Psalm 109, 1-4
Break your silence, o God whom I praise, now that the wicked and deceitful hurl their false accusations at me.
They assail me with words of hatred; they attack me for no valid cause.
They return my friendship with slander, and yet I pray for them.
Since I realised that the Psalm is very much part of the Scripture and that it is also definitely worthy reflecting on, I will include the Psalm in the daily readings from now on.
Hebrews 7 : 1-3,15-17
Scripture says that Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, came out to meet Abraham who returned from defeating the kings. He blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.
Let us not that the name Melchizedek means King of Justice, and that King of Salem means King of Peace. There is no mention of father, mother, or genealogy; nothing is said about the beginning or the end of his life. In this he is the figure of the Son of God, the priest who remains forever.
All this, however, becomes clear if this priest after the likeness of Melchizedek has in fact received his mission, not on the basis of any human law, but by the power of an immortal life. Because Scripture says : You are a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.
In today’s readings, God shows that He is faithful, and that He will reward all those who believe in Him. We can rest assured that God will protect us, as long as we too remain faithful in Him, and remain in His favour. After all, the Lord has proven His faith to us and His love by sending us His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour, by being the High Priest of all mankind, giving up Himself as a worthy sacrifice in place of our innumerable sins. Such indeed, is the extent of God’s love and reliability, as He is reliable as He is loving, the only one we can truly trust, since He stopped at nothing but gave Himself entirely for our sake. Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us anchor ourselves in Christ, and let God be the firm foundation of our faith, and our life. So that, even when troubles come, and even when uncertainties and temptations come, we can be assured that as long as we keep our anchor in Christ, we are in God’s good hands.
God did create rules and set of laws in the past to the Israelites, which He announced to Moses on Mount Horeb, the Holy mountain of God, and the purpose of these rules is none other than to serve as the same anchor to keep all the Israelites anchored in God and His teachings, and not to be led astray by the temptations of the other gods followed by tribes that the Israelites met on their way to the Promised Land, and in the Promised Land itself, to always remain faithful in God. Nevertheless, as was evident in the many parts of the Old Testament, the people of Israel disobeyed the Lord many times and did things in opposition to His commandments and His rules, which include the rule of the Sabbath.
However, the coming of Christ has brought an entire new dimension to the interpretation of these laws and their relations to God’s people, as Christ, being God Himself, has walked amongst His people, and He, the Son of Man, is the Master of the Sabbath, and thus, consequently also the new ‘Anchor’ of the people’s faith, replacing all the old laws and commandments with His new commandment of love, for the Son of God did not come to destroy but to perfect the old commandments and serve as the fulfillment of all the promises and prophecies made by the prophets.
Laws, customs, and regulations should not be seen as so binding and authoritative to the point of enslaving those whom these regulations are supposed to protect into their slaves instead. This is what Jesus meant when He said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. These rules, laws, and customs are there, because they are there to guide us to the correct path and prevent us from going astray, but not to limit us unnecessarily, especially when nothing that we do are wrong in the eyes of God. We have even seen that in the Book of the Maccabees, the Israelites under the leadership of the Maccabees allowed themselves to fight to defend themselves on the Sabbath against the pagan Greeks, rather than leaving themselves to be killed without defense. And so was David and his followers when they were truly hungry, for food is a basic and essential commodity to humans like us, and also to all creations. God certainly do not wish to deny us this essential commodity and leaving us to die of hunger just by inflexibly obeying the law of the Sabbath.
This is also why, we as Catholics, do not follow the Jewish Laws anymore, including the laws regarding food prohibitions, as what matters to Jesus Christ, the new ‘anchor’ of our faith, which renews the Law into its perfect form, is the purity and sincerity of our hearts and our souls, and not matters that concern our physique, such as food and rituals. Indeed, the Lord Himself said that (Matthew 15 : 11) “What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”
Therefore, what matters is the laws that regulate our spirituality, which will ensure our internal spirituality and soul remain pure and unblemished to the Lord, which can be achieved through prayers, and doing good work for the sake of God, and for the sake of all around us. “Ora et Labora” indeed, to pray and to do good works, so that our hearts will be pure and be worthy of God.
We do have rules and regulations in our Church, just as the Jews did, and we too have to obey these rules, as these rules, although are human in nature, can help us greatly in ensuring that all of us can have the optimum condition necessary to sustain our spiritual wellbeing and purity, despite all the temptations and the challenges presented by the world around us.
Therefore, let us all pray that Jesus, as the anchor of our faith and our life, will strengthen us, and will support us in our daily lives and daily encounters with temptations and challenges of the world, that we will be able, with the help of the rules and laws of the Church, maintain our spiritual health and maintain our purity in the eyes of God, focusing on the internal rather than the external dimension of our being.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_of_Saragossa
Today we also celebrate the Feast of St. Vincent, who was a Deacon and Martyr in the early Church. Also known as St. Vincent of Saragossa, St. Vincent was imprisoned for his faith in late Roman Empire under Emperor Diocletian, and met his martyrdom at the Emperor’s orders. St. Vincent is another shining example of loyalty to the faith in God, just as shown by St. Agnes, whose feast we celebrated just the day before. These martyrs show us that God rewards those who believed in Him and remain faithful in Him, as stated in the first reading today. As long as we keep our anchor in Christ, and remain strong in our faith in Him, even with all the challenges and persecutions laid by the world against us, like these saints and martyrs, we will eventually prevail and be rewarded with nothing less than life eternal with Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr, pray for us.
Mark 2 : 23-28
One Sabbath He was walking through the grainfields. As His disciples walked along with Him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”
And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God, when Abiathar was High Priest, and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.”
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.”
The Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Singapore has welcomed two new additions to their number, Gerard Robert (29) and Shawn Wong (22).
Pray for both of them that they will stay faithful in their calling, and will persevere through until their ordination and beyond. May God’s love always be upon them.
However, I cannot help but feel sad at how quite a few people reacted negatively to them offering themselves to God.
Quote CatholicNews :
“Reactions from people regarding their decision have been varied, both shared. Some were shocked at their decision, finding it illogical. Others were worried the two could have made a wrong decision, while others wondered if the young men would be able to live without worldly attractions.
Yet others were respectful while some kept silent, apparently unsure of how to respond.”
Why illogical? why worry? why wrong? and why wonder?
That’s because they do not understand what being a priest is, who a priest is, and especially for among some Chinese, those who emphasize on establishing family (especially heavy for eldest sons) and carrying the family name, and I am sure that although we do pray often for vocations, there are many amongst us who think, yes I pray for new priests, but not my own son, ok? His future is in his career and his prosperity, not to become simple, poor priest.
This way of thinking in our modern world, especially imbued with materialism and worldly temptations is what exactly hinder vocations. Already there are so few who wants to even contemplate joining the sacred priesthood, and even amongst those who want, there are oppositions, not least from friends, and most importantly, from the parents and the family. Let us pray for both the two new seminarians, and for all those inspired by God’s calling, that they will persevere despite oppositions of those around them, and not to give up their calling to submit, since although we do obey our parents, but ultimately we have to obey and love God even more, for the sake of all mankind.
Let us not just be fishers of fish (read : money and material well-being), but if we are called, as St. Peter was, let us be the fishers of man!
+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+
Hebrews 6 : 10-20
God is not unjust and will not forget everything you have done for love of His name; you have helped and still help the believers. We desire each of you to have, until the end, the same zeal for reaching what you have hoped for. Do not grow careless but imitate those who, by their faith and determination, inherit the promise.
Remember God’s promise to Abraham. God wanted to confirm it with an oath and, as no one is higher than God, He swore by Himself : I shall bless you and give you many descendants. By just patiently waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.
People are used to swearing by someone higher than themselves and their oath affirms everything that could be denied. So God committed Himself with an oath in order to convince those who were to wait for His promise that He would never change His mind. Thus we have two certainties in which it is impossible that God be proved false : promise and oath. That is enough to encourage us strongly when we leave everything to hold to the hope set before us. This hope is like a steadfast anchor of the soul, secure and firm, thrust beyond the curtain of the Temple into the Sanctuary itself, where Jesus has entered ahead of us – Jesus, High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
Join the event at Facebook for Episcopal Ordination Mass, and for more details keep on watching for the news at these sites or the CatholicNews at http://www.catholicnews.sg/, or if I have any news I will also gladly share it.
Episcopal Ordination Mass :
https://www.facebook.com/events/137995619693728/
Episcopal Ordination Reception :
Today is the Feast Day of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, whose name closely resembled Agnus or Lamb in Latin. Her martyrdom also represents the similar Sacrifice of our Lord, the Lamb of God on the cross. This is why this day is the day selected for the blessing of a special lamb-wool sewn shoulder-band like vestment, called the pallium, by the Pope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallium
What is a pallium? It is a woolen cloth, shaped like two connected Y-alphabets worn around the shoulders, and only worn by bishops possessing Metropolitan character (Metropolitan Archbishops), that is the authority over other bishops as overseers of particular Provinces of the Church, as the pallium signify this authority that has been given to them, and also represents the link that they have to the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, the Pope.
The pallium itself can also represent the sheep being carried by the shepherd, which represents us, the faithful, the sheep, being entrusted in the care of the Metropolitan Archbishop, who is the shepherd.
For those of us in Singapore in particular, and other Archdioceses directly subject to the Holy See (not part of any Provinces of the Church), our Archbishops do not wear this pallium, and the reason was noted above, as they do not oversee any other bishops in a Province of the Church. This is why, Singapore’s Archbishop, Nicholas Chia, do not wear a pallium, while the Archbishop of my hometown, Palembang, wears one, as he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Church (Ecclesiastical) Province of Palembang, overseeing the two Dioceses of Pangkalpinang and Tanjungkarang in the region.
Today, the readings truly focus on Jesus Christ Himself, who is the High Priest of all mankind, as mentioned in the First Reading, and as the Bridegroom of the faithful, the Church. Today we focus especially on the nature of the priesthood itself. For priests in our Catholic tradition are men who have given themselves fully to God, and in doing so, they do not marry or seek to marry anymore, why? This is because they are indeed married, married to God, and to His beloved people the Church. It is in the footsteps of Christ who has loved us so much that He gave us His life for our salvation, that those who choose to become priests, also dedicate themselves to a life of holiness and service, out of pure love for God and all creations.
Christ is the High Priest, who offered Himself as the Lamb, the pure and unblemished Lamb whose Precious Blood cleanses all the filth of sin and freed us from slavery of death and evil. He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, just as all our priests are priests of that same order. Once a priest, you are a priest forever. Who is Melchizedek? He is the King of Salem, Priest appointed by God, and named as the Priest of God the Most High, who presented the offering of bread and wine to God, and blessed Abraham, our forefather in faith. Today, priests also do what Melchizedek did, which is to offer bread and wine as offering to God, but yet, through Christ, this has become a truly Divine Offering, as not just any bread and wine is offered, but the very Precious Body and Blood of Christ Himself, the only Sacrifice worthy of our sins, countless and innumerable as they are. No one but Christ can redeem us from the incomprehensible nature of our sin’s extent.
Christ suffered for our sake on the cross, blood streaming down His Body from the cross, endured curses and spits from those who He had come to save. But yet, Christ obediently gave Himself, that even these who had rejected Him, may yet have hope of eternal life. He forgave those who cried out for His death, and although as human as He was as we are, He was also tempted to abandon His final task, but He accepted the chalice of sin and bitterness, submitting Himself fully to the will of God. This is why, He is our High Priest, through whom all of us are finally free from the certainty of death and separation from God.
For indeed God loves us so much that He sent us His only Son, and through the obedience of the Son, and through His Love, He endured all our sins that we are now hopeful of His Kingdom. He represents us before God bringing gifts of offering for our sins, but His gift is He Himself, who is the only worthy gift of all creation to cover for all our sins, both before, present, and after. So, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive not to sin anymore, as whenever we sin, let us remember that we burden Christ with ever more and more sin. Let us rather turn to His Love, and listen to His words that we all will truly be worthy of He who died for us.
That is why priests today are who they are, they dedicate themselves fully to God, and they give their time fully for God and His people, all of us, alone. For He, just like Christ, in the image of Christ, offer the gifts of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine every time we have Mass, that all of us are saved. This offering is neither separate nor symbolic from the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ, since the bread is Real Body, and the blood is Real Blood, and the offering of the Sacrifice is truly one and in union with the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who through the priests in the Mass, gave Himself to us, His Body and His Blood, that we will have eternal life in Him. Pray for our priests and all the religious who dedicated themselves to God, that they will stay pure, that they will stay faithful in their mission and their dedication to God.
Jesus also mentioned about the wine and wineskins, and the cloth and the coat, and how new things should not be put together with old things, or they will destroy each other. This is because, Christ Himself, as the Lord, has brought a new Covenant to all people, not just limited to the people of Israel, that through His Sacrifice on the Cross, and through His blood, He made a new Covenant with all peoples that they all can be saved through Him. He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the prophets, and He brought a new rule of Love and Faith in God. The people no longer have the need to regularly sacrifice sheep, goats, and other animals to redeem them from their sins at the temple, for now God, as mentioned, has done it once and for all, as our High Priest. Gone are the rules and precepts of the past, and with it, the new teachings of Christ came into place. The new wine and the new cloth are Christ and His teachings, which render the old ones outdated, as Christ fulfills the prophecies, and He also made perfect the Law which had been passed down from Moses, so the old Law no longer applies, but the new Law of Christ, which is based on Love of God, and love of one another just as He loves us.
Today is also the Feast Day of St. Agnes, who we remembered as both a virgin and a martyr. Just like Christ, St. Agnes gave herself up to the executioners without complaints at the age of 13, rather than abandoning her faith and her chastity by marriage to the son of a Pagan prefect of the Roman Empire. St. Agnes is a shining example of faith and love to God, whom priests and indeed all of us should follow. That rather than betraying God and our soul, she chose death rather than promise of material wealth and fame. This is not to say that we all should choose death, but in our daily lives, we should constantly remind ourselves of our faith, and our ties with God, and always do all things in the name of the Lord, and in His honour. Let us ask St. Agnes to pray for us, that our faith in God will ever be strengthened, that whenever we falter in our faith and love for God, the Lord will send His angels and the Holy Spirit to empower us and renew our commitment in Him.
St. Agnes, pray for us, and may we be able to follow in your footsteps in loving our God and dedicating ourselves to Him, and also pray for our priests, especially those tempted by the worldly temptations and sin. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 