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Monday, 7 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. John Baptist de la Salle, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ! Today’s scripture readings very clearly highlight the truth, how in our lives in this world, we often forsake the Lord and His ways for the temporary pleasures of the flesh and of the world. We let our emotions and sin to cloud our judgments and to affect our actions and deeds. In that way we preferred the ways of Satan and his rebelliousness rather than the truth and love that is in God.

In today’s first reading, we see how the two most respected people among the entirety of the people of God, the two appointed elders of the people of God, were actually the ones who brought sin and destruction upon the people, by judging as guilty an innocent woman, all because so that they could hide the sin that they had planned to commit with her. If the Spirit of God had not acted through Daniel, the young prophet, an innocent life would have been lost.

And in today’s Gospel reading, we heard the well-known story how Jesus dealt with the woman caught in adulterous behaviour, how He did not condemn her for her sins, and in fact called upon the people who wanted her dead, to reflect upon their own sinfulness and not to be judgmental, for they themselves were subjects to the same judgment of God for they all have sinned.

Today we are all called to holiness and new life, that is a life filled with the love of God, and blessed by God’s presence, that we no longer indulge ourselves in our sinful ways and manners of life, and instead commit ourselves to do the will of God and immerse ourselves in the way of the Lord, as Jesus had told the sinful woman, ‘Do not sin anymore.’

The key to salvation is for us all to be able to recognise first that we are sinners, and we are all faulty at one point in our lives, and we are imperfect, and therefore, flawed as we are, we are bound to commit sin and other acts displeasing to God. But it is also equally important that we realise how loving our God is towards us all, the most beloved ones of His creations.

It is indeed true that God hates sin, and He hates all forms of darkness and evils, that were born out of disobedience to His will. Nevertheless, He loves us even more than the hatred He has for our sins. But this love will not manifest itself if we keep ourselves locked and separated from His love, if we refuse to acknowledge that we are sinners, and that we need to repent. Only through the understanding of one’s sinfulness and accepting that we need God’s mercy that we can get closer to God and towards salvation in Him.

Sin keeps us away from the goodness of God and it even deviates us in our path, that we veer off the path towards God and instead we walk on towards doom and destruction. That was what happened to the two elders who tried to commit sin with Susanna, the faithful woman, and ended up sinning even greater by committing themselves ever deeper into their sinfulness.

They sin because they keep themselves in their sinfulness, and instead of acknowledging that they were sinners and committing themselves to repentance and new life, they became fearful and selfish, and they committed even greater sins in the process, condemning the innocent to death, while seeking freedom for themselves who had sinned, at the price of the blood of the innocent.

The same the Pharisees and the chief priests had done to the Holy and Innocent One of God, none other than Jesus, who was condemned to the death because of their jealousy and insecurity. They themselves said that it would be better for one man, that is Jesus, to die rather than the whole nation. In reality, they are concerned not for the nation, but only for themselves, for the wealth and the position that they had enjoyed as the leaders of the people, corrupted by their own power.

This is what we should not do, and we should not be like them. We should not be swayed by the allures of power and we should not give in to our selfishness and pride, that we become like the Pharisees. We have to be humble and be open to the love of God as I have often mentioned. Jesus called us to be loving children of God, and He wanted us to be saved. That is why, He forgave the adulterous woman, not just because He loves us, but because He also sees the hope in us.

Yes, the Lord sees the hope in us, and He desires for us all to be reunited with Him. Even the greatest of sinners have hope of salvation, again providing that they open up themselves to accept the Lord’s infinite mercy. That is the key ingredient of salvation, that we too should be receptive to God’s mercy and love. We cannot harden our hearts and refuse to allow the Lord to enter our hearts.

God offered us His salvation, if we want to accept Him and listen to Him. And today we have a role model whose model we can follow and aspire to, as what he has done in this life is to show us, how to be like Christ and to follow Christ in His ways. Yes, that person is St. John Baptist de la Salle, the missionary priest and patron saint of Christian schools and education.

St. John Baptist de la Salle is particularly dear and known to me, because he is the patron saint of my Alma Mater, and when I was in that school, I learnt a lot about who St. John Baptist de la Salle was. He is the main patron of the Lasallian congregation, consisting of brothers and community of devoted religious called the Brothers of Christian Schools. What is the significance?

This is because St. John Baptist de la Salle dedicated himself to the poor children, the last, the lost and the least of the society. He emulated and followed what Jesus had taught us and His disciples. St. John Baptist de la Salle shows that we have to be merciful and loving to others, especially to those who lack love in them, and to those who have sinned. That was what Jesus had done to the prostitute, forgiving her from what she had done.

St. John Baptist de la Salle shows us that we need to be genuine in loving and giving of ourselves to others if we are to be truly good disciples of the Lord. We cannot be hypocrites who look highly upon ourselves and look down on others when we ourselves too are lowly sinners. Let us not be like the Pharisees who condemned others whom they deem to be unworthy of salvation.

We have to preach love and forgiveness that Jesus had taught His disciples, keeping in mind that it is important for the neglected and the lost ones, including all of us, to be able to get in touch with God and His generous offer of forgiveness. No one is beyond God’s salvation and mercy, and especially to those who are the last, the lost and the least.

Let us therefore help one another and open the path for others to also reach out to God. Let us not be prideful, hate-filled and jealous, but instead love one another genuinely and tenderly. May the Lord bless us all, for all eternity. God bless us all with His love, and that we too may love sincerely and with all of our hearts. Amen.

 

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Friday, 21 February 2014 : 6th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

James 2 : 14-24, 26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you. If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or food and one of you says, “May things go well for you; be warm and satisfied,” without attending to their material needs, what good is that? So it is for faith without deeds : it is totally dead.

Say to whoever challenges you, “You have faith and I have good deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will show you my faith in the way I act.” Do you believe there is one God? Well enough, but do not forget that the demons also believe and tremble with fear!

You foolish one, do you have to be convinced that faith without deeds is useless? Think of our father Abraham. Was he not justified by the act of offering his son Isaac on the altar? So you see, his faith was active along with his deeds and became perfect by what he did.

The word of Scripture was thus fulfilled, Abraham believed in God so he was considered a righteous person and he was called the friend of God. So you see, a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. So, just as the body is dead without its spirit, so faith without deeds is also dead.

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Sunday, 9 February 2014 : 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

We are light of the world and salt of the earth. That is what our Lord had made us all to be, all those who believe in Him and has been welcomed and are now part of His Body, that is His Church. We are all called to be light and salt for all the nations, and to proclaim the kingdom of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ to all the nations, to all the peoples, especially those who live in darkness and those who have no flavour in their lives.

Yes, we are called to bring light to those who had fallen into the darkness and to bring flavour to the blandness of people’s lives in this world. Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear in the first reading, from the book of the prophet Isaiah, of the examples of the things we can do, in order to accomplish this in accordance with God’s will.

In all of us, God has given seeds of faith, hope, and love, and many gifts of various types, which we can use to help one another, and bring indeed the light and flavour to the livelihood of many. Each one of us have different set of skills and abilities, granted to us by God, awaiting for us to use them for the good of our fellow men, our fellow brothers and sisters.

Yet, many of us did not use these gifts God had given us, and let them to be dormant. There are various reasons attributed to this lack of action, but the most important and common of which include, fear of failure and embarrassment, laziness and sloth, and finally, greed and desire for self-aggrandisement and glorification. All of these prevent us from utilising fully God’s gifts for each one of us.

And when this happened, the light that is in us becomes hidden, and the salt that is in us becomes tasteless and bland, and therefore the gifts in us become dormant and useless. We fear failure and embarrassment in the eyes of men, because we are concerned of how others view us and our actions, as we practice our faith in this world. We also have our own desires and temptations, that we use our gifts instead for the benefit of others, but for our own good and our own glory, often at the expense of many others.

We are often to take the first step, and have the initiative to embark on the mission of good works as the Lord had told us to do, because we are often uncertain, what will our actions do to ourselves. We often ask ourselves first many times, whether what we are doing or going to do will impact us in a way that disadvantages us, by making us look embarrassed or less preferable by our society and our friends in any way.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this world has its set of values, many of which do not necessarily agree or correspond to the values which our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord in the Holy Scriptures had taught us. The world therefore will not necessarily see our actions based on our faith in good light, but our Lord who sees all, will see that whatever we are doing, to be good.

If we continue to be concerned about our image or standing in the society, as well as our friendships and relationships, then it may be difficult for us to be truly the light and salt of the world. To be light of the world, we have to throw far, far away our prejudices, our fears, and our uncertainties. Instead we should put our trust in God, and believe in Him only, trusting that He will guide our way to the truth.

We should also throw far away our desire and our greed, for power, for affluence, for pleasure, and for many other things of the world. If we are to become the true light of the world and salt of the earth, then we have to be truly selfless, that our beings be transformed to be conduits of God’s love and grace, that through us, the world will see the Light of our Lord and the beauty that He brings into this world, which brings flavour to all things.

We should not be worry or fearful, but yet we too should not be showy or seeking attention in any way. We have to make use of what God has given us, in faith, hope and love, and show them through concrete actions, out of pure and unadulterated and unconditional love for our brethren, just as the prophet Isaiah had said.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us from today onwards, resolve to seek out those in need, whether they are in need of material goods, basic survival items, or even as simple as needing love. Let us be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, showing this world that there is much good in God and in following God, that all mankind may be saved in the Lord. God be with us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 14 July 2013 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. This is a well-known story by Jesus to show that nobody is beyond help, and nobody is beyond salvation, for everyone is truly equal before God, and God loves them all the same.

Why Samaritan? In order to understand this, we need to look into the history of the people of Israel and the region of Jesus’ time, that is two thousand years ago. At that time, the region north of Judea, where most of the Jews lived in, and where Jerusalem is, is called Samaria, the former lands of the northern kingdom of Israel.

The northern kingdom was destroyed about more than seven hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus by the powerful Assyrian Empire, and the people of the northern kingdom were taken away from their homeland and scattered among the nations in exile. In their place, the pagan peoples of Assyria and its constituent nations came in and settled in that region, together with the local people of the land of Canaan.

The people of Samaria, as the region was to be known henceforth, were therefore a mix of people, but considered as evidently ‘non-Jewish’ by the Jewish people who would return from the exile in Babylon, those who settled in Jerusalem, and in the former Kingdom of Judah, in what was then to be known as Judea.

That marked the beginning of distrust between the Jewish people and the Samaritans, as they were called by the Jews at the time. They were considered as pagan and as a people without hope for salvation, because the Jews at the time believe that they, as the chosen people, the chosen race, are the only ones worthy of God, and no others are worthy of the Lord.

Yet, without going further into the long story of the history of the two peoples, we can see in today’s Gospel reading in particular, the disparity between the reaction of the Jews, and that of the Samaritan, when confronted with an injured person, a person in suffering. The Levite and the priest portrayed by Jesus were high ranked members of the Jewish society and were usually held in high regards, and yet they ignored the suffering of the robbed person and went on their way. But the Samaritan, cursed and held in contempt by the Jews, stopped and gave it his all to provide the best aid he could give to the suffering person.

The purpose of the readings today, brothers and sisters, is however not to put Jews against non-Jews, and not to discriminate against either the Jews or the Samaritans. The real purpose is to show that while it is not easy to become the disciples of the Lord, the Lord had not made it so difficult for us to follow His precepts and walk in His ways, just as the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy had mentioned.

The Lord had given His commandments to the people, as a set of laws to govern how the people of Israel should live their lives, and He had given them to Moses, so that he could make sure that the people of God would continue to keep God’s laws in their hearts, as long as they live, and pass them down the generations, so that their children, grandchildren, and so on would continue to live according to the Lord’s way through His commandments.

But over time, the true meaning of God’s commandments had been lost, and they had been replaced with laws made by men. The laws had become empty rituals and observations that had lost their heart, the centre of all things, and of all the law. What is this thing? This thing is none other than love, for God’s commandments are truly the commandments of love!

To love our God, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our strengths, and with all our being, just as we do the same to our neighbours, loving them, our brothers and sisters, forgiving those who had wronged us, and bring love to one another, sharing them so that love will not perish inside us, but grow, nurtured by our love with one another, and together with our love for God, who loves us all, without exceptions.

It is not difficult to love, and it is indeed possible to love without making much effort, but love requires a true sincerity of the heart to be accomplished, because love requires our hearts to be free of the entanglements of evil and its rotten fruits, like hatred, jealousy, sloth, greed, and so many other corruptions that evil had brought into our hearts.

We like to make excuses, brothers and sisters in Christ, excuses so that we will not need to love one another, and even not to love God! Because we like to linger in our own sense of security and pleasure in this comfortable world, so that we will not want to step beyond that sphere of security, to go out of our way, whenever we see someone hurting, someone in pain and suffering, and someone without love.

We like to love ourselves more, to be selfish, and to think of ourselves before that of others. No, brothers and sisters in Christ, we cannot be like that. To be Christian means to be with one another in Christ, to become brethren in our Lord and God. To be Christian means to be like the Good Samaritan, not because he is a Samaritan, but because he showed mercy, love, and compassion to those in need, to those who are suffering, and to give their love to others, that the love in all will grow and blossom.

It is important for all of us to show love in all the things that we do, in all our actions, in all our words and deeds, so that we truly belong to God who is Love, and not to the devil. It is easy for us to just walk away and ignore those in need, just as what was done by the priest and the Levite, abandoning the suffering to their pain, and go on about their own business.

Does it not ring a bell to our own actions, how we often walk away from those in suffering, and pretending not to see what had happened, or pretending to be deaf to the cries of those who are suffering, and who greatly need our help? Even little actions of love from us, can mean a great deal of difference to them.

Let me relate to you, a real-life story, in which a toddler was ran over by a car on the street, because the toddler’s parents were busy shopping in the nearby market, and they did not notice that their child had been separated from them. The toddler did not die instantly from the crash, and indeed had hope of survival from the injuries sustained from the accident, but because nobody was aroused to give their help, the child bled to death on the scene.

Did that accident happen on an empty road? on an abandoned street? No, the accident happened in a very busy road, where lots of people were passing around, and while some glanced at the injured toddler on the street, nobody were aroused to give a hand to help. They just walked on, pretending that nothing had ever happened. The worst are those who would say, either openly or secretly in these ways, “Pity”, “How very unfortunate”, “Where are the parents” “So tragic”, when they could just nudge themselves into taking action, which might have meant a big difference between life and death.

It is not difficult, brothers and sisters, to follow the commandments of the Lord, to be His disciples, because all that we need to do, is to obey Him and His will, and do His bidding, that is to do the works of love, and helping one another, especially those in need, is already good enough. We do not have to make excuses that, “Sorry I cannot help, too busy”, or if we would like to give in terms of financial donation, “Sorry, I am not rich enough, or I am still poor, so why should I give to the poor? Wait until I become rich then I will donate.”

Because acts of love can be as simple as showing love to those who are unloved, those who are ostracised, and those who have been growing up without love. Love is increasingly a more difficult commodity to find in our world today, and it is up to us, to rekindle the love in the hearts of our brothers and sisters. For no matter how great we are, without love, and therefore, without God, as the centre of our life, we are nothing.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us pledge ourselves to the Lord, that we will always keep His commandments faithfully, by first believing in Him and loving Him with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our strengths, and with all our being, and then to love one another, as brothers and sisters, children of the same God, reflecting the love that we have received from the Lord, in our own actions, in our own words, and in all the things that we profess in our lives.

Remember always Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose perfect selflessness and love for all of us, God’s children, made Him to obey fully the will of God His Father, to die on the cross for us, the ultimate form of love, the love one has for one’s friend, that one would give life to another that that other one may live. Christ showed His love for us through none other than His death, a humiliating death on the cross, but which was converted to the cross of glory and hope, when He rose again, and gave us all, the hope of salvation and eternal life, if we believe in Him. May God remain with us always, and we too, remain in His love. Amen.

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Friday, 5 July 2013 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we reflect on the calling of Matthew, who was a tax collector, and according to the Pharisees, a sinner. He was called from his custom-house and followed Christ, eventually to become one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the Four Evangelists, who wrote the Gospel of Matthew, which passage we are reading today.

Why did the Pharisees consider the tax collectors as sinners? We should understand the history and condition of the region at the time, of the region called Palestine today, and Judea at that time. At the time of Jesus, Judea was still a semi-independent kingdom, led by a king, Herod Antipas at that time, the son of Herod the Great, who tried to kill Jesus as a baby. But despite the semblance of independence generated by the presence of a ‘king of the Jews’ in Herod, the Romans, which had become an Empire by that time, had the overall command and control as the master of the people of Judea.

The Romans established an efficient taxation system throughout their Empire, and that made up the main source of their annual income, and Judea is no exception to the rule. The people of Judea, including the Jews, had to pay their taxes to the Roman authorities, and this was greatly despised by the Jews, particularly the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Not just because it showed a subordination to the greater Roman authority, but it seemed that it also contradicted the fact that one should obey and give honour to the Lord alone.

The Roman coins used in the tax payment itself could be considered blasphemous by the Jews at the time, because every single coins were engraved with the facial image of the Emperor, and therefore could be considered as tantamount to idolatry, worship of the Emperor, as what was indeed happening in Rome at that time, as Emperors increasingly became more autocratic, they also attributed more divinity towards themselves, and would in time be established as the cult of the Emperors, where the Roman Emperors were worshipped as divine, living in the flesh.

All these sparked the notion that paying taxes to the Romans was a detestable idea at best, and the people did not like it for certain, for other than the religious reasons, taxes also burdened them financially, and that was why, out of all people, the tax collectors were always considered to be at the bottom of the society and were considered, particularly by the ‘pious’ Pharisees, to be morally corrupt and unworthy as well as incapable of redemption.

The tax collectors were treated and condemned as sinners, even though they might actually be good people. Remember that tax collectors often had no choice to be one, because they themselves had to earn a living, and it was indeed not an easy job to be done, as I had mentioned, being tax collectors meant that one had to endure the hatred and displeasure of the general population, the priesthood, and many other people, and endure the label of evil placed unfairly onto them.

The Jewish people themselves were very nationalistic in nature, and were very proud of their descent from Abraham, their forefather both in blood and faith. They kept mostly to themselves and married one another, in order to prevent themselves from being tainted by the pagans around them. This had happened since the time of Abraham himself, as you would have noted in our first reading today, who asked Eliezer his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac, from among his own people, his own family, and not among the women of Canaan.

This had further made the contempt given to the tax collectors and other Roman collaborators even greater. They were barely tolerated in the society, cursed and rejected by many. They may be able to survive financially, but in terms of their lives, it was truly miserable. This was the condition that formed the backdrop of the situation as it was when Jesus called Matthew to be His disciple, and when He ate with him and his fellow tax-collectors in his house with the Pharisees.

Jesus then highlighted His mission in this world to His disciples, the Pharisees, and the tax collectors, that is to heal the world and those afflicted in this world, those who are condemned to damnation in hell, those who are suffering, those who are immersed deeply in the darkness of sin. That is because these are the ones who really need help and assistance in order to ensure that they will not fall into hell. God loves all, everyone, especially the greatest of sinners, who are in greatest need for God’s mercy and love.

That is because those of us who had been saved, and had been following the commandments of the Lord will remain safe, as long as we keep the Lord’s commandments and stay in His grace. As long as we remain faithful to the Lord, no harm can come our way. That is why it is those who are ‘sick’ from sin and evil would need much more assistance and help than we do. But we should not let Christ do that alone, but we ourselves, as the children of God, can also play our part in ensuring the salvation of all, especially those whose sins are the greatest.

The Pharisees themselves, who considered themselves most pious and blessed of all the children of God because of their strict adherence to the Law of Moses, were in fact in great need of salvation themselves. They had indeed observed ‘sacrifices’ so much that they had forgotten ‘mercy’, and forgotten love. God desires not sacrifices from man, but their love, both towards Him and towards His other children, our brothers and sisters.

The Pharisees did not love and do the true will of God, and instead became too focused on their own strict laws made by men, and even condemned those so-called sinners such as prostitutes and tax collectors as morally bankrupt and evil, while in fact, it is they themselves who were deep in the darkness, and worse still, blind to their own inadequacies and iniquities.

Today, brothers and sisters, we also commemorate the feast day of St. Anthony Zaccaria, a priest who lived in the late Renaissance era Italy. He was a priest who placed a great emphasis on the love of God and the teachings of the Church as espoused by St. Paul and the Apostles. He put the emphasis on acts of love and mercy, in addition to devotions and prayers, that made the faithful become even more devout and strong in their faith.

St. Anthony Zaccaria showed to the people of his time that to love God, is to both worship Him in prayer and supplication, in the offering of the ‘sacrifice’ of our hearts, the true sacrifice that our Lord wants from us, and also to make our love evident through our own deeds and actions, so that the love that is in us will not be an empty love, but a vibrant love in both word and action.

Therefore, following the zeal and example of St. Anthony Zaccaria, let us be loving person, loving children of God our Father, who is Love. May all of us truly show our love for Him through our complete dedication to Him, and also our loving service to our neighbours, particularly those in greatest need of help.

May the Lord be with us and remain with us, blessing us with His love and mercy at all times. St. Anthony Zaccaria, pray for us. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Romuald, Abbot (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how we should love God and do things for the sake of the Lord, but we must do it because we truly love Him, with the full sincerity of the heart, and not with any hidden intentions or desires. It is natural for us to have those kind of desires, to be glorified and praised ourselves, as it is part of our human nature. We are naturally attracted to glory and power, and that is why, even in the things that we do, we would certainly want to be praised and glorified for the successes we achieved.

When we pray, when we fast, and when we do things that the Lord told us to do, do it in secret and in our own private space, although it is not wrong indeed to do it in the open. That is because when we do things in secret, we are safe from the presence of others who can look at what we are doing. In doing that, it will remove that obstacle of pride from our hearts, because when someone is with us, we no longer focus on ourselves when we pray, and because we subconsciously know that someone is looking at us, and we are certainly tempted to exaggerate things so that people would praise us.

When we closed off ourselves from the world, in our prayer, our fasting, and our almsgiving, we can then focus solely on the Lord, and to whom we give the alms to. So that we will not be led astray and instead believe in our own personal human glory instead of bringing glory to God. Remember that prayer is a conversation between ourselves and the Lord, not a means through which we should glorify ourselves by showing our piety to others.

It does not mean then we should never pray in public or do something pious in view of others. Indeed, doing it at the right moment, and especially with the right intentions and understandings would enable us to be tools of evangelisation, as these also may bring light and understanding to others who had no understanding about the faith in the Lord. Through our prayers, our actions, which we share to them, we will be able to bring a new light to them, and may even bring them to salvation through their acceptance of Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Yes, whenever we pray, fast, or do something according to our faith, be it in public, or in private, do it for the right intentions, and for the right state of our heart and mind. That we do these all for the glory of God, and God alone, and for the sanctification and purification of our sinful self and the salvation of our soul, and not to accumulate and gather human glories and human praises.

If we know then how to pray sincerely with our heart, and use that chance to truly communicate with the Lord who loves us, and wants to speak with us, we will then find the true meaning of our faith in God, and we will be enriched in our own lives, by the love that God gives us and through His grace, that He grants to those who truly loves Him, and not merely loving themselves in the guise of loving God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be sincere in all our actions, and do not place ourselves before the Lord in all things. Do not place our desires and our greed to take over us and make us fall into sin, yes, into the sin of pride, because we glorify ourselves rather than God. Be truthful in all our actions, and do them because we truly love the Lord in all the things that we do. Do not seek personal glory, but glorify the Lord at all times.

For human glory is fleeting, and human achievements are temporary in nature. But great is the glory and the reward that await us in heaven, if we remain faithful, truthful, and steadfast in our faith in God, and remain in His love. Remain always in God’s grace, and He will grant us the eternal reward of glory in heaven. Seek not what will not last, but seek what will last forever.

Today, we also commemorate the feast of St. Romuald, a well known religious and abbot, whose life was truly exemplary to us. St. Romuald was once a sinful man, who indulged in all things evil in his youth, and led a debauched life. But after a life-changing experience and revelation of the faith, he changed his ways, and became a truly holy and dedicated person for the Lord. He founded many monasteries and established a strong monastic practice in the society at the time.

St. Romuald in particular placed a great importance on the understanding on the faith, and the serenity of oneself in prayer, that one can be truly be united with God, and truly focus themselves to the Lord their God, avoiding any kind of distractions that may lead them astray from the path of salvation. St. Romuald’s life also shows the kind of prayer that the Lord wants from us, a prayer made out of pure love and dedication for the Lord, in the silence of our hearts. It does not mean that all of us should become monks or join the religious orders in order to do so, but even a simple act of taking a time in silence, in the midst of the business of our lives, we can achieve this, that through a well-conceived prayer, our faith in God will grow ever stronger, and we will be ever closer to Him.

May God strengthen us, strengthen the edge of our humility, and remind us at all times to bring glory to Him, and not to strive for our own personal glory. May He bless us at all times in all the things that we do, that in all that we do, we bring life and love to all around us, that in whatever things that we do, God will be praised and glorified, forever and ever. Amen.

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Monday, 6 May 2013 : 6th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, to be with Christ, and to remain faithful in Him, as His disciples, and as His children, is not easy, and never will be easy. There is bound to be rejection and opposition against Christ, especially by the agents of the evil one, who does not want mankind to be saved, and he wants rather that mankind fall with him into hell, in his jealousy of the Lord.

There will be those who also will hear and follow the Word of God, just as the first reading today has told us, about the devout Jewish lady named Lydia, and her family, who listened to the apostles, and became a believer, and who were baptised and therefore were joined into the number of those who were promised eternal life in God.

That is why we should never give up nor abandon the task that Christ had entrusted us, just as He had entrusted the same task to the apostles, that is to evangelise and bring the Good News to all nations, to the ends of the earth, that all will listen to the Good News, repent, be baptised, in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and therefore gain eternal life in salvation.

As the apostles had shown us, and all the disciples in Christ had shown in the early times of the Church, that preaching the truth of Christ and the Good News would bring about opposition, apathy, and even persecution by those who did not believe, and those who had closed their hearts from the truth that Christ had brought. They had closed their ears and the doors of their hearts to Christ. Nevertheless, they too are the children of God, our brethren.

We must not act n the same way that they had acted on us, that is we should not counter their hatred and opposition with hatred on our own, or any kind of loathing. Rather, let us, through our words, and most importantly our actions, show them, what being the followers of Christ is like, that is filled with love and compassion, that is of the Lord, that they too will eventually learn the truth, and believe.

This is because, for the Lord, nothing is indeed impossible, and even the most hardened enemies of Christ, may eventually repent and become great saints and disciples, with full dedication to the Lord. Remember that many of the greatest saints and holy men in the Church were once great sinners and even fornicators, with all sorts of evil-led life imaginable, but yet they repented, and then became ardent defenders of the faith, and now they enjoyed their great rewards in heaven, and became now, our intercessors before the throne of God.

Even St. Paul himself, the great missionary, the Apostle to the Gentiles, was also once a great enemy of the faithful, a great persecutor, who captured many who believed in Jesus, and subjected them to torture for their faith, and who had once vowed to destroy the Church of God. After his conversion to the faith on the way to Damascus, when the Lord Himself appeared to Paul, he became the greatest champion of the Church, and through him, many people were saved.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us persevere in the mission that God had entrusted to us, that we will become great missionaries like the apostles were, even though we are also great sinners ourselves. Let us keep our faith in God burning strong, and let us keep our sight always in focus towards the Lord. May God grant us strength and courage to be His evangelists and may the light of God be brought to all mankind. Amen.

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Friday, 19 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter, Eighth Anniversary of the Election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 (Scripture Reflection)

We heard today, the story of the conversion of Saul, the hater and the destroyer of the Church, who would later become Paul, the great saint and apostle, the Apostle to the Gentiles, who brought the Good News of our Lord to the pagan nations. Such a change indeed, from the ultimate enemy of the Church and those who believed in Christ, into the greatest of the champions of the Lord.

This indeed shows the power of God’s providence, and the mysterious ways through which He made His will known to us and manifest in this world. We do not choose ourselves to be worthy of Him and therefore salvation, but He chose us out of many in this world, to be among those who had been called and chosen to be the servants of our God.

Those whom He had chosen, He gave the grace of faith and also the gift of love, in order to spread this faith and love among those who have yet heard the Good News of our Lord, and those who have yet embraced Christ as their Messiah, their Saviour. Paul was one of this, whom the Lord had chosen, from those who had persecuted the Church and the people faithful in Him, no less.

This in fact only showed the greatness of our God, the depth of His mercy and love, and the nature of His redemptive works in our world, even today. He shows us that no one is beyond His mercy, and no one who had sinned and done bad things is unworthy of His love, if only they would repent and change their hearts and minds, turning back towards He who loves us.

Paul did sinful things in the eyes of the Lord by persecuting His faithful ones, but yet, he repented, and was turned into the greatest tool of early evangelisation of the faith, in which we will often hear in this Easter season, of Saint Paul’s numerous contributions to the early Church, in his four travels across the Mediterranean world.

Jesus today, in the Gospel reading, also offered us His love and redemption, through none other than His own Precious Body and Blood, which He offered freely out of His great and infinite love for all of us, that all of us who would share in His Precious being would not die an eternal death and be lost to Him forever, but be reunited with Him and the Father, and be raised in glory on the last day, just as He Himself had been risen from the dead on the Easter day.

That is why, dear brothers and sisters, today, we are called to be the light to the nations, the light to the world, just as Paul himself had been called on that day on the way to Damascus. In our own lives, we may not experience the kind of conversion that Paul has had, but in our own ways, and in God’s own mysterious works, we would be transformed into just like Paul, if we would turn our heart truly and entirely towards the Lord.

We are called to be the bringer of the Good News to the nations, just as Paul once had been the apostle to the Gentiles and the pagan nations. First, let us anchor ourselves in Christ that our faith would be strong, and we would have that capacity to spread God’s good message of truth. Let God and the Holy Spirit transform us, by frequently and devoutly receiving the Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist in the Mass. Attend the Mass frequently, and devoutly offer our prayers and worship to the Lord in the Mass.

Do not be distracted by worldly desires and temptations, for the devil would want to derail us from our path towards God, and he desires nothing than the fall of mankind, and therefore he would do all he can to prevent us from being the apostle Paul was. Once our faith is firm, keep a good and strong prayer life, and in prayer, spread the Good News to others, both through our words, and also our actions.

For in our words, others will be able to listen to the Good News of the Lord, and therefore would believe. If they would not believe in what we say, then at least through our actions, we could show them what God’s love and Good News is truly about. Remember that the Lord said, that whoever loves Him will do His will and will do the works that He had done.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today renew our commitment to evangelisation, and to conversion, both of ourselves and that of those who had yet to receive the grace of faith in God. Let us strive to spread God’s message to all, beginning in our own daily lives, and within our own families and friends.

Let us also pray for our Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who was elected as our Pope and leader 8 years ago on this day, on 19 April 2005. Let us pray for him that he will be able to continue serving the Church through his prayers and his dedication to our Lord. A praying Pope is indeed a powerful enemy of Satan and his angels. May God then bless us all, and bless our Holy Church, and all those who had given themselves in the service of the Lord. Amen.