death

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Passing of Cardinal Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of Bangalore (India) and Protodeacon Emeritus of the College of Cardinals at the age of 90

Caridnal_Lourdusamy

Cardinal Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria delle Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri has passed away on last Monday, 2 June 2014 at the age of 90. He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangalore, one of the large Archdioceses in India, from 1968 to 1971, and then was for a very long time, the member of the Roman Curia, as the Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith from 1973 to 1985, and then as Prefect for the Congregation for Oriental Churches from 1985 to 1991, and eventually as the Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals from 1993 to 1996.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-3.htm#88%5B/embed%5D

coa_duraisamy_simon_lourdusamy-svg

Cardinal Lourdusamy was created Cardinal in 1985 by Pope St. John Paul II in his third Cardinal creation consistory on 25 May 1985. His motto was Aedificare Domum Dei, which means “To build the house of God”. This means an emphasis on the evangelisation to the people of God, to establish His Church, which is growing rapidly in India, as millions grow to know about the Lord and wanting to join the faith in Jesus.

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We pray for Cardinal Lourdusamy, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard and great work as the long time servant of God as the shepherd of the faithful in Bangalore, as well as for all the ministries and good works he had done in Rome for the sake of God and His people in the entire Universal Church. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Lourdusamy, the College of Cardinals now stands at 214 members, with 118 Cardinal-electors and 96 Cardinal non-electors. The number of Cardinal-electors now is two below the specified maximum limit.

There are now 2 Cardinal-elector vacancy in the College of Cardinals, 0 vacant Cardinal Suburbicarian Sees (for Cardinal Bishops), 2 vacant Cardinal Title (for Cardinal Priests) and 7 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons).

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Thursday, 22 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the love of God is eternal, and it is non-discriminatory, for God loves all, without looking at whether we are this or that certain race or upbringing or background. He knows all of the things inside our hearts and minds, and He knows all of us perfectly, and thus to those whom He know that we are obedient and true to His will, He will grant us His love and grace.

The Apostles in the first reading, revealed to the people, how the Lord loved all without differentiating between them, and how He loved the Gentiles as much as He had loved the Jews, so long as they believe in the Lord, and trust in His ways. The Lord blesses all who put their trust in Him and walk in His ways. He shows His favour to all of them.

Brethren, this is why it is essential for us to listen to God’s will and be with Him in all our dealings and actions in the future. We must adhere to the commandments and precepts of the Lord that we may always remain in the favour of God. Focus on the obedience of our hearts and minds more than the obedience of our bodies. This is because as I mentioned yesterday, the purity of the heart matters much more than mere purity of the exterior.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, a holy, pious and fervent religious who was also a wife and a mother, who decided to join the consecrated life to God after the death of her husband and her sons. St. Rita of Cascia is truly an example to all peoples through her actions, as although she had a very wicked and immoral man as a husband, and enduring the torture and abuse that her husband heaped on her, she managed to convert him through her exemplary actions and deeds, which brought about a conversion in her husband into a much better man.

St. Rita of Cascia had quite a difficult life, as she lived through a period in Italy when feuds were very common among leading aristocratic families in different city-states of Italy. The feuds claimed the life of her husband, and while her husband’s family desired for revenge and they encouraged her sons to take revenge for their father, but St. Rita of Cascia tried in vain to persuade them not to do so.

She prayed to God to take her sons away rather than seeing them commit a mortal sin in their revenge and risk falling into hell. Her prayers were answered by the Lord who took them away when they died of dysentry just a year after that. In that, they were taken away to God’s presence and did not commit a sin that would have resulted in them falling into hell.

St. Rita of Cascia devoted herself to God after all that, and in her love, she united and reconciled the feuding families that had been involved in the death of her husband and many others in the city where she lived. She lived as a religious nun faithfully until the end of her life on earth. She received in a vision, the mystical and spiritual wound of Christ, the stigmata of our Lord Jesus Christ, on her forehead, at the site where the Lord wore His crown of thorns during His Passion.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Rita of Cascia showed us, that we have to love, and propagate that love, and also promote forgiveness of others, especially those who had hurt us and caused troubles for us. We too should ask for forgiveness from others whom we have hurt and caused troubles for. We must not discriminate between peoples, but love all equally, for we are all children of the same God.

Let us now therefore pray, and with the intercession of St. Rita of Cascia that we may be genuinely transformed into beings of love, who follow the Lord in all His ways, seeking to love and to forgive, that we may ever bring goodness into this world. May God be with us and keep us in His grace, always. God bless us all. Amen.

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Passing of Cardinal Marco Ce, Cardinal-Patriarch Emeritus of Venice (Italy) at the age of 88

Ce, Cardinal photo

Cardinal Marco Ce, Cardinal-Priest of S. Marco has passed away on Monday, 12 April 2014 at the age of 88. He was the Patriarch of Venice, one of the most preeminent diocese in the world, from 1978 to 2002, and was succeeded in his position by Cardinal Angelo Scola, the likely future successor to the throne of St. Peter.

http://www.gcatholic.org/hierarchy/data/cardJP2-1.htm#31

Cardinal Ce was created Cardinal in 1979 by Pope St. John Paul II in his first Cardinal creation consistory on 30 June 1979. His motto was Christus Ipse Pax, which means “The peace of Christ”. This means an emphasis on proclaiming the peace of Christ, which He proclaimed Himself after His resurrection to be with us.

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We pray for Cardinal Ce, that he will rest in peace, and God will reward him for all his hard and great work as the long time servant of God as the shepherd of the faithful in Venice, for all the ministries and good works he had done there for the sake of God and His people. May the Lord welcome him into His embrace in heaven and give him eternal rest and happiness that he deserved.

With the passing of Cardinal Ce, the College of Cardinals now stands at 215 members, with 119 Cardinal-electors and 96 Cardinal non-electors. The number of Cardinal-electors now is just at the specified maximum limit.

There are now 0 Cardinal-elector vacancy in the College of Cardinals, 0 vacant Cardinal Suburbicarian Sees (for Cardinal Bishops), 2 vacant Cardinal Title (for Cardinal Priests) and 6 vacant Cardinal Deaconries (for Cardinal Deacons).

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Saturday, 10 May 2014 : 3rd Week of Easter (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 115 : 12-13, 14-15, 16-17

How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.

I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. It is painful to the Lord to see the death of His faithful.

O Lord, I am Your servant, truly Your servant, Your handmaid’s son. You have freed me from my bonds. I will offer You a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the Name of the Lord.

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Saturday, 26 April 2014 : Saturday within Easter Octave (Scriptures Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Today’s readings show us that we no longer have to fear or doubt in the truth of God. For if we stand by God and keep strong our faith, devotion and love for God, we will have everything and God will stand by us and provide us with all that we need. When we doubt, that is the moment of weakness which Satan can use to undermine our faith and our devotion to God, to the point that we may succumb to despair and commit things undesirable and wicked before Him.

This Easter, we celebrate the triumph of God over those who had arrayed themselves against Him, the celebration of the triumph of the good over evil, and the celebration of hope of new life over the old life, one that is decadent and filled with wickedness and sin. This Easter is a celebration of liberation and freedom, of mankind freed from the bonds of sin for eternity by the sacrifice of Jesus our Lord, and through whose resurrection we are made whole once again.

It is very difficult for mankind to let go of the temptations and impediments that were in place on our way towards God. It is very difficult for men to let go these goodness and pleasures that the world in particular are offering us daily. It is very difficult for many of us to let go of our desires, of our prejudices, of our judgments, and of our wants, for we are naturally, a creature tainted by the desires of this world and the desires of our flesh.

It is difficult for us to keep our faith in God, precisely because we are always tempted by sin, and at all times, doubt and fear are always in our minds. We cannot be truly close and intimate with God all because of our lack of total commitment and devotion towards the Lord, because we are unable to commit a hundred percent our attention and lives to God. Instead, we like to dwell in the world and be corrupted by the concerns and things of this world that inevitably lead us to sin.

That is why the elders of Israel, the chief priests, and those in the Sanhedrin of the people of God, supposedly the most learnt and the most educated of the people, opposed vehemently and firmly the presence and the works of God through Jesus, even though they naturally should have been the ones who would first welcome the Lord when He came. Instead, they became His enemies, and became those who attempted to derail the good works of the Lord by opposing in every situation and opportunities, the works of Jesus.

They failed to see reason and the truth of God in Jesus because their hearts had been hardened by sin, by the concerns of this world. Being people of influence and in the positions of power and privilege, they had forgotten their place and role in leading the people of God towards the Lord. Instead, they honoured power and glory, and craved for the people’s respect and praise towards them and did not tolerate any rival to their power and influence, leading to a vicious jealousy and hatred that grew so much, to the point that they even failed to see the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ, and ended up opposing and murdering the very One who would have rescued them from death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this Easter, we are invited to throw far, far away all these impurities and unworthy behaviours as those that had been exhibited by those who opposed the works of Christ, in the Pharisees and the elders of Israel. We have this perfect opportunity to deny first ourselves, and then the desires of our flesh to seek the pleasures of this world over the approval of God. Let us not waste this golden opportunity to make ourselves anew and dedicate ourselves to a change for the better.

This Easter, let us remember, that the Lord had given His all for us, His love and dedication to the point of death. The cross! Remember always the cross, and how the cross is the ultimate manifestation of God’s love for all of us! And also the empty tomb! Remember that empty tomb, which signifies the victory that God had won for us, to liberate us from the certain defeat of death, and He who had won for us this new life, where we have no more need to fear from sin or death, but forever be filled with the hope of eternal joy in He who loves us.

May the Lord therefore guide us in this Easter season, as we grow stronger and stronger in our faith, and deeper in our devotion and love for God, that we will first always be faithful to Him, and then also be loving and good children and members of God’s family, always showing the Lord to be at the centre of our lives and actions. Let us follow the footsteps of the Risen Lord and His Apostles, and let us all bring the light of Christ to all the peoples, beginning from ourselves, and to those around us, and to the whole world! Let us share the joy of Easter! God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

God desires the love of mankind, and He loves them very much. That is why He gave us all of His attention and focus, and He offered Himself to them to open for them the pathway to salvation. In a sense, He had granted them great favour, only for them to refuse Him and reject Him, and even reject the salvation which He had freely offered them.

In today’s first reading God promised His beloved people that He will love them and care for them, freeing them from the grip of death and sin, and will provide for them once again as He had once had. We can see indeed how great is God’s love for us, that He gave us chance after chance, and opportunity after opportunity. He gave us hope even when we are in the greatest darkness.

Yet mankind were selfish, and are still indeed selfish even today. We thought only for ourselves and for our own benefits and we complain when things do not go our way. That is our nature, and we often succumb to it. The Pharisees rejected Jesus because of His teachings and ways that oppose their own authority and positions of privilege and honour within the society.

How about the people then? They also rejected Christ because they were reluctant to abandon their former way of life and follow what Christ taught them, and they were also easily swayed by the offer of money and goods of the world, that we can easily see in tomorrow’s Palm Sunday Gospel and Passion readings, how the same people who cheered for Jesus as King when He proceeded into Jerusalem, within less than one week would be condemned to death by the same people. Yes, the same people who acclaimed Jesus as King also cried out for His death.

And it is a fault that we have as we tend to blame the Jews on what happened to Jesus, in how they condemned Him to death and rejected Him and His offer of salvation, because it is always convenient and easy to blame someone else. We think of the Jews to be the ones to blame for the death of Christ, but we conveniently forgot that Jesus Himself was and is a Jew, born son of David, the heir of David and the descendant of Abraham.

And Jesus when He suffered and died on the cross, He did so for all of us, and also including the Jews, both those who had no part in His death and those who had hated Him and condemned Him. He Himself remembered them even in His suffering, asking the Father to forgive them and overlook their sins for their ignorance and lack of knowledge of who He truly was.

God Himself had forgiven them, and He had forgiven us. So for those among us who thought to blame the Jews, the very people the Lord had chosen to be born into, and to those of us who like to put the blame on others, let us from now on reflect on our own actions first. Before we even judge or condemn others, have we been sufficiently pure and worthy in our own actions that we will not be judged? We often forget that when we judge others, we therefore also open the door for us to be judged ourselves.

God did not wish to punish anyone, as indeed, He wanted all of us to be reunited with Him in love. He wishes for us to be perfected in love, that we may leave behind our past sinfulness and wicked behaviour, and become more like Him and be more loving as He is. That was why He sent Jesus to be with us, to be both our Saviour, to break the chains of sin and death, and at the same time also show us how to love, like God has loved us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we approach the pinnacle of our preparation, as we proceed towards the holiest week of all our celebrations, the Holy Week of Jesus’ Passion, let us resolve to be more like God, in becoming more loving and forgiving, in being more inclusive and compassionate, helping one another to approach the Lord rather than condemning or judging each other. Let us reserve no place for Satan in our hearts! For it is in a darkened heart that Satan is happy to dwell in. Let the light of God instead be within us, that He may also guide our ways, that our ways will always be pleasing to God.

May the Lord forgive us our sins and show us how to love Him just as He had loved us first. Let us never be separated again from You, o Lord our God. Be with us always, till the end of time. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we go closer and closer to the time of celebration of the Holy Week, and as we continue to immerse ourselves in the dynamics of Lent, we need to make a clear and conscious choice on our part, that we resolve to be with God and be faithful to Him, or to reject Him and to follow instead, the devil and his ways of the world.

The three companions of Daniel, that is Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they are all presented with the choice to serve either God their Lord, or the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar and worship him and the statue he had built for himself. And they proved their faith for the Lord, choosing to be burned in the big furnace rather than giving up their faith and worship the king’s statue.

They dedicated themselves to God even though they know that they will suffer from disobeying the king’s order and even knowing the punishment that they would have to suffer for such disobedience. Yet, in doing that they remain true to God and to His will, and as we saw, God did not want His servants to suffer, and therefore, He protected them from the wrath of the flames in the furnace.

We cannot be servants to two masters, as another parable of Jesus has told us, that for example, we cannot be servants of both God and money. In today’s Gospel the people claimed that they were the children of Abraham by the right of descendant, and yet what they did in their words and deeds clearly did not reflect that they were worthy of being the children of Abraham.

For Abraham obeyed the Lord without condition and with the fullness of devotion and giving of his heart. He did not even shy from giving up his own son, the very one long promised by God, to be sacrificed on the Mount of Moria, and for that kind of devotion, he was praised and rewarded by God. Abraham was faithful, in the same way as the three companions of Daniel had been, and they showed that faith in God cannot be one that is arbitrary, but must be something that is concrete and done in complete and full dedication.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we cannot be like the people of Israel who rejected Jesus by claiming that they were the children of Abraham, in trying to justify their wickedness. They thought that being the children of Abraham, they were ensured and guaranteed of salvation, but they were wrong. In fact Abraham would have been ashamed that these people were born from his blood, and being his descendants.

Thus, like the three companions of Daniel, we too must make a firm and conscious choice, especially as we go on in this life, and during this perfect opportunity of Lent, to change our ways if we have erred and strayed away from God’s path. Let us make that concrete choice and action, to seek the Lord and ask Him for His mercy, surrendering ourselves totally to Him, and promise Him and dedicate our whole lives to Him, forsaking all the falsehoods of the devil and the temporal pleasures of this world.

Let us instead seek the Lord and the true happiness that only He can give. Let us be with Him and be in His grace forevermore. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we see today how great is the love that God our Father has for us. We have rebelled a lot against Him and spurned His love much like the people of God had done long ago as they journeyed through the desert towards the Promised Land. God promised them something great and eternal happiness for them if they walked in His path, and yet, they made complaints after complaints because what they seek is pleasure, that is the joys of the world, the pleasure of food and the flesh, and not true pleasure and happiness that only God can give.

The people of God showed their ingratitude and lack of faith, even to the point of worshipping a golden calf in place of their loving God. That is why God showed them His wrath, sending fiery serpents to destroy them for their rebelliousness. Yes, this event showed that, even though our God is a loving God, but He also hates all forms of sin, because God is good, and He us diametrically opposite to sin, which is the progenitor of all that is evil.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, does that mean we should see God as One to be feared? No! In fact, if we fear God because of His wrath without understanding first the reason of His wrath, we will likely end up getting further and further from Him, and thus sink into the sea of death. Yes, God hates sin and all of its unholy spawns, pride, greed, anger, hatred, and many others, but at the same time God also loves us, and even more than He hated our sins.

That is why He continued to pour out His love to His people even after they had repeatedly disobeyed Him and spurned His love and sought instead the pagan gods and earthly pleasures. He never gave up on any of us, even to the most obstinate and hard-hearted. He continues to offer us daily, at all times, the hope and opportunity at salvation, which He Himself offered through the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus on the cross.

God loves us that much, and He has His merciful eyes and heart always set upon us. He never abandoned us, because it is we who has abandoned Him instead. He gave the bronze serpent to Moses, that when it was lifted up, those who were bitten by the fiery serpents and saw it will not die but live. The same thing applies to all of us, that all who looks up to Christ crucified on the cross, will not face death, that is the destruction of our soul, but live eternally with God.

Yes, just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus, that just as the bronze serpent was lifted in the desert for the rescue and salvation for all those nearing death from disobeying God, so the Son of Man, Jesus Himself too had to be raised up high for all to see, that all who look upon Him and believe, will not die either, but gain life eternal. And yet, honestly, how many of us truly look up on the crucified Christ and believe in Him, and in His love?

Jesus Christ suffered for us, was tortured for us, and ultimately died for us on the cross, because of His love, God’s love for us all, His children who had sinned against Him and thus deserving death. And desiring not our futile death, He sent us helpers after helpers, and assistance after assistance. And finally, He gave us Jesus, His own Son and the Word of God made flesh, to be our Saviour. Yes, that all who believe in Him and look at Him will be saved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from today on, reflect on our own lives, whether they have been obedient and aligned to God and His will, or whether we have stayed away and disobeyed Him through our words, deeds or actions. We have to reflect on our lives, that we may realise our conditions and needs before it us too late for us. Let us therefore, aspire and commit ourselves to seek God and His mercy.

Let us from now on, commit ourselves to always look at the crucified Christ, the One who has died for us and to be thankful for that sacrifice through which, we are saved. Let us never spurn God’s love again, but resolve ourselves to be ever closer to God our Father who loves us so much, that He sent us Jesus, to save us from death. May God be with us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 8 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 101 : 2-3, 16-18, 19-21

O Lord, hear my prayer; let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me when I am in trouble. Turn Your ear to me; make haste to answer me when I call.

O Lord, the nations will revere Your Name, and the kings of the earth Your glory, when the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in all His splendour. For He will answer the prayer of the needy and will not despise their plea.

Let this be written for future ages, “the Lord will be praised by a people He will form.” From His holy height in heaven, the Lord has looked on the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoners, and free those condemned to death.

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Sunday, 6 April 2014 : 5th Sunday of Lent (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Romans 8 : 8-11

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your experience is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit who dwells within you.