eternal life

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Wednesday, 18 February 2015 : Ash Wednesday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the beginning of the holy and solemn season of Lent, the forty days period that begins today and ends on the beginning of the Holy Week, as a season of preparation for the approaching celebration of the most important aspects of our faith, that is the celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection from the dead.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the beginning of that penitential season, a time for us to reflect on ourselves and on our own lives, in terms of what we had done in this life and in what we have failed to do as the Lord commanded us. This is a time for us to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, taking advantage of the rich mercy and love which He had shown us through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In today’s readings, first taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, the content is one of humble lamentation and begging for supplication, by the people of God who had longed for a long period of time, the salvation in God. They have longed for the rescue and the help which only our Lord could give, the true joy and happiness which only He can give us and nothing else of this world could.

And in that same reading, we can see how our Lord Himself also desired for the salvation of His beloved people, no matter how sinful or wicked they were. It is only one thing that the Lord wants out of them, that is for them to abandon their sins, and from then on to love Him with all of their hearts and with the full and complete strength of their beings.

Sin is a great bane for mankind, that is the one which has separated us from the love of God, and it has caused us much great sufferings in this world. Before sin entered into the world and into the hearts of men, everything were good and perfect, and mankind were destined for a life in eternal joy and happiness as the Lord intended it, to live with Him and reign with Him forever.

Yet, our pride, our desire and greed, our emotions and our prejudice had prevented us from accomplishing such a wondrous life. Our ancestors were tempted and they failed. They gave in to the temptation of Satan, that is the temptation of knowledge. And ever since then, mankind had been in rebellion against God, and without God, mankind cannot stand up and preserve themselves, for truly we need God in our daily life.

Yes, our Lord and God provided us with everything that we need and He knows all that we will ever need. There is absolutely no need to worry for anything, as if we trust in Him, we shall never be disappointed. But, many of us continue to worry about the things of this world, and we are often swayed to follow our peers and be corrupted by the many concerns and pleasures of this world, the pleasures of the flesh.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, ever since sin entered into the hearts of men, we have been made dirty and unworthy, as desire and greed became a part of us. We are not easy to be satisfied, and we also easily becoming jealous and hateful towards others, all because of desire and vanity, pride and arrogance, thinking that the world is all about us and everything revolves around us.

And today in the Gospel, God made it clear to us that He meant business. He showed the depth of our wickedness as even in fasting we can commit sin, by fasting for the sake of doing it, or even worse, as the Pharisees had done it, by showing off their supposed piety by fasting very publicly and openly to gain human praise and earthly prestige, but in their hearts there was no place for God.

In their pride and arrogance, they showed the worst human qualities and capacities for sin and wickedness. They were so caught up in their pride, for being supposedly the elites of the society and the role models in faith, that they forgot to give glory to God, the One whom they ought to serve and welcome into the world. Instead, they rejected Him and piled troubles and obstacles upon obstacles in God’s work of salvation, and as a result, they were accursed and rejected as well by God.

What is the best attitude, brothers and sisters? What is the attitude we should adopt then? It is through humility and understanding of our own sinfulness, and in knowing the corruptions and wickedness that had separated us from the Lord, then we can be led on the right path towards salvation and life in the Lord our God. And on this day, this Ash Wednesday is a reminder of our own frailty, of our own sinfulness and wickedness, and of how much we need the Lord our God to be in our lives.

When the priest imposes the ashes upon our forehead, and with the words that accompany it, these are a reminder for all of us to know that as we are created from dust, from the earth, then to the earth too our bodies will return. Our bodies may perish when we die and turn back to the dust, but our soul is eternal and will live forever, either in eternal joy with God, or in eternal suffering in hell. And on the day of the resurrection, on the last day, God will raise us up all body and spirit, and we will rejoice forever in His glory, with a renewed body of glory, if we remain faithful to Him.

We are all reminded through this, that whatever achievements we have in this life, and whatever glory and praises we have accumulated in this life. And whatever honour and fame we have received from men, in the end all these will not benefit us. Jesus our Lord had repeated this many times, with the example of the parable telling us how a rich man piled up his great wealth and thinking he had it all secure for his future happiness and indulgence, when the Lord was in fact about to end his life there and then.

An important lesson for us all is that we should not build for ourselves a treasure that will not last. Build instead the eternal treasure and riches which we can only build through our obedience to our Lord, and not through greed and hoarding of the resources and the goods of this world. Our earthly life is just temporary, and is a precursor to the eternal life which we will all receive from God Himself at the end of time, if we remain faithful to His laws and precepts.

It is imperative therefore for us to reflect on this imposition of the ashes, and as we begin our Lenten journey, the forty days of retreat and recollection of our own lives, which is designed to help us to find our way again to the Lord and to rediscover the focus and purpose of our lives, that is to bring glory to God by our actions and deeds. We have to indeed recall the forty days of suffering and difficulties which our Lord Jesus went through as He walked in the desert for forty days and nights without food.

The devil tried to dissuade Him and pull Him away from His works of salvation by telling all sorts of lies about humanity, and taking advantage of the human emotions, needs and wants in order to prevent the salvation of many souls to be done. But the Lord Jesus remained completely obedient to the wishes of His Father in heaven, and despite the temptations, Jesus continued on without qualms and with firm conviction in the faith of the Lord.

In the same way therefore too, we will all eventually encounter difficult times in life. There will be temptations that threaten to cause us to sin and do even more wicked things. If we are unable to resist, then the lures of Satan will get to us eventually. What is at stake is nothing else than the fate we are to face, whether it be eternal suffering for our disobedience or eternal life and happiness for our obedience.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter into this season of Lent and begin our preparation for Easter earnestly, let us all take a step back in our lives, take the time out from our busy daily schedules, and learn to find some time to be with the Lord our God. This is a season of prayer, of sincere atonement and seeking for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Fasting and abstinence are meant to help us to achieve this, and when we fast and abstain, we must have a clear goal in mind, that is to help us overcome the distraction and temptation on our way to God, and not to show it off to others.

May this season of Lent help us to become ever more faithful children and servants of our God, and may He continue to watch over us and guide us so that we will not be overcome by the forces of evil arrayed against us. God bless us all. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Ash Wednesday (I Classis) – Wednesday, 18 February 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Wisdom 11 : 24, 25, 27 and Psalm 56 : 2

Misereris omnium, Domine, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti, dissimulans peccata hominum propter paenitentiam et parcens illis : quia Tu es Dominus, Deus noster.

Miserere mei, Deus, miserere mei : quoniam in Te confidit anima mea.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

You have mercy upon all, o Lord, and hated none of the things which You have made, winking at the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them, for You are the Lord our God.

Have mercy on me, o God, have mercy on me, for my soul trusts in You.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Praesta, Domine, fidelibus Tuis : ut jejuniorum veneranda solemnia, et congrua pietate suscipiant, et secura devotione percurant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Grant to Your faithful, o Lord, that they may both undertake the venerable solemnities of fasting with piety and carry them through with unwavering devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity if the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Quinquagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 15 February 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 30 : 3-4, 2

Esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum refugii, ut salvum me facias : quoniam firmamentum meum et refugium meum es Tu : et propter Nomen Tuum dux mihi eris, et enutries me.

In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum : in justitia Tua libera me et eripe me.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

May You be unto me a God, a Protector, and a place of refuge, to save me. For You are my strength, and my refuge, and for Your Name’s sake You will be my leader and will nourish me.

In You, o Lord, I have hoped, let me never be confounded. Deliver me in Your justice, and set me free.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Preces nostras, quaesumus, Domine, clementer exaudi : atque, a peccatorum vinculis absolutos, ab omni nos adversitate custodi. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Of Your clemency harken unto our prayers, o Lord, loosen us from the bonds of sin, and keep us from all adversity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Saturday, 14 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard of the fall of mankind and how mankind had been tainted by sin and evil, because of their disobedience against the Lord’s will and commandments, which He had established with them earlier on when He created them. Sin came into the hearts of men due to the vulnerability of us all mankind against the temptations which Satan arrayed against us.

Mankind received the punishment for their disobedience, and at first it might seem that they would forever be condemned and sundered from the goodness and the graces intended for them from the beginning of time. Yes, God intended not harm for us, but happiness, joy and everlasting fulfillment in Him, as the Garden of Eden was to show us all. Life before sin was perfect and complete, where mankind have all the things that they needed, and above all else, they had their Lord with them, who gave them all that they would ever need.

But mankind fell into the temptation of the evil one, who played upon our natural desire and curiosity, and when he offered our ancestors the opportunity to become equal with God, by getting beyond our boundaries and disobey the Lord, we forever therefore, all of mankind, had been tainted by that rebellion which Satan has brought upon us all mankind. Satan himself had fallen into evil because of his own pride and vanity, which he then passed on to mankind.

And by our nature, it is difficult to satiate our desire and wants. And ever since we ate of the tree of knowledge of the good and evil, our desire to know more and have more for ourselves only increased. And in that, we committed ever more sins, and ever greater in wickedness. How many times we can recognise greed and desire behind the actions of men when they sought to gain more in terms of material goods as well as other things?

And that is why our Lord want to liberate us from our slavery to our desires and wants. He came to show us that all that we need truly is to be faithful to our Lord and put our complete trust in Him, and He will provide us with all the things that we will ever need. He is our Lord, our Creator and our loving Father, and as such, He knows every one of us, in all that we need and in all the things we do.

He cares for all of us, and through Jesus, He made it all clear to us. The feeding of the hungry four thousand men in today’s Gospel tells us all about how God cares for our needs. We all naturally get hungry and we want to eat, and our Lord provided them with food, from the seven loaves of bread He gave His grace and power, and made the bread sufficient for all of them to eat until full.

Yet, one bad trait of mankind is our inability to know the limits to our desires. We always desire for more and more, and the more we are given, even more things we desire for ourselves. The people of Israel when they were on their way from Egypt out of their slavery and into the Promised Land, complained and protested against the Lord that the food that they had when they were in Egypt was much better, even though God had made large birds to come and provide them with those as food, and also with even the bread from heaven itself, that is the manna.

And God also provided them with sweet and crystal-clear pure water which He made to pour out from the earth itself. Such was the love and care that God had poured upon His beloved people, that He gave the best of all things to them. But they spurned that love and rejected Him, complaining and resisting with obstinate hearts. And destruction and ruin were what they deserved.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the holy saints and servants of God who were the evangelisers of the Faith in many countries and areas now known as Eastern Europe. They standardised the language used in those regions, the languages used for the means of the Church. And using those languages and the Scriptures translated into those languages, they managed to bring many people who used to be in the darkness and bring them into the light of our Lord.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius should both give us an inspiration to carry on the knowledge which we have received on the love which our God has for us, to more and more people who have yet to receive it, to those who have yet to witness it, and to all those who still lay in the darkness of the world. They have brought the light of Christ and bring about their salvation.

So much and so great is God’s great love for us that He sent us His faithful servants and called them from the world to bring about our salvation and safety. Thus, shall we all cast aside all of our pride, our greed and our stubbornness, and then carry up our cross and follow Christ our Lord? He has provided us all freely with the salvation that He bought for us through His sacrifice and death on the cross.

May Almighty God bless us all, guide us all on our way, and protect us from harm of the evil one, and while awakening in us the love which we all ought to have for Him. Let us all be thankful and grateful for the rich love and mercy which our Lord had shown us, and be grateful for all He had provided us, knowing how to say enough when we have enough for us, for what we need. God be with us all. Amen.

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(Special – Singapore) Saturday, 14 February 2015 : Solemnity of the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 84 : 9-14

Would that I hear God’s proclamation, that He promise peace to His people, His saints – lest they come back to their folly. Yet His salvation is near to those who fear Him, and His Glory will dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced. Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.

The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit. Justice will go before Him, and peace will follow along His path.

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Thursday, 12 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5

Blessed are you who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

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Wednesday, 11 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of Lourdes, World Day of the Sick (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (our Lady of Lourdes)

Psalm 103 : 1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; o Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment.

They all look to You for their food in due time. You give it to them, and they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.

You take away their breath, they expire and return to dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and the face of the earth is renewed.

Alternative reading (Mass of our Lady of Lourdes)

Judith 13 : 18bcde, 19

My daughter, may the Most High God bless you more than all women on earth. And blessed be the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has led you to behead the leader of our enemies.

Never will people forget the confidence you have shown; they will always remember the power of God.

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Monday, 9 February 2015 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 103 : 1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24 and 35c

Bless the Lord, my soul! Clothed in majesty and splendour; o Lord, my God, how great You are! You are wrapped in light as with a garment.

You set the earth on its foundations, and never will it be shaken. You covered it with the ocean like a garment, and waters spread over the mountains.

You make springs gush forth in valleys winding among mountains and hills, birds build their nests close by and sing among the branches of trees.

How varied o Lord, are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all – the earth full of Your creatures. Bless the Lord, my soul!

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(Usus Antiquior) Sexagesima Sunday (II Classis) – Sunday, 8 February 2015 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : Violet

Introit

Psalm 43 : 23-26, 2

Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine? Exsurge, et ne repellas in finem : quare faciem Tuam avertis, oblivisceris tribulationem nostram? Adhaesit in terra venter noster : exsurge, Domine, adjuva nos, et libera nos.

Deus, auribus nostris, audivimus : patres nostri annuntiaverunt nobis.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Arise, why do You sleep, o Lord? Arise, and do not cast us off to the end. Why do You turn Your face away, and forget our trouble? Our belly had cleaved to the earth. Arise, o Lord, help us and deliver us.

O God, we have heard with our ears; our fathers have declared to us.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Deus, qui conspicis, quia ex nulla nostra actione confidimus : concede propitius; ut, contra adversa omnia, Doctoris gentium protectione muniamur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, who sees that we do not put our trust in any deed of our own, mercifully grant that by the protection of the Teacher of the Gentiles we may be defended against all adversities. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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Friday, 6 February 2015 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about the stories of faithful marriage and what we must do to preserve sanctity and holiness in our matrimony, as well as the story of the death and martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the messenger and herald of the Lord, who was murdered, albeit unintentionally by Herod, the king of Judea at the time.

The readings of today are all related in that they spoke of the same theme, that is the sanctity of marriage, the holiness which should be maintained at all times in our marriage, and not only in our marriage but also in our lives. And they also highlighted to us the dangers and obstacles that will come our way if we stay faithful to our Lord, the opposition and difficulties that will be laid upon us.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Paul Miki and his companions, who are the brave and courageous servants of the Lord, who were martyred for their Faith during the violent persecutions of the faithful in Japan during the early years of the seventeenth century under the Tokugawa shogunate. St. Paul Miki was a Jesuit, a faithful missionary and servant of God, and a very successful preacher of his time, bringing many into the Church through his words and actions.

The faith had been growing strong in Japan at that time, and hundreds of thousands, peasants and lords alike have turned towards the Lord, accepting God as their Lord and Saviour. However, the secular government at the time changed their earlier toleration of the Faith and became very hostile to it. To them, the Faith is a threat to their existence, simply because it spoke the truth about this world, that is filled with much filth and wickedness.

And thus St. Paul Miki and his companions suffered, for they remained true to their Faith and refused to succumb to the temptations of the world, and they spoke for the truth which Christ had brought upon this world. They were persecuted and tortured, but they did not give up the Faith, and instead through their perseverance, they showed the truth of Christ to all who have tortured and persecuted them. Some even believed, converted and followed in being martyred with them.

And St. John the Baptist had also endured the same suffering for the Lord, for speaking up the truth of the Lord, out of concern for mankind and all the sins they have committed. He chastised Herod and his brother’s wife, Herodias, whom Herod had taken as if she was his own wife. This was a great adultery, the improper relations one had outside of marriage, and this is what St. Paul in his letter to the Hebrews had reminded us all against.

By the fornication of the flesh which Herod and Herodias had committed, by being unfaithful to the sanctity of marriage and through their actions which spat upon the sacredness of the bonds of holy matrimony, they have sinned greatly before God. And what is truly sad is that, despite having sinned before the Lord, they continued to live in their sin, and being engulfed in that sin, they ended up sinning even more.

Indeed, such is the great danger of sin, that it continues to corrupt the soul and bring us to sin even more. Herod was corrupted with the sin of greed, of lust and of pride, and with Herodias, they together committed the sin of adultery, and later on Herodias also developed the sin of anger and hatred against the truth spoken by St. John the Baptist.

And Herod gave in to the temptation of the flesh, when he saw the beauty of Herodias’ daughter, giving in to temptation, and under that same temptation, proclaiming vows and oaths he could not retract later on. And Herod therefore took part in the slaying of the messenger of God, and his sin grew ever more. Herod sinned because he refused to repent and continued in his sinfulness and in not changing his life.

This is a warning and a revelation to all of us, that the anchor of our faith, the foundation of our lives must be strong, that is our families. If our families are built upon a solid foundation of faith, that is keeping holiness and purity in our marriage and married life, then we can be assured that sin will have a hard time to get unto us. It does not mean that we will be free from the threat of sin, which is ever-present, but rather that if our families and the institution of marriage are not well respected, then the danger of sin is ever the greater, just as the case of Herod had shown us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we ought to recall the examples of the holy saints and martyrs, of the courage of St. John the Baptist who dared to chastise a king to make him see the errors of his ways. Even though this was not to happen, but at least through what he had done, he became a shining symbol of the true faith in the Lord.

And the examples of St. Paul Miki and his companions should also inspire us, that sin and all of the darkness of evil has no power over us as long as we remain faithful to the Lord. St. Paul Miki was tortured, scourged and humiliated, and they were made to an extremely arduous journey and death march from the Imperial capital of Kyoto to Nagasaki, where they were martyred, a very great distance for them to march under terrible condition and torture by their executors.

Yet, they gladly march to meet their death, and they sang the great thanksgiving hymn to God, the ‘Te Deum’ along the way. This is because they knew that they had stood up for their faith and for the Lord, and in what they have done, they had brought countless others into salvation in God, and that God would not abandon them and they would not be disappointed.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all profoundly change our way of life and reflect on the actions of the holy martyrs and saints which I have mentioned. Let us no longer live in sin, but dedicate ourselves to a life of holiness, a life filled with virtue and the love of God. May Almighty God be with us all, forgive us all our sins and in His mercy and love, may He find us worthy for our deeds made out of faith and love for Him and grant us eternal life. Amen.