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Tuesday, 15 April 2014 : Tuesday of Holy Week (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the day when we will celebrate the Passion and death of Jesus Christ our Lord is coming sooner and sooner, and accordingly today the readings appropriately show this imminence, how Judas the betrayer is about to betray Jesus and the imminence of the coming of the Lord’s salvation.

But often, we are too quick to blame Judas and pile all responsibilities and blame for the suffering and death of Christ on Judas, the traitor. We are quick to also blame the Jews, who were themselves the people of God, with the blame for the death of Christ. This is why, it is important for us to know, what is the true meaning of this celebration of the Holy Passion of our Lord.

As mentioned in the first reading, God has sent His servant, who is none other than Jesus His Son, to be the One through whom the salvation in God is made readily available for all peoples of all nations. Jesus came bearing the Good News and the fulfillment of the Law of God and through a single, final act, decisively end the hold of sin and death on mankind.

Yes, that act was the Holy Passion that our Lord Jesus went through, carrying the cross that is our sins and our rebelliousness against the love of God, our waywardness and all of our unworthiness. And yet He carried it with love to the hill of suffering, Golgotha, and laid over there His life down for us. And thus the salvation of God was made available for all mankind, and those who accept Him will be saved.

And that brings us to our role in this salvific mission of Jesus. Whose sins and burdens were that in the cross that Jesus bore? Was that the sin of Judas, the sins of the Jews, or the sins of the Pharisees and the chief priests? No! That is not all, for the sins that Jesus bore, were, are, and will be our sins, past, present and in the future.

Every single act of sin and disobedience that we committed and which we are committing, and which we may commit in the future all add up to the burden that our Lord carried on the way to Calvary, on the way to His death. Every single sin that we have, no matter how small it is, is another wound and pain that we inflict on Jesus who suffered and died for us, out of His love for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all like Judas, and the spirit of unworthiness and sin like that which was present inside Judas, was also in us. We have to remember that we often betray the Lord and spurn His love, all for the price of worldly happiness and goodness. How is that different from Judas betraying and selling his Lord for a mere thirty pieces of silver?

Shall we all reflect on this and make use of this good opportunity to change our lives for the better? Let us no longer follow the footsteps of Judas, of Satan in their rebelliousness before God, but let us from now on, dedicate ourselves to love God, to give our all to the Lord, that we may no longer live in the darkness but instead bask in the light of God and His love.

Let us sin no more, and commit ourselves to the will of God and from now on, let us no longer betray our Lord, hurt our Lord, and burden Him any longer with our sins, but let us accept the outpouring of His love, from His loving heart that constantly bleed for us out of His concerns for us. May God bless us and keep us always in His grace and love. Amen.

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Tuesday, 11 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Marian feast)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am sure that all of you know the importance of today’s celebration, that is commemorating the Mother of our God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who appeared in an apparition to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes more than a hundred and fifty years ago. Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to her and showing her concern and care for us all mankind, who are still in state of sin and unworthy of her Son, Jesus our Lord.

Lourdes today had become a very popular site of pilgrimage, besides that of Fatima, another site of major apparition of Mary. In Lourdes, Mary appeared to St. Bernadette and over a period of many days and apparitions, she showed her concern for mankind, and eventually through the act of penance made by St. Bernadette, a clear spring of water gushed out of the ground at the grotto of Lourdes, at the site where Mary showed herself to St. Bernadette.

The water was pure and holy, and ever since then, it has caused many miraculous cure of the sick, those who came and immersed themselves in the water with full faith in God. And this ties in well with another event that we are celebrating today, indeed tied to the miraculous nature of the apparition at Lourdes, that is the World Day of Prayer for the Sick.

Every year many people visit the grotto at Lourdes, now a major pilgrimage place, and there are many different kinds of people who went there. There are the healthy ones, who seek to pray and to have the time spent with God and Mary, His mother, asking for her intercession before her Son for their sins, and there are of course the sick, who come there to seek healing and miracle of Lourdes, to be healed of their afflictions and illnesses.

It does not matter who comes to Lourdes, because everyone indeed are sick, and they seek to cure this sickness be it the sickness of the body and flesh, or the sickness of the soul and the spiritual. They seek to be cured and completely healed from their afflictions, and to be made healthy again in body and in spirit.

Yes, we are all sick, brothers and sisters in Christ, because sin is in all of us, and even the smallest of sins is a black taint upon our souls much like a festering wound seeking to destroy and kill us. Sin is a disease that afflicts not just our hearts, but also that of our flesh and our soul. As long as sin is within us, then we are sick and we are not well.

That is why the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette that time, to help all of us to seek the cure in God. It is not in the power of Mary herself or in the water that made whoever was cured of their conditions whole, because it was God who made them whole, after hearing the intercession of Mary, who intercede on behalf of those who believe in her message delivered through St. Bernadette and the Church to us.

We have to realise that all of us sin, and many of us make major mistakes and great sins in life, and as long as sin is in us, we are greatly hindered in our way towards the Lord. Worse still is that sin may prevent us from reaching our goal that is the Lord and instead bring us to eternal damnation in hell, for the punishment of our sins.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that all of us seek to understand our faith, and understand what God wants from each one of us. What God seeks from us is actually simple, that is love, devotion and complete understanding of His ways. And we should all show this in our words, deeds, and actions. We should not just have empty faith in God, for empty faith is as good as dead.

And we should always seek to emulate the examples shown by His mother Mary, whose actions are model for all of us who believe in God. Mary is the perfect example of obedience, righteousness, and faith. Follow her obedience to the will of God, and we will be fine. Follow her righteous and upright life and actions, and we will be fine. Follow her unconditional love and faith for God, and we will be fine.

And in Mary too we have a great helper who can help us to reach for the Lord, her Son. She does this in many ways, but first, she prays for us at all times, and intercedes for each one of us before her Son at the foot of His throne in heaven. If only we are to ask her for help, and if only we show our concern at our own sinfulness, then Mary would have gladly helped us and intercede for our sake.

Through what happened at Lourdes too, Mary showed that at times she wanted to play a more direct role in helping to bring mankind closer to salvation and this she did, out of her love for her fellow mankind, still trapped in the quagmire of sin. She prays without cease for our sake, for the sake of all of us sinners still in this world, before it is too late for us.

May we therefore realise the gravity of our own sickness, of our sins and the illness in our souls, that we may seek God’s forgiveness and help from Mary His mother. Let us all also pray for those among us who are sick, and also for those who had yet to listen to God and remained in darkness, that God too may call them out of their afflictions and into good health by receiving Him as their Lord and Saviour.

O Holy Mother of God, our Lady of Lourdes, our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us sinners, now at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Friday, 6 September 2013 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 15-20

He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation He is the firstborn, for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : thrones, rules, authorities, powers… All was made through Him and for Him.

He is before all and all things hold together in Him. And He is the head of the body, that is the Church, for He is the first, the first raised from the dead that He may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him.

Through Him God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His blood shed on the cross, God established peace, on earth as in heaven.

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Wednesday, 24 July 2013 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charbel Makhluf, Priest (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the parable of the sower, the well-known parable in the Gospel Reading, and also the rebelliousness of Israel during their journey in the desert, in the First Reading today, complaining to the Lord that they had a much better and fulflling life in Egypt in slavery compared to their freedom in the desert.

The parable of the sower tells us that while the Word of God is truly available for all people to witness, to see, and to listen, but ultimately, it is how we as a person take in that Word of God and nurture it, that the Word of God, that is our faith, likened to the seed spread by the sower, can find good soil in our hearts and grow.

As all of you would have guessed, yes, the sower is none other than the Lord Himself, who gave His light to the world through His Son, Jesus Christ, and from Him, the teachings came down upon us through His Apostles and their successors, our bishops and priests, who are also sowers and labourers in the fields of the Lord. We are the soil, the ground on which the seeds land on, and where the seeds will be able to grow, if the conditions are met and suitable, or perish if the conditions are unfavourable for the growth of the seeds.

The seeds that fall on the path, and then eaten by the birds are likened to those of us, whose faith and devotion to the Lord are weak, and therefore, the devil came and took away the seeds of faith from our hearts. He and his angels come like the birds, eating away the seeds of faith God has planted in us, because the seeds did not take root, and therefore, the faith easily became lost. This is what happened if we keep the Lord out of our hearts and the devil may therefore enter and occupy our hearts, corrupting us to do his purpose, that is sin and evil.

The seeds that fall on the rocky ground did not manage to grow long enough before they withered because of the scorching sun, their faith grew quickly like the seeds, because the soil is shallow, just as their faith is shallow, without deep roots to sustain their faith, and their growth. When difficulties and challenges of the world present themselves, with all the temptations of the world, those whose faith is likened to the seeds that fell on the rocky ground, will quickly lose their faith, just as the seeds’ plants withered.

This one particularly most closely represent the situation portrayed in the First Reading today, and the general attitude of the people of Israel during the duration of the Exodus from Egypt. The people of Israel were easily awed and made astonished by the display of the power of God, especially by the plagues and miracles made by Moses in the power of the Lord, against the Egyptians, and during the sojourn of Israel in the desert. Yet, just like the seeds on the rocky ground, which do not manage to have deep roots on the shallow soil, the faith of Israel was indeed shallow and weak.

They were terrified and amazed by miracles and shows of power of God, but their faith did not have strong roots, and when difficulties and trials came, with hunger and the suffering in the desert, they abandoned their faith in God and even tested God, whether He could help them and deliver them from the sufferings they faced. They became angry at the Lord and His servant, Moses, and they made complaints after complaints, even after the Lord had repeatedly made visible His power and authority to the people of Israel.

Their disobedience led to great sins, and the people worshipped pagan gods, beginning from the golden calf that the people had forced Aaron to make when Moses stayed with God on His mountain for forty days and forty nights. They did not give their trust and love for God, and instead believing more in their own power, the power of men. They did not love God but love His miracles. They did not love Him but love the food He provided them. This is a lesson for all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we did not become like them, to dwell in superficial things and the things of this world, satisfying our own desires, but lacking love for God. We have to love God as the first priority in our lives.

Then, let us also be wary of the worries of the world, because like the seeds that fell on thistles, the thistles grew around the plants and killed them. They are those of us who failed to keep up our faith, because they have been bombarded by countless worries and evils of the world, which brought much stress and worry to them, so that they have ended up forgetting the Lord their God. They have been blinded by their worry that they became blind to the Lord, and choked by those worries.

Those worries of the world, of what we are to eat today, of what we are to wear today, to our work or to party, or even what are we going to do today, and where are we going today, should not be our priorities in life. Indeed, that is because these worries will tend to divert our attention, which should be given to the Lord and doing good for the people of God, into thinking solely for our own sake, which breeds strong sense of selfishness. We must be selfless, brothers and sisters, and give ourselves in service to our brothers and sisters in need of love, in need of help.

We must strive to be like the seeds that fall on rich soil, on deep ground, well watered and filled with ample nutrition, that allows the plants to grow to great heights and remain healthy. The same too should happen to us and our faith and love to the Lord. We must nurture our faith at all times, as we journey through this life, and nurture it with good works, with a healthy prayer life, and devotion to the Lord and through the intercession of His saints. If we do so, we will grow stronger in our faith, and the love that is in us will blossom, and many will feel the love of God through us.

Today, we commemorate the feast day of St. Charbel Makhluf, a Maronite monk who passed away just over a century ago. He was a devout and very pious Maronite, who joined the religious order of monkhood, to dedicate himself fully to the Lord in prayer and love. Despite a relatively uneventful life, after his death, he became a source of many miracles, both through his intercessions and his uncorrupted body.

St. Charbel Makhluf is an example for all of us Christians, the children of God, to follow, so that we too can follow his example of holy life dedicated to God and the love that he expressed in his life through his actions, that we nurture the faith that is in us through strong devotion to God and constant prayers, so that we will always keep ourselves attuned to the will of God. That we may bear much fruits, hundredfold and manyfold of what has been planted, what has been given to all of us.

May God bless us, and may He strengthen us in our faith and our love, for Him and our fellow brethren, and inspired by the example and holiness of St. Charbel Makhluf, may we bear fruits, fruits of love and compassion, the blessed fruits of the Holy Spirit, for the good of everyone, and for our salvation. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, being a good person, and a good child of God is never easy. It is much easier to follow the path of the world, and immerse ourselves in its corrupting influence and take in all the pleasures and temptations that it offers us, rather than to follow the Laws of God and the teachings of the prophets.

It is much more difficult to become the followers of Christ and to follow the teachings of Christ and His Apostles rather than becoming the disciples of this world, that is the disciples of evil. For the world, for all its goodness, belongs to the evil one, who will certainly utilise all within his power to corrupt the children of God, that is all of us.

That is why Christ had said that the path that leads to the Lord is a narrow one, a narrow path, and a narrow gate indeed. Because it is very difficult to go to the Lord, and it is easier for one to stumble along the path, that narrow path, and fall into damnation than to successfully reach the Lord at the end of that way, at the other side of the narrow gate.

Difficult as it is to reach the Lord in that journey, along that path, God has given us His help, in none other than the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, His own Son, whom He sent to all of us to be our Redeemer, and our Saviour, He rescued us from our own damnation, from the hells that is our fate, for our rebellion against God since the beginning of time.

The story of Abraham and Lot, his cousin, which all of us are well aware of, is another example of the difficulty facing us in our journey towards the Lord. Abraham and his cousin, Lot, are God-fearing peoples, and they obey the will of the Lord in all that they do. They do not fall astray of the narrow path that God has given them. But the same cannot be said of the people who were living with them, and around them.

As we all know, Lot was involved in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the names which still resonate in our minds even today, as the example of God’s wrath and punishment that awaits those who defy Him and those who do not obey His words and His will. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were enormous, and that was why those who fell astray from the narrow path of salvation, if they do not repent, will face eternal damnation as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once did.

The temptations of pleasure and the lure of wealth easily corrupts mankind, both their bodies and their hearts. Once corrupted by the sins of the world, they would be easily led astray from the path of salvation into damnation. That was exactly the sort of problems faced by those people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and even the people of Israel throughout their history, and ultimately, all of us.

God loves us, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and He wants to forgive us, if we repent from our faults and our sins. But He is also a just and avenging God, who hates sin and all forms of evil that is unworthy of His presence and His love. He detests sin and evil, and great is indeed the suffering of those who refuse to follow the way of the Lord and instead follow the teachings of this world.

But that is exactly why God sent so many prophets to us, to the people of Israel, so that hopefully through their ceaseless calls for repentance and their teachings, the people of God will once again open their hearts to God’s love, and discard all things that make them unworthy of the Lord. And that is why He even sent His own Son into this world, because He loves us, and He wants all of us saved from the fate of death that awaits us, if we do not repent from our sinful ways.

But yet, we remain in our own rebellious nature, and continuing to rebel against His compassion and love, many of us slaughter His prophets and saints, and preferring to listen to the devil than God, we shut our hearts from the words and encouragement of the prophets and the saints that does none other than to push for our own redemption. That was why we even rejected Christ, who offered Himself willingly for all of us, that we may live, and no longer fall under the thrall of sin.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect today, on the nature of our Lord’s salvation, and even more importantly, on His love, remembering always His care for us, His concerns for us, and His love for us, shown by no greater example than the ultimate sacrifice at Calvary, when He gave up His own life and shed His own Body and Blood, so that all of us who believe in Him may not die, but gain everlasting life with Him for all eternity. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 22 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorials of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, Saints John Fisher, Bishop and Thomas More, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 6 : 24-34

No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot at the same time serve God and money.

This is why I tell you not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food, and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest and do not store food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not less worthy than they are?

Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these.

If God so clothes the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burned tomorrow in an oven, how much more will He clothe you? What little faith you have! Do not worry and say : What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or : What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God, and all these things will also be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.