Independence Day

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly the prophecy of the prophet Hosea, who came to pronounce the words and the will of God at a time of great turbulence. At that time, the kingdom of Israel had been divided into the northern kingdom also called Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. And the people of the northern kingdom, to whom the prophet Hosea had been sent to, had become corrupt and wicked, revelling in the pleasures and the goods of the world, as they lived in prosperity and wealth.

The prophet Hosea often rebuked the people for their debauchery and wicked ways, but at the same time, as what we have heard in today’s first reading, he also spoke of the coming of the time of God’s forgiveness and redemption of His people, as a hope for those who chose to keep their faith in their one and only true Lord and Master. Those who would abandon their past obstinate attitude and embrace fully God’s love and mercy would receive the rich fruits of God’s mercy and love.

And this has been proven in what we have heard in the Gospel today, the well known story of how Jesus healed the woman with bleeding issues, and how He raised the daughter of the synagogue official from death and back into life. We saw through these examples, that if we have faith in God, everything will be made possible for us. And God will not abandon all of His faithful ones to despair and hopelessness.

Because the woman had faith in Jesus, and she dared to seek Him to heal her from her afflictions, God saw her faith and praised her for the faith which she had, and healed her from the sickness that had troubled her for so many years. And because the synagogue official believed in Him, and sought for Him when his daughter was in trouble, and in fact had died, because of this Jesus healed the daughter and returned her to life.

From all these, we heard that faith in God is what saves us all. If we do not have faith in Him, then there is no way that we would achieve salvation. After all, Jesus Himself had said that only through Him that salvation can be achieved, and beyond Him there is no hope for salvation, for He is the Bridge, the Way to the Lord our God, the One Who linked us between ourselves and God our Father.

Let us then look at the example of the holy and faithful St. Elizabeth of Portugal, whose feast we are celebrating today. St. Elizabeth of Portugal was once a Spanish princess who married the King of Portugal and hence became the Queen of Portugal. As Queen, she was devoted to her people, and committed many charitable works that made the people’s livelihood better.

She was a pious person, and she devoted her life to God. She was a great servant of God and tried her best to show the people how they ought to live as the people of God, by having true faith in Him, by loving one another. And she was indeed leading by example, doing as much charity as she was able to. And after her husband, the King of Portugal passed away, she left behind her life as queen, and devoted herself to God by entering the religious life.

And yet, even so, she still committed herself to many good works, including to broker peace among the kingdoms at the time which were rife with rivalry and warfare. She made peace among the fighters and warmongers, and won for the people of God the peace and harmony through which more good works of God’s salvation could be done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Elizabeth of Portugal had great faith in God, and for that great faith she was rewarded with the glory of heaven. And even after she passed away, her examples and works in life still continued to inspire many others, and indeed, became a source of courage for many of those who were unsure and uncertain about following God.

Shall we too do the same as those people had done? Shall we also follow in the footsteps of the holy saints of God, the woman whose faith healed her from her bleeding affliction, and the synagogue official whose faith restored her daughter back to life, even from death? It is our choice now, brothers and sisters, and we must now choose, whether we are going to be faithful to God, or whether we are going to abandon Him for some other things.

Just as at the time of the prophet Hosea, there are many temptations in this world. And as we progress on, there are going to just be more and more temptations along our path, be it wealth, possessions, fame, human glory and praise, as well as many others.let us ask ourselves, are we able to resist these temptations? Are we able to be truly faithful to our God without being overly attached to all the things I had just mentioned?

May God strengthen our faith for Him, and enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love, that through them, we may draw ever closer to Him and find salvation and succour in His presence, and be worthy to receive the promise of eternal glory and praise He had promised to all those who believe in Him and keep their faith in Him. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 18-26

At that time, while Jesus was speaking to the disciples of John the Baptist, an official of the synagogue came up to Him, bowed before Him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and place Your hands on her, and she will live.” Jesus stood up and followed him with His disciples.

Then a woman, who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years, came up from behind and touched the edge of His cloak; for she thought, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned, saw her and said, “Courage, My daughter, your faith has saved you.” And from that moment the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, He said, “Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!” And they laughed at Him. But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 144 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

I will praise You day after day and exalt Your Name forever. Great is the Lord, most worthy of praise; and His deeds are beyond measure.

Parents commend Your works to their children and tell them Your feats. They proclaim the splendour of Your majesty and recall Your wondrous works.

People will proclaim Your mighty deeds, and I will declare Your greatness. They will celebrate Your abundant kindness, and rejoice in singing of Your justice.

Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to everyone; His mercy embraces all His creation.

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Monday, 4 July 2016 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hosea 2 : 16, 17b-18, 21-22

So I am going to allure her, lead her once more into the desert, where I can speak for her tenderly.

There she will answer Me as in her youth, as when she came out of the land of Egypt. On that day, YHVH says, you will call Me my Husband, and never again : my Baal.

You will be My spouse forever, betrothed in justice and integrity; we will be united in love and tenderness. I will espouse you in faithfulness and you will come to know YHVH.

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Saturday, 4 July 2015 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how Isaac blessed his younger son Jacob with the blessing which was intended for Esau, the eldest son. And in the Gospel we heard how Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who criticised the way that the disciples of Jesus followed, not fasting and following what the norm of traditions at the time dictated.

It may be difficult to see the link and connection between the two readings, but the truth is that the two are indeed very related, considering what Jesus told them about how new wine ought to be placed in new wineskins, and how old wine ought to be placed in old wineskins. This is related to the two sons of Isaac, Esau and Jacob, each of whom represent the old ways of the world, and the new ways of the Lord and His salvation.

The triumph of Jacob over his brother Esau showed the incompatibility of the old ways with the new ways, and that we must indeed make a choice between the two of them. This also means that if we call ourselves followers and disciples of the Lord, then all of us cannot do what is contrary to what is expected of us as the followers of the Lord.

If we call ourselves the disciples of the Lord, and then we commit things wicked and evil in the sight of God and men, then we discredit and trample on our own faith. In this manner, we are exactly like the old wine being placed into new wineskins. The incompatibility between the two will tear apart the whole wineskin and wine inside it will be spilt and wasted. In the same manner, therefore, if we believe in God and yet did not do as is expected from us, then it created a scandal for us.

We have to realise, brothers and sisters in Christ, that in order to be true disciples of our Lord, then all of us have to show it not just by mere words or proclamations of faith, but instead, we must also show it through work and devotion, which will vindicate our faith, that it is indeed real and genuine. This is what we ought to do, and what we must stand up for.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we have to wake up to the realisation that we have to listen to what the Lord had taught us. He had taught us about love, for He is love Himself, and by showing that love for us, He taught us that we need to love Him and love one another in the same manner. Yet, we know that even among us the faithful, we see so much discord and divisions, infighting and conflict among us.

We should know that faith is meaningless and dead without action and commitment. True faith requires us to go forth and do what the Lord had commanded us to do, to be righteous in all of our dealings, to defend the truth which He had revealed to us, and to stand up for the Lord. Indeed, the world will be hard on us and it will oppose us with all of its might.

But remember, they have also rejected the Lord when He came into the world, and they refused to listen to Him, and persecuted Him and His servants and disciples. This is why we have to have courage in our faith, and do not fear, for God is always with us, and He will guide us on the path, and if we remain faithful to Him, we will receive the fullness of the richness of God’s grace and blessings.

On this day, we commemorate the feast of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, who was the Queen of Portugal in the middle ages, who was renowned for her great faith and piety, and who after her husband’s death, she left everything behind and chose to devote the rest of her life in a prayerful retreat in a monastery. She continued to do great works of charity, even in her old age, helping those who were less fortunate, poor, weak and ostracised.

The examples of St. Elizabeth of Portugal reminds us that while we live in this world, filled with much vices and evil, it does not mean that we have to succumb to it and to follow the way of this world. We can choose to be righteous and just, as St. Elizabeth of Portugal and the other holy men and women of God had done throughout the ages. Let us all go forth and show God’s love to one another, a concrete show of our faith.

May Almighty God be with all of us, strengthen our faith and devotion to Him, and empower us to be even more devoted disciple of His cause. God bless us all. Amen.

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Saturday, 4 July 2015 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Gospel Reading)

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

Matthew 9 : 14-17

At that time, the disciples of John came to Jesus with the question, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not Your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

“No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. In the same way, you do not put new wine in old wineskins. If you do, the wineskins will burst and the wine will be spilt. No, you put new wine in fresh skins; then both are preserved.”

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Saturday, 4 July 2015 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Psalm)

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

Psalm 134 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia! Praise the Name of the Lord. O servants of the Lord, praise Him, you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for He is good, praise His Name, for it is beautiful; for the Lord has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His possession.

I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does – in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in their depths.

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Saturday, 4 July 2015 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal (First Reading)

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

Genesis 27 : 1-5, 15-29

When Isaac was old and his eyes so weak that he could no longer see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. Isaac continued, “You see I am old and I do not know when I shall die; so take your weapons, your bow and arrow, go out into the country and hunt some game for me. Then prepare some of the savoury food I like and bring it to me so that I may eat and give you my blessing before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau went into the country to hunt game and bring it back, then Rebekah took the best clothes of her elder son Esau that she had in the house and put them on Jacob, her younger son. With the goatskin she covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck, and she handed to him the bread and food she had prepared.

He went to his father and said, “Father!” He answered, “Yes, my son, who is it?” And Jacob said to his father, “It is Esau, your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Come, sit up and eat my game so that you may give me your blessing.” Isaac said, “How quick you have been my son!” Jacob said, “YHVH, your God, guided me.”

Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near and let me feel you, my son, and know that it is you, Esau my son, or not.” When Jacob drew near to Isaac, his father felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognise him, for his hands were hairy like the hands of Esau his brother and so he blessed him.

He asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And Jacob answered, “I am.” Isaac said, “Bring me some of your game, my son, so that I may eat and give you my blessing.” So Jacob brought it to him and he ate. And he brought him wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.”

So Jacob came near and kissed him. Isaac them caught the smell of his clothes and blessed him, saying, “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. May God give you the dew of heaven; and of the richness of the earth; and abundance of grain and wine.”

“Let peoples serve you and nations bow down before you. Be lord over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone that curses you and blessed be everyone that blesses you!”

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48th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Singapore (9 August 1965 – present)

Today marked the 48th year since the independence of the Republic of Singapore, which occurred on 9 August 1965, when Singapore left Malaysia to be a fully sovereign nation on its own.

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Singapore has gone through many difficulties and trials, and yet as one united people, a melting pot of people from many different races and backgrounds, they have overcome those challenges, and today, they emerge as a First World nation, prosperous and respected by many in the world.

Let us pray for Singapore and the people of Singapore, that they will continue the hard work they had done all these while, and may the Lord continue to bless and protect them, and of course, reminding them that, while looking after themselves and their own nations, they should not lose sight on those less fortunate among them, and therefore pledge themselves to help one another, that everyone will rejoice together and be happy together, sealed with God’s love.

Happy 48th anniversary, Singapore! God bless the Republic of Singapore!

 

(The National Pledge (0:00 – 0:30) and National Anthem of the Republic of Singapore (0:31 – 2: 16))

 

National Pledge :

We, the citizens of Singapore,

pledge ourselves as one united people,

regardless of race, language or religion,

to build a democratic society

based on justice and equality

so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and

progress for our nation.

 

National Anthem (Majulah Singapura/Onward Singapore) :

Official (in Malay)

Mari kita rakyat Singapura
sama-sama menuju bahagia;
Cita-cita kita yang mulia,
berjaya Singapura.

Marilah kita bersatu
dengan semangat yang baru;
Semua kita berseru,
Majulah Singapura,
Majulah Singapura!

Marilah kita bersatu
dengan semangat yang baru;
Semua kita berseru,
Majulah Singapura,
Majulah Singapura!

 

Official translations (in English, Chinese, and Tamil)

English

Come, fellow Singaporeans
Let us progress towards happiness together
May our noble aspiration bring
Singapore success

Come, let us unite
In a new spirit
Together we proclaim
Onward Singapore
Onward Singapore

Come, let us unite
In a new spirit
Together we proclaim
Onward Singapore
Onward Singapore

 

Chinese

来吧，新加坡人民，
让我们共同向幸福迈进；
我们崇高的理想，
要使新加坡成功。

来吧，让我们以新的精神，
团结在一起；
我们齐声欢呼：
前进吧，新加坡！
前进吧，新加坡！

来吧，让我们以新的精神，
团结在一起；
我们齐声欢呼：
前进吧，新加坡！
前进吧，新加坡！

(Transliteration from Chinese)

Lái ba, xīnjiāpō rénmín,
Ràng wǒmen gòngtóng xiàng xìngfú màijìn;
Wǒmen chónggāo de lǐxiǎng,
Yào shǐ xīnjiāpō chénggōng.
Lái ba, ràng wǒmen yǐ xīn de jīngshén,
Tuánjié zài yīqǐ;
Wǒmen qí shēng huānhū:
Qiánjìn ba, xīnjiāpō!
Qiánjìn ba, xīnjiāpō!
Lái ba, ràng wǒmen yǐ xīn de jīngshén,
Tuánjié zài yīqǐ; Wǒmen qí shēng huānhū:
Qiánjìn ba, xīnjiāpō! Qiánjìn ba, xīnjiāpō!

 

Tamil

சிங்கப்பூர் மக்கள் நாம்
செல்வொம் மகிழ்வை நோக்கியே
சிங்கப்பூரின் வெற்றிதான்
சிறந்த நம் நாட்டமே

ஒன்றிணைவோம் அனைவரும்
ஓங்கிடும் புத்துணர்வுடன்
முழுங்குவோம் ஒன்றித்தே
முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர்
முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர்

ஒன்றிணைவோம் அனைவரும்
ஓங்கிடும் புத்துணர்வுடன்
முழுங்குவோம் ஒன்றித்தே
முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர்
முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர்

(Transliteration from Tamil)

Ciṅkappūr makkaḷ nām
Celvom makiḻvai nōkkiyē
Ciṅkappūriṉ veṟṟitāṉ
Ciṟanta nam nāṭṭamē
Oṉṟiṇaivōm aṉaivarum
Ōṅkiṭum puttuṇarvuṭaṉ
Muḻuṅkuvōm oṉṟittē
Muṉṉēṟaṭṭum ciṅkappūr
Muṉṉēṟaṭṭum ciṅkappūr
Oṉṟiṇaivōm aṉaivarum
Ōṅkiṭum puttuṇarvuṭaṉ
Muḻuṅkuvōm oṉṟittē
Muṉṉēṟaṭṭum ciṅkappūr:
Muṉṉēṟaṭṭum ciṅkappūr!

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My Prayer Intention for Friday, 9 August 2013

1. For the victims and survivors of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, 68 years ago on this day. May the Lord who is loving and merciful protect and be with them throughout their ordeal and difficulties, and may He welcome those departed into His loving embrace in heaven. That they will not become bitter through their suffering, but remain loving and forgiving, that they may bring others into understanding about their plight and push further the cause for the complete ban of any Weapons of Mass Destruction.

2. For Singapore and all Singaporeans, who are celebrating their 48th Anniversary of Independence today. May the Lord continue to bless and protect Singapore and all its people, as He had always done for these past forty-eight years. May He continue to bless her people with love and awareness, of the plight of others less fortunate, that they will not be engulfed in excessive and endless pursuit of money, wealth, and worldly pleasures, and instead being active citizens of the country and this world, helping one another and supporting those who are in need with love, compassion, and kindness.

3. For our Church. May the Lord continue to shine upon our Church and all of us His beloved people. May our Church continue to provide God’s love upon many who are suffering, from the lack of food, the lack of care, and the lack of love. May we, the people of God’s One Body in the Church continue to work hard and do our best to contribute to the charitable activities led by the Church to bring God’s love and light to others.

May the Lord who is merciful and loving, listen to our prayers and the humble petitions in our hearts, that He will exercise His divine grace and power, interceding for our behalf. God bless us all. Amen.