Arianism

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us like to deny the Lord and those who had worked hard to bring God closer to us through their teachings. Instead we often let ourselves be swayed by the forces of this world, that we end up following the ways of the world instead of the ways of God. We doubt the presence of God in us, and put our trust instead in the weakness of men and the pleasures of the world.

Indeed, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we deal with the theme of the authority of teaching of the faith, and the truth about what had happened as the Lord had done, when He once came into this world as man, Jesus Christ our Lord. This truth had been told across generations through the prophets, before the Lord came, and after His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, by the Apostles and the countless saints who stood up for their faith in God.

These saints and holy people stood up for the Lord, defending the faith they have in God, protecting the deposit of the faith that is in the one and only Church of God, the Catholic or Universal Church. These teachings were passed down to us today through the bishops and the priests who succeeded the Apostles and the other leaders of the early Church, through whom they passed down whatever had been revealed to them by Christ Himself and by the Holy Spirit.

These saints testified for the Lord who had come to save the world, and through their testimony and their teachings, again passed down to us through the Church. Through these teachings we are brought close to the Lord, and it is revealed to us what the Lord wants from us, that is to follow Him and be saved. But the devil certainly did not stay quiet and let everything go smoothly according to the Lord’s plan.

Just as he had tried so much to undermine the good works of the Lord by tempting Him directly, and when that failed, by opposing Him in every turns and corners, questioning His authority and teaching through the Pharisees and the scribes, and many other ways that he had employed to keep mankind away from salvation in God.

Satan opposed the Lord and all of His faithful ones, by sowing the seeds of dissension, jealousy, pride and arrogance in the hearts of the enemies of Christ. As in the Gospel today, the Pharisees and the scribes questioned the authority of John the Baptist, that is under whose authority he did all the baptisms and the teachings about the coming of the Messiah. They should have known about the coming of John the Baptist as the herald of the Messiah, because after all they are the learnt ones, the ones who knew the Scriptures inside out in their heart.

They instead gave in to their human vulnerabilities, that is they let Satan into their hearts, and they in essence, become the tools of Satan through which he tried to undermine the works of our Lord to save us. Such an irony indeed, and sad indeed, that the very leaders of the people, the supposedly pious and educated ones at that, were the very ones that betrayed the Lord.

This is because they gave in to vanity and human greed, the greed for authority, power, as well as the jealousy of human heart and desire, which is for power and influence within the society, within the society of the people of God. They resented those who they perceived to be undermining their own teaching authority, for the Pharisees and the scribes advocated a very strict observation of the laws of Moses and did not entertain any kind of dissent against what they taught.

And as you know, the Pharisees and the scribes continuously harassed Jesus and His followers, and right up to when they delivered the coup de grace, condemning Jesus to death with false witnesses, testimonies and accusations that led to the crucifixion of Jesus. And Satan surely rejoiced at that moment, for he thought that he had undermined the Lord’s plan to save us. And yet, what he had done was merely part of the Lord’s salvation plan, made fulfilled through the death of Jesus on the cross.

After that defeat, Satan did not give up. He continued to try to deceive the people  of God through his lies spread through many false prophets he sent to the world. Today we celebrate the feast of two great saints of the Eastern Church, who were brave and courageous defenders of the faith, fighting constantly against the heresies of the faith in the Church spread exactly by these false prophets.

They are St. Basil the Great, also known as St. Basil of Caesarea, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, also known as St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Both of them were renowned theologians and leaders of the faithful, living at the time of the fourth century after the birth of Christ, after Christianity had become the majority faith of the people of the Roman Empire.

A preacher named Arius spread unorthodox and heretical teachings about Christ. That Jesus Christ is not equal to the father as the Son of God. Instead of the true faith and teaching that God the Son is equal in all aspects to the Father and the Holy Spirit, one in unity and essence, existing before all ages, Arius preached that the Father is superior to the Son, and Jesus was created rather than existing with the Father, being begotten not created.

Arius’ teachings spread wildly across many parts of the Roman Empire, converting many people to this heretical teaching of the faith. He was wildly popular and swayed many to sin by believing in the falsehood of the devil. It was St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen who led the people of the true and orthodox faith in the campaign against the heresy of Arius, also known as Arianism.

We were warned by St. John the Evangelist on the presence of false prophets who would lead the people astray in their path towards the salvation in God, and the example of Arius had proven just to be the case, as much as many other heretics and false prophets who appeared both before and after him. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen tirelessly championed the cause of the true faith, often in opposition even to the people whom they were shepherding and leading, who had been corrupted by the false teachings of Arius.

Yet they did not fear and continued to work hard, at times even they have to suffer persecution and suffering, as well as rejection and mockery by those who supported the false faith and the lies of the devil. Nevertheless, they continued to move on, and on, and on, until their death, they never ceased to work hard to purify the faith from these lies of the devil and all the seeds of falsehood that he has planted in the hearts of the Lord’s faithful through his false prophets.

Even today, brethren, false prophets can be abound, numerous, and we often may not know who they are. That is why, it is important for us to deepen the knowledge and understanding that we have of our faith in God. We cannot be idle or lest we risk to fall into the corruption of the lies of the evil one. Hold firmly on the deposit of faith, and the richness of the teachings that had been handed down to us from the Lord and His Apostles, through the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ask St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen to pray for us, that we will be protected by the Lord and His angels, so that we will not easily fall prey to heresy or succumb to the lies and temptations of the evil one. Let us also help one another, that we can keep all the faithful ones in God to remain faithful, now and till the end of time. God be with us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 December 2013 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Lord lies our rest, and in Him lies our true joy and hope, and the hope of true happiness in Him. This hope of joy is not the same as the joy of this world, of that which is offered by the evil one to us, through the pleasures of this world. In God only lies all the comfort and satisfaction that the world cannot give.

It may seem to us that following the Lord is not an appealing option to us, and we would prefer indeed to follow the ways of the world, enjoying what is there in the world to give us, rather than troubling ourselves with the burdens of following the ways of God. But this is exactly where we are mistaken, for indeed, the burdens that are laid upon us if we follow the Lord, are temporary, but the burdens that we will have to endure, if we deny the Lord, is heavier and eternal.

Our God loves us in ways that all of us can never completely comprehend, due to the vastness and infinite nature of this divine love. He never gives up on us, even as we fell into sin and evil, and even as we betrayed Him and caused Him suffering, as He bore our sins down with Him on the way to Calvary, and onto the cross. He loves us all the same, even after all of that.

He is rich in mercy and great in compassion. We might have caused Him much sorrow, for our constant rebellions and disobedience against His will, but He did not give up His love and care for us all, unless we ourselves continue to defy Him, all the way to the end, and reject His offer of love and forgiveness. It is our defiance and arrogance that ultimately will lead us to ruin.

Following the Lord and to walk in His ways is not easy, not easy indeed for us. This is because we who have been tempted by Satan, in our ancestors, are predisposed to temptation by sin, and to be tempted to veer away from the true path towards salvation. We are easily swayed, by the goodness of the other way, that is the evil’s way, easier but deadly. We are also easily tempted by the offers of Satan, who gave us the offering of all the goods that he can give.

And as often mentioned, the ways of this world and the way of the Lord frequently do not match, and therefore, there will be displeasure and difficulties should we decide to follow the path of righteousness. There will be even jeers, mockery, and even hatred towards us, because we are different. Yet, such are the little price that we ought to pay, for the greater price of our salvation.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Damasus I, one of the saints who were also jeered, mocked, and opposed in his ministry. This is exactly as how the Lord Himself had been opposed and rejected by those who walked in the ways of evil. Pope St. Damasus I was opposed by his own people, many of whom supported a rival candidate as Pope, nominating him as an Antipope. Nevertheless, Pope St. Damasus I did not fear nor was he affected by all those negative opinions about him.

Pope St. Damasus I stood strong in the face of those oppositions and campaigned against them with the fury and wrath that is of the Lord Himself. He was particularly staunch in his opposition against heresy, particularly Arianism, which was truly widespread in Christendom at the time, poisoning the minds of many people against the true faith.

Pope St. Damasus I worked hard to strengthen the faith in many people and many areas under his care, as the Vicar of Christ. He was also credited with the codification of the Holy Scriptures and its translation of the Scripture into the Latin language in the Vulgate Bible as done by St. Jerome. Pope St. Damasus I was the patron of that great saint and Doctor of the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you have seen how walking in the way of the Lord and to be His servant, is by no means easy. There will be many challenges and opposition, precisely as what had been experienced by Pope St. Damasus I, and by many other saints and the Apostles themselves. But they did not let these to hinder them, and instead these oppositions helped to further push them on to work even harder for the sake of the Lord.

Pope St. Damasus I and the other saints showed us that, we should not worry or fear rejection from this world, for after all, it has first rejected the Lord Himself. Instead, we should put our complete faith and trust in the Lord, in whom we will have true joy and true rest. For indeed, the Lord did offer us a burden, because His path is not an easy one, but that burden is a light one, and at the end of the way, He will lift up that burden from us, and give us an unparalled crown of unending and heavenly glory.

May the Lord with the intercession of Pope St. Damasus I and other holy men and women who ceaselessly praise Him daily with the angels, continue to watch over us, strengthen us, and reinforce our faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 7 December 2013 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Bishops)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate mission and the fruits of the mission that Jesus Himself, our Lord, has commissioned the disciples to do. The Lord sent out His call to repentance and salvation to all the nations, and through His disciples, in the missions He gave them, He offered all peoples, literally all mankind, the opportunity to be saved and to be made whole again, through Christ.

He made salvation readily available to all the nations, and through His disciples as His mouthpiece and as His representatives in the world, He spread the seeds of faith, hope, and love in this world. And those seeds that they spread in this world grow tall and strong, despite oppositions and persecutions that faced the Lord and His followers. These seeds would either grow or wither, depending on how each individuals respond to the Lord and His actions.

Some of us readily responds to the seeds God has planted in us, and yet there are others who ignored these gifts or even outrightly rejected them. That is why, these seeds of faith, hope, and love, cannot be left alone to fend for its own. Most likely in that case, the seeds will not grow, or will grow and then wither. That is because we need to make sure that we are healthy in spirit if we are to receive the grace from the Lord.

We need guidance, and we need helpers. That is why Jesus commissioned His disciples, to go ahead of Him, proclaiming His coming and His teachings to the people. Firstly only to the people of Israel, which many of them listened to those words and teachings of Jesus, but they did not truly believe in Him. They abandoned Him when He was betrayed and put to death by the Jewish authorities.

Then, He sent the disciples to all the nations after His death and resurrection, and as a parting statement and mission before He ascended into heaven, He sent forth the disciples to proclaim the Good News to all nations, bringing the words about salvation to all the furthest ends of the earth. And this they did, faithfully, persevering through oppositions, oppressions, and rejections, until they met martyrdom at the end, as part of their mission.

The disciples appointed many successors, who were to continue the good works they had begun, continuing to spread the seeds of faith, hope, and love throughout the world. The world was a great, fertile ground, where those seeds may grow, grow aplenty and strong. But at the same time, great challenges also awaited in the midst of all the goodness and all the opportunities.

Firstly, as Jesus mentioned, that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. These labourers are literally those who had given themselves in the service of the Lord, in spreading His Good News, following in the footsteps of the Apostles. They are today represented by our priests, bishops, our Pope and the Cardinals, all the religious priests and brothers, all missionaries, nuns, sisters, and all who devoted themselves to a life of dedication to God. Each of them devoted themselves as labourers and servants of the Lord in different ways and yet they laboured for the same purpose, that is to make disciples of all the nations as Jesus had commissioned His Apostles.

In the past, we have plenty of priests and many aspirants to the priesthood and religious life. Many people lined up to join the Seminary or religious life, in total and complete devotion to the Lord. Seminaries were full, and churches were full. Priests were in abundance, in great numbers, and even though demands of them continued to increase over time, there was no concern of shortage as we have now.

Today, our world is increasingly becoming more and more hostile to the faith, to the development of our faith, and to the dedicated life in God, in general. The temptations and challenges of this world has become greater, greater, and ever greater. The world offered increasingly more and more tempting options that lured people away from a life of devotion in God. After all, being someone who is affluent in the world offers much greater opportunities and easier life as compared to those who dedicated themselves as the labourers of the Lord, as the servants of the Good News, the missionaries, priests, and so on and so forth.

The call of the Lord for more people to come and serve Him and help Him in bringing the people of God together towards Him, as harvesters seeking the harvest awaiting harvest, increasingly becoming more and more subdued behind the screen of noise of the world. Life as a servant of God becomes more and more of a challenge, as in every corner, the servants of the Lord face numerous obstacles, be it opposition, rejection, temptation, or lack of inner self-discipline and self-control.

And then, in the end, we ourselves have often are to blame ourselves too, whenever we fail to do our part to help, or we may even hinder the process of salvation. That is because, the Lord also calls upon all of us to also play a part in the mission He had commissioned the Apostles for, that is to continue proclaiming the word of God in all the nations. We like to remain idle, and do not profess the Lord in our actions and words. Indeed, we often show things contrary to the teachings of the Lord in our behaviour, that in fact keep people away from truly believing in God.

After all, how can they believe if they see that we ourselves do not believe and do not put complete and pure faith in what we believe in? And today, we celebrate the feast of a great saint, one who did not make compromises about the faith, and one who truly act what he preached, and as a result, gained bountiful harvests for the Lord through the salvation of many souls of the people of God.

Today is the feast of St. Ambrose, the well-known Bishop of Milan in the fourth century after the birth of Christ. St. Ambrose was well-known for his piety, his devotion to the Lord, his exemplary faith, and his unyielding and unbending faith, and his fearlessness to stand up against even the authorities especially when they had subverted and corrupted the faith to suit their own purposes, as I will explain soon.

St. Ambrose lived at a time of turbulence, when the Roman Empire is gradually heading to its ultimate demise, especially in the west, where St. Ambrose had his bishopric, that is the Diocese of Milan, the most important diocese besides Rome in the West, and which is still one of the most important see in the world today. St. Ambrose was an exemplary leader and shepherd of God’s people that few people could hope to equal.

St. Ambrose began his life as a layperson, who was appointed as governor of the region where Milan was in, and he was very well-liked by the people, due to his piety, his character, and the devotion that he had showed the people entrusted under his rule. This made him the clear favourite when the election of the Bishop of Milan took place, and St. Ambrose, while still a layperson, was literally called in to serve the people of God as their shepherd, their bishop.

St. Ambrose did a very good job, and as immediately as he began his tenure as the Bishop of Milan, he set out to root out heresies there, particularly the aberrant teachings of Arianism, which doubted the divinity of Christ. St. Ambrose went on hard on the heresy, persuading and pleading many of those who had left their faith in God, so that they may return to the Lord in the true and pure faith, untainted by heretical teachings such as Arianism.

Not only that, St. Ambrose himself also censured the Empress, because she herself believed in the heretical teachings of Arianism, and tried to destroy the presence of the true faith in Milan and in the Empire, and bend them to conform to the will of the Empress, following her heretical thoughts. St. Ambrose openly condemned the Empress without fear, knowing that heresy has no place in the hearts of the faithful.

St. Ambrose eventually won the day, and the true faith prevailed. And on another occasion, with the another Emperor, Theodosius I, St. Ambrose in fact censured the Emperor himself, by denying him from receiving communion, because he had razed and destroyed the lives of innocent peoples, when they rebelled against him asking for help and assistance. Instead, they were brutally assaulted and executed.

St. Ambrose did not fear at all even to censure the most powerful man on earth, and he stood his ground until the Emperor eventually came to him in sackcloth and in the spirit of repentance, asking the Lord for forgiveness for the sins he had committed in God’s eyes. The Emperor had to publicly acknowledge his sins in public and wore sackcloth and mourning clothes until he had shown his public act of repentance, only after which he was received back into the Church by St. Ambrose. It can be seen here, how exemplary St. Ambrose was, in daring to stand up to authorities in order to defend our faith.

So, after we heard the case of St. Ambrose of Milan and that of his persistence and zeal which made the faith in God truly concrete and real, through the zeal he had in His ministry, he was truly a very good and inspiring servant of God. But is this limited only to the holy men and women? No! All of us in fact also have a role to play. We are the agents of the Lord just as much as the disciples were.

We may not have to go to the extent of what St. Ambrose had done, and it may indeed be difficult to replicate what he had done. What we can do is indeed, starting from simple things, such as through our own deeds. If our faith in God is truly genuine, as that of St. Ambrose’s, and if our hearts are touched by the love that God has given us, I assure you that, we will bring rich harvests to the Lord, and the Lord will reward us with kindness and justice.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, as we reflect on the life of St. Ambrose of Milan, and coupled with what was said in the Holy Scriptures today, let us resolve to seek to advance the cause for evangelisation, and for the conversion of many nations to the Lord. We should also resolve take part in the process, and not just standing in the sidelines, watching and doing nothing.

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, idleness does not reward us with anything. If anything at all, we will be scrutinised for our failure to act according to what the Lord had instructed us to do, through His disciples. Follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, and in the footsteps of St. Ambrose. We may not be able to do much, but it is the intention which counts. We ought to take part and support evangelisation where possible, and as much as within our capabilities.

Be brave, be courageous, and be fearless as St. Ambrose was! Do not worry for the Lord is with us, behind us, supporting us, in all the things that we do in His Name. May God bless us all, and bring more and more souls towards salvation. Amen.

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Friday, 13 September 2013 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ continued to remind us of the great need to remain humble and loving in our lives, avoiding all sorts of vices, and do only what is in line with the will of God. He cares for us very much, and wants us to be righteous and worthy of Him. He protects and provides for all of us, in the same way that a father cares for his children, and way more than that.

He gave second chances to those who repent, to those who realised the depth of their sins and iniquities as He had done with St. Paul, once the great enemy of the faithful and the Church, and the great persecutor of saints and martyrs, turned into the great champion and defender of the faith, the great missionary of the Lord. Therefore, sinners are great in the eyes of the Lord, because the Lord loves them and cares for them, and wants them to return to Him.

Even saints and holy men and women of God now in heaven were once sinners, great or small. What matters is that they had learnt to manage their human weaknesses and tendency for sin, and overcome the sins they had done, with the help of God and one another, with the love they have in their hearts, and with the faith that they have.

We must therefore not be quick to condemn others or judge on others, especially on their faults or shortcomings, as we have to remember that none of us are perfect or completely filled with good things. All of us have weakness one way or another. We are imperfect, ever since sin has entered mankind’s heart. Yet, some of us would not realise of our own faults, thinking highly of ourselves and our own achievements, and look down on others whom we perceive to be inferior to us.

That was what the Pharisees did, as well as the chief priests and the teachers of the Law did, looking down on others because they thought highly of themselves. They prayed in loud voice and wonderful gestures, and followed the rules of the Law strictly, observing everything to the most minute details, and yet, behind all that, lay a huge problem, a huge fault with them. They have not the Lord in their heart, not even deep within their hearts.

They condemned others and sought faults in others, while they themselves were even more faulty in themselves. That was exactly what Christ condemned them for, their failure to do what the Lord truly asked of them, and even worse that as the leaders of the people, they misled the people and brought them to ruin instead of salvation.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. John Chrysostom, one of the original four great Doctors of the Church, as one of the most brilliant minds of the Church, the leader of the faithful in Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom was truly an upright man, who lived piously and with deep faith in the Lord their God. He preached often of the need to live in charity and love, that is to show love to one another, especially the ones in need, and he truly practice what he preached.

St. John Chrysostom did not have it easy, as he did face many oppositions, especially from those who followed the heretical teachings, like Arianism, Monophysitism, Nestorianism, and many others. He faced them with firm faith and dedication to God. He was fully aware of his own sins and weaknesses, and therefore he wanted to bring souls to salvation in God, showing his care as a fellow sinner who had been called to guide his lost brethren to the Father in heaven.

St. John Chrysostom did not even shy away or fear of rebuking the Roman Emperor, Arcadius at the time, for the improper behaviour of his wife, the Empress Eudoxia, who resented St. John Chrysostom so much that he was banished from Constantinople and from his post. Immediately God set out to punish those who had conspired against the servant of God, and the Roman capital faced terrible catastrophe. Not even the imperial family was spared, with the Empress dying from childbirth and the Emperor himself a few years later.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we should try to emulate St. John Chrysostom in his actions, in his life, and in his examples, that we should really look into ourselves first before we judge others, and reflect on our lives whether our words and actions had reflected God’s love in them. If we had not done so, then truly now is a good time to do so, while we still have the opportunity in this life. Let us have no fear and keep a steadfast faith like that of St. John Chrysostom, whom in his righteousness rebuked even an emperor and empress who went astray from the Lord.

Let us be always faithful to God, be loving both to Him and our brethren, and finally let us strive to give more of ourselves for the sake of others, the last, the lost, and the lonely, as St. John Chrysostom had done. Pray for us St. John Chrysostom! May God bless us always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we celebrate today the great feast of one principal saint of Christendom, none other than St. Gregory the Great, also known as Pope St. Gregory the Great who lived and reigned as Pope in the turn of the seventh century after the birth of Christ. He lived during the time of troubles, of the Dark Ages Europe, after the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, with barbarians plundering the former lands of the Empire and settling in them as permanent settlers.

Even Rome and Italy at the time the birth of Pope St. Gregory the Great was under the authority and power of the Ostrogoths, one of the Gothic barbarian peoples who had settled in Italy after the fall of the Empire in the west. The Ostrogoths adopted the Arian heretic belief, and the predecessors of Pope St. Gregory the Great, as the Pope and the Bishop of Rome, worked hard to convert them to the true faith of the Apostles and reject their heretical beliefs.

Pope St. Gregory the Great lived through a time of great difficulties before he became Pope in 590 AD. The Ostrogothic kingdom went through a series of civil wars and internal conflicts, and together with the reconquest campaign by the Eastern Roman Empire, which saw Italy and Rome back at the hand of the Empire, had wrecked much of the local population, ravaged by warfare and deadly disease.

On the backdrop of these events, Pope St. Gregory the Great lived his early life and his adult years, and yet, he grew up to be a pious, zealous, and well educated man, who joined the religious life and became a monk. He was deeply devoted to Christ and immersed himself in his religious devotions as a monk, and prayed fervently and worked hard for the sake of God. Even after his election to the See of Peter, he remained the same, and continued his good works for the sake of God and God’s holy people.

Most importantly, Pope St. Gregory the Great reinvigorated the Church and its missionary efforts, in spreading the faith and the Holy Gospels to the pagan peoples and to the heretics who had walked away from the true path of God, the path of salvation. He sent many missionaries to the far ends of Christendom, to England through St. Augustine of Canterbury, and to other parts of Europe, converting many to the faith in God, and bringing many souls to salvation.

Not only that, Pope St. Gregory the Great was truly irreplaceable for his crucial role in the reform of the Church, particularly in its liturgy and rules of worship in the Mass. Both the Mass we have today, in all its forms, and the Divine Liturgy that our brethren of the Eastern Churches celebrate can trace their origins to the reforms and changes made by Pope St. Gregory the Great, the holy and great reformer Pope.

If you find the name Gregorian Chant familiar, yes, this wonderful music of worship is named after this great Pope, who reformed Church music in such a radical way, that it totally changed the landscape of divine song and songs of worship over the centuries even until today. To Pope St. Gregory the Great, the Lord our God in Jesus Christ is so great and glorious in heaven, and so profound is His might and power, that we ought to honour Him the best way we can with our abilities and senses, and hence, his reforms of the Mass and the Church music in the Gregorian chants.

Pope St. Gregory the Great gave much of his love and care for others, for the poor through charity, and for everyone through his dedicated and loving actions in Christ. He brought the Lord close to everyone through his own deeds and words, and indeed, through his copious writings. Many of Pope St. Gregory the Great’s writing remained and became source of inspiration for our faith, just as it had been during his time as Pope. He worked hard to defend the people against heresies and against the temptations of the devil, doing as much as he could to bring more and more souls towards salvation.

Yes, brethren, this great and saintly Pope truly is worthy of heaven, and he preached with the authority of Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour of all, who is so mighty and all-powerful, that even the evil spirits obeyed Him, as we heard in the Gospel today. Even the devil would kneel before the Lord crucified, the Almighty Creator of all, for He is the light of the world, and no darkness would be able to stand before Him.

We are the children of light, brothers and sisters in Christ, and as long as we do the will of God, and follow His ways, we will always reflect His brilliant light, and the devil will have no power over us, for he is doomed to destruction and eternal torture, while we who are saved in Christ are fated to be in the eternal light of God and enjoy the fruits of our faith, the fruits of our salvation. Fear not, brethren, for our Lord and God who loves us, desires not our death and destruction, as what He truly wishes for us, is to live, and not just any life, but an eternal life filled with love and true joy in Him.

That was why He sent us many help along the way, all His saints, including Pope St. Gregory the Great, whom we talked about just before. Through their hard work, we have known the Lord our loving God, and through their labours, we have received the teachings of the Lord and grow to understand the extent of His great love and dedication to all of us. However, the work did not just stop there, brethren, as even today, much work awaits us, and we too are called to be the saints and the apostles of our own time.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, inspired by the examples of Pope St. Gregory the Great, and by the love and sacrifice of our Lord, through which He showed us His infinite love, let us also be proactive, in all our dealings, all of our words and all of our actions, that we will always reflect the love of God with zeal, and therefore obey His will, that is to love, to love Him with all our hearts and all our strength, and do the same to our fellow brothers and sisters.

May the Lord our God who showed us His mercy and love, and who rebuked evil spirits from the hearts of men that we may be clean and pure and worthy of Him, bless us, strengthen us, and empower us, that we will be reunited with Him when He comes again in glory and bring us to eternal life with Him, forever and ever. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 May 2013 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (Scripture Reflection)

Today, we hear the words of Christ, that we all should love, just as Christ and His Father, our Lord have loved us, so then we should also love them back with all our hearts, our minds, and our souls. For love lies at the very centre of our faith in God, and it is in love that we truly can have faith in Christ. If we have no love in us, we can never be truly faithful to Christ and to God, for without love, we cannot possibly understand what they are doing and what they have done, for our sake, and for our own good.

Love one another as God has loved us. Indeed, it may seem to be easy for many to say that they can love, but in fact, love should not be taken for granted, for the ability to love is not as easily obtained as one would think, but true love require great dedication and effort, in order for love to be present, to be maintained, and to be able to flourish. Our world lacks love, and it is in this lack of love, that the many problems of our world can trace their roots from.

Have we followed Christ’s commandments, the commandments of love, to love one another as unconditionally as Christ had loved us? He died for all of us, by suffering on the way to Calvary and finally hung between the heaven and the earth, so that all of us may be saved from death that is our fate, and by His resurrection we can share in His life, that all of us will have eternal life in Him. This He offered to everyone, even to those who hated Him, and even to those who persecuted Him, and His people.

To be able to love is a great blessing to all of us. If we are able to learn more about love, and how to love, we will be able to transform ourselves, but indeed not just ourselves, but also those around us, and many other things surrounding us. Love is indeed the key to life, life eternal in God, both for ourselves and to those to whom we show and reflect God’s love.

Today, we celebrate the memorial and feast of a great saint, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, who was one of the great early Church Fathers that helped to establish the Church of God, and strengthened the faith of the people of God, in the onslaught of heresies and heretical thoughts espoused by those who the devil had entrusted to destroy God’s Church. The devil hates love, and therefore, it is only natural that he will want to destroy the very place where love can still be found in this world, that is in the Church of God.

St. Athanasius defended the Church against the heretical teachings of Arius, the popular presbyter and preacher, who espoused the idea that Christ is not fully man and fully divine, and rather just as a man, a mere human, without divine qualities, as we believe in our Creed. St. Athanasius had to suffer exile and persecution due to his steadfast defense of the Lord and the true faith in God, against these heresies. Yet he prevailed, and due to his ceaseless efforts to bring many back to the true faith in God, he managed to prevail in the end, and bring back countless ones back into God’s Church and therefore into God’s love.

For we have to remember always that Christ is no mere human, for He is the Son of God, both fully human and fully divine at the same time. He is God, and with God since the beginning of time. And it was because of the great and infinite love that God has for all of us, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be man like us, and in this great love, we are saved and are given chance for eternal life, if we would receive His divine love and that He is our Lord and God.

For if we believe that Christ is just mere human, then there would be no hope for all of us, all of us beloved by God and who place our trust in Christ. For a human’s blood has no power to free us from the chains of slavery of sin, which Satan has imposed on us, since the rebellion of our forefathers, Adam and Eve, our ancestors. But because Christ is God, and with God, one with He who created us, we have hope since the Lamb of God Himself shed His Precious Blood, that we can be saved, out of His great and infinite love for all His people.

Now that we know how much God has loved us, and how much He wants us to remain within His love and care, should we now then vow to our Lord and God, that we will love Him ever greater and ever more? Let us put our full trust in Him and follow in His ways, in the footsteps of St. Athanasius, the great defender of the true faith in Christ. St. Athanasius of Alexandria, pray for us. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 January 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Today, we place our main focus on the oneness and the unity of the whole community of the faithful in Christ, that is as one community through the Church, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to be specific, as the incarnation of the mystical Body of Christ that represents the Church and most importantly all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ. For all of us belong to God upon our baptism, and just as Paul said to the people of Corinthians, we all become part of the body, the Body of Christ, like the organs that allow the body to function when working together.

This body cannot function without its organs, and therefore, what makes the Church what it is, is all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ. Without us, there is no Church. The Church is one, that is indivisible, just as the Body of Christ is indivisible, for Christ is only One, and therefore we too should be one in Christ, as we are one in the Church. However, sadly, through the centuries, due to numerous misunderstandings and human selfishness, many had gone astray from the true faith, and in the process, brought with them many of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, establishing their own ‘churches’, which we now know as numbering in thousands, tens of thousands, or even more. There is no real unity in the one Church of Christ just yet, as these branches and splinters remain separated from the root and the trunk that is the Church.

Many political and theological disputes had led to divisions in the united community of the believers in Christ, and the evil one is hard at work, to make sure we remain divided. For if we are one, and united in Christ, evil will be vanquished by the power of Christ’s Church, the Body of Christ. It is sad therefore to look at the divisions, and how Christians even attack other Christians and openly mock the practices and the tenets of the faith in God, particularly that of the one Church that Christ established, our very own Catholic Church, from where all the separated brethren in myriads of ‘churches’ sprang decades, centuries, and millenia ago.

The first major split came when gnostics and syncretists of the early Church created their own version of the faith, that is so different from the truth, that they can no longer be called Christians. Then came the Arians, who denied the equality between Jesus the Son and God the Father, claiming that Jesus was created by God, instead of what we believe, that Jesus was with the Father, one with Him, before all ages. Then came the Nestorians, who argued that Jesus as human being and Christ, the divine were separate entities, which actually ran so far from the faith, that it was in danger of claiming that Jesus was merely human, adopted by God as a divine Son. But we believe that Christ is truly human, and truly divine. He is fully human just as He is fully God, even though he appeared to us as we are, human as we are, and experience humanity as we are.

Then came Monophysitism, which was the total opposite to Nestorianism, claimed that Jesus is not human, and exist only in His divine nature. But again, Christ is as human as we are, born through Mary, His mother, who although bore the divine Son of God, at the same time, that Son of God is also the Son of Man, being fully human like us save in the matter of sin, as Christ was without sin. Then came many other divergent and heretical teachings across Christendom, but nothing caused greater damage to the unity of the Church other than the Great Schism of 1054, and the Protestant Reformation.

The Great Schism was seen as theological in nature, as the Eastern Church or the Orthodox Church had differences in their practices of the faith with our Church, and they also did not mention the ‘Filioque’, namely the phrase in the Creed present in our Creed, but not in theirs : “who proceeds (Holy Spirit) from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son…”

The Filioque clause became the centre of the division between us and our separated Orthodox brethren in Christ, as they see that the Holy Spirit proceeds to us, only from the Father, whereas we, our Church, believes that the Holy Spirit does proceed down to us from both the Father, and the Son, Jesus Christ as well. This can be supported by the words of Christ Himself when He appeared to His Apostles after His resurrection from the dead : “Peace be with you, (and breathing upon them He said) receive the Holy Spirit, those whose sins you forgive…” This clearly show that the Holy Spirit does proceed from the Father, but also through the Son, to the Apostles.

The other matter of division was  geopolitical in nature, especially because the Church at the time was divided along linguistic lines, between the Latins in the West, which eventually become our Church of today, and the Greeks in the East, under the protection of the Roman Emperors in Constantinople, present day Istanbul (Turkey), who became the present day Eastern Orthodox Church. The conflict in authority between the Bishop of Rome, and the Imperially sanctioned Bishop of Constantinople, head of the Eastern Orthodox faithful became the root and eventual cause of the division, which happened in 1054, and which we really look forward to reverse, to reunite the two Churches once again into one, just as Christ wanted in His prayer to God, “May they all be One, just as You and Me are One.”

The last and the greatest division in the Church of Christ came because of the Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther, but later on spiralled rapidly out of control, that countless ‘churches’ began to be born in all countries and languages, following their own leaders and interpreting the Scripture as they saw fit. Although it was often believed that we Catholics included the Deuterocanonical books, such as the Book of the Maccabees and the story of Tobit into the Bible, in fact it was Luther and others following him who removed these books from the Bible, which had been assembled in the early days of the Church by the Apostles and the Church Fathers.

Protestant Reformation happened in response to the weakening of the spirituality of our own Church at that time. As divine as the Church is, as established by Christ, it is also human, and bound to be tempted by the evil one. The dark times of the Church did happen at those times, with money and politics winning mankind over God. The corruption was what caused Luther to embark on his mission of ‘reforming’ the Church. Unfortunately, he and many others like him went too far, and caused a great breaking of the Body of Christ, the Church, which has already suffered from earlier divisions that I had mentioned. After the Reformation, out of the ashes, the Church reformed itself, and reorientate itself back towards God, and until today, through the guidance of the Pope, as the Bishop of Rome, we can truly look back at the transformation of the Church, beginning at the Council of Trent, and renewed by the Second Vatican Council, and even today, changes and ‘reform of the reform’ are still ongoing and necessary to make the Church of Christ, a truly holy Church.

Jesus, as the Messiah, had been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, to bring the Good News of the Lord to all, especially the least among the people, to give new hope to mankind. He is the Greatest Teacher of the Law of God, who perfected the Laws of the Old Covenant, and brought them into the new Law of the New Covenant, which God sealed with His Sacrifice on the cross that brought about our redemption. From Him authority has been given, and passed down through the Apostles down the generations, to our present day priests and bishops, who are teachers of God’s new laws and commandments in Christ.

This is why we have the ordained clergy as a separate organ of the one Body of Christ, to complement all of us the laity, which represents the largest portion of that Body. These are men who have willingly gave themselves for Christ, for the sake of the Lord and for His people, all of us. They left behind all they had in their lives, and followed Jesus to be like His disciples. Through them, just like Ezra and the Levites in the first reading, we can understand the Law better, since priests and all the clergy has committed themselves to God and seek deeper into the mysteries of God, and through them, our understanding of the Faith and the Word of God in the Scripture can be made clearer.

For it is dangerous for us to assume that we ourselves have all that we need to be faithful in God, and to be a Christian, as our faith is communal as much as it is personal. It is by praying together and helping each other to grow in faith that our faith can grow stronger. Everybody has their own role in the Church, within the community of the faithful, just as St. Paul explained to the Corinthians, the nature of the Church and the necessities of hierarchy to ensure all parts of the Body are functioning properly.

We, the laity has a great role in our participation in the Church, through our daily lives, and through the actions, even as small as they are, that we regularly take everyday, in bringing God both into our own lives, and into those around us. Do not forget that priests were once laymen as well, and without good and faithful laymen, there will be no vocations to priesthood. It is in us, the laypeople, that the seed of faith germinates and grow.

Priests are teachers and father figures to us. They teach us about the faith, about the Scripture, and about God. It is through them that Christ manifested Himself and His Sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, where bread and wine is truly transformed into the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, through the same authority that has been passed down from the Apostles to them, and ultimately originating in Christ Himself. Deacons are helpers that aid priests in their ministries, to proclaim the Word of God during the Mass, and to assist the priest in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and most importantly to make themselves available to all the faithful in Christ, especially those having the greatest of needs.

Bishops oversee groups of priests and act as a figure of authority just like Christ, and their role is as chief shepherds, just as priests are our shepherds, to help us and nurture us in our faith, and to guide the people together as an organ of the Body of Christ, which in turn is part of the larger Body itself, the Universal Church. They also teach like the priests and also conduct laying of hands on priests and other bishops upon their ordinations, passing down the Holy Spirit that has been given to the Apostles to the new priests and bishops, that the chain of Apostolic Succession will never break as long as the Church stands.

Therefore, it is very evident that all these peoples, these parts of the One Body are essential in ensuring that the Church as a whole, the whole community of believers can function properly. We cannot afford to lose any of these parts, or otherwise the Body will crumble, just as how we have noted the divisions that the Church had endured for the past two millenia of its history since its founding by Christ.

Let us pray therefore, that the Lord will send His spirit of courage and careful discernment to our young men today, especially those with sincere love and faith in God, that they will be eager to be called into the service of the Lord, as His holy priests, as the harvest, although plentiful, but has no one to collect them. We need more priests as labourers of Christ in ensuring that as many as possible are brought into the Kingdom of God through their ceaseless and tireless labour in the name of Christ. Let us also pray for our deacons who also labour with our priests in their ministry to serve the people of God, just as the original seven deacons were appointed to help with the faithful in the early Church.

Let us also pray for our bishops, that they will continue to be strong to lead us through these turbulent times, and that they will remain true to their faith and mission, as shepherds guiding us in faith in God. Most importantly, let us pray for our Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, our leader the Vicar of Christ, that God will always be with him at all times, and give him strength to complete his ministry as our Pope, and the leader of the Church.

Let us then strive to expand our roles in the Church, Starting from simple things that we can do everyday in our own daily lives, and let us work together as one, to make the whole Body, the Universal Church, a functional and vibrant community, connecting all those who believe in Christ. Let us strive to make the prayers and wishes of Jesus into reality, particularly regarding the oneness and unity of the Church, that very soon indeed, all Christians will be reunited again with the Holy Mother Church, the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church represented by our Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of the Pope, the successor of St. Peter the Apostle, on whom Christ established His Church and on whom He entrusted all of His sheep, namely all of us the faithful in Christ. God bless our Pope, God bless our Catholic Church, and God bless us all, who remain faithful in Him, Amen.

“Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam Meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam, et tibi dabo claves Regni Caelorum”

(You are Peter, and on this ‘Rock’ I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven)

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint+

(That they all may be One)