Holy God

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Tuesday, 6 May 2014 : 3rd Week of Easter (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Continuing from yesterday’s catechesis, again I have to emphasize, brothers and sisters, that we have to stand firm to the faith, and keep this faith we have in our Lord up and strong. The living God, who gave us His life that we may live, who suffered for our sins that we who believe will not suffer the consequences of our sins, and finally, the One who gave us the promise of eternal life, in all of us who receive Him and His ultimate gifts, which is none other than His own Precious Body and Blood.

Yes, in the Eucharist we receive the very essence of our Lord, which He gave to us as the bread of life and the wine of eternal salvation, that all of us who partake on Him will receive life in us, and as long as we remain bound in faith and truth to Him, we shall live and not die an eternal death, that is the eternal damnation of our souls to hell. In the Eucharist we have the promise of eternal life and eternal providence by our Lord and loving God.

We have to open the doors of our heart wide for Christ to come into our hearts and transform it profoundly, that He may also transform our whole beings, from beings of darkness and apathy into beings of light and love. Allow Christ to come into us, unworthy as we are, that He may help us to root ourselves in the way of truth that we may not fall into the eternal darkness and damnation.

Do not be like those who persistently refused to listen to the Lord, who persecuted Stephen the holy disciple, who persisted in his teachings and testimonies of the living God. Do not be like them who kept their ears shut against the words of truth, and kept their hearts closed against the Lord who ceaselessly tried to knock at the doors, to allow them to open those doors for the Lord to come in.

As Pope St. John Paul II had said, let us not be afraid, but open wide the doors, the doors of our hearts to the Lord. Do not close it and allow the Lord to come into us and transform us into beings of light and love, that we may be found worthy, and not only that, we may also be examples and role models for others who see us and therefore also believe in God. Let us keep our faith in God ever strong and living. We cannot have a static faith, but we must have one that is always based on love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, remember always that Christ our Lord died for us and gave us His own flesh and blood, which He shed as He walked down that path to the cross, and hung upon the cross unto death. He suffered all those grievous wounds and sufferings for our sake. We are all condemned to die ever since our first ancestors first disobeyed the Lord. And that disobedience turned into sins, which corrupted us severely even until today.

This corruption mars our soul and destroys us even as we speak. However, as I had mentioned, all is not lost because Christ gave His all for us. He brought us from the depth of darkness, lift us up back into the light. And those of us who believes in Him, died to our past and old lives, and then, through the resurrection of our Lord, we also were brought up from the depths into a new life filled with love and the light of God.

We have to walk always in the light, and show our faith in God through all of our words, actions and deeds. Let us all use the opportunities we have to be the bearers of God’s truth that had been revealed to us. Be like Stephen who was courageous and faithful even unto the end. But remember, in charity and mercy, let us also follow his footsteps. Forgive those who persecute us and keep showering them with love.

May the Lord continue to guide us as we walk through this life, that our lives may ever be a reflection of the Lord. May God protect us and shield us from harm, and keep us always in His grace, and brings more souls to Himself. Amen.

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Monday, 5 May 2014 : 3rd Week of Easter (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Today brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to keep the truth, stand by that truth and stay faithful to that truth. And what is this truth? It is the truth proclaimed by Christ Himself when He taught the people and His disciples, about His mission, His nature, and the nature of God’s salvation. It is also the truth proclaimed by Stephen the first deacon of the Church in today’s first reading against those who refused to believe in the truth.

As we all should know, this world is not for Christ and His truth, and indeed the world which is filled with the evil one’s influences and darkness, opposed Christ at every turn and at every possible opportunities. This is why, there will be many hurdles and obstacles in the way of those who speak for the truth, and in the way of those who work and pledge themselves to the truth of Christ, which is what we are all, brothers and sisters in Christ are supposed to do.

What is this truth? This truth is plain and simple, which lay open and available in the entirety of the teachings of the Church. That God is one and indivisible, and loving in of His aspects. But He exists in three separate and yet equal divine persons, that is Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father creates, the Son who is Word, blesses and carries out the work of the Father, and the Holy Spirit empowers and strengthens all. All three united in one, that is the essence of our faith in God who is the Trinity.

But that is not all, for God so loved the world and all of us His beloved creations who had fallen into sin and darkness, that He willingly laid aside His power and divinity in the person of the Son, who became incarnate into Man, to be one of us, through the Blessed Virgin Mary, and were born as Jesus the Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, fully divine and fully man.

Why? So that through the Son and His perfect obedience, He as the new Adam and the beginning of new life and new era, may cast away the veil and the darkness of mankind’s sins and rebellions, which began with the disobedience of the first Adam. That He became the perfect offering and sacrifice through whom the sins of mankind may be erased in its entirety and completeness, ridding them of the obstacle that barred them from returning to their loving Father.

Jesus spoke of Himself when He referred to the living bread of eternal life. That those who eat that bread will never die, not in a sense of literal death that we know of, that is the death of the physical body, which we all have to face at one point, at the very ends of our lives. What He referred to was the eternal death of the spirit, the total separation of our souls from the love of God, which is called hell, the state of hopelessness and eternal damnation.

This is what those who believe in Christ and His truth, will avoid in the end. They will not face this fate of eternal suffering. Although death may claim their bodies and their physical flesh, but it will not claim their souls, for their souls are pure and worthy of the Lord, and the Lord who loves us and gave Jesus for our sake will not let us to be claimed by death and sin. And in the end, even together with our bodies we will rise with Christ when He comes again at the end of time. Death has no power over any of us, as long as we believe sincerely and fully in God and His plan which He had revealed through Jesus.

It was the very same truth that Stephen the deacon had proclaimed to the people of God and to his prosecutors, the chief priests, the elders and the Pharisees and the Sadducees who themselves had been opposed to Christ since the very beginning. The same truth that they also refused to believe in, even after hearing them from Christ Himself, and then His Apostles and disciples, which includes Stephen.

Those people hardened their hearts against the Lord and participated actively in the resistance and hindrance of the good works of God in this world, deceiving many and preventing the salvation of many souls who remained lost to the darkness. And these are exactly who we should not become. We cannot refuse to accept the truth in God, and therefore, we must, without exception, receive the faith we received through the Church in its fullness.

And we have to be like Stephen too, who did not fear to state the truth, and preach the Good News, even against tough opposition and persistent rejection, for the sake of salvation of souls. Remember that the Lord loves all, even those who hated and rejected Him. He would not want them to be lost, unless if they continue to refuse to believe until it is far too late.

May God therefore guide us in our works, and encourage us with His strength, that we may carry out our duties, just as Stephen had done, in the footsteps of Christ, to preach His salvation to all the peoples of all nations with courage, for the sake of our salvation, all of us. May God guide us always as we walk in this path. Amen.

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Sunday, 4 May 2014 : 3rd Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 24 : 13-35

That same day, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened. While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them, but their eyes were not able to recognise Him.

He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems you are the only traveller to Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there these past few days.” And He asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, you know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people. But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death. They handed Him over to be crucified. We had hoped that He would redeem Israel. It is now the third day since all this took place.”

“It is also true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn, they did not find His Body; and they came and told us that they had had a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not find a body in the tomb.”

He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand? Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this, and then enter His glory?” Then starting with Moses, and going through the prophets, He explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon Him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When they were at table, He took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised Him; but He vanished out of their sight. And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?”

They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words : “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

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Saturday, 3 May 2014 : Feast of Sts. Philip and James, Apostles (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. James and St. Philip, two of the Twelve Apostles of Christ, who brought the faith to faraway lands, dedicating themselves to the Lord and His mission that He had entrusted to them. Today we learn from the readings that we ought to be firm in our faith, and to proclaim the truth about the Christ, that is Jesus our Lord.

For Jesus is the Son of God, anointed with power, and through Him the salvation of all had come. Through Jesus, God worked His great miracles and brought His mercy to all peoples, bringing them closer to the embrace and eternal life He had offered freely to us. Yes, freely through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is the bridge that connects us to God our Father, as the only way through which we can return to the Father who loves us and wishes nothing more for us other than that we all may be saved.

Brethren, we have to preach Christ our Lord and the Good News He bore to all the nations, beginning from those who are around us. How do we do so? Remember what Christ told us in the Gospel today, that those who believe in Him, will do even greater things than He had done, but doing similar works nonetheless, for we are the extensions of God’s good works which He began when He came into our world through Jesus.

This means that we have to carry out the teachings of our faith and practice it concretely in our communities and in our surroundings, that having our actions and deeds based closely on Christ and His teachings, we become the reflection and living manifestations of that teaching, and thus show the truth about Christ to all those who see us, and therefore they may believe in Him too, through us and our works.

Therefore, just as Jesus had reflected the will and nature of the Father, we too should reflect the nature of Jesus and be like the Father in all things, that we be worthy of Him. We have to open our hearts and minds to listen and understand the will of the Father, through Jesus and His teachings, that we may walk in His ways and hence remain in His grace.

The holy Apostles had laboured hard for the sake of the Gospel, and they encountered enormous difficulties and challenges as they went on their ministries to the people of God. They went on delivering the words of God’s salvation to all the peoples regardless of these, and they persevered despite the oppositions.

They passed on the truth that had been revealed to them by Christ Himself. From them they passed on this truth which is kept for generations as a deposit of the faith and is kept in the teachings of the Church. And this is why we must uphold with the greatest care and devotion what the Church had taught us and kept the faith we have with greatest effort. We cannot be complacent in this, just as the Apostles were not complacent in their works to evangelise the people of God.

St. James the Apostle, also known as St. James the Lesser, went on to spread the Good News in the western parts of the Roman Empire, evangelising the people where none had heard the Word of God before. He was eventually martyred in Hispania, the place known as Spain today. His most important shrine and place of remembrance is at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the well-known and famous pilgrimage site of our faith.

Meanwhile St. Philip the Apostle was known for his conversion of the attendant or official of the ruler of Ethiopia as he made his way through Judea in a carriage. This is a well-known story in the New Testament, in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, telling us how the Ethiopian official discussed the faith with Philip, and in the process, convincing him of the truth about Jesus who came as the Messiah and Saviour of the world. Philip baptised the official and from him came the seed of faith that is preserved even until today in Ethiopia.

He went on to spread the Good News to areas of Greece, the province of Roman Asia and other areas, until he too was martyred for his faith and missionary works. St. Philip even in his suffering and death managed to do good works for the people of God, converting many to the cause of the Lord. Together with St. James, both these Apostles are truly role models for all of us the faithful ones in Christ.

Yes, brethren, we are also called in this modern era to be the Apostles and disciples of Christ of our times. We should not be afraid or reluctant to proclaim the truth about the Lord just as the Apostles had done before. This world lies in darkness, and many languished in that great darkness, bereft of the opportunity to see the Lord and His light, having been barred by the darkness itself. It is often up to us, to be the ones to bring them into the light and therefore show them the path towards eternal life.

May God bless us and guide us, as we walk in this path, that we may follow the footsteps of the Apostles St. James and St. Philip, that we too may be courageous in our lives that we may do our best to bring the people of God ever closer to salvation and perfection in God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 2 May 2014 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 6 : 1-15

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed Him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when He healed the sick. So He went up into the hills and sat down there with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Then lifting up His eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to Him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, He told His disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the One who is to come into the world.”

Jesus realised that they would come and take Him by force to make Him King; so He fled to the hills by Himself.

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Thursday, 1 May 2014 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 27-33

So they brought them in and made them stand before the Council and the High Priest questioned them, “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Saviour; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend charging us with the killing of this Man.”

To this Peter and the Apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God rather than any human authority! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging Him on a wooden post. God set Him at His right hand as Leader and Saviour, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

When the Council heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them.

 

Alternative Reading (Mass of St. Joseph)

 

Genesis 1 : 26 – Genesis 2 : 3

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, to Our likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over the wild animals, and over all creeping things that crawl along the ground.” So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God said, “I have given you every seed-bearing plant which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree that bears fruit with seed. It will be for your food. To every wild animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give every green plant for food.” So it was.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. There was evening and there was morning : the sixth day.

That was the way the sky and earth were created and all their vast array. By the seventh day the work God has done was completed, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day He rested from all the work He had done in His creation.

 

Alternative Reading (Mass of St. Joseph)

 

Colossians 3 : 14-15, 17, 23-24

Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were called to be one body. And be thankful.

And whatever you do or say, do it in the Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, working for the Lord, and not for humans. You well know that the Lord will reward you with the inheritance. You are servants, but your Lord is Christ.

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Wednesday, 30 April 2014 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, Pope (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 3 : 16-21

Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.

This is how the Judgment is made : Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.

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Tuesday, 29 April 2014 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Share your goods with one another, be with those among you who are lonely, sick, in trouble, or downtrodden, and comfort one another. Assure them that Christ is with them, through your actions. That is the essence of the lives of the early Christian communities, where the earliest converts to the cause of the Lord lived together in perfect harmony and in accordance to the will of God.

In doing what they had done, these predecessors of our faith has eliminated the temptations of this world, in the temptations of money, wealth and power, so that their lives might be completely dedicated to the cause of the Lord, as they had shown in how they lived and treated one another as brothers and sisters, children of the same God.

In essence, what these disciples of Christ had done is true communism and socialism, unlike what had been attempted by those we know as the communists and socialists of our days. They failed miserably, because they lacked God in their system, and they were unable to prevent human desire and intentions from interfering in their attempt to achieve true communism as the disciples of Christ had done.

This of course does not mean that what we have today is bad, or systems like capitalism is bad. It is unbridled capitalism, the desires and hunger for money and more money that is harmful, for it leads us to disregard for our fellow brethren especially those who are in need, and we are in the position where we are able to help them.

In reality of this world, what has been known as communism and socialism is nothing better than the tyranny of the minority and the powerful, that is in the name of championing equality and common good, certain people had taken advantage of the situation and ended up benefitting from what they had done. And these people are those in the positions of power, that is those who have the greatest access to many resources shared by the people, and ended up embezzling them for their own benefits and to the suffering of the people.

Greed, jealousy, fear, dishonesty, and many other vices we know well off are the many problems that mankind commonly face, and these are the main cause behind the problems that prevented the true implementation of common good for all mankind as the early Christian communities had done. That was why so many of the so-called communist and socialist states had failed miserably in achieving their aims, and instead became places where people suffer greatly.

On the other hand, however, we should also not take whatever is in the Scriptures literally. It does not mean that because the early Christian communities had lived as they did, sharing their goods with one another and selling their possessions to be shared, then we too must do the same. Indeed, in this era, in our world today, doing so would merely do more harm than good and it will also hinder us from having the opportunity to help those who are less fortunate.

Having possessions is in fact a great opportunity for us to give help to those who are in need. These possessions can be shared and yet we still have enough for ourselves. Remember that we should not impoverish ourselves to help others, as in fact this may hinder our ability to help them in the long run. What is the most important is that we have the heart for sharing, that is the heart to love another and the giving of ourselves to those who are in need.

It is the attitude that is important for us all, that we open our hearts to God and allow His love to fill us, and from us to the people around us, our brethren. We have to share this love and through the graces that God has given us, some of us have more and some have less, we should share it genuinely and sincerely, without coercion, unlike what those communist states had tried to do, and as what they are doing now in places like North Korea.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a renowned saint, religious and mystic well-known for her deep faith in God, her holiness and her visions of the Lord. St. Catherine of Siena and her numerous works and writings are essential for the growth of faith in many of those who read them, and she also inspired countless others who followed in her footsteps, with some becoming saints eventually, like her.

St. Catherine of Siena desired that her life be one that is completely on tune with God in complete and total dedication, to the point of even declaring her perpetual dedication to Christ as His spouse. St. Catherine of Siena led a very holy and dedicated life, in deep prayers and fasting, which is often at odds with the society at the time, even clashing with her own family and their desires and plans for her.

St. Catherine of Siena threw far away her pride and human desires, seeking instead the solace and happiness that she could find in God alone, and she was among those called to be the instruments of God’s favour and love for mankind. Through her visions and works, she brought forth numerous writings that exemplified the excellence of her faith, that it shone out of her persona, and in her writings, God made His presence in this world known.

The holiness of St. Catherine of Siena and her dedication to the Lord, which at one point even brought her to be the one to convince the Pope to return to Rome to end the terrible and bitter schism which had divided the Church at that time, is our inspiration, and should indeed empower us to follow her footsteps and become more and more like her in our deeds and actions.

May the Lord continue to guide us in our lives, that we may dispel the superficial and the lies of Satan, and instead seek the truth in God as St. Catherine of Siena had once done. May God be with us, that we may be more and more like Him and when the time comes, may we all be found worthy of life everlasting. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 28 April 2014 : 2nd Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr, and St. Louis M. Grignion de Montfort, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we learn two very profound and important things for our faith. First of which is that God is with us if we rely on Him and put our trust in Him, and this is achieved through strong, genuine and dedicated prayers that the Lord hears in their entireties. Then, we also heard about being born again in the Lord and His Spirit as a prerequisite of salvation.

First of all, regarding prayers. It is important for us to keep a good and healthy prayer life at all times to ensure that we keep our faith in God strong and firm despite all the oppositions and difficulties that may be present in our way. It is essential for us to keep our links and ties with God strong that we may anchor ourselves firmly in Him, that whatever temptations or tides and difficulties that come our way, we will be able to handle them and persevere.

Our prayers must be genuine and dynamic, that is we have to be in genuine and sincere conversation with God and not just chanting the prayers without thoughts for God in our hearts. A prayer is, as we all know, a two-way conversation between God and us, and this should not be undermined in any way, as many of us had done.

For many of us, prayers had ended up becoming a litany of demands and wishes, where we bombard God with our human desires and wants, and when we do not get what we want, we become angry and abusive towards God, and not few even lost hope in God and veered away from God’s way into the darkness of the world. These are all because we have not yet understood the true meaning of prayer and we have also not yet understood well our relationship with God.

God loves us, yes, and He cares for us, yes, and He wants to guide us at all times, but this does not mean that He is a generous provider for all the things that we need or even worse, if we expect miracles to happen just because we think that the Lord can do everything for us. God will intervene in our lives, yes, when He deems it necessary for Himself to come and make a difference in our lives, but this again does not mean that we should be lazy or idle.

Instead, we should take upon the examples shown by the Apostles, who courageously stood up for their faith against those who opposed the Lord and testified for the sake of the Good News of God. The Apostles in the first reading today prayed, because they sought the Lord’s guidance and help in fulfilling their mission to spread the Good News, especially among those who opposed the Lord. They sought courage and strength to carry out their appointed mission, that they will not easily give up against the opposition and forces piled up against them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, when we pray, we have to open ourselves entirely to God, that we may truly listen to God speaking to us in our hearts. We have to stay connected to God at all times, for we are beings weak and prone to temptation. The devil awaits us at every corner waiting to tempt us away from the path to righteousness and into damnation, and his weapons are plentiful.

We cannot be complacent, and we have to be always ready to seek the Lord whenever we are in doubt or great fear, as the Apostles had done, by praying together as one asking the Lord for His help. That is what we have to do as well, brothers and sisters in Christ. And for us all, we have been sealed in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, and therefore had been claimed for the Lord.

That is the meaning of being born again, according to Christ, as He explained to Nicodemus, by being ‘born again’ of the Spirit. The waters of baptism mark our rebirth in the Lord, as from that moment on, we are born in the Spirit of God. Many misunderstood this and in the separated and heretical Protestant communities, they interpreted this as all of us having to be born again, even after baptism, which is the mistake of their literal understanding of the words of Jesus.

Being born again is equivalent to our baptism, when we were truly spiritually reborn again, our second birth, when our past selves and sinful selves are cleansed and purified into a new being filled with the light and the love of God, no longer unworthy of the Lord but now worthy of His everlasting grace. However, this does not mean that we can just be easygoing and disregard all the laws of God after our rebirth, as we are still prone to sin, as long as we are in this body of flesh, in contact with the impurities that are in this world.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, we ought to do our best, to be strong in our faith, through prayers, genuine and living, and through our actions, that we resolve to follow the Lord and listen to His will. In doing so, we will walk in the favour and grace of God, and in the end, receive the everlasting reward and glory of heaven.

Today, brethren, we also celebrate the feast of two renowned saint, one that is St. Peter Chanel, a priest and martyr of the faith, and the well-known St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Monfort, the founder of the Monfortian religious order, which is involved in many aspects of Christian charity and education even today. Through the works of these two great saints many had benefited and were brought closer to God.

St. Peter Chanel was born in France about two centuries ago, and he was noted for his drive towards missionary work and desired since his youth to be a missionary of the faith to bring the light of God to many nations who have yet to receive the word of salvation. He went on to become a priest and a missionary, working in many places, preaching the Good News to many who then accepted baptism and were born again in the Spirit.

When he went on a mission to the Pacific islands in Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, St. Peter Chanel met his martyrdom there in the midst of his good works of faith. He worked hard for the faith and managed to gain converts for the Lord, yet because of the opposition of those who did not know the Lord, he met his end, and yet, St. Peter Chanel remained truly faithful to the end. Even those who persecuted and murdered him repented in the end and were accepted into the faith.

St. Louis-Marie de Monfort had a different life experience from St. Peter Chanel, but he had led an equally holy and devoted life, dedicated in its entirety to the Lord and to His mother Mary, of whom St. Louis-Marie de Monfort was particularly dedicated to. St. Louis-Marie de Monfort became a great preacher of the faith, dispersing the Good News to many, and his holiness became an example to many.

St. Louis-Marie de Monfort was notably known for his great devotion to Mary, the mother of God, that influenced many later faithful and the Popes for their extensive and various Marian devotions, and help spread the popularity of devotions and prayers to the mother of our Saviour for her intercessions on our behalf before her Son.

Through the hard works of these two saints whose lives we celebrate today, we gain much graces and blessings, that all of us get closer and closer to the mystery of our God, to His love and mercy. Through the examples of these two saints, we have a clearer image and understanding of what we should do, in order to achieve holiness necessary for us to be worthy of heaven and of God’s everlasting reward.

May Almighty God continue to guide us in our lives, that we may realise how much we depend on Him, and how much we need to align ourselves to His will. May all of us grow stronger in our faith and be more dedicated to God, day after day. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 April 2014 : 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, Canonisation of Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 2-4, 13-15, 22-24

Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

I was pushed hard and about to fall, but the Lord came to my help. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. Joyful shouts of victory are heard in the tents of the just : “The right hand of the Lord strikes mightily.”

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and we marvel at it. This is the day the Lord has made; so let us rejoice and be glad.