Fr MC’s Homilies and Podcast

Gospel of 27 July 2027 Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 13:31-35 The smallest of all seeds grows into the biggest shrub of all Jesus put a parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’ In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy: I will speak to you in parables and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world. Reflexion These two parables are usually interpreted as illustrating how the Kingdom of God can have humble beginnings. But there is more to a parable than meets the eye. Parables are meant to challenge and upend our notion of what is normal, what is often assumed and taken for granted. And so we have the first parable of the Mustard Seed. Most of us see this seed as harmless. But few realise that the mustard tree can grow like a weed and, like a weed it can soon overwhelm your entire garden. Furthermore, there is the matter of the birds - they may strike us as a charming touch, but remember that birds are an ever-present threat to the crops. Thus, the parable provides the early listeners with a startling metaphor. Jesus uses a parasitic plant, which attracts undesirables, and which can grow to unmitigated proportions, to describe the Kingdom.  And then there is the parable of the Yeast.  A woman takes some yeast, mixes it with flour, and the dough rises. Most of us like this parable. It sounds like a cooking class. But this is not what it’s meant to be. The yeast is unpleasant, disgusting, and stinks. To a Jew, yeast was considered so foul that it was deemed to be ritually unclean, and it was banned from use in the Temple. On the eve of the Passover, the entire household will undertake a hunt for any item containing yeast within the house in order to remove this offending foodstuff ingredient. Indeed it had come to symbolise evil. What is Jesus suggesting with these two images? Our Lord is reminding us that the Kingdom will expand in ways that we can hardly anticipate. You will agree that these parables are hardly bedtime stories for children. In fact, these nightmarish images can be upsetting as they challenge our preconceived notions about God and how He chooses to work. God does not only tolerate the messiness but in fact subverts the messiness and uses it as the raw material of His Kingdom. This is the truth which the parables wish to convey to us - God can take the greatest of evils and turn them into the greatest of good. The cross demonstrates the veracity of these parables – God can subvert the worst evil for the greatest good, He can bring an unexpected blessing out of the most inexplicable form of suffering. If you have any doubts, look to the cross.

The condition is that you prize the kingdom more than you prize anything else. For God to rule in your life, you must desire it above all else! You must hand over the keys to your heart. The point of selling everything in this parable is simply to show where your heart is. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). This is the reason why every Christian, just like Solomon in the first reading, must desire and seek out the wisdom necessary to discern between what is good and evil, what is of value and what is valueless, what is authentic and what is false. Discernment is the ability to see beneath the surface. It helps you spot the difference between a pretty lie and a hard truth. Without discernment, we would always find it impossible to discover the hidden treasure and pearl of great value which is the Kingdom of God. Instead we will be desiring for all the things that distract and lead us away from that goal. But discernment is just the first step. This must ultimately lead to action. Knowing what is right is not enough. You must also obey and do what is right. What good is it to know the truth if we fail to act accordingly? This was the problem of Solomon. He was praised and admired for his God-given wisdom, even by unbelievers. But not putting that wisdom into practice led to his eventual downfall and his wayward life. Solomon is biblical proof that even true discernment can give way to a destructive self-delusion. Disobedience inevitably undermines discernment. The only way to guard against that is to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Notice that the two protagonists in our Lord’s parable did not just give a correct appraisal of the value of the objects they discovered. They immediately took action by selling everything they owned to buy those prized objects. There is no use in admiring something from a distance but then hesitate to take action because the decision appears too costly. Both discernment and acting upon it are essential. But we must do so cheerfully and not regard it as overly burdensome. Notice that the man in the first parable was not driven by cold duty. We are told by the Lord that he “goes off happy!” He happily disposes all his wealth to buy the field where the treasure is buried. He did not complain about having to give up everything to acquire that field. All that he did, he did so willingly and joyfully. That is how we welcome God’s Kingdom, His rule into our lives. The only way we can surrender to Him is to do it joyfully and willingly after having recognise that He is the greatest and most prized treasure in our lives. We do it because we want to and not because we were forced to. That’s the big difference. The loss of earthly things for the sake of the kingdom is not sad. It is not sad when we have Jesus. It is a blessed privilege. Why were the martyrs in the past willing to give up everything including life itself? Here is the answer: For the joy of it. We live in a world that has been inundated and saturated with information, technology, science and the wonders of AI. But there is something which the world’s most advanced AI cannot do. It cannot help us discern what is of value and what is not. Only our Father in heaven can reveal such mysteries to us who are mere children. Discernment, therefore, requires docility instead of stubbornness, obedience instead of reckless disobedience, self-conquest instead of prideful self-determination. In a world of competing allures and possibilities, may we discern wisely and recognise the immense worth of the Kingdom of Heaven and joyfully take decisive action, gladly letting go of lesser things to secure it. Once our hearts are captured, we will not begrudgingly give up everything but instead do it happily because we know that it is a happy trade. Let us share the gospel of Christ while asking: “Guess how much?” And then enthusiastically tell our hearer, “It’s priceless but free!”

Gospel of 26 July 2026 Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A Matthew 13:44-46 He sells everything he owns and buys the field Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.’ Reflexion One of my favourite comedians is Hong Kong born and now USA based Jimmy O. Yang. One of his most poignant jokes which had me rolling in laughter while nodding my head in agreement is his observation that while most people in the West brag about how much money they spend, Asians love to brag about how little they pay. This best describes my usual exchanges with Fr Bona on my latest acquisition on the Shopee app. After showing him the item I will gleefully ask, “Guess how much?” The cheaper the item, the bigger the boast. Fr Bona will then roll his eyes in disgust because of his disdain for my predilection for cheap bargains. If what Jimmy Yang says is true about Asians, most would be rolling their eyes in disbelief after hearing the two parables of our Lord. Instead of paying below market prices, the protagonists of the two tales make the seemingly imprudent decision of paying not just “full price,” but over and above their actual value. The protagonists in both stories are willing to part with their entire wealth, possession and everything they own just to buy an item without consulting an expert assessor to determine if this is a good “buy.” Some measure of risk is to be expected in any endeavour, but this seemingly impulsive decision and action seems altogether preposterous in the eyes of any right-minded person, more so if you happen to be Asian. But both these imaginary characters are convinced that the value of the item which they desire and seek to possess far exceeds anything else which they treasure and possess. Their decision is not governed by the common sense question, “how much am I willing to give up?” The only question which matters is “how much more do I gain?” The point which our Lord is trying to make is that the kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything on earth, but getting the kingdom, is a happy trade-off. The apostle Paul expresses this very idea in Philippians 3:7-8, ‘Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” The point here is not that you have to buy the kingdom or barter for the kingdom or negotiate for the kingdom or work hard to earn entry into the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven which is Matthew’s Jewish euphemism to express the same idea found in the other synoptic gospels - the Kingdom of God - is received without pay. The Kingdom of God is not a geographical location or domain. It primarily speaks of God’s reign or rule, not just in the universe but more importantly in your hearts, the place where man expresses his freedom. For God to reign in our hearts, it is something which we must assent to. He cannot and will not compel us and that is why it is hidden until discovered through our repentance and conversion. And so, it is priceless in that the kingdom is not for sale. No amount of wealth or sacrifice would be enough to buy it. So the point here is that the people who wish to receive the kingdom, should treasure it more than everything else. Yes, you don’t buy it. You can’t buy salvation. You get it freely because you want it more than you want anything else. In other words, there is a condition for having the kingdom—for having God as king and sovereign ruler of your entire life —but the condition is not wealth or power or intelligence or eminence or the amount of good works and devotion you rock up.

Gospel of 25 July 2026 Feast of St James, the Apostle Matthew 20:20-28 'Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?' The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’ When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ Reflexion Two of our Lord’s Apostles were named James, so in Latin texts, a convention developed of naming one whom Jesus called first (together with his brother John) Jacobus Major and the other one Jacobus Minor. Now it’s important to remember that the words Major and Minor in Latin refer to seniority (in terms of who got called first) and not, to importance. In English, they continued to be called James the Greater and James the Lesser. Today’s feast is dedicated to the Greater. There is irony in the title which the Church confers on St James as we see how the gospel chosen for this feast seems to be a call to Christians, to distance oneself from human ambitions of greatness. What began as a request by the mother of the two brothers to gain some advantage over the other disciples, led to an important teaching point. Our Lord will use this opportunity to school His disciples on the essentials of Christian greatness. Christian greatness will not be found in the occupying positions of honour but in a very different place. The irony of the request to sit on the right, and left of Jesus ultimately points to the cross. Sharing in Christ’s kingship entails sharing in His passion and cross. Participating in the Messiah’s rule requires dying to the worldly ambition of power and honour. Little did James understand that the prophecy of our Lord, that he would partake of the cup of suffering, was actually pointing to his own martyrdom. The Acts of the Apostles (12:2) records his martyrdom by the sword at the hands of Herod Agrippa. His martyrdom is the only one among the Apostles recorded in scripture. The way of discipleship will be radically different from the way of the world. What is deemed greatness in the estimation of the world is considered valueless in the eyes of Christ. On the other hand, if a disciple wishes to be great, he must exchange his pride for humility and become a servant to others. And if there is to be any competition for first place in the kingdom, it will go to the one most willing to assume the role of a slave, for whom no act of service is too menial or below him.

Gospel of 24 July 2026 Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St Charbel Makhlouf Matthew 13:18-23 The man who hears the word and understands it yields a rich harvest Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’ Reflexion Some of you may be familiar with the music of Lady Gaga. I can’t say I’m a fan. Of course, Lady Gaga is her stage name but when she was born, she was given another name by her parents. Contrary to what she sings in the song, “Born this Way,” she wasn’t born this way. Her stage name, her persona, her ideological positions, her lifestyle are not the result of being “born this way,” but choices she made in her own life. In her song, she begins by claiming that “God makes no mistakes,” and that is true. But we do make mistakes. And we can’t push the blame on God for the silly, irresponsible and down right mistakes and sins we’ve committed in the course of our life. Sin is never part of being “born this way.” And so we return to our gospel passage and the allegorical explanation given by our Lord to His parable of the sower, which is actually a misnomer, since the point of the story seems to be focusing on the different types of soil. This explanation is often misunderstood in the sense that it is assumed that certain groups of people are already disadvantaged from the start, the first three types of soil, that they were born losers; whereas some are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, like the last type of soil which is described as “rich soil.” If this is indeed the case, then God has to be blamed or at least our parents, for giving us bad genes. But the point of the parable is really about the disposition of the respective audience. Whether the soil of the heart of a person produces a bountiful harvest of graces, also depends upon our free decision to be cultivated by God’s grace. The good soil that receives the seed of the Word is willing to be tilled by God's grace. That is why our Lord says, “ To anyone who has [in other words, anyone who has freely received God’s grace] more will be given.” But our Lord also warns that “from anyone who has not [that is, has refused to receive God's grace] even what he has will be taken away.” We are given the choice: either to become "good soil" and receive the riches of God’s grace, or to reject His Word. It is true that many of us may be born with different gifts and aptitudes. It is true that not everyone of us share the same brilliance as Einstein or the heavenly voice of Pavarotti. But it is also true that God has given us the gift of free will, the greatest gift accorded to any of His creatures, because it is the only gift, that is able to exclude the Creator or welcome Him into our hearts. Though scarred by Original Sin, none of us are born sinners. So, don’t blame the devil, or the bad company, or all the distractions and worries of this world. No one is immune to their influence. But every one has the freedom to choose, to be slaves to our circumstances or to be children of God meant to produce a bountiful harvest. The choice is yours.

On the contrary, the Liturgy is parabolic – it seeks to express the mystery of the holy and the enduring, and not just what is current, contemporary and transitory. When a treasure is no longer hidden, it ceases to have value. The familiarity which accessibility breeds often leads to contempt.   Wisdom is the perfect antidote to the false worship of knowledge so prevalent in our times. Our children may indeed receive the best education but come no closer to wisdom, “they look without seeing, listen without hearing, touch without feeling” - they have no time for awe and wonder, no time to contemplate the marvelous works of God. Man needs to contemplate the good, the beauty and the Truth of the Universe around him, so that he might form an idea of the absolute goodness, beauty and Truth of God, so that he can come to love God with his whole heart, soul and mind. Therefore, we should seek Wisdom and not just knowledge. The latter can only promise earthly power but the former, Wisdom, can get us to heaven.

Gospel of 23 July 2026 Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St Bridget of Sweden Matthew 13:10-17 Prophets and holy men longed to hear what you hear The disciples went up to Jesus and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me. ‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’ Reflexion The parables of our Lord were meant to be heard, read and reviewed through the lenses of wisdom, not just mere intellectual knowledge. Unfortunately, these stories, which were intended to invoke the imagination of the listener became stale meaningless tales for those who were not opened to the teachings of our Lord. The Pharisees’ lack of understanding had nothing to do with their lack of intelligence. They were regarded as the most learned in the Jewish society of Jesus’ times. But their learning and knowledge had blinded them from being able to comprehend new things and especially the Truth which Jesus had brought. This is why the Lord passed judgment on them by saying that they “look without seeing and listen without hearing.” Ironically, it was the poor, the less educated, the common people who could grasp the message of the Lord. The key to understanding the parables isn’t intelligence but faith. Faith is what distinguishes knowledge from wisdom. Somebody who had no faith would only hear a story and not listen with his heart. Such a person would not become a believer and not pierce the true meaning of a parable. Only the ones open to Jesus’ message would look for a deeper meaning and understanding. The parables were simple stories and at the same time, it demanded a commitment of the person listening to the parables, an opening of heart, and an act of faith.   Today, wisdom has become for many, indistinguishable from knowledge. But the two are very different. Often, what we find touted as wisdom is simply opinion. In fact, wisdom itself can be shattered by too much information. Here is where we need to make this important distinction. Knowledge can help us to make something, provide us the tools to use it, and the means to find it. But only wisdom can teach us the true value of things. Wisdom is the sure path of comprehending the absolute Truth, which is God Himself, as the Proverb affirms, “The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom.”   In the parables of our Lord, the treasures remain hidden, indicating that spiritual truth is missed by many and cannot be found by intelligence or power or worldly wisdom. There is an inherent hiddenness to such wisdom. In today’s society, the idea of mystery and ‘hiddenness’ is often associated with elitism. Most people demand accessibility and intelligibility. For example, a common point made by many is that a person cannot fully participate and appreciate the liturgy unless he is able to sufficiently understand every single aspect of it. The problem is that accessibility is often mistaken for banality, pandering to the popular. In the name of accessibility, our worship has descended into a flattened and disenchanted liturgy.

The conflation of Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdala results not just from their shared name but also from the presence of the alabaster jar of perfumed oil. This jar is the main clue that points to Mary’s most important role in the Gospels and the reason why we celebrate her feast as equal in rank with those of the Apostles. Mary of Magdala was among the women who brought jars of perfumed oil to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. That’s it - Mary’s greatest role was that she was an essential and primary witness of the resurrection, the bedrock of the Christian Faith. All four Gospels agree that Mary Magdalene was present at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. But according to the Gospel of St John, Mary is the first person to whom the Lord had chosen to reveal Himself. She is also the first one to bring good news of the empty tomb to the apostles: Mary Magdalene was “prima inter apostolos”, apostle to the Apostles. For this reason, we can safely say that our whole Christian faith depended on her testimony. In the 2019 movie named after her, she is depicted as a midwife, an interesting twist to the story, though not one based on tradition or found in scriptures. But even if this was true, not only was she a midwife to the young mothers of Magdala, she also midwifed Christianity. No injustice is done to Mary when tradition conflates her with the sinful woman and Mary of Bethany. Rather we see in this conflated story-line, the wonder of conversion and the power of grace at work in her. St Mary Magdalene, the repentant sinner, who found both forgiveness and friendship with our Lord, who stood faithfully at the foot of the cross, and who saw the Risen Lord, is a powerful example for each of us. What greater honour could the Church grant than by recognising Mary Magdalene as a saint, an apostle to the Apostles and a model for every sincere Christian who struggles for holiness? Pope St Gregory realised Mary Magdalene’s beautiful example: a woman who found new life in Christ, not a woman who found a self-empowered political agenda. Frankly, if we wish to do justice to her memory, more people ought to spend their time reading the Bible, reading about the fathers of the Church and the Catechism instead of watching such bogus rubbish that is spun by the likes of Hollywood and Disney. The former would reveal the truth about Mary; the latter, just pure hogwash.

Gospel of 22 July 2026 Feast of St Mary Magdalene John 20:1-2,11-18 'Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them' It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her. Reflexion St Mary Magdalene is a popular icon among modern folks for all the wrong reasons. Just like the recent “woke” retelling of the Greek epic poem Odyssey, Mary has been subjected to revisionist story telling that depicts her as a secret lover of Christ, a wife of the Messiah, and lastly as a midwife in a little known movie that was released several years ago. Poor Mary! It would seem that she would not be allowed to stand on her own two feet without needing a scandal or two to spice up her biography. Perhaps, the shock value that these Hollywood revisionist narratives wish to push forward is this image of her as the feminist ideal: a strong, independent, intelligent woman who has been emancipated from a cruel patriarchy. Recently, leaked photos of Disney’s latest reincarnation of Snow White led to the masses lambasting Disney for its recent trend of promoting woke ideology. Snow White is no longer the damsel in distress who is aided by seven dwarves and looking for her Prince Charming. Instead, she is a strong independent warrior princess who has to come to the rescue of the male protagonists in the story. I believe that these movie directors and script writers, in rewriting the stories of these women hope to provide us with new strong feminine models. In the case of Mary Magdalene, the latest movie sought to redeem her from the traditional image of her being associated with the profession of prostitution. I’ll come to that soon. But they fail to realise that when a theme is repeated so often, the ridiculous story-line loses its shock value. In fact, most new movies depict women in the same vein, so much so they become stereotyped and boring. So how did Mary of Magdala become a prostitute? The short answer is that, since the time of Pope St Gregory the Great and perhaps even earlier, Mary Magdalene is often associated with several women mentioned in the Bible. First, she is identified with the woman of ill repute in Chapter 7 of Luke’s Gospel, who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears, anoints them with ointment from her alabaster jar, and dries them with her hair. Since this action seems to have been repeated by Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, in Chapter 12 of John’s Gospel, Mary of Magdala is also identified as Mary of Bethany. The Church has a feast dedicated to the memory of St Martha but none to St Mary of Bethany (not until recently), because according to tradition, Mary of Bethany is Mary of Magdala.