commemoration

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Thursday, 24 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ warns us today, of the implications of following Him and dedicating ourselves to Him. He highlighted that it will not be an easy path for us, if we choose to follow Him, and oppositions will likely always stand in our way. The other path, that is the alternative path, is easier to take, but it is also a path that leads to ruin and eternal damnation.

The Lord our God had rescued us from the hands of the devil, and rescued us from the depth of our sinfulness, lifting us up to a new life in holiness and glory. He had done that, none other through the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus, on the cross. This event of salvation, through the Passion of Christ, highlights the very purpose of the coming of Christ into this world. Christ did not come into this world just for nothing. He came into this world to save it, and save it by no other means other than through the shedding of His blood, and the laying down of His life.

This event also highlights the kind of reception the people have on Jesus, how throughout the ministry of Jesus, while there are many who were glad of His coming, and praised Him as their King, there are also many of those who opposed Him and placed many obstacles in His path, blocking His good works and slandered against Him.

Particularly, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were among the most vicious and stubborn of all of God’s enemies. They rejected God and His ways, preferring their own human and worldly strengths and power. The Lord came into the world, and ever since He began His ministry, He had been faced with all kinds of rejection and even sometimes violent, opposition. Many tested Him and asked Him all sorts of questions doubting His authority as the Messiah and the Son of God.

That is because Satan sowed the seed of distrust and lack of faith in the hearts of these men, because he did not wish to lose his grip on us, which he had once had in complete dominion. The Lord Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross had broken us free from that deadly grip, and set us well on the path towards salvation. Ever since that, Satan no longer has any power over us, for we have been freed from the slavery he had imposed on us.

Yet, do not be mistaken, brothers and sisters, because the Lord our God is a loving God and the Lord of peace. One may easily be misled by the reading today, especially that of the Gospel, that the Lord brings about division and discord. That is a lie that Satan has for us, especially those among us whose faith are weak. The devil himself is the one who sowed those discords and divisions among the people of God, by planting his agents and his seeds of evil, even within the people whom we know well, even within our families and circles of friends.

This again does not mean that we should respond to the discord and divisions with equally great passion for such discords and divisions. It is in our human nature for us to be angry and to hate others, and it is easy for us to take part in that discord, and therefore creating even greater divisions and suffering for one another. Do not give Satan the satisfaction of seeing us being divided against one another and hating one another, even as we have faith in God.

That is why, it is important that we put the Lord’s commandments into practice, and by following His examples. This is done through love and forgiveness. We have to be able to love and commit ourselves to love, especially those who had caused us pain, suffering, and hurt, and be ready to forgive them for what they had done. In this way, our love will flow out from us, and then shared with our fellow brethren, and therefore, with love we can change the state of ourselves, our family, and our brethren around us, ending the division Satan had caused, and bring everyone together with God, in love and perfect harmony.

Remember that our Lord Himself forgave those who had handed Him over to His executors and jailors. He had prayed that the Father would forgive all those who had done such terrible deeds towards Him, that He will not take into account their sins. If our Lord Himself had shown us the example, then we too ought to follow in His footsteps.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, a bishop and religious who founded the religious order of the Claretians. St. Anthony Mary Claret was a man who joined the priesthood and then went on to do many good works for the sake of the faith. He did many charitable works, and was particularly caring for the poor and the abandoned in the society, and during his ministry, he visited and founded hospitals and other charitable organisations dedicated to the care of these least among us.

Even after being chosen and made as an Archbishop in an important see in the New World, that is of Cuba, St. Anthony Mary Claret remained dedicated to his works and to the cause of the poor, the weak, and the less fortunate. He founded a religious congregation, known well as the Claretians, whose aims and works conform to that of St. Anthony Mary Claret, and his focus on service to the people of God.

After he chose to retire from his position, he preached widely and worked hard to maintain the adherence of many to the true faith, and was very successful in this manner, especially through his extensive writing and publications. He even helped the Pope himself to convene and plan for the First Vatican Council, which was designed to deal with errors and heresies within the Church and affirm the obedience to the true and orthodox Christian faith.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us show the world, the love of God given to mankind, that through our words, our deeds, and our actions, just as those of St. Anthony Mary Claret and those who followed in his footsteps can be the beacons of light, hope, and love, piercing through the dark veil spread by Satan over all of us, in attempt to divide us through lies and fabrications, that we will hurt one another and therefore sin before God.

Let us ask St. Anthony Mary Claret for his intercession, and may the Lord too strengthen us in our devotion and love for Him, that we may love Him greatly and tenderly at all times, until the end of our days and until we are reunited again with Him in the glory of heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Luke 12 : 49-53

I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what anguish I feel until it is over!

Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided : three against two, and two against three.

They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

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Thursday, 24 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 24 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Bishops)

Romans 6 : 19-23

You see that I speak in a very human way, taking into account that you are not fully mature. There was a time when you let your members be slaves of impurity and disorder, walking in the way of sin; convert them now into servants of righteousness, to the point of becoming holy.

When you were slaves of sin, you did not feel under obligation to righteousness, but what were the fruits of those actions of which you are now ashamed? Such things bring death. Now, however, you have been freed from sin and serve God. You are bearing fruit and growing in holiness, and the result will be life everlasting.

So on one side is Sin; its reward, death; on the other side is God; He gives us, by grace, life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Sunday, 20 October 2013 : 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mission Sunday (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord is our guardian, and He is our fortress. He will cover us with the power of His wings. He will not let harm to come upon us, and we will not know suffering or pain. All these, if we remain righteous and stay true on His ways, and do not stray into the path of evil. The Lord will listen to our call and our needs, because He loves us so much, that He certainly cannot ignore the suffering of His children.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have in fact no need at all to fear about ourselves, or about our wellbeing and safety. That is because the Lord our God, as the readings today assert, is a great and loving God, and He will stand by us at all times, especially when we are in our most difficult times. God does not wish to see His children suffering, be it temporal or eternal, as how it is in hell for those who did not repent their sinful ways.

The Lord had protected all of His beloved all this time, and today we heard now the Lord gave the people of Israel a complete victory against those who opposed them, namely the vicious and pagan Amalekites. The Lord fought with His people and triumphed against the forces of evil arrayed against them, no matter how powerful they were. Thus God loved and provided for His children throughout generations, one after another.

Yet, the people of God were not faithful, and as fast as the Lord had made them a great nation, blessed in terms of all things imaginable, they too forgot about the Lord and all of His might and love for them. They began to sin again and hurt the Lord with the depth of their sinfulness and transgressions. This is what the Lord wanted us to emulate.

Today, brethren, the Lord reminds us and highlights the nature of our salvation, in Jesus. He promised to all of us, life eternal in God. We are preoccupied with our own lives and our joy in this world, that we fail to see the great role that God had played in the lives of each and every one of us. We often demand many things from God and want Him to immediately answer our prayers and our demands, as unreasonable as they are.

To us has been revealed the full nature of God’s saving power, the love that God had for us, and yet many of us still have little faith in God. It is very often that we trust more of our own strengths and material possessions rather than trusting in God and in His divine providence. That was why when He indeed came into this world in Jesus Christ, He was disappointed at how little faith mankind had for Him, especially that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who, out of all people, should have had the greatest faith.

That is because those people had a high sense of pride and self-righteousness. They may be seen as pious and holy externally, through their actions and devotions, but inside, they had no real and true love for the Lord, and that was what the Lord rebuked them for, for their false uprightness and righteousness. They were truly wicked and yet tried hard to justify themselves.

It is not that we cannot devote ourselves the way they had done, brothers and sisters, that is through prayers and dedications, and sacrifices. They are important, and indeed we are expected to keep a good and healthy prayer life at all times. What is important, however, is that we must keep the Lord at the centre of our lives, and we must uphold the love He has and He preached to all of us, at all times.

We cannot become empty Christians, by merely saying prayers and devotions without meaning, by attending the Mass without participation and understanding.  Then, we cannot be charitable and loving without first anchoring ourselves in the Lord first. This then shows that, in all the things we say, in all the things we do, and in all the things we believe in, we must always have the Lord and His love at the centre of them all.

Brethren, let us therefore, seek the Lord, with all our heart, with all of our strength and understanding, that we will be able to find Him despite the devil’s temptations and all the distractions provided by the world. Let us open wide our hearts, to allow God to enter us, and transform us with His love. What we need is indeed simply to ask for the Lord and His assistance, and He will definitely provide for us in His own way.

All we need is indeed to ask, and if what we need are what we truly need, the Lord will grant it to us. He is after all just, just as He is loving. The problem is indeed often with us, because too often we are so engaged in our own pride and sense of ‘greatness’, that we ourselves turn away the Lord’s offers to us, trusting more in ourselves and our ‘power’. We judge ourselves better than others, and in there lies our fall. In the same way indeed, as how Satan fell from grace, that is because of his irreconcilable pride in himself.

Therefore, beloved brethren, from today on, let us first doubt no longer the love and dedication that God has for all of us. His care for us is genuine, and He wants us to be with Him again, and that is why, He often knocked at our door, the door of our hearts. Yet often, He knocked, only to be turned away.  We are too immersed and engaged in our pride and worldly desires, that we ignore the calling of the Lord, who whispered softly within our hearts.

Let us hence, commit to deepen our understanding of the faith we have, and resolve to bring ourselves ever closer to God through prayer. May we be able to pray, speak to God, and allow His gentle words to enter into our hearts. That we will become more and more loving children of our God, and be blessed forevermore. God bless and protect us always. Amen!

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Thursday, 26 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the story on Jesus, and on who Jesus truly is. Yes, Christ is the Son of God, God incarnate into man, the Word of God made flesh, but what is the significance to us? What is the significance of the coming and the revelation of this Man, who made even Herod tremble, hearing about His Name and His deeds?

That is because, dear brethren, Christ is the bringer of new hope, the new hope in God, in the same way as how we heard in the first reading today, on the prophet Haggai admonishing the people of Israel for not taking their part in the rebuilding of the House of God in Jerusalem. Through Christ, the House of God long forgotten and which laid in ruins, was rebuilt, in all its new splendour and glory.

That new House of God is us, brothers and sisters in Christ, that is the Body of Christ, that is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Through Christ, we had been brought together into one, as one people, and towards God. The old, ruined house had been rebuilt, and a new hope arose for all mankind and for all creation marred by sin.

The first physical House of God, that is the First Temple of Jerusalem, the Temple King Solomon had built, was truly magnificent and mighty, and yet, it faltered and was destroyed, when Jerusalem and Israel were both given over to their enemies, to the Babylonians who enslaved them for years. The Temple, as the symbol of the unity of the people of God was destroyed and the people of God was scattered, because they themselves had rejected the Lord and His love.

The prophet Haggai criticised the people and rebuked them, because they seemed to become lax in their faith, in how they showed no concern and general ignorance on the need to rebuild the House of God in the midst of His people. All these while they themselves lived well and had had a good life. They lived according to the world and gave in to the temptations of the world. Sin still held mastery over them, and enslaved they were to it.

The Lord sent His own Son, Jesus the Christ as the One who would reestablish that Temple, and not just any Temple like that of Solomon, but an eternal Temple, the renewed House of God, of all the people of God, reunited once again as one people, united by Christ the Lord, through His sacrifice on Calvary. That Temple is the new Temple, also known as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, that are our physical bodies, all of us who had accepted Christ and He dwells in us.

Just as the Temple of Jerusalem housed the Lord residing among the people in the Holy of Holies, we too house the Lord within each one of us. That is why we have to keep ourselves pure and holy, and therefore worthy of His presence within us. Not only pure and clean in physical terms, but even more importantly, the purity of our soul, our spiritual being, from any kind of sins or fornication.

Today, we celebrate the feast of two saints, St. Cosmas and Damian, who are well-known martyrs of the Church, and they were martyred for their faith at the last great persecution against the faithful ones of God, during the late Roman Empire. St. Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers who were doctors and faithful servants of the Lord living in the late third century after the birth of Christ.

St. Cosmas and Damian worked hard for the good of the people of God and even performed miracles on the sick, bringing them back to good health, even in impossible cases. Yet, the Roman Emperor at the time, Diocletian, was staunchly against the faithful of the Lord, and ordered a vicious persecution on them, killing and capturing many, torturing them to abandon the faith in God.

St. Cosmas and Damian were also among those who were imprisoned for their faith, and despite attempts, persuasion, and even torture to make them recant their faith went nowhere, and they stayed ever faithful and did not budge even in the face of suffering and death. They were crucified, shot with arrows, and finally beheaded. They spilled their blood defending their faith, keeping their purity, the purity of their souls from the taints of sin.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, following the example of Saints Cosmas and Damian, let us also strive to strengthen ourselves, our faith in God, and our love, that we will be ever holy and worthy for our God, that we, as the Temples of the Lord, where He resides, will be found worthy and that God will reside in us, and we in Him, that we will be welcomed into His kingdom on the last day.

Pray for us, St. Cosmas and Damian, that we will be always inspired by your examples and strive to keep our faith strong and alive in Christ. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 26 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Luke 9 : 7-9

King Herod heard of all this, and did not know what to think, for people said, “This is John, raised from the dead.” Others believed that Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets, had come back to life. As for Herod, he said, “I had John beheaded. Who is this Man, about whom I hear such wonders?” And he was anxious to see Him.

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Thursday, 26 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Psalm 149 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

Alleluia! Sing to the Lord a new song, sing His praise in the assembly of His saints. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, let the people of Zion glory in their King!

Let them dance in praise of His Name and make music for Him with harp and timbrel. For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the lowly with victory.

The saints will exult in triumph; even at night on their couches. Let the praise of God be on their lips, this is the glory of all His saints. Alleluia!

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Thursday, 26 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Haggai 1 : 1-8

In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, a word of YHVH was directed to the prophet Haggai for the benefit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

“So says YHVH of hosts : This people claim that the time to rebuild the House of YHVH has not yet come. Well now, hear what I have to say through the prophet Haggai : Is this the time for you to live in your well-built houses while this House is a heap of ruins? “

“Think about your ways : you have sown much but harvested little, you eat and drink but are not satisfied, you clothe yourselves but still feel cold, and the labourer puts the money he earned in a tattered purse.”
“Now think about what you must do : go to the mountain and look for wood to rebuild the House. This will make Me happy and I will feel deeply honoured, says YHVH.”

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Tuesday, 24 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ezra 6 : 7-8, 12b, 14-20

Let the governor of the Jews together with their leaders build the House of God on its former site. This is the command I give as to what you should do to help those Jewish leaders rebuild the House of God : pay the expenses in full and without delay, with the income from taxes of the province at the other side of the River which is allotted to the king. I, Darius, give this command. Let it be carried out at once.

And the leaders of the Jews continued to make progress in building, encouraged by what Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, had said; and they finished the work according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius. The House was finished on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Darius.

The children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of those who had returned from exile celebrated the consecration of this House of God with rejoicing, offering on this solemnity one hundred young bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs; and twelve he-goats as a sin offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Then they installed the priests according to their ranks, and the Levites according to their classes, for the service of the House of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses. Those who had returned from exile celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, for the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, and all of them were clean.

So, they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all who had returned from exile, for their fellow-priests and for themselves.