discipline

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Thursday, 25 April 2013 : 4th Week of Easter, Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we commemorate the feast day of one of the greatest pillars of our Church and our faith. For without him, we would be missing one of the four Gospels, that is the Gospel of Mark. St. Mark was not part of the Twelve originally chosen by Christ, but he was mentored by the apostles, especially St. Paul, and later on wrote one of the four Gospels inspired by the Holy Spirit.

St. Mark established the Church in Alexandria, then capital of Egypt, and from there the faith blossomed in Egypt and throughout the eastern Mediterranean, establishing the strong base from which much of the Church was born from. He became the first bishop of Alexandria, and from him, came a long series of bishops and later Patriarchs of Alexandria, the most important descendant of which is what we today know as the Coptic Orthodox Church, our brethren in faith.

The Gospel of St. Mark, although at sixteen chapters may be the shortest of the four Gospels, but was full with fundamental truths about the mission of Christ and His nature as our Messiah and our Lord. It is also the earliest written Gospel of the four. Mark concentrated on the nature of Christ as the Messiah who suffer, who suffer persecution and later death, and yet was raised again in glory for the salvation of mankind.

In today’s Gospel reading taken from the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus commanded His disciples to go make disciples of all the nations, to spread the Good News to all mankind, to the ends of the earth. He gave this mission to the disciples, to spread all the teachings He had given and said to the apostles during His life on this world, and through the Gospels, all the nations would hear the Good News of the Lord, and believe in the One whom God the Father had sent.

Jesus’ mission is still relevant to us today. Even though the faith in our Lord had been indeed spread throughout the world to the ends of earth, but today, there is an even greater need for more people to take up the mission to become evangelisers of the Lord’s message. Let us take up that mission and follow the example of the Evangelists like St. Mark. And just like St. Mark, who wrote the Gospel, and also preached the Good News with his fellow brethren at the time, there are just many ways to evangelise to other people.

Evangelisation does not just mean speeches, speeches, and talks. Yes, words of mouth are important, and people do tend to listen to speeches and words, but remember that not everyone is endowed with good ability of speech. Yes, the Holy Spirit would provide and would give us the strength and courage indeed to tell the people of the Good News, but evangelisation can also be done through action, through simple gestures and works, and we will not even need to venture far to evangelise.

Simply look around us, at our own family, our parents, our siblings, and our children. Even among our friends, there are bound to be ample opportunities for evangelisation to occur. There are many even among those who are faithful to God, who had been lax in their faith, and who became ‘Sunday Catholics’. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the power given to us by the Holy Spirit, to make a difference in the lives of our fellow men. Let us not let it go to waste, and utilise the gift of the Holy Spirit which the Lord has passed down to the Apostles, and from them, through our priests, to us.

We are called to be the messenger of the Lord’s message, and as disciples and servants of our God. Let us go forth and bring forth the light of Christ in this darkened world of ours. Beginning from those near to us, to all the nations till the ends of the earth. St. Mark the Evangelist, and the holy Apostles and saints of God, pray for us. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Today we learn that the Lord loves and cares for us, just like a father to all of us. He can be strong and demanding, especially when we go astray from the right path, just like a father disciplining his children. However, God can indeed also be kind and loving as a father is, for God’s love is true and pure, and unfathomable in its extent.

We do not have to literally shed blood in the struggle against sin, as the question in the first reading from the letter to the Hebrews mentioned. But we have to always remember that, Christ Himself had shed His Precious Blood in the ultimate struggle against evil and sin. It is through this Blood in the Sacrifice, that all of us are set free from the chains of sin and slavery of evil.

Through Christ as well, all of us become God’s children, since by becoming human Himself like all of us, Christ the Lord became the most beloved of God’s creation. Since Christ is a brother to all of us, through Him, God is no longer distant, but God is just like our Father. This is why Jesus taught us the perfect prayer, the Pater Noster, which refers to God as our Father.

God is evidently fatherlike in His dealings with His chosen people, the people of Israel. Whenever they disobeyed Him and even abandoned Him for the other gods, you may think that the Bible seemed to show that the Lord has also abandoned Israel. But no, in fact, God remains faithful as He is always, even when His beloved children were always unfaithful. In the end, God loves all His children so much, that He gave Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is one with Him in the Trinity to redeem us from our rebellious ways and our sinful nature, in order to be reunited with all of us again at the end of time, for all time.

To all who have families, and who are parents, you should aim to follow the example of the Lord in being the parent of your children, through masterful balance between discipline and love. Even all acts of discipline and tough measures ultimately must be based in love, for all these that we do, are all because we love the children, not because we despise or hate the children.

Parents, love your children; and children, love your parents. Let us all imitate the love that the Lord has for all of us, and the love that Jesus has for God, His Father in Heaven. It is through Christ’s full obedience to the Father that all of us are saved. Therefore, let us also be obedient to our own parents and to our Father in heaven, God who loves all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Miki

Today we commemorate the feast of Saints Paul Miki and his companions who were Japanese Christians martyred for their faith, and until the end, they stay strong in their faith, and was crucified in Nagasaki in 1597, during the time when persecution of Christians began in Japan. Christians were forced to abandon their faith or be killed by crucifixion, in the parody of the Christian faith.

Those who abandoned the faith and chose life were made to trample on the crosses and the images of the faith, and in that way, they saved their lives, but lost their soul. St. Paul Miki and his companions in Christ did not falter, and when forced to march hundreds of kilometres from the capital Kyoto to Nagasaki, they sing the Te Deum, a hymn which glorifies the Lord and praises Him for His kindness. And most importantly, St. Paul Miki forgave all his executioners and those who tortured him and his companions, just as Christ did on the cross.

Can we also have the courage and spirit to forgive those who has inflicted pain and suffering on us, instead of hating and creating even more violence? Let us therefore follow the example of St. Paul Miki and his martyred companions, and also follow the example of the Lord as a good shepherd and a good Father to all of us, that we can make our families, holy families in Christ, a loving and caring family, which will ultimately will lead to a loving and wonderful society, and a loving world. Pray for us St. Paul Miki and Companions! Amen.