Weekdays of Ordinary Time

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, all of us celebrate together the great Solemnity of All Saints, all the holy men and women who have gone before us, and whom the Church has officially recognised as those who have deserved and are worthy of the glory of heaven, by the virtue of their lives on earth, their exemplary and inspiring life examples, and their commitments to the Church, to God and His people.

And all of us have to realise that, the saints and all the martyrs of God who have left this earthly existence before us are still as much as part of the entire Universal Church with us, together with the holy souls that are now in Purgatory. Therefore, the Church does not consist just of the physical Church that we see now in this world, but also the spiritual Church that is in heaven and in Purgatory, constantly praying for one another.

We are all parts of the Church in this world, the Church Militant, all those who are still struggling daily to remain true and faithful to the Lord, sinners who are called to conversion and change of life, to be true disciples of the Lord. Meanwhile, the holy souls in Purgatory, those who were deemed to be worthy of the Lord, not counted among the wicked, but not yet worthy of the fullness of God’s glory because of the venial or minor sins they still had, belong to the Church Suffering.

Therefore, tomorrow, on All Souls’ Day, we will remember these holy souls who are suffering in Purgatory, to atone for the remainders of their sins. But today, we rejoice together celebrating with the Church Triumphant, the holy saints of God, those deemed worthy by the Church to merit immediately the glory of heaven. Thus, we believe that they are now in heaven, in the presence of God, praying and interceding for our sake.

There are still many who misunderstand the practice of the veneration of the saints in the Church, including those who have fallen into certain heresies and rejected this venerable practice. The veneration of saints begun as a practice beginning from the days of the saints and martyrs of the early Church, when those who were martyred for their faith were remembered for their staunch and steadfast faith in God.

In fact, the practice of celebrating the Holy Mass on the Altar in which the relics of saints and martyrs had been deposited, began from those years, when Christians had to gather and meet in secret, celebrating the Holy Mass in catacombs or graveyards underground, where the tombs of the saints and martyrs were located. The Holy Mass would be celebrated above those tombs, linking to what we practice now.

And through this, we also can see the clear link between the life of those saints and martyrs, with the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, which is celebrated during every single celebration of the Holy Mass. The life, virtues and holiness of the saints cannot be separated from the One from Whom the saints drew the source of their strength, and from Whom came the holiness that was reflected on their lives.

Contrary to what some accused wrongly of the Church and our faith, we do not worship the saints in any way, or give them the adoration that is reserved to God alone. However, we venerate them and honour them because of their exemplary life, which the Church deems that each and every one of us can also follow in our own daily lives. Through the veneration of the saints, it is hoped that we too can be touched in our hearts by their holiness, and become holy ourselves.

The saints intercede for our sake, praying for us before God, that their prayers, being close to God, will be heard more by the Lord our God. We do not pray to the saints asking them to do what we want, or perform wondrous and miraculous deeds, as this is a common misconception of what we Christians believe about the saints and holy men and women we venerate. Rather, we ask them to pray for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, then, we also have to remember that no one was born a saint, except for Mary, the mother of Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, because of her special role in our salvation, to be the new Ark of the Covenant, bearing God Himself in her. And therefore, God made her to be special, conceived without the taints of original sin, and remaining Immaculate through her life. I will discuss her in a moment, but now let us turn our focus back to the saints.

The saints themselves were sinners, and some were indeed great sinners. Some were murderers, like St. Vladimir of Russia, prince of Kiev, who was a pagan before his conversion, leading a very immoral lifestyle, and killing many people during his reign, including his own father and children. But, the Lord called him to the light, and by embracing the Christian faith, St. Vladimir had a total change of heart, dismissing his old pagan and immoral life, and became a great Christian ruler from then on.

Some others were unrepentant sinners for many years, like St. Augustine of Hippo, now known as a great Doctor of the Church and well-known for his many works and writings that still heavily influences the Church up to this day. Yet, at that time, early in his life, he practiced many immoral behaviour, having a child outside of marriage with his mistress, as well as many other sins he committed. But through the ceaseless efforts and prayers from his mother, St. Monica, St. Augustine eventually repented and changed his life from a life of sin into a life of holiness devoted to God.

What does this tell us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that we must not see the saints and the holy men and women of God, the Blesseds and the Venerables, the Servants of God, and many more people who have led virtuous and righteous lives as people who were impeccable and unblemished. Indeed, now they have been made clean by the Lord, as St. John saw in the Book of Revelations, in his vision of the multitudes of holy men and women in pure white garment, washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

The Blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Lord has purified us all from our sins, from His loving sacrifice at Calvary. Thus the same Blood has purified all the saints, by either the virtue of their lives, or by their courageous defence of their faith to the point of martyrdom, and many other ways by which these saints have glorified the Lord.

I like to compare the saints to the stained glasses in our churches. Indeed, this comparison is good because we use stained glasses in the churches in order to show to the people first of all, the life of our God, His mission on earth and the important events that occurred throughout the Old and New Testaments. Yet, there are also many others that depict the life of God’s saints.

In the past, many people were uneducated and illiterate, and they were not even able to read the Bible as we are today. It is often that we take our literacy and the easy availability of the Bible for granted. But at that time, the people could not read the Bible because they could not read at all, and in the even earlier days, before the Bible was codified by the Church, and at times of great persecution, it was through drawings and sketches on the walls of the catacombs and the churches.

And this practice continued with the stained glasses. What is beautiful about stained glasses is that, in the old times, the interior of the church building would be dark without any source of light. Candles are used to provide these lights at night, but natural light from the outside during daytime are allowed to enter the church building, through the stained glasses.

The stained glasses on their own shine no light, and stained glasses in the darkness cannot be seen. In truth, they seem so beautiful because of the light that passes through them. And we can see the light made more beautiful through the scenes depicted on the stained glasses. It is the same with God and His saints. The saints have no merit on their own except through the Lord. They are holy and honoured because God’s light can be found in them, shining through them.

Therefore, just as the stained glasses make the light passing through them more beautiful, God is glorified through the deeds of His saints, and all of us can also learn from their good examples, by following their footsteps and practicing what they have done and apply these in our own respective lives. We are called to be saints just as those who have gone before us received the crown of heavenly glory.

We may be apprehensive and think that through our sins, we have not been worthy of God, but as we have discussed just earlier, saints themselves were born not as saints, and all of them have been sinners before. What matters is the conversion of the heart, mind, body and indeed our entire being, that we turn our backs to our sinful past and all the wickedness we have committed in life. What matters is that we change our ways, following the examples of the saints, our role models.

And the greatest role model we can have is Mary, the mother of our God, the greatest among all saints. For she is indeed in heaven, closest to the throne of her Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. She is always praying for us, her adopted children, because by entrusting her to us, God has made her to be our mother as well. Let us model ourselves based on the model of Mary, in her faith and dedication to God, and remind ourselves each and every day that all of us have the potential for holiness.

Let us all therefore today be encouraged by the examples of the saints, shedding from ourselves all the darkness and the dirty sins and wickedness covering our beings, that through God’s light in us, realised through our faith and actions, we may shine brightly with the light of God in our lives. Let us be the beautiful stained glasses of the Lord, shining with God’s light and showing forth God’s glory through our actions.

May the Lord be with us always, and may through the intercession of His saints, each and every one of us will be brought ever closer to our loving God, and we hope that one day we will share the eternal joy of heaven with them. O holy saints of God in heaven, pray for us always, and pray for our brethren who are now suffering in Purgatory as well. Amen.

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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : 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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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : 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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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : 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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Wednesday, 1 November 2017 : 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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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we listened to the Word of God in the Sacred Scriptures today, we heard first of all, the exhortation by St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, about the strong desire, the pangs and the want in many people, for God, for His love, kindness, mercy and compassion. All of us have been created by God through love, and because of love, the love He has shown us.

And because of this love, which we can feel and relate to, we also have that desire in each and every one of us, to love God equally in the same way that He has loved us. The question is then, why is it that there are still so many people in this world, who profess to be Christians and yet, in their actions, words and deeds, they completely show otherwise? In order to understand this better, let us discuss the Gospel passage we have just heard today.

In the Gospel passage, Jesus our Lord spoke of two parables, first of all, the parable of the mustard seed, and then secondly, the parable of the yeast hidden in three measures of flour. Jesus liked to use parables in order to help the people to understand better about His teachings, and He used these parables to show them what it is like in the kingdom of heaven, or rather, to put it plainly, what it will be like for those who have listened to the Word of God, and apply it in their lives.

The mustard seed is a very small type of seed, which is often very insignificant and often ignored. Yet, once it grows into a plant, it becomes a plant of sizeable proportion, a few metres tall, that no one would have imagined possible. Similarly, yeast are very small, microscopic organisms that cannot even be seen by the naked eyes. Yet, it is because of the yeast, placed inside a piece of dough, that fluffy and nice bread can be created.

But all these are not possible without the right conditions, as without those favourable conditions, none of the processes will work. Mustard seed being a plant, must be placed in the right type of soil to be able to grow, or else, the seeds will remain as seeds and nothing will happen to them. Similarly, the yeast without warm water will not be able to perform its function, and also if air is allowed into the mixture, the process of fermentation will also cease, and the bread dough will not rise.

In the same manner, therefore, the mustard seed and the yeast represent the seeds of faith that God has given us and put in our hearts and minds. All of us have been given the same gifts and the same blessings from God, but how they bear the good fruits in our lives depend entirely on whether we allow what the Lord has given us and provided us to grow and bear the good fruits of faith.

That is why there are many Christians who have lapsed in their faith, or even doing things that are contrary to the faith, ending up causing scandal for the Church and for the faith alike. They have not been truly faithful, and they allowed the temptations of this world, the allures of sin to corrupt them and to strangle the gift of God’s faith in our hearts. That is why they are not yet able to give themselves wholeheartedly to God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us all reflect on our lives, how we have lived it thus far, and what are the things which each and every one of us can do, in order to grow in faith, and to realise the vision of the kingdom of God, which the Lord Jesus has brought upon us, and now lives in our hearts, in our minds, in our souls and indeed in our entire being.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He guide us in our journey of faith, so that we will be able to draw ever closer to Him, be ever more gracious, generous and loving, especially to those with whom we have been angry before, jealous at, or those who despises and hates us. Let us all throw all these things far away off from our lives, from our hearts and minds, that we may be able to purify ourselves and grow ever more dedicated to God day by day.

May God continue to guide us on our path and this journey of faith we embark on, and may His blessings continue to be with all of our endeavours. May God bless us all, our families and our loved ones, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 18-21

At that time, Jesus continued to say to the people, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of flour, until it is all leavened.”

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 125 : 1-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

When YHVH brought the exiles back to Zion, we were like those moving in a dream. Then, our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.

Among the nations it was said, “YHVH has done great things for them.” YHVH had done great things for us, and we were glad indeed.

Bring back our exiles, o YHVH, like fresh streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs and shouts of joy.

They went forth weeping, bearing the seeds for sowing, they will come home with joyful shouts, bringing their harvested sheaves.

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Tuesday, 31 October 2017 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 8 : 18-25

I consider, that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth, in glory, of the children of God. For, if now, the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world, will be freed from this fate of death, and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know, that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves; although the Spirit was given to us, as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day, when God will give us full rights, and rescue our bodies as well.

In hope, we already have salvation. But, if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope : how can you hope for what is already seen? So, we hope for what we do not see, and we will receive it, through patient hope.

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Monday, 30 October 2017 : 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 God from the Sacred Scriptures, and we are reminded that first of all, God is our loving Father, the One Who created us and cared for us, every single moments of our lives. Yet, many of us are unaware of this love which God has for everyone. In fact, we even doubted His love.

That is why today each and every one of us are called to remember our nature as the sons and daughters of God, as those whom God had called from the world, and chosen to become enlightened and as children of the light, turning away from all the darkness of our lives in this world. God wants each and every one of His children to be united with Him, and to receive the fullness of His love, and that is why we heard what happened in the Gospel today.

Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for eighteen years, because she was possessed by evil spirits, who kept her chained to the darkness and made her to suffer. God, seeing one of His children suffering in that manner certainly was moved to mercy and to the desire to forgive her from her faults and sins. That was why, Jesus stretched out His hands and cast the evil spirits from the woman, even though it was a Sabbath day, a day when according to the Jewish traditions and rules, it was forbidden to do anything.

But that was exactly why we have ended up being disobedient and distant from God, because we no longer do what is necessary for us to draw closer to God, our loving Father. Instead, we become distracted and are drawn away by our own temptations of greed, personal desires and ambition, and many more things that have become obstacles in our journey towards the Lord.

For example, as mentioned, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law immediately criticised Jesus the moment He performed the healing on the woman. They rebuked Him and protested that Jesus had disobeyed the laws of the Sabbath. But that was exactly because they failed to understand the true meaning of the Sabbath day, its intention and purpose when the Lord instructed His people to keep it holy.

The Sabbath is a day set aside in the week, much as Sundays are for us now, to be a holy day of the Lord, when the people would set aside their daily businesses and occupations, and instead focused their attention and commitment to the Lord. That is the true intention why the Lord instituted the Sabbath, much like the Sundays we have. Yet, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law have enforced the rules without proper understanding of the meaning and purpose.

Instead, they have ended up glorifying themselves and made use of the Sabbath as means to show the people that they were devout and holy. To them, if someone is to obey the entirety of the Sabbath rules, by staying dormant and inactive throughout the day, not even doing what is good, ignoring the needs of the poor and those who are in need of assistance, then they were considered holy and pious.

But Jesus our Lord made things straight, and plainly spoke to them, rebuking their wrong attitudes and thoughts, reminding them that God loves all of His children, and desires that each and every one of them should be saved and freed from the bondage and slavery to sin. To that extent, He reminded the people that the Sabbath was created for the people of God, as way to ensure and encourage them to give themselves to God, to reorientate themselves and refocus their attention to God.

If God has loved us so dearly and if He had generously given His care and attention, then it is only right and just that we also love Him in the same manner. But this is easier said than done. As the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had shown, there are always many reasons for us mankind to make excuses when we are supposed to love God. And especially when God is not at the centre of our lives, then we will end up drifting away from Him, and we will be lost from Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have, therefore, this important takeaway today, that all of us should come to realise more in our very own lives, just how loving and caring God has been for us, in various occasions in our lives, be it in good times or in not so good times, or at the time when we are lonely and troubled. God is and has always been there, caring for us and showing His love for us. Can we not love Him back in the same manner?

Let us all therefore love the Lord our God more wholeheartedly from now on, devoting ourselves, our time and effort to care for our needy brethren, because we must remember that, as the Lord Himself said, that whatever we have done for the least, the last and the weakest among our brethren, we have done it for the Lord Himself. May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to guide our paths in the way towards His everlasting love and grace. Amen.