Month: March 2013

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Thursday, 14 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Exodus 32 : 7-14

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”

And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand?”

“Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.’ Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”

YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.

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Wednesday, 13 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is closely linked and intertwined with God the Father, our Creator. Together with the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity, they form the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many would misinterpret this, including the Jews at the time, that it means there are 3 Gods at the same time, and that Christians worship 3 Gods, and therefore polytheistic.

No, this is simply not the case, for The Three members of the Holy Trinity are indeed three distinct members, not the same from each other, and distinctively different between the three of them, but yet, at the same time, are also One, and indivisible. This is the mystery of the Holy Trinity, that God who is present in 3 Godheads of the Father Creator, the Son who is the Messiah and the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit the Advocate, are at the same time distinct as they are one. They are one because they are bound by the link that is immemorial and infinite in nature, that is perfect and divine love.

For Jesus Christ as the Son loves the Father perfectly, and so does the Father loves the Son in the same way, and the nature of this relationship to the Holy Spirit is none other but the same as well. And the Son does the will of the Father, because He obeys the Father, and even unto death, as our Lord Jesus Christ died for us on Calvary, on the cross, that we all can be saved, from death, and from sin.

Jesus Christ our Saviour, is the Word of God, which the Father had sent down to us, to be like us, sinful man, that he can teach all of us, as the Word, the Words of God, the love of God, and the true meanings of God’s commandments, that is love, and the very nature of God Himself, that is love, mercy, and compassion. He showed God’s teachings through His own examples, and through His ultimate dedication to the cause of the Lord. That is to die on the cross on Calvary, to give Himself up as the worthy sacrifice for all our sins. For He brought into Himself the sins of all men, and the contrite hearts of all those who believed in God, and became the worthy sacrifice, saving mankind from being doomed due to their rebellion against God.

Christ had suffered, and He had died on the Cross, and then he too had risen from the dead, and in glory He returned to the Father and left this world at the hands of His disciples, who continued to propagate His mission and His words, throughout generations, throughout many centuries and millennia, through good and hard times, through bountiful harvests of faith and persecution of the martyrs and the faithful in God, to all of us today who belong in God’s Church, which He established through Peter.

The Church today is the last and only bastion of truth, love, and light in this world increasingly eaten up by evil forces of consumerism, hedonism, secularism, and atheism. Many had abandoned God in search of temporary and worldly pleasures and temptations, and left God for their own reasons and their own ideas, and even thinking that they need no God, even though it’s the very God who had come down to us, in order to build a bridge between us and the Lord who created us, that we are finally able to return to God, through Christ’s death on the cross, His ultimate sacrifice, for all of us.

Our Church had been the greatest charitable body in the world, and had done much to help the poor and the suffering, and there are of course still much more that we can do to help, even every one of us, we can all contribute more to help those least and the weakest in our society. Let us all help the Church in its mission, help all who are involved in serving the weak, the poor, the ostracised, and the persecuted ones. Let us also of course strive to spread God’s Good News and message of love to all, especially those who had rejected Him, and those who even persecuted God’s holy people.

For Christ, the Son of God, will come to judge His people again at the end of time, at His Second Coming, which time and place we do not know about. But He always reminds us to be vigilant, and to be awake, lest we are caught unawares. He will judge those who had done acts of love, for one another, and for God, worthy, and worthy to join Him in eternal bliss of heaven. And to those whom had failed to love, those who failed to forgive and those who had forsaken Him, He will reject and drive away from His presence.

Let us not worry, since if we do what is good, God is on our side. Continue doing acts of love, mercy, and compassion, and begin to do charitable acts starting from small, little things we can help, like not refusing to help a beggar, and tried to spare a coin for them, and also to help one another in the society, and to be aware of the plight of our fellow brothers and sisters, that we will all remain strong, in God’s love.

Help one another to grow in faith, hope, and love, the three cardinal virtues of life. Let us pray that our faith in God will remain strong, that our hope in Him and mankind will be ever present, and be light to those who despair, and let our love burn within us, filled with God’s love, to show God’s love to all mankind, and to all the nations, that those who have yet bend their knees before the God who loves them and gave His life for them, will follow. Amen.

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Pope Francis : First day as Pope, Visit to Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

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On his first day as Pope, on Thursday morning, 14 March 2013, Pope Francis made his surprise visit to the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major) to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for his Pontificate.

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Wednesday, 13 March 2013 : 60th Birthday Anniversary of the Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli

Yesterday, besides being the day when our new Pope, Pope Francis was elected the 266th Pope and the 265th Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, was another joyous day.

http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/nunciature/nunc152.htm#8848

This is because, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore, who was born on 13 March 1953, celebrated his 60th anniversary yesterday.

Let us pray together for Archbishop Girelli, that God will continue to shower him with His love and strength, that he will continue to faithfully carry out the mission that has been entrusted to him as the representative of the Holy See to Singapore, Vietnam, and to ASEAN.

Ad multos annos, Your Excellency!

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State of the College of Cardinals upon the election of Pope Francis as the new Supreme Pontiff

On the beginning of the 2013 Papal Conclave, there are 207 Cardinals in total, out of which 117 are Cardinal-electors (including Cardinal Walter Kasper who turned 80 during the Sede Vacante) and 90 Cardinal non-electors (over 80)

With the election of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio to the position of the Bishop of Rome, as Pope Francis, the 266th Pope and Bishop of Rome, and with Cardinal Walter Kasper, being already over 80, lost his voting rights in any future Conclave :

The current College of Cardinals as of Thursday, 14 March 2013 consists of 206 Cardinals, out of which 115 are Cardinal-electors, and 91 are Cardinal non-electors.

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Pope Francis’ Schedule in his first few days as Pope

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-to-have-busy-schedule-in-coming-days/#.UUFDoB4Y6Vk.facebook

 

Our new Pope, Pope Francis will be busy in his first day as Pope, and here is the list of his appointments for the first days of his Pontificate :

1. First Mass with the Cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 5 pm Rome time (UTC+1)

2. Private visit to Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major / Santa Maria Maggiore to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

3. Meeting with all Cardinals in the Clementine Hall / Sala Clementina, on Friday, 15 March 2013 at 11 am Rome time (UTC+1)

4. Audience for journalists and media representatives in Hall of Paul VI, on Saturday, 16 March 2013

5. First Angelus on Sunday, 17 March 2013 at 12 pm (Noon/Midday)

6. Papal Inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 9.30 am Rome time (UTC+1), Feast of St. Joseph

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Official Video by the Vatican on the Election of Pope Francis, 266th Pope and Bishop of Rome

The official video released by the Vatican in YouTube, with full coverage of the election of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Maria Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope Francis, 266th Pope and Bishop of Rome, and the 265th Successor of St. Peter the Apostle.

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First Mass of Pope Francis as Bishop of Rome : Sistine Chapel, Thursday, 14 March 2013 at 5 pm Rome time

Our new Pope, Pope Francis will celebrate his first Mass as our Pope with the Cardinals gathered in Rome, in the Sistine Chapel, at 5 pm (Rome time) on Thursday, 14 March 2013. 

It may be live from the Vatican at Vatican Player (www.vatican.va/player), but I will need to confirm it.

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Papal Inauguration Mass of the Pontificate of Pope Francis I, Bishop of Rome

http://www.romereports.com/palio/inauguration-mass-for-pope-francis-i-scheduled-for-feast-day-of-st-joseph-english-9411.html

The Papal Inauguration Mass of the Pontificate of Pope Francis I, Jorge Maria Bergoglio, who was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and elected the 266th Pope on Wednesday, 13 March 2013, will be held on :

 

Feast of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuesday, 19 March 2013, at 9.30 am Rome time (CET/UTC+1)

 

The timing in other timezones are :

1. UTC : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 8.30 am

2. EDT : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 4.30 am

3. PDT : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 1.30 am

4. WIB / UTC+7 : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 3.30 pm

5. Singapore / UTC+8 : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 4.30 pm

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My personal thoughts on the election of Pope Francis I and the current state of the Church

I can only hope that Msgr. Guido Marini, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations (Papal MC) can indeed stay where he is, as many uttered their concern whether he will still stay as papal MC given the apparent change in this new Pope.

As this is just the first day, I do not know much yet about the direction that our new Pope, Francis I, will bring us all, but I hope that he will not overemphasize inculturation and liberation for the sake of evangelisation, as what was once done under Archbishop Marini, the previous papal MC, but rather focus and renew the spirit of the liturgy as was done by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when he was Pope, with the help of Monsignor Marini as the chief liturgical reformer.

There is a need to balance between tradition and innovation, and not to tilt too far to the other side. Already these past few years we had seen a great rebound in the number of seminarians joining the seminary, and also the growing accustomisation among many people all over the world of the use of Latin in the Mass, despite of course emphasis remaining on the vernacular language.

Already, many apparently made comments (as I do) on his choice of not wearing the mozzetta and the stole upon making his first appearance, despite the proper winter papal mozzetta had been prepared for the new Pope. These are little things, but I hope this won’t be a precedent, which if not carefully handled, may undo many of the great things and reforms of the reform of Vatican II that had been painstakingly done in the past few years, and have begun to bear fruit in the Church today.

Balance is important. Already we have seen in many cases after Vatican II, churches and groups going too far towards innovation and liberal thoughts that ended up losing their very Catholic identity. What we need is to preserve our tradition, and yet remain open for innovations that can help new evangelisation, and evangelisation must also be carried in the spirit of the preservation of Apostolic teachings and traditions, and not conform to what the world think, that is relativism.

Social media like twitter, Facebook, blogs, and many others are these great innovations that can help spread the teachings of the Church, and yet let us not be like many Catholics, particularly in the USA, which had been commented as being ‘market Catholics’ where they pick and choose what they want to believe in, as long as it suits them, and reject those that they feel don’t fit with them. No, to be a Catholic means accepting the whole teaching as a whole, and not taking just those parts that you like, and discard the rest.

I need to add that going into extremes into the other direction is also abhorred, as what was made obvious by the SSPX Society, which continued to linger in their ultra-conservatism, and refused to take in several important modifications made by Vatican II.

Just some examples : We no longer blame Jews for the death of Christ, and instead they are our elder brothers in faith, having been chosen and called by God first among all nations.

Then, although indeed I firmly believe in salvation only through the One Church of Christ, but I also believe in the Universal Call to Holiness (by Blessed Pope John Paul II), and there are righteous people outside the Church, who do God’s will, but lacking only the necessary faith in Christ, but that doesn’t mean that they are immediately condemned to hell for that. It is our task to bring the Good News and salvation to them, which can be done through new evangelisation, rooted firmly in tradition and prayer.

However, one wish that I want to make is that, I hope Pope Francis I can thoroughly reform the Roman Curia, to purge from it all ties to corruptions and evil, and to purify our Holy Church that it will once again be immaculate and pure as it should always be, as the One, and only Church God had established in this world, through Peter the Apostle.

And I am touched by his selection of name, Francis, which honoured both St. Francis of Assisi, whom I held in high regard, and St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary and co-founder of the Jesuits (with St. Ignatius Loyola) whom Pope Francis I is a member of. St. Francis Xavier is close to my heart as he is also the patron saint of my early education, and which helped me to learn about the faith, and eventually welcomed into the Church.

I am also deeply touched by his humility, especially when he asked that the people pray for him, and even bowed down to show his humility, which does remind me to another Pope, John Paul I, whose motto is Humilitas, but as history went, he did not have the time to accomplish much. Therefore I hope, the legacy of Pope John Paul I can be continued in Pope Francis I, who had the same quality and personality as Pope John Paul I.

However, humility and simplicity must not lead to the simplification of our faith, but rather let these be tools to further deepen our ties to our faith, and understand more about it.

I noted that Pope Francis I is deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary, whose name is part of his personal name, Jorge Maria Bergoglio. He will be another Marian Pope in the likelihood of Blessed Pope John Paul II. It is important for us to have a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary, as she is the best helper that we can have, in guiding our way towards the Lord, and ensuring that we do not go astray from our path.

May God bless our new Pope Francis I, and at this important juncture at the beginning of the new Pontificate, I hope that the Holy Spirit that has elected him to carry this task, will also guide him, that he will make correct choices that will continue the good works that began with Blessed Pope John Paul II, and was accelerated by Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus.