forgiving one another

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Thursday, 13 August 2015 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Pontian, Pope, and St. Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Matthew 18 : 21 – Matthew 19 : 1

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offences of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants. Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”

“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt. When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his companions, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver.”

“He grabbed him by the neck and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His companion threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt.”

“Now his fellow servants saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord. Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your companion, as I had pity on you?'”

“The Lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

When Jesus had finished this teaching, He left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.

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Tuesday, 10 March 2015 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 18 : 21-35

At that time, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

“This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven : A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants. Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.”

“The servant threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even cancelled his debt.”

“When the servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his companions, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His companion threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt.”

“Now his fellow servants saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord. Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Were you not bound to have pity on your companion, as I had pity on you?'”

“The lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will My heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

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Saturday, 28 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy.’ But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love You, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”

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Tuesday, 24 February 2015 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 6 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they believe that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.”

“This, then, is how you should pray : Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.”

“If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Second Sunday after Epiphany, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome, Feast of St. Paul the Apostle, and Feast of St. Prisca, Virgin and Martyr (II Classis) – Sunday, 18 January 2015 : Epistle

Liturgical Colour : Green

Lectio Epistolae Beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans

Romans 12 : 6-16

Fratres : Habentes donationes secundum gratiam, quae data est nobis, differentes : sive prophetiam secundum rationem fidei, sive ministerium in ministrando, sive qui docet in doctrina, qui exhortatur in exhortando, qui tribuit in simplicitate, qui praest in sollicitudine, qui miseretur in hilaritate.

Dilectio sine simulatione. Odientes malum, adhaerentes bono : Caritate fraternitatis invicem diligentes : Honore invicem praevenientes : Sollicitudine non pigri : Spiritu ferventes : Domino servientes : Spe gaudentes : In tribulatione patientes : Orationi instantes : Neccessitatibus sanctorum communicantes : Hospitalitatem sectantes.

Benedicite persequentibus vos : benedicite, et nolite maledicere. Gaudere cum gaudentibus, flere cum flentibus : Idipsum invicem sentientes : Non alta sapientes, sed humilibus consentientes.

 

English translation

Brethren, having different gifts, according to the grace that is given to us, either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith, or ministry, in ministering, or he who teaches the doctrine, he who exhorts in exhorting, he who gives with simplicity, he who rules with carefulness, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.

Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, clinging to that which is good. Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood, in honour preventing one another. In carefulness, not slothful, and in spirit fervent, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, instant in prayer, communicating to the necessities of the saints, pursuing hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Being of one mind one towards another, not minding high things, but consenting to the humble.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2015/01/17/usus-antiquior-second-sunday-after-epiphany-feast-of-the-chair-of-st-peter-at-rome-feast-of-st-paul-the-apostle-and-feast-of-st-prisca-virgin-and-martyr-ii-classis-sunday-18-january-2015-6/

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(Usus Antiquior) Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 2 November 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how important it is for us to practice our faith with real commitment and zeal, and not just empty words and proclamations. And we cannot be hypocrites in our faith, like the example which our Lord Jesus gave us, in the wicked and unforgiving servant, who was forgiven in his own debts, but did not forgive the debts of others whose debts are even smaller then his own debt.

How is the parable of the wicked servant, as told by Jesus, relevant to us? It is indeed relevant, as the actions of the wicked servant and the other servants, are all in fact representative of our own actions, and our own dispositions in life. The wicked servant was in fact representative of the Pharisees and the chief priests, whom the Lord rebuked for their actions in life. But this could also easily mean the same for us, as it is easy for us to follow in their footsteps too.

How is this so? That is because we have to first realise the fact that we are all sinners, and sin is like a debt, a debt which we owe the Lord. Not that the Lord owns sins and neither it is that the Lord is the One who gave us sin. No, it is not. Sin is the disobedience of mankind against the will of God, and therefore, it directly and indirectly refers to the lack of love and honour which we should have given and presented to God.

Thus, when we sin before the Lord, we owe the Lord the love and honour, which we should have given to Him, which we instead gave to Satan, the father of sin and lies. And the more we sin, thus the greater is our debt of love towards God, and the more we have to pay back, just as the wicked servant owed the master a lot of money, to the point that he was unable to pay it back.

And this is why our Lord Jesus came in, for He is the Word incarnate into flesh, the Son of God who had been sent into the world by the Father, so that by what He had done, via His ultimate sacrifice of love on the cross, He offered Himself as a worthy Lamb of God, the ultimate price to be paid for our sins, the whole mountains of our sinfulness, indeed! For the sum of all of our sins are indeed so great, that it may seem to us at first that they are insurmountable.

But what is impossible for men, is indeed possible for God. Nothing is impossible, and just as the master forgave all the debts of the wicked servant, the Lord Jesus also absolved the sins of mankind when He sacrificed Himself on the cross, and gave justification and salvation to all mankind. But then, it cannot stop here, just as the parable has a continuation.

The wicked servant also had his fellow servants who owed him money, far smaller in amount than what the wicked servant had once owed his master. Yet, he did not emulate the example of his master, and persecuted his fellow servant just for the sake of that small debt, which he refused to forgive. This is a reality of our faith, and one which may easily occur to us as well.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, no matter how much and how often they have hated Jesus and tried to undermine His works, were also forgiven their sins by Jesus, who even forgave them again on the cross, when He asked the Father not to take into account their actions filled with sin. And yet, despite this, they persecuted their fellow men, for their little sins, which according to them, taints a person and makes him or her unworthy of salvation. They were unbending in their rules and persecuted and ostracised the people for even the smallest matters of the Law.

And how about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is the same. We have also been forgiven our sins, but we do not follow the example of Christ in many if not most situations. How often can we remember that we do not forgive or take great offence at one another, even our own close family members, even for the smallest of matter? How often is it that we refused to forgive our brethren just because he or she had wronged us, and we remained in our anger and vengeance?

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, the readings today from the Scripture made it very clear to us, how we have to take heed of the Lord Jesus’ actions and teachings, that is to wear all the aspects of our faith upon us, to guard over the possible temptations and advances of the devil. The breastplate of faith is the core of our faith in God, in the One who had forgiven us our debts, and give us a new chance in life, which however will not be complete, if it is not accompanied by action filled with justice, love and truth.

This means that our actions must emulate the actions of Christ, and we have to forgive one another the mistakes which we have committed to each other. We have to show justice in our actions to our fellow men, and if the Lord had forgiven us from such a great debt and sin, who are we not to follow His examples, and instead be like the wicked servant who persecuted his fellow servant for so small a debt?

Let us take heed of this, lest we suffer the same fate as the wicked servant, who was thrown into jail, into the darkness, having to pay every cent of his debt. And as mentioned, the great extent of our sins is immeasurable and insurmountable, by us. And therefore, the result of disobeying the Lord and following the path of the wicked servant is eternal suffering, or hell.

We certainly do not want this, and thus, let us change our ways, and become better children and servant of our God, that we may be worthy of life together with Him, in full bliss and happiness, forever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 8 October 2014 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 1-4

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this : Father, may Your Name be held holy, may Your kingdom come; give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong, and do not bring us to the test.”

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Thursday, 11 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with the readings from the Scriptures and the Holy Gospel, on the importance of love in our lives in this world. Without love, that is genuine love, we cannot survive in this world, and we will have no part in the inheritance of our Lord and God, who is Love. Love is the key to solve many problems in this world, as without love, hatred and violence reign free and supreme.

The essence of what we heard today is the nature of love, and how our love should be. Our love must be genuine and true, and it must be wholesome. It cannot be love that brings joy to some and yet causes pain to others. To us mankind, it is the latter kind of love that we often encounter, and we ought to know that this is no love.

Love is when we are able to free ourselves from deceit and evil within our hearts, and be able to look beyond the veil of darkness that surround us, which include the feeling of fear, hatred, jealousy and prejudice which prevent us from truly loving as we should have loved. Love is when we can love and care for everyone, no matter whether they return our love or whether they have loved us first.

Love must be unconditional, in that when we love we should not expect the love we give to be returned. And therefore, it is not right if we demand that the love we have given ought to be repaid with similar kind of love. This kind of love is not a perfect love as Jesus had taught us, but rather it is love with benefits, that is we are likely to continue to love as long as it benefits us, but we are then likely to stop that love and care once the condition becomes unfavourable for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is much violence and hatred in this world, and these are not easy to be overcome. There is much effort required if we are to overcome these sinister forces threatening to split mankind apart and pit brethren against their own brothers and their own sisters. Why is this so? This is because there are many temptations in the world, the idols of mankind.

If St. Paul in the first reading today, in his letter to the faithful in Corinth said that the faithful should not consume food that had been offered to the pagan idols, said such in a very devoted attempt to ensure that those whose sensitivities were affected by such action be not allowed to fall again into sin, then we too in our own behaviours in this world should avoid all the fornications of our body and soul to sin.

How so? It may seem that in today’s world, in most of the world the old pagan worship of idols with offerings of food and other forms of sacrifices are no longer prevalent, and thus this can be deceiving to many of us. We often do not realise that in the absence of those idols, other, new idols had risen up to take their place in corrupting mankind and bringing them further and further away from salvation in God.

Money, power, influence and others in this world are all these new idols. They are what many in the world toil for, work for, and in many instances even to fight with one another, even with those dear to them, so that they can be closer to these new ‘idols’ and get more of them in the world. And we all should know that they are the main cause of wars, conflicts, and violence prevalent throughout the world.

If mankind continue to worship these idols of money, power, influence and others out there in the world, then there will be no end to suffering for mankind, and the world will slide ever further into chaos and darkness. That is why we have so much anger and violence in the world, so much suffering and people in difficulties, and why so many people have their rights violated against by those with power.

And if we recall today, that this day we remembered thirteen years ago was a great tragedy that befell a nation, that is the United States of America when two large jets were hijacked by extremists and then flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The resulting destruction caused thousands of deaths and many more injured and not just that, for the families of those who were lost, they still grieved even until today.

In this regrettable and horrible event, we can see clearly that above all the bickering and all the conspiracy theories, above all the disputes and the attacks which one side attack the other with, and above all of that, it is the innocent ones who suffer, both in the site of the event itself, where thousands lay dead, and in the aftermath, in the wars that followed which caused even more death on both sides in the conflict.

Mankind are often fighting over what they want, and they seek more and more in this life. We are by nature difficult to satisfy, and if we do not leash our desire, we risk having the attitude of doing anything in order to get at our goal. And hence, that is why we committed violence, show hatred to others, and not easily satisfied even though we have been given plenty.

This is because in many of us, if not most, we lack love in our hearts. This is not the love as the world knows it. Love as the world knows it is exactly the kind of love that care only for the benefit of the self, a selfish love, which when it had served its purpose, then it turns into hatred, evil and destruction. What we urgently need to have with us, is the kind of love that Jesus had taught us and shown us, an unconditional and true love.

This love is such that it is not a selfish one, but a genuine love for others. Love that asks for no returns or reciprocation, as Jesus mentioned. And this love also overcomes hate and prejudice. Jesus taught us that we should forgive one another, no matter what kind of pain we have received from another. This is a crucial key on how to break that continuous and self-sustaining cycle of violence and evil.

If we repay violence, anger and hatred with equal violence, anger and hatred, then we are merely perpetuating the cycle, and in fact we add even more negativity by committing evil on others ourselves. Rather, Jesus taught us to love, and therefore, through that love, instead of evil, the love that is pure and unconditional may begin to heal the broken souls and hearts of mankind filled with hatred and darkness.

Therefore, as we remember those who perished on this day thirteen years ago, let us all learn to love and forgive, and to pray for all those who are still committing acts of violence, anger and hatred throughout the world, that they too may learn of the love of Christ, be converted to His life and gain salvation in Him. God bless us all, and may He give us His love, that we too may love each other and Him with all of our hearts and with all of our strengths. Amen.

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Thursday, 11 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 27-38

Jesus said, “But I say to you who hear Me : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; from the one who takes your coat, do not keep back your shirt. Give to the one who asks, and if anyone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.”

“Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do favours to those who are good to you, what kind of grace is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of grace is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return.”

“But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High. For He is kind towards the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

“Do not be a judge of others and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you, and you will receive in your sack good measure, pressed down, full and running over. For the measure you give will be the measure you receive back.”

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Thursday, 14 August 2014 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are taught on the value and importance of forgiveness in our lives by none other than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who mentioned that we have to forgive and forgive, again and again. When Peter asked if he should forgive his brethren seven times and Jesus replied that he should do it seventy-seven times should not be literally taken as a seventy-seven times of forgiveness, but rather that our acts in all things must be filled with mercy and forgiveness, one that is genuine from our hearts.

The Lord Himself is the embodiment of the perfect mercy and love, forgiving His people who are also His children from their trespasses and rebelliousness, while chastising them for the kind of sinful and rebellious behaviour they had shown. But of course there is a limit that God has set to His mercy and kindness, especially if those to whom He had shown this mercy consistently and persistently refused to listen and to change for the better, then they are truly digging their own graves and lead themselves to destruction.

That was why our Lord sent prophets after prophets to help His people, to remind them and guide them on the right path, and this includes Ezekiel, whom God sent to His people in exile in Babylon, warning and reminding them of their continued sins and rebelliousness against God which would bring them to greater disaster and destruction in the end. God wanted to forgive them, but forgiveness must also be accepted with sincerity, or otherwise it will not work as intended.

The whole of mankind is indeed in exile, and had been since the days when Adam and Eve our ancestors first disobeyed the Lord, and therefore lost the certainty of inheritance of the divine glory and riches which had been our share as of when God created us. But God gave us nothing lesser than Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, as the concrete and ultimate symbol of forgiveness and hope for mankind, that through Him, all our wounds and our afflictions would be healed.

It is now up to us, whether we accept graciously the generous offer of mercy and repent, following the Lord once again into salvation and eternal glory in heaven. It is also our choice to stay apart from the Lord and His love, following our own human desires and fallibilities, and likely these will end us in destruction and endless cycles of hatred, violence and evil. It is up to us, for us to break free from this cycle and usher a new era of peace, love and harmony based on the Lord.

And today we celebrate the feast of a saint, whose life and examples would truly awaken us to this idea of mercy and forgiveness, as well as love for our fellow men, and this saint had just passed before us less than a century ago. He is St. Maximilian Kolbe, the saint of World War II and the saint of the Holocaust in NAZI Germany. He was one of the many martyrs of the faith, who together with others like St. Edith Stein or St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, died for her faith.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who joined the religious life since his youth, and was particularly devoted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, trying his best throughout his ministries to spread the devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, even establishing newspapers and publication dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. St. Maximilian Kolbe took part in numerous missionary works, and particularly he visited Japan many times, spreading the seeds of faith among the people there.

But eventually what made St. Maximilian Kolbe truly known to the world was his actions during the Second World War in which he was arrested and interned, and when several prisoners were found to have attempted escape from the prison at the infamous Auschwitz extermination camp, they were immediately sentenced to death. However, when one of the prisoners cried out in agony and sorrow over his family, St. Maximilian Kolbe immediately offered himself in exchange for the life of the Polish inmate.

St. Maximilian Kolbe endured two whole weeks of dehydration, complete isolation and total denial of food. But he remained cheerful and in fact encouraged the others who were also condemned to die, celebrating the Mass with joy and persevering amidst the shadow of death. And when the Germans decided to clear the room, they found St. Maximilian Kolbe to be still alive and proceeded to execute him. He met death with joy and without fear, and into the hands of the Lord he gave up his soul.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, are we all able to follow the examples of St. Maximilian Kolbe? He forgave his executors, brought life and hope to another man, whose family received him in renewed joy. St. Maximilian Kolbe and his actions truly showed the embodiment of the love and mercy of God. Remember, that if St. Maximilian Kolbe gave up his life in exchange for the life of a man chained in prison, then our Lord Jesus Christ gave up His life and suffer on the cross in exchange for the life of all men, that is all of us, chained by the chains of sin.

Let us all break free of the cycle of hatred, violence, evil and death. Let us all work together to seek peace and harmony among all peoples. And may Almighty God bless our endeavours, and may His love and mercy together with the examples and the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe help us to be better children of God, and always think first of the Lord and His infinite mercy. Amen.