Day: July 12, 2013

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Friday, 12 July 2013 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ in the Gospel Reading we listened to, told us that He would send us like sheep among wolves, and that we must ever be ready, as this world will hate us just as it has hated the Lord first, and that even those closest to us may betray us to the enemy, because they disagree with the Lord. But it does not mean that we should be apathetic or even hostile to our families and our societies. Rather, it means that we should not put our trust in men, but in God alone. Because the Lord who loves us would take care of us and protect us with His power.

The Lord sent His Holy Spirit to the Apostles, which came down to them on the day of the Pentecost. The Spirit inflamed their hearts and gave them great and unprecedented courage and strength to preach the Good News of the Lord, first to the people of Israel, and then to the whole world. The Apostles gained much good progress in their ministries, but they also faced intense persecution and rejection, from the Jews and the pagans alike. It is often that they have to put their lives on the line, and almost all of them would die of martyrdom, but none of them lose the faith or abandon the Lord. Rather, they placed all their trust in the Lord, and remain faithful all the way to the end.

The Holy Spirit too had been given to us, through the unbroken chains of shepherds in the bishops, from the Apostles themselves. All of us have been given the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit that brings love, hope, and faith within our hearts. This Spirit burns with a fire of love and zeal for the Lord. But ultimately, it is up to us, whether to use the gifts that the Spirit offered, or ignore them altogether, ignoring the Spirit that is within us.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be fruitful in the Spirit or the Spirit that has been given to all of us will be useless. We must bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the most important of which, that is love. If we obey the will of God and make our lives truly in reflection of the Spirit that is within us, made evident through our words, deeds, and actions, we will truly be rewarded by the Lord who is loving and faithful.

For our Lord is faithful, and He is true to His covenant. He fulfills His promise in ways that not even mankind can ever understand. He remained true to His covenant while the descendants of Abraham left Him and abandoned Him for other gods, the pagan gods of the people of Canaan. To those who are faithful He gave His grace and blessings, as we heard today from our first reading, on the reunion of Joseph and Jacob, his father.

For Joseph had been lost to his father, ever since his brothers betrayed him to the slave masters, out of their hatred and jealousy to Joseph. The slave masters sold Joseph to the Egyptians, and the brothers would have expected Joseph to disappear forever from their lives, finally rid of the favourite son of their father. But God has other plans, plans that lie beyond the understanding and knowledge of man.

Joseph was made as the instrument of salvation for thousands if not millions, throughout Egypt and the whole world, as the Lord made visible His plans to Joseph through dreams, of the coming famine and hunger that would engulf the world, and would have caused the death of millions, had preventive actions not been taken by Joseph, through the guidance of the Lord.

Eventually, the Lord brings all His people together once more, and reunited Joseph with his father, beginning with the arrival of Joseph’s brothers to purchase grains from Egypt during the years of famine, and ultimately ending with the revelation of the true identity of Joseph, then the Governor and Regent of all Egypt. All these continue to show how wonderful and magnificent the Lord is, the Lord our God.

He has His plans for the good of all mankind, and He cares for all of us without exception. That is why He sent us His only Son, Jesus Christ, one with Him in the Holy Trinity, so that we may live, and have hope instead of being doomed to death and separation from the Lord in hell. Today’s readings also told us that we must always put our complete and undivided trust and attention in the Lord our God, and not in man. For although we must indeed respect our families, and love our brothers and sisters, we must trust in the Lord more, for even brothers and sisters can turn against us, like the case that Joseph had shown all of us, that his brothers betrayed him to the slave masters out of their jealousy of him.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called again by the Lord to be the ministers of His Gospel and Good News, and also the ministers of His people, to serve the people of God, that is one another, with love, compassion, and kindness. To show mercy to our enemies, to pray for them and bless them with the Lord’ blessings, that they too may come to see the light and repent. We are also called to bring the light and love of God to our own families, to our own societies, to those who are nearest to all of us. Remember that mission does not just happen in some far away countries, but it must also happen even in our country, in our own homes, because even there, there are still many lost souls awaiting for the Lord to help them, through us.

May God empower us and give us a new hope and strength, to carry out the mission that He had entrusted to all of us, with faith, devotion, and love, that we will never give up despite the challenges that await us, or the oppositions that will face all of us, even from within our own families, from those closest and dearest to us. God bless us all, and may He strengthen us all with His Spirit, that we can be more like Him, and bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Friday, 12 July 2013 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 10 : 16-23

Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be a clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of Me, so you may witness to them and the pagans.

But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you.

Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of Me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I assure you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

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Friday, 12 July 2013 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 36 : 3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and live on it. Make the Lord your delight, and He will grant your heart’s desire.

The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide. They are not crushed in times of calamity; when famine strikes, they still are satisfied.

Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever. For the Lord loves justice and right, and never forsakes His faithful ones. The wicked instead will perish and their breed will be cut off.

The Lord is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, He is their refuge. The Lord helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; He saves them for they sought shelter in Him.

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Friday, 12 July 2013 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Genesis 46 : 1-7, 28-30

Israel left with all he owned and reached Beersheba where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions that he had during the night, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I will go with you to Egypt and I will bring you back again and Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”

Jacob left Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father with their little children and their wives in the wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him. They also took their flocks and all that they had acquired in Canaan. And so it was that Jacob came to Egypt and with him all his family, his sons, and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters, in short all his children he took with him to Egypt.

Jacob sent Judah ahead to let Joseph know he was coming and that he would soon arrive in the land of Goshen. Joseph got his chariot ready in order to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself, threw his arms around his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, for I have seen your face and know you are alive.”

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Official Hymn of the World Youth Day 2013 : Hope of the Morning (Esperança do Amanhecer)

WYD2013

As the World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is approaching in about ten days time, here is the official hymn of the World Youth Day 2013, titled “Hope of the Morning” in English and “Esperança do Amanhecer” in the original Portuguese language.

 

Portuguese Original Lyric :

Esperança do Amanhecer

Sou marcado desde sempre
com o sinal do Redentor,
que sobre o monte, o Corcovado,
abraça o mundo com Seu amor.

 

(Refrão)
Cristo nos convida:
“Venham, meus amigos!”
Cristo nos envia:
“Sejam missionários!”

Juventude, primavera:
esperança do amanhecer;
quem escuta este chamado
acolhe o dom de crer!
Quem nos dera fosse a terra,
fosse o mundo todo assim!
Não à guerra, fora o ódio,
Só o bem e paz a não ter fim.

 

(Refrão)
Cristo nos convida:
“Venham, meus amigos!”
Cristo nos envia:
“Sejam missionários!”

 

Do nascente ao poente,
nossa casa não tem porta,
nossa terra não tem cerca,
nem limites o nosso amor!
Espalhados pelo mundo,
conservamos o mesmo ardor.
É Tua graça que nos sustenta
nos mantém fiéis a Ti, Senhor!

 

(Refrão)
Cristo nos convida:
“Venham, meus amigos!”
Cristo nos envia:
“Sejam missionários!”

Atendendo ao Teu chamado:
“Vão e façam, entre as nações,
um povo novo, em unidade,
para mim seus corações!”
Anunciar Teu Evangelho
a toda gente é transformar
o velho homem em novo homem
em mundo novo que vai chegar.

 

English Lyric :

 

Hope of the Morning

Under the shadow marked forever

with the Sign of the Redeemer,

On the hilltop, Corcovado,

The whole world is filled with His Love.

 

Refrain :

Christ invites us :

“Come to Me, be My friends”

Christ, He sends us :

“Go! Be missionaries”

 

Can you see it, it is springtime

we have the hope of the dawn

Can you hear Him? He is calling

Receive His gift of faith!

Can you imagine, if every nation

Every tribe and tongue, this generation

saying no to war, no to hatred

Love, peace, and goodness reigns

 

Refrain :

Christ invites us :

“Come to Me, be My friends”

Christ, He sends us :

“Go! Be missionaries”

 

From the East to the West,

our house is open we have no doors,

Our land has no fences,

There are no limits to our love!

We are scattered throughout the world

But we all keep the same zeal

It is Your grace that sustains us

and keeps us faithful to You!

 

Refrain :

Christ invites us :

“Come to Me, be My friends”

Christ, He sends us :

“Go! Be missionaries”

 

We hear You, as You say

“Go make disciples, of all nations”

A new people in unity

Bring their hearts to Me!

Proclaiming Your Gospel

Lives are changed, we’re not the same

A new creation, the old has gone

We know a new world will come

 

Refrain :

Christ invites us :

“Come to Me, be My friends”

Christ, He sends us :

“Go! Be missionaries”

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Thursday, 11 July 2013 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the readings about the mission that Christ had entrusted all of us with. The mission that He had given to the apostles before He left this world, that is to spread the Good News of salvation to all mankind, and to all the world. Each and every Christians baptised in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit must uphold this mission and pledge ourselves to its cause, that is the cause of the Lord.

Christ had called all of us to be His disciples, to bring all the people of God back to His loving embrace, to open their eyes and their hearts to God’s divine and everlasting love. The Lord offers His love and His peace freely to all, without exception, even sinners, and especially sinners, because the Lord did come especially for the sake of sinners, those lost sheep lost in the darkness of evil and sin.

Christ gave up His life in sacrifice, as a worthy offering in atonement for all our sins, all of us, without any exceptions. He died for all mankind, past, present, and future so that all may live, and in this new life, be granted eternal life in glory with Him for eternity, as long as we keep to the covenant that He had made with us, a new covenant sealed by His Blood pouring down from the cross.

Our Lord Jesus loves us, brethren, so much that He is willing to suffer all the blows, lashes, and curses, the pain of the nails that pierced his hands and feet, so that all of us do not have to suffer death eternal in hell. For our sins and iniquities the Lamb of God had been slaughtered and sacrificed, innocent and pure as He is, He was made to bear all the sins of the world.

Sadly, as many as those who would accept His call and His words, and followed Him into a new life of purity and holiness, there are even many more who would prefer to remain in their state of sin and darkened life, and preferred the pleasures of the world and Satan to the Lord who loves them. Many would reject Him and reject His messengers and disciples, including all of us who had been called by the Lord to be His apostles in this modern era.

So if Christ is rejected by many, then we will be rejected too, but this does not mean that we should slacken or abandon the mission that has been given to us. Indeed, there are still those who would accept Christ and His Good News, and even among those who have rejected Him and rejected us, there is always still hope, that they will change and receive the Lord. We must remain strong and courageous, and embrace our mission with zeal, devotion, and most importantly, love.

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Benedict the abbot, also known widely as St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the religious order of St. Benedict, or the Benedictines. He was also an inspiration for our great Pope Emeritus, the beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in choosing his regnal name as Pope, together with Pope Benedict XV, his predecessor and the Pope of peace.

St. Benedict of Nursia lived in the first millenium in the late Roman Empire, and he was the founder of a great religious order, the Benedictines, who imposed on them what is well-known as the Rule of St. Benedict. The rule placed a great emphasis on the balance between piety and religiosity and the need for service and good works, which the Benedictines practiced through their charitable acts and service, and a pious and holy lifestyle, dedicated to the Lord in humility and obedience. And important to the Benedictines are also the concept of peace, the need to seek peace in this world, and to be peaceful in one’s own acts.

St. Benedict strengthened the Christian monasticism that was growing up at his era, and he laid much foundations for the future missionary works of the Church and religious orders that helped to preserve the Traditions of the Faith through the tumultous era of the ending of the Roman Empire and the advent of the Dark Ages. Through St. Benedict, the monastic communities had been strengthened, and therefore, the Church itself had been strengthened.

Inspired by the example of St. Benedict of Nursia and other great missionary saints of the monastic orders, we embark on this new journey of the faith in this modern era of secularism and consumerism, where God increasingly take a lesser importance in people’s minds and lives. It is our duty then, to continue the work of faith, to bring the Lord closer to many people around the world who have yet to receive the Good News of the Lord, or even those who had rejected the message of salvation outright.

There will be rejection for sure, for the world will reject us just as it had once rejected Christ Himself. But we must never give up and we must be courageous, to defend our faith, to defend the Lord, and to bring salvation to many who still live in the darkness of evil and sin. May St. Benedict of Nursia intercede for us, and pray for our sake, that God will send His helpers to aid us in our mission in this world. May St. Benedict also intercede for the sake of our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who is fighting for the Church in prayer and solitude. God bless us all, and God bless His Holy Church! Amen.

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On Priests and Smartphones

http://www.ucanews.com/news/forget-the-smart-phones-pope-tells-seminarians/68712

With reference to Pope Francis’ comment on smartphones and with due deference, smartphones can be very useful for priests and even religious, for use in evangelisation and reach out especially to youths. Because we are at a time when the communication system has grown so rapidly that if priests and the Church does not adapt to it, or even reject it, may bring catastrophic consequences in the future.

I can understand that old people tend to be uncomfortable with new gadgets and technologies, as we can see in old people around us, but some of them are indeed eager to embrace them and learn so that they can be more in touch with the youths, their own grandchildren and other youths in general.

Telling priests not to have smartphones is like a ‘technological suicide’ because smartphones are no luxury! In the near future, many people will have smartphones in one way or another, even many among the poor. The smartphones will be a great help, because priests are ever given greater and greater responsibilities, first because of the decrease in priest : laity ratio, and the general increase in demands and responsibilities expected of a priest.

Smartphone can allow priests, especially the new generation of priests to react quickly to any situation. Imagine that one priest can rapidly react to any issues relating to parishioners through a well established connection system in a parish, not unlike what I have observed in classes, with the teacher contacting several students whom are entrusted with ‘continuing the chain’ down to the last student.

The same could be used with great efficiency, from the priest, parish priest in particular, to the parish groups, and rapidly to the people. Whatsapp and other applications like BlackBerry Messenger after all can reach many more people and much faster than traditional phone.

And ultimately, smartphones does help priests to organise themselves and are great help, especially for priests who are always bombarded with so many responsibilities that they may forget to attend an appointment, just because they do not have a smartphone to aid them.

So once again, while I agree with the luxury cars, that they should not be bought by priests, but to categorise smartphones with them is simply self-defeating.

The key is self-control. If you are a priest, and you are obsessed with getting every latest smartphones, a.k.a. getting the next model barely months after you bought the previous one, then it is wrong.

But if you are a priest and you have a decent smartphone that is potentially very useful. I would say : “Why not?” Indeed, one should say : “Well done! Use it as a great tool for new evangelisation! Especially for the youths in the Church!”