baptism

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Sunday, 10 March 2013 : 4th Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, 2nd Scrutiny for Baptism (First Reading)

Joshua 5 : 9a, 10-12

Then YHVH said to Joshua : “Today I have removed from you the shame of Egypt.”

The Israelites encamped in Gilgal where they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the following day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain on that very day. And from that day on when they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.

There were no more manna for the Israelites, and that year they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan.

 

Alternative reading (from Year A)

1 Samuel 16 : 1b, 6-7, 10-13a

YHVH asked Samuel, “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen My king from among his sons.”

As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be YHVH’s anointed.” But YHVH told Samuel, Do not judge by his looks or his stature for I have rejected him. YHVH does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; YHVH sees the heart.”

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel who said, “YHVH has chosen none of them. But are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said to him, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And YHVH spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.” Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence.

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3rd Week of Lent (Reading for Baptismal Catechesis to prepare for Easter Vigil Baptism)

During the weekdays of this 3rd Week of Lent, it is highly advisable to include anytime within the week, the readings of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A in order to promote catechism and preparation for the elects waiting for their baptism this coming Easter, particularly appropriate is the Gospel on Jesus and the Samaritan woman :

 

First Reading : Exodus 17 : 1-7

Psalm : Psalm 95 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (Psalm 94 in the Greek Bible, and Psalm 95 in Hebrew Bible)

Gospel Reading : John 4 : 5-42

 

Let us pray for our elects and those preparing for Baptism this coming Easter, that God will continue to guide them in their journey, and we also extend our hands to welcome them soon into the one Church, one Body of Christ, as our brothers and sisters in God.

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflection) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the story of salvation. First that of the people of Israel, and then all of us, who are saved, both by God, through His agents. The people of Israel suffered under great slavery in Egypt under the Pharaoh, who forced them to work day and night, to build the buildings and monuments for the Egyptians. God sent Moses, as His messenger to the Pharaoh to liberate His people from the chains of Egyptian slavery.

When Pharaoh refused, God sent the ten plagues to punish the Egyptians, who eventually let them go, but before they had even reached the Red Sea, the Pharaoh had yet changed his mind again and intent on re-enslaving the Israelites again. God split the Red Sea and brought His people across that sea and crushed the Egyptians under the waves as a sign of His faith and love to His people. And that He is not hesitant to punish those who had been ignorant and whose heart had been hardened against His love.

But yet, the Israelites rebelled, and had put the Lord to the test. They doubted His power and majesty, and even doubted His love. They complained against Him because of their thirst and hunger, despite God having constantly showing His kindness through the manna, the birds, and many other provisions along the way. They even mentioned going back to Egypt where they claimed that life under slavery would have been much better than to suffer and die in the desert. It is better to them they thought to live in slavery and hard work, but at least well fed by their slavemasters, than to be free and walking in the desert of death.

Then, it is the same, as the Lord Himself sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to be our Messiah, our Saviour, that all of us can be saved from certain death, under the slavery of sin and Satan, who is like Pharaoh, who is our slavemaster. We were servants of sin and were the thralls of Satan prior to our liberation through the waters of baptism, for through that living water of baptism, our thirst, the real thirst that we have, is quenched by the living water of Christ. Christ dwelled in us and became the living spring of water of eternal life.

For this living water of Christ quenches our real thirst and our real hunger and longing, that is not the physical thirst of water or hunger for food, but truly our thirst for the redeeming Word of God, and most importantly, the infinite love that God has for us. For separated from God, under the slavery of sin and evil, we are cut off from the love of God, and therefore, we suffer because of such separation.

We also constantly rebel against the Lord through our sins and our sinful ways, but the Lord is ever ready to forgive us, but only if we had not hardened our hearts against Him, and instead humbly asking Him for forgiveness. Let us not be like the Israelites who always complained that they did not have enough even though the Lord had provided them greatly, for who else in the world had ever received heavenly bread of manna as food every morning? And flocks of bird for them to eat? and crystal-clear water that satisfies thirst?

Let us therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, strive to be faithful to God, and most importantly, to know how to feel enough, and sufficient, and not to succumb to temptations and our greed, to have more, when we already have some that we need, and what is enough for us. This is what had driven the Israelites to rebel in the desert, because they felt that they did not have enough. Let us also open our hearts to God and His love, and let us be filled and satisfied by His love, through His dwelling in all of us and our hearts.

Pray brothers and sisters, that we will not fall back into the slavery of sin and evil. For evil will continue to try to put us back into slavery under him and sin, as all of us who are faithful in Christ and had been baptised, had been liberated by the living water of Christ, who died for us on the cross that our chains are broken, and we are freed, just like the lamb sacrificed on the Passover, the blood that marked the doors of the people of Israel that God would pass from them, so did Christ gave us His Precious Blood to mark us, that God knows that we belong to Him, and will not pass judgment of death upon us, but stay in Him and have eternal life.

May God keep us in His love, and keep us in His loving embrace, and protect us from the assaults of the evil one. That the chains that had been broken will not come back to chain us once again. For we are free and we now obey and love God and Him alone. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (Second Reading) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

1 Corinthians 10 : 1-6, 10-12

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, about our ancestors. All of them were under the cloud and all crossed the sea. All underwent the baptism of the land and the sea to join Moses and all of them ate from the same spiritual manna, and all of them drank from the same spiritual drink. For you know that they drank from a spiritual rock following them, and the rock was Christ. However, most of them did not please God, and the desert was strewn with their bodies.

All of this happened as an example for us, so that we might not become people of evil desires, as they did. Nor grumble as some of them did and were cut down by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as an example, and they were written as a warning for us, as the last times come upon us. Therefore, if you think you stand, beware, lest you fall.

 

(Alternative reading from Year A)

 

Romans 5 : 1-2, 5-8

By faith we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Him we obtain this favour in which we remain and we even boast to expect the Glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (Gospel Reading) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

Luke 13 : 1-9

One day some people told Jesus what had occured in the Temple : Pilate had had Galileans killed, and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans. because they suffered this? No, I tell you. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did.”

And those eighteen persons in Siloah, who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you : no. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did.”

And Jesus continued with this story, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit in it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree, and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it use up the ground?’ The gardener replied, ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertiliser; perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it doesn’t, you can cut it down.'”

 

(Alternative reading from Year A)

 

John 4 : 5-42

He came to a Samarian town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there. Tired from His journey, Jesus sat down by the well; it was about noon. Now a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” His disciples had just gone into town to buy some food.

The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan and a woman, for a drink?” (For Jews, in fact, have no deaings with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift of God! If you knew who He is, who is asking you for a drink, you yourself would have asked Me, and I would have given you living water.”

The woman answered, “Sir, You have no bucket, and this well is deep; where is Your living water? Are You greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle?”

Jesus said to her, “Those who drink of this water will be thirsty again; but those, who drink of the water that I shall give, will never be thirsty; for the water, that I shall give, will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.”

The women said to Him, “Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty, and never have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said, “Go, call your husband, and come back here.” The woman answered, “I have no husband.” And Jesus replied, “You are right to say, ‘I have no husband’; for  you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you said is true.”

The woman then said to Him, “I see you are a prophet; tell me this : Our ancestors came to this mountain to worship God; but you Jews, do you not claim that Jerusalem is the only place to worship God?”

Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshipers the Father wants. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit, and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah (that is the Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will tell us everything.” And Jesus said, “I who a talking to you, I am He.”

At this point the disciples returned, and were surprised that Jesus was speaking with a woman; however, no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and ran to the town. There she said to the people, “Come and see a Man who told me everything I did! Could He not be the Christ?” So they left the town and went to meet Him.

In the meantime the disciples urged Jesus, “Master, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” And the disciples wondered, “Has anyone brought Him food?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the One who sent Me, and to carry out His work. You say that in four months there will be the harvest; now, I say to you, look up and see the fields white and ready for harvesting. People who reap the harvest are paid for their work, and the fruit is gathered for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.”

“Indeed the saying holds true : One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap where you didn’t work or suffer; others have worked, and you are now sharing in their labours.”

In that town many Samaritans believed in Him when they heard the woman who declared, “He told me everything I did.” So, when they came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days. After that, many more believed because of His own words, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is the Saviour of the world.”

 

(shorter version)

 

John 4 : 5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

He came to a Samarian town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there. Tired from His journey, Jesus sat down by the well; it was about noon. Now a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” His disciples had just gone into town to buy some food.

The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan and a woman, for a drink?” (For Jews, in fact, have no deaings with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift of God! If you knew who He is, who is asking you for a drink, you yourself would have asked Me, and I would have given you living water.”

The woman answered, “Sir, You have no bucket, and this well is deep; where is Your living water? Are You greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle?”

Jesus said to her, “Those who drink of this water will be thirsty again; but those, who drink of the water that I shall give, will never be thirsty; for the water, that I shall give, will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.”

The women said to Him, “Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty, and never have to come here to draw water. I see you are a prophet; tell me this : Our ancestors came to this mountain to worship God; but you Jews, do you not claim that Jerusalem is the only place to worship God?”

Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshipers the Father wants. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit, and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that the Messiah (that is the Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will tell us everything.” And Jesus said, “I who a talking to you, I am He.”

In that town many Samaritans believed in Him when they heard the woman. So, when they came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there two days. After that, many more believed because of His own words, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is the Saviour of the world.”

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (Psalm) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8 and 11

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him.

 

(Alternative reading from Year A)

 

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put me to the test.

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Sunday, 3 March 2013 : 3rd Sunday of Lent (First Reading) (First Scrutiny of Baptism)

Exodus 3 : 1-8a, 13-15

Moses pastured the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. One day he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God. The Angel of YHVH appeared to him by means of a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that although the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. Moses thought, “I will go and see this amazing sight, why is the bush not burning up?”

YHVH saw that Moses was drawing near to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. “Moses! Moses!” He replied, “Here I am.” YHVH said to him, “Do not come near; take off your sandals because the place where you are standing is holy ground.” And God continued, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face lest his eyes look on God. YHVH said, “I have seen the humiliation of My people in Egypt and I hear their cry when they are cruelly treated by their taskmasters. I know their suffering. I have come down to free them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a beautiful spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses answered God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them : ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ they will ask me : ‘What is His Name?’ What shall I answer them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO AM. This is what you will say to the sons of Israel : “I AM sent me to you.” God then said to Moses, “You will say to the Israelites : ‘YHVH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me.’ That will be My Name forever, and by this name they shall call upon Me for all generations to come.”

 

(Alternative reading from year A)

 

Exodus 17 : 3-7

But the people thirsted for water there and grumbled against Moses, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to have us die of thirst with our children and our cattle?”

So Moses cried to YHVH, “What shall I do with the people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

YHVH said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people and take with you the elders of Israel. Take with you the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock and water will flow from it and the people will drink.”

Moses did this in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah because of the complaints of the Israelites, who tested YHVH, saying, “Is YHVH with us or not?”

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Silver Wedding Anniversary (25 years) of my parents : May God bless their marriage and grant them happiness!

Today, Thursday, 28 February 2013, will indeed forever be a memorable day to me. Since, as you all know, that today, is the day when our beloved Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be our Pope as he is stepping down to make way for his successor, whom he thinks will be more capable of handling the duties of the Papacy than him in his old age.

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Indeed, today in fact, will be memorable to me, because it is also the day of the silver wedding anniversary of my parents, who were married on 28 February 1988. Since then, their marriage, although has had its share of troubles, had been mostly happy and filled with grace. I hope that through me, God will always bless my parents.

It has not always been easy for my mother in particular, and for me to an extent, as my mother and my father were not bound by a Christian marriage solemnised with the Sacrament of Marriage, because my father is not yet a Catholic, until the moment I write this post. My mother had been fearful of going to the Church again since her marriage, as she was afraid of what my father would say or act. Thankfully, recently she had been more courageous to go to Church again after my continuous insistence and encouragement. Deo gratias!

Nevertheless, would it not be for my mother, who passed to me her old Catholic Bible when I was young, I may not be here today, and this blog would not have existed. I have to give thanks to her for bringing me up tirelessly despite the problems that I caused her from time to time. I do pray that my whole family will be brought together in Christ soon, that my father will finally be receptive to the Word of God and want to be baptised into the Church.

It has always been my wish that my entire family can one day pray together as one family, and sharing meals together, giving thanks to God for all the blessings He had given me and my family, and for all these 25 years my parents had been together. I cannot thank God enough for that, but that He keeps them safe while I am away overseas, is already great enough a blessing for me.

My mother does have her reservations, especially coming from a rather traditional Chinese family, but indeed gradually she is becoming much more receptive to my calling to be a priest. Mother, if God is willing, and if God calls, it is not for us to reject is it not? For if Mary obediently answer the Lord and gave herself fully to Him, that through her the salvation of this world came, so too even a Pope or Cardinal or bishop would not have been a Pope, Cardinal, or bishop had God not called him first, and had the family not been supportive, especially in prayers.

I do not deny that I do have the desire to be higher in the hierarchy of the Church, as human as I am, but all this is because, I love God’s people, and I want to be able to give myself more to them, to reach out ever more to them, but again, with greater mission, comes greater responsibility. First, is to be a simple priest, what next is for the Lord to decide for me. I am all yours, o Lord.

Therefore, I ask all of you, to pray for me, and my family, that first my parents’ marriage will ever be happy, blessed, and filled with love that is of God. And that God will care for them and bless them as they have blessed me all these while. Pray for me too in my journey, that I will be ever stronger in faith, stronger in love, and stronger in hope, and stronger ever in my dedication to serve God and His people, my brothers and sisters.

That when the time comes, my parents will be the one who will present to me my first chasuble, and hopefully then, my whole family will be able to receive Communion from me, and hence have been united with me in Christ. Pray too for our Church, that in these turbulent times, we will be able to receive a wonderful new Shepherd, filled with God’s Spirit and strength to lead the Church as Pope Benedict XVI had.

We pray for him too that in his prayerful retirement, he will help the Church to become ever holier and ever more powerful in its resolve to fight against evil and all the corruption it has wrought on this world. God bless us all, and God bless my parents and our Pope! Amen!

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Sunday, 17 February 2013 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Luke 4 : 1-13

Jesus was now full of Holy Spirit. As He returned from the Jordan, the Spirit led Him into the desert, where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during that time, and at the end He was hungry. The devil then said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into bread.” But Jesus answered, “Scripture says : People cannot live on bread alone.”

Then the devil took Him up to a high place, and showed Him in a flash all the nations of the world. And He said to Jesus, “I can give You power over all the nations, and their wealth will be Yours; for power and wealth have been delivered to me, and I give them to whom I wish. All this will be Yours, provided You worship me.” But Jesus replied, “Scripture says : You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.”

Then the devil took Him up to Jerusalem, and set Him on the highest wall of the Temple; and He said, “If You are God’s Son, throw Yourself down from here, for it is written : God will order His angels to take care of you; and again : They will hold you in their hands, lest you hurt your foot on the stones.” But Jesus replied, “It is written : You shall not challenge the Lord your God.”

When the devil had exhausted every way of tempting Jesus, he left Him, to return another time.

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9th Anniversary of my experience at Mass in the Catholic Church (6 February 2004 – present)

Today marks the 9th anniversary since the very first Mass that I fully participated in. That Mass was not the first Mass I ever attended, since I had attended the wedding Mass of my aunt two years before that.

However, on Friday, 6 February 2004, on the first Friday of the month, on the feast day of Saints Paul Miki and Companion the martyrs, which remained as a strong memory in my mind, is the first Mass I attended and I participated in, save for receiving Communion of course.

Yes, I was not a born Catholic, but was baptised as a teenager in September 2004. This year marks my eighth year in the Catholic faith.

I would like to thank God for His constant love for me, and His constant guidance to me. I would not be here, not even writing this blog regularly on the faith, if God is not with me since the very beginning. Thank you everyone too, for your constant support, love, and prayers.

Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, pray for me, and for all of my brethren in faith.

St. Peter the Apostle, St. Peter Canisius, and St. Michael the Archangel, my patrons, pray for me too, and also for all my brethren in faith.

King David of Israel, my namesake, pray for me, and for all of God’s beloved children.