Day: March 7, 2014

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Sunday, 9 March 2014 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s readings, we see how the ‘old’ Adam and the ‘new’ Adam are compared to each other. You may be asking, why is there two Adams? That is because, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, is the new Adam who came to rectify the faults and mistakes committed by the first Adam, as what he had done in the Book of Genesis.

In the readings, we see the clear contrast between the two Adams. The first Adam, our first ancestor, fell to the temptation of Satan with Eve, and they disobeyed God’s will by eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge, thinking that they might become like God as the devil spoke to them about. Yet Christ, as the new Adam, did the exact opposite, refusing to listen to the sweet lies of the devil and firmly held onto the faith in God His Father.

Yes, how right it is when it is said that because of the first Adam, every single one of humanity, including all of us have been condemned to a life in difficulty on this earth, and a life that is subjected to the power of death because of the disobedience of our ancestors. Initially, because of the disobedience of the first Adam, we were also destined for doom and destruction, which were our due for our disobedience, but all that was changed with Christ, the new Adam.

In Christ, the new Adam, mankind was made anew. Christ our Lord became one of us, the sons and daughters of Adam, that through His perfect obedience to the will of God and the total rebuke and refusal to follow the ways of Satan, He had made all of us anew, and bring us into the light of God. As the new Adam, He broke free the fetters and chains holding us, that is the sin of the first Adam, our ancestor.

Adam and his wife, Eve, the first two mankind to be created by the Lord, showed us the things that we are vulnerable to, when the devil came and offers us things that are contrary to the goodness and to the will of God. And the temptation of Jesus in the desert by the devil further highlighted the many vulnerabilities that the devil may attack us, to tempt us away from the salvation in God.

Yes, brethren, even though Jesus through His death had liberated us from the chains of original sin, that is the sin of the first Adam, that tainted all mankind until the moment when Christ broke free that chain of sin as the new Adam, the progenitor of new life of man, the devil can still attack us and as he always does, he tries at every moment to bring us away from the salvation offered through the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The temptations which Christ went through can show us the venues through which the devil may strike at us. The devil can strike at our desires, our greed and desire for things like food, as in the first temptation of Jesus. He can also strike at our ego and our desire and affinity for praise, and that was the second temptation of Jesus.

And lastly, the temptation of power and glory, which he may strike us with, is one of the most dangerous, which he made in the last of his three attempts to tempt Jesus. All of these he can utilise to break us and bend us to his ways. It is easy for us to fall if we do not prepare ourselves well. The devil has many tools in his disposal to trap us and make us fall.

Do not think that we can also use the Scriptures to ward off his attacks, if we are unprepared. The devil himself quoted from the Scripture passages when he tried to tempt Jesus! If he did so before, then certainly if we are unprepared, then we will be more vulnerable to the devil’s attacks. We have to prepare ourselves, by deepening our faith in God, and strengthening our devotion to Him.

Yes, brethren, we need to strengthen our faith, the shield of our souls, that we will not fall to the tricks of the devil. Our faith should be firm like the faith of Jesus. It is not easy, brothers and sisters, as the devil will be merciless and relentless in his attacks. We need to strengthen ourselves, and reject the alluring temptations of Satan, rejecting the false pleasures that he may offer us.

This is because the joy and pleasures he offers us are just temporary and illusionary in nature. They are pleasures that gives happiness briefly for a moment, and later on may bring about great sorrow and suffering. And ultimately, if we want to gain these false promises from Satan, we will have to serve and pay him our obedience.

Brethren, we cannot have two masters, either we serve the Lord or Satan, we have to make a decisive and concrete choice. And if we serve Satan we all should know that for a brief moment of joy and pleasure, we will suffer for eternity with the devil. Serving the Lord will not be easy, and there will be challenges awaiting us.

Therefore, let us from now on, seek the Lord with all of our strength. Do not be complacent in our faith but keep our faith living and strong, by devoting ourselves genuinely and sincerely to God, giving out our love to Him and to our fellow mankind. Be faithful brethren, and be strong always, against the evil one! Amen.

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Sunday, 9 March 2014 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 4 : 1-11

Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert that He might be put to the test by the devil. After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry.

Then the devil came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, order these stones to turn into bread.” But Jesus answered, “Scripture says : One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took Jesus to the Holy City, set Him on the highest wall of the Temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for Scripture says : God has given orders to His angels about You. Their hands will hold You up lest You hurt Your foot against a stone.”

Jesus answered, “But Scripture also says : You shall not put to the test the Lord your God.”

Then the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the nations of the world in all their greatness and splendour. And he said, “All this I will give You, if You kneel down and worship me.”

Then Jesus answered, “Be off, Satan! Scripture says : Worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone!” Then the devil left Him, and angels came to serve Him.

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Sunday, 9 March 2014 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 5 : 12-19

Therefore, sin entered the world through one man and through sin, death, and later on death spread to all humankind, because all sinned. As long as there was no law, they could not speak of disobedience, but sin was already in the world. This is why from Adam to Moses death reigned among them, although their sin was not disobedience as in Adam’s case – this was not the true Adam, but foretold the Other who was to come.

Such has been the fall, but God’s gift goes far beyond. All died because of the fault of one man, but how much more does the grace of God spread when the gift He granted reaches all, from this unique Man Jesus Christ. Again, there is no comparison between the gift and the offense of one man. The disobedience that brought condemnation was of one sinner, whereas the grace of God brings forgiveness to a world of sinners.

If death reigned through the disobedience of one and only one person, how much more will there be a reign of life for those who receive the grace and the gift of true righteousness through the one person, Jesus Christ.

Just as one transgression brought sentence of death to all, so, too, one man’s good act has brought justification and light to all; and as the disobedience of only one made all sinners, so the obedience of one person allowed all to be made just and holy.

 

Alternative Reading (shorter version)

 

Romans 5 : 12, 17-19

Therefore, sin entered the world through one man and through sin, death, and later on death spread to all humankind, because all sinned.

If death reigned through the disobedience of one and only one person, how much more will there be a reign of life for those who receive the grace and the gift of true righteousness through the one person, Jesus Christ.

Just as one transgression brought sentence of death to all, so, too, one man’s good act has brought justification and light to all; and as the disobedience of only one made all sinners, so the obedience of one person allowed all to be made just and holy.

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Sunday, 9 March 2014 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 12-13, 14 and 17

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone have I sinned.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Give me again the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. O Lord, open my lips, and I will declare Your praise.

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Sunday, 9 March 2014 : 1st Sunday of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 2 : 7-9 and Genesis 3 : 1-7

Then YHVH God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive with breath. God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there He placed Man whom He had created. YHVH. God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see and good to eat, also the tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the wild creatures that YHVH God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say : You must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden God said : You must not eat, and you must not touch it or you will die.”

The serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, but God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.”

The woman saw that the fruit was good to eat, and pleasant to the eyes, and ideal for gaining knowledge. She took its fruit and ate it and gave some to her husband who was with her. He ate it.

Then their eyes were opened and both of them knew they were naked. So they sewed leaves of a fig tree together and made themselves loincloths.

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Saturday, 8 March 2014 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard in the Gospel, about the calling of Levi the tax collector by Jesus. Levi was called, and he heeded the call. He became one of the Twelve Apostles, and later was known as St. Matthew the Apostle, one of the Four Evangelists, the writer of the Four Holy Gospels.

Levi showed us that the Lord did not condemn sinners but sin. He did not condemn His own people when they made the mistake, if they do not persist in their sinfulness and in their erroneous ways. He will come to them, seeking them, and calling them to repent from their ways, and to turn back towards the Lord as He had done to Levi.

And another lesson that we ought to learn is that we have hope, brethren! In Jesus we have hope, because He had come to seek those who had been lost to the darkness. We who have wandered into the darkness Christ will bring once again into the light. And if we follow Him, we will surely receive the reward which He had promised to be ours.

Brothers and sisters, it is also important to note that we must never condemn anyone, nor should we have any prejudice or be judgmental upon others. If we do so, then we are doing precisely what the Pharisees and the elders of the Jews had done. They looked down on the tax collectors and the other people whom they called and considered as ‘sinners’.

Yes, they considered themselves pious, obedient and righteous, because they have followed strictly the rigorous requirements of the Mosaic law, whom they over the generations as the leaders of the people had expanded, and which they, in their arrogance and hubris, thought of themselves as better than those who had not done what they did.

Yet they forget that they themselves had flaw in them. Yes, sinners themselves! Everyone who was descended from Adam and Eve the first mankind had sinned, and we are all sinners. Yet it was Jesus our Lord who came to us in order to deliver us from the consequence of sin that is death. Jesus came to bring new hope and light to those who had been trapped in the darkness of sin.

The Pharisees had no right to label and condemn the tax collectors as sinners because they themselves were sinners and were in need of salvation themselves. Yet again you can contrast how the supposed ‘sinners’, the tax collectors reacted to Jesus as compared to the ‘pious’ Pharisees and the elders. The tax collectors welcomed Jesus and Levi followed Him, leaving everything he had. Meanwhile, the Pharisees rejected Jesus and fought against Him and plotted against Him wherever He went to.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, from this example, are we able now to understand what it means to be a disciple of the Lord? Are we all now aware of the love our Lord has for all of us. Shall we repent and change our ways, professing our faith and love for Him?

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John of God, a Portuguese priest and holy man of the faith. St. John of God was known to be a great worker of mercy and compassion especially those who were suffering in poverty and sickness. St. John of God established an order of brethren dedicated to the service of the stricken and the downtrodden.

But in all of his great accomplishment and great holiness, we may often forget that St. John of God was once an orphan and someone who did not have a clear purpose in life. And yet St. John of God met a life changing experience in his life, not quite unlike what had happened to Levi, who was called from the darkness into the light. Like Levi, St. John of God was called because the Lord had clear intention in mind for him.

Can we also be like St. John of God? Of course we can! It is up to us now, whether we are to take up the Lord’s offer and heed His call. We can choose to be either like the Pharisees or to be like Levi. We can choose between accepting the Lord’s call or refusing to acknowledge Him when He calls. It is entirely within our choice, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Therefore, let us make our choice now, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord from now on, and become His tool for change, for the betterment of ourselves and for the sake of our fellow brothers and sisters. May the Lord continue to love us, bless us, and strengthen us in our faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 March 2014 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 5 : 27-32

After this Jesus went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax-office, He said to him, “Follow Me!” So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed Jesus.

Levi gave a great feast for Jesus, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took their places at the table with the other people. Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to Jesus’ disciples, “How is it that You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

But Jesus spoke up, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I have not come to call the just, but sinners to a change of heart.”

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Saturday, 8 March 2014 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 85 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Listen, o Lord, and answer me, for I am afflicted and needy. Preserve my life for I am God-fearing; save Your servant who trusts in You.

Have mercy on me, o Lord, for I cry to You all day. Bring joy to the soul of Your servant, for You, o Lord, I lift up my soul.

You are good and forgiving, o Lord, caring for those who call on You. Listen, o. Lord, to my prayer, hear the voice of my pleading.

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Saturday, 8 March 2014 : Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 58 : 9b-14

You will cry and YHVH will say, I am here. If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word, if you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.

YHVH will guide you always and give you relief in desert places. He will strengthen your bones; He will make you as a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.

Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt, the age-old foundations will be raised. You will be called the Breach-mender, and the Restorer of ruined houses. If you stop profaning the sabbath and doing as you please on the holy day, if you call the sabbath a day of delight and keep sacred YHVH’s holy day, if you honour it by not going your own way, not doing as you please and not speaking with malice, then you will find happiness in YHVH, over the heights you will ride triumphantly, and feast joyfully on the inheritance of your father Jacob.

The mouth of YHVH has spoken.

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Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man (Vietnam), Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh turns 80, ceases to be a Cardinal-elector

Today, Wednesday, 5 March 2014, Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Cardinal Priest of S. Giustino, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), turns 80, and therefore, according to the rules written in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, he loses his right to vote in any future conclave.

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Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Giustino by Pope John Paul II in the 2003 Consistory of Cardinals on 21 October 2003, the ninth and last Consistory of his pontificate. Cardinal Pham Minh Man was made a Cardinal in honour of his position as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, which he has held since 1998 and still held until this day, and which encompasses the city of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), one of the two most important dioceses in Vietnam.

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http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/than0.htm#121

May God bless His Eminence Cardinal Pham Minh Man, with a blessed old age and health. May he remain strong in the faith and hopefully can perhaps still continue to work great graces and good works of love and peace in in his current position as the shepherd of his people in the Ho Chi Minh Archdiocese, as he continued to minister to the people of God.

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The College of Cardinals now stands at 218 members in total, with 121 Cardinal-electors and 97 Cardinal non-electors. There are now an excess of 1 Cardinal-elector as compared to the maximum number of electors allowed in the Conclave of 120, due to the recent Consistory of Cardinals on 22 February 2014 by Pope Francis.

Next Cardinal-elector to age out (80) will be Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Milan (Italy), on 14 March 2014.