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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

We heard that even the sinful people of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, who destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, turned to the Lord, when confronted with God’s punishment and destruction as told by the prophet Jonah. In this we find that while God hates sins and evil, but God also loves us all, the mankind, and is ready to forgive us if only we are to turn ourselves fully back towards Him, and humbly ask for His forgiveness, just like the king and the people of Nineveh.

For we are told then that Jonah resisted the Lord and was even angry with Him, when He decided to spare the people of Nineveh, which the Lord then showed to Jonah, how He loves all, and that even He would spare and love a single lowly being, if that being also truly loves Him and turn towards Him, and such a great city of Nineveh, with its many inhabitants, who has yet to listen to the goodness of the words of the Lord, should not be judged, because these poor souls have no shepherd to guide them to the proper path. Jonah’s proclamation is one way to the deliverance of these people from their previous sinful path.

However, for all of us, let us not be like either Jonah or the people of Nineveh. Unlike Jonah, we should love all men and hope in them, that no one is to be condemned, no matter how bad they are or what terrible things they had done, even the most sinful mankind still has the light of God in them, and only if they would truly repent, they would be saved, and that light unveiled from the thick darkness of their hearts and souls. It is up to us, who has been saved in the Lord through our baptism, our faith, and good works in faith and love, to help our fellow brethren who are still lost.

Let us also not be like the people of Nineveh, not in the way that they turned to the Lord in repentance, as we too need to repent for our sins, but in that we should do our best not to sin and do what is evil in the beginning, and turn to the Lord in full sincerity and in full humility, and not just because we fear the anger and punishment of the Lord, or because we fear our destruction, just as the people of Nineveh who repented because Jonah announced to them the doom of Nineveh. It is not to say that such a thing is bad, as when we have already sinned, we ought to seek the Lord’s forgiveness and repent, but it is even better that we strive to live a good life, and avoid wickedness in the first place, in all things that we do.

Then, as the Lord mentioned, that faith in the present day, and even in our modern world today, is problematic, as increasingly mankind left the Lord whom they thought is nonexistent, and chose instead to believe in what they can see, what they can understand, and what they can interact with, which is none other than science. No, this is not to say that science is bad or evil. Science is good, but how it is used and interpreted is very important, as nowadays, increasingly many use Science as a tool to even attack the faith in God, and ridicule the faith publicly. For the Lord, who is God, is indeed beyond what Science can ever know, and His nature is beyond all our possible understanding, and no matter how advanced a scientific tool is, they can never determine the nature of God and limit Him to our own human understanding.

We are often in awe of our own abilities, and our own creations, that we began to lose our focus in God, and began instead to focus on ourselves, on our capacities, and rather than to trust God, we instead began to trust our own selves, and our own finite ability, and glorify ourselves. For Christ is there, and has always been there, and there is the Church, through which God made Himself available, and the spreading of the Word of God by His missionaries continues even to this day. But many chose to believe in their own selfish pride and reject that they have any need for God, this God who has sacrificed Himself for their sake no less.

But, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us not turn a blind eye towards them, and rather, embrace them, show them who Christ our Lord is, and what God’s love can do for them, and for everyone. Approach them, and through our actions, make God’s love manifest in our world, that they too can see what it is. God loves everyone, even those who had rejected Him, and those in the darkness, having lost their way in their journey towards Him. Let us help one another that indeed, especially for those working in the field of Science, that they do their marvelous works for the good of everyone, and to give glory to God, and not to themselves. For it is all possible because the Lord made it so. God be with all of us, forever, and ever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Luke 11 : 29-32

As the crowd increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon.”

“The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.”

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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 12-13, 18-19

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

Create in me, o God, a pure heart; give me a new and steadfast spirit. Do not cast me out of Your presence nor take Your Holy Spirit from me.

You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise.

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Passing of Deacon William Steltemeier : Solemn Holy Mass of Christian Funeral / Burial

I have received the news of the passing of Deacon William Steltemeier, who was the founding president and chairman of the well known Catholic media network, EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), whose work with Mother Angelica who founded EWTN, had made EWTN what it is today, reaching out to many with their daily broadcasts and programs.

http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2013021926435/ewtn-remembers-deacon-bill-dead-at-83.html

 

May God receive him back in His embrace, and open the gates of heaven for him to enter. Requiescat in Pace, Rest in Peace, Deacon William, and pray for all of us!

 

The full Mass of the Funeral of Deacon William Steltemeier can be viewed in the above YouTube video link, by EWTN. A very beautiful Mass and angelic hymns. Parts of the Mass in Latin, and overall a very emotional tribute to Deacon William. Let us keep him always in our prayers.

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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Jonah 3 : 1-10

The word of YHVH came to Jonah a second time : “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.”

In obedience to the word of YHVH, Jonah went to Nineveh. It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Upon hearing the news, the king of Nineveh got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. He issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh : “By the decree of the king and his nobles, no people or beasts, herd or flock, will taste anything; neither will they eat nor drink. But let people and beasts be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call aloud to God, turn from his evil ways and violence. Who knows? God may yet relent, turn from His fierce anger and spare us.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not carry out the destruction He had threatened upon them.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Jesus, who is the Word of God made flesh, as mentioned in the beginning of the Gospel of John, has indeed come forth from the Lord who is our Father, God the Father, and down to us, on earth, as one of us, the mankind, save without sins unlike us. The Word of God was with the Father before creation, and before all ages, and is part and indivisible with the Father in the unity of the Holy Trinity with the Holy Spirit, one God, the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who saved the people of Israel and brought them out of the land of Egypt into the promised land, and promised salvation to them through the being of the Messiah.

Prophets had risen and announced the future coming of Christ, who is the Messiah. Who can guess that this Messiah is none other than that Word of God Himself, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading today. Through Him, indeed, that He accomplished much for the Lord, His Father, and the purpose for which He has been sent into this world, He obediently followed unto His own death on the cross for our own redemption for sin and death.

Remember that in Creation, the Lord spoke, and the Word of God made the creation manifest, from light, to the skies, to the sun, the moon, and the stars, to all the animals, and finally to all of us, His beloved children. This Word of God is Christ who is one with the Father and indivisible in Holy Trinity, with the Holy Spirit whom gave us life, just as God breathed life into the dust that was Adam, this life-giving breath is the Holy Spirit, one with the Father in the sacred and indivisible Holy Trinity. Three equal and distinct part of the one, true God, but at the same time indivisible and perfect in unity.

Then, finally, through Jesus, that Word of God, and the Son of God, who came down through Mary to become humble man like us, we too, have been made the children of God, for Jesus is our Brother, and just as He call God the Father, His Father, we too call God our Father.

This is the centre of the very prayer, the perfect prayer that Christ taught His disciples, and through them, this prayer, descended to us, who know the prayer as the Pater Noster, or the Lord’s Prayer, or ‘Our Father’, whom we all should know by heart, since we always pray it during every Mass that we celebrate. This prayer is not a prayer of selfishness, and not a prayer of incessant requests, but it is a pure prayer coming out of the very Word of God, Christ, the Messiah, that begins by glorifying God, His Holy Name and His magnificence in heaven and earth, as Lord over all creations, over angels and mankind alike, and in humility asks the Lord for just what is enough, our daily bread, that we can be satisfied enough, and have enough, but not excessively.

Then, what is even more important, as this is tied with the message of Love, the commandments of Love that Christ brought, to perfect the Laws and the commandments given to Moses, is the prayer for forgiveness, but which requires us, to first take the action to forgive others, out of love. For it is indeed very difficult to forgive, and it is our very human nature that tempted us to hate, and to attack others who had hurt us, either physically or mentally. However, this hatred and violence merely lead to even more hatred and violence, and even death, through an endless cycle of hate, suffering, sin, and death. Christ taught us to take the courageous first step to reject Satan and his temptations for us to enter this cycle of death, and be courageous to forgive those who has done bad things to us.

For this creates a new cycle, a cycle of love, in which, we counter not the assaults others made with hatred, and even more assaults on our own, but we surrender ourselves entirely to God’s love, and let God’s love take over all our being, and make us an instrument of His love, through forgiving others, even those who had hurt us the most. This is why we pray that we will not fall into temptation, and ask the Lord to help us from the evil one, Satan, who always tries to pit one man against another.

Let us today reflect on the words of the Word of God, who is Christ, the Word of God made flesh through Mary, and through whose ministry, He returned to the Lord not empty-handed, but brought with Him the entire human race, saved from the slavery of Satan and sin. Let us be brave and fill ourselves with God’s love, and faith in God, that we are able to take the courageous step to start forgiving those who are our enemies, those who had hurt us, those who had persecuted, or neglected us. That in doing so, we know that not only that our sins, the sins of those who hated and persecuted us, are forgiven, but that we know that we have a part in the Messianic mission of the Word of God, whom since creation has loved us with the Father, and will always love us, through His death, and until His second coming, when all creations will be made good once again.

May God, our Father, bless us with grace this day, and forever after. May God be with all of us always, especially at the time of our greatest need. Amen.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 6 : 7-15

When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they believe that the more they say, the more chances they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.

This, then, is how you should pray :

Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name.

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven, those who are in debt to us.

Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.

If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Psalm 33 : 4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19

Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

The eyes of the Lord are fixed on the righteous; His ears are inclined to their cries. But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth.

The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (First Reading)

Isaiah 55 : 10-11

As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, so is My word that goes forth out of My mouth : it will not return to Me idle, but it shall accomplish My will, the purpose for which It has been sent.

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Monday, 18 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

God told us today, to be active in our faith, to live our faith, and to act out our faith. For indeed, faith without any act of love and justice is simply dead. Faith alone cannot guarantee us salvation. The Lord indeed said that if you have faith in Me, you will be saved, but He did not mean that we just have faith, staring at Him and just concern ourselves with Him all the time, ignoring all the sufferings that are around us, ignoring the plea for help made by our less fortunate brothers and sisters,

No, the Lord wants us to believe in Him and have faith in Him, but mainly through concrete action. How else to prove our faith to the Lord who is love and compassion, by doing what He is doing, that is to love and to be just to our neighbours, to our fellow men, and more so to those who are considered least and lowest in our respective societies. To God, we are all equal, but sadly, in our human society, more often than not, social hierarchy threw down many people who are poor, sick, and rejected into the bottom of the society, shunned and reviled by the people.

What God taught us, through Christ, is that the commandments that He has given through Moses to the people of Israel, had been perfected into the commandments of love. For all the commandments and rules He gave to Moses in the first reading today, it is clear that all of them are based on love. Love of our fellow men, and of course love for God. To love is to reach out to them with love, to reflect love in all things we do, and to make love the centre of our being, that through our actions, the love of God is made manifest in our world. For God’s love reaches all, but very often, this love becomes concrete and real through us, especially when we take on works of charity, approach those who are lonely and rejected, comfort those who sorrow and those who face tribulations and trials in their lives.

For God loves everyone so much, and equally, even to the least among us. Therefore, if we turn a blind eye to them, or even to join in persecuting them, the Lord will not be pleased. For to God, even those who are least, will also be worthy of His Kingdom, and sometimes it is true indeed, that those who have nothing, like those who are poorest and weakest, who loves God the most.

The failure to help and do good for our less fortunate brethren is what is called the sin of omission, just as we sin by doing something bad and evil, something displeasing before the Lord, so is the failure to do what is good and what will be able to alleviate the suffering of others, if we are fully capable to do it, but choose not to do so. Such is the sin of omission, which we are always repeatedly reminded in the Penitential Act we do in the Mass, “…what I have done, and what I have failed to do…” Let us therefore, not only make these declarations emptily, and let us from this moment onward, mean what we say.

Begin with those immediately around you, and those that you met along the way. If someone is asking you for help, even a simple one, do not outrightly reject them or shoo them away. If it is within your ability to help, why not lift a hand to give aid to those in need? But remember, not to do so in order to be praised ourselves like hypocrites, who show their acts of charity to make their fame increase, by trumpeting what they do in the streets. Do acts of charity with true sincerity and humility and out of love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us pray today, that God will give us a heart of love and compassion, to be moved by the plight of those suffering around us, and those who lack love in their heart, that we may bring love to them as well. May God bless us all, always. Amen.