holy devotion

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Tuesday, 21 June 2016 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 47 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11

Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise in the city of God, His holy mountain. Beautifully elevated, it is the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, heavenly mountain, the city of the great King. Here within her lines of defence, God has shown Himself to be a sure fortress.

Let us recall Your unfailing love, o God, inside Your Temple. Let Your praise as does Your Name, o God, reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is ever victorious.

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Thursday, 11 December 2014 : Second Week of Advent, Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Popes)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today it was told to us about the great help and grace that we can gain in the Lord our God, who is our Help and our Saviour. He is willing to make us great and give us much blessings, provided that we allow Him to come into ourselves and transform our lives for the better. If we allow Him to make a difference in our lives, then all that we do will be great and successful, for no one that does the will of God shall go unrewarded.

In the Gospel today, our Lord Jesus told His disciples about John the Baptist, who is the messenger sent by God, the prophet and servant who would prepare the way for His own entry into the world. John was indeed Elijah the prophet, who was taken up into heaven by God at the end of his first ministry, on flaming chariots as witnessed by Elisha, his disciple and successor. The same Elijah then, as prophesied, came again into the world in John the Baptist.

Elijah was a great prophet, and in him the grace and power of God was truly evident. He healed many people from their afflictions, performed many miracles, feeding and providing for the widow of Zarephath, and even brought dead people back to life. He made flames to fall down from the Lord onto his sacrifice when the pagans and the Baal worshippers contested him at the mount Carmel.

All these miracles and wonders were the sign of divine favour and blessing, which He bestowed on all those whom He had sent into the world to be His servants and messengers, and also to all those who live uprightly and justly in the presence of our God. The same spirit and power bestowed upon Elijah, was therefore also bestowed on John the Baptist, who then called the people of God to repentance, much as Elijah had once laboured to bring the people of God back from their past sinfulness.

That was why Jesus mentioned John in such a way, that he is indeed greater than any who came before him, and yet, at the same time, he as the servant, is not greater than his own Master, who would come after him, in Jesus Christ. But the readings today, particularly the Gospel, are indeed not about comparing one to the other, not about comparing John the Baptist and Jesus our Lord, for it is truly a lesson of who we should be and how we should act, as the disciples of Christ.

It is a lesson and reminder of humility, the humility of both John the Baptist and ultimately, of Jesus Himself. John the Baptist was bestowed with great power and authority, and yet, he humbled himself before God greatly, proclaiming publicly that he is not the Messiah, and how he would not even be worthy to untie the straps of the sandals of His Lord. When more and more people flocked to Jesus and followed Him instead of John, he was happy, and truly pleased, that with the words we should indeed reflect on, ‘He shall increase, while I shall decrease.’

And Jesus, we knew that He is God, and being the Son, He is equal with God the Father and Almighty in all things. However, as St. Paul mentioned in his letter to the Philippians, that He does not dwell on that equality as something to be grasped. But rather, He lowered Himself and assumed the nature of a servant, and in that humility, He was exalted and His Name is glorified above every other names (Philippians 2 : 6-11).

As we can see, that our Lord is good and great, and He has done so much in order to help us attain our freedom from the slavery of sin and to gain the eternal life promised to us. However, many of us are unable to obtain this, because our pride often stands in our way. Pride prevents us from acknowledging our sinfulness and our corruption, and that is why we are often reluctant to seek the Lord, because we either think that we do not need Him, or that we are thinking to highly of ourselves to stoop down to acknowledge our shortcomings.

Today we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Damasus I, Pope of Rome and Leader of the entire Universal Church. Pope St. Damasus I was born at a time just after the ending of the persecution of the Faith, and grow during a time when the Faith increasingly become accepted as the norm in the late Roman Empire, until it eventually became the official and only Faith of the Empire.

Pope St. Damasus I was elected Pope at a time of great turbulance. Although the Faith has become increasingly firm and rooted in the world, and more and more accepted the Faith, but conflict and divisions arose more and more frequently, endangering the unity and the works of the Church. Clashes and riots accompanied the papal election that elected Pope St. Damasus I, because of rival candidates and infighting in the Church, which caused great pain to the faithful.

Pope St. Damasus I was not elected as the Successor of St. Peter without opposition or difficulty, but nevertheless, he carried out faithfully the duties and responsibilities which had been given to him. He was very firm against heresies and all the aberrations of the Faith, and he stood to condemn all those who had misled the people of God for their own benefits.

He worked hard in conjunction with many other great saints and fathers of the Church, including St. Jerome and St. Basil of Cappadocia. Pope St. Damasus I continued to dedicate himself faithfully in the service of God and His Church, and despite his position, he remained always humble and devoted to the cause which he had been called in service to. Through his dedication, he brought forth much good for the people of God, and helped the works of so many other saints at the time, building up further the foundation of the Church of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we not walk in the footsteps of Pope St. Damasus I? Shall we humbly go our way and seek the Lord in all things, and especially seek Him for His forgiveness for our transgressions? Let us no longer be stubborn and put our pride aside, so that our Lord may come into us, and transform us into peoples of goodness. May Almighty God, our Lord, be with us all, and make us to be like His faithful servant, Pope St. Damasus I and bring goodness to one another, the people of God, His Church. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/10/thursday-11-december-2014-second-week-of-advent-memorial-of-pope-st-damasus-i-pope-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 24 November 2014 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the readings of today remind us how to live out our lives faithfully, according to what God had taught us through the Church and through the understanding of the Sacred Scriptures. These are necessary for us, if we are to seek salvation and eternal life and grace in the Lord. What is basic is that, we need to love our Lord, and do so genuinely, with the whole of our heart’s strength, and with all of our attention and our minds’ capacities, and with all the powers of our body.

This is one of the basic commandment which Jesus taught us, the commandment of love. The other commandment is similar, namely to love one another, to love our neighbours, our brothers and sisters around us, just as much as we have loved ourselves. If we follow these commandments, then rich will be our rewards in the presence of God, as we will be found worthy by Him.

The Gospel today speaks of an elderly lady who gave two pieces of small coins as her tithe and gift to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is customary and part of the Law that the people of God ought to give a part of their income and possession to be offered to the Lord, but what happened at that time, as described in the Gospel, showed how the gifts offered can differ in terms of benefits to us, depending on our sincerity and our desire to love God.

The elderly lady offered two pieces of coins while the rich offered lots of gifts, yet what Jesus wanted to show is that, while the elderly woman gave less, but given the fact that she had less possessions as a whole, for her to give those coins showed how much she loved God by giving those precious coins she could have saved and used to buy things for her to eat and survive this life instead.

She clearly did what Jesus taught us, that, those who seek to preserve themselves in this world will lose it, while those who have lost their lives for the sake of the Lord, they will gain eternal life as reward. The elderly woman put her trust completely in God, knowing that the Lord will give and provide her all that she needs in life, and by giving her gifts, she assured her salvation by loving her Lord and God with all of her heart.

But be warned, brothers and sisters in Christ, as this does not mean that the rich who gave their gifts to God and others are utterly condemned and hopeless, and neither the poor who gave their gifts are utterly good and blessed. The truth is that sincerity depends not on wealth and its amounts, but rather on the desire of the heart to love God.

Yes, indeed, there are rich people whose hearts are generous and loving towards both God and men, and they gave whatever they could spare and give, a lot of it, to help the poor and the least fortunate, and for various purposes in this life. Indeed, the tendency is for wealth to blind us and harden our hearts by increasing our selfishness, desire and greed, but if we are able to resist that temptation and commit to loving sincerely and genuinely, that wealth can become a great asset and potential to help others.

Wealth and possession themselves are neither evil nor good in nature. They are capable of being used for good purposes as well as evil purposes. What matters is indeed how we use them. The tendency is again of course for us to be tempted to us them for our own good, to satisfy our own selfishness, and to increase our own prosperity at the expense of others, but if we are truly capable to resisting these temptations, we can then use those that we have for the benefit of others instead.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions, the martyrs of the faith from Vietnam, who suffered the persecution of the faithful by the authorities who were strongly opposed to the Faith. To be one of the faithful at the time would mean great difficulties and sufferings, as they had to practice their faith in secret, for fear of the government’s oppression.

St. Andrew Dung-Lac, a priest, among one of the first local Vietnamese to be ordained into the sacred priesthood, was one among many and among the first to suffer very grievous and terrible sufferings under the regime of the fiercely anti-Christian government. They were forced to undergo terrible treatments, losing their limbs and being hacked to pieces, burnt alive and other very sinister and horrible methods, so that they would recant their faith, and yet they persevered on.

Numerous people, both the local Vietnamese faithful and the French missionaries alike, as well as other missionaries, who were all suffered death very painfully and very difficulty, and yet, they have no need to fear anymore. For the Lord their God and our God, who knew perfectly what they had done, have rewarded them with the gifts and graces of eternal life and glory with Him in heaven.

Why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because although they did not have anything or much to offer to the Lord, and the fact was that even though many of them were stripped of their titles and wealth, they still gave whatever was left with them as gift to the Lord, namely their own lives and the love of their hearts for the Lord. And this love is the same kind as the old woman’s offering as mentioned by Jesus, as they gave their all to God, and their offering would not be overlooked.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us heed these words of the Scripture and learn to give the wholeness of ourselves, our hearts and our love, as the elderly and poor woman, and as the Vietnamese Martyrs had once done, not holding back anything when they gave it all to the Lord. Remember, brothers and sisters, that Jesus also did not hold back anything when He suffered and died for our sake on the cross.

Let it be that through the intercession of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, and all of his companions in martyrdom, the holy Vietnamese Martyrs, we may all be able to follow their examples and be genuine and completely sincere in our faith, so that when the Lord comes again, He will find us worthy and just to receive the eternal life and glory He had promised us, and be counted among the righteous symbolised by the hundred and forty-four thousand assembled before the Lamb of God. God bless us all. Amen.

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/23/monday-24-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-andrew-dung-lac-priest-and-companions-martyrs-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/23/monday-24-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-andrew-dung-lac-priest-and-companions-martyrs-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/23/monday-24-november-2014-34th-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-andrew-dung-lac-priest-and-companions-martyrs-gospel-reading/

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(Usus Antiquior) Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 19 October 2014 : Holy Gospel

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

Matthew 22 : 1-14

In illo tempore : Loquebatur Jesus principibus sacerdotum et pharisaeis in parabolis, dicens : Simile factum est regnum caelorum homini regi, qui fecit nuptias filio suo. Et misit servos suos vocare invitatos ad nuptias, et nolebant venire.

Iterum misit alios servos, dicens : Dicite invitatis : Ecce, prandium meum paravi, tauri mei et altilia occisa sunt, et omnia parata : venite ad nuptias.

Illi autem neglexerunt : et abierunt, alius in villam suam, alius vero ad negotiationem suam : reliqui vero tenuerunt servos ejus, et contumeliis affectos occiderunt. Rex autem cum audisset, iratus est : et, missis exercitibus suis, perdidit homicidas illos et civitatem illorum succendit.

Tunc ait servis suis : Nuptiae quidem paratae sunt, sed, qui invitati erant, non fuerunt digni. Ite ergo ad exitus viarum et, quoscumque inveneritis, vocate ad nuptias. Et egressi servis ejus in vias, congregaverunt omnes, quos invenerunt, malos et bonos : et impletae sunt nuptiae discumbentium.

Intravit autem rex, ut videret discumbentes, et vidit ibi hominem non vestitum veste nuptiali. Et ait illi : Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem? At ille obmutuit. Tunc dixit rex ministris : Ligatis manibus et pedibus ejus, mittite eum in tenebras exteriores : ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium.

Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi.

English translation

At that time, Jesus spoke to the chief priests and the Pharisees in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son, and he sent his servants, to call those who were invited to the marriage, and they would not come.”

“Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell them that they were invited. Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my cows and fatlings are killed, and all things are ready, all of you come to the marriage.”

“But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise, and the rest laid hands on his servants, and having treated them with contempt, put them to death. But when the king had heard of it, he was angry, and sending his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burnt the city.”

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The marriage indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go to the highways and find as many as you can find, and call them to the marriage.’ And his servants going forth into the ways, gathered together all who they found, both bad and good, and the marriage was filled with guests.”

“And the king went in to see the guests, and he saw there a man who had not worn a wedding garment, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in, not having a wedding garment?’ But he was silent. Then the king said to the waiters, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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Tuesday, 12 August 2014 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the Lord and His profession of faith and devotion to us, as He told us how a shepherd would go all out of his way, leaving those sheep which are secure with him, and find the one lost sheep until that sheep is found. Our Lord is the Good Shepherd, as He Himself had said, and therefore, we are His sheep, in the pasture that is this world, and He will devote Himself in the same way as the shepherd is devoted to his flock of sheep.

In the first reading today, Ezekiel, the prophet of Israel called when the people of God was exiled at Babylon, received a vision showing God in all of His majesty, who commissioned him to speak His words on His behalf to the people of God, and particularly those who had rebelled against God and walked in ways contrary to the way of the Lord.

Thus, both readings essentially talked about the same thing, that God is concerned with the fate of mankind, particularly those who are lost in the darkness of this world, which is caused by our sinfulness and disobedience to the will of God. God wants those sheep that are lost, to be able to find their way back to Him before it is too late, and thus He sent His servants, the prophets like Ezekiel and ultimately Himself through Jesus His Son.

God did not take our case and fate lightly, as He knows that there are only two end points for us all, that is either eternal goodness or eternal damnation. Satan and his supporters are ever active in our world, dragging mankind and all those who are not vigilant into the trap of sin and evil, much like how wolves drag and trap their unsuspecting preys, the lost sheep into harm’s way and death.

That is why He sent on our way, so much help and assistance, that is the assistant shepherds which He gave us to be our shepherds and leaders to help us on our way to the Lord, to guard us and help us to evade the wolves. These were the prophets, and then followed by the disciples of Christ and their successors, our priests and bishops today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of a saint, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, a French noblewoman who lived during the late Renaissance era. She led a relatively normal life for the people of her age in that time, building up a family with her aristocrat husband, until she was widowed at the young age of twenty-eight with several of her children.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal then experienced a turn in her life, when she devoted herself to a life in devotion to God through charity and works, meeting up with saints and then established a congregation of women committed to the service of the poor, which she herself dutifully carried out for the sake of these lost ones of the children of God.

She was so devoted in her works, that despite all the opposition and challenges against her, even ridicule and obstacles would not allow her to give up her good works for God’s lost and weak children. It was indeed the same as how our Lord painstakingly worked hard to gather back all of His sheep, the lost ones, namely all of us, who had been sundered from Him ever since sin entered into the hearts of men.

We too have to follow her example, and the very example set up by our Lord, who as the Good Shepherd, did the ultimate act of love and devotion, by laying down His own life for His sheep, through the crucified Christ, that we all may live. It is important for us to realise how great is the love that God has for us, and therefore try our best to love Him back and seek Him with the best of our abilities.

Let us help one another on our way towards the Lord. Let us seek Him who is the Shepherd of all things living, and of all creations. He loves us all, and we should also all love Him back in the same way. Let us never be separated again from Him, and let us ask for the intercession of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, that our faith in the Lord will always be blessed by God. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

The Lord reigns, robed in majesty; the Lord is girded with strength.

The world now is firm, it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o Lord, from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your house day after day without end, o Lord.