fulfillment

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Saturday, 22 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorials of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, Saints John Fisher, Bishop and Thomas More, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 6 : 24-34

No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot at the same time serve God and money.

This is why I tell you not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food, and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest and do not store food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not less worthy than they are?

Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these.

If God so clothes the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burned tomorrow in an oven, how much more will He clothe you? What little faith you have! Do not worry and say : What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or : What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God, and all these things will also be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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Wednesday, 12 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is our Lord and Messiah. His coming was told in the numerous prophecies by the prophets as written throughout the Old Testament of the Scripture. His coming was indeed not to destroy the Law as written in the Scripture, and not to abolish the teachings of the prophets and the Law and commandments that God has given to Moses, but to fulfill and complete all the prophecies made about Him.

In the first reading today, we also heard about how the ‘text’ of the Law brings death, while the Spirit brings life, and it also seemingly criticise those who minister to the Law. In this we can clearly see, that in his letter to the faithful in Corinth, he was referring to the chief priests and the Pharisees, whom Christ repeatedly called hypocrites, and whom repeatedly had caused troubles during the Lord’s earthly ministry.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, today we are called to live out the Law of God, the Law which God had given to Moses, and then perfected and completely fulfilled by Christ, His Son, that we do not become slaves to the Law, but become alive due to that Law, which is, according to Christ, is all about love, for God Himself is love.

The chief priests and the Pharisees had grown so accustomed and so attached to the Law, that they had entirely forgotten the Spirit of the Law, that is love, and they had entirely misunderstood the meaning of the Law, and its purpose, becoming instead mindless slaves to their own human traditions, which their ancestors established in rituals and traditions to worship the Lord, but over time, becoming corrupted with worldly desires and impurities.

Rituals and observations of the Law had become empty, and prayers had become stale, and lacking the freshness of the Spirit of the Lord. That was what Christ had criticised, when the Pharisees went praying in the public places, showcasing their piety for all to see. That they love human glory instead of seeking heavenly glory of God and praising God, and instead of using the Law as it is intended, they had abused it to their own purposes.

That is why Christ came into our world, not just to be our Saviour, but also to perfect the Law of God, and to explain them clearly to the people of God, that they would no longer misinterpret the Law and therefore sin in the eyes of the Lord. He revealed to those whom He had chosen and those who were willing to listen to His word.

The same too, brothers and sisters in Christ, applies to our Church today. We have our own Law in the Church, that is the Canon Law, to regulate matters pertaining to the Church and the faithful in God, and also the liturgical laws to regulate the way we worship the Law with its rituals and observations, much like that observed by the priests of Israel of old, and during Jesus’ time.

We have to obey these laws and norms, my brothers and sisters in Christ, particularly regarding the Mass and the liturgy, because in the Mass we worship the Lord Himself, and we have to do it worthily. Sadly, there are many today who simply do not care about the liturgy and the proper worship of the Mass as written in the Law of the Church, as are evident in the numerous liturgical abuses in the Masses all around the world.

What is important is, not that we should not obey these laws, nor should we disregard them, but to understand them, by proper preparation and explanations, just as Christ Himself once had done regarding the Laws of Moses, which were given by God. A proper understanding of our Church laws and the liturgical norms in the Mass is a must, brothers and sisters, for improper understanding will certainly lead us astray from God.

But on the other hand, neither should we be so fixated on the rules and the Law that we end up doing everything just for the sake of obeying the Law. Then in that case we are no better than the Pharisees and the chief priest of Jesus’ time. We should not follow the rules simply for the sake of obeying the rules and looking good in the eyes of others.

A simple example would indeed be, the obligation for all of us to attend the Sunday Mass. While it may seem to be trivial, but how many of us actually come to the Mass because we want to come to the Mass and worship the Lord, as all of us should be? I am certain that many of us came to the Mass because we feel that it is an obligation to do so, and being good Catholics, we ‘obeyed’. But, this is not good, because if we do it this way, our heart will not be fully in the Mass, not fully attuned to the worship of the Lord, because our mind and our heart are elsewhere, in our businesses, our other occupations, and not focused towards the Lord.

No, when we come for the Mass, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us make sure that we truly come to be with God, to love our God, and to praise Him and give thanks to Him for all the good graces and blessings that He had given us. Seek to understand more about our faith and about the Mass from those who have the knowledge and are qualified to teach about the faith to others. Remember, obey the Law because we love the Law and understand it, not just for the sake of obedience, or worse, as a symbol of self-gratification and self-glorification. Amen.

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Wednesday, 12 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 17-19

Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfill them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (First Reading)

Sirach 51 : 17-27

With her help I made progress and I will glorify Him who gives me wisdom, for I decided to put it into practice and ardently seek what is good. I shall not regret it. My soul has struggled to possess her. I have been attentive to observe the Law, and after my faults I have stretched out my hands to heaven and lamented my ignorance of her.

My love of her increased and I found her in repentance. It was through her from the beginning that I learnt to possess my heart. She will not forsake me. With my whole being I sought her; that is why I won what is best. In return for this, the Lord has given me words to praise Him.

Come near, you who are without understanding and join her school. Why do you say you are deprived of all this and that your souls are thirsty? This is what I say : ‘Buy this without money; put your neck under her yoke and let your minds receive instruction; it is very near and within your reach. See for yourselves : my toil has been slight and I found deep rest.’

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Wednesday, 29 May 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Sirach 36 : 1-2a, 5-6, 13-19

Have mercy on us, Master, God of all, and look on us; make every nation stand in fear of You. Take action against pagan nations.

Give new signs, do fresh wonders, stretch out Your hand and be glorified in Your strength. Kindle Your fury and rouse Your anger, destroy Your opponents, crush Your enemy.

Fill Zion with the fame of Your wonders, and Your people with Your glory. Confirm the promises made to Your people long ago and fulfill the promises made in Your Name. Reward those who wait for You and fulfill the words of Your prophets.

Hear the prayer of Your servants, Lord; hear Your priests giving Aaron’s blessing to Your people. So that all on earth may acknowledge that You are Lord and everlasting God.

The stomach takes in all kinds of food but one food is better than another. Just as the tongue can distinguish the flavour of meat, so does the alert mind detect lies.

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Tuesday, 28 May 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 49 : 5-6, 7-8, 14 and 23

Gather before Me, My faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. The heavens will proclaim His sentence, for God Himself is the judge.

Hear, o My people, for I am speaking. I will accuse you, o Israel, I am God, your God! Not for your sacrifices do I reprove you, for your burnt offerings are ever before Me.

Yet offer to God a sacrifice of thanks, and fulfill your vows to the Most High. Those who give with thanks offerings honour Me, but the one who walks blamelessly, I will show him the salvation of God.

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Thursday, 23 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers, sisters, in Christ, today’s Gospel reading in particular may sound a bit too much for us when we heard it, and a bit too weird for us to accept the advice that Christ had given us through His disciples, that to avoid eternal death and damnation in hell, we should cut off and cast off those parts that caused us to sin and prevented us from being truly with God.

But no, brothers and sisters, Christ did not actually mean that when your hands have caused you to sin, then you should literally cut it off, and becomes lame for the rest of your life. No, what He meant is in fact that we should not allow our human weakness to overcome us and therefore cause us to sin. It is not in fact our hands, our eyes, or our feet that causes us to sin, but ultimately, we sin because our hearts is not set up right for the Lord.

Yes, many of us if not most had been corrupted to a certain degree in our hearts, by the evils of this world, and by the evils of the devil, which corrupts our heart and making us susceptible to sinning through our weak flesh. Just as Christ had said, that the spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak. But very often that the spirit itself is also weak, and this makes the flesh even more susceptible to sin.

We suffer from many weakness that made us susceptible to sin, ever since, our ancestors, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Since that time, we knew much knowledge, and we knew good, but evil too entered our hearts, and since then remained within each one of us.

We suffer from pride, arrogance, lust, greed, hatred, anger, and so many other evil vices that had entered our hearts since the day of our rebellion against the commands of the Lord. Pride and arrogance prevents us from welcoming God into our hearts, and in our pride, we think ourselves as better and become overconfident in our own abilities, thinking that we no longer need God.

In our pride, we become reluctant to seek God for mercy, and with the weakness we have towards lust and greed, we end up accumulating more and more sin, which extent becomes so large that we, deep in our pride and in our false sense of security, we do not want to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. We are therefore susceptible to this vicious cycle of sin that spiral quickly down, and if we are not careful, it will surely drag us into hell and eternal damnation.

That is why, brothers and sisters, while certainly we do not need to go to the extent of cutting off our limbs and tearing off our eyes, or inflicting any physical punishment to ourselves, whenever sin is threatening to bring us over the brink down into hell, we must strive to strengthen ourselves spiritually, in order to protect ourselves from the power of evil and any kind of temptations.

Prayer is important, brothers and sisters, and a strong, healthy prayer life is necessary, in order to ensure that we are truly fully equipped in our battle against the forces of evil. This is also what Christ meant as the saltiness of the salt. If salt has lost its saltiness and flavour, it would be then useless, and would be thrown away. And therefore, if our spiritual being has lost its characteristic and flavour that is God’s love and faith, then we too would be rejected by Christ, because we are then just like salt that has lost its flavour.

Be faithful, and be loving, brethren, love our neighbour and especially those who are weak, oppressed, and prejudiced against. Stand with them, and show to them God’s love, that they will not lose hope, and in them too, they will enjoy a spiritual regeneration, and at the same time, the same will also happen to us, that the salt that is our spirit, will remain truly salty, a sign of our spirit’s strength and perseverance against sin and evil. God bless us all, Amen.

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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (First Reading)

Sirach 4 : 12-22

Whoever loves her loves life. Those who rise early in the morning in search of her will be filled with joy. Whoever possesses her will have glory and wherever he goes blessings will follow. Those who serve her are ministers of the Holy One; those who love her are loved of the Lord. He who listens to her will have good judgment. He who obeys her will rest in safety.

Whoever trusts in her will possess her and his children after him will inherit her. For in the beginning she will lead him by rough paths, causing him to fear and be terrified; she will plague him with her discipline until she can count on him; and she will put him to the test by her demands.

Then she will lead him on a level path, give him joy and reveal her secrets to him. But if he wanders from the path, she will abandon him and allow him to be lost.

In every situation weigh the pros and cons and avoid evil. A wrong kind of shame could harm you. There is a shame which leads to sin and there is a shame which merits praise and respect. Do not act against your better self to win favour from others. Do not let this kind of shame lead you into sin.

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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

John 17 : 11b-19

Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as We also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this the Scripture was fulfilled.

And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

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(Chrism Mass) Thursday, 28 March 2013 : Chrism Mass, Holy Week (Gospel Reading)

Luke 4 : 16-21

When Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.”