holy saints of God

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Thursday, 4 December 2014 : First Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Psalm 117 : 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a

Alleluia! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in the help of humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in the might of princes.

Open to me the gates of the Just, and let me enter to give thanks. “This is the Lord’s gate, through which the upright enter.” I thank You for having answered me, for having rescued me.

Save us, o Lord, deliver us, o Lord! Blessed is He who comes in the Lord’s Name! We bless You from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God; may His light shine upon us.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/03/thursday-4-december-2014-first-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-damascene-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 4 December 2014 : First Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Isaiah 26 : 1-6

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah : ‘We have a strong city, He Himself has set up, walls and fortifications to protect us. Open the gates! Let the righteous nation enter, she who is firm in faithfulness. You keep in perfect peace the one of steadfast mind, the one who trusts in You.’

‘Trust in YHVH forever, for YHVH is an everlasting Rock. He brought down those who dwell on high, He laid low the lofty city, He razed it to the ground, levelled it to the dust. Now it is trampled, the poor and the lowly tread upon it.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/03/thursday-4-december-2014-first-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-damascene-priest-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of All Saints (Double I Classis) – Saturday, 1 November 2014 : Gradual and Alleluia

Psalm 33 : 10, 11 and Matthew 11 : 28

Timete Dominum, omnes Sancti ejus : quoniam nihil deest timentibus eum.

Response : Inquirentes autem Dominum, non deficient omni bono.

Alleluja, alleluja.

Response : Venite ad me, omnes, qui laboratis et onerati estis : et ego reficiam vos. Alleluja.

English translation

Fear the Lord, all of you His saints, for there is no want to those who fear Him.

Response : But those who seek the Lord shall not be deprived from any good.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Response : Come to Me, all of you who labour and are heavily laden, and I will refresh you. Alleluia.

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Saturday, 20 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Laurent Imbert, Bishop and Martyr; St. Jacques Chastan, Priest and Martyr; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s readings we heard two great exhortations, by St. Paul in his letter to the faithful and the Church in Corinth on the nature of the resurrection of the faithful and then the parable of the sower and the seeds by Jesus who told them what happened to the various seeds that ended up in different conditions.

In the two readings, we can see a great link and similarity, as both of them refer to the growth and the sowing of seeds, and what are these seeds? They are none other than the seeds of faith, hope and love, the three cardinal virtues of Christian life, as these have been planted in us, within our hearts and souls. And the purpose for these seeds are so that we may truly be transformed from our sinful, mortal and earthly bodies, to be truly worthy of our Lord and God, in a new spiritual body as mentioned by St. Paul, that is a body filled with the wonderful flowers and fruits of faith, of hope and of love.

But Jesus our Lord mentioned in His parable of the sower, that this would not be an instantaneous, automatic or easy process. He clearly highlighted the problems, dangers and great challenges that line up against us, to prevent us from achieving that state of spiritual maturity and worthiness, that we end up to continue living in sin and darkness rather than be accepted into the light.

Mankind had lived in this world and as such are bound to the ways of this world, that is the way of the flesh, and the ways of the world. That had been the way of mankind ever since the days of our first ancestors, after they had sinned and been cast away from the presence of God, and had to endure the sufferings of the earth. Ever since then, mankind had lived on earth and obeyed the ways of the world rather than the ways of the Lord.

What we need in order to escape this bonds and prison of the world is by cultivating and growing the seeds of faith, hope and love which God had planted in us, through His Spirit. It is however, as mentioned, not going to be an easy path. The parable of the sower in fact showed us that the devil is always at work in order to prevent us from ever achieving salvation in God, and instead perish with him together in hell.

Jesus mentioned that the seeds fell on first the roadside and got eaten by the birds. In this case, He also explained how Satan is always at work as he desired our total annihilation, as a form of his vengeance and continuous rebellion against God. As we mankind are God’s greatest and most beloved creation, there is indeed nothing more sinister and evil for Satan to commit his defiance against God other than by subverting mankind and bringing them into sin.

And Satan has much in his possession in order to execute this extremely well. This is because many of us are like the seeds that fall on the rocky ground. We listened to the word of God and we received the words of the Good News of Christ, but these did not take root in our hearts. It is like we heard these words from our ears, but it then remains just a superficial attachment in any, and indeed, in our actions, in our own words and deeds, they represent nothing that the Lord had taught us.

This is a fertile ground for Satan to make his attack upon us, and it is easy for him to sow the seeds of dissent and unfaithfulness in our hearts. And indeed, the same also applies to the kind of those who are like the seeds that grow on the soil with thistles. Thistles are plants that can spread and grow on the surfaces of other plants, taking precious nutrients as a parasite to the host plant, which then eventually is suffocated, impoverished and therefore die.

This is one main way through which Satan made his attacks, that is through the pleasures of the flesh, and the desires of men. He made his attack on us through these, so as to ensnare us on our way to reach the Lord, and therefore fail to reach salvation in God. The thistle represents the temptations and the corruptions which Satan is trying very hard to impose on us, so that we may obey him instead of God.

For us to truly be able to achieve salvation, we have to take heed of what Jesus and St. Paul had conveyed to us on this day. This is namely that we have to abandon our earthly ways, and all the things we used to do in this world, which are not in accordance with the will of God, which He had revealed through Jesus His Son. In this manner, then we can have that rich soil in us, upon which the Word of God and the seeds of faith, hope and love in us may form deep roots and grow strong.

And perhaps, by sharing the lives of the saints which feast we are celebrating today will inspire us even more to follow God with all of our hearts. Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Laurent Imbert, Vicar Apostolic of Korea, one of the first shepherds of the Church and the faithful in Korea, and also St. Jacques Chastan, another missionary to Korea, with his many companions in martyrdom, both missionary, laity and priests alike, the Martyr Saints of Korea.

Korea at that time, as it had been for about two hundred years, ever since the Faith first came there, was truly a very hostile place for the Church and the faithful. There were open and state-led persecution of the Christian faithful, who were seen as disloyal, traitors and enemies of the state. Many were made to choose between keeping their faith and death. Many abandoned Christ, but there were also many of those who remained faithful to the Lord and suffered holy martyrdom.

St. Laurent Imbert was the Vicar Apostolic of Korea, a missionary part of the French mission to Korea. He faithfully worked in shepherding the people entrusted under his care, and more and more come to believe in Christ and achieved salvation through his dedication. St. Laurent Imbert however, heard that the persecution of the faithful might cease, if he and the other leaders of the faithful would surrender themselves to the authorities.

The suffering of the faithful at the time was really great, and many were brought to martyrdom every day. Thus, in the spirit of the words of Jesus, St. Laurent Imbert, who was in hiding at the time, told his people, that he would surrender himself to the authorities, in exchange for the safety and protection of his flock. He mentioned the good shepherd, where Jesus mentioned that the good shepherd lay down his life for his sheep.

St. Laurent Imbert followed the example of Jesus and in his love and faith for his flock, he thought only of the best for them. Thus, he even willingly surrendered himself, even while knowing that his fate most likely would be death. He thus gave a great example to the faithful, which we too should follow and emulate in our lives. Even though the martyrdom and persecution would continue even after the martyrdom of St. Laurent Imbert, as the authorities reneged on their promises, the blood and faith of these holy martyrs continued to cause more and more faith to blossom and prosper among the persecuted people of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all come to a greater realisation of how great is the amount of effort and work that we should input into our lives, so that we may grow deeper and stronger in our faith, our hope and our love, that we may indeed bear fruit, that is the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

May all of us be ever more faithful and devoted to our Lord, so that our Lord may find us worthy of Himself and reunite us with Him together in the company of St. Laurent Imbert, St. Jacques Chastan, St. Andrew Kim Taegon and all the holy martyr saints of Korea, and together with the other holy men and women, as well as the angels. God bless us all. Amen.

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Message to the Faithful and Reflections on the Scripture Readings on the Occasion of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the Mass of an important occasion and an important part of our faith, that is celebrating the Assumption of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven by the power and the will of God. This is the dogma and definitive teaching of the Church, declared by the great Pope Pius XII on this day, sixty-four years ago, on the fifteenth day of August of the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, as the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ has long been the subject of veneration and respect for many generations since the beginning days of the Church. Mary as the mother of Jesus, who is the Son of God, the Divine Word incarnate into flesh, has been considered as the Theotokos, or the Mother of God ever since the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year of 325 of our Lord. This is because she was the vessel through which our Lord and Saviour was born into this world.

If you had noticed, that the readings today, the songs from the psalms and the Gospel itself talk about the Ark of God, or the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the two slabs of stone on which God had written in stone His laws and commandments for His people, and for mankind to be kept faithfully for all eternity. That Ark of the Covenant came to be considered as the Holy Presence of God among men, as God Himself resided in the world, among His people through the Ark.

That was why in the Scripture Reading from the Book of Chronicles today, we are told of the meticulous and very detailed preparations for the carrying of the Ark of God into the Holy City of Jerusalem, that it may be brought from the wilderness where the Ark had resided, to the Tent which the king David of Israel had prepared for the Ark of the Lord. This is because the Ark itself represents the dwelling of God among men, and therefore, later on, it was to be enshrined in the holiest part of the Temple of Jerusalem, in what is called the Holy of holies.

So sacred is that Ark, that indeed, before the occurrence of what is in the First Reading today, what happened was that the Ark had been attempted to be moved to the city of Jerusalem earlier on, but one of the priests of the Levites tribe accidentally touched the Ark when it slipped along the way, and the offending priest was cast down immediately by God for the accidental touching of the Ark. The meticulous preparation was indeed partly because no one, and no human hands should ever touch the Holy Ark of God.

And how is this relevant to what we are celebrating today? That is because the Blessed Virgin Mary is herself an Ark of the Covenant, and in fact, she is the Ark, the one and true Ark, of a covenant that had been established anew by the Lord, the new covenant of Jesus Christ our Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. As she bore the Lord and Saviour in her womb, she essentially became the new Ark of the new covenant which Jesus was to establish and seal by His death on the cross.

And as the Blessed Virgin Mary bore the Lord in herself, she has become the new Ark, that is indeed truly equally sacred and holy in all ways, the same as the old Ark had been. For truly, it must be inconceivable that for the Lord to be born into the world through physical attachments corrupted by sin. That is why, today’s feast is essentially inseparable from that of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin herself, which means that the Mother of our Lord was conceived without sin, pure and immaculate.

This dogma truly had the background in this purity and holiness of the Ark of God, which was then made anew through Mary, who was to bear the Lord and Saviour of all creation, and no longer just merely the two slabs of stone on which was written the laws and commandments of God. Mary was therefore prepared and made special, pure and immaculate, free from all forms of sin and evil. And therefore, just as in her birth, where she was without sin like her Son, it was truly also inconceivable that death should have any power over her.

This is why the Assumption, in which the Lord brought His own earthly mother into heaven, to show that for she was without sin, pure and immaculate, death has no power over her. Assumption is the proof that God showed men, using the example of His own mother, that death has no final say on us. Instead, He Himself by His sacrifice on the cross had conquered death, and death no longer bound us to itself, and we now have a new hope of life eternal in God.

In the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we honour and look up to Mary, who is both the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and also the foremost and greatest among all saints, as the one whose examples inspire all of us to do better and aim for the better for ourselves. Mary gives us hope that we too may one day be like her, receiving the gift of heavenly glory and our everlasting inheritance as part of the promise and hope which our God had given us.

However, on this sacred and joyful day, we also have to remember that we have our duties and obligations as well. Why is this so? Because all of us who believe in the Lord and who have accepted Him into ourselves, with our God becoming a part of us, and we as a part of the Lord as one Body, we too become the Arks of the Lord’s new covenant. And what is this covenant, exactly? We have to remember what Jesus said at the Last Supper, that the covenant He made was sealed by the giving of His Body and Blood to all mankind.

This covenant becomes ours and we are a part of the covenant when we receive the Lord who is present in the Most Holy Eucharist. Therefore, whenever we receive the Lord in the Holy Communion, we truly become like Mary, to bear the Lord unto ourselves, for the bread and wine are truly transformed completely into the very essence of our Lord, that He is truly present in us, and we become His Ark, or also known as what is called the Temple of God, or the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

And therefore it is very important for us to take note that as the Ark is holy and sacred, and as the Blessed Virgin Mary is holy and blessed, we too must also aspire and work towards having a holy and sacred Ark in ourselves, which means to avoid all sorts of fornications or sins that taint the body, or the soul or both body and soul.

If we are not able to do this, we will not be worthy bearers of the Lord, and we will be punished and cast out from our intended inheritance, and we will not share in the glory of Mary, whom God had brought body and soul into heaven for her role in the plan of God’s salvation of mankind. She is our role model and our hope, for through her God had made it clear to us, that death will not have any power over us, unless if we allow it to rule us again when we succumb to the temptations of sin and defile our bodies and our souls, unworthy of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us all reflect on this occasion, and on God’s loving presence among us, and within us. Let us from now on, whenever we attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, work harder and be more intent on keeping ourselves holy and worthy to receive our Lord into ourselves. Surely, we are all sinners and delinquents before God, but if we make the effort to keep ourselves holy and devoted to Him, He will grant us His favour.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, assumed into heaven body and soul by the power and favour of our Lord Jesus Christ, continue to pray for us and intercede for our sake, that we too may also experience the same glory she had received, and join her with all the other saints and holy people of God, to be with God for eternity and where death no longer has any power or say over us. God be with us all, forever and ever. Amen.