works of Jesus Christ

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Wednesday, 15 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how the Apostles of our Lord were delivered from their distress, when they were arrested by the Jewish leaders and the elders of the people. They were freed from prison and brought into deliverance to continue once again to teach the word of God to all the people. And in the Gospel, we heard how Jesus made clear God’s love for us, in the famous phrase of the Gospel of St. John Chapter 3, Verse 16.

That God so loved the world, that is all of us mankind, that He was willing to send His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into this world so that all who witness Him and His life, His death and resurrection and then believe in Him, may be saved and not be lost. For God has decreed that all whom He had gathered upon Himself, He would not lose again, unless if we are the ones who want to be lost ourselves.

The essence of this is that, if we put our trust in the Lord, we shall not be disappointed. We shall have no need to fear for anything, as God will guard us and protect us in His own way. God will shield us from harm and bring us to safety. Such is His love and dedication to all those who have put themselves at His care. After all, He had given Himself and none less, for our salvation by His death on the cross.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is often difficult for us to comprehend the fullness of  God’s mercy and love for us. And it is often easy for us to fall into the temptations of this world and to walk down the path of corruption, that is the path of worldliness. And because we trust so much in the things of the world, such as power, fame, prestige, influence and human praise, then we cannot part from these.

We have our fears in this life because of these worldly attachments, and indeed not just attachments, but these had gone further to be addictions. Many times we mankind act in certain ways because we want to preserve ourselves and avoid being harmed in any way. And on the other hand, some of us even acted in a way that bring about harm and pain to others just so that we may preserve ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be awakened to the truth of Christ, that what we truly need is not all the worldly things that this world often impose on us. We have to be courageous in our life so that we may say no and reject all the falsehoods and the traps which Satan had set on our path. We must be able to overcome all this, and despite the challenge, if only that we can trust in God, then the path will be opened for us.

This Easter is a time for us to realise how much is the love which God had showered us with, the perfect and eternal love which He had shown us through Jesus, whom by His death had broken us free from the bonds of sin and death, and by His resurrection, had promised us the eternal promise of eternal life with Him. It is indeed time for us to change our lives for the better, and become better and more devoted disciples of our Lord.

May our Risen Lord, Almighty God, be with us always and guide us in all the ways of our lives. May He bless us and give us strength to carry out His will in this world, and resist the temptations of Satan, resist all of our fears and worries, for in God we can trust, and He will always be faithful. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 14 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how the community of the first Christians lived, and how they shared all their possessions among themselves in a society filled with the love of God and in full obedience to the Law of God. And in the Gospel, we heard how Nicodemus continued his discussion with Jesus at night time, when Jesus told him how the Son of Man was to be raised up as the salvation for all just as Moses raised the bronze serpent in the past.

All these point out to the fact that we Christians should heed the teachings of the Lord and profess His death and resurrection at all times in our life and also in how we live as a community of the faithful ones in God. There is great symbolism in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the very important and singular most important moment together with the Resurrection, which is the moment when God triumphed against the forces of sin and darkness, once and for all.

Our Lord was raised up between the heaven and the earth, for all to see, the suffering which He had endured, the sins for which He had been punished for, which are all our sins and our iniquities, that He had borne in our place. The consequence of sin is death, destruction and annihilation, for we have disobeyed the Master of Life, and by right therefore, we do not deserve to live.

And yet, God is willing to forgive us, providing that we are sincere and genuine in repenting for those sins that we have committed. When the people of Israel walked through the desert during their Exodus out of Egypt, they rebelled and disobeyed against the Lord, such that the Lord sent fiery serpents to strike at those sinful people, and many died. The people repented and cried out to the Lord through Moses, and He told Moses to raise a bronze serpent, and all who had been bitten and looked at the serpent would live.

Thus, all those who have been bitten by sin, that is all of us mankind without exception, except for Christ Himself, is bound to die, and we are supposed to be destroyed and annihilated forever, without hope for redemption. But God’s love for us caused Him to show His mercy in the most spectacular and yet humblest of ways. He raised Himself up on the cross, that all of us who witness His resurrection by what we have received in faith, shall live.

We shall no longer die, that is eternal death. This means that while we still will die at the end of our earthly lives, but just as Christ rose from the dead in glory, we too shall be raised in glory and join Him in body and soul to the heavenly inheritance waiting for us. We shall live, and it is this hope and this joy for a new and everlasting life that we rejoice for this Easter.

But, another significance to today’s readings is also that because we are all a community of the faithful, and as people of the Light who had been saved from the world, and as we have heard and understood the word of God and His teachings, then we too should also showcase that faith through real commitment, real actions and deeds, that others can see and thus be saved too.

We cannot be passive in our faith. Remember what Lord Jesus told His disciples, that if salt loses its saltiness or light is hidden under a cover then these two have no meaning or use? It is the same with all of us. Having shared in the Lord, we too have been charged with the obligation and responsibility to shine with the light of Christ within us, so that all who see us may turn away from their sinfulness and be converted to the truth of Christ.

If we do not act in accordance to the way of the Lord, then it will be a scandal for us, and we may be held responsible for having turned people away from the Lord instead of bringing them closer. We have a lot of homework to do, and indeed, we have to reevaluate our lives and our ways in life. Have we been truly devoted to God and practice our faith genuinely in our actions? Let us ask the Lord for His continuing guidance, so that we may ever walk in His path. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 13 April 2015 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how Nicodemus, one of the upright and righteous Pharisee, who believed in Jesus, came to Him and asked Him about the truth which Christ had brought into the world, which truly intrigued him and made him to reevaluate all of his ways in the world. And in that occasion as well, Jesus made it clear what we need to do in order to be able to attain the fullness of salvation.

In the phrase often used in this Easter season, which is part of the Preface itself, before the most solemn moment when the bread and wine are transformed into the Real Body and Blood of our Lord, that is, “By dying He destroyed our death, and by rising from the dead, He restored our life.” In this we can see how Christ our Lord, the Saviour of the world had freely given up Himself, so that by sharing our humanity, in His triumphant victory against death, He also may bring us all from the snares of death.

And by His resurrection, He has proved to us that death has lost its sting, and that is life and hope beyond the darkness of death. If we put our trust on the Lord, then we have no need to fear or worry, for our Lord Himself had even conquered death and sin, and broke free forever the bonds that once shackled us and doomed us. What indeed is there to fear if we trust in the Lord?

The problem lies in the inability of many of us mankind to resist the poison of fear and doubt in our hearts. Fear made us to do things irrationally and without due concern for others. It makes us selfish and act in self-preservation, that is to put our own interests and needs above that of others. While this is sometimes necessary, but it often becomes a source of suffering for others, as we often may not hesitate to take up actions that bring about discomfort and disadvantage for others around us.

The elders, the Pharisees, the chief priests and all who opposed Jesus and His good works did so because of the same fear, and the same worldly concerns. They feared that they would lose their prestigious position in the society, the fame and praise they received because of their esteemed position. It is just like how we act when we feel jealous of someone, because that person is seemingly better than us. We try our best to bring about the other’s downfall.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Martin I, the Vicar of Christ and Martyr of the Faith, who was embroiled in a bitter struggle with the Emperor of the Roman Empire, who albeit being a Christian, but he espoused and supported the cause of heretics. These heretics championed ideas contrary to the faith, and these came about because of their inability to resist worldly temptations.

Pope St. Martin I adamantly refused to give in to the heretics and to the Emperor as well. He refused to allow any nonsense and any influences of the devil to harm the souls of the faithful, the Church entrusted by God to his care and leadership. As a result, he was persecuted, and later abducted, tortured and eventually martyred for the cause of the Faith. He died a full life, having defended the faith which was so precious to him and saved countless souls from damnation.

All these came about because they did not put their trust in God, and they rather placed their trust only in themselves. This brought them to their doom, and it will be the same for us, unless we wake up to the reality of how dangerous our souls are close to condemnation if we continue to walk in the same path. That is what God wants us to realise, that unless we truly change our ways totally and commit ourselves to a new life in God, we are always still in danger of hell.

By our baptism, we have shared in the death and resurrection of our Lord, and by receiving His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, we also share in our Lord together as one people, sharing the inheritance and the grace which He had promised all those who believe in Him. But without genuine sincerity and commitment in our faith, we cannot go far. Our faith is not one that is passive or dead, but instead, it is one of action and real devotion.

Thus, we have to be reborn again, not in physical terms, but in terms of our spirituality, our heart and our soul, that while we once lived according to the manners of the world, we now change ourselves, so that while we were once selfish, we now care more for others around us and devote ourselves sincerely in faith, loving both our Lord and our fellow men. God be with us all, and may He guide us always on our path. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 April 2015 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter, which is also known since just over a decade ago as the Divine Mercy Sunday, the day and special occasion when we celebrate the Lord’s merciful love and forgiveness for us all. It is at the heart of our Easter celebrations to understand and appreciate the fullness of God’s mercy which He had shown to us all.

In Easter we rejoice because of the love that God had shown us through Jesus, which was so great such that He was willing to give Himself as the sacrificial offering and victim for the purification of our sins. Our sins and faults are the burdens which He bore, and the wounds which He received, were the iniquities and wickedness which we had committed in life.

Like the parable and story on the prodigal son, the story which Jesus told the people and which we all mostly know, we are the prodigal sons in the story. We are the prodigal sons and daughters of our Lord, by our disobedience against His will, and by the various acts of hatred, injustice, selfishness and other negativities which cast us apart from God and His love.

The father is our Lord and Father, God who is always concerned about us day and night, at all times, waiting for us to return from our waywardness, and for us to make that effort to turn back to Him, who is always waiting for our return, for our repentance from our sins. He is always available, and His arms are always open and ready to welcome us back, and this is His mercy.

But mercy alone is not complete and is not enough. God offers His mercy freely, but will we take that mercy and follow Him? Are we able to persuade ourselves enough and put enough effort to stop whatever wickedness we have committed and fully embrace God’s mercy and thus be genuinely and completely reconciled to Him? These are the questions which we really should ask ourselves as we reflect on the Most Divine Mercy of our Lord on this day.

God loves all of us and He wants us to be thoroughly converted, not just making empty promises and empty profession of faith. If we seek God’s mercy, then we must also change our ways and put in a great effort in order to do that. God loves us all, but He hates thoroughly the sins and wickedness which we performed in this world, in His sight and presence. If we do not change our ways, then what we are seeking is false mercy.

And it is this false mercy that some elements in our Church had been trying to force and administer to all those who have sinned and still live in that sin which had separated them from God. If we offer false mercy to others, not only that it would create the false impression that God does not mind that we continue to live in sin, but thus also make us to be lazy and complacent, in continuing to walk down our sinful path.

We must beware lest the temptations of the world and the lures of the devil get to us. It is the seeds of evil and rebellion, of disobedience and haughtiness, of pride and selfishness that he placed inside each one of us because of our sins. Do not let our minds and hearts be deceived because of what we think is the easier path in life. God wants His peace and mercy to be upon us, but this does not come about easily and without difficulty.

Temptations are abundant, and life will not be easy for us to resist all of them. The pull of money, of power, of fame and human praise, as well as many other worldliness separating us from the righteousness in God are challenges that we have to face. Indeed, this may seem to be difficult, but certainly not impossible for us. What we need is courage and the willpower to make a difference to ourselves.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, what we need to do, is to change ourselves first. We have to commit ourselves to the new way of life, that is to walk upright in the presence of God. And we can begin that by learning to forgive one another, letting go of our anger and hatred to one another. We mankind are often bound by our emotions and our inability to let go of our grudge.

Let us ask ourselves this question then, are we able to be forgiven by God if we have not forgiven others around us first? If we hold grudge against others and refuse to forgive them, then what right do we have to demand or deserve mercy from the Lord? Forgive and you shall be forgiven too, and in the Lord’s Prayer, we also ask God to forgive our sins just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday let us all remind each other, that we have much to do. We have to begin with ourselves, practicing mercy and forgiveness in our own lives, but we also have to still be concerned about our sins. We cannot just forgive and let everything go on as if nothing had happened. When we forgive others, we too should remind them to change their ways and embrace repentance sincerely, and this too we should do, if we had harmed others in any way.

Let us all be proactive in our faith and grow in our devotion to Him. Let us look to His merciful heart and seek that mercy, all the while devoting ourselves to the path of righteousness in accordance with the way that our Lord had taught us to do. God’s mercy be upon us, and with our sincere repentance and turning away from sins, may all mankind receive His grace, love and salvation. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 April 2015 : Saturday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen yet again to the news of our Lord’s resurrection and triumphant glory, the triumph against death and all the forces of evil. He is risen, and that is why we can be happy and truly be joyful, and revel in His glory, for He has conquered death, and we know that we have hope because of that.

And that is the message that He also wants us all to propagate to all of the world, so that all who hear of them may be turned in their hearts and be turned into righteousness and be saved as well. This is the mission and commandment which He had given us all, that we as one Church put all of our effort into this and work together in order to achieve that goal of salvation.

But as we heard in today’s readings as well, that there were those who were adamantly opposed to Christ and His teachings, and they commanded the Apostles to keep their mouth shut and not speak about the Lord and His truth. All these is because they feared that if the truth is to be known, then that would spell the end of their privileged status in the society, and the end of their worldly ambitions and power.

But as we heard, no amount of coercion, threats or challenges would deter the Apostles from speaking up about their faith and about the Risen Lord. Had they succumbed and obeyed the chief priests at that time, then none of us would have known about the Lord, and thus, none of us, and also countless others, millions upon billions and more would have been saved.

Our Church is not a Church of passive people, who remain inactive and just wait patiently for the day of the Lord’s salvation. Instead, it is a living Church, a Church filled with saints, martyrs, and also sinners. We all are part of that Church, and it is living and thriving amidst the difficulties of the world, precisely because its members dared to stand up for their faith and speak up as witnesses in this world.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Stanislaus, yet another of this brave man of God, whose life and even in death is an inspiration to all of us, on how we should live up to our faith in God. St. Stanislaus or St. Stanislaw is a very well known and famous Polish saint and martyr, who lived during the Middle Ages, at a time of turmoil and difficulty.

St. Stanislaus was the Bishop of the venerable city of Krakow, then capital of Poland, who was a vocal critic of the king, who lived in sin and wickedness, and whose actions did not bring about the glory of God, but sought for only his own glory. St. Stanislaus did not fear to speak up, because it was for the good of his flock, that they might not be misguided into sin and evil.

The king was very unpleased with this holy man and dedicated servant of God, and he plotted to kill St. Stanislaus and get rid of him. Thus, St. Stanislaus was martyred when he was celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, killed by the king’s own hand himself. In defending the faith and the souls of God’s faithful, the holy man of God was raised to the Altar in glory, while his murderer was forced to go into exile and died in great ignominy and shame.

What St. Stanislaus showed us is that there are so many things that all of us as members of the Church can do in order to help out, by helping all those who have yet to be touched by the light of the Lord. This is what we should do, that by our actions and deeds, we show to the whole world, what our faith is about, and let us testify to the Risen Christ, our Lord, that His light may dispel all the darkness in the world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 10 April 2015 : Friday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continue to hear the testimonies and proofs of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the Holy Apostles and many other disciples of Jesus and even many other people at that time. The Lord Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, and what He did at the lake in the presence of the Apostles showed that it is really Him.

But there is an even greater significance to the readings today than what we would normally appreciate. Jesus came at the time when the disciples had gone out fishing for the whole night without being able to catch any fish at all. The disciples followed His instructions and immediately, a lot of large fishes, a hundred and fifty-three in all were captured in the net.

The large fishes, all of them are a symbol of the world itself, with all of the different people, different races and the different groups who come together and are ensnared in that net held from the boat steered by the Apostles, and this represent the Church itself. The boat is the Church, and the Apostles are its helmsmen, just as our priests and bishops today, their successors, are the helmsmen of the same Church.

The water represents the darkness of the world, and the nothingness beyond God and His light. Those fishes represents all of us mankind, whom God wants to empower and take out from that world of darkness, and bring into the light through the Church. Thus, what happened in the Gospel today is the story of salvation itself, and it is still occurring even unto this day.

And it also shows us all, what we, as the members of God’s Church should do and are indeed expected to do. For there are still so many people, so many souls out there are in the darkness and longing for the redemption which only the Lord can give. It is our part to give our best to help the cause of the Lord, by working together as the whole Church, to rescue the lost souls and all those who are still in darkness, so that they may see and witness the light of Christ and be saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the mission and the command which our Lord had given to His disciples, and through them, to us all, that we go forth into the world to proclaim the Good News of His salvation, and that by His death and resurrection, He had conquered sin and death, and make the new hope of an everlasting life available to all of us.

This Easter is the time that we renew our commitment, not only to be faithful to our Lord, but also to continue the mission which He had entrusted to all of us. If we are not there to help our brethren escape the same danger and darkness from which we had escaped from, then who else would? Our Lord wants us all to be saved, yes, indeed, but He also wants us all to do so by our own free will and choice.

There is much homework for all of us to do. We should first look into our own lives first, and ask ourselves the question. Have we indeed been faithful to the Lord through words, deeds and actions? Have we been truly faithful in the heart and soul? Have we been genuinely faithful to Him by doing all of His will, and bringing His light and salvation to all those who have yet to hear of them all?

Let us all renew our efforts, to change our own lives, and live according to the ways of the Lord, that we ourselves will be worthy to be called the children of God, and by our actions, may countless others be inspired to do the same, and be saved together as one people, one race of humanity loved by our Lord and God, He who have given Himself as a willing sacrifice to save us all. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 April 2015 : Thursday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all heard about how Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead, and how He dispelled their uncertainties and doubts, by proving that He is indeed the Risen Lord, the suffering Messiah who had been lifted up to glory, in fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken about.

He is the fulfillment of God’s promise for a long time, and indeed what St. Peter and St. John had testified in front of the Council of the elders and the High Priests was a reminder of that fact, and how God had loved His people so much, even when the people refused to acknowledge Him or to follow Him. God has given so much for us, even when we have given Him so little or nothing, or even contempt in return.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Easter season, we are all reminded of the great mercy and forgiveness which our Lord had shown us, and which He will always show us and offer to us, for the sake of our salvation and redemption, destroying our sins and our iniquities which have barred our way to Him. And therefore, having been renewed in the Lord, we are worthy to receive the heavenly inheritance and great graces which have always been intended for us.

But this does not come about easily, brethren, for the salvation of the Lord does not require just passive waiting for God’s mercy or to think that no matter what we have done, God will surely forgive us. Forgiveness does not come about without repentance and sincere intention on our part so that we devote ourselves to sin no more and walk from then on always in the ways of God.

Just think about it, brethren, that if we profess to be faithful to the Lord our God, and in our actions we show otherwise, then would it not indeed be a great scandal, both in the eyes of God and men alike? Man cannot serve two masters, and indeed, we cannot both serve God and our desires. We cannot serve both God and Satan at the same time. We have to make a conscious and clear choice between the two.

Doubt, uncertainties, fears and all the things which the Apostles encountered, experienced and felt, are all human nature, and so was with the Pharisees, the elders, the chief priests and all who plotted against Jesus and condemned Him to be crucified. It was because of their inability to detach themselves from the desires and from the temptations of the world that they had committed such a great sin.

We have to remember, brothers and sisters, that all of us are sinners, and that there is no sin which has been counted beyond what God had borne upon Himself as He carried that cross to Calvary. Every single sin we committed, even the smallest ones had been taken up by Jesus, and through His death and His resurrection from the dead, He offered to us all the great opportunity and grace which God had promised to His people.

Therefore, as we continue to celebrate and rejoice through this blessed season of Easter, let us remember that we should try to keep ourselves as immaculate and pure as possible. Do not let evil desires and wickedness to affect us and corrupt us. It is very important that we should do as what is expected of us as the children of God. May Almighty God therefore bless us and guide us in all our ways. God be with us all forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 April 2015 : Wednesday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to rejoice in the Easter season and through this octave or eight days of great joy for our Lord’s resurrection and triumph, we heard about the story of how Peter and John, our Lord’s Apostles, who healed the beggar who could not walk at the Temple, at the Name of Jesus. The beggar could walk again and the people were astonished.

And in the Gospel reading, we heard about the disciples of Jesus who encountered the Risen Lord on their way from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. They started with heavy heart, uncertainty and sorrow, when they left Jerusalem, bereft and without hope, having witnessed their supposed Lord and Saviour rejected by the people, condemned and died a criminal’s death on the cross.

But Jesus came into their midst and even though they did not realise it at first, and even though they did not recognise Him at first, and He healed the problems of their heart. He lifted up their spirit and encouraged them at heart with the words of the Scriptures made clear through His own words and teaching. It was like the moment when the veil of great darkness was torn apart and light gushes forth like a torrent, the moment of truth and hope which all of them had been waiting for.

And thus, this is also the essence of our celebration of this Easter. Easter is not just about rejoicing, partying and merrymaking without clear reason why we do so. Easter is truly about the moment of truth, where all lies and darkness fail, and the truth of our Lord’s salvation and love for us was made real through Jesus. This is the true joy, knowing that our Lord cares for us greatly, and He will not let us to fall into damnation, unless it is we ourselves who purposefully look for it.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what we heard today in the Scriptures are proofs of God’s love for us, and the healing He wanted to bring to all of us, the healing of the body, mind and spirit. And the most important of which is the healing of the spirit, and of the soul. For while external and physical afflictions and diseases may cause great discomfort and pain, they do not last forever, and there will indeed be a time when we all shall be free of those, but the effects of the illness and sickness of the soul, shall last forever if we are not vigilant.

The sickness of the soul is sin, and sin is a taint upon our otherwise immaculate soul. The pure and clean soul had been dirtied by the presence of sin, through our greed and human desires, through our pride and selfishness, and through the many acts we had committed which were not in accordance to the will and to the teachings of the Lord. These things distanced ourselves from God, and in time, they will bring about condemnation for us.

And that is why, all of us should realise that we still have the chance and opportunities given to us by the Lord, to change our ways and repent. If we accept fully His Laws and commandments, and committing ourselves to reject all forms of sin and wickedness, in our daily life and actions, then truly, we have hope. It is therefore, a reminder to all of us this Easter season, that we ought to conquer sin and wickedness in this time of grace, just as Christ had conquered death itself.

Let us take up this opportunity to renew and strengthen our faith to the Lord, and let us make real the renewal of our baptismal promises which we have just made on the Easter Sunday. Let us not be afraid anymore, or be uncertain in any way, for indeed our Lord had triumphed, and He shall bring us all healing and succour. Just as through His Name the beggar was healed, and just as the two disciples on their way to Emmaus were strengthened and healed in spirit, we too will receive the same healing and grace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 April 2015 : Tuesday within Easter Octave, Memorial of St. John Baptist de La Salle, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard two stories from the Scriptures. Our first reading, the reading from the Acts of the Apostles showed us how the Church of God was born, through the testimony which Peter showed the people in Jerusalem at the time of the Pentecost, and converted three thousand people who gave themselves to be baptised.

And in the Gospel from the Gospel according to St. John, we heard about the story of how Mary Magdalene, the faithful woman who was among the chief female disciples of Jesus, who grieved because she thought someone had stolen the body of Jesus, only for Jesus Himself to show Himself to her, as a proof that His body was not lost or stolen, but instead He had risen in glory, in Body and Spirit, just as the prophets had foretold about Him.

All these showed us that while once we were unsure of what is to become of us, and while we were once sorrowful and grieving because of our sins and wickedness, but because Christ is risen from the dead, we can rejoice once again, because we now know that death does not have the final say over us. We have no need to fear death, because death is just the beginning of a new life filled with joy and happiness with God, and not the end.

Through baptism, we have died to our old selves, our sinful past and our wicked nature, and we have been brought into a new life founded upon the Law and precepts of the Lord. Through baptism we have shared in the death of our Lord Jesus, cast away all of the impurities of our old selves, and then share in the resurrection of our Lord, reborn anew in a body of grace and filled with the light of God.

But one thing we cannot forget is that, while we all have been saved and made whole, there are many others who are still left behind in the darkness, and many of them do not know the way to go in order to reach the Lord their God. Thus they remain lost in the darkness, condemned and forsaken. Many remained lost and many have not yet heard the Good News of our Lord and His truth. Many remains unloved and uncared for, even rejected by the society for their sins.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John Baptist de la Salle, a French priest who lived a few hundred years ago, who was the founder of the order of the Brothers of Christian Schools, missionaries and people dedicated to the service of God and His people, especially in the field of Catholic education, educating countless masses and people throughout the world.

St. John Baptist de la Salle was from a privileged background and had a wonderful career as a priest and canon of the Cathedral of Rheims, a well-respected position and assured career, but he heard a higher call and decided that there was still so many things he could do in order to help all those people who were poor, lowest and least in the society, many of whom have not been saved due to their sins and wickedness.

And by what he had started then, many people and many souls had been saved from the brink of disaster, rescued from the darkness and brought into the light. We too should follow in his footsteps and realise how much we can do in order to change the fate of so many others around us. We cannot be apathetic to their cause, for we are all brethren in the same Lord.

And did the Lord Jesus not command His disciples to spread the Good News of salvation to all of the world? Yes, this He did, and it is therefore, our duty and obligation, for us to preach the Good News of God and carry it far and wide. Thus, let us make this Easter more meaningful by using it to deepen our faith and devotion, through real action in bringing the Good News of God to those who have yet heard it, so that they too may be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 6 April 2015 : Monday within Easter Octave (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to glorify God and rejoice in His glory, proceeding through this Easter Octave, we should know that this joy that we celebrate now and which we have now, stemmed from the fact that we have been liberated and made free from the enslavement of sin. Once we were a people rejected and without hope, doomed to die a sinner’s death, but now we know that God had given us that hope through which we now can truly rejoice again.

We celebrate because we were once orphans, rejected and unwanted, and because we ourselves had severed the link which connected us to our Father and Creator, God. If we remember the story of the prodigal son which Jesus told to His disciples, we are the prodigal sons who abandoned our Father for the pursuit of worldly goodness and pleasures, and in the process, we fell.

God so loved all of us His children, that like in the story of the prodigal son, He as the Father of all rejoices so much whenever even a single one of His children return to Him and repent from his or her sins. Truly our joy in this Easter is both because we have that great hope of another chance and a new life in God, and also because God and all the angels and saints in heaven laud and glory because of the conversion of a sinner.

Do you know that there is a great rejoicing in heaven over the repentance of even a single sinner? Yes, this is because by the repentance, the sinner who was once forever lost to God and condemned forever, had been rediscovered and made anew to live together with God. In the story of the prodigal son, the father was so happy that his wayward son returned, that despite all that he had done, he welcomed him with much fanfare and rejoicing.

But we have to realise, that changing our ways and repentance are not easy to be done. Challenges from the world and all of Satan’s forces will be great, as they certainly will not easily let us go and be lost from them. This was clearly presented in the Gospel today, which told us about the resurrection of Jesus, but also importantly presented what happened afterwards among the chief priests and the elders, and how they plotted to try to keep the truth hidden from the people.

The chief priests, the elders and the Pharisees all worked to destroy Jesus and His teachings out of their jealousy and inability to resist the temptations of power in the world. They gave in to the persuasions of Satan, telling them to hold tightly to the power and prestige which they have been accorded to in the world. And this jealousy gave rise to all the wicked things which they had committed and done.

For example, from what they have seen in Jesus and all of His works, they, who were the most learned and educated among the people, and as the ones who were most knowledgeable about the Law of God and the teachings of the prophets, and yet because of their pride, they closed their hearts to God and hardened it. And that was why they did the things they had done. They refused to believe that the Lord they condemned to death had triumphed death itself and has risen from the dead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is unrepentant behaviour, and one that we certainly have to avoid. We cannot allow our sins and our human desires, temptation of Satan and many others to come in between us and our salvation in God. Thus, this Easter is a reminder for us, that even as we rejoice and revel in the glory of God’s resurrection from the dead, we still ought to work hard in order to preserve our faith in Him and avoid committing wickedness and sin in our lives.

May Almighty God, the Risen and triumphant Jesus Christ strengthen our faith in us always, empower us to do more good works for the sake of His people, loving one another, and living our faith with sincerity and zeal. God bless us all and have a blessed Easter! Amen.