divine blessing

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Wednesday, 2 April 2014 : 4th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, Hermit (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 144 : 8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18

Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

The Lord is true to His promises and lets His mercy show in all He does. The Lord lifts up those who are falling and raises those who are beaten down.

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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Tuesday, 1 April 2014 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 47 : 1-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar.

He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side. The Man had a measuring cord in His hand. As He went towards the east He measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water which was up to my ankles.

He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water which came to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water which was up to my waist. When He had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The Man then said to me, “Son of man, did you see?” He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river. There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river. He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.

Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not  wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.

 

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Monday, 31 March 2014 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Isaiah 65 : 17-21

I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again. Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in My people.

The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in it any more. You will no longer know of dead children or of adults who do not live out a lifetime. One who reaches a hundred years will have died a mere youth, but one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant crops and eat their fruit.

 

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Friday, 28 March 2014 : 3rd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

The essence of God is love, and everything about God is love. Love is the driving force of all His actions, and the meaning of His Law is love. This is what we have to remember when we obey the Lord and His commandments. God did not wish to burden us with His laws, or to punish us, but instead they were meant to bring us all closer to Him, and that we may learn to love Him more and more.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God gave His people Israel, the gift of the Ten Commandments, His own laws in which He gave them guidelines in life of what to do in order to live in God’s favour. But even though there are indeed ten laws in the Ten Commandments, as Jesus had revealed to His people, that they can be grouped together into two main laws, to love God and to love one another.

Indeed, this is the essence of love, as taught by Jesus to His disciples, that first of all we have to give it all in complete dedication to God, our Lord, our Creator, and our loving Father. Then, we also need to give our hearts, filled with love, to each other, for we are all equal, servants of the same One God, and the children of that same God who created us. We are all brothers and sisters to one another.

Obeying the law must not mean that we blindly obey to the letter, the words of the Law, or make empty proclamations and professions, to fulfill the Law superficially. Our observation of the Law must be genuine and true, filled with total love and dedication to all, to God and our fellow mankind. Thus, we have to have love in ourselves, and fill our words, actions and deeds with genuine love.

These days, it is difficult to love genuinely, as love itself in our understanding had been twisted such that we no longer understand what love truly means. Our understanding of love had been corrupted with the pleasures of the flesh and the lust and greed of this world, with material goods and possessions in train. That is how our families and marriages today are under threat, because they were often no longer based on love.

In our faith and in our life, we have to give our attention and focus on the Lord, devoting ourselves wholly to Him, that we will not serve or worship any other gods, and keep holy His Name and His presence, that we will not sully It by any form of blasphemy or misconduct. We have to put our complete faith and trust in Him.

But we cannot just love God alone, for to love God completely also means that we must also give our love to our brethren, especially those in need of that love. God Himself said through Jesus that all that we do for the least, the lost, and the rejected ones of our society, we do it for the Lord Himself, and therefore, in the same argument, to love our brethren means to love God Himself.

And because God is love Himself, it is impossible for us to not love Him and just love one another. Our love cannot be not based on Christ. Yes, the love of God must and is always at the centre of our love, the love that we show to one another. Outside of that, the love we have is not true and genuine love, but one that is tainted by the evils of the world.

We have to be able to distinguish true love from lust and desires of the world. We have often confused between love and lust, and between love and desire for pleasure and for material goods of the world. That is why we end up not doing the will of God, because we mistook His true desire for us with the desire and things of this world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we therefore should renew our commitment in faith to our Lord, by loving Him all the greater, through our obedience and following His will, doing our acts all in accordance with God’s love and care for us. Let us not forget our brothers and sisters out there who need our love and attention.

May we grow stronger in love, that day by day we may be ever more solid in our dedication and faith to the Lord. Let us not be hesitant to love God who is our Father, who loves us all with all of His might and care for each one of us. Let us never be separated from God’s love and remain ever in His grace. Amen.

 

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Thursday, 27 March 2014 : 3rd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters, today we learn again another lesson, as Jesus went around to teach the people of God, that we must not be doubtful in our hearts and even more importantly, we should not be quick to cast baseless accusations, especially if they are made out of poor judgment and idea on our side.

It was truly horrifying to see how the people of God, who had been graced with the presence and witnessing the Lord Himself in action, could ever condemn and criticise Him by saying that what great deeds He had done, was done by the power of the evil one and the other spirits.

They saw the miracles performed by Jesus, and all the things He had done, and yet they refused to believe, and all the teachings that Jesus had made, should all have been very clear to them, showing them the true nature of God’s laws and ways. This is because of their hardened heart, which they kept indignantly even against the love God had shown for them.

The same can be compared to how their ancestors behaved in the desert, the same generation of people who saw the Lord doing great deeds in bringing the Ten plagues to crush the Egyptians and liberate them from their slavery. They also witnessed how God split open the sea to let them pass and pour the waters over their enemies. They received even food from heaven and crystal clear, sweet water from the rocks, and yet they complained and complained.

These people were so stubborn because they did not keep the Lord in their heart but Satan! They were so influenced by the things of the world that instead of thanking God for His very obvious guidance and kindness along the way, they dared to say things such as life was better in Egypt, with food and drinks, even though they were in slavery! What they thought are in the realm of human greed and desire, that nothing God gave them is likely to be ever enough.

The same therefore happened to the people at the time of Jesus, as there were many factions, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, and many others, including the common people. These people were obsessed with power and the influence they had on the people, and they were loath to give them up or even share them with someone who is technically an outsider, like Jesus.

Jesus showed them that their stubbornness and hard-heartedness ought to be taught a lesson, that they should not be so stone hearted as if to defy the works of the Lord, putting obstacles in His way, and worse still, blaspheming against God through their indignant attitude, calling the work of God as the work of Satan.

Shall we also be like them? Shall we be indignant and refuse to listen to the Lord because of our own human interests, and greed for power? If we do so, then we will have no part in the salvation offered by the Lord. We have to cast out our pride and our greed, especially for power, that we may lower ourselves and understand what God has given us, in Jesus, His Son, the manifestation of His everlasting love.

May the Lord open our hearts, and help us to understand better His love, that we too may love Him the same way. Let us all devote ourselves more to the Lord, and promise Him that we will stay forever loyal and faithful, no matter what. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 17 March 2014 : 2nd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, once again we are exhorted to practice our faith and be genuine and active in living up our faith, through action and devotion, particularly through the act of mercy, by forgiving others who had done wrong to us, and by giving of our love to them, and to those who had hated us and resented us.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of St. Patrick, the Bishop and Patron saint of Ireland. Patrick was born in the Roman Britain, and was initially a pagan shepherd, who was captured by Irish raiders and was made a slave. During his slavery, St. Patrick learnt about the faith through missionaries, and he had a change of heart.

St. Patrick learnt much about the faith and spent his time knowing more and more about God. He was released from his captivity after a few years and returned to his homeland, but not before knowing from God that he will one day return to the land of his enslavement to bring it to the hand of God through conversion.

Eventually St. Patrick returned to Ireland and set about doing many good things there, preaching about the faith and teaching the people about God. St. Patrick performed many miracles and great feats, which helped to bring the people to greater understanding of the greatness and the nature of God and faith in Him.

St. Patrick and his works laid the foundation for the faith in the once untamed and pagan land, where all the people worshipped the spirits of the land. He used many methods to teach them how to devote themselves to God, using shamrock leaves with their three lobes to describe the concept of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And despite all the oppositions and works arrayed against him during his missionary works, St. Patrick prevailed and continued to baptise thousand upon thousands, converting many to the cause of Christ, even among the nobles, lords, and kings and princes. He made the spread of the faith in that godless land possible.

What is most important from St. Patrick and his actions was that he practiced his faith and do the things that he had said. That was why so many people listened to him, and finding the good things that he had taught them, they believed and were saved through baptism. St. Patrick had a solid and living faith in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to also be witnesses for the Lord, to be the ones showing God and His teachings to those who had yet to know Him, much as what St. Patrick had done. Shall we follow the example of St. Patrick and did what he had done for the glory of God?

Let us be righteous, loving and merciful as the Lord had taught us through Jesus, that we may truly be seen as the children of God, and through our actions, may other people see the love of God and know Him through us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 11 March 2014 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Prayer, prayer is important, and prayer is an integral part of our faith. We cannot say that we are faithful to God if we do not pray, and if we do not have a good and healthy prayer life. A good prayer life means maintaining constant and genuine devotion to the Lord. But sadly, brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us still do not know or are not aware of what constitutes a good prayer.

In fact, we all know the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples today, the Pater Noster, or ‘Our Father’, the prayer which Jesus Himself taught to the people, as the example and the pinnacle of what a prayer should really be. It is a perfect prayer, because it encompasses every single dimension of prayer, of what prayer should be.

First of all, prayer is not a litany of request, demands, or wishes which we convey to the Lord, asking or even demanding God to fulfill them. In fact, we are often angry or disappointed if our wishes are not fulfilled. We thought that God did not want to fulfill our wishes or failed to do so. If we think in that way, then we have failed in our understanding of what prayer truly is.

Prayer is first and foremost, the media of communication between us and the Lord our God who loves and cares for us, who is our Father, and who watches over us every single day of our life. And just like all parents do, God wants to talk to us, as often as possible, and He also wants us to talk to Him as well. Yet, what actually happened is that we speak all the time, and did not allow God to speak to us.

We are often not aware that prayer involves a two-way communication between us and God, and it is in fact not the correct way for us to launch a litany of demands in our prayers. Instead, we should talk sincerely to God from our hearts, and before we can do that, we have to first put forth a listening ear to God’s word, for He speaks in our heart.

Very often, the noise of this world, the distractions that exist around us, and the noise of our own incorrect way of praying prevent us from listening to God’s words. We therefore have to find a way so that we can quieten down all those noises and distractions, and find a quiet time where we can spend it with God in full quality. That is why when we pray, it is better to do it in private, and in the time when we do not think about all our worries and concerns of the world.

And by noting the example of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer taught to us by Jesus, we can learn how to make best use of prayers and how to be truly a prayerful servant of God. First we should praise and glorify God and His Name, just as the angels and saints in heaven do every moment and every day, praising God without end.

Then, prayer must also be a thanksgiving for the goodness and graces that God had shown us. We have to thank Him first of all for the gift of life, which God extended to us, allowing us to continue in our devotion, and to continue to do many good and marvellous things in our respective lives.

And lastly, in prayer, we have to be humble at all times, for we are all sinners and we all should ask in a great supplication for the forgiveness of our sins. But just as we do that, we must also remember that we also owe our brethren, whenever we commit things that cause them hurt or pain, just as they do the same things to us, and that is why, when we pray, we have to also forgive one another, getting rid of hatred and bitterness in our hearts, so that ultimately our hearts will be completely open for the Lord to come in and dwell within us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now that we all know how to pray well and how to utilise prayer for the benefit of our faith, let us all then put it into practice from now on, that we may truly be a prayerful people, and our lives be filled with genuine and devoted prayers, as well as actions, which we do for the good of all, and out of love for God our loving Father. Amen!

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Thursday, 6 March 2014 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Deuteronomy 30 : 15-20

See, I set before you on this day life and good, evil and death. I command you to love YHVH, your God and follow His ways. Observe His commandments, His norms and His laws, and you will live and increase, and YHVH will give you His blessing in the land you are going to possess.

But if your heart turns away and does not listen, if you are drawn away and bow before other gods to serve them, I declare on this day that you shall perish. You shall not last in the land you are going to occupy on the other side of the Jordan.

Let the heavens and the earth listen, that they may be witnesses against you. I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your descendants may live, loving YHVH, listening to His voice, and being one with Him. In this life for you and length of days in the land which YHVH swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

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Wednesday, 5 March 2014 : Ash Wednesday (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the very beginning of the sacred season of Lent, the season of penitence and repentance, and the season of fasting and mercy. Today is the Ash Wednesday, the day when we have ashes placed on our forehead or head, to mark that on this day, we begin our journey of repentance and towards mercy and forgiveness.

Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are all sinners, and we all have fault before God. The ashes reminds us that we are all unworthy of God, because of sin which had corrupted us from the time when we first fall into sin, in our ancestors. Ash Wednesday also reminds us of our own mortality, that we are all mortals and we are all weak.

We are all created from dust, and so from dust we came and to dust we shall return. Our physical bodies will crumble like dust, and yet our spirits, the Spirit of God, shall remain. This season of Lent aimed at bringing to our realisation that we are sinners and mortals, and our lives depend on God and on His love and kindness. And He has indeed shown us great mercy.

Our Lord told us that what He wants from us is a heart full of regret and repentance. This heart of ours should not be filled with pride and reluctance, but instead with the eagerness of welcoming the Lord into our own lives. And this Lenten season serves to remind us of this reality. That God loves us and He wants to be reunited with us in love.

Many of us today are no longer aware of the love that God has for us, as well as the sinfulness and wickedness of our souls. We are also no longer aware of the need for us to be constantly in touch with our Lord and God, that is through prayer. We are often distracted by many things, some of which include pride, fear, reluctance, and stubbornness, which prevent us from listening to God and His will.

And it is these same obstacles that have afflicted the people of God at the time of Jesus, and even today. When we say that we have faith in God, that is not truly because we truly love God and devote ourselves to Him. Instead, our faith is often a faith based on fear of the Lord, fear of punishment, and the lack of understanding about what our faith is about.

Some of us love prestige and human acceptance, and that is why we pray loudly and hope that people will see us praying and praise us, or we pray because we look for something in that prayer, that is asking God to fulfill our wants, wishes and desires. It is this which further hinder our way towards the Lord and keep us away from salvation in God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we begin the season of Lent today, let us all reflect even as we receive the sign of the ashes on our forehead. Many people were reluctant or downright embarrassed of wearing the ash sign on the forehead, because they were concerned about what others will think about them, if they mar their own beauty and appearance.

That is why, brethren, today, let us receive the ash on our forehead with deep understanding, that first we are mortals, and all that have been given to us, our appearance and possessions, are all gifts and grants from the Lord, and we owe Him thanks for all of them. Let us all bear our sign of the ashes with pride, that we show true repentance on our sins and actions, humbly seeking the forgiveness of the Lord.

I hope that this year’s season of Lent will be a very fruitful season, both for us to make pure ourselves from the corruption of sin, as well as coming to a greater understanding of our sinfulness, and ask the Lord for His mercy, grace and love. May the love of God be with us, strengthen us, and be our defender against all the forces of evil.

Let us all go and seek the divine mercy, that He may forgive us from all the sins we have committed, and God be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 3 March 2014 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Following the Law of the Lord is not enough, brothers and sisters, because if we are to seek salvation, then we have to devote ourselves entirely to the Lord. Jesus mentioned to the rich man, to sell everything he had and gave the possessions and the wealth to the poor. Well, we can do that of course, but what is important is to understand the meaning behind the message rather than to take it literally.

What is important for us is for us all to dedicate our heart to God and to Him alone. We cannot be divided in our attention, especially with the things of this world. It is easy for us to be distracted and be affected by our concerns for the world. We often put our possessions and wealth first in our heart and not our love for God.

It does not mean though, that rich people cannot receive salvation or be saved. What it means is rather that, rich people does have greater tendency to be diverted in their way to salvation, because of the worldly possessions they have. But remember, brethren, that wealth itself, as I often mentioned, is neutral. Our possessions and money can be utilised for the sake of the good or for the sake of bad things.

But more often than not we put our trust in these things rather than God, and we are often overprotective of our wealth and possessions. We do not easily give up our wealth for the sake of those who are less fortunate. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the attitude that we should provide, and regardless of our status and backgrounds.

Yes, even when we are poor, we can also be very protective over what little we have, and we can be exclusive in our own actions. Just like those rich ones who generously donated their wealth for the less fortunate indeed. We cannot have any prejudice or contempt on those whom we deem to be not as good as ourselves. First, what we have to do, is to look into ourselves and ask ourselves, whether in our own actions we have done things deplorable in the eyes of the Lord.

When we show our faith to the Lord, then we have to be genuine in our faith, and we cannot be half-hearted in our attempt to devote ourselves to the Lord. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we want to enter the kingdom of God, then we have to be like what Christ wants us to be, that is to love, and to love tenderly! Yes, love is the basic means for us to enter into God’s kingdom.

If we do not love, then we will have no part in God’s kingdom. And this love does not mean love for our possessions, our wealth, or love just for those whom we want to love alone. This love means, as Christ often mentioned, the love for God and the love for our brothers and sisters, the fellow mankind we live with in this world.

Mankind often forget this, and are preoccupied with their own businesses and things, that they forget to do what is expected from them. We have much potential and gifts given by God, and these we can use to make a difference. Our wealth can be shared with those who are less fortunate than us.

May the Lord awaken in us, the love and dedication for our fellow men. May He bring us to love one another more and more, sharing with those who have less than us, that we may rejoice together in the Lord. May the Lord bless us with love and strengthen our devotion to Him, always and forever. Amen.