fertility

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Saturday, 9 November 2013 : Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 47 : 1-2, 8-9, 12

The Man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the Altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul smelling water, the water will become wholesome. Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound.

Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.

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Saturday, 26 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

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

Brethren, bear fruit and be bountiful in all our actions and graces. That is what the Lord wants from all of us, when He told us through His disciples, on the parable of the fig tree. We should not be barren and unproductive, as the fig tree that was barren.

Yes, we are the fig trees, and we have been given much ‘nutrients’ that is the love and the Spirit of the Lord, and this love within us has grown much, and then, comes what is expected from us, that we bear fruits from ourselves. The Lord can be likened to a farmer or a landlord, and this world, His field. We are then the seeds that the Lord had planted in this world, and in time, as we are nurtured in faith and love, we grow tall as a majestic plant, and in time, bear flowers and hence much fruits.

However, it does not mean that we can just remain idle. If we remain idle and do nothing, then we will never bear fruit. Although the Lord can be likened to the farmer of the field, we too are in a sense farmers of the field of the Lord, for we have to toil and labour for the sake of the plants that are ours, that they will grow healthy and bear bountiful products.

Plants can indeed grow without assistance, and even so, they can also bear fruit, but the results are usually not good, and the plant will likely look sick and weak. There are many threats to the healthy growth of a plant, especially for crop plants, such as weeds, diseases, lack of nutrients due to barren soil, heat and dryness, and many other factors. Equally so, there are many factors that help these plants to grow better, such as water, fertiliser, insecticides, and many others.

Therefore, by using these farming examples, just as Christ had done, let us take time to reflect on ourselves and on the actions we have taken in the past. When we look back at what we had done, especially in the past one week or so, have we noticed what we had done for the healthy growth of our faith? You may ask what is the relationship between the farming story and our own real lives, but they are indeed very clear, brethren.

For the plants indeed reflect ourselves and our own nature, the faith that is in us, the faith we have towards the One and True God. The plants cannot grow well or even die, if it is choked by weeds, or being competed out by the roots of those weeds, lacking nutrients for growth, and if the soil itself is lacking in the aforementioned nutrients. In human terms, this can be equated to the entanglement of sin, temptations of the world, and an environment without love.

In this world, brothers and sisters, it is getting more difficult for us, in order to ensure the healthy growth of our faith, that eventually it will bear fruits. This world offers us too much temptations at times, for many of us to be able to persevere, and we often give in to our desires. We become ensnared by the threads spun by the devil, and fell into state of sin. We also often live in environments not conducive for the development of healthy faith in God.

This is where, we need our fertilisers, insecticides, and basically everything fhat makes plants grow healthy, strong, and fruitful. Our fertiliser is our prayers, made in deep love, devotion, and faith in God our Lord. A good prayer life nurture our spiritual development, and we will also then be made ever closer to the Lord our God. Without prayer, we will not be able to get closer to God, and we will be more prone to the power of the devil and his temptations.

Therefore, brethren, let us begin from now on, to develop an ever more intimate relationship with God, especially by nurturing a healthy and deeply spiritual life, that our hearts will be ever filled with the love of God, thus helping us to grow strong in our faith, and ultimately to be fruitful, producing plenty of fruits. Yes, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are what we will richly produce from ourselves, in the love, hope, wisdom, and faith that pour out from the deepest depth of our hearts.

May the Lord who planted the seeds of faith and love in us continue to guide us, that we can nurture what is good inside us, that we can truly be fruitful, producing the richness of love, that we will be found worthy by the Lord our God when He comes again. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 24 July 2013 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charbel Makhluf, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 13 : 1-9

That same day Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around Him, so He got in a boat, and sat down, while the crowds stood on the shore; and He spoke to them in parables about many things.

Jesus said, “The sower went out to sow and, as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where there was little soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. But as soon as the sun rose, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no roots.

Again other seeds fell among thistles, and the thistles grew and choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop : some a hundredfold, others sixty, and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”