Catholic

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Wednesday, 6 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Hebrews 12 : 4-7,11-15

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin? Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children : “My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when He punishes you. For the Lord corrects those He loves and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.”

What you endure is in order to correct you, God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father?

All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it. Lift up then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled but healed.

Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. See that no one falls from the grace of God, lest a bitter plant spring up and its poison corrupt many among you.

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Tuesday, 5 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Today, the readings showed us that to God, nothing is impossible. For He has all the authority on this world and beyond. All lives lay under His power, and even death could not escape Him. This is because Christ Himself would conquer death, through His own death on the cross. His resurrection proved that death no longer has power over mankind. Christ bought us with His priceless and precious Blood from the enslavement of death and sin.

It is through His suffering on the cross, that Christ made all of us, especially those who believe in Him, pure and worthy of God’s Kingdom. It is through faith, that we are saved, just like the woman with the bleeding, whom out of her great faith, dared to push on and approached Jesus to be healed. Her effort paid off when the Lord healed her and also praised her for her great faith. Jairus, too, in his great faith, knowing that the Lord can save his daughter, reached out to Jesus, humbly asking Him to be willing to heal her.

Can we also be as humble and as faithful as they are? Many of us in this modern world, are particularly too proud to admit that we had erred, and that we had made mistakes in our lives. If we are so proud and unwilling to admit our faults to our fellow man, then even more so we are unwilling to admit our sin to God, and even to ask for forgiveness with great humility. Let us be not like the people in Jairus’ house, who laughed at Christ, and did not believe in Him, and His mastery over even death.

However, again, let us not be mistaken, that faith alone can save us fully and entirely, without any action in the practice of our faith. Our faith is not an instantaneous matter, since it takes action to nurture our faith in God, and our love of others. Just like Jairus who went all the way to seek for Jesus to heal his daughter, and the woman, who braved through the immense crowd to reach Jesus to touch His cloak. Can we also strive to do this extra effort to bring our faith into practice, to reach out to one another, and therefore in the end able to reach the Lord? Remember that Christ told us that whatever we do for those who are the least and weakest in our society, that we do it to the Lord, and in doing so, the Lord knows us and recognises us, as those worthy of Him and His Kingdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_of_Sicily

Today, we also commemorate the feast day of St. Agatha, a well known martyr of the third century AD, who was martyred by the then still pagan Roman Empire. St. Agatha dedicated her virginity to God, and God alone, in a similar way to the nuns and religious today do. She was also very firm in her faith and deeply against paganism and idol worship in the Roman society at the time. When a pagan Roman prefect named Quintianus made approaches to her, she rejected him firmly, and this eventually led to her martyrdom, in defense of her faith, and of her virginity that she dedicated to God.

St. Agatha’s deep faith and practice of her faith through her martyrdom should be a great example to all of us the faithful in Christ. Not to follow her into martyrdom, but in always ensuring that our faith remain strong and alive, that when temptations and challenges come, we will be able to stand fast to our faith, and did not falter, even when faced with suffering or death. Let us live in accordance with the example made by St. Agatha and other holy saints of God, so that we too are found worthy to God and worthy of life eternal.

St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us. Amen.

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Tuesday, 5 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Psalm 21 : 26b-27, 28 and 30, 31-32

I will fulfill my vows before all who revere You. The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May Your hearts live forever!

The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship Him. Before Him all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust. My soul will live for Him.

My descendants will serve Him and proclaim the Lord to the coming generations; they will announce His salvation to a people yet unborn, “These are the things that He has done.”

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Tuesday, 5 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud if innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the founder of our faith, who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Think of Jesus who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary. Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Monday, 4 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Jesus healed the evil-possessed man in today’s Gospel reading, and He showed that He has the authority over all, even over all the evil spirits. These evil spirits are actually once holy angels who served the Lord in Heaven. This is why they perfectly know who Jesus is when they see Him, even when He appear in human form. No demon will not tremble before the presence of the Lord, not even Lucifer, the leader of the angelic rebellion against God, who we now know as the great evil, or Satan. It is because of their rebellion against God, and man’s weakness that led to the fall of Adam and Eve to the temptation of the evil one.

Just like the man who was possessed by the evil spirits, all of us also have evil in ourselves, and we are chained and constrained by this evil that also ‘possess’ us the way it possessed the man.  But the Lord is truly merciful, and never are we forgotten by Him who love us with all of His heart. God listened to our prayers and pleas for mercy, but especially only if we are truly sorry and repentant from our sinful ways. Only if we humbly ask Him for forgiveness, He will justify us and welcome us back into His loving embrace.

Those who are proud and refuse to reject their sins, and refuse to ask God for His mercy, are those whom God rejects, and to have no part in His inheritance. Pride is the greatest of all sins, as it cause our hearts to be hardened against God, and perpetuate our rebellion from God’s love. Such pride brought down Lucifer, who was the brightest and mightiest of all angels created by God. Such is his beauty that in his vanity he, as told in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, tried to make himself equal to God, and there came his fall. He brought down with him many of the angels of heaven, who followed him in his pride and rebellious ways. These are the evil spirits that possessed the man, legion they were called because they were many.

But Jesus wanted to show us that, not even these evil spirits, mighty as they are, have permanent hold on us. And that not even the greatest sinners are without hope. Why does the evil spirits fear Jesus? Because they know that He, as the Son of God, God Himself, has authority over all, including themselves. It is in Christ that they met their greatest undoing. For ultimately, Christ’s Sacrifice for us on the cross deliver us forever from their hands, and by His act in becoming the bridge between us and God, we have hope of life eternal in Him, while they languish in darkness and hell, for their rebellion against God, which inadvertantly brought mankind down with them.

We humans are weak in flesh, and many are also weak in the Spirit. Nevertheless, just as it was in the past with the heroes, the judges, and the king David himself, if we believe in God, and put our trust in Him, He can grant us strength to persevere and do things that we normally would not be able to do. While these heroes of Israel fought physical warfare against the enemies of Israel who were bound to destroy the people of God, in our present day world, we are involved in spiritual warfare against evil and sin.

Many of our fellow brethren are still under the thrall of evil and chained by the slavery of sin. We, who are already freed by God from the subjugation under evil through baptism in Him, therefore should do our part to help these brethren of ours, to bring them out of darkness, back into the light. Our priests and missionaries are involved in the great mission on the spreading of the Good News of the Lord, but this does not mean that we cannot have a part to play in this mission. We have all been called to the mission when we were baptised, which is to spread the Good News to all peoples, and to baptise them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It will not be easy to bring God to all peoples, as mentioned in the first reading, that there would be great persecution against those who believe in Christ. Many would have to face even death in defending their faith. This had happened during the early years of the Church, when the pagan Roman Empire tried to crush Christianity through numerous and intense persecutions. But persecution did not end that day, as even in our modern world, we also have a different kind of persecution. Christians today are ridiculed for their faith, especially by those who do not believe in God and His love. Those who, like Lucifer, believed fully in their own greatness and ability, as surpassing those of the Lord, and many believe that they do not need God, and assert that we, who believe in Him, are backward and superstitious.

However, let us not be confrontational, but instead approach them with love. Just like Christ, who with His great love purged the evil spirit out of the possessed man, we can also bring God’s love to those in our world that is spiritually hungry and empty of God’s divine love. Let us embrace them and show that God is Love, and in God only, we can find true peace and fulfillment. Let us pray for one another, that our faith will be strong, and we will be given great courage, to be able to deliver the Good News of our Lord to all peoples. May God bless us all, and bless our holy Church in our mission. Amen.

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Monday, 4 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Mark 5 : 1-20

They arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than He was met by a man with evil spirits, who had come from the tombs. He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him, even with a chain. He had often been bound with fetters and chains, but he would pull the chains apart and smash the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. Night and day he stayed among the tombs on the hillsides, and was continually screaming, and beating himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at His feet, and cried with a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, I beg you, do not torment me!” He said this, because Jesus had commanded, “Come out of the man, evil spirit!” And when Jesus asked the evil spirit, “What is your name?” It replied, “Legion is my name, for we are many.” And it kept begging Jesus, not to send them out of that region.

Now a great herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the evil spirits begged Him, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the herd rushed down the cliff, and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled, and reported this in the town and in the countryside, so all the people came to see what had happened.

They came to Jesus, and saw the man freed of the evil spirits sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the same man who had been possessed by the legion. They were afraid. And when those who had seen it, told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people begged Jesus to leave their neighbourhood.

When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man, who had been possessed, begged to stay with Him. Jesus would not let him, and said, “Go home to your people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” So he went throughout the country of Decapolis, telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him; and all the people were astonished.

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Monday, 4 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 30 : 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

How great is the goodness which You have stored for those who fear You, which You show, for all to see, to those who take refuge in You!

In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling, safe from the intrigues of wagging tongues.

Blessed be the Lord for His wonderful love! He has strengthened my heart.

I said in my fright : “I have been cut off from Your sight!” Yet when I was crying, You heard : when I called for mercy, You listened.

Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves His faithful, but He fully requites the arrogant.

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Monday, 4 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Hebrews 11 : 32-40

Do I need to say more? There is not enough time to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, as well as Samuel and the prophets. Through faith they fought and conquered nations, established justice, saw the fulfillment of God’s promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, were healed of their sicknesses; they were weak people who were given strength to be brave in battle and repulse foreign invaders.

Some women recovered their dead by resurrection but there were others – persecuted and tortured believers – who, for the sake of a better resurrection, refused to do what would have saved them. Others suffered chains and prison. They were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword. They fled from place to place with no other clothing than the skins of sheep and goats, lacking everything, afflicted, ill-treated. These people of whom the world was not worthy had to wander through wastelands and mountains, and take refuge in the dens of the land.

However, although all of them were praised because of their faith, they did not enjoy the promise, because God had us in mind and saw beyond. And He did not want them to reach perfection except with us.

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Sunday, 3 February 2013 : 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

The Lord presented to us, the greatest thing of all that exists in this world. This thing is Love. Love is the centre of all things, and indeed, love is at the very centre of the salvific mission of Christ in the world. For it may be asked, why God who is so great and so divine, would be willing to lower Himself such as to become a humble human like us. It is all because of love. Just as said in John 3 : 16, how God loves as so much that He gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, that we can be saved and have hope for eternal life. If God has no love for us, surely He would not have done that.

Love is indeed essential for all of us, and as the Lord mentioned the most important things of all, faith, hope, and love, with love being the most important of the three. For faith is inseparable from love, since when we have faith in someone, particularly God, we must also have love, since it is impossible to believe and put all of one’s trust in someone, when in that one’s heart, there is no love at all for the other person. The Lord, who is full of love is therefore also faithful to us, and despite our constant rebellions and sinful ways, He is always ready to welcome us back if we are truly sorry of our faults and once again love Him.

Hope itself is also tied with love, as one cannot hope without love in their hearts. Since first, because all hopes are ultimately directed to God, how can one hope without first having love and faith in God? Indeed, one has to first believe in God and His power, that there is hope. It is through faith in God that we can have hope in Him, and indeed, hope in all mankind. By having faith, it means we also have love, and thus, this is why, love is at the centre, the most important thing of all that matters.

It is important to love, as without love, we are just a husk of flesh and blood without character, since our character is defined by love that is in us. Love that we have in God allows us to remain faithful to Him and keep Him always in our hearts, and always keep hope in Him, that even in the greatest darkness and times of greatest trouble, we still believe that God will help us find a way, such is the great love that He has for us, especially when we love Him too in return.

For the Lord has suffered greatly on the cross for us, all for our sake and for our liberation from sin, out of simple and pure love. It is Christ’s love for His Father that helped Him to persevere through His Passion, and allowed Him to accept willingly the chalice of suffering that He is to drink. This chalice of suffering, which then is filled with His Precious Blood, is the new covenant upon which we have our hope of eternal life. For the Lord brought with Him a new covenant in place of the old, that now through His great love for all mankind, all creation can be saved instead of just the people of Israel, God’s chosen people.

The people of Israel indeed has been God’s chosen people, and God has endured their numerous rebellions and protests with His love and patience, to still save them through the Sacrifice of His Son. However, ultimately, God’s love is such that He wants all of mankind to be saved and reunited with Him once again.

Thus, the new Covenant made by Christ covers all mankind, and no longer just cover only the people of Israel. Jesus made this clear in the Gospel today, as He mentioned how God sent His prophets to the people that do not belong to the Houses of Israel, even when there are so many others in Israel that need them as well. This is because even within Israel itself at the time, there are many who turned deaf to the word of God, shunned and even killed His prophets. Indeed, there are many examples given such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman, the Syrian, who shows that faith and thus the love of God too existed in all peoples, even beyond Israel.

It does not mean that God hates the people of Israel and do not love them anymore. On the contrary, His love is as great as it has always been. Indeed, God sent His Son to be born into the House of David, as a fulfillment of His promise to David that his line and descendant will rule forever. This is fulfilled in Christ, who is both the Son of God, and the descendant of David, who will rule as King of all the Universe for all time. You can indeed see how faithful God is indeed to all His promises, just as how great is His love. God loves His chosen people, the first-called people of Israel, but He also love all others, all Gentiles, even more.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us has an important mission in our lives. Just like Jeremiah, who was chosen and called by God to be His prophet to all people, we too have been called, through our baptism. We all have a priestly, kingly, and prophetic role to fulfill upon our baptism, as we are called to be all these three, just as Christ who is our God, and also our High Priest, our great King, and our great Prophet of the Good News.

We have to bring the Good News to all around us, especially for those who seek the Word of God and have no chance to do so. In our daily lives too, we all should strive to put love at the centre of all our actions. In doing so, not only that we do the will of God by both loving Him with all our hearts, our minds, and our souls, but also love our neighbour as we love ourselves, just as Christ commanded us through His new commandment of love. Our faith will also grow and blossom, and bear fruits many hundredfold if we keep ourselves anchored in the love of God.

Remember, that God is Love (Deus Caritas est). Amen.

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On China, the Faith, and the Catholic Church

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2009/05/chinas-catholic-moment-1243211148

A very well written article, summarising the condition of the faith in China and the developments (up to 2009 – sadly to say in the next few years after that until today, relations had gone from bad to worse).

A good quote from the article (2 paragraphs near the end) :

“Beijing always has such priorities as the economy, unemployment, ties with Taiwan, and relations with the United States—all good reasons to put the Catholic issue on the back burner. But Catholics could become a major issue for Beijing if radicals get the upper hand. The Chinese leadership has trouble understanding what the power of the Catholic Church is and to what extent it might represent a benefit or a danger.”

“The trouble is that Beijing thinks of the Vatican in purely political terms and cannot quite grasp that the mission of the Church is spiritual rather than temporal. China’s leaders simply do not have the historical and cultural references to understand the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Beijing wants to offer Rome a minimum presence on a trial basis, waiting to see the result. In turn, Rome is wary that the Chinese Communist party will exploit ties with Rome without making the substantial concessions required for effective communication between the Vatican and Chinese Catholics.”

China is the world’s fastest growing Christian nation, but as outlined in this article, most Chinese Christians learn about the faith from ambiguous and untrained sources, self-learning the faith rather than properly, and many of these ‘preachers’ are not even mainstream Christians at best, reason why I noticed more than half of Chinese Christian immigrants in Italy who are Jehovah’s Witness and other non-Christian entities claiming to be Christian (a data from a region in Italy mentioned about 92% non-Christians, 8% Christians, with Catholics numbering only 3.5% of the 8%, Jehovah’s Witness made the bulk of the non-Catholic Christians). This is the danger when one simply take the faith upon him/herself, and not being in communion with the whole Universal Church, where we can learn and understand the faith more and appropriately, through the teachings and traditions handed down to us from the Apostles.

Let us pray and work indeed that, all Christians in China (and beyond) will return to the One and only Church, established by Christ. China indeed is the future of the Church, and there is more than a billion potential new Catholics (and Christians) out there in that country. The faith is not necessarily against the rich Chinese tradition and culture, and in fact, the faith only serve to enrich that great culture even more. Remember yesterday’s Gospel reading, that no matter how much prosperity and affluence you have, if you have no love, you are nothing.

Faith adds this love, as the core of every being, to anchor the person firmly in God, and make them from nothing, to the greatest of all.

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)