enemies

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Sunday, 9 June 2013 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11 and 12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His Holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my protector! But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing. O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Friday, 24 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (First Reading)

Sirach 6 : 5-17

A gentle word makes many friends, an agreeable tongue calls forth gracious replies. Let your friends be many; but your counselors, one in a thousand!

If you would gain a friend, begin by testing him and do not put your confidence in him too quickly. For there is the friend who is such when it suits him but he does not remain faithful in the time of your adversity.

There is the friend who becomes an enemy and, to your confusion, makes known why you quarrelled. There is the friend who shares your table but does not remain faithful when things go against you. In times of prosperity he will be like your shadow and he will speak freely to those of your household. But if you are humiliated, he will turn against you and will avoid meeting you.

Distance yourself from your enemies and be careful about your friends. The faithful friend is a secure refuge; whoever has found one has found a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond all price; hold him as priceless. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, and those who fear the Lord will find one.

Whoever fears the Lord will make true friends for, as a man is, such will his friends be.

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Sunday, 5 May 2013 : 6th Sunday of Easter (Psalm)

Psalm 66 : 2-3, 5, 6 and 8

Arise, o God, scatter Your enemies; let Your foes flee before You. As smoke is blown by the wind, so blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before You.

Sing to God, sing praises to His Name; open the way to Him who rides upon the clouds; the Lord is His Name. Rejoice in His presence.

Father of orphans and protector of widows – such is our God in His holy dwelling. O God, when You went forth, when You led Your people through the desert.

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Monday, 25 March 2013 : Monday of Holy Week (Psalm)

Psalm 26 : 1, 2, 3, 13-14

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

When the wicked rush at me to devour my flesh, it is my foes who stumble, my enemies fall.

Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fail; though war break out against me, I will still be confident.

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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(Special) Readings for Baptismal Catechesis, for the 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

This reading set can be used anytime during the weekday of the 4th Week of Lent, the preface for the Mass should also use the preface of the 4th Sunday of Lent.

Micah 7 : 7-9

As for me, I will watch expectantly for YHVH, waiting hopefully for the God who saves me. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; though I have fallen, I will rise again. Though I now dwell in darkness, YHVH is my light.

I will bear the wrath of YHVH – for I have sinned against Him – while He examines my cause and defends my rights. Then He will bring me out to the light and I shall probe His justice.

 

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Monday, 11 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a, 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, O you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing.

O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Monday, 25 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

We hear today, the call to do upon others, what we want to be done to ourselves. To show mercy and love to others, if we ourselves want to be shown mercy and to be loved. To care for others if we want to receive such care too, and to forgive others if we are to be forgiven. God wants us to love one another just as He has loved us, and through Christ, His Word, He taught us how to do so.

Many of us prefer to keep to ourselves and delve in our own pride and strength, and we often even bring harm to others either intentionally or unintentionally, in our quest to make ourselves better and better. We think that we ourselves are better and above the others. That we are above reproach, and that is why we like to judge others, comparing between us and them. It is very common that we look highly on ourselves, but this is what caused us to begin to judge and have prejudices against others around us.

But the Lord has brought with Him His commandments of love, which He taught us through Christ, His Son. What is this commandment of love? It is the command for us to love one another just as we love ourselves. We like to love ourselves, and we like to indulge in ourselves, but too often we neglect to see the plight in those around us, just because we are simply too focused on ourselves. There are much suffering in this world, and it is only us who can made a difference.

It is not easy to forgive someone who has done harm to us, and it is not easy to share our love with our enemies and those who hated us. It is definitely not easy to not to be prejudiced and be judgmental on someone, as very often we just jump to conclusions and form rapid judgment based on our flawed insight on others and what they do. It is also difficult for us to give, not only materially, but also in the form of spiritual gift, that is love to others. However, God wants us to begin to do all these, and to abandon our past, sinful ways. For if we do not begin to do all these, even from the smallest of steps, we will forever be mired in the cycle of sin, and therefore, death.

Through the Church, we have learnt the values of forgiveness, mercy, justice, and love. Let us therefore brothers and sisters, learn to do as the Lord has taught us to do. Not to wait for others first to forgive us or show love to us, but be proactive, for our Church is not a passive one, but an active and living one, and through our active actions, we can indeed make plenty of difference in our world today, beginning from those nearest to us, our families, our friends and relatives, and eventually those beyond, and most importantly those who hated us and disliked us.

Let us take the first step in all things, and very importantly, not to expect reciprocal behaviour from the other party. When we do things, do them sincerely, and out of pure love on others, on those who loved us, and on those who hated us. If we expect reciprocality, then we end up doing it out of reward and therefore we are being insincere. Rather, just do what we can, because first we love all our fellow brothers and sisters just as we love the Lord, and because we obey the Lord’s commandments. The things that Jesus mentioned today in the Gospel will come in due time, and will the Father not forgive us if we forgive those who sinned against us? Remember the Lord’s prayer.

For whatever good we do in this world, and when we do it in secret and humility, and when we do it for the greater glory of God, great is our reward in heaven. Do not wait for it, and do not look for it, for it will come only when we do not pause to seek our own glory, but continue in persistence and faith, to do what is good for our brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless us, our missions, and all those around us, that all of us will be able to love one another in the love that is God, and forgive the faults of one another, that all of us will be found worthy of Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

God loves all, and He loves everyone, without exception. Not even the worst sinners can escape from His love. However, all of us, who truly love God in return, and keep His teachings and commandments, enjoy even greater love, and also He has made us His people, His children, and promise us every graces and blessings in our lives.

It is easy to love your friends, those who also love you, and your family, and those whom you know. It is easy to be with them and also live happily with them. But indeed, if we are all indeed called by God to be His missionaries to all the world, can we just stay content in being within our own sphere of safety? within our own comfort zone?

No! Indeed, as the Lord said to us, “Love our enemies” and “Pray for those who persecutes you”, we have to reach out to those who hate us, and especially to those whom because of the hate in our hearts, have hated too. It is natural for us humans to hate, as since the days of the fall of Adam and Eve, sin has entered the hearts of men, and therefore with it, came hatred, prejudice, and jealousy. It is natural for us to hate someone who hated us first, and it is natural for us to covet the possession of others, especially those who are more fortunate than us. However, remember that through our baptism in God, and through the Sacred Scripture that we read and listened to, we have all become the children of God, and have been made better than what our human natures allow us to be.

For as the children of God, we too should follow in God’s footsteps. No better example at this, that Christ, the Son of God, whose in His death throes on the cross, showed how great God’s love is to all peoples. For Christ Himself had said, “There is no greater love, than that of those who gave their life for their friends. To Christ, all of us are His friends, does not matter whether king or poor, big or small, saints or sinners. Even to those whom had handed Him the death penalty by shouting “Crucify Him!”, Christ also consider them as friends, and He gave His life for them. These were His enemies, but out of His great love, He forgave them, and asked the Father not to punish them, because they do not know what they were doing.

This was one example Christ gave why we should love our enemies. Not to die like Him for our enemies, but because, these enemies of ours are after all, also the children of God, whom God loves, despite of their sins, just like God loves us, despite of our sins. Therefore, we should love one another, even our enemies, that they too, may learn love, and in doing so, shed off their hatred and sinful ways, and join us in salvation. There are many who also persecute us, especially the faithful, as we have often heard happening all over the world. But how do we face this? Do we face them with hatred and more violence, or do we face them with love? with prayer? For if we face them with hatred, and violence, not only would they be condemned, but we too, since in doing so, we let ourselves fall to the snares of evil, and by bringing more hatred and violence, we prevent the works and love of God from being manifest.

Rather, let us indeed do what the Lord told us, to end the cycle of hatred, the cycle of evil, and steadfastly refuse the temptations of the devil. Bring back our separated brethren, who are separated from us by hatred, prejudice, and jealousy, and therefore, bring ourselves together into the Light, and made our world a better place, just as the Lord wishes for us, whom He loves dearly. Let us pray, that all of us will be strong, and will be able to carry out our mission, and in that mission, to reach out to those who hate us, our enemies, to be able to forgive them and the pains and sufferings they have inflicted on us, and to love all who had persecuted us. Let us make this world a better world, based in love, peace, compassion, and harmony, instead of hatred, evil, and death. Amen.