faith in God

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Wednesday, 22 January 2014 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the famous story of David versus Goliath, the well known biblical story based on how the young David, before he was made the king of Israel, fought against the giant Philistinian warrior Goliath, much larger than David himself, and he won a surprising victory.

Many did not believe at first that David would even have any remote chance of winning the encounter, and they ridiculed David for his attempt. The King of Israel and his advisors and servants ridiculed him, and his enemies mad fun of him. They did not know that the Lord God was with David, and guided Him with His strength.

Mankind could not rely on their own power and hope to win. Many do not know that strength or power alone could not save them, that is because true strength lie only in God. The giant Philistine warrior Goliath certainly made use of his huge size to physically intimidate his enemies and boast over them. But he was powerless when David with the wisdom and strength of God humbled him and killed him with mere sling and stones.

There are many lessons that we can learn from the story of David versus Goliath. One is that we should not fear any thing or any challenges that face us, no matter how daunting or challenging they may be. If we acknowledge defeat before we even try, then indeed we have already been defeated. We have to always keep up faith in all things, because the Lord is indeed with us.

Yes, that is another lesson we should learn, that without God we are nothing, but with God, everything is possible. We should not put our trust in our own strength alone, but we should rather put our trust in God. That is because as Goliath’s defeat had shown us, that the power of men may fail, but the power of God never fails.

And finally, just as King David had been faithful and righteous, true to his calling as the servant of God, we too should be faithful in God as he was. Follow the Lord, understand His ways and obey Him. Do not trust in the fallibility and the vulnerabilities of men, as Jesus had shown in the Gospel today, as He rebuked the Pharisees who criticised Him and tried to block His good works for mankind.

The Pharisees were the learnt ones, those who supposedly were knowledgeable about the Lord and His laws. Yet, they have given in to their pride and arrogance, thinking of themselves as the judges and arbiters of God’s people, imposing on them strict rules and regulations that were based not on true understanding of the meaning behind the Law, but based on their human interpretation of it.

They were hell bent on maintaining their superiority and position, as well as teaching authority, of their version of the Law, that they openly confronted Jesus and blocked Him at every possible opportunity, including what they did as covered in today’s Gospel. They failed to see, through their veil of pride and ignorance, the truth about Christ, and how true His teachings were.

Indeed, the laws and the rules especially regarding Sabbath did not make the people of God slaves to the law. The law was given to them to guide them, so that they may understand the Lord and His ways better, and not to burden them unnecessarily with punishments and censures, as the Pharisees tried to do in their flawed understanding of the law.

What Jesus said is true, while it is definitely not permissible to do evil or harm on Sabbath, and indeed not just on Sabbath but also at any other time, it is not right to prevent or block any attempts to do good on that day. For doing something good towards others is equivalent to doing it for God, and for His glory. To deny someone from doing good, even on Sabbath is tantamount to denying God the glory He is to obtain from those actions.

Today, brothers and sisters, we celebrate the feast day of St. Vincent, a deacon of the early Church and a martyr of the faith. He was also known as St. Vincent of Saragossa, who lived in the Roman Hispania during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, the infamous Emperor who was the last great persecutor of the faith. St. Vincent was a deacon of the city he was known with, and he was arrested together with his bishop by the governor of Hispania.

St. Vincent spoke both for himself and for his bishop due to the latter’s speech impediment. St. Vincent spoke so bravely and courageously in the defense of his faith, that he was tortured and put to death by the governor, with punishment even greater and more severe than that dealt to his bishop and the other prisoners. Yet, he never gave up and persevered for his faith until the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the example of St. Vincent showed us that it is important for us to understand the true meaning of our faith. Our faith is not just about following the laws and precepts of the Lord, but we have to really devote ourselves to God in the same way that St. Vincent had done. Maybe not in facing martyrdom and death in the same way as St. Vincent, but in our life, that we show concretely the zeal and the faith we have in us.

How to do so? Simply by making ourselves available to others who need us. Love one another genuinely, and show forgiveness for those who have done us wrong. Be loving and be genuine in that love. Through that, God will see our faith in Him, a genuine faith based in love, and He will reward us.

Let us therefore understand our faith better, and devote ourselves ever more deeply in God. Let us not be distracted by the concerns of this world. May the Lord our God strengthen our faith and empower the love we have in ourselves. God be with us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 January 2014 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

1 Samuel 17 : 32-33, 37, 40-51

David said to Saul, “Let no one be discouraged on account of this Philistine, for your servant will engage him in battle.”

Saul told David, “You cannot fight with this Philistine for you are still young, whereas this man has been a warrior from his youth.”

David continued, “YHVH, who delivered me from the paws of lions and bears, will deliver me from the hands of the Philistine.” Saul then told David, “Go and may YHVH be with you!”

David took his staff, picked up five smooth stones from the brook and dropped them inside his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine.

The Philistine moved forward, closing in on David, his shield-bearer in front of him. When he saw that David was only a lad, and he was of fresh complexion and handsome, he despised him and said, “Am I a dog that you should approach me with a stick?”

Cursing David by his gods, he continued, “Come and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field!”

David answered the Philistine, “You have come against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you with YHVH, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. YHVH will deliver you this day into my hands and I will strike you down and cut off your head.”

“I will give the corpses of the Philistine army today to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is a God of Israel. All the people gathered here shall know that YHVH saves not by sword or spear; the battle belongs to YHVH, and He will deliver you into our hands.”

No sooner had the Philistine moved to attack him, than David rushed to the battleground. Putting his hand into his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; it penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground.

David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, felling him without using a sword. He rushed forward, stood over him, took the Philistine’s sword and slew him by cutting off his head.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they scattered in all directions.

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Sunday, 19 January 2014 : 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Corinthians 1 : 1-3

From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those who everywhere call upon the Name of our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Wednesday, 15 January 2014 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 29-39

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told Him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up.

The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits : the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but He did not let them speak, for they knew who He was.

Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where He prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for Him; and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; He also cast out demons.

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Monday, 16 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to the revelation of the great faith in the captain, who was likely a Roman soldier, and therefore not of the people of Israel. And we tie this revelation to the saying of St. Paul in his letter in our first reading today, that there exists only one way to salvation, that is through the great Mediator, Jesus Christ, Messiah of the world.

True faith in God lies not in the prayers after prayers that one utters. Yes, prayer is indeed important, brethren, but what is even more important is one’s own humility and awareness of themselves, and the complete surrender of oneself to the love of God, and in all these, the individual will then have a true, unshakeable faith in God.

It is that many people in Israel put themselves before God, and put their worldly desires before the Lord. That was also why the faith of the people in God, as was evident in how they looked at Jesus and His ministry, was truly shallow and weak faith, unlike that faith the captain of the army possessed for Christ and therefore for the Lord. That was also why, even though the people first proclaimed Jesus as a great Saviour, they were equally quick in condemning Him to death when He was convicted by false testimonies.

They loved not God and have faith not in Him, but on the wondrous things that He had done, and once those things were gone, or when challenges rose up to meet them, they quickly forgot about Him and rose up in rebellion. This was truly evident, when Israel walked through the desert into the Promised Land, that they rebelled and made complaints after complaints to the Lord for not caring for them enough in their journey, and even regretted having been brought out of Egypt.

The same also happened to Jesus, that people applauded Him for the miracles and powers He had shown, in healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, and loosening the tongues of the mute, and in raising the dead back into life. They followed Him and listened to His teachings, and yet, these did not take good roots in them, that they were easily shaken by fear and doubt.

On the other hand, the captain of the guards showed great faith in God, that He sent for Jesus to heal his sick servant and save him from death. Then, despite his relatively lofty and high position in the armed forces, and therefore in the society, he did not boast at all. He instead lowered himself before the Lord, as a sinner, who would not be worthy at all to receive the Lord who is good and perfect in his own residence.

One may interpret the way he said things to Jesus through his servant as being rude. After all, how can he say such things to Jesus who had spent so much of His time to come down to his place and heal his servant? Is he not being condescending and demanding of Christ the Lord?

No, brethren, in fact, in that sentence, and which was completely revealed in his last sentence, which we also utter during every Mass before the Lord’s Presence in the Holy Eucharist, showed perfectly the depth of his faith in the Lord and his humility, realising that he was truly nothing, despite his position of power, before the Lord Jesus our Saviour and God.

“Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” That is the precise words that we utter after the Agnus Dei, when the celebrant of the Mass show to us the Body of Christ crucified, through which He is willing to come upon us, in order to heal us from all our sins, iniquities, and unworthiness. We are unworthy of Him because of our sins, and yet He is willing to come to us, into us, so that He will be with us and stay with us, and we will also remain in Him, in His love.

It is precisely his understanding of his unworthiness before the Saviour of the world, before the Almighty God Himself, that he, the captain, though mighty in the eyes of men, but he is nothing compared to God and he is unworthy to stand before His presence, much less to invite Him to his humble and sinful abode. That is why, using his own experience as the captain of an army unit, he asked in his humility, for the Lord to give the orders, and he has complete faith that whatever the Lord commands, it will be fulfilled.

We too, brothers and sisters, should follow his example, and in saying the words that he had once uttered, every time in the Mass, let us say it with complete understanding and dedication to God, not because we are trained to say it without feelings, and not just because we memorised the phrase, and then utter them out of nothingness. Let us put ourselves into the shoes of the captain, understanding the love that God has for us, when He approaches us and offers Himself to us in His Body and Blood.

Today, brethren, we also celebrate the feast of two great saints of the early Church, namely that of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, the great leaders of the Church and the staunch defenders of the faith. They lived at a difficult time for the Church, at the time when the pagan Roman Emperors, particularly Decius and Valerian persecuted Christians and slaughtered them mercilessly.

Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, his greatest supporter, as the Bishop of Carthage in Africa, also faced a great tribulation of the faith, with a heretical teaching by the priest Novatian, who also contested the Papacy as antipope to Pope St. Cornelius, causing a severe division of the faithful at the time when the enemies of the Church were persecuting strongly against her.

Pope St. Cornelius protected the important tenet of the faith, that is the Lord who is merciful, readily forgives those who had lapsed from the faith, as was often during his time as Pope. St. Cyprian was his strong supporter, against the heretic Novatian, who staunchly opposed to the forgiveness and redemption of those who had lapsed from the faith.

There were many Christians who lapsed from the faith due to various reasons, but many of which were linked with the temptations of the world and sin, especially because of the severe persecutions against the faithful at the time. According to Novatian heresy, these people were doomed, but Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian begged to differ. As Christ had taught His disciples, that even the greatest of sinners can repent and many saints were also once great sinners.

They defended the true faith and maintained the integrity of the Church and the faithful. Through their hard work, many were prevented from falling into the heretical teachings. They died as defenders of the faith under persecution by the Roman authorities, and in their martyrdom, they provided the rich soil upon which the Church could grow further and carry out their work of salvation.

May the Lord opens our eyes and the doors of our hearts, and inspired by the examples and works of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian that we will be able to learn the unworthy state that we are in, because of our sins, that we, in deepest humility, following the footsteps of the captain, will humble ourselves before Christ, who is the great Mediator, the bridge between us and the Father, through whom, the only path to salvation and eternal life in glory is possible. Let us praise God and thank Him for having mercy and pity on us, coming to us to heal us, despite of our faults and unworthy behaviours. God be with us always and may He show His mercy and love upon us. Amen.

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Saturday, 8 June 2013 : Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Isaiah 61 : 9-11

Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed.

I rejoice greatly in YHVH, my soul exults for joy in my God, for He has clothed me in the garments of His salvation, He has covered me with the robe of His righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord YHVH make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.