Month: February 2017

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Friday, 17 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Genesis 11 : 1-9

The whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved from east, they found a plain in the country of Shinar where they settled. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them in fire.” They used brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. They said also, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top reaching heaven; so that we may become a great people and not be scattered over the face of the earth!”

YHVH came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man were building, and YHVH said, “They are one people and they have one language. If they carry this through, nothing they decide to do from now on will be impossible. Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language so that they will no longer understand each other.”

So YHVH scattered them over all the earth and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there YHVH confused the language of the whole earth and from there YHVH scattered them over the whole face of the earth.

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Thursday, 16 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, from what we heard in the Scripture passages today, we can see how God loves each and every one of us mankind, whom He had created out of love, the concern and care He has shown for us. We heard how He saved Noah from the great flood that engulfed the whole world and consumed all the others who were wicked and filled with evil. He made a covenant with him, promising that He would no longer wipe out mankind for their transgressions.

God is so full of mercy and patience, that even when we mankind had disobeyed Him and walked away from His path, but He was always willing to forgive and to allow us to return to His grace. And He gave us all every help that He could give, including sending upon us many helpers, and His messengers and prophets to call us back to repentance and to turn away from our sins.

But many of us refused to listen to Him, and refused to believe in the truth which He had preached into the world, and even when He sent us all His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, many refused to listen to Him, and turn their back against the Saviour of the world. There were those who believed in Him, the Apostles and disciples of Jesus, who believed in the Lord despite of the challenges and difficulties facing them.

This then brings us to the reality of our world, where those who walk in the ways of the truth are always going to face difficulties, opposition and challenges, just as the world had risen up against the Lord Jesus before. There are a lot of resistance from man to remain as they are in their current state of sin and wickedness. Yet, the Lord never gave up on us, so much so that He was willing to endure the persecution and suffering at the hands of the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests.

That was what we all well know as what truly happened during the time when our Lord Jesus faced His Passion in this world. He loved us all so dearly that He was willing to endure the weight of the cross and the burdens of the sins of all mankind. He suffered lashes and whips, torture and pain of thorns and the pain of the nails of the crucifixion, all for the aim that we mankind may have hope to be redeemed from our sins.

Yet, many of us are not yet appreciative of what we have been given, all the blessings that we have received, all the things that we have enjoyed in this life. Many of us lived in the same manner as the people living wickedly during the time of Noah. And we all know how they all met their end. No one who remains wicked and unjust can enter into the kingdom of God, and all will perish in the darkness and suffering unless one turns wholeheartedly towards the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians we are all called to be true servants of our Lord, following and imitating the Lord in all that He had shown us and revealed to us. As Christians we should open ourselves to receive the love of Christ, remembering the great love which He had shown to us. We should resist the temptations for us to sin, for the devil is always at work trying to pull us away from the path to salvation.

Let us all help one another, brethren, that we may resist the temptations and persuasions of the devil, for us to abandon the way of the Lord just because it seems to be too difficult for us. This is what he had done, when he tried to put obstacles before the path of Jesus our Lord, but Jesus was not intimidated at all, and rebuked Satan and his works.

Let us all understand that following God may often mean that we have to endure rejection, opposition and even persecution from the world, because the way of the Lord is not compatible with the ways of this world. But we must never give up, for to give up means for us to submit to the attempts of the devil trying to drag us into damnation and darkness with him.

Let us work together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, imitating the love which God had shown us, and practice it in our own lives. May we be merciful towards each other, showing care, concern and compassion to all those who need them. Let us do our best to make sure that the wickedness of Satan and all sorts of sin have no place in our hearts, which are instead filled with the love of God. May the Lord be with us all, bless us and keep us in His grace forevermore. Amen.

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(Special Post) Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, also the 120th Anniversary of its Consecration (14 February 1897) – History of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd

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On 14 February 2017, the Church in Singapore is going to celebrate a great occasion of the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, which is the principal and mother of all the parishes and churches in Singapore. As the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Singapore, it is the place where the Cathedra or the seat of the Archbishop of Singapore is located at.

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The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was established as one of the first church buildings in Singapore, in the earliest days of its history as a British colony after it was discovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in the year 1819. The Cathedral had its origins in a simple and small chapel built from wooden and attap structure constructed between the year 1832 and 1833.
However, the rapid growth of the Church in Singapore, growing number of the faithful and pressing need for a more appropriate place for divine worship resulted in the efforts to establish a permanent place of worship for the faithful in Singapore. Upon generous donations from various individuals including that of the Queen of France and the Archbishop of Manila, the permanent church building that would become the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd became a reality.

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The foundation stone was placed in the site of the future Cathedral in the year 1843 and the completed church was opened and blessed on 18 June 1847, on the Feast of Corpus Christi by Father Jean-Marie Beurel, one of the pioneer priests and evangelisers in Singapore.

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(Picture: Fr. Jean-Marie Beurel)

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was named as such upon the inspiration from the holy martyr St. Laurent Imbert, one of the first Catholic priests to visit Singapore, who went on to be the first Vicar Apostolic to Korea, and was martyred for his faith there during the violent persecution against the Church and the faithful. It was told that he gave himself up to the authorities in order to safeguard the other faithful under his care, saying that “in times of great need, the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” in the imitation of the Lord, our Good Shepherd.

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(Picture: St. Laurent Imbert)
As the Diocese of Malacca (established in 1558 in Malacca, now in Malaysia) was reestablished in the year 1888 after it has been temporarily suppressed in 1839 (and later revived as the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Siam in 1841), the church that was to become the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was elevated to the status of a cathedral, and Bishop Edouard Gasnier became its first bishop. He was interred in the Cathedral’s crossing (between nave and transepts) upon his death in 1896.
The Cathedral was dedicated by Bishop Gasnier’s successor, Bishop Rene-Michel-Marie Fee, who dedicated and consecrated the Cathedral to our Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd, on 14 February of the year 1897, 120 years ago to the current date. Ever since, the Cathedral had become the hub for the growth of the Church and the Christian faith both in Singapore and throughout the region for the next 120 years.
Ever since, the Cathedral had weathered through good and difficult times, including the turbulent years of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, when it was functioning as an emergency hospital, but it weathered through them. Nevertheless, time and the rapid construction around it and underneath the ground due to the building of the Mass Rapid Transit train line caused the foundation of the Cathedral to be affected, and serious cracks started to appear on the structure.
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Therefore, serious efforts for a major renovation was carried out, and after many years of preparation, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd finally was closed on 28 October 2013, for a thorough and extensive renovation and modification. Throughout this major project, various discoveries were made on the historic nature of this Cathedral, including the discovery of the original foundation stone placed in site in the year 1843. The original layout and architecture of the Cathedral were also restored.

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Finally the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was reopened on 20 November 2016, on the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King, by His Excellency Archbishop William Goh of Singapore during the Opening Mass, where he solemnly reopened the Cathedral for the purpose of divine worship.

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And now, on the 14th day of February of the Year of our Lord 2017, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is going to be dedicated to the Lord before all the faithful people of God.

Pray for the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, pray for the Church of God in Singapore!

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Thursday, 16 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 8 : 27-33

At that time, Jesus set out with His disciples for the villages around Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” And they told Him, “Some say You are John the Baptist; others say You are Elijah or one of the prophets.”

Then Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” And He ordered them not to tell anyone about Him. Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed, and after three days rise again.

Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took Him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus turning around, and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”

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Thursday, 16 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 101 : 16-18, 19-21, 29 and 22-23

O Lord, the nations will revere Your Name, and the kings of the earth Your glory, when the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in all His splendour. For He will answer the prayer of the needy and will not despise their plea.

Let this be written for future ages, “The Lord will be praised by a people He will form.” From His holy height in heaven, the Lord has looked on the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoners, and free those condemned to death.”

Your servants’ children will dwell secure; their posterity will endure without fail. Then the Name of the Lord will be declared in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem, when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship Him.

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Thursday, 16 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Genesis 9 : 1-13

God blessed Noah and his sons and he said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you will be in all the animals of the earth and in all the birds of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. They are given to you. Everything that moves and lives shall be food for you; as I gave you the green plants, I have now given you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood.”

“But I will also demand a reckoning for your lifeblood. I will demand it from every animal; and from man, too, I will demand a reckoning for the life of his fellow man. He who sheds the blood of man shall have his blood shed by man; for in the image of God has God made man. As for you, be fruitful and increase. Abound on the earth and be master of it.”

God spoke to Noah and his son, “See I am making a covenant with you and with your descendants after you; also with every living animal with you : birds, cattle, that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of the Ark. I establish My covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I make between Me and you, and every animal living with you for all future generations. I set My bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”

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Wednesday, 15 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, as we continue the discourse from the Sacred Scriptures, we listened to the tale of Noah and his Ark, which endured the great flood with all of his family and with all of kinds of living animals and plants. Noah was saved from damnation and utter distraction because of his faith, dedication to God and to His ways, there is a new hope that arises within us, because God did not forget His beloved ones, and neither did He want to see us perish.

He had sent the great flood to the earth, wiping out all mankind save for Noah, for they were wicked and they refused to repent, and therefore, they met their fated destruction, because of their inability to change themselves and their ways of life. They died and perished because of their own sins, the result of their disobedience against God and His ways.

Noah alone had remained faithful, and therefore, God extended His protection and grace over him and his whole family, that he would not be counted among the wicked and the unjust, and perish with them. Instead, he was carried away safely in the Ark with his whole family, and from him descended all the sons and daughters of man, all the way down the generations to us today.

We are all around in this world because God has had mercy on our ancestors, on our forefathers. He has showed His love and forgiveness to them, and there were those among them who believed in God, turned away from their sins and followed Him. These were the ones who passed down their faith to their descendants, and from them, and also through the Church, we receive our faith.

And so great was God’s love for us that He gave us help and assistance throughout time, that whenever we fall into sin, He would give us His guides, prophets and messengers to remind us all of the true and right path, so that we would not fall deeper into the darkness and sin. There were many of those who refused to listen and therefore perish, but there were also those who listened to the Lord’s call, believed, and were saved.

Ultimately, He also gave us Himself through Jesus Christ His Son, Who came into the world in order to save us. He has done His many miraculous works, as what we heard in the Gospel today, healing those who were blind, and also those who were deaf, mute, paralysed, and also those who were afflicted and possessed by demons and wicked spirits.

He came into this world to rescue us, that we may not sink into the multitudes of our sins, and all the wickedness that are all around us. To this extent, He has established His Church, through which He gathered all those who believe in Him, and bring them to safety. For often the Church is likened to a boat, a ship sailing through the turbulent waters of this world. It was indeed just as how the Ark of Noah saved him and his family, with many other animals and plants from the destruction by the great flood.

God had given us all so much of His love, and now what we all need to do, is to replicate the same love which He had given us. We should not harden our hearts so much so that we became like those people living at Noah’s time, who must have laughed at Noah and mocked him for obeying the Lord’s command to build a great Ark. It was only when it was too late for them, when the flood took over them, that they realised their folly. But it was way too late for them.

Let us all spend some time to reflect on this matter, and learn to put forth more of our effort to love the Lord, by obeying Him and by listening to His words, following in His laws and commandments, so that in everything we say and do, we will always be found righteous by God, and be worthy to receive the eternal glory God had promised to all those who remain true and faithful to Him.

May the Lord bless us all and may He strengthen in us our faith, so that we may continue to serve Him with all our heart, and draw closer to Him with each and every passing day. God be with us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 8 : 22-26

At that time, when Jesus and His disciples came to Bethsaida, He was asked to touch a blind man who was brought to Him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had put spittle on his eyes and laid His hands upon him, He asked, “Can you see anything?”

The man, who was beginning to see, replied, “I see people! They look like trees, but they move around.” Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes again and the man could see perfectly. His sight was restored and he could see everything clearly. Then Jesus sent him home, saying, “Do not return to the village.”

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Wednesday, 15 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14-15, 18-19

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful.

I will carry out my vows to the Lord in the presence of His people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, o Jerusalem.

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Wednesday, 15 February 2017 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Genesis 8 : 6-13, 20-22

At the end of the forty days Noah opened the window of the Ark that he had built and let the raven out. This went off and kept flying to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

Then Noah let out the dove to see if the waters were receding from the earth. But the dove could not find a place to set its foot and flew back to him in the Ark for the waters still covered the surface of the whole earth. So Noah stretched out his hand, took hold of it and brought it back to himself in the Ark.

He waited some more days and again sent the dove out from the Ark. This time the dove came back to him in the evening with a fresh olive branch in its beak. Then Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and let the dove loose, but it did not return to him any more.

In the year six hundred and one, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the Ark and looked out and saw that the surface of the earth was dry. Noah built an altar to YHVH and, taking some of all the clean animals and all the clean birds, he offered burnt offerings on it.

YHVH smelled the pleasing aroma and said to Himself : “Never again will I curse the earth because of man, even though his heart is set on evil from childhood; never again will I strike down every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease to be.”