Month: January 2013

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Something to share – Mediator Dei Encyclical by Pope Pius XII on Sacred Liturgy

http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/music/church-documents-on-liturgical-music/mediator-dei.pdf

I find this encyclical to be a good read, especially for those of us who wants to learn more about the liturgy. Remember, the liturgy itself is intricately linked to our faith, and with good understanding of the sacred liturgy, we can deepen our Faith!

Let us strive to learn more about our faith, and about the Mass, about the liturgy, and other things on our faith in this Holy Year of Faith!

 

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+

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Monday, 21 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Mark 2 : 18-22

One day, when the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting, some people asked Jesus, “Why is it that both the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast, but Yours do not?”

Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guest fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins, and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!”

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Monday, 21 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Hebrews 5 : 1-10

Every High Priest is taken from among mortals and appointed to be their representatives before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. He is able to understand the ignorant and erring for he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he is bound to offer sacrifices for his sins as well as for the sins of the people. Besides, one does not presume to take this dignity, but takes it only when called by God, as Aaron was.

Nor did Christ become High Priest in taking upon Himself this dignity, but it as given to Him by the One who says : “You are My Son, I have begotten You today.” And in another place : “You are a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”

Christ, in the days of His mortal life, offered His sacrifice with tears and cries. He prayed to Him who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His humble submission. Although He was Son, He learnt through suffering what obedience was, and once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him. This is how God proclaimed Him Priest, in the order of Melchizedek.

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Sunday, 20 January 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

In the first reading today, God showed His love for His people Israel, although they have betrayed Him many times. Then, the second reading showed about the gifts of the Spirit, what the Spirit can do in us, and through us, the Lord’s will is done. Finally, the Gospel itself is the account of the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed His very first miracle of turning water into the finest wine.

God still loves His people, and thus still loves us, no matter what we have done. Although we had sinned many times and betrayed Him, and abandoned Him many times, He is still always faithful. For just as He was mentioned as the bridegroom in the first reading, and the land as His spouse, the Lord is united to us through His marriage to us, as in the Revelation it is mentioned that God is the bride of the Church, and this Church is us, the faithful ones in God. And just as He is loving, He is a faithful bride indeed, and even though we, His brides are unfaithful, He is always ready to welcome us back if we indeed repent our sins and our mistakes and turn back to Him, who created us, and who embrace us both as His children just as He is our Father, and our bride as the Lord is the bridegroom of the Church.

The Holy Spirit, the Third person of the Holy Trinity, is the instrument of this unity of marriage between us and our Lord. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God came down to us from the Father, and built the bridge crossing between us and the Father across the chasms of sin, through Jesus too, the Holy Spirit came down from the Father and sealed our relationship with God, through the Apostles at Pentecost, when the Church was born. This is why, in our baptism too, we are baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, that with the Holy Spirit that empowers, and the authority of the Father, and the Sacrifice of the Son, we are married to God and becomes His alone, and the devil has no part in us. In Confirmation, we receive further the gift of the Holy Spirit, which confirms our Faith in God and mark us with the gifts that enable us to perform good works and deeds in God’s name.

The Holy Spirit brings forth many gifts including even the gift of tongues and prophesy. But while there are Christians that put heavy emphasis on these aspects of the Holy Spirit, the true fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit are actually not on these, but on the gifts that permeates our heart, and allow God to be the centre of our lives, filling our hearts with love and compassion for others. In other times, also the gift of courage, to speak up for our fellow men, whenever we see injustice and attacks against the weak, the poor, and the lonely, and when there are attacks against God Himself, and against the sanctity of human life. The gift of courage and wisdom, and knowledge of God and His Scriptures, to proclaim to all around us, the Word of God, not just by speech and sermons, but most importantly, by good deeds and works through which all mankind can see that we truly belong to Christ, and see the Holy Spirit in us.

Then, there is Jesus’ ministry itself. After being baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, Jesus was full with the Holy Spirit, and began His ministry after calling the first Apostles. The Wedding at Cana was where He conducted His first miracle, despite the fact that He was reluctant to do so. However, through this account, we can see indeed, the obedience Christ has for His mother, Mary, who truly cares for the wellbeing of God’s children, where in their happiest of times, marriage, the most terrible kind of disasters awaited them, as it was truly discourteous of the wedding groom and bride to have run out of wine in the days-long Jewish wedding. Although Jesus apparently said to Mary indifferently and seemingly not wishing to help as His time is yet to come, one can see that Jesus did listen to His mother’s pleas on behalf of the groom and the bride, and performed the miracle, saving the wedding of the loving couple from possible embarrassment.

This is why we pray through Mary (not praying to Mary or worshipping Mary), as Mary is the very Mother of our God, Theotokos, who brought our Lord Jesus into this world. Who is best to champion our cause and pleas other than Mary herself, who pleaded for the couple before Jesus, her Son? And Jesus loves His mother dearly and listens to her, as long as it is within the Lord’s will, if we pray through Mary, we will be heard. Nevertheless, prayers should be more than just asking petitions, and rather should be a true conversation with God, with His mother, and with all the holy peoples of God we choose to speak to in our prayers.

Then, to some, it seems that Christ was extremely rude in calling His mother, “Woman” in His response on Mary’s request. “Woman” may seem to us to be very rude, but in fact, it is an honour that was ascribed by Christ to His mother. In the first chapters of Genesis, we noted that in the account of Creation and the first people, Adam and Eve, the serpent-devil successfully tempted them to eat the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. God punished them, but not before proclaiming before Satan, that He will put enmity between him and the woman, and his offspring and her offspring. And that the woman shall crush the serpent under her feet. This woman, in times immemorial and uncountable after the fall of mankind, is Mary. Mary, through her ultimate obedience in God, becomes the one who bore Christ into this world, the new Adam, and also the Saviour, whose enmity as the child of the woman, with the Satan and his offsprings, Sin, finally freed us from the eternal slavery of sin, through Christ’s sacrifice on the Calvary. It is through this Ultimate Sacrifice that Mary, as the woman, crushed the powers of evil forever. This is why, as Catholics, and indeed, as all Christians should do, we should properly venerate Mary, the Mother of God, the faithful one, and the one who Christ listens to, and most importantly, the one allowing our Salvation to happen by her obedience to the will of God.

Let us therefore renew our commitment for this coming weeks and months, to strengthen our faith in God, and to renew our dedication to Him, God who loves us despite our wrongdoings and waywardness. Let us ask God’s forgiveness and let Him embrace us with His love, a love that we ought to share with our fellow men. Let us also aspire to be more like Mary, the mother of our Lord, whose life and actions in her love and obedience to God should be our compass to guide us in our daily lives, so that we will not be lost amongst the waves of sin and materialism, but to always remain in focus on God, that through Mary, we can have a direct way to the Lord. Bring forth the Holy Spirit and use His gifts to us to bring the Good News to all, through our actions inspired by His gifts and presence in our hearts, that indeed the Holy Spirit will come upon our world and renews all the earth. Amen.

(Continue praying for the victims of flooding in Jakarta, which is still ongoing, and also those who suffer from natural disasters across the world. Also to those who suffer persecution and injustice, especially because of their faith. Let us pray through Mary, that she will bring our petitions for the sake of those who are suffering before her Son, who will surely listen, and bring God’s justice to their oppressors.)

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Sunday, 20 January 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

John 2 : 1-11

Three days later there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was also invited to the wedding with His disciples. When all the wine provided for the celebration had been served, and they had run out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus replied, “Woman, what concern is that to you and Me? My hour has not yet come.” However His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Nearby were six stone water jars, set there for ritual washing as practiced by the Jews; each jar could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus said, “Now draw some out and take it to the steward.” So they did.

The steward tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing from where it had come; for only the servants who had drawn the water knew. So, he called the bridegroom to tell him, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and when people have drunk enough, he serves that which is ordinary. Instead you have kept the best wine until the end.”

This miraculous sign was the first, and Jesus performed it at Cana in Galilee. In this way He let His glory appear, and His disciples believed in Him.

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Sunday, 20 January 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

1 Corinthians 12 : 4-11

There is diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same. There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same. There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all.

The Spirit reveals His presence in each one with a gift that is also a service. One is to speak with wisdom, through the Spirit. Another teaches according to the same Spirit. To another is given faith, in which the Spirit acts; to another the gift of healing, and it is the same Spirit.

Another works miracles, another is a prophet, another recognises what comes from the good or evil spirit; another speaks in tongues, and still another interprets what has been said in tongues. And all of this is the work of the one and only Spirit, who gives to each one as He so desires.

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Sunday, 20 January 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Isaiah 62 : 1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, for Jerusalem I will not keep silent, until her holiness shines like the dawn and her salvation flames like a burning torch. The nations will see your holiness and all the kings your glory. You will be called by a new name which the mouth of YHVH will reveal. You will be a crown of glory in the hand of YHVH, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

No longer will you be named Forsaken; no longer will your land be called Abandoned; but you will be called My Delight and your land Espoused. For YHVH delights in you and will make your land His spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, so will your builder marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so will your God rejoice in you.

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Saturday, 19 January 2013 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

First I would like to apologise, since due to some problems, the first reading somehow went missing. Therefore, I reupload this reading with this post.

Hebrews 4 : 12-16

For the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to Him; everything is uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we render account.
We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered Heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our High Priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach the throne of grace; we will obtain mercy, and through His favour, help in due time.

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Saturday, 19 January 2013 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Today, the first reading shows us that Christ is our great High Priest, and the Gospel tells about the story of the calling of Levi, the tax collector.

Christ, is our great High Priest, and similar to the ancient Jewish custom, the priest is the one offering sacrifice to God. Most important is the sacrifice for sins, for which, the people who sin must present animals like bulls, sheep, and goat, which the priest will kill before the altar and let the blood be poured on it, that symbolised the reunion of the person with God, through the forgiveness of sin.

Why then Christ is the great High Priest? Since He is not just any High Priest, or any priest, since it is through Him that all mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, were saved from the chains and tyranny of sin, the Original Sin, forever. It is through His Precious Blood, the very Blood of the Son of God, poured on the ‘altar’ of Calvary while hanging on the cross, that just like the blood of the animals, our sins are forgiven. But while blood of animals require constant sacrifices to God, the Blood of Christ require just one singular moment of the Ultimate Sacrifice, as the Lamb of God was slain, for the redemption of all mankind for all times.Then one might ask, why then do Catholics celebrate the Mass? The Mass is known as the Sacrifice, and thus people may ask, why do Catholics crucify the Lord again, and sacrifice Him again, when Christ died only once for our sake? Yes, the Mass is a Sacrifice, where the bread and wine truly turns into the Precious Body and Blood of our Saviour upon the Consecration by the priests, but this Sacrifice is not a separate Sacrifice from the very Ultimate Sacrifice that God has made on Calvary. 

Rather, this is one and united with the Ultimate Sacrifice, just as God has given His Body and Blood for His disciples on the Last Supper, through the priest’s authority and power, given by God, we too receive our share in this Body and Blood, which saves and renews us. We should aim to frequently attend the Mass, and frequently receive our Lord’s Body and Blood, that we are always constantly reminded of His presence in us, with our bodies as His Holy Temple. Let us therefore strive to keep ourselves holy and unblemished, as best as we can. We are sinners and our flesh in weak, even though our spirit is strong. As God is within us, just as He is omniscient, He will know everything that we did, good or bad. There is no need to hide before God, since everything is truly known to Him. Rather than be afraid and hide our sins before Him, let us rather allow Him to speak to us, He, as the Word of God, has power to heal us through His words, just as in yesterday’s Gospel He healed the paralytic through the faith of the people around him. We too therefore can be healed.

Healing is not only for the body, but also, very importantly, for the soul. Jesus did not come to save those already healthy in body and spirit, those who already merited Heaven, but He truly came to save all those who are in danger of separation from God. In the Gospel, we see that nobody is beyond redemption, just as Jesus called the tax collector, Levi. In the time of Jesus, the Jews saw the tax collectors in a very bad light, calling them traitors as they collected taxes for their Roman masters from the people, and sinners as they deal with money and material goods that was held to have tainted them.

Yet, if one is to compare the reactions from the tax collectors, particularly Levi, and the supposedly clean and incorruptible Pharisees and the priests, we can truly see who has the heart filled with humility to approach the Lord and ask for His forgiveness, and who truly has the Lord in their minds and their hearts.

The Pharisees were too busy with their laws and customs to have time for God, and indeed, they were in the forefront of those who rejected Christ, and called Him a blasphemer for claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God. On the contrary, Levi, despite his good and stable job as a tax collector, while vilified by the people, readily leave everything that he had and followed Jesus when He called him. No sinner is beyond redemption, as long as the sinner is ready to leave all that he had, his sins and his sinful ways, and be humble to ask God for His mercy. For the Lord is merciful as much as He hated sin. It only takes humility for us to admit that we have sinned before Him, and He will gladly forgive us and take us back into His embrace. Do not let pride get the better of us.

In this Year of Faith therefore, let us strive to be closer to God, to listen to God through our prayers, and to help one another in our journey towards the Lord. Let us like Levi, be humble and be ready to respond to God’s call whenever He calls. Help one another, that all of us sinners, can all be forgiven by God, and not a single soul will be lost. Isn’t it better for all of us to be in Heaven one day, than to have one of us separated from us for eternity just because we did not stretch our hands to help? Through our baptism we have also been called to be priests, to help bring the Word of God to those who are still living in darkness. Let us therefore joyfully take up this mission and spread the love of God to all mankind, that all people will be saved. Amen.

(Addition : Please pray for the victims of the terrible flooding which is still ongoing in Jakarta, Indonesia. Countless thousands or tens of thousands or more are still suffering from the immense flooding that had caused many deaths and losses. Let us help our fellow brothers and sisters in whatever way we can, either financially, or even just a single prayer. For the Lord hears our prayer, especially those that are made with pure and sincere heart).

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Saturday, 19 January 2013 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Mark 2 : 13 – 17

When Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in His office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to Him, “Follow me!” and Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But the Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”