Divine Love

by

Wednesday, 9 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priest)

Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Have mercy and mercy will be shown to you. Show love and love will be shown to you. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heed the readings today, this is the common theme that we all can and should certainly be able to pick up and identify, as a common virtue of our faith in Christ. Christ in today’s Gospel taught His disciples how to pray to God, and that prayer, as we are all familiar with, is the Lord’s Prayer, Pater Noster, or our Father.

That prayer is a simple and yet perfect prayer, and indeed how all prayers should be. Prayers is less about glorifying ourselves before God, and even less still a litany of wishes and desires that we often request or even demand from God. How many of us have been angry at God for not fulfilling our wishes, which we constantly include in our prayers?

Prayer is truly about opening oneself to God and to His eternal love, that is to let Him embrace us with the warmth of His love, that we are made perfect once again in love. That is the essence of prayer and the essence of our loving dedication to God who is our Father. Prayer is a line of communication between Him and us, as a medium through which we do not just speak, but also listen, to the words of the Lord being spoken within our hearts.

Too often the noise of this world prevents us from being able to listen to the word of God, and we become preoccupied in our own worldly dealings, in our own emotions and prejudices, in that we end up trusting our own judgments more than we trust or believe in the wise judgments of the Lord. That is also the essence of today’s readings, in that, we need to be able to overcome those personal prejudices and ill emotions within our hearts, that we will be able to make a reasonable judgment.

Indeed, remember that in fact we are not in a proper place to judge, not even ourselves, since as many sins as we can see in others around us, there are often in fact even more sins within us that we cannot see. To judge others for their sins and to condemn them for those sins is not right, for if we judge them for those, surely we will be judged too, for our own, equally if not more numerous sins.

That is why the Lord reminded Jonah of this fact, of the need for one to be merciful and forgiving, for the virtue of mercy and forgiveness is abundant, and out of them, love will be born. Love cannot exist if we do not first show mercy and forgiveness, especially to those who had wronged us, and to those who had caused us pain and suffering.

It is important that we as the followers and children of the Lord, to be chain-breakers. Why so? Which chains are we talking about? It is the chain that binds our heart and shut it tight, hardening it against the love of God and preventing us from sharing our love with our brethren around us. These chains are sin and worldly temptations that bind us to themselves and to hell, preventing us from being saved.

Indeed, we need to be loving and forgiving at the same time in our lives in this world, in our calling as the disciples of Christ, the One who is Love. We cannot remain bound to those chains we had talked about, and rather, we must break free, both from our own chains of sin, or break free the chains that bound others, that all of us will be loved by God for eternity.

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Denis, the bishop of Paris in the Roman province of Gaul, at where is now known as France. He was a zealous servant of God who lived upright and just life, during the time of great persecutions against the Church and the faithful. The Emperor Decius reigned at the time St. Denis was martyred for his faith. Decius was known to be strongly opposed to the Church and to the faith in God, and ordered one of the most vicious and brutal of all the persecutions of Christians by the state.

St. Denis and some people who were condemned to die with him were beheaded on a hill in what is today Paris, and yet, a miracle happened. It was told that St. Denis did not die even though his head had been cut off from his body. St. Denis picked up his head and walked for several miles, preaching and testifying the greatness of the Lord, made evident in the miraculous occasion of St. Denis himself. He only died when he reached a spot where he was then buried, and where now stands a basilica erected in the honour of his name, that is the Basilica Cathedral of St. Denis in Paris.

Today we also honour St. John Leonardi, an Italian priest living during a time of trouble for the Church and for Christendom, at a time when the Reformation rebels were spreading wildly their heresies and teachings across Europe and gained sizable following. St. John Leonardi was devoted to the people of God, especially the weak and the poor, and did many charitable acts to help and love them.

He also spread the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and promoted the observation of the Liturgy of the Hours, a dedication of one’s prayer in daily basis, as well as the Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist. Not limited to that, St. John Leonardi also established the religious order of the Clerks, who took part in and contributed to the effort in stemming the Protestant heresies.

Both these saints and their companions had been devoted to their cause, their calling, and committed themselves fully to both the Lord and His beloved people. Therefore, should we then not do the same? Our calling in life is to love, that is to love both the Lord and to love one another, that in love, we truly become worthy of being called the children of God, who is Love. If we instill love in one another, that love will grow to encompass us, and we will grow to love even more, and then, we will truly be worthy to be called God’s children, of God who is love.

May the Lord continue to bless us and strengthen us with His love, caring for us and providing for us, that we will always ever be covered by His grace and blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 8 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord is loving and merciful, and He desires nothing from us other than our love and total dedication to Him, and that is what He told Martha, on the love and dedication Mary her sister had for Him. And that is also what He truly desired from the people of Nineveh, that they abandoned their sinful ways and instead took the bold steps towards redemption and salvation.

For many of us, brethren in Christ, are like Martha, who are too busy for the Lord, busy with all the activities that we have, busy with all the things of the world, that we forget about the most important of all, that is loving Christ and giving of ourselves to Him, through our dedication and love. We revel much in the pleasures of the world and gave ourselves in, to the temptations of the devil.

We are so busy and so preoccupied in what we are doing, that we lost sight of the true goal that we have in life, and sadly, many of us are like Martha, whose intention is actually good, in wanting to serve and provide for the Lord, through her service, but became too preoccupied in the rigour of the work, that the work and business take precedence over loving our Lord and God.

We also tend to be like the people of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, who lived in sin and basked in their sinfulness. They enjoyed all the pleasures of the world and did things abominable in the eyes of the Lord our God. This is what brought the Lord’s wrath upon them, the divine vengeance which He announced to them through Jonah the prophet.

It is easy for us to lose track of the truth and lose sight of the truth, because we have failed to filter out the noise of the world, which threatens to block the Lord from our hearts. We live in this increasingly noisier world, where mankind listen less and less to the heeding of the Lord, and pay more attention to their ego, their desires, and their wants.

The Lord speaks to us, brothers and sisters, inside our hearts, conveying to us His message of love inside our hearts, for each and every one of us. He wants us to understand the importance of love, especially the love for Him, and the love for our fellow mankind. We are truly creatures of love, created by God Himself who is Love. And yet, because we are often entangled within the evils in this world, we tend to love less and hate more, and even if we love, we tend to only love and care for ourselves.

This is why, brethren, we ought to be like the people of Nineveh, because even though they are sinful and had committed things abominable in the sight of the Lord, they repented once they knew the anger of the Lord is upon them, and humbly placed themselves, kneeling and prostrating with shame in front of the throne of God, even their king, showing the genuine nature of their repentance.

This is what made the Lord to spare all of them instead of punishing them for their sins. This is because the Lord truly loves us and does not want to punish us, all because of His eternal love. He will certainly welcome us back with love, if we repent from our sins in full sincerity.

Then, we also ought to be like Mary, the sister of Martha, at an even higher level of dedication to the Lord. This is because even without the threat of punishment or annihilation, she gave her full attention, dedication, and love to Jesus our Lord and gave her full heart to Him. That is what the Lord truly wants from us, our love.

We must not lose sight of our true goal in life, brothers and sisters, that is to reach out for the Lord, and the salvation that He offers to all of us. And we can achieve this through love, through the manifestation of our love in our words, deeds, and actions, daily in our world. In that, we show the extent of love we have for the Lord, that we listen to Him and His will, and like Mary, give our full heart’s attention for Him.

May the Lord who is loving and forgiving continue to watch over us and give us His tender love, readily welcoming us, when we turn our back on sin, and reach out for His infinite mercy. God be with us all always. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 8 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 38-42

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed Him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to His words.

Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

by

Sunday, 6 October 2013 : 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the great importance of the faith and love we have in God, because they empower us and give us strength to do many magnificent things. It does not matter whether we have a small or a large faith, since all of these are truly perceptional by us, and what truly matters is in fact, whether we truly have a real faith and devotion to the Lord our God.

Faith is the key component of our life and our salvation. We cannot love God without faith, and vice versa, as we also need love to be able to have faith in God. That is why, faith and love are paramount virtues and values we must have, if we are to be saved in Christ, and receive His grace and love. Faith and love are the essential components of our lives and ought to be the centre of our very lives.

With faith, everything is possible, and certainly, our Lord and God is faithful to us, even when we have that very little faith in Him. This lack of faith is precisely the reason why, if we read the Old Testament, why the people of God, that is Israel, rebelled against God and His love so often, that He casted them out of His sight in anger. And even so, He still have faith in these rebellious children, sending prophets after prophets, and messengers after messengers, in order to convince them to repent their sinful ways and return to Him and His love.

That even in the New Testament, the lack of faith and love in God’s people is why they are so stubborn, and continue in their sinful ways, especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who sought their own glory instead of the glory of God, and led the people into sinning against God. They even rejected Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, the Word made flesh, to bring salvation to the people and condemned Him to die on the cross.

And yet, it is the Lord’s perfect faith and undying love in us that enabled us to be saved through the loving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, that the offer of salvation and freedom of all evil and sin be extended to all mankind. God can just choose to obliterate us all and condemn all of us to oblivion, and that was indeed the much easier course for Him to take. After all, we have rebelled against Him with Satan, and corrupted His creations with our sins and evils.

And yet, He chose the hard way, to bear all of our sins upon Himself, and to suffer the consequences of all those sins, culminating in His death on the cross at Calvary, when He gave up His life, so that we may not die, but gain new life in Him, who is risen from the dead, rising with Him into glory. All these are because the Lord never abandons us, and He is always with us, loving us tenderly and providing us day by day.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, even if our faith in the Lord is just a little, but if that faith is genuine, we can truly do great things with it. The Lord always provides, brethren, and He never fails to do so. His power and authority is exercised in us when we have faith and love for Him, no matter how small it is. After all, we can never accomplish something, if we merely remain idle and believe that we re incapable of achieving anything.

Let me tell you all a story, a simple illustration on this idea of how important faith is in our life. There are two boys in a school, with similar performance in their academics and their studies overall. They are in two different classes, with two different teachers. In this case, both boys are taught very differently from one another.

One boy was taught to be positive in learning, and whenever he failed or did badly in his examinations, the teacher encourages him and convinces him that failure is not necessarily something bad, but in fact as an opportunity for one to learn from past mistakes and make improvements in the future.

The other boy, on the other hand, was taught by a very strict and authoritarian teacher, who always demands result from the students, and always punish severely those who performed badly in their examinations. The boy failed a few times during his studies and was reprimanded by his teacher.

Therefore, in your opinion, brethren in Christ, which among these two boys will likely have a better performance in the end? Certainly it is the boy whom the teacher always encouraged him whenever he failed and did not perform well in his studies. Yes, the one who will perform better is the one whose teacher gives strength and hope at times of despair, one who can therefore develop faith in themselves and their own abilities, and thus will be capable and more motivated to do better in studies or anything else.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heed the words of Christ and the prophets today, let us open ourselves and our hearts to God’s divine love, that He will sow the seeds of faith in us, that our faith and love for Him may grow, and grow well, that we will be firm in our devotion to the Lord our God. Let us not be fearful of any evil, or any troubles, as the Lord will surely take care of us, if we keep strong and burning, the faith and love that is in us.

May the Lord our God strengthen our faith, that with whatever little faith that is in us, we will stay true to the path of the Lord, and remain committed to fulfill His commandments through our actions and our words. May God who is loving and faithful, keep us within His embrace and bring us one day to heaven that is our reward. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Saturday, 5 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are again reminded of the great love that God has for all of us, the most beloved of His creations, as beloved children of God. We have disobeyed against Him and thus committed great sin before His eyes, and yet He continues to love us without end, and He even unconditionally gave Himself for us, His life and all, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Through Jesus, mankind had been given a new hope, and a new light in Christ Himself, and they had been revealed a glimpse of heaven through Jesus, who showed them the path of salvation and new life, eternal life in God. He revealed the Lord’s long planned plan of salvation to His beloved people, to those who possessed the humility of heart to listen to the word of salvation, that is the Good News of Jesus.

To those who had listened to the Lord, and obeyed His commands, leading an upright and just life in this world, to those who had not gone astray in their path, the Lord had exalted them in glory, the glory of His majesty, and they become His beloved children, safe from the power of the devil, the great enemy and the deceiver of all.

The evil one was thrown down from heaven, where he was once the greatest angel of creation, and because of his pride, arrogance, and vanity, he was thrown down. He boasted that he would rise above the throne of God and rule over creation and yet he was made into nothing. He was struck, and not only once, but twice, by the power of God.

For Satan continued his rebellion, by ensuring that it is not just him and some of his fellow angels that fall into the sin of rebellion, but also mankind through the temptation of Eve by Satan-in-disguise, the deceitful snake. This made mankind to also fall into sin, and was cast out of heaven, of the beautiful garden of Eden God had prepared for them, His beloved.

It is in Christ and His coming into this world, that Satan was struck again, and this time for eternity, for all time. He was defeated with such finality, that he will not rise again, and his fate was sealed. For in Christ lies the fulfillment of God’s desire for mankind to be saved from the fate that awaits them that is death. In Christ is the final nail to the coffin of the devil, the final destruction of his rebellion, that mankind, whom Satan caused to fall into sin, now through Christ has the hope of redemption.

The anger of God was indeed aimed at us, but as much as He is angry with us, He remains loving and forgiving, and the fullness of His wrath is truly aimed at the deceiver himself, the devil, Satan, the old snake. It is His wish that all of us be freed from our bondage to that rebellious angel, one who thought that he is the greatest of all. We have been bonded to him ever since our forefathers chose to obey him instead of their true Master, the Lord our God.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not fear the anger of the Lord our God. Rather, let us use that knowledge of His anger as a warning and a reminder to all of us, how much the Lord loves us and cares for us, that He is angered by our trespasses and our indignant rebellion against His love. Yet, He is always merciful and His heart is always open and available to all of us, especially those of us who repent from our sinful ways and return back to He who loves us with all our sincerity and love.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, we should not fear the Lord anymore, and neither should we fear the devil, that great enemy of all. The former, is because He truly loves all of us, and punishes us or be angry with us, because He cares for us and our salvation, that we will not fall into eternal damnation, away from His love, out of which, there can be no escape. And the latter, because, through Jesus, the Lord had broken the chains that had enslaved us to the power of Satan. He had broken the chains of death through His own death on the cross. Christ had been triumphant, and He crushed the devil under His feet in glory.

Let us therefore, first, seek the Lord’s merciful love and forgiveness, baring all of ourselves and our hearts before Him, opening the deepest depths of our heart to Him. Let us then, allow His love to flow into us, and through us, that we be made into conduits of His love, through our words, deeds, and actions. We have to become the children of the light, and the children of love, that is God, and there is nothing better than our dedication to Him through our loving actions and words. May we continue to spread the love of God to all mankind. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Saturday, 5 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Psalm 68 : 33-35, 36-37

Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and whatever moves in them.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. His people shall dwell in the land and possess it; the children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.

by

Saturday, 5 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Baruch 4 : 5-12, 27-29

Take courage, my people, you who preserve the memory of Israel. You have been sold to the nations but not for your destruction; because you had aroused the anger of God, you were delivered to your enemies.

For you displeased your Creator in sacrificing to demons and not to God. You have forgotten the Eternal God, the One who nourished you. You have filled Jerusalem with sadness, she who brought you up.

For she saw the anger of God fall on you and she said, “Listen, you neighbouring cities of Zion, God has sent me a great sorrow. I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Eternal One brought on them. I had nurtured them in joy; with tears and sadness I saw them leave. Let no one rejoice on seeing me a widow and abandoned by all. Because of the sins of my children I am now alone, because they have turned away from the Law of God.”

Take courage, my children, cry out to God, for He who sent you into exile will remember you. Thus, as you distanced yourself from God, return to Him and seek Him ten times more earnestly. For He who caused these evils to fall on you will bring you salvation and eternal joy.

by

Friday, 4 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the greatest saints of the Church and one of the most well-known saints that we have. He was the founder of the Franciscan religious order, distinguished by their brown habits and simple lifestyle dedicated to the Lord, and his was also the name taken through inspiration, by our current Pope and Vicar of Christ on earth, Pope Francis.

St. Francis of Assisi is well known for his love and devotion to God, and through his numerous good works and contributions for the sake of the Church of God and His people. He was known to be a miracle worker as well, healing many through his ministry, both physically and spiritually. He was honoured with the presence of the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ, on his hands and his feet.

St. Francis of Assisi was born of a rich silk and textile merchant, and lived a life of privilege in wealth and complete sufficiency, with no reason to be worried about his life in this world, having all his needs fulfilled. His father wanted him to continue his business as his heir, but the Lord had a different plan for St. Francis.

One day, when St. Francis was praying in a somewhat dilapidated Church, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Rebuild My Church”. St. Francis misunderstood this as rebuilding the dilapidated church building he was praying in, with leaking roofs and dilapidated walls. Therefore, he went and sold some of his father’s expensive silk clothes and fabrics, and used the money to rebuild that church where God had spoken to him.

His father knew about the incident and he was angry at St. Francis for his actions. St. Francis sought the local bishop for protection and counsel, and when his father complained to the bishop regarding St. Francis’ behaviour, St. Francis chose to leave everything he had ever received from his father, including his clothings. He removed all that and were naked before everyone, and before his father and the bishop. St. Francis gave the clothings and the other of his former possessions to his father.

The bishop, visibly touched by what he saw, covered St. Francis’ naked body with his vestment, and since that day onward, St. Francis abandoned all the former privileges he had in his former lifestyle as the son of a rich silk merchant, and become truly a servant of God and a disciple of Christ. One day, when he prayed, he received a vision of Christ crucified, and miraculously, he received the holy wounds of Jesus on himself, as the first known stigmatist.

As we all know, St. Francis went on to be the founder of the Franciscan order, whose members vow themselves to live in complete simplicity and humility, donning brown robes and sandals to show their commitment both to the Lord and to the poor. St. Francis was well-known for his dedication and service to the least in the society, the poor and the ostracised, the sick and the unloved, following the example of Christ Himself who gave Himself to these people whom many in the society looked upon in disgust and rejection.

St. Francis also championed evangelisation of the Gospel of Christ, and worked hard on his own part, to bring the Gospel to those who have yet to hear it or those who still lived in the darkness. He laboured hard for the sake of God and His people. St. Francis was also well known for his ability to speak to animals, and such is his love for God’s creations, that he also preached to those animals.

In today’s readings, we are urged to realise and know the love that God has for us, and the need for us to be proactive in love, both in loving God and in loving our fellow brothers and sisters. And the need for faith and obedience in God. We cannot be creatures of apathy and evil, but we must be full of love, sympathy, compassion, and faith, both in God, and in one another. That is what the Lord wants from us, and that is what He hopes that we will do, that we, as His children, truly are beings of love, as St. Francis of Assisi himself had done, in his love to all, men, animals, and all creations of God alike.

Therefore, brethren, let us reflect on our own lives, on our own actions and dealings with others, on every word that came out from our mouths and uttered by our tongues, whether they are filled with love, care, and compassion, or whether filled with darkness, viciousness, hatred, apathy, and evil. We are often at unawares that our actions do not reflect love, for either God or for our fellow brethren. We often indulge ourselves with our own selves and immerse ourselves in the depth of our pride and even arrogance, that we neglect others and the Lord, to fulfill our own selfish desires.

We need to open our hearts to love, and following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, to throw aside our sense of vanity and selfishness, to be loving servants of the Lord, to show love in everything we say, in everything we do, and in all our dealings with others and in our dedication to God our Father. Let us take this opportunity to make living the faith we have in God, that we do not end up being just empty in our faith and dedication, but instead having a living and dynamic faith, one that is anchored and strengthened by love.

May the Lord who is love and compassion inspire us to be loving and compassionate as St. Francis of Assisi has done himself, that is to love all men unconditionally, especially those who are poor, rejected, and reviled by the society. We ought to follow his examples and listen to the Lord who heeds us to love, and to follow his commandments, that itself is love. May we remain faithful and loving despite all the oppositions in this world, and despite all the evils and temptations presented to us, to be selfish and to be unloving. God be with us all, always, and may St. Francis of Assisi continue to intercede for us sinners’ sake. Amen.

by

Friday, 4 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Baruch 1 : 15-22

You will say : May everyone recognise the justice of our God but, on this day, shame and confusion befit the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem – our kings and princes, our prophets, and our fathers, because we have sinned before the Lord.

We have disobeyed Him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, nor have we followed the commandments which the Lord had put before us. From the day that the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until this day, we have disobeyed the Lord our God and we have rebelled against Him instead of listening to His voice.

Because of this, from the day on which the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, so as to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the evils and the curse which the Lord pronounced by Moses, His servant, have dogged our footsteps right down to the present day.

We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God speaking through the words of the prophets whom He sent to us, but each one of us followed his perverted heart, serving false gods and doing what displeases the Lord our God.

by

Friday, 27 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ revealed His identity to His disciples, after asking them whether they know who He truly was. And the prophet Haggai in the first reading, comforted the people of God who laid in ruins after they returned to the land the Lord had given them after a long exile in Babylon.

In Christ, the Son of God, the world has been given the salvation that God had promised for them. In Christ, who is not mere man but a divine made man, the world achieve a fullness of glory in the Lord, the perfection that has been taken from us when we became lost after our rebellion at the beginning of Creation.

Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to mankind over time which He renewed through the prophets, and finally perfected in Jesus. God resolved to rebuild the destroyed mankind that they once again become His beloved ones, freed from sins and slavery to the worldly pleasures and sins.

Yet, although He is a conquering King who comes to destroy death and sin, and be triumphant over all evils, but He came as a humble King, One who is destined to suffer and die. Yes, death for our sake, that through the death, we may not die but live eternal with Him. He is the Lamb of God, the One to be slaughtered and whose Blood is to be shed, for the sake of all of us, for our salvation.

Although He is great and mighty, He faced suffering, persecution, and death, that He took in into Himself all the sins and sufferings of mankind, that we do not have to suffer them for eternity, and instead enjoy life everlasting in happiness with God. This is the renewal the Lord promised to the returned exiles of Israel through the prophet Haggai and the other leaders of the people. The renewal God had sent through His own Son, Jesus Christ.

The Lord loves us so much, that He was not willing to see us to suffer with the devil in eternal fire, to suffer for the consequences of our sins and faults. That was why He sent us Jesus, to be our Help, our Hope, and our Way, to return to Him, to reclaim the true joy, happiness, and the inheritance that we had forsaken when we disobeyed Him in the garden of Eden.

All that, and He was ready to endure lashes, torture, nails, and the cross itself.  The Lord Jesus walked that arduous path towards Calvary, enduring the weight of that cross, bleeding from His wounds, to die a criminal’s death on the cross, in Calvary, for our sake. Imagine the combined weight of the world’s sins, that is the sins of all mankind. That was the weight of the burden which caused Christ much pain and suffering, and He endured it.

At the same time, through that sacrifice of Himself, God had made His love for His people evident, by the giving of Himself for out sake. He gave us all new hope and light in life. Remember, before the glorious cross, the cross of Christ resurrected from the dead, there is always the cross of suffering, that is the cross taken up by the Christ suffering for our sins.

We cannot abandon the Christ, both in His glory and in His time of greatest humiliation on the cross, the humiliation that he turned into glory. That is why, brethren, we have a mission that has been given to all of us and that is to proclaim the crucified Christ to all people, to all the nations, especially to those who have yet to hear about the wondrous Christ and His works of salvation.

Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the great saints in the Church, who was well known for his commitment to the Lord, especially to the weak, the poor, and the unloved. St. Vincent de Paul was born in France and was educated to be a faithful and good follower of Christ, when he was captured among many by the Algerian pirates running rampant in the region during his time, and was made into a slave.

St. Vincent de Paul was enslaved and sold to a renegade Catholic owner, until he managed to convince him to return to the faith, who then helped to get St. Vincent to be released from his slavery. He then committed the rest of his life as a worker of the Lord, caring for the last, the lost, and the least in the society, emphasizing on the need to give love to these people, and not abandon them to the darkness.

St. Vincent de Paul was particularly caring about those who were enslaved, being once a slave himself, and showed them the true nature of Christian love, that is dedication and the giving of oneself for the sake of others in need. He was truly the embodiment of who we all Christians ought to become, to be people for others, to be faithful disciples of the Lord who is Love.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us follow the examples of St. Vincent de Paul, making real our faith in this world, through our dedication and service to our brethren in need. We do not have to do big things, but what we can do is, to do even simple things to those around us, to those whom we meet along the way, giving them simple acts of love.

Even these small acts are significant, brethren, and we must not discount them for bigger and more ambitious acts of charity, as it is in these small acts that we can do daily that truly make the difference, and truly bring out the love that we have in us, and sharing it with one another. St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us always, that in all the things we do, we may be more inspired to be charitable and loving. God bless us all, always. Amen.