DAILY HOMILIES

Some people may feel offended, but they refuse to let the offender know. This is wrong. If you do not express your pain (in a gentle manner), you bottle up pain in your heart. Like a time bomb, it may explode when you least expect it. Meanwhile, carrying bitterness in your heart while looking for an opportunity to avenge is giving room for the devil to poison your heart with evil suggestions.

Jesus brought a child before the disciples and said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In other words, our measure of greatness in heaven will be according to our measure of our child-like humility on earth.

Even if we are right, there is no need to offend anyone. It is not enough to do what is right; we must refrain from sending the wrong message to those who may not understand us. Like Jesus, who presented himself for baptism even though he was sinless, we must strive to fulfil all righteousness. Hence, even though we do not belong to this world, we cannot evade the payment of taxes.

If we are to understand hell as the place of the unfaithful, it follows that there is a place other than heaven and hell where souls go to receive either a severe or a light beating. This place is what the church calls purgatory. As the Catechism puts it: “Purgatory is the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.” (CCC 1030-1031) This purification is done to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

Jesus teaches that if your faith is as small as a mustard seed (if you have the tiniest atom of expectation), all you need to do is to speak, and mountains will begin to move for your sake. Our tongues have power, but only those who recognise it can use it. Be careful of your choice of words. You may have several challenges and difficulties, but always talk as a person of faith. Avoid the mistake of the Israelites, who, while on their journey to the Promised Land, rebelled against God by their choice of words.

Today’s Gospel passage continues Jesus’ response to Peter when he tried to discourage Him from the Way of the Cross (the road of suffering, humiliation and death). Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” What does this mean? St. John Chrysostom said, “When you deny a person, for instance, say, a brother or a close friend, it means you would fail to defend that person or try to rescue him when you see him beaten, kicked, slapped and tortured. And so, when you deny yourself, you do not resist whatever sufferings, beatings, or humiliation come your way due to your Christian Faith.”

Apart from the fact that, as church leaders, we are prone to temptations, we could also become frustrated by our flock, as we see in today’s first reading. Moses was utterly fed up with the people’s constant complaining. (Like a parish priest whose parishioners criticise a lot). The Israelites complained bitterly about water in the wilderness of Zin. Moses was so fed up that he ignored God’s instructions. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses poured out his anger by striking the rock twice with his rod.

When Jesus took three of his closest disciples up to the Mountain and was transfigured before them, he did so to strengthen their faith, to show them that beyond the self-denials, beyond the tears, beyond the blood to be shared, beyond the beatings, persecutions, and agonies of the cross, there was something beautiful, something resplendent, something so precious that was awaiting them at the end of the day.

This was now the second time the disciples were facing a possible shipwreck. Previously, Jesus was with them, but he was sleeping on a cushion. When his disciples woke him, he rebuked them for their lack of faith. This time, Jesus could see they were even more scared knowing He wasn’t with them in the boat, so He went to them walking on the sea. This was a lesson to the disciples, a proof that no matter how tough and challenging their journeys may be, they must never be afraid.

Let us examine our conscience. Have I become ungrateful? Have my prayers become avenues to complain against God? Do I recognise the fact that I am only a pilgrim on earth? Like the Israelites, we are on a journey to our homeland (the bliss of heaven), and nothing in this world can satisfy us. Regardless of how wealthy you are, without contentment, you are poor. On the other hand, no matter how little you have, as long as you are grateful, you are rich.

My brothers and sisters, have you written your will? If God were to demand your soul this very night, would He call you a fool or a wise person? According to St. Ambrose, “The things that we cannot carry with us are not our own. Virtue alone is the companion of the dead. Mercy alone follows us—and mercy alone gains abodes for the departed.”

Sex is reserved only for marriage because it is an act of total self-giving, and you can only give yourself to someone you are married to. Adultery is theft; it is like removing the engine from a car and still claiming to have a car. Faithfulness to one’s spouse attracts God’s blessings. The book of Proverbs teaches us: “Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So, you will find favour and good repute in the sight of God and people.” (Proverbs 3:3-4).