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Tuesday, 21 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Christopher Magallanes, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

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

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

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

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

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

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Monday, 20 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (Scripture Reflection)

Prayer is very powerful, brothers and sisters in Christ. Prayer gives us the important link between us and the Lord our God, because prayer is a form of communication that put us in a special link, all of us, each at once, with the Lord, in a two-way conversation, that we can speak to God, and God can also speak to us.

But too often, brethren, that when we pray, we focus too much on ourselves and our selfish ideas, that we bombard the Lord with our requests, our needs, and our wishes, that we fail to listen to God speaking to us in silence. It becomes then a one-way conversation, with our voices overpowering the Lord’s voice within our hearts.

The Lord does not speak to us in audible voice, brothers and sisters. Do not expect that the Lord will announce His speaking to us with trumpets of the angels and loud voices like thunder. Instead, the voice of the Lord is like the softest breeze of the wind, that can only be heard, when we took our time and remain in silence. In silence, and in retreat from the busy schedule of our world, even for a short time, will allow us to listen to God speaking within us, in His own subtle way, and we can then know what God wants for us.

But prayer is also important because it gives us power and strength in our daily struggle against the devil and his agents in this world, that always attempt to corrupt us and all mankind with the seductions of pleasure and temporary joy, that lead to evil and damnation. Prayer gives us advantage over the devil because with prayer, we anchor ourselves and keep our link with God our Father, who is the supreme sovereign over all creations, even over Satan and his angels, and therefore, with God at our back, no one, even the devil can harm us.

Prayer makes us into a fortress of faith that protects us from the devil, and yet, with the power and wisdom of God, prayer not only protects us from the power of the evil one, but it also can bring about healing and purification in others, helping others who also struggle against the power of Satan. Prayer can overpower the devil and force him out, replacing him with the presence of God that will stay and dwell, preventing the devil from coming in again, as long as that person remain faithful in the Lord.

We need God in our fight against the devil, and our strong faith must be supplemented with the strong connection that we have to the Lord. That was why the disciples of Jesus cannot remove the devil from that young boy, because they simply did not keep up their prayer life, to anchor themselves strongly in God’s power and authority that would have triumphed over the devil.

Today, brethren, we also celebrate the feast of St. Bernardine of Siena. St. Bernardine was a great Fransiscan monk who became a great evangeliser and preacher, in Italy, where many corruptions of the world had entered the Church and the society. He campaigned strongly for the purification of the faith, and the return to the true faith, and preached strongly against the corruptions and wicked practices in the society and the Church at the time.

That is what we should do too, brothers and sisters in Christ. Even though our Church now is not like that in the past, that of the time of St. Bernardine, the world still corrupts much of our world today. It is up to us, and to the many missionaries and champions of God’s Gospels, to bring God’s light into the world. St. Bernardine of Siena, pray for us, that God will continue to strengthen our faith and give us courage to stand up against the world and the devil.

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Monday, 20 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Mark 9 : 14-29

When they came to the place where they had left the disciples, they saw many people around them and some teachers of the Law arguing with them. When the people saw Jesus, they were astonished and ran to greet Him.

He asked, “What are you arguing about with them?” A man answered Him from the crowd, “Master, I brought my son to You, for he has a spirit, deaf and mute. Whenever the spirit seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and becomes stiff all over. I asked Your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.”

Jesus replied, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.” And they brought the boy to Him.

As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it shook and convulsed the boy, who fell on the ground and began rolling about, foaming at the mouth. Then Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “From childhood. And it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. If You can do anything, have pity on us and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “Why do you say, ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe, but help the little faith I have.”

Jesus saw that the crowd was increasing rapidly, so He ordered the evil spirit, “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you : ‘Leave the boy and never enter him again.'” The evil spirit shook and convulsed the boy and with a terrible shriek came out.

The boy lay like a corpse and people said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him and the boy stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive out the spirit?” And He answered, “Only prayer can drive out this kind, nothing else.”

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 : Solemnity of the Pentecost, Pentecost Sunday (Scripture Reflection)

Happy Pentecost, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Today marks the end of the fifty days Easter season, and the end of the long celebrations of Christ’s glorious resurrection. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the liturgical Ordinary Time again in the Church, with the seventh Ordinary week. But Easter does not end here, but it in fact continues and we should always rejoice in the resurrection of the Lord and continue to carry on the Easter spirit that is within us, to be witnesses of Christ’s resurrection and glory.

Pentecost is a very important day in the history of the Church and indeed is a crucial event that all of us who believes in Christ must treasure and understand. For Pentecost, as many of us would have known from our early days that it marks the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem, when the Advocate, that is the Holy Spirit promised by Christ our Lord finally arrives and inflames the hearts of all the disciples, and teach them all that they need to know about the Lord.

Pentecost, through the Holy Spirit’s entry into the hearts of the disciples, transformed them from the weak, ordinary human that they were, to be the powerful champions of God and His presence in this world. Through the disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the believers in Christ, which once was cowered in great fear and confusion by the death of Christ, exploded outwards and began the work of salvation of all mankind, which continues even to this day.

Today marked the birth of our Church, the Roman Catholic Church. This Church had begun on that day, with the conversion of more than three thousand souls to the cause of the Lord. That because Peter, the leader of the Apostles, filled with the flames of the Holy Spirit, rose up to defend the Lord and preach the truth to the people, without fear that once gripped the hearts of all the disciples. Gone were the fear and confusion, and with the Holy Spirit giving them all the knowledge of the faith, all were clear to them, and they preached the Gospels of the Lord, the Gospel of truth, and many accepted the Lord that day.

As Christ had once told His disciples in His sermon, He told them that the Holy Spirit brought with It various gifts to those whom the Spirit was willing to come and dwell within. The Holy Spirit gives courage to the hearts of mankind, and they encourage those who had been paralyzed by fear, and that was why the apostles suddenly became so forthcoming in proclaiming the truth of God, when they were just moments before so fearful of capture by the Jewish authorities that they were gathered in a locked room.

The Holy Spirit also gives the gifts of tongues, that is the ability to speak in various languages, and this was told in the first reading today that the apostles spoke various languages, praising the Lord, and were heard by the visitors from all over the world that were at the time gathered in Jerusalem for the Festival. This gift allows the disciples to preach to the people in their own native tongues and therefore greatly enhanced their ability to spread the Good News of the Lord to the peoples of various countries, and this itself also played a crucial role in the birth and growth of the Church of God.

The Holy Spirit also gives guidance to those who have uncertainty in their path, and this Holy Spirit becomes truly the Advocate, guiding the apostles in their missions throughout the Mediterranean, for the next few decades, particularly in the missions and travels of St. Paul the Apostle, who brought the Word of God to many people, Jews and Gentiles alike, that many of them became the believers in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, many became the children of God and be saved.

The Holy Spirit remains at work in our Church today, and is evident in the many works of evangelisation by our courageous and tireless missionaries that preach the word of God in many areas of the world today, bringing the light of God to many in various nations. We too can play our part, as we too have been given the Holy Spirit through our own baptism and strengthened in our own confirmation.

We can help the process of evangelisation, by reflecting Christ in our actions, our words, and all our deeds, that through us, the light of Christ can be seen by those around us, and then they may believe and become followers of Christ too, just like all of us. But do not seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit with greed, just like what some ‘Christians’ like to do. Some like to claim the gift of tongues and languages, blabbering in unintelligible words, as if they truly speak in tongues. Be warned, brothers and sisters, the gift of the Holy Spirit does not always mean external displays and shows such as these, as if we are not careful, instead of the Holy Spirit, we may be dealing with the devil.

Rather, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us use the Holy Spirit within us, and the subtle gifts that It has given us, that is mainly love and hope. Love that inflames our hearts to zealously spread the Word of God to all those around us, through our words, and through our actions. The Holy Spirit also gives us hope and strength of mind, to be always ready and willing to evangelise in the Name of God. With these gifts in our hands, let us become modern missionaries of Christ, spreading the Good News to all nations.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, many people have yet listen to the Word of God, and many also have no chance of receiving the baptism of the Lord, because either they had no access to the Word, or no access to God’s message, or the Scripture, or because of external pressures and prejudice against the faith in the Lord that prevents many from becoming the children of God.

Let the Holy Spirit transform us and through us, let the Holy Spirit do His work in our world, to renew this world, bring the light of Christ into it, and make this world worthy of the Lord our God, when He comes again in His glorious Second Coming. May God strengthen us all with the Holy Spirit that He has sent through His Son, Jesus Christ, who gave the Holy Spirit as the breath of life, to His disciples, and from His disciples to our bishops and priests, and from them to us.

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 : Solemnity of the Pentecost, Pentecost Sunday (Gospel Reading)

John 20 : 19-23

On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Then He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy.

Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” After saying this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

 

Alternative reading

 

John 14 : 15-16, 23b-26

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments; and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him; and We will come to him and make a room in his home.

But if anyone does not love Me; he will not keep My words; and these words that you hear are not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. I told you all this while I was still with you. From now on the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I have told you.

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Sunday, 19 May 2013 : Solemnity of the Pentecost, Pentecost Sunday (Second Reading)

1 Corinthians 12 : 3b-7, 12-13

No one can say, “Jesus is the Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. There is diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same. There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same. There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all.

The Spirit reveals His presence in each one with a gift that is also a service. As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptised in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.

 

Alternative reading

 

Romans 8 : 8-17

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit who dwells within you.

Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the Spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds so that we may live. All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. Then, no more fear : you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the Spirit that makes you sons and daughters and every time we cry, “Abba! Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God.

If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God and we will share it with Christ; for if we now suffer with Him, we will also share Glory with Him.

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Thursday, 16 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ, our Lord, is our shepherd, our Good Shepherd, who cares for all of us His sheep, and who laid down His life for us. For we are His friends too, and we belong to Him, and He loves us with infinite love. He feeds us and provides for us, ensuring that all of us are well-fed with His divine food, which for us is the Eucharist, in the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ.

He gave us Himself, as the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, sacrificed as our Paschal Lamb, on that cross in Calvary. Because He gave Himself up, we, who are His sheep can live. He died so that our death that is our punishment may be destroyed, and through His glorious resurrection, we have a new life in Him. That is what happened when we were baptised, because as we were immersed in that holy waters of baptism, we became dead to ourselves, and leaving our sinful past behind, we took on a new life of holiness, and clothed in pure white to symbolise the clean slate upon which we embark this new journey upon.

If we remain faithful to our God, and remain in His love, we will be saved, and gain eternal life. But remember, brethren, that our faith itself cannot be dead, and neither can the love that is in our hearts be dead. How can they then be dead? That is when we no longer project out that love from ourselves to others, and no longer let the faith of others grow through our own faith. Remember that faith without action, is a dead faith. A living faith is what is necessary for salvation.

What is a living faith then? A living faith is not just a faith sustained by prayers, devotions, and worship. Yes, these are important too, for there can be no faith without those, and faith must also be sustained by proper internal orientation towards the Lord, which can only be achieved by having a healthy and strong prayer life.

Living faith is by practising our faith through our words and actions towards those who are around us, and within our own society, to our neighbours and to those whom we meet in this life. Through our actions and deeds, we must reflect Christ in all of them, by infusing them with the love that is of God, and by infusing the knowledge of God into our speech and our thoughts.

This is the faith as practised by Paul in his ministry throughout the known world at the time, travelling tirelessly across the Mediterranean, visiting the many burgeoning communities of the Church, that eventually will grow into mature communities that became the basis of Christianity and Christendom of the later era. He preached the Good News and practised his faith through his numerous healings and miracles that he performed, helping countless peoples, Jews and Gentiles alike, that many turn their hearts towards God and believed.

That Paul did not even worry about putting himself on risk to spread the Gospel of the Lord, by attracting to himself all the oppositions and all the hatred of those who hated the Lord. He had even endured trials and persecutions while preaching the Good News. Yet he did not show fear because the Lord is with him, and provide him with all that he needs. That is because in his heart, his faith is alive, and the love of God filled him to the brim, and transformed him.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul and the apostles, in making our faith concrete in this world, through concrete actions, even small ones, to make a difference in our society and those around us. May God’s love strengthen us and empower us with His love and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Thursday, 16 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

John 17 : 20-26

I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one : I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.

Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me.

As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal It, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I also may be in them.

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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters, all in our most beloved Jesus Christ, our Lord, God remains with us all the time in our lives, if we keep His commandments and His divine love alive within all of us, through our own words, actions, and deeds that reflect and show the greatness of God’s love to those who still live in the darkness of this world.

He feeds us with the food of life, and the drink of life, that is none other than His own Precious Body and Blood, that He gave freely on His sacrifice on the cross in Calvary. He gave us Himself that all of us will be with Him and will have Him within all of us, and be strong and courageous in our daily struggle against the evil one, who hates all that is good and all that belong to the Father.

The struggle against Satan, his fallen angels and all the powers in his employ in this world continues daily, even today, tomorrow, and beyond. If we do not keep a strong faith in God and a strong heart of love, filled with God’s presence, we will falter and go astray in our path and fail to achieve the ultimate goal of our life, that is salvation and reunion with God our Lord.

The flock will be scattered when the devil comes like wolves to attack the sheep, and they will target the shepherd in particular, that they will be destroyed and the sheep scattered, like those sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The wolves however, will also hide behind sheepskin and pretend to be false shepherds, that will try to guide the sheep into trap, into darkness, and into damnation, together with them, who have already been condemned.

For indeed, there are very many false teachings and false prophets in our world today, as well as false idols that mankind increasingly turn their hearts to. They no longer put the Lord as the centre of their life and their attention. They no longer worship God and give Him the thanksgiving and praise due to Him. Instead, they worship the false idols and praise them, in place of the true God.

And the evil one and his ‘wolves’ especially target those who work in the fields of the Lord, namely our priests, bishops, and all who labour in the Name of God. As all of you can easily find in our world today, that there are many attacks daily against all the ministers of God’s Gospels, and those attacks come even from those who believe in Christ, having been seduced into falsehood by the agents of Satan, falling into the temptation of the world.

No, I am not referring to those idols, made of gold or silver, or any imageries, but in fact, these false idols are even far more deadly and dangerous than those, because while those idols are dead and lifeless, but these false new idols are able to corrupt the hearts and soul of mankind, that they shut themselves off from God’s grace and providence.

Money, worldly lusts, and also other forms of temptations readily available in our world today, are major distractions and obstacles in our path. They easily tempted the weak and those who do not keep their faith strong, and ensure that their anchor in God is firm and solid. That is why, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that all of us keep a strong and healthy prayer life, that in prayer, we keep our line of communications with the Lord firm and undisturbed. Take some moments off our busy daily schedules, and listen to God speaking in our hearts, about His will, and about His truth.

For the truth of God will dispel the falsehoods of the evil one, and it will give us true joy and happiness that only God can give, and which the world cannot give. What God gives us is what can truly bring true joy within our hearts, and bring us into perfection. It is up to us, brothers and sisters, to help one another, and those who still walk in darkness, that all of us will be opened to God’s truth, God’s light, and His divine love.

May God guide us into Himself, and allow us to be reunited with Him in the bliss of heaven, away from the evil one and all the falsehoods he had sprung in this world, all of which have been condemned to eternal damnation. We also pray for our priests, and all those who work hard for the sake of the Lord and the salvation of all mankind, that God will protect them and grant them strength and courage in their ministry. May God grant us everlasting life, forever and ever. Amen.

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Saturday, 11 May 2013 : 6th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Acts 18 : 23-28

After spending some time there, he left and travelled from place to place through Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening the disciples. A certain Jew named Apollos , a native of Alexandria, arrived at Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and an authority on the Scriptures, and he had some knowledge of the way of the Lord.

With great enthusiasm he preached and taught correctly about Jesus, although he knew only of John’s baptism. As he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila heard him; so they took him home with them and explained to him the way more accurately.

As Apollos wished to go to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.  When he arrived, he greatly strengthened those who, by God’s grace, had become believers, for he vigorously refuted the Jews, proving from the Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah.