FR REMI HOMILIES/REFLECTIONS AND SERMONS

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 31ST JANUARY 2024 2Sam.24:2,9-17; Ps.32; Mark 6:1-6 Be Discipline in order to receive the Lord In the gospel reading, we see that the activities of Jesus in his country and amongst his own people did not go down well with many persons. Before the coming of Christ, they awaited and desired the coming of the Messiah but now the Christ was before them, they were not disciplined enough to remain committed to their desire to experience the Christ. They acknowledge the greatness associated with his ministry but they were distracted with over-familiarity. For reason of this lack of discipline, Jesus could not do much works amongst them. Because they were distracted with over-familiarity, they thought less of Jesus and would have made mockery of whatever good works he would have done for them. But come to think of it, shouldn’t it have been a cause of great joy for them that it was one of their own that is the Messiah? This teaches u...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 30TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 18:9-10,14b,24-25a; Ps.86; Mark 5:21-43 Persevere in the Lord “If symptoms persist after three days, go see your doctor”. We usually hear this admonition when drugs are advertised or read them on the leaflet of drugs. The basic assumption of this admonition is that the consumption of a particular drug is supposed to improve the condition of the patient after three days. That is a sign that the drug is appropriate for the ailment the patient is suffering from. If, however, the consumption of the drug is not improving the condition of the patient after three days, he/she should stop taking the drug and see a doctor to avoid complications. The above principle best suits the medical profession but will not be appropriate if applied to our relationship with God. God is not a drug that we consume on account of spiritual sickness with the expectation of certain improvement of our consumption of him after some...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 29TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 15:13-14,30;16:5-13a; Ps.3; Mark 5:1-20 God Saves without weighing the Cost Man is quite selfish, such that in setting priorities, he considers himself first before others. On the other hand, God is love, and so, when God sets priorities, he puts first things first. The gospel reading of today describes an event where the above fact was clearly demonstrated. The healing of the Gerasene Demoniac is contained in the three synoptic gospels. But the account of Mark is more elaborate because he gave a detailed description of the oppression the demoniac had suffered from the hands of the devil. It was so bad that the best help the people could render (to bind him) proved abortive. Obviously, curing him was something they could not do. When we reflect further on how Mark described the man’s suffering, we can imagine that the man’s case attracted all the pity it could get. Jesus came into the scene and ...

Sermon/Homily for 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 28th January 2024 Deuteronomy 18:15-20. Psalm 95:1-2,6-7abc,7d-9. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35. Mark 1:21b-28. Theme: Jesus, the Expected Prophet. The first reading announces the coming of a prophet who will speak in the name of God. Moses from his deathbed foretold that God would raise up a prophet like him, and He would put his words in his mouth, and the prophet would speak on God's behalf. Here, the Catholic Church understood this person to be our Lord Jesus, who came at the fullness of time (cf.Heb.1:1). The prophecy of Moses is fulfilled in today's Gospel in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't communicate the word of God the way the rabbis used to; his message is new and proclaims it "with authority." Even the unclean spirit testified to his authority, saying, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). Jesus us...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 27TH JANUARY 2024 2Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17; Ps.51; Mark 4:35-41 Do not delay to Repent The encounter between David and Nathan reflect a common human tendency, namely, it is always easier to identify the wrongs in other’s action than the wrongs in our personal action, even when both actions are similar. We tend to find it more convenient to correct others while we justify ourselves. Thus, to enable David understand the gravity of his misdeeds, Nathan wisely conjured the misdeeds of David on a certain rich man in a make-up story. David could relate with the wrong of the rich man but did not see how it relates with what he himself did, until Nathan drew the line of relationship. Beloved, if we want to evaluate our actions and inactions more objectively, let us always try to put ourselves in the shoes of those at our receiving end. Even when our actions are justified, such consideration can at least help us to be more human ...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II STS TIMOTHY AND TITUS 26TH JANUARY 2024 2Tim.1:1-8; Ps.96; Mark 4:21-25 Collaboration: a sign of Conversion Yesterday, we celebrated the conversion of St. Paul, which we can invariably also say was the beginning of his witnessing to the gospel of Christ. Today, we celebrate Sts. Timothy and Titus who were two great companions of Paul in his missionary endeavour. So the first lesson we learn from these companions of St. Paul is that Paul did not work alone. When we read the first reading of yesterday, we heard Paul giving account of his life prior to his encounter with the Lord on his way to Dasmascus. You will observe his continuous use of the personal pronoun “I”. Before his conversion, Paul’s activities were all about him alone. But with the celebration of Sts. Timothy and Titus, we see that Paul never worked alone after his conversion. His encounter with the Lord on the way to Dasmascus also taught him the essence of ...

SERMON/HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL 25TH JANUARY 2024 Acts of Apostles 22:3-16; Ps.117; Mark 16:15-18 Conversion of Mind-set Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul. Ordinarily, conversion involves a movement from bad to good; from sinfulness to righteousness; from waywardness to holiness. But looking at the life of Saul (before conversion) we cannot really say that he was bad, sinful or wayward. In the first reading of today, Paul himself gave an account of his life before, during and after his conversion. From this account, we come to understand another dimension to the whole concept of conversion. Conversion also entails a movement from the conventional practices or ideologies to the full truth. Before conversion, Paul noted that he had great zeal for God. He was privileged to have been properly educated both formerly and informally. This education taught him that any other way outside Judaism is misleading. So, Paul grew up learn...