genuine love

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Thursday, 11 September 2025 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 6 : 27-38

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “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 toward 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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(Singapore) Friday, 9 August 2024 : Singapore National Day (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.”

“Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

Alternative reading

Matthew 5 : 38-48

At that time, the Lord said to His disciples, “You have heard, that it was said : An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this : do not oppose evil with evil.”

“If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

“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 even the tax collectors not do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do even the pagans not do as much? As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Friday, 19 June 2020 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 4 : 7-16

My dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves, is born of God and knows God. Those who do not love have not known God, for God is Love. How did the love of God appear among us? God sent His only Son into this world, that we might have life, through Him.

This is love : not that we loved God, but that, He first loved us and sent His Son, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if such has been the love of God, we, too, must love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love comes to its perfection in us.

How may we know that we live in God and He in us? Because God has given us His Spirit. We ourselves have seen, and declare, that the Father sent His Son to save the world. Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them, and they in God.

We have known the love of God and have believed in it. God is Love. The one who lives in love, and God in him.

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Monday, 3 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are urged through the readings of the Holy Scriptures, to follow the path of righteousness, namely by abandoning all the wicked and selfish urgings of our own desires and wants, and also to distance ourselves from the temptations of the flesh. As we are all members of the Church and the children of God by the virtue of baptism, we should follow the Lord in His ways and obey His will.

And what is this will which we should all obey, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is for us to love, and love genuinely and tenderly, without thinking or asking for returns, and without contemplating the potential benefits to ourselves, putting the needs for others ahead of our own. Only then, that our faith will truly be genuine and good for our salvation, as not only that our faith is not just mere words like the hypocrites, but that our faith is truly concrete, founded on love, which we ought to show our Lord, and our fellow men.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, faith without love is incomplete, and love with condition, or conditional love is also incomplete. Why is this so? That is because, we mankind by nature are creatures who always like to demand for more, and who are prone to think about ourselves first before others, and we are naturally selfish, driven by our human instincts of self-preservation.

Let us all look into our own lives, when we are interacting with one another, even with those closest to us, how often is it that we think first of the costs incurred to us, and the potential benefits we may gain by performing certain actions with another? How often indeed men bicker over small matters, just because nobody wants to lose, and indeed as nobody wants to lose face in front of the other?

How often is it that mankind become jealous over his or her brother and sister over a small matter such as possession, inheritance and others? That is because mankind always have desire in their hearts, their wants and what they seek in life. And these are difficult to satisfy, as the tendency is for us, after having our desires fulfilled, to have even more of what we desire or that we desire even more other things.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore if our love is based upon such materialistic attitude, and the desire to be repaid with the same love, for the love we have been given, then it is not fully sincere nor genuine, as such love will become merely a ‘transaction’ between us and the other one we ‘love’. Instead when we love, we ought to follow the examples of Jesus Himself, who had loved us unconditionally and completely, even unto death, death on the cross for us.

I would like to bring to your attention, therefore, the words of St. Paul in one of his letters, that while it is indeed perhaps worthy for one to give up his or her life for one of the friends he or she have, as Jesus mentioned that there is no greater love than for us to lie down our life for a friend, but this is, according to St. Paul, in the argument and idea of men, only makes sense if the one whom we gave up our life for, is someone who is righteous and good.

Will one then want to die for a wicked person? Will one then want to die for his or her enemy? This is the question that we can ask ourselves as well. Can we love our enemies and forgive them their sins, as well as whatever evil and wickedness they have committed to us? This is exactly what Christ had done for us, even to those who had rejected Him and persecuted Him unto death.

Yes, He sacrificed His life for us, endured for Himself the entirety of our mountains of sins, the weight of all those sins combined which would crush anything under it, but not the Lord, who bore them patiently, though in pain, on that way of sorrow and suffering towards Golgotha, where He died. Therefore, what the Lord had said as we heard in the Gospel reading today, is not just mere words, but what He really had done.

He had indeed invited us and brought us to His own heavenly feast, although we are unworthy, and to us, He gave the chance and opportunity to become the children of God and the inheritor of God’s heavenly promise and inheritance. He died for us and sacrificed Himself for us, even when we are still sinners and committing fornications of the body and soul daily. He died and offered Himself to us, so that we may have hope of salvation in Him.

Nevertheless, if we do not believe in Him and reject Him, then we can have no part in Him. And even though He offered us sinners a new chance and opportunity, but if we remain and linger in our sinfulness, then His wrath and anger will instead be upon us. That is just like the king who invited guests to his banquet, in another similar parable of Jesus, and yet the guests refused to come to the banquet because they were busy with their own works, just like us, always making excuses before God and preferring to live in sin than to embrace God’s forgiveness and ways.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian saint, who hailed from the New World. He was a lay member of the Dominican order, or the Order of Preachers who was of mixed race parentage, between the local native and the Spanish coloniser. St. Martin de Porres grew up in poverty, and because of his parentage and heritage, he was not allowed to join the priesthood of the Dominican order, but nevertheless, he persevered on and continued to do good works in his part as the lay member of the order.

St. Martin de Porres was renowned for his great humility and charity, giving away whatever he has to help others who were poor and less fortunate, and those without love. He performed numerous miracles, and by the power granted to him by God, he dedicated himself even more to help his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. He is the patron saint of those of mixed race and also those who are less fortunate.

How is his life relevant to us? If we look at the readings today, we see indeed that what St. Martin de Porres had done was truly in accordance to the words of the Scriptures. He had loved unconditionally, both God and his fellow men. And he gave himself in dedication to them, not asking for any return, but all only for the sake of serving for the greater glory of God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us from today on, realise our own sinfulness, as well as our capacity to love one another, unconditionally and with genuine love, just as our Lord Jesus Christ had done for us, and as St. Martin de Porres had shown us by his actions.

Let us stop sinning and fornicating our bodies and souls, seeking instead the love and mercy of God, which He will gladly give us, if we sincerely want to repent from our sins and begin to love Him and our fellow men, with all of our heart and strength, just as He always does to us. That we will indeed throw away our selfishness and begin to embrace with all of our hearts, the unconditional love that is of God. God bless us all, forever and ever. Amen.

 

First Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/02/monday-3-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-de-porres-religious-first-reading/

Psalm : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/02/monday-3-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-de-porres-religious-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/02/monday-3-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-de-porres-religious-gospel-reading/

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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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Wednesday, 18 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are given a very fundamental and thought-provoking question. Is our faith for the Lord and for the glory of His Name? Or is it for ourselves and for our own glory? It is easy for us to lose our focus in faith, which will result in us falling on our way towards Him. We must stay focused and stay strong in our faith, and listen to the word of God which Jesus had made clear to all.

God desires none other than our love and devotion, and He does not need flashy display of our dedication, or long prayers made in the view of the entire world to see, if this is done for the sake of our pride and our desire to be known and heard. What God needs from us is the correct orientation of our hearts, that is for us to show Him our entire hearts and minds, filled with no other thought than devotion to Him.

This is of course easier said than done, as it is in our human nature to be distracted, that is to indulge in our own pride and selfishness instead of thinking about God, or dedicating ourselves in love to Him. We have to break free from this trap, brethren, that we do not fall into self-glorification and self-praise, especially as we live through this life and as we attain certain achievements and good things in life.

We have to always remember that we have to always give glory to God with all the things we do, and we have to always remember that all the great things we are capable of doing, are all possible because of the Lord and His help, which He had given to us in abundance throughout our lives. We have to be like His servants Elijah and Elisha the prophets, who worked hard throughout their lives, not for their own glory, but for the glory of God for whom they lived for.

Elijah and Elisha served the Lord without hesitation, and their faith were genuine. Indeed, like all humans do, they were all tempted especially when harm and difficulties came their way, but they did not falter. They worked not for their own glory or for human praise, but instead for the glory of God and for the good of His people. They even faced danger and being hunted by the pagans and the wicked as they were doing their ministry to the faithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the kind of devotion that we need, not the empty and meaningless prayers and actions that we do not implement in our own lives consciously and in real terms. This is the kind of love that God wants from each and every one of us. He knows all that we do, and He knows all of our intentions, in all actions and words that we commit and say.

That is why the Gospel today is a warning, a reminder and an admonition against us, by our loving God, so that we may not fall into the same trap into which many of our forefathers had fallen into, that in doing good things sometimes many of us grew to forget the real purpose of such actions, and were overwhelmed by the praise and glory that we attained, that we ended up committing sin before God.

Let all our actions from now on be truly genuine and pure, pure in intention and heart, and that they may be genuinely concrete in helping our less fortunate brethren, by the outpouring of our love and care, so that we may truly walk in the way of the Lord, and be considered righteous and true before God our loving Father, with genuine and pure intention and not falsehoods or self-glorification. May God be with us all, and bless our actions this day, that they may bring life and love to others. Amen.

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Thursday, 12 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today it is revealed to us that in our obedience to God, we cannot be blindly obedient and obeying Him for the sake of obedience, or because we fear the wrath of God and His punishments. That is because any faith based on such reasons is likely to be weak and unstable, easily manipulated and shaken when we are in our most vulnerable moments.

Our faith must in fact be based on genuine love and devotion for God. And how do we devote ourselves to God, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by finding out the true meaning of God’s love for us and His Laws, that we obey Him and follow Him not for the sake of obedience or merely for the fulfillment of our obligations to God, but because we truly understand that our obedience is because we realise our frailty and our need for the Lord to be our guide and help.

What the Lord told the disciples today is that, there is reason behind every single tenets and parts of the Law which God has given His people to follow, and that reason is all based on nothing else but love. Yes, the love of God for mankind, and the love which we ought to show and emulate among ourselves, to each other. And love is the heart of the Law, which we all need to remember always, and yet often forgets.

People like the Pharisees and the scribes like to dwell in very detailed scrutinies of the Law and certain rules, which inadvertantly diverted their attention from the true focus, that is love. Their preoccupation with otherwise minor details on the Law of God prevented them from showing acts of love and acts of mercy when they were expected to do so.

In fact, not only just that, but they even often misused their power and abused it for their own purposes, that is to secure their own positions, their own power and to preserve the dominion and authority which they felt was rightfully theirs as the leaders of the people. They would do things in direct contravention with the true meaning of the Law of God, if those things would help them to preserve themselves.

For example, the case of the woman caught in adulterous behaviour and brought to Jesus was a clear example of this abuse. The Pharisees and the elders of Israel brought her to Jesus not because they were concerned a single bit about her, whether for her redemption or condemnation, but they did so in order to discredit Jesus and trap Him in His own words, and thus constituted a vile attempt to mock the love of God and the Law itself.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are urged to build our relationships with God anew, that is to reaffirm our complete and total devotion to His love, and vow to carry on that love with us as we live our lives and as we interact with one another in this world, so that God’s love may ever be more ubiquitous and evident in our world which is increasingly lacking in love.

We are called to reflect on our own actions, on whether we have truly been faithful disciples of the Lord, that is truly taking into account how each and every one of our actions stand with reference to the Lord and His love. Have we attain a high standard of love in our actions? And have we truly been obedient to the will of God? Or are we only concerned about our own fates and well-being, often to the disadvantage of others around us?

Let us use this opportunity to reflect, and from then on, to take concrete actions, which will benefit all of us, and further spread the love of God for His people throughout the world, and make it a much better place. Remember, obey the Lord and all His ways, with all of our hearts and minds. God preserve us. Amen.

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Sunday, 30 March 2014 : 4th Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Laetare Sunday)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the story of Jesus healing the blind man, and in the first reading story on the Lord’s choosing of David to be His faithful servant. In the series of readings from the Scriptures today, we are reminded today that we must never be selfish nor feel self-righteous and just to the impediment of others. We must never be judgmental nor be prejudiced against others because of who we perceive them to be.

God sees what is inside the heart, and what is truly man’s values and worth. He judges man not by his or her appearance, but by their true values and what are inside their hearts. God judges mankind by their heart not by their face values. Therefore we too should follow His examples and not be prejudiced against our fellow mankind in any way, especially in how they look and act.

It is in our human nature to feel hurt when we are challenged in our pride, or shown that the way that we believe in things is wrong. We easily fall to the temptations of jealousy and greed, and this shows in the way we act and do things. And that was also exactly what the Pharisees had shown, condemning and judging on the healed blind man, alleging that he was a sinner, when they felt that their teaching authority and influence was challenged.

They judged mankind by appearances, disdaining the poor and the disabled, those with diseases and afflictions, and they also set themselves by appearances, preferring to show off their rituals, prayers and observations of the faith so that others may see what they had done and praise them for that. This is the kind of faith the Lord does not want, for it is superficial and temporary, and it is not true and genuine faith to the Lord.

Yes, brethren, for in fact in their observations they gave in to the tempting forces of fulfilling their own ego and desires. They did those acts to gain human praise and worldly glory. They did not truly do them for God. They thought only of themselves and their own righteousness. And they rejected the Saviour sent to them, Jesus Christ, the very One and only Son of God, the Messiah.

That is because they saw Christ and they did not understand Him and what He had done. They were only able to think in terms of human power and glory, and in terms of human minds, which made them unable to comprehend the teachings of Jesus, and in their lack of faith and understanding, they hardened their hearts and sharpened the edges of their hearts’ pride, and made them resolved to resist and oppose Christ at every turns and opportunities.

They condemn the deaf because they were unable to hear, but they themselves were deaf, because they failed to listen and take in the message of Christ which He had spoken repeatedly as He taught, and yet they refused to believe. They condemned the blind ones because they were unable to see and mocked them for that, just as what they had done to the blind man Jesus healed in today’s Gospel.

They condemned tax collectors, prostitutes and many other people they considered as sinners and plagues of the society, thinking that they were beyond any redemption, but yet, they failed to look beyond their prejudices. They were blinded by their own pride and arrogance, thinking that they are the best over any other people. They failed to recognise that in them, an even greater sin was present.

What is this sin? This is the sin of condemnation, the sin of jealousy, the sin of arrogance, and the greatest of all, the sin of pride. Not only that they did not honour God in their pride, rejecting Jesus everywhere He went, but they also brought calamity to many of their fellow mankind, by condemning them, cursing them, and leading them to the false paths that did not lead to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this session however cannot become a bashing session for the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. They have had their share of faults, but shall we also look into ourselves? Have we ourselves done things in the same way that those Pharisees had done? It is easy for us to quickly judge others and be prejudiced, all because of our human pride and arrogance, thinking that we are better than others.

We sometimes look at the fault in others without realising our own faults and mistakes. We blame others and condemn them, quick to jump into conclusion, often without taking careful considerations of things before we judge.  That was the exact same thing that the Pharisees had done, disregarding their own sinfulness while calling others sinners.

They may look great, and like us, we may look amazing and wonderful, yes, indeed, in the eyes of men. But do we really look great in the eyes of God? Maybe, or maybe not. It all depends on whether we have done what the Lord asked of us to do, and not ignore those who are in need of our love and help. It does not mean that we must look utterly miserable in the eyes of men, but we cannot seek the glory of men and solely that, to the detriment of our brothers and sisters.

Hence, brethren, shall we reflect on our own lives and actions? We have to devote ourselves to complete and total devotion to God, changing our ways to conform to that of the Lord’s way. Loving one another and committing ourselves to that love is what is needed from us. And in order for us to be able to truly love genuinely without any hidden motives, we have to really cast away our prejudices and love our brethren as they are.

May the Lord guide us always in our path, that we will ever walk in His path and not to fall into the temptations of the devil. God be with us all. Amen.

 

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Saturday, 15 March 2014 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we all belong to God, just as He had mentioned it in the first reading we heard today. Just as He had claimed Israel to be His chosen ones, to be His chosen people, we too, in the new covenant that Jesus had established with all mankind, have been made to be the people of God, and consecrated to Him in His love.

And as He Himself mentioned, that those who belong to Him ought to be like Him in our actions, words and deeds, that we may reflect Him in all the things that we do. And therefore, we should follow all of His commandments and laws He had revealed to us through the prophets as written in the Scriptures, and through Jesus His Son.

We are God’s children, and like all children do, we ought to follow what our parents are doing, imitating them in their actions, deeds and thoughts. And as God our Father and Lord is Love Himself, we too have to love then, and love just as God loved us. And the commandments of God itself is love, designed to help us to be able to better love one another and to love and dedicate ourselves to God.

And in love, this love is not the kind of love that we often know in this world. There are many kinds and forms of love, but true and genuine love does not equate with lust and desire for pleasure, and neither can it be associated entirely with the love that someone express for another, between a man and a woman, or love that exists between those who had already loved one another in the first place.

Instead, true and genuine love means to love without discrimination and conditions. It is an unconditional love which we offer to all. Genuine love means to do what Christ had told us to do, that is to love even our enemies and pray for them, that they too may know love through the power of our prayer and the example of our unconditional and genuine love.

Yes, brethren, too often we have tried to fight fire with fire, and adding even more fuel to the fire, which ends up in everything being destroyed. And that is what usually happens, when we try to confront hatred and violence with even more violence. Everything will be destroyed and crushed in the end. That is what will happen if we response to someone’s hatred and enmity with even more enmity and hatred from our side.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why it is important for us to instead fight the fire with water, to cool down the fire and let it die down, that in the end everything may be calm again, and through the water, the barren and burnt ground may once again hold life in it. The same therefore, we should practice in our own faith. We have to confront hatred and enmity with love, even if the other side does not yet love us.

Counter their curses with blessings, and show them that we can bring to them a valuable piece of truth, that hatred and violence does not solve everything, and instead will bring things to complete disarray and destruction. Love is the way out of things, as well as peace. We have to always remember this whenever we act.

Make peace with one another and love, and let us all come together in devotion to God in love. Let us show those who still linger in darkness and in the shadow of hatred, that love is the way, and may our actions based in love and forgiveness, help them to get out of the darkness and into the light that together, we may be saved. God be with us all, to the end of time. Amen.

by

Monday, 20 January 2014 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Memorial of Pope St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Sebastian, Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green and Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord needs something from all of us, from each and every one of us. And what He needs is precisely our love, devotion, and wholehearted dedication, more than anything else. Yes, that is the offering of our hearts to Him, that we open our hearts to Him, our Lord, and show Him the sincere love we have for Him and for His precepts.

God gave His people Israel a long list of laws and regulations, as written in the Torah, in the Book of Leviticus, the Books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These were not meant to put a heavy burden on the people, or to unnecessarily strangle them with the obligations to these laws. Instead, they were meant to provide a comprehensive guideline to them, that they can follow them and remain in God’s favour and love.

In these laws and regulations were written in detail, and the rituals and proceedings related to the offerings of burnt animals, their meat, fats, and blood were very elaborate indeed. There were details of each type of offerings, as well as details governing the daily life of the people of Israel, which were meticulously followed, and in the time of Jesus, was zealously followed by the Pharisees, who disdained anything other than perfect adherence to that extensive set of laws.

On top of the laws and rules stipulated and written in the Scriptures, over time, the religious authorities and leaders added more strict rules and regulations, adapting from the laws applicable to the society of the time. This covered everything from bathing, washing of hands before meals, the rituals related to what one should do in response to various things.

These laws, rules, and regulations were no different from the laws that exists in other various cultures and societies, particularly those of the eastern cultures, for example in China, Japan, and many others. They govern how the society should behave, and how people should do things in the correct and acceptable way. This was meant to prevent the people from doing things their own way, which may contradict the way things should be done in the society.

That is what the Lord meant for His people, when He presented them with these laws through Moses His servant. Even with these laws in place, the people of Israel, renowned for their constant whining, complaints and rebellions against the Lord during and after their journey to the Promised Land, continued to disobey the Lord and often refused to follow His laws. How would it have been therefore, had the Lord not given the laws to them to follow?

But there is one danger in strict adherence to the laws, such as those practiced and enforced by the Pharisees and the teachers of the law at the time of Jesus. That is because the way they practiced the law of Moses was that it became a kind of blind obedience to the law instead of practicing the law for its true purpose. That is why Jesus was often so much against the Pharisees and their way of observing the law.

What is therefore, the true purpose of the law of God? The law is truly about obeying the Lord and all that is about the Lord. And the Lord is actually quite simple in a way, because He is Love. Yes, love, and He is love personified, the perfect form of love. He loves us very, very much, and there can be no love greater than the love He has for all of us, for each one of us. So much so, that He was willing to come down unto this world and gave Himself for us so that we may live with Him once again.

The laws of the Lord was meant to bring His people to the greater understanding of God’s love for them, and then, bring them to love Him just as He has loved them. Yes! That is the purpose of God’s law! That is to make God’s people love Him, and that was why Jesus came to the world, to make clear that point to the people. And yet, many of the people refused to believe the truth.

God does not want to burden us unnecessarily, and neither does He want to punish us or make our lives difficult. What He wants from us is also not the sacrifices as written in the law of Moses, as what He truly asked is that the people offer Him their love, obedience, and devotion. In the quest to follow strictly the law, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law had missed entirely the meaning of the law. That was why Jesus rebuked them by saying that despite their pious external appearance, inside they were truly empty. Yes, there was no love of God in them, but only love for themselves.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the same the Lord expects from each one of us His faithful ones. The Church of which we are part of had also a set of rules and regulations to how we should live our faith. However, these rules are not used in the same way as the Pharisees had used the laws of the Lord. They were genuinely meant for helping all of us to find our way towards the Lord.

The question that is asked of us now is that, have we truly loved God? Or do we just offer lip service and empty gestures of faith to God? A simple example will make this point clear. The point on the obligation for all the faithful to go to Mass on every Sunday had been either ignored or followed. However, among those who did attend weekly Mass on Sundays, can we truly say that they, and indeed all of us here, can we say that we have done this out of true faith and devotion, or whether we did it out of obligation and coercion?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore use this opportunity to reaffirm the love and devotion that we have for our Lord. Do not be hesitant to offer the Lord our love, brethren! For indeed the Lord desires our love, and the genuine offering of our hearts! He wants us to be with Him and reunited with Him, and even though we have sinned and did things wicked in His eyes, what He wants is for us to come back to Him in total repentance.

Do not fear the Lord and open our hearts to Him. Yes, open wide the doors of our hearts to Him, that we may come to Him and He may also come to us. Offer the gifts of our hearts to Him, the ultimate gifts, and the gifts that the Lord really wants from us. And we can do this by following the teachings, the guidelines and the rules established by the Church, to be our guide on the way to God.

Yet, we have to do them with understanding. Blind or coerced obedience is not the way, brethren. In that way our faith will not be true. It will be artificial and dead. Let what had happened to the Pharisees and their way of interpreting the faith be kept to them only, and let us not follow in their footsteps. Love the Lord, and love Him genuinely, as well as our fellow men. That is the true desire of the Lord.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of two great saints, the first of which is Pope St. Fabian, one of the early Bishops of Rome, and St. Sebastian, both of whom were martyrs of the faith, at the time of the Roman Empire. Pope St. Fabian was elected the leader of the Universal Church in a strange event, when a dove came down upon his head, and thus marking him as the chosen one of God, and he was then elected the Bishop of Rome.

Pope St. Fabian worked hard to strengthen the Church amidst various persecutions against the faithful by the pagan Roman Emperors, who were hostile against the Christians. Pope St. Fabian helped organise the Church and did many good and charitable works. And when a new Roman Emperor, who was particularly hostile against the faithful came to power, Pope St. Fabian adamantly refused to bow to the Imperial pressure to worship pagan gods and to give offering to the Emperor.

He was therefore one of the first martyrs of the faith under that Emperor, Decius, who was well known for his Decian persecutions of the Christians in the Empire. Despite that, all of the hard works of Pope St. Fabian in strengthening the Church at Rome and throughout the Empire helped it to persevere through the harsh persecutions and even thrived.

St. Sebastian, meanwhile, was a soldier of high rank, possibly a captain or centurion in the Roman Army, who lived just after the life of Pope St. Fabian. He lived through the period of the last and the greatest persecution against Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The Emperor asked the centurion St. Sebastian to force some Christians who refused to offer worship to the pagan idols to renounce their faith.

Instead, St. Sebastian, being a secret Christian at that time, managed to convert the parents of the Christians as well as many others, including the prison master who guarded the Christian prisoners at the time. For this act of defiance and disobedience against the Emperor and his authority, St. Sebastian was punished to death, and was shot with arrows just as he was tied to a tree, but miraculously he did not die.

Only after the Emperor himself acted to put him to death, did St. Sebastian die. Just like Pope St. Fabian before him, St. Sebastian did what is right to obey the Lord, even if it was to mean their death because they had disobeyed laws and authorities of the land. Although the context was different, but they did provide us with the example to follow, that is to follow the Lord and obey only His will, not by blind obedience, but through concrete action, based on faith and love.

May the Lord our God, who loves us very much, continue to grace us with His infinite love and blessing, that we may live in happiness with Him, and that our faith in Him will continue to grow ever stronger, and become ever more genuine, that it comes not just from our mouths, but also from our hearts! God bless us all. Amen.