Christian death

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Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the celebration of All Souls Day, the last among all the commemorations of Allhallowtide period, and on this day we remember all the souls of the faithful departed, all those whom we know and are dear to us, as well as all those whom we may not know, but who are all still awaiting for the completion of their period and time in the Purgatory, a place where we ourselves may one day end up in, as we await and expect the blissful joy and true happiness of Heaven which the holy saints of God have now enjoyed and are experiencing by the virtue of their obedience and faith in the Lord, and ultimately, the holy souls in Purgatory will also end up in Heaven as well, as they too are truly worthy of the Lord, but with their residual sins and corruptions preventing them from immediately attaining the entry to Heaven.

Today, we remember all those whose lives, actions, words, deeds and everything they have in their lives had not been wholly good and worthy of God, and whose residual or remainder sins, which are venial or minor in nature and not mortal sins, have kept them away from truly being able to enjoy the immediate effect of Heavenly glory and joy. This stems from the fact that God is all good and perfect, Almighty and all blissful. Hence, no corruption, darkness and sin may exist in His Presence, and in the past, God’s Presence and appearance is enough to strike dead anyone who dared to look at Him, except for the select few He gave the opportunity to do so, like Moses and Elijah. And even so, God’s Holy Presence was so great that it was unfathomable to them and those who looked at Moses after he saw God wondered at the great light and majesty of God reflected on Moses’ face.

Therefore, the Church and the Church fathers, the Apostles and their successors, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit had always taught of the necessity for all those who have met the end of their earthly lives to be rid of their sins and wickedness before they were to be admitted into Heaven. The saints, those whose virtues and good deeds far outweighed their sins and faults had by the grace of God and declared as such by the Church after a period of proper scrutiny, they have all deserved to gain entry immediately into Heavenly glory. But for many among us, whose virtues and good deeds may still be marred by some of our remaining more serious sins and obstacles, we have to bear some period of waiting in the Purgatory. It is not so much a place as it is in fact a state of our soul, where the suffering the holy souls are facing there are caused not by despair, unlike those in Hell, but rather because of the separation and yet to be fulfilled desire to be reunited fully with God. But they are ultimately destined for Heaven. 

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah we heard of the very wonderful words of the assurances that God has given to His people, the Israelites living in the southern kingdom of Judah, as at that time when the peop;le of God and their kingdom had been faced with great challenges and difficulties, obstacles and trials, having been broken in their unity andd scattered, and many among them having been defeated, conquered and overcome by their enemies and neighbours, enslave and exiled from their homeland once again as they had one endured before. Hence, God’s gentle words of assurance and love, and His promise of the end of their sorrows and sufferings, all the words He had spoken through Isaiah must have indeed been significant, and they also serve as a prefigurement for the salvation of all mankind as well.

Then, in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, we heard of the great reminders from St. Paul to the Romans and also to all of us, a message which our Gospel passage today also reminded us and echoed, that thankfully we have the great love of God for us which He has manifested through His Son, and this love has been shown to us most wonderfully in the most loving sacrifice of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, perfect evidence of God’s ever enduring love for us, that He was willing to offer Himself in the most selfless and wonderful way possible, becoming for us all the perfect and worthy offering and sacrifice to liberate us all from the power and dominion of sin, darkness and death. Through His loving sacrifice, all of us are brought to the perfect fulfilment of God’s love and everything that He has planned for us.

Lastly, as just mentioned earlier, in our Gospel passage today, from the Gospel according to St. Mark, we heard the part of the story of the Passion of the Lord, focusing on the moment of His death on the Cross, and afterwards, from the part of His glorious Resurrection from the dead on the third day. Through this reading we are clearly reminded that death has been defeated, overcome and conquered by Christ, Our Lord and Saviour Himself through His death on the Cross and most importantly through His Resurrection. And that is why all of us as Christians truly believe that Our Lord Jesus, our Saviour has truly died on the Cross to save us, as if He did not die, how can He then lead us through death together into the everlasting life and Resurrection that He has experienced Himself?

And if the Lord Jesus did not rise from the dead in glory, if the Saviour and Holy One of God Himself did not manage to triumph against sin and death, how can we then win against them as well? The Lord’s glorious Resurrection from the dead is a clear message of hope and reassurance from the Lord Himself for each and every one of us that if we continue to have faith and trust in Him, then we must be rest assured that we will also share in His glorious Resurrection, and death will not be the end of our existence, but rather it will be a new beginning and a transition from our mortal existence in this world to return to a new life blessed by God and to be full of His grace and love just as He has always intended us to be, from the beginning of time and everything.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore as we commemorate this All Souls Day today, let us all continue to pray for our brothers and sisters who have departed from this world to the afterlife. And we should also pray for all those holy souls in Purgatory, who may not have anyone praying for them in particular, because we must understand that our prayers are truly efficacious and the Lord will listen to our prayers made on their behalf, just as the saints in Heaven are also constantly praying for both us and for the holy souls in Purgatory as well. And we can see here the beauty of how united the Church of God is, even beyond the bounds of our mortal life and existence in this world, as both the saints and the holy souls in Purgatory are still together with us, parts of the same Church of God.

And we must not forget that one day, as I mentioned earlier at the beginning of today’s discourse and reflection, we may also end up being in Purgatory ourselves, having sinned and committed things that are against God’s Law, commandments and His will throughout our lives. If through our lack of repentance and forgiveness for some of our more serious sins, then those sins may serve as barriers preventing us from immediately enjoying the fullness of God’s grace and love, and which is why we end up in Purgatory as mentioned and discussed earlier just now, in order to purify us in our whole being, that we may be truly worthy of Him, as no evil or sin, imperfection and corruption may exist in His Holy Presence. 

Then, it may also seem that we may not be as righteous and as worthy as the saints are, but we must always remember that the saints themselves were also sinners like us, but they chose to commit themselves wholly to the Lord and embraced Him wholeheartedly. If we continue to do our best to live worthily in the Lord, then one day we too may share in the eternal glory that they have experienced as well, together with all the holy souls in Purgatory. All of us are one Church, one Body of Christ, all united in our love and faith in God, and one day, all of us will worship and praise the Lord together as one holy and beloved people, with nothing else separating us from God and the fullness of His love.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and merciful God be ever merciful and forgiving for everyone who are now still suffering and enduring the wait and expectation of Heaven in the purifying flames of Purgatory. May He remember them in His most loving mercy, and remember His ever enduring and gentle love for all of them, that He may forgive them all their remaining sins and all the obstacles preventing them from returning completely and fully to His Presence in Heaven. And may we all, who are still living in this world be reminded as always to live our lives worthily of the Lord, to distance ourselves from sin and to continue to show care and concern for one another, as the Lord has told us to do, and to always remember and show our care for those souls in Purgatory who needs our help. May they have eternal rest in God’s Peace. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Mark 15 : 33-39 and Mark 16 : 1-6

At that time, when noon came, darkness fell over the whole land and lasted until three o’clock; and at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You deserted Me?”

As soon as they heard these words, some of the bystanders said, “Listen! He is calling for Elijah.” And one of them went quickly to fill a sponge with bitter wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to Him to drink, saying, “Now let us see whether Elijah comes to take Him down.”

But Jesus uttered a loud cry and gave up His Spirit. And immediately, the curtain that enclosed the Temple Sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom. The captain, who was standing in front of Him, saw how Jesus died and heard the cry He gave; and he said, “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.”

When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint the Body. And very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But, as they looked up, they noticed that the stone had already been rolled away. It was a very big stone.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right, and they were amazed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth Who was crucified; He has been raised and is not here. This is, however, the place where they laid Him.

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Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Romans 5 : 5-11

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; and we have become just, through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason, now we may be saved, through His life.

Not only that, but we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through Whom we have been reconciled.

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Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14

YHVH is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? YHVH is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of YHVH, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His Sanctuary.

Hear my voice when I call, o YHVH, have mercy on me and answer. My heart says to You, “I seek Your face, o YHVH.” Do not hide Your face from me nor turn away Your servant in anger. You are my protector, do not reject me; abandon me not, o God my Saviour!

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of YHVH in the land of the living. Trust in YHVH, be strong and courageous, yes, put your hope in YHVH!

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Saturday, 2 November 2024 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

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(College of Cardinals Update) Passing of Cardinal Giovanni Coppa, Cardinal Deacon of S. Lino, at the age of 90

Coppa

Cardinal Giovanni Coppa, Cardinal Deacon of S. Lino and former Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic has returned to the Lord on Monday, 16 May 2016 at the age 0f 90.

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Cardinal Coppa was the Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State from 1975 to 1979, working in the Roman Curia, and then was made the Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech Republic (1990-2001) and to Slovakia (1993-1994). He was made a Prince of the Church as the Cardinal Deacon of S. Lino in the Consistory of 24 November 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, the Vicar of Christ.

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We pray for the soul of Cardinal Giovanni Coppa, that God will welcome him into the eternal glory of heaven. And we also thank God for having given us this great servant of God and His Church through his many works and dedications for the sake of the people of God. May God give him eternal rest. Amen.

As of today, with the passing of Cardinal Giovanni Coppa and the aging-out of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the College of Cardinals stood at 214 members, consisting of 114 Cardinal-electors and 100 Cardinal non-electors.

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Friday, 26 September 2014 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we hear yet again the proclamation of faith by St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles and disciples of Christ, who declared the very truth about Jesus, who is the Lord of all, the Saviour of all and the One through whom all mankind and all creations would have hope. This identity of Christ was not known at the time of Jesus, as the people thought that He was merely just one of the many prophets who had come and go across the centuries and ages.

Yes, Jesus was indeed a prophet, a great Prophet indeed, as One who fulfilled all the prophecies made by the prophets of old on the coming of the Anointed One of God, and He Himself declared the very words of the Lord, just like the prophets. The core difference is however, that unlike the prophets, like Elijah and even St. John the Baptist, who were the messengers of God’s words and will, Jesus is Himself the Word of God.

He is indeed the One through whom God had created the world and all the universe. Yet, He was willing to abandon all of His greatness and divinity so that He might come into the world and assume the form of a Man, a humble and simple person, but through which lie the key to the salvation of all the world and all mankind. Jesus came to fulfill the long promised salvation, which God had promised through the prophets and the elders of the people of God, and indeed, through a woman, His mother Mary, that He would be born from.

Nonetheless, it did not mean that the Christ and the Saviour would have an easy time, or that He would be immediately accepted by the people whom He had loved so much to merit His coming into the world to save them. Instead, the people rejected Him and refused to listen to Him, just as they and their ancestors had rejected and persecuted the prophets of God before.

This is because of mankind’s inability to comprehend the actions of the Lord and what He had tried for a long time to reveal to them. They did not realise that God is truly the One who is behind all things, every movement and every observations they can see in the world around them. God made His will known to men, but in their limited minds and intellect, many failed to look beyond the veils of deception and blindness that Satan and sin had placed on their path.

Men often presumed that they are so capable, and even more so these days as we discover more and more tools, gadgets and other ideas that often make us to be proud and arrogant, to the point that some of us even challenged God and His authority, claiming that we are free from the Lord and His control, and that we are capable of taking care of ourselves, but all these are indeed false delusion, on our part to satisfy our own heart’s desire for fame, glory and power.

Yet, this is a path that will certainly lead to our own destruction and undoing. It is because of all these that we reject God’s offer of love and mercy, and His kindness, which He had extended to us through Jesus. Jesus was rejected by the Pharisees and the elders of Israel, who viewed Jesus as a threat to their authority. Thus, despite them being the ones who knew most about the prophecies of the prophets, and thus rightly should have been the ones who first acknowledged Jesus as Lord and God, were the ones who became His greatest obstacles and enemies.

Greed and desire, hatred and jealousy, power and its misuse, as well as many other negative emotions and characteristics that often infect us mankind are what causes us to pursue action that will bring about our downfall and damnation if we are not careful and allow ourselves to be controlled by them, just as the Pharisees and the elders had been.

Instead, we should follow the examples of the two saints and martyrs whose feast day we are celebrating on this day, that is of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, martyrs of the faith during the time of the Roman Empire, at the height of persecutions against the faithful and the Church. They were said to be twin brothers, and both were famous physicians who lived justly and righteously, according to the ways of the Lord.

The two saints helped many of the people in need, those who were sick, and often also those who were poor and suffering. They were caught and arrested for adhering to their faith, and they were tortured under the pain of death and a very painful death indeed, if they would not want to recant their faith and embrace the worship of the pagan idols.

Temptations and offerings of the world certainly affected them just as they affected mankind. But they remained firmly devoted to God and kept their faith, because first of all they knew that God is the Master of all things, and then, that whatever sufferings they endured in the world, in the Name of the Lord, and in the defense of their faith, will be rewarded in heaven, as we are certain that they were indeed glorified by God, as examples of what we should be as well.

Ultimately, all of us have to realise that what can destroy and harm the body is nothing compared to what can harm and destroy the soul. We are often too concerned on the former and thus neglect the efforts we should rather put in to ensure the salvation of our souls. Let us all not forget that it is within our ability to choose between following and obeying God, just as St. Cosmas and St. Damian had done, rather than listening to our own desires. Or we can choose to follow the latter for temporary joy and satisfaction but which will lead to eternal suffering.

May Almighty God help us all, that we may find our way to Him, and through the intercessions of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, may all of us be inspired by their examples in life, their faith and love for others, as well as their undying and unshakeable devotion and love for God. Amen.

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Friday, 26 September 2014 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Luke 9 : 18-22

One day, when Jesus was praying alone, not far from His disciples, He asked them, “What do people say about Me?” And they answered, “Some say that You are John the Baptist; others say that You are Elijah, and still others that You are one of the prophets of old, risen from the dead.”

Again Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. And He added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days He will be raised to life.”

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Friday, 26 September 2014 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 143 : 1a and 2abc, 3-4

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, my loving God, my Fortress; My Protector and Deliverer, my Shield where I take refuge, who conquers nations and subjects them to my rule.

O Lord, what are humans that You should be mindful of them, the race of Adam, that You should care for them? They are like a breath, their days pass like a shadow on earth.

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Friday, 26 September 2014 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cosmas and St. Damian, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Ecclesiastes 3 : 1-11 (or Qoheleth 3 : 1-11)

There is a given time for everything and a time for every happening under heaven : A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting. A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.

A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing. A time for throwing stones, a time for gathering stones; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing. A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away.

A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time to be silent and a time to speak. A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace. What profit is there for a man from all his toils?

Finally I considered the task God gave to the humans. He made everything fitting in its time, but He also set eternity in their hearts, although they are not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end.