intercession

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Thursday, 12 December 2013 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Mass of our Lady)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, to commemorate the apparition of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God, in the land of the New World, in Guadalupe, in the present day Mexico. The Blessed Virgin and her apparition that would come to be known as the Lady of Guadalupe appeared to several people including to a peasant named Juan Diego, whom first promoted the devotion to our Lady in that new land. Many miracles and healing could be attributed to our Lady of Guadalupe, even until today at the site.

The Lady of Guadalupe, was a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her Immaculate Conception, and also identified as the woman of the Book of the Revelation, that is the woman crowned by stars whom the devil in the form of a red dragon, would want to swallow whole. Therefore, our Lady of Guadalupe represented the vision of hope to the world darkened with evil, for it is through this blessed woman, that the hope of this world was to come from, in Jesus.

The devotion to our Lady of Guadalupe is widespread in the New World, even today, and many continued to ask for her intercession and for her guidance towards her beloved Son. Through her, as promised and prophesied by the prophets, the One Saviour, Immanuel, God-is-with-us, was brought into this world, to be its light and guidance, so that all of us will once again live in the light and not in darkness.

In Mary a great strength was present, in her character and in her faith to God. She did not question the will of God but obeyed fully and willingly. Mary accepted her part in the plan of salvation, saying to the Lord, that she is His handmaid and servant, and therefore everything ought to happen as God wills it. It is truly not easy to find a faith such as Mary’s, and we too ought to follow her examples.

For this woman, despite being conceived and born without sin, and remaining pure all of her life, did not boast of her purity and special status before others. Instead, she remained humble, even knowing if she would become the Mother of God Himself, incarnate into flesh through her participation. She was indeed Blessed, as Elizabeth her cousin proclaimed her during the visitation.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the fulfillment of God’s promise to mankind, when they first sinned against Him, that a woman would come to bring forth salvation to mankind, crushing the head of Satan under her feet. Not by her own power and might, but through the Son born from her, Jesus our Messiah, our Lord.

The Lord elevates her to a special position among mankind, not only because of her role as the bearer of the Messiah, but also because of her obedience and her attitude towards the will of God. But she is still human like us and not divine. It is a misconception for many, both outside and even inside the Church, that we worship her as a divine being. Yet, Mary is blessed among women, among all mankind, and she is our role model.

Mary is our role model, the greatest of the saints, and her life examples are exemplary. Her role in the plan of salvation is indeed intended for us to follow and emulate. So today, as we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and as we continue to proceed through the blessed season of Advent, we are reminded of the role that Mary has in the salvation of mankind, with our time now of preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us draw ever closer to the Lord, through the life and example of Mary His mother, who appeared to the people of Mexico in Guadalupe, that all of us will also be able to be like her, following the Lord, committing ourselves to the laws and precepts of the Lord, and be righteous and true in the eyes of God.

May the Lord our God who bless us with Mary His mother, whom He entrusted to us as our mother, continue to bless us, watch over us, and may through her intercession, we will be drawn ever closer to salvation in her Son. Amen.

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Monday, 9 November 2013 : Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a great feast for the Church, and for all of us. Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was declared by Pope Pius IX over one and a half century ago, after our Lady showed herself to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in France.

She revealed to St. Bernadette, the truth about her Immaculate Conception, that is, Mary the mother of our Lord Jesus, was born without sin, pure and immaculate, because as the mother of our Lord, it is only fitting that His mother, just as He is, free from all kinds of defilement of sin.

The Church and the tradition of the faith had for long held a view somewhat similar to the concept of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, even since the early Church, but the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to St. Bernadette in Lourdes confirmed the teachings of the Church, and that was how we come to have this Solemnity, the great feast in honour of the Immaculate Conception of the mother of our God.

All of these, brothers and sisters, were part of the grand plan of salvation God had planned from the very early beginning. Ever since mankind fell into sin, the Lord had planned it all, even to the smallest of details, on how He is going to save us all. He knew everything even long before the things actually happened, simply because, He is God.

Then one may ask, how come then God did not try to stop Adam and Eve from disobeying Him by eating the fruits of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? He is God right? Certainly that is within His ability? If He knows everything, then He should have known that His most beloved creations would disobey Him because of the trickery of the devil, right? Then why did He not act for the sake of our ancestors?

Yes, these are the natural questions that will undoubtedly come to our minds as we read this passage. Certainly if God had prevented them from disobeying Him, then we will all live in paradise today right? After all mankind had been created and given the world as their dominion, and the beautiful Garden of Eden to live in. But sadly no, that is not how things are supposed to be.

God can easily impose His power and make things according to what we had thought, but most importantly, God gave mankind free will, and it is that free will that God has bestowed on us, the freedom to choose, whether to do something in line with God’s laws and ordinances, or to do things against the Lord and His laws.

And mankind chose to disobey the Lord and listen to the temptations of devil. They were then still innocent, pure without any trace of sin, for sin was unknown to mankind when they were created. But they made the wrong choice, out of their curiosity, and suffered the consequences. Sin entered into the world of men.

God punished mankind and the devil for their disobedience and the rebellion against His will, but He did not leave men empty-handed. For He loves all of His creations, from the smallest to the largest, and from the lowliest of all creations, to us, the most beloved ones that He created, the ones He created in His own image.

That is why He gave to us hope, by saying to our ancestors, that despite the difficulties that they and their descendants, including us, have to suffer, as a consequence for our disobedience, and despite that the devil will continue to hound us and try to trap us into damnation, note the words : “the snake will clutch at your children’s heels”, God gave us a hope.

That the woman will crush the head of the serpent, and in that sentence, lie the secret of God’s ultimate plan for salvation. That woman, as you all should be able to guess, is Mary. And in another passage it is said that the woman will bear the child, and the child will be named Emmanuel, which means God-is-with-us. And yes, that Emmanuel is indeed Jesus, because Jesus who is God and with God, has descended through Mary to be with us, as Man like us, and hence, God-is-with-us.

Through Mary, the salvation of the world was born, and through her, the final defeat was dealt on Satan and his plans to doom mankind into damnation in hell with him. For Satan was jealous of the power of God, and aspired to sit in His place, but he was defeated and cast down, and he planned his revenge on mankind, God’s most beloved creation, but God did not just let Satan have his ways, out of His love for all of us.

Mary, the woman, became the conduit, the vessel, through whom God made salvation possible for mankind. It was Mary’s complete trust and obedience in God that made all these possible. Her answer to the Archangel Gabriel showed her perfect faith in God and the purity of her heart, soul, and being. “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me as God wills it.”, such an answer indeed.

And because she was to bear the Lord Himself in her, in flesh, it is not right for Mary herself to be tainted with sin as we are. This is because you all know the intimate bonds present between mothers and their child. Indeed, it is truly flesh from the mother’s flesh to the flesh of the infant’s flesh. Therefore, if Jesus who is Lord incarnate as Man is without sin, His mother too must be free from any kind of sin, no matter how small or insignificant the sin is.

That is why today we celebrate this solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lord made it since the very beginning according to the plan of salvation, that Mary was made special, set apart from any other human, that is without the taint of sin. Is it possible for God? Certainly. The Lord definitely has the power to do so, as after all, He is indeed God. He made Elizabeth to conceive a child in her old age, John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, the Messiah.

What is important today, brothers and sisters in Christ, is that while we rejoice and celebrate the conception of this wonderful woman, through whom the world would later get its salvation from, we too should reflect on our own sinfulness, reflecting on the unworthiness that kept us separated from the Lord. And let us remember that our sins have been redeemed by the sacrifice of the Son of this wonderful woman, yes, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as the Lamb of sacrifice, taking away our sins and replacing them with grace and blessings.

Hence, as we go deeper into the season of Advent, preparing for the celebration of the birth of our Lord at Christmas, let us seek to be prepared for the coming of Jesus. Remember that He promised that He will come again at the time of His choosing, to judge the living and the dead, all of us included, and He will pick those whom He considered worthy, that is those who had turned away from their sinfulness and look up towards God and strive to reach out to His grace.

Let us all make best use of this Advent season, and let this blessed season be an opportunity for us to be closer than ever to our Lord Jesus, through His mother Mary, the pure and immaculately conceived woman, the promised salvation of our God. Mary, Mother of God, holy and pure, immaculate as snow, pray for us, and intercede for us before your Son. Amen.

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Wednesday, 4 December 2013 : 1st Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Priests)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord provides and He cares. He is our loving Father, the One who protects and blesses His children. That is what we witness today in the Gospel, where Jesus feed the four thousand men, not counting women and children. He fed them out of His love for us. He knows that the people hunger for His love and for His words and teachings, but He is also aware of their biological need for food, as they devoted themselves so much to Him that they followed Him for days without providing for themselves.

Is there anyone with such love for us? Not only that He cared for us, He even gave His own life in sacrifice for us, that we may live. Indeed just like a shepherd who cares for his sheep and gave his life to them to protect them. He prepares for us a feast everlasting, that we will not want anything again, because He provides for us and feed us food that will never end.

He gave us food, but not just the loaves of bread and the fish that He had given the four thousand men, and women and children. He gave us His own flesh and blood to eat and drink, the Food that sustains us without end. We receive them and be fulfilled. He came into us and dwell within us, and we are marked as His possessions.

We have been well fed by the Lord, and well provided for. But how many of us remember to give thanks to Him? How many of us actually even spurn His offer of kindness and love? The Lord gave us so much, and yet we are often ungrateful. And especially that He had given His own life for ours, to take us out from the realm of death.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John Damascene, a pious and holy saint, who lived in turbulent times, at the region known today as Syria, which was under the rule of the Christian Roman Empire, but fell to the hands of the pagan and evil Muslim forces, who proceeded to conquer much of the then known world. St. John of Damascus however persevered on and remained faithful to the Lord, and was still in the employ of the Muslim rulers just as he was in the governance of the land during the Christian Roman times.

St. John of Damascus was a learned man who wrote extensively and published many writings, songs, hymns, and many other riches of the faith, many of which are known to us even today. He was firm in his faith and never wavered even once. He put his full trust and faith in the Lord who has provided for him, cared for him, and loved him even unto death.

St. John of Damascus was particularly fierce in his defense of the true faith, when the Roman Emperor, the secular head of Christendom, erred in his views on the faith, adhering to the heresy of iconoclasm. This was when the belief that the Lord should not be represented in graven images spread wildly, likely to be influenced by Islamic beliefs, especially on their mistaken outlook on the Lord, in their misguided ways. They smashed images of the Lord and His saints and persecuted those who believe in the true faith.

St. John of Damascus did not make any compromises on the faith, and keep firmly in the true and orthodox faith, despite the resistance and even threats from the Emperor himself. St. John of Damascus feared not human power and opposition in his love and total dedication for the Lord who loved him and fed him with grace.

Eventually the true faith won, and many souls were saved from damnation by the efforts of St. John of Damascus and many other holy people, the disciples of the Lord who kept true faith in God, the same God who fed the four thousand men, living and burning in the heart of many. To them, the Lord is real, and He is real in Jesus, who was God incarnate into Man, the One who came to save all mankind and bring them to perfect reunion with God.

For the Lord Himself gave us His own flesh and blood, His own Body and His own Blood, for us to consume, that each of us share in His presence and in His being, that He dwells from then on within each one of us, without exception. That was the reality of our faith, the reality of Jesus, the Son of God who lowered Himself to become one of us, and yet still full of divine perfection and love, for the compassion He felt for the hungry people, those who hunger both for food, and for the spiritual food of the Word of God He provided, is truly great.

For there is no love greater than the love that Jesus our Lord has for each one of us, and this is what we have to realise, brothers and sisters in Christ. And that was what drove St. John of Damascus to fight on for the truth, because of God’s everlasting and undying love. For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only Son, that all those who believe in Him will not die, but will enjoy life eternal.

Therefore, brethren in Christ, let us today, and from now on, renew our resolve to love the Lord, and to seek Him to the best of our abilities. We should not turn away from the love and grace that God poured for us in His care and compassion towards us. Instead, let us face Him and look upon His heart, a heart filled with love for us.

And of course, brethren, do not forget to share that love with one another, that all of us may enjoy together, the love of our Lord, the perfect love He had shown through Jesus, through His feeding of the people, and ultimately, through His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus, be with us, always. Amen.

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Saturday, 30 November 2013 : Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ! Today we celebrate the great feast of one of the Apostles, that is St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, the leader of the Apostles and Vicar of Christ. St. Andrew is also known as St. Andrew the first-called, because he was known to be the first Apostle to be called out of the Twelve Jesus had chosen. It was St. Andrew who brought his brother Simon, who is St. Peter, to the Lord and introduced the Lord to him.

St. Andrew is the patron saint of the city and Archdiocese of Constantinople, or New Rome. It is known as such because the Emperor Constantine, who ended the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, established a new capital in the eastern part of the Empire, in the city he built and named after his own name, which is today known as Istanbul, after its fall to the evil and pagan forces of the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

Not much is known of the actions of St. Andrew in the New Testament, but the Church tradition showed that he established many Christian communities in today’s Greece, particularly in the area now known as Thrace, especially the Christian community of Byzantium, later known as Constantinople when the Emperor established his new city and capital there.

St. Andrew laboured hard for the sake of the Gospel and preached to the unbelievers in the area, earning many converts for the sake of the Lord. Despite difficulties and oppositions and rejections, he continued his ministry with faith, and the faithful communities under his care flourished. And as many of the other Apostles and disciples of the Lord, he followed the Lord into death.

St. Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, which from then on became known as the St. Andrew’s cross. His dedication and faith to the Lord did not make him hesitate to sacrifice even his own life for the sake of the Lord, shedding his blood and giving up his own life for the growth and spread of the Gospel, and for the salvation of more souls to God.

Today we rejoice with our brethren of the Eastern Orthodox Church, headed by the venerable Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the successor of St. Andrew the Apostle, who had first founded the see of that city. That is why today, we celebrate this great feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the see of our brethren in Constantinople, our brethren in faith, and One as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

It is lamentable and sad indeed, that due to petty political and personal ambitions of the corrupt Patriarch of Constantinople at that time, Michael Cerularius, that this very sad and preventable tragic division of the faithful had to occur, in what is known as the Great Schism of 1054, almost a thousand years ago. It is in the best interest of all the faithful that we all put aside our differences and throw far away the lies, rumours, prejudices, and misconceptions which keeps up the enmity and divisions in our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

We are called today, as St. Paul has shown in the first reading, that we ought to preach the Good News to many people of many nations, and we have to reach out to them, and show them the love of God so that they will be converted to the cause of the Lord, just as St. Andrew himself had done. But we certainly cannot do this, if we ourselves are divided against ourselves.

Yes, first we must show our unity, the unity of the Church as one, the One and only Church of God, which Christ had established Himself on Peter, His Apostle, whom the Lord Jesus had appointed as the first Vicar of His will on this world. Sadly, many people, driven by ambition and human greed would like to see and keep the Church divided as it is, not for the glory of God, but for their own glory, for their own ego.

Following the footsteps of St. Andrew and the other Apostles, that of St. Peter, his brother, let us today, as we celebrate the feast of this great saint, as one Church, remember the mission that the Lord has given to us through His disciples, that we have to go out, and proclaim the words of the Lord, the Good News of Salvation, the salvation in Jesus Christ. And that before all these can be completely done, we must resolve to seek unity among ourselves, to avoid divisions and infighting among ourselves.

We are called to become the fishers of men, as we will catch mankind by thousands, tens of thousands, millions and more, bringing them closer to the Lord. That is why the Lord said to His disciples that they will become fishers of men. We too therefore have been called to be the same as they were, to be the witnesses of the Lord in this world. But fishermen cannot catch the fish if they first fight among themselves, instead of catching the fish and waste much energy, effort, and time in the process, and many fish will be lost.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today on the feast of St. Andrew, we rejoice and celebrate together with our brethren in the Church of Constantinople, that is the Eastern Orthodox Christians. We resolve that we will aim and seek for unity between us, that we will be able to soon once again be perfectly reunited in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, the one and only Church that our Lord had built in this world, which He entrusted to Peter and his successors to lead and to be His Vicar in this world.

May the Lord continue to bless us and our loving Church, and bring it closer ever to unity, and with the help of the intercession of St. Andrew, may we be one again, as our Lord is One. Amen.

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Thursday, 28 November 2013 : 34th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we approach the beginning of the Advent season and the end of the current liturgical year, we are reminded yet again, on the imminence of the coming of Christ, that is His glorious and final, second coming, in which He will judge all things and all creations living and dead, in one final judgment for the souls of all mankind.

The time will come indeed, for the enemies of the faithful ones in God to gather and plot against the people of God, with their chief and lord, that is Satan the deceiver, for a final attempt to wrest victory from the hands of God. Just like in our first reading, where Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den by the machinations of his enemies, who pushed hard for his imprisonment and punishment, the same too will happen at the end of times, as Jesus Himself had mentioned.

Indeed, if we listen to the readings today, our fate as the faithful ones of God seems to be very bleak indeed, as we know that there will be lots of opposition, lots of suffering, and lots of tough times for us to go through. There will be oppression, and when we will be facing insults and anger of the people shown against us, for keeping the faith in God alive and strong in us. Well, to be honest, even these days, we all know that all of these are already happening, even daily these days!

Difficult times will certainly be upon us, but we should not be overly worried or give in to fear. Remember that the Lord protects all who are faithful to Him, and He cares for all of them, that is us. He will not leave us in jeopardy, nor will He abandon us to the evil one. It is we who often abandon Him, to choose the better and easier way out, taking the shortcut of the world, thinking that it will lead us to an easier and more enjoyable life later on.

Such is the delusion the enemy is trying to put to us, in order to bring us away from the Lord, and therefore from salvation. Through this world, the enemy has made his move, intended to bring many souls into damnation, a state where eternal suffering without hope and love will be upon us who stumble on our path towards the Lord. We must stand strong, and we cannot give in to the temptations of the devil.

It is not, however, that we should shun the world, hate the world, or anything like that. Rather, hate the developments that had grown accustomed in our society, where consumerism and excessive greed has eaten ever deeper into the hearts of mankind. Our modern day society is one where we can say that money is god, money is everything. Yes, money is indeed important, and we cannot deny that. We need money and other things which money can buy, so that we can sustain ourselves and continue living.

However, needing money does not equate the glorification of money, and the corruption of our hearts by greed. Yes, the greed for possessions and material wealth. It is pervasive in many in our world today. How many people have you known that enslaved themselves to their work and their career? How many people are obsessed with getting more wealth and possessions? How many people spent hours or even days of their time gambling and playing in casinoes in order to gain fast money? How many people did illegal jobs and corrupt funds just so that they can fill their coffers with more money?

Yes, these are the realities of our world. So many people have been ensnared by the temptations of the world, the allures of money, wealth, and worldly pleasures, which few indeed could resist. After all, given a choice, who in the right mind would choose suffering and difficulties over easy life and pleasure? And yet, brothers and sisters, the fact that you all are here today, is that, the very fact that we all still have faith and truly believe in the Lord our God and Saviour. We believe in Him and His promise, that at the end of all things, He will come again, and give us who remain faithful in Him, an eternal rest and glory with Him.

While we are living in this world today, we ought not to hide ourselves from the world and remain passive. We must not shield ourselves from criticism and persecution. Rather, go out and preach the Good News and the words of the Lord’s salvation, especially to those who did not believe, and those who persecutes you. We do not have to say a single word to do that. Our actions will do just the same. Remember what Jesus had said, and when we follow them, we will do fine.

Yes, for example, when someone insults us and our faith, do not insult them back. Instead, embrace them, love them, and pray for them. That is the way of the followers of Christ, the Christian way of life. Whenever people persecute us for our dedication and devotion towards the Lord, do not be angry at them. Rather, let love fill ourselves, and pray for them. Embrace them with your love. In doing so, not only that we do not corrupt ourselves with the anger and the negative emotions that the devil wanted to trap us with, but we may even help to bring more souls to salvation, to join us to be saved by God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, keep our faith up! Never fear, and keep the Lord always foremost in our heart. Let us all be loving children and disciples of our loving God, always loving and always forgiving, especially to those who hate us most, and to those who insult us and persecute us for our faith. Remember, they too need to be saved, just like us. God bless us all, and all peoples. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 November 2013 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Gertrude, Virgin (Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen about how our Lord is a great and just judge. That He is the judge of all creations, just as He is the One who created all of them, including all of us. He is just as He is loving, and He listens and pays attention to all that He loves, which includes all of us, His most beloved ones. He will not leave us behind in quagmire or in trouble, for He will always care and love for us, His children.

And as Jesus had mentioned, the Lord is just and He upholds His laws that is love. And as He mentioned how even the evil and proud judge was bound to fulfill the wishes of the widow who kept pestering him to help her. That is how the Lord will be even more loving and caring towards us, giving us what we need just if we ask Him and sincerely approach Him with humility.

He knows all our needs and all our wishes, without the need for us to even utter a single word. For is He not our Lord and Creator, who knows all things, and who has power and authority over all things, be it in heaven or on earth. We need to just ask and beseech Him for Him to come and grant us what He wants out of us. Remember that Jesus invited us to come to Him, that is to knock at His door, that is to reach out to Him, and to respond to His call.

He has shown His power over time and throughout history, showing His might and power to His people, Israel. They have been brought to the Promised Land by the power of His hands, who smote those who enslaved them hard, that they let His people go. God has shown His deep love to them, opening the doors of His heart, and pouring to His people the fullness of His love.

How not so, when He guided them as they proceeded out of the land of their slavery, and persevered with them despite their constant disobedience. He provided them with good and nourishing food, even with bread from heaven, and sweet, crystal-clear water to drink. He cared for them like a father cares for his children, protecting them from harm and guiding them towards the right path.

That is why, brethren, we should not fear the Lord. For indeed, the Lord welcomes us to return to His embrace through His most wonderful love and mercy. All we need is for us to actively and proactively seek Him, and open ourselves, making ourselves available to accept His love. We should begin from now, to redirect our focus back towards the Lord.

Today, we celebrate the feast of two saints, namely St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude. Both are great saints, and when they were alive, they were good and exemplary women, beloved daughters of the Lord. St. Margaret was the princess of England, and who was married to be the Queen of Scotland, while St. Gertrude was a young religious who received revelations and visions from the Lord and His saints, on the nature of the love of God, and whose works helped many to gain deeper insight on their faith.

St. Margaret of Scotland was a very pious woman, who went on doing her work to ensure that the faith was upheld true and pure, without any heretical teachings across her country of Scotland. She was truly exemplary in her faith, piously devoting herself to God. She made her faith truly alive by showing her love to the poor, and to the last ones in the society.

St. Margaret served the poor and cared those rejected by the society. She championed the faith during her reign as Queen and helped her husband the King of Scotland to keep him on track in the faith, since he was a person who was not particularly interested in the faith and committed sinful acts during his reign. St. Margaret therefore kept a nation strong in their faith, anchored in the Lord.

St. Gertrude was a pious and holy woman, whose life was entirely dedicated to the service of the Lord. She received mystical visions from the Lord, which showed the Lord and His love for mankind, and the undying love He wants to show to all of us, the sorrow that He had for our sinfulness and rebelliousness. We have caused great pain to the Lord, for we have rejected and spurned His love, which He had offered freely for us, especially through the sacrifice and death of Jesus His Son.

St. Gertrude was also well known for her many works and writings, many of which had been lost to time. Her writings focused on the Lord and His great love, and dedication He has for all of us. She was one of the early devotee of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a popular devotion nowadays. She gave her all to God, and so deep was her love and dedication that she considered herself as a bride of the Lord.

Following the examples of these two great women, and great saints, we ought to be more like them, and love God more and more. We must love our Lord just as He had loved us so much, that He was willing to give up Himself in death, that through His own suffering, death, and finally, resurrection, we can be made whole, worthy, and saved in Him.

May the Lord continue to bless us, watch over us, love us and give us His merciful love. Through the intercession and examples of St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Gertrude, may we grow to love our Lord more, and seek Him in faith and humility, seeking His mercy and throwing ourselves at His feet, that He may once again spark in us the love for Him. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after we celebrated the feast of all saints yesterday, today we also remember all of our faithful departed, the souls of the dead, those who departed before us, some of which are known to us, as our own relatives, brothers and sisters in Christ. They have departed from us, but certainly they are not forgotten, as they remain with us, united in God.

Just like all saints, those who had departed this world are also our intercessors. They pray for us who are still in this world, this sinful world, immersed in our sinfulness. At the same time we also pray for them, that the Lord will welcome them into the kingdom of God, opening the gates of heaven for them, forgiving their sins, and purifying them that they will be able to join the company of saints and angels.

The Lord had given all of us and the souls departed a new and great hope, that they may receive salvation in Him, and be freed from the bondage of sin and evil. Previously, mankind had no hope for salvation, as the gates of heaven was closed shut tight before them, as the consequence and punishment for their rebellion and sinfulness.

It is through Jesus then, that we are made righteous again. It is because Christ took unto Himself all of our sins and defects, suffering for all the consequences of our sins in place of us, and die a humiliating death, all that so we can have a new hope in Him, the hope of a life eternal in glory with God in the afterlife. Through His resurrection, we then too share the hope of the same resurrection, that we will be brought body and soul, purified and made worthy by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

But this salvation is only offered to all those who receive and accept Christ as their Lord, their God, and their Saviour. In accepting the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, they receive the fullness of the salvation promised to all of us. But those who rejected Him and spurned His love will have no part in the glory promised to them. Instead, they shall perish and suffer everlasting death in the eternal darkness of hell.

If we are saved, then why do we need to pray for our departed ones, the souls of the dead? That is because, we believe that, in our faith, as a central dogma, is the presence of the purgatory, as a temporary place where souls transit on their way towards heaven. These souls have been found worthy by the Lord, worthy of heaven and therefore, they did not deserve hell and the devil’s fate for their destination. Yet, for them, they still have venial and small sins that prevented them from truly being with the Lord. This is why we have the souls in purgatory.

In purgatory, the souls are being purified of their sins, through suffering that they are not yet able to be with God. Nevertheless, this is unlike hell, which is a state of total and complete separation from God, in which there is no hope, an eternal suffering without end. In the purgatory are good souls who deserve to be with God, but they need to be rid of these little imperfections first before they can enter heaven. God is so great and perfect, and so perfectly good that no evil can hope to stand in His presence and survive. That is why, we have souls in purgatory.

Through our prayers, we help the souls departed in purgatory, that the Lord will pardon them completely, and allow them to be completely reunited with His love. Our prayers do help, brothers and sisters, if we are sincere. These souls, suffering the temporal separation from God, also pray for us, that we can grow more faithful and evade damnation, together with the saints, who intercede for us daily and at all times without cease.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, today, as we pray for the souls departed and the souls in purgatory, let us also take some time to reflect on our own actions, that we may seek to rectify any errors and unworthiness that we still maintain before the Lord, which distanced us from the embrace and love of God. Let us from now on, seek to be righteous and to be worthy, loving God’s children and He who is our Father Himself, with all of our hearts, our minds, and our souls. Amen.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

John 6 : 37-40

Yet all those whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me.

And the will of Him who sent Me is that I lose nothing of what He has given Me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day. This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall live eternal life; and I will raise Him up on the last day.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Romans 5 : 5-11

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and we have become just through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation.

 

Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason now we may be saved through His life. Not only that; we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through whom we have been reconciled.

Alternative Reading

Romans 6 : 3-9

Do you not know that in baptism which unites us to Christ we are all baptised and plunged into His death? By this baptism in His death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the Glory of the Father, so we begin walking in a new life. If we have been joined to Him by dying a death like His so we shall be by a resurrection like His.

We know that our old self was crucified with Christ, so as to destroy what of us was sin, so that we may no longer serve sin – if we are dead, we are no longer in debt to sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again and death has no more dominion over Him.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.