we have, in having so many wonderful role models in our saints. Let us all therefore commit ourselves to a new life filled with holiness from now on, living our lives according to how the Lord has shown and taught us to live, following His laws and commandments, devoting ourselves in each and every days of our lives so that one day we too may share in the eternal glory of the saints of God in heaven. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Friday, 1 November 2019 : Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

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Friday, 1 November 2019 : Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as He is pure.

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Friday, 1 November 2019 : Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Friday, 1 November 2019 : Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, Who sits on the Throne, and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the Throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the Throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, “Amen, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution, they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb.”

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Thursday, 31 October 2019 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded of just how great and powerful God’s love has been for each and every one of us, who are although sinners, but still beloved by God and are very precious in His eyes. Yet, we are often ungrateful and ignorant of this love which God has for us as we fail to recognise that love being present in our midst and although it has been around us all the time.

St. Paul in our first reading today, taken from his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome, spoke precisely of this wonderful love by which God had endeavoured to gather us all, His beloved ones to Himself. Truly, in the words of St. Paul, ‘Who can separate us from the love of Christ?’ which is shown by how God did everything for our sake even though we have disappointed Him and rebelled against His will.

And although we have sinned and made ourselves unworthy before Him, but God still loves us as always and He wants to reconcile us to Him, by sending us His Son, to be the One through Whom He would save us all and bring us into eternal life He has promised to all of His beloved ones. His love still endures even though we have often overlooked this love and ignored Him for other things in the world.

That love allowed Christ to undergo much pain and suffering as He embarked on the mission which God, His heavenly Father has entrusted to Him, in bearing the Cross and being rejected by man, so that through His humble obedience and perfect willingness to follow the way of God, His Father, He may become for us the source of our salvation and liberation from our fated destruction because of our sins.

It is often the pride in us, the greed and desires within our hearts and all the temptations present within our world today that prevented us and distracted us from being able to love God with all of our hearts. As the Israelites of old showed us, and which the Lord Himself lamented for, those people persecuted the prophets and messengers sent into their midst to remind them and bring the word of God to them because they refused to admit their mistakes and sinful ways.

And Christ Himself faced the greatest suffering and rejection of all, as He had to endure opposition from the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who resented Him and His teachings because of their pride and attachment to the status and privileges that they had accumulated within the community and hence leading to them acting in the way to preserve their status and power, even by persecuting the Messiah of God and by sending Him to His death on the Cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, have we realised yet by now how we have often refused God’s love and being stubborn in our mistaken and sinful ways? We have often allowed ourselves to be swayed and tempted by our various worldly concerns and desires, our many attachments and our involvement in worldly pursuits that made us to be oblivious or even resistant to God’s generous love and mercy.

And we have to remind ourselves just how Christ still loves us so much even through the greatest moments of His sufferings, as He bore the weight of the Cross and enduring the most bitter and painful treatment of all. He even forgave His enemies and those who have condemned Him from the cross. Now, then, let us all realise that He has done the exact same thing to each and every one of us, for all of us are sinners, and by our sins we have truly condemned Christ to His suffering and death.

Yet, by His love and dedication to us, He wants to forgive us and He wants us all to be reconciled to Him. This is something that all of us need to realise and understand, so that we no longer waste our time and the opportunities God has given us in our lives, to turn towards Him and to love Him from now on. Let us all embrace God with genuine love just as He has loved us first, and shunning all sorts of sinful and wicked things that have once kept us away from truly enjoying the fullness of God’s grace and love.

May God replace the hearts of stone in us, and put within each and every one of us a living heart filled with love, first of all for Him, and then for our fellow brethren. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 October 2019 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox My answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a Prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your Temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”

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Thursday, 31 October 2019 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 108 : 21-22, 26-27, 30-31

But as for me, o God my YHVH, for Your Name’s sake, act on my behalf; deliver me, in the goodness of Your love. For I am poor and needy; my heart is stricken within me.

Help me, o YHVH my God; and save me, for the sake of Your love. Let them know that this is Your hand; that it is You, YHVH, Who do this.

To YHVH, I will give my thanks; I will praise Him in the great assembly. He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who condemn them.

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Thursday, 31 October 2019 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 31b-39

If God is with us, who shall be against us? If He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not give us all things with Him? Who shall accuse those chosen by God : He takes away their guilt. Who will dare to condemn them? Christ, Who died, and better still, rose, and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be trials, or anguish, persecution or hunger, lack of clothing, or dangers or sword? As the Scripture says : For your sake, we are being killed all day long; they treat us like sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all of this, we are more than conquerors, thanks to Him, Who has loved us. I am certain, that neither death nor life, neither Angels nor spiritual powers, neither the present nor the future, nor cosmic powers, were they from heaven, or from the deep world below, nor any creature whatsoever, will separate us from the love of God, which we have, in Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

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Wednesday, 30 October 2019 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about the need for us to make the effort to be righteous and worthy of God as even though we seek His salvation and the eternal life He has promised us, but the path that we have to follow is littered with much suffering and challenges.

There are plenty of temptations and pressures that are pushing us away from the path of the Lord, and we are often easily swayed and tempted by these things. The Lord Himself plainly said how the path to the kingdom of God is through a narrow door, and while many may claim that they know God or profess faith in Him, but they cannot attain the salvation in God because they did not have genuine faith in Him.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we can call ourselves as Christians and claim that we have been saved by God but unless our hearts and minds are truly attuned to Him, centred on Him and all of our attention and focus are on Him, then we may still be far away from being saved, as our faith is not genuine or only nominal on paper alone.

There are many of us who call ourselves as Christians, and yet in the way we interact with one another, in the words we say and use, in the actions we took and in the way we live our lives, the presence of God can neither be felt or seen. People who saw us, heard us and witnessed our actions and deeds saw in us not God’s presence and love, but worldliness, selfishness, pride, greed and many others.

And why is that so? That is because we are often too proud and take things into our own hands, thinking that we are able to brave through all the challenges and obstacles alone on our own. But we are by nature weak and easily tempted, and unless we have a firm foundation of faith, we are likely to fall deeper and deeper into sin and darkness, and from there, eventually to damnation.

In our first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome reminded them of the need for the faithful people of God to put their trust in the Lord through the works of the Holy Spirit, for it is through the Holy Spirit that God guides His people into the right path, strengthening them and encouraging them to live and persevere through the difficulties with faith.

But we often do not allow the Spirit of God to do its work in us and through us. As mentioned, our pride and our attachments to worldliness prevented us from allowing God and His Holy Spirit from transforming us, our beings and our actions from one of sin and darkness into one of faith and light. Unless we allow God and His Holy Spirit to be an integral part of our daily living, in our every words and actions, there can be little progress for us in the way of faith.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on learn to put our trust in God and open our hearts and minds to allow Him and His Spirit to penetrate through the deepest part of our inner beings and no longer being lukewarm in how we live our faith from now on. Instead of living our lives the way we see fit or how the world wants it to be, let us from now on truly live up to our faith, in our every words, actions and deeds.

May the Lord our God continue to bless us and guide us, so that throughout our lives’ journeys we may persevere through the many challenges and temptations, and grow ever deeper in our faith and devotion to the Lord. May God be with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.