exemplary

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Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast of the Church, the Marian feast of Theotokos, Mother of God, as well as this day as the day of universal prayer for the peace in the world. On this day, also the first day of this new year of our Lord 2015, we give thanks to God for the past year, for all that He had done for us, the wonders and graces He had provided us in the year that had passed.

And on this New Year’s Day too, we ought to look forward and see in this new year to come, an ample opportunity for us to do what we have not been able to do in the previous year, and thus we have to reflect and evaluate on our own lives, our ways of life and how we interact with one another. This new year should begin with a new resolution on our side to achieve peace in this world, a lasting peace without hatred and violence, and one that is inspired by the examples of the Blessed Mother of our Lord, Mary.

For Mary is our role model, both in life and in how we should be faithful to the Lord. She is special amongst men and all who were created by God, for firstly she is the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore as He is both fully God and fully Man, she is by that virtue is the Mother of God, or in the original Greek, Theotokos, and it is this nature and title bestowed on Mary, the faithful servant of God, that we rejoice together as one Church.

There are unfortunately those who failed to understand this nature of Mary, and the great role she had played in the history of the salvation of mankind. They refused to honour her and glorify her, because they thought that in doing so they have idolises her and made her as if to be a goddess. But they were mistaken in this, and that was the lie that Satan tried to propagate in order to destroy the Church and harm the faithful ones.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, why do we honour Mary such, with many titles and graces? Why do we call her the Blessed Virgin Mary? Should we not honour man but God only? If we look deeper at the Scriptures and its meaning, then we will understand. Mary herself mentioned in the Magnificat, the prayer of rejoicing and revelry at the fulfillment of God’s promise through her, that she was blessed for all ages because of what God had done through her.

And we honour Mary as the mother of God because in Jesus we see the true, complete, full and perfect unity between the Divinity of which He is God, part of God and is truly God, limitless and omnipotent, and the Humanity, of which He was made into Flesh, the flesh of Man by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary is the mother of Jesus, both God and Man at the same time, fully God and fully Man, without separation, distinct in the two natures of divine and humanity, but united in the one person of Jesus Christ.

Those who deem Mary as a ‘goddess’ that we worship, do not make sense at all. If Mary is a goddess, then truly, where would the humanity of Christ come from? Indeed, God is almighty and it would truly be a trivial matter for Him to come directly in the form of Man if He so wished, but He chose to come through the woman, so that what God had revealed to man at the beginning of time might come to its full completion.

God said to Satan, in the serpent, and to the first woman, Eve, that he would bite the heels of the sons of the woman, while the woman will crush the serpent under her feet. Satan had introduced sin to men, and ever since that moment of rebelliousness and disobedience, men had fallen into sin, and apparently with no hope of rescue or escape, that is until the Woman came and made full God’s promises.

That woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She obeyed the Lord fully and let herself be used for the entire purpose of God, and as such, where Eve had failed, succumbing to her own vanity and personal desires for knowledge and more, Mary had succeeded and her examples became the source of inspiration for many. Mary remained faithful and committed to the Lord, to her Son and followed Him unto even His death on the cross.

Mary played such an important role in our Faith, as she was not merely just the mother of Jesus the Man, but also as the mother of the Word incarnate into flesh through her. The divinity and humanity of Jesus are completely and perfectly united in His person, two distinct natures but one person. Anyone who rejects this truth deviates from the teachings of Christ and is a heretic.

Such was the case with Arius, the famous preacher who would eventually be known for his role in the rise of the Arian heresy, where the rejection of the divinity of Christ was becoming commonplace, and this heresy was born out of the confusion that the devil spread in order to make the people unable to comprehend how Jesus could be both Divine and yet also Man at the same time.

If we look at the Scriptures, in the Holy Gospels, Jesus did things that both Man and the Divine do. He ate with His disciples, drank with them, was affected by sorrow and sadness, and He wept, yes for Lazarus, the one whom He was close friend with, when he apparently died from his sickness. Yet, at the same moment, He brought Lazarus back to life, healed the sick and forgave the sins of many, which are things that only God can do.

Thus, Jesus is truly fully Man and fully God, and it never occurred anywhere in the Gospels that the two natures were separate, but the two were always together. It was not merely the human Jesus that suffered for us on the cross, for no man could have born the entirety of the weight of the world’s sins, but God indeed can do so, and it was Jesus, both God and Man, who carried that cross up to Calvary and die for our sins, that we may live.

And if Jesus is both God and Man, then it is perfectly fine for Mary to be called the Mother of God, and that was what the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year of our Lord 325 had affirmed in Faith, that Mary as the Mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Then, how is this relevant to us, brethren? That is because, Mary is our role model, and she is also our mother. For Mary has been set aside by God to be the mother of Jesus and in her works and actions, she became our example.

If all mankind are to follow the examples of Mary, then this world would have been so much better. No more violence, no more hatred, for if all were to follow Mary’s examples, they should have been filled with love, both for God and their fellow men, and not with hatred or evil. That is why, on this day, the day when Pope St. John XXIII dedicated his last Papal Encyclical, Pacem in Terris or Peace on Earth, this day is a day which we should dedicate with much prayer for the sake of peace in the world.

That time, the world had just been on the brink of a great nuclear war between the two superpowers of the world, and war had been avoided just because of very tense diplomacy between both sides. The threat of annihilation of countless peoples was just very great, one that we may not be familiar with today. Thus, as we begin this new year today, let us all pray together as one people, one Church, and all belonging to the house of the Lord, that peace, the peace of Christ may reign over all and the world, that it may dispel the evils that Satan had planted in this world and in us.

Jesus had entrusted Mary to John, His disciple, and that singular act is a great action of God entrusting His own mother to be the mother of us all. Let us thus, ask Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of our Lord and God, who is also our Mother, to pray for all of us, for she, even though not a god nor goddess but a human being, being closest to the throne of her Son in heaven, she may intercede for us and gain for us the richness of the mercy and grace of our God. God bless us all. Amen.

First Reading :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (First Reading)


Psalm :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Psalm)


Second Reading :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Second Reading)


Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/31/thursday-1-january-2015-solemnity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-mother-of-god-octave-day-of-christmas-and-world-day-of-prayer-for-peace-gospel-reading/

Epistle (Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord) :

(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord, Octave Day of Christmas (Double II Classis) – Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Epistle


Gospel (Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord) :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/31/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-circumcision-of-our-lord-octave-day-of-christmas-double-ii-classis-thursday-1-january-2015-holy-gospel/

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Sunday, 28 December 2014 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are celebrating the great feast of the Holy Family of Jesus our Lord, and His mother Mary and His foster-father Joseph. On this day, in the midst of this joyful season of Christmas when we celebrate the Birth of Jesus into this world, we reflect on the family which Jesus had, the perfect and model family which all of the faithful should emulate.

The Holy Family is a family not built on glamour or the wealth of this world, but on love and rich with the graces of God. It is not just because Jesus Christ our Lord is one of the Family, but because of the active participation of all members of the family, namely Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Jesus was an obedient Son, who listened to His mother even though at times He told her of things which she was not aware of, due to His unique nature of both being God and Man. The perfect example of this would be the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle of turning water into wine, listening to His mother’s pleas on behalf of the bride and bridegroom in trouble.

Mary, then, was a loving and caring mother, who was genuinely concerned for her family and first of all, for her Son, Jesus. Mary devoted her entire life caring for Jesus as He grew up from a Baby into His adulthood, ready for the mission for which He entered this life. She followed her through His mission in life and even unto His suffering and death on the cross. She stood by faithfully on the foot of the cross, just as He suffered and died for us, for our sake and to atone for our sins.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph was not related by blood to Jesus at all, but he was related to Jesus through his legal marriage to Mary. As such he became the foster-father of our Lord and Saviour. At first he had his sceptic moment when he found that Mary was pregnant without him even married to him yet. He thought that she was unfaithful to him, but Joseph was a righteous man and a responsible person. For Mary’s own good he wanted to divorce her quietly so that she would not suffer the repercussion.

Joseph was therefore a good father figure to Jesus, and the one likely who taught Him various things in life, educating Him on skills and even perhaps on carpentry. Jesus was likely also a carpenter as His foster-father was. He was an upright man who took his duties and responsibilities seriously. He protected his family well, and he brought them to Egypt to live in exile while those who sought the death of Jesus his foster-Son was around.

All of the members of the Holy Family therefore are good examples for us all. They showed us how we should behave as a family. A family is not built on just mere coincidences, arrangements, or infatuations. A family is built on firm foundation of love, the love that is the same as the love which God had for us. Yes, love that does not perish with goods and love that does not demand a return.

We have to realise today in our world that many of our families are losing their integrity and harmony, because we are losing genuine love in the family. More and more people today are only concerned about themselves and not about others. When members of a family start to put each of them and their own interests above that of the others, then things will certainly not look good for the prospect of that family.

In addition, if we note the readings today talking about Abraham and his wife, Sarah, who had been rewarded by God after many years of fruitless marriage without any children, with the promised child Isaac, who would be the father of many, earning Abraham what God had promised him, that his descendants would number as many as the stars.

Abraham was rewarded because of his faith, as was with Sarah. Sarah did have her skepticism as well, when she heard of the news that she would be pregnant in her old age and give birth to a child, and she even laughed at that. But, eventually, she trusted in God as her husband had, and for this faith they had shown, they bring themselves and make themselves to be a good, harmonious, successful and holy family.

This is another thing often lacking from our lives as a family. We rarely spend time together and each person are busy with their own business and things, so that we end up growing more and more distant with every passing moment. It is no wonder that fights and disharmony arose out of this situation. Remember that there is a saying, ‘A family that prays together, stays together’?

It was not written in the Bible or the Gospels that the Holy Family did this, but it is most likely beyond any doubt, from what we know of the characters in the Holy Family, that Jesus, Mary His mother and His foster-father Joseph often and regularly prayed together to God, at their meals, at the time when they were working, and at many other times.

If we, as a family, pray constantly to God, I am certain that we will grow closer to the Lord, and if we learn to love and be faithful as the Holy Family had been faithful, in how Jesus, Mary and Joseph played their respective roles in God’s plan for our salvation, I am certain, that we will have genuine love, faith and harmony growing in our families.

There will surely be plenty of challenges and difficulties along the way, but if we persevere, we are certain to be able to pull through together and emerge out as families even stronger than ever before. Let us all model our families on the Holy Family, learning to love one another, putting aside our differences and letting go of our ego and pride, that often cause division and destruction to our families.

Families are the basic units of the faithful in the Church, and it is through the family that we can inculcate faith in the future generations. It has been proven that a family that prays together, keeps up hope for one another at times of distress and stay faithful to the Lord will emerge in the end, as truly faithful and devoted children of God. It is often those without good and proper family background that lose out their faith, and as a result are denied forever the hope of salvation in God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be like the Holy Family in our families, staying filled with love and grace, with faith and genuine devotion to the Lord, that at the end of days, all of us will together embrace the Lord our loving Father and be saved together as one family, and as one people. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/sunday-28-december-2014-feast-of-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph-and-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/sunday-28-december-2014-feast-of-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph-and-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-psalm/

 

Second Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/sunday-28-december-2014-feast-of-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph-and-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-second-reading/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/sunday-28-december-2014-feast-of-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph-and-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-gospel-reading/

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(Usus Antiquior) Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Wenceslaus, Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 28 September 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of St. Wenceslaus, martyr of the faith, Duke and ruler of Bohemia, a holy, devoted and pious leader of his people, and ultimately, the humble and good servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who walked in His path so faithfully, that he brought good things to those entrusted under his care, and he even obeyed Him all the way unto death in the hands of his enemies.

The key of our readings from the Holy Scriptures on this holy day is that we ought to be exemplary and faithful in our lives, so that in every things that we do, we do it in e Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that through our every words and deeds, we may give glory to our Lord, and so all those who see us will know who the Lord is, and that we belong to Him, and we are saved by our works.

For the Scriptures had said, that even the Gentiles would come to proclaim the Lord as Lord and God, even though they once did not know who He was, until the Apostles came to them and deliver to them the Good News of God’s salvation which He had first proclaimed to the world through the coming and the works of Jesus, His Son. The Apostles became living witnesses of His works, and thus from them, they passed on that knowledge to others, who in turn became witnesses of the faith.

Jesus Himself showed to His people, how to live as a faithful and good servant of our Lord. The cardinal virtues of faith, hope and love are always indeed at the forefront, and we should always keep these in mind. And in all things, we ought to think not of ourselves first, but we ought to keep the Lord ever first in our minds and our hearts, and then also our brethren around us.

Jesus criticised the Pharisees and the elders of the people of God, who failed to look beyond the words of the Law of God, on the matter pertaining to the sabbath day and its observations. They failed to understand the meaning of those laws which God had given His people, and instead, they oppressed the people by their strict and unbending word-to-word obedience to the law. But, as Jesus made it clear to them their folly, that what they did was in fact feeding on their own ego and obeying their own human-made laws and not the law of God.

For the Law of God is in essence, love. And love will not cause or bring unnecessary suffering among the people whom He loved greatly. What He seeks after all is not empty promises and empty profession of faith, or empty observances of the laws and the events, but rather, a true and sincere love which mankind, His people, has for Him. He seeks for our hearts and our love, not our appearances!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why St. Paul and the Apostles, as well as all the saints and holy men and women of God were witnesses to the love of God, and what He desired out of us. They showed not by mere words or appearances, as the Pharisees and the elders had once done. Where these people showed off their supposed ‘piety’ in the common places by praying loudly and openly in the sight of the people for their praise, the Apostles and disciples of Christ toiled and worked, in the defense of their faith and in the effort to bring the Good News to the people, to us all.

And St. Wenceslaus, the saint whose feast we celebrate today is no different indeed. He was born into privilege, into the ruling house of Bohemia and Moravia, which today corresponds to the territories of both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and St. Wenceslaus became the Duke of Bohemia, a great lord and a respected position in Christendom.

St. Wenceslaus was one of the first Christian rulers of his people, together with his father. Many of the people under his care remained as pagans and beyond the reach of the Church. St. Wenceslaus was a wise and great ruler, who truly cared for his people. He built many churches and other facilities, designed to help the people of God, both in things physical and spiritual. He helped the faith to grow and spread among the faithful, bringing countless souls closer to salvation.

He led by example, and practiced his faith by real and concrete example, serving the people of God humbly even though he is mighty and powerful. He brought the people he has been entrusted with closer to the love of God, as a faithful shepherd and servant of God. He had his enemies of course, and those plotted against him, assassinating him while he was on his way to a celebration, the enemies of all the faithful and the agents of Satan who had done this to remove this holy servant of God.

Yet they have failed in the end, as the examples of St. Wenceslaus shone very brightly for all to see and follow, and he was made a saint, truly because of his great virtues in life, and he now is our intercessor in heaven, who together with the many other holy men and women, pray for us unceasingly before our Lord, that we too may repent from our sins, and endeavour to be faithful in all of our actions.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be examples to one another, that in our actions and deeds, we show our faith in God, and we show how devoted we are to the Lord, not just by empty promises and professions, but through real action, founded upon the three cardinal virtues of our faith, that is faith, hope and love, and love for God as well as love for our fellow men. God bless us all, brethren, now and forever. Amen.

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Monday, 22 September 2014 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 8 : 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather he puts it on a lampstand, so that people coming in may see the light. In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret that shall not be known clearly.

“Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces will be given more, but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them.”

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Monday, 8 September 2014 : Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate together the feast of the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, that is our beloved Blessed Virgin Mary. Today we celebrate her birth into this world, or her nativity, much like we celebrate the birth occasion of her Son, Jesus Christ, at Christmas. We all know that the Blessed Virgin Mary had been chosen from among all mankind and from among all woman, prepared and ready for her role as the bearer of our Lord to come into the world.

This is what was meant when St. Paul mentioned in his letter to the Church in Rome, that God did have a predestined path for certain those whom He had chosen in their lives, and to those whom God had known, He would prepare them in the path of righteousness and gave them His Glory. And the best example of this would be Mary, who was prepared fully to be the Mother of God incarnate into flesh, and through whose actions, obedience and devotion allowed the Lord to exercise His work of salvation to mankind.

Mary was prepared such that out of all mankind, save for Jesus alone, who is fully God and fully man, Mary was exceptional in that she was conceived without sin, in what is known as the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and thus she was also born without the taint of sin into this world filled with sin and darkness. She was to lead a faithful, devoted and exemplary life, obeying the Lord in all of His commandments and laws.

Mary thus became like a light and a great beacon in the darkness of this world, lighting up the way for others, and for all mankind who desire to seek the Lord and yet they cannot find their way in the darkness. She was light and bright because firstly and primarily, she was the Mother of God, the one who bore the Lord and Saviour into the world, Jesus Christ, who is the One and True Light. Then, secondly, through her virtues and examples she also became a beacon and guiding light for all.

Thus this is why we honour Mary so much, not to the point as some alleged that we worship her, but instead what we do is we give her the honour and adoration even beyond that of any other saints or angels in heaven. She is after all the Mother of God and the Queen of All Saints and Angels, as we had just recently celebrated the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. She deserved all these not just because she is the Mother of Jesus our Lord, but also through her virtues.

Through her own birth, which we are celebrating together today, Mary foreshadowed her own Son’s birth, which marked the entry of our Saviour and Lord into this world. And yet, this occasion is no less grand, since we indeed celebrate the entry of the Mother of that Saviour, with whose cooperation, devotion and dedication to God and His plans made salvation possible for all of us.

That is why Mary is also often mentioned as even the co-Redemptrix and Mother of graces, in that as the mother of our Lord, she truly worked together with her Son our Lord as the mediator of our salvation. It is with the cooperation and the obedience of Mary that her Son, our Lord was able to fully accomplish His mission to save all of us, and it is with her gentle care and passionate dedication to Jesus that all was made possible.

And all of that was of course due to what God had planned for Mary, the special woman whom He had chosen to be part of the great plan of salvation which God had long planned for all of us His children. God also has His plans for each and every one of us, but it is also up to us, whether we want to obey Him or not. We can choose to follow Him, but we can also choose to go our own way, and more likely than not, into our own destruction.

Therefore, in this, we can model after our Blessed Mother Mary, who is truly exemplary in her life as a servant of God and as a devoted mother, who cared for the Child Jesus when He was young and who nurtured love in Him, that His love for us mankind would be even greater, the most beloved of all His creations. Thus, as we celebrate her birthday today, let us not just rejoice in her and with her, but also we should emulate her example and follow her ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be more like Mary, in both our faith, and in how we show our love to one another. May Almighty God who made Mary perfect and good in His image also make us all good and perfect, which is what we all should aspire to be, to be like Mary in how we devote ourselves to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 7 September 2014 : Holy Gospel

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 17 : 11-19

In illo tempore : Dum iret Jesus in Jerusalem, transibat per mediam Samariam et Galilaeam. Et cum ingrederetur quoddam castellum, occurrerunt ei decem viri leprosi, qui steterunt a longe; et levaverunt vocem dicentes : Jesu praeceptor, miserere nostri.

Quos ut vidit, dixit : Ite, ostendite vos sacerdotibus. Et factum est, dum irent, mundati sunt. Unus autem ex illis, ut vidit quia mundatus est, regressus est, cum magna voce magnificans Deum, et cecidit in faciem ante pedes ejus, gratias agens : et hic erat Samaritanus.

Respondens autem Jesus, dixit : Nonne decem mundati sunt? Et novem ubi sunt? Non est inventus, qui rediret et daret gloriam Deo, nisi hic alienigena. Et ait illi : Surge, vade; quia fides tua te salvum fecit.

English translation

At that time, as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered into a certain town, there He met ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off, and lifted up their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

And when Jesus saw them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice, glorifying God. And he fell on his face before His feet, giving thanks and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answered, saying, “Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return, and give glory to God, but this stranger.” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way, for your faith had made you whole.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 24 August 2014 : Homily and Reflections on the Holy Scriptures

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how Jesus opened the ears and the tongue of the deaf and dumb person, who was brought to Jesus to be healed, and healed he was indeed. The openings of his ears were opened and the ligaments of his tongue loosened, he could therefore hear and speak once again. And it is in particular important for us to take note how this is closely related to the testimony of St. Paul to the Church in Corinth, on how he came about to the faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today’s Scripture and Gospel readings in fact talk about what happened during our own baptism, that singular and very important occasion when we are welcomed to be a member of the Holy Church of God, that is to no longer live in sin and in the darkness of this world, but instead embracing the light of Christ, professing Him to be our Lord and Saviour, and therefore cast out the veil that had blinded us and our senses to the great truth and majesty of the Lord. This applies to us be it that we are baptised in our early days in life or when we are baptised as adults.

In this Usus Antiquior rite, the celebration of the Mass of the Ages, we still faithfully kept in fullness the entirety of the sacred traditions we inherited from our fathers in faith, since the time of the early Church. And one of these sacred traditions was exactly the replica and reenactment of the actions which Jesus had done to the deaf and dumb man. This is called the Ephphetha or the opening of the ears and tongue, with the exact same meaning of the actions of Jesus we heard today.

The priest would do the same to the baby or the person being baptised, putting some spittle in the ears and touching the tongue of the person to be baptised, while saying the word, ‘Ephphetha’, to represent that because the priest in the person in Alter Christus, that is Christ personified, he represents the Lord who comes to open up our senses and end our blindness to His love and grace. And this is the very crucial and important meaning to this tradition we have kept faithfully since the beginnings of the Church.

This is meant to show the importance of baptism, as the gateway towards salvation, when we decide with full firmness and confidence to leave our old, sinful ways behind, that is also to leave behind a life of uncertainty and filled with doubts, and instead, come towards the Lord in order to begin a new life filled with faith, hope and love in the Lord. That means we are no longer blinded to God and His care for us, and we turn our back to our past lives, forgiven and given a new chance in life.

However, this must not stop here, as to stop here means that we have not done our part in life as the member of the Church and as the children of our loving God. In this, we can look at the example of St. Paul and what he had done for the sake of the Lord and his faith in Him. Remember, brethren, that faith saves us only if we commit ourselves to do good works based on that faith which we have, for without good works, our faith is as good as dead, and therefore we will not have any part in the salvation of God.

Baptism as I mentioned, with the rite of Ephphetha is just the beginning. It opens us up to the presence and to the power of God, which we are able to access and use for the good of ourselves and for those around us. All of us, each and every one of us had been given a special gift, all by the Lord who knows us and who knows what we are capable of doing. Therefore, it is only right that we use what we had been given with in order to bring much goodness to this world.

St. Paul himself was once a great sinner and even a great enemy of all the faithful, as Saul, the young Pharisee and zealot, who in his great but misled zeal, ended up pursuing, hunting and murdering many of the faithful of the earliest Church, the disciples of Christ in cold blood. He took part in the killing of the first martyr, Deacon Stephen, and he also hunted many of the faithful throughout Judea and Jerusalem, showing no mercy even to women and children whom he had dealt with.

He had even planned with great fervour and spirit to spread his works and persecutions to other places, with Damascus as one of his targets. Blinded as he was with hatred and misguided faith, as well as with the lies of the evil one, he seemed to be heading directly towards destruction and eternal damnation, but this was not what the Lord had in plan for him.

The Lord called Saul on the way to Damascus, revealing Himself and His truth to this wayward son, who eventually repented and was baptised by Ananias, the disciple of Christ. When Ananias laid his hands on Saul to heal him from his physical blindness, a scale which had covered his eyes fell off and he could see again, but then, this together with his baptism shortly later did not constitute just the opening of the physical eyes and senses, but eventually also the spiritual senses, allowing him to receive and understand what the Lord had in store for him and mankind.

This was how the great enemy of the Church and the faithful was completely transformed to become the greatest champion of the Lord and the bravest defender of the faith. No longer acting against God and His people, instead he preached about the Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ with a renewed purpose and zeal, calling many others to repent and follow in his footsteps. This is the purpose of his letters, which we heard today, that is to call mankind to repent and to love God sincerely once again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to reflect on our own lives, whether we have been following the Lord and whether we have done what is expected from us to do, as His followers, His children and as members of His living Church, the Body of Christ. Have we done our parts to help in the evangelisation and the conversion of many who still lived in darkness? Remember that just like the deaf and dumb man whose ears and tongues were opened, and like St. Paul whose eyes were opened and allowed to see again, we too have been restored in the fullness of our senses, not just physical but also spiritual.

We have our part to play in order to be witnesses of our faith. We should follow the example of St. Paul who spoke up for his faith and who proclaimed to many others in great humility, the honour and chance he had been given with by the Lord, who had called Him from the darkness into the light, giving him a new lease of life and a promise of life eternal in Him.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we also celebrate today the feast of St. Bartholomew, also known once as Nathaniel, a righteous man who was called by Jesus to be His disciple and Apostle, and who faithfully exercised his part to play in God’s plan of salvation even unto his martyrdom and death in the defense of his faith, let us all also follow in the footsteps of these saints. We have also been called by the Lord, given much by the Lord, and we ought therefore give back to Him what we can give, by showing our dedication to others, sharing our faith with those who have little or none.

May Almighty God therefore guide us in our goodness and works. May He be with us and grant us courage to speak up for our faith, that those who listen to us may also believe, and those who see our deeds and actions may also decide to be the followers of the Lord, and thus bringing more souls towards the salvation in God alone, that what we experienced at our baptism may also be experienced by others, removing the blindness of our body and soul, and enabling us all to experience the love of God. God be with us all, always and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 25 April 2014 : Friday within Easter Octave (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we see and hear the actions of the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus, when they met the Lord in the lake while fishing in the Gospel today, and we also hear the continuation of the tale of the healing of the paralytic man in the Temple by Peter and John, which happened after Jesus had ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit had been sent to the Apostles.

The theme of today’s readings is mission, and the courage to pursue that mission, doing the mission with the full intention for the benefit of the people of God. Brethren, we are all also the disciples of Christ like the Apostles who were in that boat fishing all night for fish and not getting even a single fish, but with the guidance and blessing of the Lord in Jesus, they caught so many fish that the ship almost sank.

And therefore, the same can be said of the lives we have today as the fishermen of the Lord. The Apostles had been called to become the fishers of men, that is to bring them closer and closer to God, and hence ‘catching’ them for God. They no longer catch fish in the lake, but went on to catch new ‘fishes’ in the larger sea, that is the world, bringing mankind and countless souls to salvation in God.

The disciples of Christ become the agents of Christ in disseminating the words of the Lord’s Good News, and through them, the people of God received the truth about Christ and find their way to God, and hence the Apostles were the fishers of men. But their roles did not just end there, for we too, all of us who had received the light of Christ through baptism had also been called to be fishers of men as well.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This means that we have to take up the cross that Christ had entrusted to us, which is the mission He had given to His apostles and from them, to us. We have to be the bearers of the Good News of the Lord, and this is likened to the fishing nets that we are to spread throughout the entire world through our actions, that we may net as many souls as possible, saved before the Lord, accepting the Lord as their God and Saviour, repenting from their past sins as we once had done.

This world is the vast sea, and indeed, the huge ocean of the faithless and the people who still live in darkness, that awaits us to bring the light of God to them. Just as the Apostles had waged a long and arduous mission and work to be the fishers of mankind for the Lord, we too have to continue their good works and bring much goodness to the lost people in darkness and enlighten them with the truth about God and His love for us all.

This world does not like us who believe in the Lord, just as it had once hated the Lord and Saviour Himself, for this world is under the power and dominion of Satan, the evil one. That is why, this world had first rejected the Lord, but as the First Reading and the Psalm had shown, that the rejected One had become the Cornerstone of all the people who keep their faith in God. And it is this truth about the Risen Lord that we are testifying for and standing up for as we go against the currents of this world, to bring salvation to many souls who hunger for the love of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we rejoice in this Easter season, and as we celebrate the joy of Christ’s resurrection, let us always be reminded that we still have this important mission, to be the fishers of men like the Apostles had once been, and bring mankind and one another ever closer to God. Let us keep an eye for one another, that none of us may fall into the tricks and traps of the evil one, so that we may remain faithful and firm in our conviction for the Lord.

May Almighty God guide us in our journey and as we embark on this arduous and yet blessed mission of bringing the Good News to all men, of all the nations. God be with us all, always, till the end of time. Amen.

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Thursday, 17 April 2014 : Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Easter Triduum (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 13 : 1-15

It was before the feast of the Passover. Jesus realised that His hour had come, to pass from this world to the Father; and as He had loved those who were His own in the world, He would love them with perfect love.

They were at supper, and the devil had already put into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Him. Jesus knew that the Father had entrusted all things to Him, and as He had come from God, He was going to God. So He got up from the table, removed His garment, and taking a towel, wrapped it around His waist.

Then He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel He was wearing. When He came to Simon Peter, Simon asked Him, “Why, Lord, do You want to wash my feet?” Jesus said, “What I am doing you cannot understand now, but afterwards you will understand it.”

Peter replied, “You shall never wash My feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you can have no part with Me.” Then Simon Peter said, “Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!”

Jesus replied, “Whoever has taken a bath does not need to wash, except the feet, for he is clean all over. You are clean, though not all of you.” Jesus knew who was to betray Him; because of this He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When Jesus had finished washing their feet, He put on His garment again, went back to the table, and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also must wash one another’s feet. I have just given you an example, that as I have done, you also may do.”

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Thursday, 10 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God established His first covenant with our father in faith, that is Abraham. Yes, Abraham is our father in faith, because even though we may not be descended from him by blood, but we are all his descendants by our same faith, that is in the same God, the very God who had made His contact with Abraham and made him the father of many nations because of his faith and devotion.

Abraham, once known as Abram, was not chosen because of his greatness, his wealth or his power. He was not chosen because of his abilities or talents, nor because of the number of his sheep, as shepherds with many sheep were indeed very great in his time. No, Abram was chosen not because of all of these. He was chosen because of one singular but very important reason, that is his faith and his actions that were based strongly on that faith.

Abram was faithful, and he was righteous in all of his actions. He lived closely to God’s will and followed the way of the Lord all of his life. He believed in God and he trusted completely in Him, even to the point of giving up his own long promised son, Isaac, to be sacrificed at Moria, when God supposedly asked him to do so. God tested his faith in that moment, and Abram followed through with complete faith and trust in God.

He obeyed God and he believed. And that was how he became renowned and great among many and among the nations. God made true the covenant that He had established with him, and from him came forth many nations and many peoples, uncounted and numerous indeed like the sands on the seashore as God had promised Abram, who later then known as Abraham, the one whom God was pleased with.

God fulfilled the promise He had made with His people, to Jacob that he would be great and a nation would come forth from him, Israel, the chosen people of God, from whom the descendants came the people discussed in today’s Gospel, and Jesus Christ Himself. God also fulfilled the promise He had established to Israel, that He would bring them to freedom and live in happiness in the Promised Land of milk and honey.

God also fulfilled the promises He had made with David, His faithful servant. He promised that his descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel and rule over God’s people forever. Yet, just as in the case of the covenant God established with Jacob and Abraham, it was God’s people who disobeyed the Lord and broke their part of the covenant, by abandoning God and worshipping pagan idols, and committing practices wicked in the sight of God.

The people of Israel and even the kings, among the descendants of David were disobedient, and as soon as the messengers sent by God to remind them of God’s love and promise were gone, they were quick to return to their old, debauched and wicked lifestyle. That was why God gave them to the hands of their enemies, and they were scattered, not to punish them per se, but rather to remind them yet again that without God, they are nothing.

But brethren, does that mean God also forsook His covenant with Israel? No. In fact God remained faithful to the covenants and promises that He had made. Covenant is the greatest form of promise compared to other forms of promises, and it was we and our ancestors who broke the covenant we have with God. God was always faithful and He never gave up on us, unless we ourselves gave Him up for other idols.

And God showed His commitment and love for us, through the ultimate gift that He gave to us, namely the gift of Jesus, His own Son. Through Jesus, God showed yet again, and in finality, the perfect love He has for all of us, and the total commitment He has to the covenants He had made. He fulfilled the promise He made with Abraham, Jacob and David through Jesus, the son of David who is seated at the throne of God and rules for eternity as the King of all kings.

And through Jesus, God made a new covenant, the last and greatest of them all, with us, renewing the promise He had made with mankind of many generations. And this new covenant is sealed by God with none other than by His own Precious Blood, poured out by the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, who died for us. He died so that we may live, and such is His love for us, indeed!

Yes, brethren, that is how faithful God is to us, and how loving He is towards us. He had proven again and again His dedication and yet we always spurn His love. The people rejected Him because they preferred the devil and his pleasures rather than the true love offered by the Lord through Jesus.

Shall we then follow their examples? Or shall we remain true to the Lord? Let us no longer be rebellious and ignorant of God’s love, but instead embrace His love to the fullest and prove that we can hold our part of the new covenant He had established. May the Lord see in us the love and hope that is still in us, that He may forgive us our trespasses and bring us once again closer to Him. God bless us all. Amen.