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Sunday, 14 July 2013 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Colossians 1 : 15-20

He is the image of the unseen God, and for all creation He is the firstborn, for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : thrones, rulers, authorities, powers… All was made through Him and for Him.

He is before all and all things hold together in Him. And He is the head of the body, that is the Church, for He is the first, the first raised from the dead that He may be the first in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him.

Through Him God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His blood shed on the cross, God establishes peace, on earth as in heaven.

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Friday, 28 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Genesis 17 : 1, 9-10. 15-22

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHVH appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk in My presence and be without blame!”

God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. This is My covenant with you, that you will keep, you and your descendants after you : Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, no longer are you to call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her and from her will come nations; kings and peoples shall come from her.”

Then Abraham fell face down, and he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And can Sarah who is ninety have a child?” And Abraham said to God, “If only You would accept Ishmael as Yours!”

But God said, “Not at all! It is Sarah, your wife, who will give birth to your son and you will name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him and his descendants after him forever. As for Ishmael, I heard you. I will bless him and make him fruitful, and I will multiply his race. He shall be the father of twelve princes and I will make of him a great nation.

But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, the child Sarah will have this time next year.” When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went away from him.

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

Brothers, and sisters in Christ! Today, I announce to you a great news of great joy, especially for the Church in Singapore. For as of 18 May 2013, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore had succeeded as the new Archbishop of Singapore, Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye. He was installed today at the cathedra of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the mother church of Singapore, and today also marked his inauguration as the ordinary of the Archdiocese, beginning the full extent of his ministry as bishop to the flock entrusted to him by the Lord in Singapore.

How is this then relevant to what we heard in the readings today, brothers and sisters in Christ? In fact, today’s readings are perfect for the occasion, because, today’s reading, in the Gospel in particular, deal with the intimacy of relationships between peoples. In the first reading, we heard about friendship and the type of friends we have and we can encounter in our daily lives.

In the Gospel then, we heard about another type of relationship, one that is even closer than friendship, that is marriage, which is a union between two persons, male and female, as ordained by God, that men should leave their parents and join with women, that they become one body, and from this union, spring forth new life, through procreation and birth of new children.

But there is yet still another, even more noble kind of relationship, one that is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospel today, but in fact has very large degree of similarity to it. That is the relationship that those in the Holy Orders with both God and with the Church which they serve, and which they lead. Those in the Holy Orders include all those who had been ordained by the authority passed down through the Apostles from Christ Himself, from our pope, to our bishops, and to our priests and deacons.

All are relationships that are sanctified by God, particularly in the case of marriage and the Holy Orders, in which we should always remember the words of Christ that, whatever God has made into one, no man and no angel should separate. No one may undo the union that God has sanctified and sealed, in the holy sacrament of matrimony and priesthood.

First then, let us begin with friendship. We may not have a sacrament of friendship, unlike marriage and priesthood, but true friendship itself is also holy, because true friendship must be based on love and purity of hearts and intention between the friends. Today’s first reading explained to us the different kinds of friends, because friends may indeed look superficially from outside like a good friend to us, but in fact, this ‘friend’ of ours is only using us up, either because we have material wealth or something that keeps this friend to remain at our side.

As long as we have this something, money, possession, or some other thing, this ‘friend’ will remain, but once we run out of this something, they will leave us, and sometimes do not be surprised that the ‘friend’ may even become an enemy. This is one of the thing warned by the first reading we heard today. We have to also take note of the parable of the prodigal son, where when the son has all the properties that he inherited from his father, he made many friends in the foreign land, and lived a happy but wasteful life. But those friends are not his true friends, because once his money dries up, they leave him and do not lift even their fingers to help him, until he has to work as a pig handler and even be tempted to eat the pig’s food due to his hunger. He has no friend!

What is true friendship then? True friends are friends who stand by us in times of joy, but even more importantly, they also stand by our side at our times of greatest sorrow. Not many people indeed will become our true friends, but once we have true friends in our life, true friendship, as long as we have love in ourselves, will last forever. Because true friendship is based not on material goods and possessions, or even human greed, but it is based on love, care, and compassion.

Thus, value the friendships we have and look beyond the veil of possessions and greed, in order to find out who are our true friends in life. True friends are not always those who join us in fun and happy things, in parties and celebrations, but are those who also care for us and protect us in our time of troubles and whenever we are downtrodden. All being said, we ourselves then too should strive to become true friends to those around us, particularly to those whom we love, and of course to our God.

Yes, Christ, our Lord and Saviour is also our friend, and He is friend to all mankind, to all the children of God, for remember that He Himself had said to His disciples that there is no greater love than that of a friend who gives up his life for the sake of his friend. And Jesus, our Saviour did just exactly that, because He died for all of us, giving up His life, and even though He was blameless and pure, He accepted damnation to death that through His death, we may gain a new life in Him, through His glorious resurrection.

Maintain this friendship and relationship that we have with Christ, with God, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. And how do we do that? Exactly by ensuring that we remained in God’s love and that ourselves and our hearts are always filled with God’s love, and in our actions, we always reflect Christ, our Lord, and become witnesses to His death and resurrection. And we also can help those among us who are least, weakest, ostracised, and abandoned, and in doing so, we are the friends of Jesus, and He is dear to us, just as we are dear to Him.

Then, after we have talked about friendship, let us continue on with a greater degree of relationship, that is marriage, which must be sealed in the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is only once in life and is eternal, between a man and a woman, as God ordained since the beginning of time, when He created Adam and Eve, the progenitor of all mankind.

Marriage is not merely physical relationship between two persons, that is filled with lust and desire. This kind of union is not marriage, but merely the fulfillment of human desires that may be corrupted by the evil one for his own purposes, and result in what we have seen in our world today, in the form of deviant form of ‘marriages’ that so many people champion, without realising that marriage is not something they should trifle with.

This is because marriage is ultimately about love, and again the love that I refer to over here, does not mean physical lust and sexual relationship between two persons, as these may form some part of marriage, but without true love, instead of a holy union of marriage, what we have is a perversion and sin before the eyes of God, essentially fornication and defilement of our own bodies, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Marriage is about love, that is the spiritual relationship, both between the two persons, male and female, united in love, caring for one another, committed in times of joy and sorrow, united in body and spirit, sealed by God Himself. And marriage is also about the spiritual relationship between the couple with God, because with God as their anchor, love will always remain within the sacred marriage union of the married couple.

Marriage itself must also breath out love, and produce love. Because the fruit of marriage is in fact children, and children are the fruits of love between the man and woman united by God in the sacred and inviolable union. Children receive love from both of their respective parents, which then ultimately have its source in God. That is the key to having a functioning and loving family, that this love that is within the couple is shared and poured to others, particularly in the child, whom the couple have responsibility for, and as the fruit of their marriage.

Therefore, marriage must never be manipulated and falsified by modern innovations and inventions, which bar the ultimate purpose of marriage, that is to produce the fruits of love, that is the children, just as the Lord commands mankind, to be fruitful and multiply, and to be Lord over all the earth. Men and women He created them for this purpose, that they multiply and prosper, sharing love with one another.

Sadly, too many modern innovations, especially through scientific discoveries, had made marriage no longer life-producing, and instead, even cause death in certain cases. The use of contraceptives and birth-control mechanisms had transformed marriage such that marriage is no longer solely based on love, and on producing the fruits of love, but has moved it such that mankind now focus on the more immediate and worldly aspect of marriage, submitting themselves to their desire and lust, and seeking pleasure instead of love in marriage.

Abortion and other life-destroying actions, continue to destroy both the sanctity of marriage, and the sanctity of life, for in abortion, we destroy the very life and fruit of love which is the fruit of marriage. Many abortions also resulted from extramarital affairs and relations, which signify the importance of marriage as the necessary step in the union between man and woman, for anything that is conceived outside of marriage, is not sealed by God, and therefore, becoming much more prone to human weakness and evil, which leads to irresponsible acts such as abortion.

Divorce is yet another great evil, that destroys both marriage, and the family which are split and destroyed by this other, irresponsible act. Marriage should be based on love, and the children, the fruits of marriage and love, must get love from their parents. Divorce, which destroys this union between the husband and the wife, ruins not just the two persons involved, but also the children, who suffer even more from the separation between their parents. This is also in direct violation against what God has revealed through Christ, His Son, that whatever God had joined into one, through the sacred sacrament of matrimony, should never be divided by men.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, those among us who are couples in holy marriage, strive to empower your married life, that the Lord remains in it, and love remains the heart of your marriage, that the marriage will not become empty, and end in painful and sinful divorce, or extramarital affairs. Rather, as a family, all of you must be functional and do your part as members of the family, to love one another and love the Lord your God, that He will give you guidance through your married life.

Pray together often, and have your meals together often too. Bring your children together with you, and raise him or her together, as husband and wife, sharing with them the love that is between both of you, the love that originates from God Himself, that they too will have love within themselves. Prayer especially is important, because prayer will strengthen your faith, and it can strengthen the anchor of love you have in God, and in one another.

Time maybe scarce, brothers and sisters, in our busy modern world, with all its noises, and with all the careers and works we have taken upon ourselves. But, brethren, try your best to spend your time together as a family, especially with the children, so that your marriage will remain loving and happy, and will last for eternity.

Then, finally, let us go into the most special relationship that those in the Holy Orders have, particularly the bishop, and today, especially as those in Singapore commemorate the inauguration of the ministry of the new Archbishop, Archbishop William Goh, it is most appropriate to look into the intimate nature of the relationship that the bishop has, both with God, and with the Church.

Those in the Holy Orders, and those committing themselves to pious, religious life, do not marry, not because they disobey the Lord, but because they commit themselves to God and His people so much that, they are in fact married to God and His Church. They had become the bride of the Church upon their entry into the Holy Orders.

Does this relationship then bring about love and life? just as marriage does? Yes! definitely! For a priest, a bishop, and any ordained ministers, and those who commit themselves to God, share fully in the love of God, and through their ministry, they share this love with all the faithful in the Church, to whom they made themselves as conduits of God’s love, and also of God’s life.

They bring life through their ministry, through their words and actions, because they bring healing to those who are sick, maybe not physically, but most importantly spiritually. Many of us have become dead spiritually, because our hearts are empty. The priests recharge our dead spiritual selves and allow us to be alive again, through the life that God has granted us. Through evangelisation too, priests bring life, to those who listen to the Word of God and believe, that they receive new life through the waters of baptism.

For them, the Lord and the Church are their sole care, the people of God. They choose not for themselves any particular partner, so that they can make themselves available, to share the love of God, to all mankind, rather than to be limited in the family. But this does not mean that the family cannot share its love with others, only that those in the family will certainly need to put the priority of love, first and foremost, to the fruits of their marriage, that is their children, and the love they have for one another as husband and wife.

A bishop is even more intimately in a loving relationship with God and with His Church, because a bishop is like a chief shepherd, who loves all the sheep entrusted to him by the Chief of all shepherd, that is God. He must love the priests that have been placed under his care, just as he needs to love the people, the laity that had been entrusted to him. They are married to him, just as he too is married to the Lord, to be his most humble and dedicated servant, in the evangelisation of the Good News to all.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us inspire one another, and build good relationships among ourselves. Forgo our hatred and fear, and allow love and joy of companionship build up in all our hearts. Build healthy and strong relationships, be it friendship, or higher degree ones such as marriage or Holy Orders for those who chose either, and anchor them in love, and our faith in God. God will then surely bless all of us, with everlasting love and abundant blessings.

Finally, today, we also mark the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which falls annually on 24 May. We show our care for the oppressed and persecuted faithful in China, by building concrete bridges of love, to reach out to them, and care for them, and pray for them especially, that they may be strong, to resist the temptations of the world, and that those who suffer will receive their due reward for their unfailing faith.

We are one Church, one Body in Christ, my brothers and sisters in Christ, from all over the world we had come, and into one we have become, that is one in the Church of God, the Universal Church He established on Peter, His apostle. No human power, no government, no form of oppression or persecution, will be able to separate what God has made into one, not even in the case of China. Therefore, pray hard, brothers and sisters in Christ, that liberation will soon come, not only for those oppressed in China for their faith, but also in North Korea, and other places, where injustice, and prejudices against the faith in God is still rampant, even till today.

Our Lady of Sheshan, protector of the faithful ones in China, pray for them, and pray for all of us. God be with us all, through joy and sorrow, and through this darkened world, and may He bring us into the light of salvation. Amen.

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Sunday, 12 May 2013 : 7th Sunday of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear of the glory of God, who is to come, the glory of God who had been risen in glory from the dead and therefore triumphed over death and evil, and broke their hold over all of us for eternity. This God who had been taken up in glory to heaven, in the glorious Ascension, and seated at the right hand of God the Father. This was seen by the first martyr, Stephen the deacon, who saw and proclaim the glory of Christ, that despite knowing that such proclamation would certainly bring about his death at the hands of the chief priests.

God’s promise will become a reality, that He will soon once again come down onto this world, this time not as the humble king born in a manger, which we celebrate now as Christmas, but this time He will descend as a great and almighty king in glory, as the ruler of all creation and the Master of all the Universe. He will come as the great judge who will judge all for their own worth, whether they are worthy or unworthy of heaven that is the reward for those who are faithful, and for those who keep God in their hearts.

Those who knows Christ will know the Father, because Christ was sent by the Father into this world in His first coming to be our Messiah, our Saviour from death and the slavery of sin. If we hold fast onto this faith, Christ too will know us, and make all of us His own, and when the time comes for all of us to be judged, we will be welcomed into His Kingdom, and we will receive our rewards of eternal life.

Christ desires also, first and foremost, that all of those who believe in Him be one and united, as one Body, and therefore one Spirit, in the Church that He established through the Apostles. This is because Christ knows human weaknesses and the extent of human susceptibility to the devil’s influences. The evil one will stop at nothing to prevent his ultimate fate that is total defeat and damnation, but his fate has already been decided. Nevertheless, through his numerous agents and tools in this world, he can indeed make life difficult for those of us who believe and keep the faith.

Christ knows that the Church He had established will be fractured by the agents of Satan, through human pride and arrogance, and self-serving attitudes, that resulted in the breaking of the Body of the faithful. That is why He prayed, and prayed hard to His Father in heaven, that all the faithful ones in Him, His sheep, will remain as one, as indivisible from each other, just as He and the Father, and also the Holy Spirit are together and united in an immeasurably strong bond and unity.

His wish, that they all may be one, that all of us may be one, as one Church, one people, with one Creed, and one belief, had been dashed by the evils of human ambitions and weaknesses throughout the past centuries. Many had succumbed to the temptations of the world and false teachings, through numerous false prophets, aimed by Satan to confuse the Church and the faithful, and broke the unity within the Body of Christ, that is the Church.

False prophets like Arius, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, and many others who even claimed themselves Messiah or the second coming of Christ, had spread seeds of disunity among the faithful, and also spread false teachings that ended up confusing the faithful and snared many into damnation because of them believing in teachings in contrary to the teachings of Christ, as delivered to us through the Apostles and the early Church Fathers.

Many today in our world had claimed that faith must be a personal one, that is to be a personal ‘encounter’ with Christ. But they had forgotten that faith in Christ is impossible to be described in personal terms, or separated from the whole community of the faithful, that is the Church. Humans are inherently weak because of our imperfections, and because of our own sinful nature, since our first rebellion through our ancestors who disobeyed the Lord’s command not to eat the fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Since then, many think too high of themselves, thinking that they are capable of great wisdom and possessing great knowledge, and therefore are capable of interpreting the Scripture on their own, and as they like it. This is why, although reading the Scripture is important for the development of the faith, we have to anchor ourselves in the authority and the teaching magisterium of the Church, as only in good guidance of the Church, that we can fully make use and understand the Scripture.

For the Scripture was written by the apostles and disciples of Christ, who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and also the numerous prophets of the past times, who also received the message of the Lord, many of which are veiled messages that are part of the mystery of our faith. Even someone who is very knowledgeable and experienced in the Scripture, will certainly not be able to claim to fully understand the full and true meaning of God’s words contained in the Scripture.

Many today and in the past interpreted the words of God in the Scripture as they wished, and they ended up establishing new ‘faiths’ that they call churches, which in fact exist in thousands, millions, and maybe more today. There are as many ‘churches’ as there are heads, obviously because no one can agree perfectly with one another and mankind will certainly be influenced by pride and arrogance to shut out other’s own interpretations and keep one’s own interpretations to oneself. Such is the danger of self-faith and faith that does not conform to the will of God in the Church.

Indeed, many of them sinned grievously because they had caused division in the body of the faithful, the Church, the Body of Christ, and also spreading false teachings, and many of these, especially are intertwined with relativism, that is to include secular developments into the faith, which are in fact incompatible, and therefore, the faith, the true faith that we know of, no longer exists in those who had gone astray.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, strengthen your faith and resolve! Do not give up to the temptations of Satan and this world. Read the Scripture and learn the faith through the teachings of the Church, and deafen yourselves to the false allures of the false prophets and agents of the evil one. Be steadfast and be faithful, and the Lord will reward all of you.

Help one another in the faith, and pass the teachings of the Lord in the Church to those, especially those who had gone astray in their path, and those who has had wrong impression and ideas about the true faith in God. Who says that Christians can only evangelise to non-Christians and non-believers? Look into ourselves, and you can see so much division within the Body of Christ that is the Church, that we need to do some internal housecleaning first.

Just as Christ said, that if we are united then the world will believe in the Lord, if we are divided against ourselves, by attacking one another’s faith, how is the Church going to stand and bring then the fight to the devil? Let us strive to fulfill Christ’s wish and indeed, God’s will, that the entire community of the believers in Christ, would be reunited, into one body, one faith, and one belief in Christ our Lord, within His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, our Roman Catholic Church, the one and only true Church that Christ had established in this world, on Peter His Apostle, on whom He entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.

May God strengthen the unity between Christians and allow all those who believe in Him to be reunited once again within one Church, and one faith, under the authority and jurisdiction of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter the Apostle, keeper of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and Vicar of Christ in this world. God bless all of us, Amen.