grace of God

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Monday, 17 November 2014 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are shown that those who are faithful in God and those who have endured persecution for that faith will be rewarded greatly and wonderfully by the Lord. In the first reading, from the Book of the Revelations or Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist, in the vision of the end of times which he received from the Lord at the island of Patmos, it was written about the Lord commending the Church in Ephesus, for their perseverance in faith.

In that revelation, the Lord sent His messages, praise and also warning to the faithful in the various principal Churches of the early Christianity. The Church in Ephesus had persevered amidst the difficulties and persecutions they had to endure, but yet they also have lapsed in some aspects of their faith, and they had not been completely faithful to the Lord, and the Lord wanted to remind them that fact.

In the Gospel is the story of how Jesus healed the blind man from his affliction, enabling him to see once again. In that story, we hear how the blind man knew that Jesus was coming towards him, and he asked humbly and with great persistence, calling Him as the Son of David. This is significant, consider that he could not even see, but yet he knew that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, and the One who would bring mankind to salvation.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters? In another occasion, when Jesus also healed another blind man, He mentioned how the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who opposed and criticised Jesus in His every actions by their hypocrisy and strict observance on the Law, were truly blind even though they physically could see with their eyes.

The blind man on the contrary, can truly and perfectly see, even though he may appear to be blind. That is because, ultimately, our true eyes lie in our hearts. The eye of our hearts is the one that truly sees all around us and also at the same time, show who we are inside of us. If our eyes on our head that can see visually all things around us, fail to see truth, then it is useless.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they were not able to look at the truth or face the truth, that the One whom they have opposed all that time, was the One who had been promised by God to be their salvation. Yes, Jesus came to this world out of the love of God, to save all mankind, even those who hated and rejected Him. He came into this world to dispel the darkness that veiled men’s hearts, the true eyes of theirs, so that they can see once again.

The blind man recognised the light of Christ from within his heart, as even though he was unable to see, but the presence of Christ is known to him. The eyes of his heart can see clearly amidst the darkness. Meanwhile, the jealousy, pride and arrogance of the Pharisees had clouded and blinded their eyes, closing the doors of their hearts from the possibility of them accepting Jesus as their Lord.

Therefore, it is a call to all of us, so that we may abandon and reject all forms of wickedness and evil from our lives, that we do not follow the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law to their doom. Those people were not able to recognise the Lord and accept Him because of their jealousy and hatred for Him, seeing Him as a great rival to their worldly power and influence. They have seen much in world, and the temptations and seductions of Satan swayed their heart over, and they were corrupted.

The blind man, who was not able to see for many, many years, if not the whole of his life, was pure and innocent, for he was not able to see the tempting things in the world, and therefore, he was able to recognise God when He came. This means that our eyes that see many things around us, are the gateways to our hearts. And if they are corrupted, our hearts inside us too will likely to be corrupted as well.

Therefore, we have to be careful in our actions, and we have to discern well everything that we are to say or do. Let our eyes not corrupt us and resist the temptations of pride, of greed, of anger, of jealousy and of any other negativities with which the devil is trying to subvert us against the Lord. Let us break through the veil of darkness which covers our hearts, that from there, we may be like the blind man, who sincerely and genuinely seek the Lord, knowing that He is there.

Yes, our loving God is always there for us, and it only takes us to ask Him, and seek Him with all of our hearts, for us to gain His graces. Remember what He told His disciples? Ask and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you? Therefore, let us all ask God for His grace, that we may recognise Him and His presence in our lives, and through our interactions with those around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is also the feast of a holy woman, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whose life can be a great inspiration to all of us. St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary during the High Middle Ages. She was of the royal blood and of very high social class, betrothed and married to the family of another ruler, and yet in all of her actions, she was very devout and charitable.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was the patroness of many religious works, evangelisation and mission efforts, and especially, the patroness of many charitable organisations. She donated much money and funds to help the poor, and occasionally also took part in directly helping the poor themselves. She was widowed later on, and after her widowhood, she devoted herself completely to the Lord.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary donated whatever she had in her possession to charity and for the sake of the poor. She also devoted herself as a religious nun, and gave her all to God from then onwards, just as she had devoted herself earlier on through her actions. This is an example we can and indeed should follow, as with love and charity, our faith will be strong, and a strong faith will help us to keep our vision straight and clear, avoiding and resisting all the temptations and false promises of the evil one.

May Almighty God, who gave us the grace and blessing in St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a holy woman and a person of charity and love, a person of true faith and devotion, help us to also be able to walk in her path, that all of us will have our faith in Him strengthened and at the end of time, we will be found righteous and be worthy of the glories of heaven. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/16/monday-17-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-elizabeth-of-hungary-religious-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/16/monday-17-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-elizabeth-of-hungary-religious-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/16/monday-17-november-2014-33rd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-elizabeth-of-hungary-religious-gospel-reading/

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(Usus Antiquior) Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 16 November 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are shown through the readings from the Sacred Scriptures and the Gospel that our Lord and God is merciful and kind, loving and forgiving, but as long as we have faith in us. And not just any faith, but faith that is both real, concrete and living. That faith in us cannot be artificial or just for show, or otherwise, it will be dead, just as faith without works is dead.

Our Lord Jesus in the Gospel today healed two people, a woman who had suffered from terrible haemorrhage for the past twelve years, and the daughter of an influential man in the society. Both of them were saved and made whole again because of their faith, and the woman was healed from the bleeding while the daughter was brought back to life from the gates of death.

The woman believed in the Lord so much and had such a great faith in Him, that she fervently believed that just by touching the very fringe of His cloak, she would be made whole. Certainly she was afraid of going public with her illness, for a woman to have such a bad bleeding for many years would be considered by others as the woman having a curse from God. Thus, she secretly touched the fringe of Jesus’ cloak, with sincere hope in her heart that she would be healed.

Meanwhile, the daughter of the influential man was brought back to life because of the sincere faith of her father, who begged Jesus in public to come and heal his daughter. Influential as he was in the society, it was out of the norm for him to beg publicly for such a favour from the Lord Jesus. And yet, that was what he had done. He was so filled with faith in the Lord’s power that he lowered himself to beg before the Lord of all, to heal his daughter and make her whole again.

In both cases, we see two different conditions, of two different peoples, who were made whole, both by their faith. It is their genuine faith and devotion to the Lord which moved the Lord to make them whole again and cleanse them from their afflictions. Their faith was not just an empty faith, and they were willing to go the extra mile to profess that faith.

Indeed, had the woman with bleeding not have such a strong faith, she would not have braved the great crowds pushing around Jesus. She must have been in a lot of pain, and yet she braved herself to make the journey to meet Jesus. And afraid as she was, she came clean and confessed what she had done before Jesus, showing her genuine faith, and she was praised by Him for what she had in her.

The influential man journeyed to see Jesus personally and begged Him to bring his daughter back to life. He could have just sent a servant or tell another person to call Jesus to his house. But he did not do so, and rather, he took the extra mile to meet the Lord personally and humbled himself before Him to ask for that great favour. He had complete faith in the power of Jesus, and his wish was granted.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we see these two examples, as examples we can follow in our own lives, and in how we live our faith. As St. Paul in his epistle to the Church and the faithful in Philippi mentioned that in our world, there are many who do not follow the way of Christ. It is the same now as it was then, and many considered themselves as the enemies of Christ.

And it was mentioned that their god is their belly, and what does this mean? It means that rather than having faith in God, like the woman with bleeding and the influential man, they put their trust in themselves, and their ego and pride clouded everything else. Their desire is their master and not God. They follow what their hearts’ desires lead them to, and more often than not, it leads them to destruction and damnation.

It is a way and fate that all of us who have faith in God certainly want to avoid. Certainly none of us want to end up in hell, is it not? All of us want to be saved, but the problem is that many of us do not have the resolve or the idea of how to ensure this is what happens and not our condemnation. And many of us want to remain in our present state, continuing to sin before God and oppose Him, and what is at stake is none other than the state of our soul.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is up to us now, from now on, to choose out path in life. Are we content with our way of life now, and do we consider what we do now as something that is good and just before God? Or are they things abhorrent in the sight of God? We have a clear choice, brethren, and we must no longer wait. Remember, that the coming of the Lord is not known to us in terms of time, and when He comes again, we may be caught unprepared if we do not do exactly as what He had asked us to do.

And how do we prepare ourselves then? It is by following the examples of the woman with bleeding and the man whose daughter was dead, and also the examples of the many holy saints and peoples of God. All of them have faith in the Lord, and not just any faith, but a living and concrete faith. Yes, faith that is not just mere words or empty in meaning, but also a faith founded and substantiated with love.

And how do we love then? By loving those who are around us regardless of who they are, what their backgrounds are, and regardless of whether they have benefitted or caused us pain before. We must love all equally without bias. Let us also love those like the woman with bleeding, namely those who suffer and who are in need, that our faith is truly a living faith.

Lastly, of course most important of all, we have to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and our strengths. In this, we have to look at the resolve of the woman with bleeding. We have to have strong faith in the Lord, and hope in Him, for in Him is our salvation. We have to therefore be like the woman, who went all the way with hope that her affliction may be healed.

We have all been afflicted too, brothers and sisters in Christ, with the affliction of sin, that is the disease of the soul. Our Lord Jesus Christ had come into the world to heal us sinners from our afflictions. And therefore, all of us should from now on cling ourselves to He who healed us, and together, let us all be reunited perfectly with our Lord and Master in love. May Almighty God bless us all, love us tenderly and give us His grace always, till the end of time. Amen.

 

Epistle :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/14/usus-antiquior-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost-ii-classis-sunday-16-november-2014-epistle/

 

Gospel :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/14/usus-antiquior-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost-ii-classis-sunday-16-november-2014-holy-gospel/

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(Usus Antiquior) Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 16 November 2014 : Introit and Collect

Introit

Jeremiah 29 : 11, 12, 14 and Psalm 84 : 2

Dicit Dominus : Ego cogito cogitationes pacis, et non afflictionis : invocabitis me, et ego exaudiam vos : et reducam captivitatem vestram de cunctis locis.

Benedixisti, Domine, terram Tuam : avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

Response : Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper : et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

The Lord said, “I think thoughts of peace, and not of affliction. You shall call upon Me, and I will hear you, and I will bring back your captivity from all places.

Lord, You have blessed Your land, You have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

Response : Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Absolve, quaesumus, Domine, Tuorum delicta populorum : ut a peccatorum nexibus, quae pro nostra fragilitate contraximus, Tua benignitate libremur. Per Dominum…

English translation

Remit, we beseech You, o Lord, the sins of Your people, that by Your kindness we may be delivered from the trammels of our sins, in which, through our frailty, we have become entangled. Through our Lord…

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Friday, 14 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is again repeated and emphasized today the imminent and urgent nature of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which may happen at any time. It was mentioned how the coming of the Day of Judgment, when God will come to take His people, is like a thief entering and breaking into a house, without the owner knowing what had happened.

Therefore, it will be the same with us all, as when the Lord comes again, as He had promised, it will be like a flash and all of us will be caught unaware and unprepared, that is if we do not take the steps necessary to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord Jesus. The evidence and the warnings are ample, and if we regularly read the Holy Scriptures and go about in our Faith, we can realise how imminent it is to be, and how dangerous it is for us if we come unprepared.

Yet, as with the timing of His second coming, none of this are under our control. When I say that it is imminent, it does not imply that it will be today or tomorrow, but rather that it can happen any time, and therefore we should not be complacent in our Faith. Every day, every moments of our life, we must use them well to live out our faith in God to the very fullest.

And how do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? St. John in his second letter which is our First Reading today gave us a hint, which also reaffirmed the teachings of Christ, that all of us should be righteous and walk faithfully in the ways of the Lord. And what is this way? That is to fully and genuinely fulfill His commandments, which is love.

This can be done by loving our neighbours, one another, our brothers and sisters around us without prejudice and without fear. And this love must be genuine and real, cannot be just because we want to be praised by others for our actions, but because we have the love that pours forth from our hearts like torrents of water that no dam can stop.

And indeed, with the illusion of dams, we must stop damming ourselves, and the love that is in us. We have been given the seeds of faith, hope and love within us by the Lord who gave us life through His Spirit. But if we do not act on these in our lives and instead lead a debauched and wicked lifestyle, succumbing to our desires and ignoring the plight of others, then the seeds will remain just that, seeds, with no fruits to be shown as the concrete proof of our faith.

If we allow the love in ourselves to grow, then it will grow so great that it will not be able to be contained in ourselves, and it will enrich others around us. If we love each other, believe me, that many of this world’s problems will disappear and be solved. Wars, violence, injustice and prejudice all stemmed from our inability to love one another, and instead we fall into the traps of sin, as we engulf ourselves in hatred, bias, jealousy, greed and many other vices in our lives.

And the lack of love and respect for the Lord, in those who think that they are better than others, in those who are proud and thinking only of themselves, stem from the same root of the lack of action infused with love. If we have put love ahead of ourselves, and if we practice our faith with full sincerity and genuine intention, then that is why we are not capable of recognising the generous love of God for us.

And if we are not able to recognise the love which God has for us, then that is why we grow selfish and thinking only of our own benefits. In the end, this will become our downfall. Do we all remember what did Jesus say about the Last Judgment? The Last Judgment is the time when the Lord Jesus, who is the Judge of all the living and the dead will pronounce the final judgments on the fate of all mankind.

To those who have been righteous and just, and to all those who have loved one another and loved the Lord with all of their hearts, even if they do not know it, the Lord praises them and gives them the gift of eternal life, for they have been justified by love and by their faith. He told them that whenever they do something good and show love to the least and the smallest in their society, they have done it also to Him.

In the psalm today, it was written how are the types of the people desired by the Lord, namely those who are upright and who seek the Lord in all things, and who are righteous in all of their actions and faithfully obeyed God’s commandments, by loving their fellow brothers and sisters and ultimately, to show love and devotion to God Himself, all these without fear or reservation.

If we fail to achieve these, then the Lord at the Last Judgment will cast us out to be with Satan and his angels, as we have not loved Him, and neither that we have loved our brothers and sisters in the way which He had described in His Laws and commandments. If this happens, and if we are also caught unaware and unprepared, then we have no more hope with us. It is eternal despair and suffering for us.

Remember, brothers and sisters in Christ, the second coming of our Lord will be sudden and unexpected, and if we are not prepared, despite the numerous reminders and warnings He had given us, then it is eternal regret for us. And there is no escape, brethren, so do not wait until it is way too late for us. Let us all begin today, from now on, to know what is love and how to show genuine love.

May our Lord Jesus Christ bless us and strengthen us with His love, so that we may be proactive in our actions, to be filled with love. That we may be justified by our actions, showing our real, genuine and living faith, through which we resolve our devotion to the Lord, and be committed to Him, as our only Lord and our only God. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/13/friday-14-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/13/friday-14-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/13/friday-14-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 12 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today it is highlighted to us another virtue in our faith life, that is the value of humility and gratitude in our lives, and how important these are in shaping our lives. For the Lord our God, who loves us so much, had decided to forgive us our sins and show His mercy to us sinners, even though more often than not, our sins were such that they should have been unforgivable as they were so wicked in nature.

As mentioned in the first reading today, taken from the letter of St. Paul written to Titus, while he was in captivity in Rome, mankind were once foolish and misguided, and we were once wholly submissive to our desires and our human needs, that we always seek to better ourselves and find what is good for ourselves, even at the expense of others.

It is difficult for us to obey others, and already it is difficult for us to obey the earthly authorities who made their presence and authority felt, and thus not to say about the authority of our Lord, whom many of us failed to notice in our lives. We are fearless and not repentant of our rebelliousness, because we did not recognise the Lord who is around us and within us, and who is watching everything that we do in this life.

It is therefore difficult for us in our nature to look beyond ourselves, and for many of us, pride and arrogance has walled us in, into ourselves as our desire feeds our pride and that pride further feeds our desire, in a vicious cycle that never ends, and eventually uncontrolled, it will lead to a great danger for us. We will not be able to do the will of God if we continue to remain and linger within this darkness within ourselves.

The Gospel today shows how Jesus healed ten lepers, who sought for His help, and He told them to show themselves to the priests, as was written in the Law, on how they ought to show their purity to the priests before they could be admitted back into the society. God’s power worked along the way, and they were healed while on the way to the priests.

Yet, this was where the behaviour of the one Samaritan who was healed, differed greatly from the other nine, who was also healed. The nine lepers was healed, and they joyfully realised that fact, and gladfully went on their way, presumably and most likely, to return to their old lives, and resumed whatever it was that they had lost. Meanwhile, the Samaritan also realised that he was healed in body, but unlike the other nine, he turned back, knowing who it was that had made him clean once again.

The Samaritan turned back and returned to the Lord Jesus, who praised Him for His faith, and said how his faith had made him whole once again. It is because of his faith that he recognised how Jesus has the power to make him clean, and he had placed his full trust in God, and not in himself. This is the attitude many of us had to adopt and emulate, and we have to abandon our ways, which are more often than not, like the other nine who rejoiced and did not give thanks to God.

How many of us in our lives, and in our daily actions forget to give thanks to those who helped us in various ways? And how many of us in fact, in total lack of gratitude and appreciation even caused pain to those who have helped us, or asked even more from them to satisfy our ever-growing desires? It is difficult indeed for mankind to resist such temptation, as we always try to grab at things beyond our means, and we complain when we cannot obtain them.

It is often that we need the grace of humility, temperance and satisfaction, at what God had given and provided us with His love. In the psalm today, the famous and renowned psalm on the Good Shepherd, we are shown how the Lord is our Good Shepherd, who leads us away from danger and darkness, and providing for us in all that we need, so that all of us who believe in Him, will not be disappointed, but gain eternal life and happiness.

He guides us on our way, so that we may not lose our path and fall into darkness. This very life we have, and all the goodness we have in it, are all the blessings of the Lord, and we ought to be grateful and thankful for that love. Yet, do we realise how often it is that we complain against the Lord, when things seemingly did not go our way? How often is it that we are angry at the Lord for seemingly not fulfilling what we have asked for?

We have to therefore, learn from the faithful Samaritan, the people who were often marginalised and ostracised by the Jews as being pagans and unbelievers, as barbarians unworthy of salvation. And yet, it was the Samaritan who humbly sought Jesus to give Him thanks for having healed him from his leprosy. The Jews, just as the other nine lepers, failed to do so.

We should emulate the example of the Samaritan, seeking God’s love and mercy at all times, and realising the love which He has for us, our Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep. And today, we have the example of another shepherd, a holy saint, martyr and bishop whose example we should indeed follow. This is St. Josaphat the martyr, also known as St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, a Bishop who lived in the early modern time Lithuania during the sixteenth and seventeenth century.

St. Josaphat Kuntsevych was a bishop whose see was reunited with the leadership of the Roman Pontiff, the Pope, after it had been separated for many hundreds of years due to the Great Schism between the Western and Eastern Christianity. As such, St. Josaphat had a very difficult time in managing his flock, as many of them remained loyal to the old and rebellious ways, and refuse to follow their bishop and shepherd in obedience to the Vicar of Christ.

Nevertheless, St. Josaphat remained faithful and devoted, working tirelessly to serve God’s people, even serving those who were openly in rebellion against him. He preached to them the word of God and urged them to remain faithful, and also to follow the teachings of the true Faith. In the end, however, those who were opposed to St. Josaphat rose up and murdered him in cold blood, throwing his body in a river.

The body of St. Josaphat was recovered and brought with honour to Rome, where it received the honour of being buried at the hallowed ground of the Basilica of St. Peter. Later on, with the intercession of St. Josaphat himself, his archenemy, a rival bishop who set up his position in direct opposition to St. Josaphat, repented his sins and was reunited with Rome.

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples of St. Josaphat Kuntsevych the martyr and faithful bishop, let us all work together as one people, one Church of God. Let us help one another, in union with our bishops and those whom the Lord had placed over us, as representatives of His authority, so that we may learn of humility and obedience to God’s will.

Let us all pray to the Lord, that He will grant us grace, to diminish in our pride and desires, and grow stronger in our humility and desire to seek the Lord. Let us learn to obey fully the will of God and seek the fullness of His eternal love and mercy, like the Samaritan leper who was healed from his afflictions, giving thanks to God for that love shown to him, and was praised by the Lord for his faith. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/11/wednesday-12-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-josaphat-bishop-and-martyr-first-reading/

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/11/wednesday-12-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-josaphat-bishop-and-martyr-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/11/wednesday-12-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-josaphat-bishop-and-martyr-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 12 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Titus 3 : 1-7

Remind the believers to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and to be ready for every good work. Tell them to insult no one; they must not be quarrelsome but gentle and understanding with everyone.

We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient and misled. We were slaves of our desires, seeking pleasures of every kind. We lived in malice and envy, hateful and hating each other.

But God our Saviour revealed His eminent goodness and love for humankind and saved us, not because of good deeds we may have done but for the sake of His own mercy, to the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit poured over us through Christ Jesus our Saviour, so that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs in hope of eternal life.

 

Homily and Reflection : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/11/wednesday-12-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-josaphat-bishop-and-martyr-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 9 November 2014 : 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/08/sunday-9-november-2014-32nd-sunday-of-ordinary-time-feast-of-the-dedication-of-the-lateran-basilica-archbasilica-of-the-most-holy-saviour-and-saints-john-the-baptist-and-the-evangelist-at-the-lat-5/

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Saturday, 8 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded of the need for us to stay true to our faith. We cannot be lukewarm and be passive in our faith, and we cannot just pay a mere lip service and obedience to the Lord. This is what Jesus meant that we cannot be servant to both God and money, as when we serve one, we will loath the other, and refuse to follow the other.

Why is this so? That is because the ways of the Lord and the ways of this world are diametrically opposite to each other. While one is filled with love, with genuine care and devotion to the Lord and to one’s fellow brothers and sisters, and filled with forgiveness and mercy, truth and justice, the other is filled with the desires of the flesh, that is our human desires and the things of this world, filled with not love but hatred, filled with jealousy and vanity rather than humility and harmony and peace.

The people of the Lord lives according to the ways of God and desires things that reflect the teachings of Christ. Meanwhile, the people of the world lives according to the ways of this world and desiring things that belongs to this world. But if we notice, we mankind are never easy to satisfy, and in fact, in many cases, we are often unable to be satisfied.

It is in the nature of mankind that we often ask for even more when we have received some things for ourselves. We always feel that we do not have enough and always wanting for more to satisfy our ever growing desires. And there is no better example than our own contemporary culture and livelihood, in the world around us today. Our world is thoroughly filled with the materialistic and consumeristic culture, which pervades all aspects of our lives.

Materialism and consumerism are the vile aspects of our world and our society today, in which we live in a world obsessed with the earthly materials and possessions. We can ask ourselves, and remember every time when we watch the television and access the internet these days, on how many advertisements we see every single moment we do these?

Those advertisements are promoting materialistic behaviours, as they play directly into our desire for more of the material goods and possessions. Some are dealing with food, which may lead us into greed and gluttony, desiring always the best of foods in our lives. We have to note, though, that food is not something to be shunned from, and it is not wrong for us to enjoy our food.

However, the problem is when we start to eat our foods lavishly without abandon, and without proper consideration for our brethren who are less fortunate than us and have less to eat than us. Greed is the undoing for many people, as we desire for ever more things, and in the process, we often trample at the rights of others and even cause suffering to them.

Hence, if we walk in the ways of the world and follow our own desires, we are likely to come into confrontation and clash with the ways of the Lord. If we do so, then at the day of judgment we will be found wanting by the Lord, for not only that we failed to do as we supposed to do, as the children of God, but also because we are likely to have caused pain and suffering for those around us.

Certainly this is not the fate that we want in this life. And that is why, we need to learn to follow the true path as shown by the Lord, that is the path of love, the path of peace, the path of humility, and the path of temperance. All of these are important if we are to seek the Lord’s salvation and His promised salvation for us, the eternal life which He had promised all those who believe in Him.

It is important for us to have temperance in us, that is to be able to restrain ourselves and know the limits of our desires, so that we know how to limit our wants such that we will not fall into greed. Temperance is also knowing the truth, how our Lord and God cares so much for us, that He provided us all with everything that we will ever need, in all His various ways, which we often do not realise. He gives us His grace and blessing, and just as St. Paul had mentioned in his letter, we too need to learn to know how to be satisfied with what we have, the blessings of the Lord.

And following the Lord means for us to know how to love, first that is to love God our Lord who had first loved us very much, and then to love one another just as much as we loved our Lord and just as much as we loved ourselves. If we have loved in that way, certainly we will no longer commit whatever evils that are the ways of this world. How is this so?

It is because if we know love, how can we stand when someone is being hurt and being cheated out of his or her money and possessions? And indeed, how can we even contemplate causing pain and suffering to others for our own benefit? And how can we contemplate doing something that bring goodness and riches to us, but bring about poverty and pain to others?

And if we know justice, how can we stand when injustice happen to others, and how can we even contemplate acting in a way such as to disadvantage others around us, for our own personal advantage? That is why, as I have mentioned, that the ways of the Lord are diametrically opposite to the ways of this world, and we cannot serve both at once, as our heart and our conscience will soon lead to contradict one action from the other.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all no longer be lukewarm in our faith, and let us all no longer be on the fence. We have to make a conscious and clear choice to stand up for the Faith and be firmly at the side of the Lord. And when we do so, we will find ourselves becoming more attuned to the ways of Christ, and as such, we will grow better and stronger in the faith, and in love within our actions.

May Almighty God guide us to be loving in all of our actions, rejecting all forms of hatred and violence, rejecting all forms of fornications of the flesh and the soul, the ways of this world, and exchange it for the ways of our Lord. Let us all seek salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ, by being righteous and just, as well as loving in all of our actions, and live our lives fully in genuine faith in the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/07/saturday-8-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/07/saturday-8-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/07/saturday-8-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

by

Thursday, 6 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today first we are reminded yet again of the love of God for us, the love which He generously and freely offers us all who believe in Him, and also to those who still yet reject His love and those who are still in the darkness of this world and sin. He came to save and heal sinners, bringing them back from the precipice that leads to hell, into the safety of heaven.

This was represented perfectly by Jesus in His parables on the lost sheep and the lost coin, where He showed how the owner of the lost sheep and the lost coin spared no effort in order to look for the lost one, and used all of his might to seek and find it, and reunite it back to the owner. And the same applies to all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all belongings of the Lord, mankind, created by God, beloved and cared by our loving Father in heaven.

We have sinned before God, and sin represents our waywardness and failure to listen to the word of God and the failure to follow His path and His lead. To compare this to what Jesus had told His disciples, it is like the naughty and wayward sheep who refused to listen to the words of its shepherd, who guides it and the other sheep, keeping them away from harm and providing them with good food and care.

The shepherd is our Lord, our God, who loves us all equally and well. Meanwhile, the sheep are mankind, all of God’s beloved creations. God, the Shepherd, brings all of His sheep to wondrous places, good food and good water springs, allowing them to prosper and be happy in all things. Yet, like our ancestors before us, it is often difficult to satisfy our needs and wants. We always seek to have more, as greed is always within our nature.

It is therefore like a sheep who sees something good afar, beyond the range and care of its shepherd, and decides to follow it, disregarding the protection and care of its shepherd, and seek the good things, without knowing that beyond its shepherd’s protection, it may come into a great danger. But will the shepherd abandon the lost sheep or will he not recognise that one of his many sheep are lost? No, that is because he knows all of them well.

And therefore, our Lord and God knows us very well. He knows us all by name, and He knows everything that is in us and within us, to the depths of our soul. He will not leave us to danger and harm, and just as the shepherd in the parable told by Jesus, He is certain to give His best to seek us out, when we are lost, and when we sin. And how does He do this? He sent us reminders after reminders, through our Faith, through all those we interact with, whom the Lord touched with His Spirit to help guide us back to the right path.

This is a reminder for all of us not to judge one another, and instead to help one another, so that none of us may be lost. We should not judge another person by his or her cover, or by his or her actions and things they had committed. They may have committed a great sin before the Lord, but before we are quick to judge, as what we are prone to do, we should also remember that we are all, also sinners before God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what St. Paul had mentioned in his letter, which is our First Reading today, about circumcision refers to the practice of the Jewish faith, which signified the covenant which the people of God, Israel, had with the Lord, recalling what Abraham had done as part of his covenant with the Lord. Nevertheless, over the generations, this circumcision of the flesh, eventually became a sign of elitism and separation from the others, the uncircumcised people.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, were infamous for their strict and unbending obedience and observance of the Law of God as revealed through Moses. They revelled in their faith and zealous observance of the Law, and they often judged those whom they considered as sinners, shunning interactions with them and placing them as the condemned, thinking that they alone were truly worthy of salvation.

But this was where they got it wrong entirely. They criticised Jesus for reaching out to the sinners, the tax collectors and the prostitutes, who were considered the greatest sinners in the society. But they forgot the fact that while the Lord our God hates sins in all of their forms, and all forms of fornications, but the Lord loves us all, and He wants to reunite us with Himself, and to help us to repent from our sins.

From there came therefore the term ‘Hate the sin but not the sinner’. We cannot act in such a way that we prevent sinners from seeking salvation in God, for if we do so, as what the Pharisees had done, then we are likely to be held accountable for our failure to act to help our brethren to repent their sins and achieve salvation. For the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who had been entrusted with the care of the people, as their shepherd, their sins were even greater, for they have neglected the love they ought to show for the lost sheep of the Lord.

But brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us too, have been appointed shepherds over one another, over our own brethren in faith through baptism. Through baptism, we have been entrusted with faith by God, and we are expected to also keep one another in the faith, safeguarding each other from sin and wickedness. Therefore, we too have a responsibility to help each other to do what is right and just before the Lord.

This state of grace and just living is what is meant by the true circumcision as mentioned by St. Paul in his letter. The circumcision of the flesh is no longer relevant nor beneficial, for what the Lord now seeks from us is to have a true circumcision of our spirit and soul. What does this mean? That means just as circumcision removes the outer layer of skin from the inner flesh, this means that we should also shed off from ourselves the outer layer of sin, the darkness and wickedness in our lives, so that the true being, pure and holy, may emerge from underneath the sins and impurities.

Hence, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all pray, pray to our Lord that we may be given the strength and grace to help each other to remain true to the faith, and to reject and to abandon all wickedness in exchange for goodness and righteousness. May we all have the love for sinners, as our Lord Jesus had taught us, and have hatred for sin, seeking to do always what is just and good before God, at all times. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/05/thursday-6-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/05/thursday-6-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/05/thursday-6-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

by

Sunday, 2 November 2014 : Feast of All Souls, 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Black

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Feast of All Souls, which means that we celebrate the memory of all those who have departed this life before us into the afterlife. The souls of the dead are separated from their bodies, and while their bodies sleep, their souls await the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, during the Last Judgment, when Jesus the King will come again and judge all the living and the dead, and this is part of our faith.

We believe that all the souls of the righteous will be judged by God to belong to Him, and as the Last Judgment shows, they will be counted among the saved ones, and be granted the eternal life and happiness which God had promised all of us. Meanwhile, the souls of the wicked and all those who had done evil in life, and never repented from those evils, will be cast into the eternal damnation and punishment in hell, with Satan and his angels.

Why do we then celebrate today, as the day of commemoration of all the souls who have departed this life? That is because, our Faith believes that, while the righteous ones and those who have done justly in life, will enter heaven directly, being found worthy of it, who are the saints, whose feast day we just celebrated yesterday, the solemnity and feast of All Saints. And those who are wicked and evil in life, they would be condemned to a state of eternal death and suffering, cast into hell and the lake of fire.

But how about those who were with sin, but yet also were righteous? Many of us are in this state, as we commit venial sins and sometimes even mortal sins, and yet in our lives we also commit things that are good and righteous in the sight of God? God is loving and merciful to us, brothers and sisters in Christ, and therefore, if we had been faithful and righteous in life, despite of our sins, we will not be cast into hell and suffer for eternity without hope.

That is because hell is reserved only for those who constantly refused to listen to the Lord and commit mortal sins, and other form of sins, one after another and failing to seek the Lord’s mercy. Hell is however, not exactly a place, but a state, in which we are separated from God and His love for eternity, without hope of redemption and salvation, as we ourselves have rejected the salvation in Jesus in the first place, through our actions.

The suffering is because of the unimaginable nature of losing God’s love and presence in our lives, which brought despair and sorrow so great that it is painful. This is certainly not the fate which God intended for all those who remain faithful to Him. But at the same time, for many of us, we are still not yet worthy of heaven, for the glory of heaven is reserved for those who are truly just alone, and sin has no place in the presence of God. Remember that God is just and His hatred against sin is as great as His mercy and love for us all.

Therefore, our Faith has the concept of what is called purgatory and limbo, in which the souls of the dead and all the souls of those who have not been baptised and yet are righteous among the nations, remain during their sojourn before they are worthy of heaven, suffering temporarily for the consequences of their sins. In the purgatory and limbo, the souls who are there are not without hope, unlike those who are in hell, but they also long for the happiness and joy of heaven which the saints enjoy, and that temporal separation from God, even though not permanent like those souls in hell, bring them great longing and great suffering.

Therefore, on this commemoration of the All Souls’ Day, we commemorate those souls of our brethren, who had departed before us, and we pray for them, asking also the intercession of the saints and imploring the Lord for His generous mercy, to be given to those souls who now suffer in purgatory, for the venial sins and other impurities which prevent them from truly being with God.

But at the same time, this occasion should also be a reminder for us who are still alive, that we should take heed of this fate of the souls suffering in purgatory, and even more so, that we take heed of what is going to happen to the wicked and those who embrace evil, who will be cast down into hell. We have to be vigilant in our own lives, and guard our actions, that evil will not have its way into us, and cause us to commit sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our Church in fact consist not just all of us who believe in Christ in this world today, as this is just one component of the Church of God. We are the Church Militant, who are still living and walking on this world, fighting constantly and regularly in a spiritual battle against the forces of evil, and resisting all forms of sin, we ought to lead a righteous life, to guard against Satan and to be justified in our faith that we merit salvation.

But our Church also consists of the Church Triumphant, which consists of the holy saints, men and women who had been found worthy to merit the glory of heaven, and yet, as I have mentioned yesterday, and as we celebrated the feast of All Saints yesterday, they are still very much together with us, and they constantly pray for our sake, and being close to the throne of God, they are our intercessors, asking for God to show us His mercy and love.

And lastly, our Church also consists of the Church Suffering, namely the souls of the dead who are still in purgatory, suffering for their sins, on their path to heaven, and yet at the same time, they are again also very much still with us, as even death does not part them from us. They are all aware of their sins and how these sins had prevented them from directly enjoying the fullness of God’s promise and how they had suffered because of that.

Thus, they too are praying for our sake, imploring the Lord to send us reminders and strength, to overcome our evils and wickedness, while we still have time, and not to wait until it is too late for us. As at best, our sins will prevent us from being found worthy of heaven directly, and we will end up in purgatory just as they are now in purgatory, or even at worst, that we may end up falling into the endless pit of hell, without any way or hope of escaping it.

Therefore, on this day, we really should use the opportunity, to pray for our beloved ones, and also for every other souls who have departed this life, that the Lord will show mercy on them. We should ask the saints for their intercession, that they will also pray for the sake of the souls in purgatory, as well as pray for us too, so that all of us may be eventually found worthy by the Lord and escape suffering towards eternal life and salvation, together with them the saints, in the glory of heaven.

Let us commit all of us to prayer, that we pray for all the members of the Church, particularly all of us the Church Militant, fighting constantly against evil of this world, and those in purgatory, the Church Suffering. We should pray for one another and help one another to guard ourselves from wickedness, that God’s promised salvation will bear fruit in us, through our faith, our repentance and our devotion to Him.

Nevertheless, this day of All Souls remind us yet again, and the Scriptures also affirmed that we should have no reason to fear death, or fear the condemnation and suffering of hell at all. That is because, even though because of sin, our disobedience against God, we will die, but we will not die forever. Jesus our Lord Himself had made the ultimate proof, when He died on the cross for us, and then rose in glory and majesty, showing that He had conquered death.

Therefore, even as we remember the dead today, and even as we reflect on the nature and inevitability of death to all of us, we have to always remember and put our complete hope and trust in our Lord Jesus, our Risen Lord and Saviour. Through His death we have also died to our sins and to our past lives, and through His Resurrection we have been brought into a new life, a life that is justified by faith and by our love for God.

That is why the sacrament of Baptism is so important, just as the Scriptures mentioned, that through the waters of baptism, when we are immersed in it, we have been ‘drowned’ unto death, the death from our old lives, filled with sin, impurities and wickedness of our heart and soul, and we have been remade into a clean, pure slate, which the Lord transformed into a new life through His resurrection. We did not remain in death, but we rise with Him in glory, if we choose to follow Him faithfully and devotedly.

Death and sin has no say over us, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we remain faithful to the Lord, and if we put our trust solely in Him alone. The belief in the resurrection is central to our faith, and as long as we believe in this, we shall have the eternal assurance of life and salvation, which our loving God had made through Jesus His Son. The souls in purgatory and limbo also knows this, and they prayed ceaselessly for the end of their suffering, when their sins are made clean, and they once again reunite with their Lord. The Lord had indeed won the final victory over death.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, on this occasion today, let us first be reminded that the consequences of sin is death, and death is fatal for us, if we do not make the conscious effort to detach us from those sins, then we are in great danger of falling into eternal damnation. Let us not be deceived by our own glory and achievements, for remember that we are all mortals, and eventually whatever we have in this world, will mean nothing if we have not done them in the Name of God.

Let us instead, look upon the examples of the holy saints, who have put their trust in God, and walked in His path. They have abandoned their wicked past, and cast away their old lives of sin, and in return they received the glory of God, and the fullness of divine promise made through Jesus, our Lord. Following the examples of the saints is a foolproof and guaranteed path for us, that we may also become justified in our faith, and therefore be assured in our own salvation.

And lastly, let us never forget those who have gone before us, and those whom we have loved, who have predeceased us, and now who may be in purgatory, seeking to be united in complete fullness with God. We pray for them, and ask the saints for their intercession for the sake of these souls in purgatory and limbo as well, that they may be delivered from the suffering which they now endure for their sins.

May after their sufferings, their sins are cleansed and they may be brought into full and glorious unity with God, and may we one day also be with them, in the glory of heaven. Let us put our trust and faith ever in God, who is Lord of the living and the Judge of all, knowing that if we do so, death will not have its final say on us, and we will receive the fullness of our Lord’s promise of eternal life and happiness.

May all the souls of those departed in the Lord, receive the grace and love of God, rest in peace, the peace of Christ our Lord. And may we all who still walk in this world continue to walk faithfully in the way of our Lord, emulating the examples of the saints, that we all, together as one Church, Church Militant, Church Triumphant, and Church Suffering be one day be reunited fully in God’s glory when He comes again, and may we praise Him for eternity thereafter. Amen.

 

First Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/31/sunday-2-november-2014-feast-of-all-souls-31st-sunday-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/31/sunday-2-november-2014-feast-of-all-souls-31st-sunday-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Second Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/31/sunday-2-november-2014-feast-of-all-souls-31st-sunday-of-ordinary-time-second-reading/

Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/01/sunday-2-november-2014-feast-of-all-souls-31st-sunday-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/