forgiveness from God

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Sunday, 12 June 2016 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 7 : 36 – Luke 8 : 3

At that time, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to share his meal, so He went to the Pharisee’s home, and as usual reclined at the table to eat. And it happened that a woman of this town, who was known as a sinner, heard that He was in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and stood behind Him, at His feet, weeping. She wet His feet with tears, she dried them with her hair, she kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.

The Pharisee who had invited Jesus was watching, and thought, “If this Man were a Prophet, He would know what sort of person is touching Him; is this woman not a sinner?” Then Jesus spoke to the Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to ask you.” He answered, “Speak, Master.”

And Jesus said, “Two people were in debt to the same creditor. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. As they were unable to pay him back, he graciously cancelled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, who was forgiven more.” And Jesus said, “You are right.”

And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? You gave Me no water for My feet when I entered your house, but she has washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You did not welcome Me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing My feet since she came in. You provided no oil for My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. This is why, I tell you, her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because of her great love. But the one who is forgiven little, has little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others reclining with Him at the table began to wonder, “Now this Man claims to forgive sins!” But Jesus again spoke to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

Jesus walked through towns and countryside, preaching and giving the Good News of the kingdom of God. The Twelve followed Him, and also some women, who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases : Mary called Magdalene, who had been freed of seven demons; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; Suzanna, and others who provided for them out of their own funds.
Alternative reading (shorter version)

Luke 7 : 36-50

At that time, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to share his meal, so He went to the Pharisee’s home, and as usual reclined at the table to eat. And it happened that a woman of this town, who was known as a sinner, heard that He was in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and stood behind Him, at His feet, weeping. She wet His feet with tears, she dried them with her hair, she kissed His feet and poured the perfume on them.

The Pharisee who had invited Jesus was watching, and thought, “If this Man were a Prophet, He would know what sort of person is touching Him; is this woman not a sinner?” Then Jesus spoke to the Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to ask you.” He answered, “Speak, Master.”

And Jesus said, “Two people were in debt to the same creditor. One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. As they were unable to pay him back, he graciously cancelled the debts of both. Now, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, who was forgiven more.” And Jesus said, “You are right.”

And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? You gave Me no water for My feet when I entered your house, but she has washed My feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You did not welcome Me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing My feet since she came in. You provided no oil for My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. This is why, I tell you, her sins, her many sins, are forgiven, because of her great love. But the one who is forgiven little, has little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others reclining with Him at the table began to wonder, “Now this Man claims to forgive sins!” But Jesus again spoke to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

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Saturday, 16 January 2016 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Wednesday, 15 July 2015 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.

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Thursday, 17 July 2014 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about the infinite goodness of the Lord, and His infinite love and grace which He had shown us since ages past. Mankind sadly however do not recognise this great love which had been shown them, and we often tend to disregard and disrespect the care and the blessings which God had showered us with.

Jesus offered us a lighter burden to bear, not in a sense that the burden that we have to bear if we follow Him will be lighter, but we have to understand it from the perspective and the whole picture of the Lord’s intentions for us. While the Lord is loving and forgiving, the world and Satan is definitely not so. If we choose to follow the path of the world, the path may seem to be easier and the burden may seem to be lighter than if we follow the Lord, but at the end of the road, there is nothing but despair, hopelessness and darkness.

And if we have chosen our lot in the world, that means we have put our trust and our bet on Satan and his followers. Then that means we will have no part in the Lord and His salvation, and we will be excluded from all the blessings and graces He had intended for us since the beginning of time. The truth about the heavy and excruciating burden that we are to bear will not be evident until it has come too late for us.

The burden that is given by our Lord to us may seem to be heavy, but at the end of all that, is the relief beyond all relief, and liberation from all forms of bonds and chains that burdened us, when we come to meet our Lord once again at the end of our lives. It is this liberation that we seek for, and which we ought to aim for in our lives, and not to seek the easy way out through the falsehoods and lies of Satan.

God has promised us that He will bring us to a new and eternal life in His Kingdom, and we know that God always speaks the truth, and He never lies to us. It is we who have often lied to the Lord, speaking on one side that we love our God and worship Him, but in our hearts and actions, we do not reflect the same kind of attitude expected from us. Instead we act and profess our faith in the ways of the evil one, Satan.

It is truly amazing how great is the love that God has for all of us, that even after centuries, millenia and countless ages of rebelliousness and our constant lack of faith, we have been constantly forgiven and accepted back all the time to the loving embrace of our God. He certainly did not hesitate at all to forgive us, if our repentance is genuine and true. However, many of us continue to persist in our sinful ways, preferring the burden of Satan rather than the burden of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is time for us to awaken from our slumber. Let us all cast away all the lies and the falsehoods of Satan, which he had cleverly and cunningly done in order to conceal the truths about his path to destruction. Many of us are currently walking in the same path as Satan, that is towards eternal damnation and destruction. Satan makes it seem easier for us to follow suit with the world’s ways and customs, and purposely makes it difficult for us if we are to follow the way of the Lord.

But this is exactly why we have to awaken to our faith and be removed from our passive and inaction in our lives. We have to make the great choice between following our God or following the evil one. We have been too long lulled by the easy weight of the burden of this world, and we always like to shun the burden God gives us just because it seems to be difficult and heavy.

Let us no longer be complacent in our lives, throwing away all the laziness and inaction, and from now on, let us all truly be faithful and loving children of our God, and in our actions and deeds, let us all be truly worthy of being called and counted among His children and servants. Let us all say confidently to the Lord, come Lord, come and save Your servants, and give us the promised everlasting life You have promised us, no matter what difficulties and challenges the world may present to us.

May Almighty God continue to bless us, guide us and empower us, so that we may all remain faithful to Him and continue our good works for the good of all of our fellow brethren, helping each other to reach out to the Lord and towards the promise of eternal life in God. Amen.