Christian faith

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Sunday, 19 October 2014 : 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mission Sunday and Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10a, 10c

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is the Lord and worthy of praise! Above all gods He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One who made the heavens.

Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His Name; bring gifts and enter His courts.

Worship the Lord with holy celebrations; stand in awe of Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

He will judge the peoples with justice.

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Sunday, 19 October 2014 : 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mission Sunday and Memorial of St. John de Brebeuf and St. Isaac Jogues, Priests and Martyrs; and St. Paul of the Cross, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 45 : 1, 4-6

Thus says YHVH to His anointed, to Cyrus : “I have taken you by the right hand to subdue nations before you and strip kings of their armour, to open the gateways before you so that they will be closed no more.”

“For the sake of Jacob My servant, of Israel My chosen one, I have called you by your name and given you your mission although you do not know Me. I am YHVH, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I armed you when you did not know Me, so that, from the rising to the setting of the sun, all may know that there is no one besides Me; I am YHVH, and there is no other.”

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Saturday, 18 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate with the entire Universal Church, the feast of one of the four great Evangelists, that is the four writers of the Holy Gospels. Today is thus the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel accorded with his name, the Gospel of St. Luke. As a background, St. Luke was once a renowned physician, who became one of the faithful and followed St. Paul in some of his journeys, including what St. Paul wrote in the letter he wrote to Timothy, another faithful disciple of the Lord.

As we can see from what St. Paul shared with Timothy, St. Luke remained faithful and devoted to the tasks entrusted to him. Yes, this is true even though his fellow journeymen had left to pursue their own interests or for various other reasons. They encountered difficulties along the way, and not all the people they were sent to welcomed them. There were indeed instances when they were welcomed and accepted gladly, but more often than not, they literally had the doors slammed on their faces.

This is exactly what Jesus mentioned as He sent His group of seventy-two disciples, who were meant to help both Jesus Himself and His Apostles in the ministries and works they were doing. Jesus mentioned how they would be sent like lambs among wolves. They would not encounter easy works and acceptance easily, but will be constantly subjected to difficulties and suffering. The lambs rightly represent the disciples and the Apostles, while the wolves represent the various people of God, from which a great majority refused to listen to the Word of God.

Remember that in the other occasion in the Gospels, Jesus also mentioned how that as He who is the Lord and Master of all would suffer rejection and suffering at the hands of mankind, the very people of God to whom He had been sent, then His disciples and Apostles, as well as all those who follow Him and walk in His path will also suffer the same fate. Thus, it explained the fate which St. Paul and St. Luke the Evangelist met during their journeys.

But did they stop on their path? No! That is what made them different from those others who gave up along the way, who could not endure the difficulties and challenges and preferred the comfort of their old lives, settling for the less worthy. What can indeed be more worthy than the Lord and to live to proclaim the Lord’s words to the nations? And St. Luke, together with the other saints continued courageously to defend their faith and to continue the hard works for which they are admired and adored now.

Remember what the Lord had said in the Gospel today, in the Gospel written by St. Luke himself, so that we may know it and hear it as if it was spoken directly by the Lord Jesus Himself to us? Yes, that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers and workers are few. So what did Jesus then tell His disciples? Exactly, that they should ask the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers and workers to tend to the harvest. This truly makes sense, as more labourers will help the Lord of the harvest to bring in even more harvest and bring about more bountiful returns.

But what does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This means exactly that the harvest is truly plentiful in our world, and the harvest refers to the people of God, who are ripe for picking and salvation in God, are awaiting for the labourers and workers who serve the Lord, to pick mankind for the Lord of the harvest, that is the Lord our God.

The field itself refers to this world. This world is filled with much difficulties and uncertainties, but it also offers much opportunities and chances for the crops grown in the field of this world. The pests and the weeds that threaten the crops refer to the forces of darkness that is led by Satan, the father of lies and evil, who always try their best to seduce mankind and make them to follow him instead of the Lord.

The rich harvest is a very tempting thing to the pests and weeds, who will definitely try to snatch and destroy the good harvest from the hands of those who collect these rich harvests to the Lord of the harvest. Thus, the same applies to us, as Satan and his fellow fallen angels is out there trying to turn us mankind, by appealing to our human desires and weaknesses, so that we may fall along our path towards the Lord, and then into damnation with them.

The labourers and the workers of the harvest refer to the servants of God, the disciples of Christ and the Apostles, who like St. Luke the Evangelist and many other saints, worked hard and courageously, like lambs among wolves, to ensure that the harvest of the Lord is collected amidst all the pests and the weeds, that is amidst the challenges and difficulties. Their successors, our priests and bishops, and all who devoted themselves to the service of God, continued their hard works even until this very day.

But this does not mean that the works of the Lord are limited to them only. In fact, brothers and sisters in Christ, we too are the workers and servants of the Lord. How is this so? That is because all of us who believe in the Lord and had received the revelation of truth through the Holy Scriptures and the Church, and have been baptised and accepted into the Church of God have the responsibility to spread the Good News of the Lord.

If St. Luke the Evangelist wrote one of the four Holy Gospels and through it countless souls had been saved, then we too can do it in our own way, by showing the faith through our own actions, that show our sincere and genuine faith, which is not in mere words but also through real actions, so that all those who see us, may know that we belong to the Lord, and therefore hopefully they too will seek salvation in God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples of St. Luke the Evangelist and other holy saints of God, and remembering always the words of the Lord, how the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few, let us all pray sincerely and fervently, so that we may truly know and understand what we can do in order to help the works of God in the salvation of mankind.

May Almighty God bless us all and strengthen us, that we may courageously take up the cross and bear the mission entrusted to us, so that we may help the works of God, saving many others who await God’s salvation and who still live in the darkness of the world, and so that those of us who are called, we may embrace our calling and devote our lives in the full and complete service of the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 18 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 10 : 1-9

At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest.”

“Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you.”

“Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house. When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'”

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Saturday, 18 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 144 : 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18

All Your works will give You thanks; all Your saints, o Lord, will praise You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your power.

That all may know of Your mighty deeds, Your reign and its glorious splendour. Your reign is from age to age; Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, His mercy shows in all His deeds. He is near those who call on Him, who call trustfully upon His Name.

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Saturday, 18 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Timothy 4 : 10-17b

You must know that Demas has deserted me for the love of this world : he returned to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke remains with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is a useful helper in my work. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Bring with you the cloak I left at Troas, in Carpos’ house and also the scrolls, especially the parchments. Alexander the metalworker has caused me great harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. Distrust him for he has been very much opposed to our preaching.

At my first hearing in court no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it.

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Friday, 19 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about the followers of Jesus, and in particular, the women who followed Jesus through His ministry, some of them, who were once sinners such as Mary Magdalene, healed from her affliction of seven demons, and the wife of Herod’s steward. There were of course other women that also accompanied Jesus which were not included in what we heard today in the Gospel.

Then in the first reading today, in the letter which St. Paul wrote to the faithful and the Church in Corinth, in which he highlighted the belief in the resurrection of Jesus and why those who believe in it will not be disappointed, but will indeed receive their rich rewards at the end, when the Lord comes again in glory to save His people and bring them into the eternal glory of heaven.

Our Lord had shown us the way to escape the trap and the dangers of death, through His own glorious resurrection from the dead. He who had given up His life through suffering, bearing the weight of our sins and our original sins, had opened up a new hope and a new path for us by His rising from the dead. If Christ had indeed remained dead as other men do, then there is no hope for us. But as the facts showed it, that Christ is truly risen, and the proof is none other than in the Church.

For our Church and our faith was founded on Christ Himself, and on the truth of His resurrection from the dead, such that He had triumphed against death and evil forevermore. And upon this solid foundation the Church had remained strong even against numerous assaults and attacks the evil one had marshalled against it through the world.

The holy women who followed Jesus had forsaken their old lives of sin, and they embraced the faith in Jesus, that they placed their trust in the Saviour of all. They followed Him as they knew that He is the One who would save them from their fate that was death and brought them into a new life in God. And that was what Jesus exactly had done unto them, as He brought them from the depths of their sins into new life filled with the joy and love of Christ.

And those who placed their trust in Jesus will not be disappointed indeed, for He had promised all His faithful ones, that He will raise all of us up on the last day, when He will judge us among the righteous ones and receive our due reward. God never disappoints, brethren, because it is in fact we are the ones who always disappoint our Lord, through our rebelliousness and disobedience, and through our unwillingness to listen to Him.

Today, we also celebrate the feast of St. Januarius, a bishop and martyr of the faith, whose life and examples would truly inspire us to put our trust in the Lord and believe in Him totally and completely without any doubt. St. Januarius, also known as San Gennaro, was the Bishop of the Diocese of Naples, which covers the modern day city of Naples, and the famous devotion to his miraculous event takes place there every year.

At the Cathedral of Naples, there exists a holy relic of St. Januarius, which consists of a vial filled with his blood, which has congealed and hardened throughout the long time since his death over seventeen centuries ago. This vial of blood liquefies exactly at every celebration of the saint’s feast day, that is this day, the nineteenth day of September.

St. Januarius himself lived during the late era Roman Empire, at the time when being a faithful is difficult, as challenges and persecutions against them were rampant. Nevertheless, St. Januarius continued to faithfully serve His beloved people, and guided them as their shepherd on their way towards their loving Lord and God. He lived on through the worst years of what is to be known as the Diocletian persecutions, after the Emperor who had persecuted the people of God at that time.

St. Januarius continued to minister to the people of God, even those who had been imprisoned, despite the obvious dangers to himself. He did them out of his great love for God and for His sheep, who had been entrusted to his care as the Bishop. He was indeed eventually captured and imprisoned, and then martyred for his faith. Indeed, though, the Lord never abandons those who are faithful to Him, as He granted this holy and devoted man a place in heaven, and miracles abounded after his death through his holy relics.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the examples of St. Januarius remind us to keep our faith strongly in the Lord and make sure that we practice them in our lives, despite whatever the world is plotting against us. St. Januarius showed us that as the faithful ones of God, we should be courageous in proclaiming our faith in the Lord Jesus, the One and True God, who had died for us and through whose resurrection He had made us whole once again.

May Almighty God therefore continue to bless us this day, and strengthen our faith, so that we may walk in the footsteps of St. Januarius and the other holy saints, in following Jesus our Lord and Saviour, bringing the Good News of salvation to many, so that they too can be saved and together, with all the saints and angels of heaven, praise our Lord together as one people, and one Church. Amen.

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100,000 views for my blog! Thanks to all the visitors and Praise be to God!

As of last Sunday, 7 July 2014, my blog has reached its 100,000th view by visitors from different parts of the world. I thank all those who had spent their time to come and read what I had published in this blog.

May God be with us all, bless us and guide us always. And may He guide me and bless me so that I can continue to write, to publish and to work for His greater glory.

 

Blog world map - 13 July 2014

 

Blog statistics (as of Sunday, 13 July 2014) :

Total views : 106,903

Total visitors : 64,237
Statistics by countries (views) – 104,780 views tabulated

1. United States of America (USA) : 30,179

2. Philippines : 19,667

3. Singapore : 17,364

4. United Kingdom (UK) : 6,318

5. Canada : 3,583

6. India : 2,801

7. Australia : 2,675

8. Italy : 1,850

9. Ireland : 1,385

10. Germany : 1,233

11. Malaysia : 1,059

12. Indonesia : 1,028

13. Hong Kong (SAR of China) : 871

14. France : 861

15. South Africa : 798

16. Poland : 688

17. Nigeria : 654

18. Kenya : 530

19. New Zealand : 520

20. Japan : 493

21. Netherlands : 464

22. United Arab Emirates : 400

23. Brazil : 378

24. Belgium : 338

25. Spain : 312

26. Thailand : 289

27. Malta : 275

28. Trinidad and Tobago : 272

29. Ghana : 260

30. Switzerland : 249

31. Saudi Arabia : 245

32. Uganda : 238

33. Vietnam : 233

34. Sri Lanka : 223

35. Austria : 211

36. Portugal : 210

37. Sweden : 208

38. Hungary : 205

39. Mexico : 195

40. Pakistan : 193

41. Republic of Korea (South Korea) : 184

42. Croatia : 177

43. Tanzania : 163

44. Republic of China (Taiwan) : 153

45. Israel : 141

46. Greece : 136

47. Finland : 134

48. Norway : 132

49. Argentina : 130

50. Romania : 128

51. Cameroon : 123

52. Czech Republic : 122

53. Russian Federation (Russia) : 116

54. Colombia : 114

55. Slovakia : 112

56. Lithuania : 99

57. Guam (USA) : 93

58. Jamaica : 87

59. Zimbabwe : 84

60. Barbados : 80

61. Qatar : 77

62. Vatican City (Holy See) : 76

63. Slovenia : 76

64. Turkey : 74

65. Zambia : 69

66. Botswana : 67

67. Puerto Rico (USA) : 61

68. Lebanon : 53

69. Bulgaria : 49

70. Panama : 48

71. Denmark : 48

72. Peru : 46

73. Kuwait : 45

74. Namibia : 44

75. Chile : 42

76. Macau (SAR of China) : 42

77. St. Vincent and the Grenadines : 40

78. Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) : 39

79. Fiji : 37

80. Papua New Guinea : 35

81. Mauritius : 34

82. Ukraine : 34

83. Grenada : 34

84. Cyprus : 34

85. Bangladesh : 33

86. Malawi : 33

87. Egypt : 32

88. Albania : 31

89. Bahamas : 31

90. Bahrain : 29

91. Senegal : 26

92. Cambodia : 26

93. Bosnia and Herzegovina : 26

94. Paraguay : 24

95. Serbia : 24

96. Costa Rica : 24

97. Brunei Darussalam : 23

98. Dominica : 22

99. Venezuela : 22

100. Saint Lucia : 22

101. El Salvador : 21

102. Antigua and Barbuda : 21

103. Latvia : 20

104. Dominican Republic : 20

105. Jordan : 20

106. American Samoa (USA) : 20

107. Belize : 20

108. Guatemala : 19

109. Rwanda : 18

110. Tonga : 17

111. Ethiopia : 17

112. Oman : 17

113. Aruba (Netherlands) : 17

114. Myanmar (Burma) : 17

115. Federated States of Micronesia : 16

116. Morocco : 15

117. Bermuda (UK) : 14

118. Honduras : 13

119. Guyana : 13

120. Luxembourg : 13

121. Northern Mariana Islands (USA) : 12

122. Gibraltar (UK) : 12

123. British Virgin Islands (UK) : 11

124. Estonia : 11

125. Yemen : 11

126. Bolivia : 10

127. Belarus : 10

128. Seychelles : 10

129. Marshall Islands : 9

130. Nicaragua : 9

131. Mozambique : 9

132. Virgin Islands (USA) : 9

133. Nepal : 9

134. Jersey (UK) : 8

135. Iraq : 8

136. Armenia : 8

137. Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) : 7

138. Djibouti : 7

139. Uruguay : 7

140. Haiti : 7

141. Burundi : 7

142. Madagascar : 7

143. Ecuador : 7

144. Moldova : 6

145. Samoa : 6

146. Maldives : 6

147. Liberia : 6

148. Sierra Leone : 5

149. Tunisia : 5

150. Guernsey (UK) : 5

151. French Guiana (France) : 4

152. Uzbekistan : 4

153. Gambia : 4

154. Saint Kitts and Nevis : 4

155. Libya : 4

156. Cayman Islands (UK) : 4

157. Benin : 4

158. Liechtenstein : 4

159. Cook Islands (UK) : 4

160. Swaziland : 4

161. Timor-Leste (East Timor) : 4

162. Azerbaijan : 3

163. Solomon Islands : 3

164. Macedonia : 3

165. Laos : 3

166. Burkina Faso : 3

167. Lesotho : 3

168. Sudan : 3

169. Monaco : 3

170. French Polynesia (France) : 3

171. Iceland : 2

172. Togo : 2

173. Palestine : 2

174. Martinique : 2

175. Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) : 2

176. Equatorial Guinea : 2

177. Isle of Man (UK) : 2

178. Georgia : 1

179. Faroe Islands (Denmark) : 1

180. Greenland (Denmark) : 1

181. Iran : 1

182. New Caledonia : 1

183. Afghanistan : 1

184. Mongolia : 1

185. Montenegro : 1

186. Kazakhstan : 1

187. Suriname : 1

188. People’s Republic of China (China) : 1

189. Kiribati : 1