gift from God

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Monday, 30 January 2017 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Hebrews 11 : 32-40

Do I need to say more? There is not enough time to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, as well as Samuel and the prophets. Through faith they fought and conquered nations, established justice, saw the fulfilment of God’s promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, were healed of their sicknesses; they were weak people who were given strength to be brave in battle and repulse foreign invaders.

Some women recovered their dead by resurrection but there were others – persecuted and tortured believers – who, for the sake of a better resurrection, refused to do what would have saved them. Others suffered chain and prison. They were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword. They fled from place to place with no other clothing than the skins of sheep and goats, lacking everything, afflicted, ill-treated.

These people of whom the world was not worthy had to wander through wastelands and mountains, and take refuge in the dens of the land. However, although all of them were praised because of their faith, they did not enjoy the promise because God had is in mind and saw beyond. And He did not want them to reach perfection except with us.

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Saturday, 28 January 2017 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Hebrews 11 : 1-2, 8-19

Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see. Because of their faith our ancestors were approved. It was by faith that Abraham, called by God, set out for a country that would be given to him as an inheritance; for he parted without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived as a stranger in that promised land. There he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, beneficiaries of the same promise. Indeed, he looked forward to that city of solid foundation of which God is the Architect and Builder.

By faith Sarah herself received power to become a mother, in spite of her advanced age; since she believed that He Who had made the promise would be faithful. Therefore, from an almost impotent man were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heavens, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

Death found all these people strong in their faith. They had not received what was promised, but they had looked ahead and had rejoiced in it from afar, saying that they were foreigners and travellers on earth. Those who speak in this way prove that they are looking for their own country. For if they had longed for the land they had left, it would have been easy for them to return, but no, they aspired to a better city, that is, a supernatural one; so God, Who prepared the city for them is not ashamed of being called their God.

By faith Abraham went to offer Isaac when God tested him. And so he who had received the promise of God offered his only son although God had told him : Isaac’s descendants will bear your name. Abraham reasoned that God is capable even of raising the dead, and he received back his son, which has a figurative meaning.

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Saturday, 29 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Philippians 1 : 18b-26

Christ is proclaimed and because of this I rejoice and have no regrets. I know that all this will be a grace for me because of your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Christ. I am hopeful, even certain, that I shall not be ashamed. I feel as assured now, as before, that Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die.

For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labour. Which shall I choose? So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will stay and remain with you for your progress and happiness in the faith.

I will surely come to you again, and give you more reason for being proud of belonging to Christ Jesus.

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Saturday, 6 February 2016 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Kings 3 : 4-13

The king used to sacrifice at Gibeon, the great high place; on the altar there he had offered a thousand burnt offerings. It was in Gibeon, during the night, that YHVH appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what you want Me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “You have shown Your servant David my father a great and steadfast love because he served You faithfully and was righteous and sincere towards You. You have given him proof of Your steadfast love in making a son of his sit on his throne this day.”

“And now, o YHVH my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a young boy who does not know how to undertake anything. Meantime, Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen – a people so great that they can neither be numbered nor counted.”

“Give me, therefore, an understanding mind in governing Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this multitude of people of Yours?”

YHVH was pleased that Solomon had made this request. And He told him, “Because you have requested this rather than long life or wealth or even vengeance on your enemies; indeed, because you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I shall grant you your request. I now give you a wise and discerning mind such as no one has had before you nor anyone after you shall ever have.”

“I will also give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and fame; and no king shall be your equal during your lifetime.”

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Saturday, 27 December 2014 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after yesterday we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, today we celebrate the feast of St. John the Evangelist, one of the four Evangelists, who wrote the Holy Gospels. He was the closest disciple to Christ, and also reputedly the youngest among them, the one to whom Christ entrusted His mother Mary to be under his care.

And St. John the Evangelist was special among the Apostles in a way that, he did not die from martyrdom of faith, but through a natural death of old age. Yet, before he met his death and pass from this world, he saw the final and complete fulfillment of God’s plan and promises as we can read in the Book of the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John. This is the vision which John received regarding the coming of the end times.

St. John the Evangelist wrote his Gospel in a very different manner compared to the three other Gospels, as while the other three focuses more on the history and on the chronological actions of Christ, St. John in his Gospel is much deeper in terms of depth of the meaning of the words he had written, and this Gospel of St. John discusses more about the nature and the mission which Christ is undertaking in His salvation of the world, hidden behind the mysteries of the faith.

He has the gift of faith, readily believing and putting his trust in the Lord. As one of the very first disciples to be called by Jesus, he had followed the Lord on many occasions, and is among the most trusted by Jesus, along with St. Peter and St. James, his own brother. He witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Jesus was transformed right before his eyes and revealed the truth about His divinity.

All these serve to shape St. John the Evangelist as who he was and in how he wrote his Gospel, which serve to deepen the faith among the people of God, by revealing the great extent of the mysteries which surround the glory and majesty of the Lord made flesh in Jesus Christ. Through his works in the Gospels and through his letters and Epistles, he made clear to the faithful about who Christ is, and what He has been sent into this world for.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are now still in the midst of the Christmas season, which was just the day before yesterday. In Christmas we celebrate and honour our Lord Himself who has made Himself to assume the humble form of a Man, so that He may dwell among us, and by His works, He made manifest God’s love for us through the healing of the body and soul of many people. And ultimately, by His suffering and death on the cross, and by the offering of His own Body and Blood,

And that is exactly the focus of the Gospel of John, as it had been iterated very clearly in the first chapter of the Gospel, that the Word is God, He is with God, and He has been incarnate into flesh and born of the Virgin, that is Mary. It is this very nature of Christ which John is focusing on throughout his Gospel, and which we too should reflect as we live out our faith.

For God is Love, and He has loved us so much that He is willing to give Himself, a part of Himself, the Divine Logos or the Word, who created the universe, to save us from certain death and destruction. This is also the meaning of Christmas, that the Lord who has descended upon this world, to dwell among us His people, as one of us, and through His actions and works we are justified.

Although He is divine, but He is also Man at the same time, fully God and fully Man, and thus He was tempted as all of us were tempted, and He faced challenges just as we too face our challenges in life. And while Adam and all of us fell into the temptations and sinned, but Christ in His obedience and love for His Father became the exemplary Man, the new Adam, who became a beacon of true Light shining in the path of all mankind as an example to all.

Therefore, as we continue our celebration of this holy Christmas season, and as we honour St. John the Evangelist on his feast day, let us all deepen our faith in Christ, following the examples of faith of St. John the Evangelist, and also the obedience of Christ and the love He had shown to us, His beloved people. We cannot separate Christmas for this celebration of God’s love, for without Christ, our Christmas is meaningless.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may our faith in the Lord be strengthened, and may all of us come to greater realisation of the love which our Lord has for us, so that we may appreciate His love and therefore come to also show this love to our fellow brethren. That is the true essence of Christmas, brothers and sisters in Christ. St. John had shown us that Christ is the manifestation of God’s love, and just as He had shared His love with us, we too should share this love with one another.

May our Christmas celebrations and joys be truly enriching and meaningful, that everyone may share in the Joy that Christ had brought us, our Lord and God who loved us so much that He was willing to come to us and even lay down His life to liberate us from eternal death. May God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-gospel-reading/

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Saturday, 28 June 2014 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 3 : 1-10

Once when Peter and John were going up to the Temple at three in the afternoon, the hour for prayer, a man crippled from birth was being carried in. Every day they would bring him and put him at the Temple gate called “Beautiful”; there he begged from those who entered the Temple.

When he saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple, he asked for alms. Then Peter with John at his side looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” So he looked at them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you : In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, walk!”

Then he took the beggar by his right hand and helped him up. At once his feet and ankles became firm, and jumping up he stood on his feet and began to walk. And he went with them into the Temple walking and leaping and praising God.

All the people saw him walking and praising God; they recognised him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were all astonished and amazed at what had happened to him.