intercession

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Wednesday, 23 October 2013 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Capestrano, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Once again, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded, just as in yesterday’s reading, the importance of being ever-ready, and preparedness in our lives, that when the Lord comes again unexpected, we will not be caught unprepared and unworthy. Sin is in particular something that we must always beware of, in our daily lives, that we be ever vigilant, against any commitment of sin that corrupts us and brings us away from the salvation in God.

All of us, brethren, had in fact been entrusted with much responsibilities by our Lord and God, and we had been made as stewards over God’s creations. Remember that when the Lord created mankind, He had commanded all creations to be within our sphere of responsibility. We are effectively made the stewards of this world, the caretaker of God’s creatures.

Yet as we all know, many of us are not always faithful to the Lord and His ways. Although we had been made stewards, the Lord is still our Master, and we have to follow Him and His ways, and not go our own way. That is essentially what many of us have done. We have cast away the words of the Lord and prefer to trust in our own human judgments and wisdom, rather than trusting in God.

Then, some of us also did not become good stewards of God’s creation, and we neglect our duties that we ought to do. We prefer to care and worry about ourselves, instead of giving ourselves to love and care for those entrusted to us. And remember that the more we had been given with, the more too will be expected from us. That is why, our possessions, our love, and our material goods can become both a great source of blessing and grace, as well as to be a vicious trap that blocks our path to the Lord our God.

We are often too happy with ourselves, with our comfortable life, that we end up forgetting about what we ought to do in our lives. It is completely not wrong for us to enjoy our lives and to gather or gain worldly things and possessions. It is, as I need to reiterate once again, the way that we use those gifts and graces the Lord had granted us, and our attitude towards others, which determine whether we are righteous or not.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John of Capestrano, a priest who lived in the early Renaissance Italy, who was once a secular noble and governor of the land. He relinquished his position and wealth after he received a calling, and together with the future St. Bernardine of Siena, he studied to become a priest, a monk, and a preacher, eventually joining the Franciscans.

St. John of Capestrano went on to preach in many different parts of Europe and Christendom as a whole, and his charisma is such that he always drew massive crowds, into tens of thousands and even over a hundred thousand people in some occasions, turning many back into the path of the Lord, and affirming many in the way of the Lord. In doing that, he had brought countless souls back on the path towards salvation in God.

St. John of Capestrano worked hard for the sake of the Lord even until his old age, preaching and urging the people to rise up and defend the true faith in God against any form of heresies and diabolical onslaught of the devil forces, especially in the pagan Ottoman Empire forces, which rose to prominence and power. He worked hard until he caught illness of the bubonic plague and died, ever still faithful and devoted towards the mission he had as the servant of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples of St. John of Capestrano, and also the examples of many other saints, who had worked hard for the glory of God, let us all then also follow in his footsteps, to be truly dutiful and faithful in our mission in this world, that is to be faithful, obedient, and loving servants and stewards of the Lord our God, as the steward over all creation.

May we all therefore be strengthened in our faith, and become ever more dedicated to the Lord our God, and through the intercession of St. John of Capestrano, we are made closer to our Lord and God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 15 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we come together and listen to the words of Jesus, and that of St. Paul, heeding us to live righteously and in the spirit of true faith in God, and not in the belief of any human power or pride, that is what is very common for many of us to do.

Jesus warns us that we should not be hypocrites as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were, and we must truly practice what we preach, and practice what we believe in. And that our righteousness comes truly from the inside and not just the purity of the outside that makes us all righteous in the eyes of God.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law or the Scribes were entirely preoccupied in their own set of laws, rules, and regulations that were very strict and restrictive at the same time. They have rules regulating everything in the daily life of peoples, even to the most minute details regarding the washing of the hands before meals and how it is supposed to be done.

The washing of the hands before meals according to the laws of the Pharisees involve the thorough rinsing of both hands with water all the way to the elbow. While the intention was indeed good, that is for hygiene purposes, in its application, such rules and laws made by men often caused us to lose sight on what is truly important, that is to love and serve the Lord our God, and obey His commandments of love.

That is because the people become so preoccupied with the procedures and the rules, that they obey them for the sake of obeying the rules, instead of understanding the true meaning and purpose of those laws. The Lord did not have His Laws to punish or make the lives of the people to be difficult, as what He intended out of His commandments is that the people can remain in His righteous path and remain in His love, loving one another and loving Him as their Father and Lord.

Yes, brethren, for the commandments of God is the commandments of love, as Christ had aptly summarised it as the commandments to love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strengths, and doing the same to love our brothers and sisters, and our neighbours around us, all our fellow mankind.

The Pharisees did not do these commandments, and neither did they ‘do’ them for the love of God, but instead for the praise of men. They loved to show their great piety, their supposed full obedience to the laws of the Lord, while in fact, they were great sinners within. They cleaned the exterior but cared nothing for the interior, that is their heart and soul.

That is why Jesus rebuked them, that they were only beautiful to behold from the outside, but inside, they were truly rotten and corrupt. Worse still is that they did not just do this to themselves, but also to the people of God whom they were entrusted with, and therefore made them to fall as well. The Lord’s wrath is therefore justly raised against them, these deceivers and hypocrites.

That is what the Lord really wants us to avoid, that is to avoid being trapped by the devil and his temptations of this world. We must say those prayers meaningfully and with great sincerity and not just for the sake of being considered ‘holy’, as what those Pharisees had once done. True holiness comes not from the outside, but from the inside.

If we are truly holy inside, that is if we truly love the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him, then it will certainly show through, and the light that is within us, will shine brightly through, and the Lord will recognise us as His possession. On the other hand, if we are truly wicked on the inside and tried to maintain a facade of purity and ‘holiness’ on the outside, the darkness inside us will also show through, and the Lord will cast us away from His presence.

Today, brethren, we also commemorate the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus, also known as St. Teresa of Avila. St. Teresa of Avila was made a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. She was made so, because of her own great piety and well-known faith in God, as well as through her numerous writings and works, many of which influence us even till today, and also played a significant role in addressing heresies and divisions among the faithful in her time and beyond.

St. Teresa of Avila received visions and experienced great joy in God through ecstatic experiences, through which the Lord especially revealed to her the nature and the result of sin, mortal sins, and how terrible they are. She went through much suffering and persecution throughout her life, with some even doubting her faith in God, as strong and great as it is. Nevertheless, with the strength of God, St. Teresa of Avila continued to march on, and persevered through those time of difficulties.

St. Teresa of Avila is our role model, that we ought to give ourselves in entirely to the Lord, and to open ourselves fully to His divine love and divine providence, that we will become truly the possession of Christ, and Christ becomes a possession of ourselves, that He will live in us, just as we live in His loving embrace. May St. Teresa of Avila intercede for us, asking the Lord to strengthen our faith, and deepen our commitment and conviction for His cause. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 18 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the feast of one of the Four great Evangelists, the four writers of the Gospel of salvation, the Good News of the Lord made apparent to all of us through Jesus His Son, in His life, death, and glorious resurrection. It is through the Gospel that the truths of the Lord are made evident to all, through the inspiration by the Holy Spirit on those appointed to be the writers of the Good News of salvation. Luke, the disciple of the Lord, was one of those four chosen.

We have to first look at what is the nature of this Good News, the wonderful news that we read in the Gospels, written by Luke and the three other Evangelists. In the Gospel, lies the fullness of the Lord’s promise of salvation, as well as the perfect fulfillment of that promise, in Jesus His Son, through whom He brought the Good News into the world, and through whom, by the means of His death and resurrection, the Good News in the Gospels were fulfilled perfectly, along with the prophecies of the prophets as written in the Old Testament.

In Christ we have hope, and in Him our bondage to sin and Satan were broken, and in Him, the path to salvation in God was once again opened to all of us. This is what the Gospels are about, and this is what the Apostles and the other disciples of Christ had preached, ever since the Day of the Pentecost, converting people to the cause of the Lord. That was the true essence and reason of their hard work and dedication, even to the point of shedding their blood and giving up their lives for He who is God.

As we see in the First Reading, we see that St. Luke was one of the companions of St. Paul the Apostle, in his travels and preaching visits around the cities across the Mediterranean Sea. St. Luke was a physician or a doctor, who became a follower of Christ after receiving the revelation of the truth through the Apostles and Christ Himself. Ever since, he had been part of the missionary effort, as Christ had commanded, to bring the words of salvation to the ends of the earth.

St. Luke was part of that mission, which Christ Himself had initiated, with the commissioning and sending of the seventy-two disciples to the towns and villages as heralds for the coming of Christ. With His death and resurrection, the Lord sends forth all of His disciples to all mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, bringing to them the Good News and the salvation in Jesus Christ.

And just like the Apostles like St. Peter, leader of all of God’s disciples had once been a fisherman, and was made a fisher of mankind, thus, St. Luke too had been called, from his profession as a physician, as a doctor of the illness of the physical body, to be a doctor for our souls. And just as Peter as fisher of man ‘fished’ mankind out of the waters of darkness into the light, therefore St. Luke too, become the one who cured mankind out of the darkness of their hearts and their souls.

How did St. Luke do that? That is through the Gospel that he had written, the Holy Gospel according to Luke, which is rich in history and details, and which made clear to all who read them, on the fullness of God’s love and care for us, that in great detail, St. Luke explained the process through which, the Lord Jesus accomplished and fulfilled perfectly God’s planned salvation for all, beginning from His humble birth in Bethlehem, rejected by all, through His life and ministry, and until His Passion, death, and glorious resurrection.

Brethren! This Holy Gospel, as is the rest of the Holy Scripture is that cure for the darkness that had corrupted our hearts, the key to unlocking the doors of our heart, allowing God to enter into ourselves and make us worthy once again. But beware that we would not be deceived by Satan and his agents, who can twist the words of the Scripture to serve his own purposes. Remember the time when Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert.

That is why, brethren, all of us, firstly, must regularly read the Holy Scriptures, particularly the Gospels of salvation, where we read on Jesus and His divine words and on the central tenets of our faith. And then, we must also pray fervently and seek guidance, that we will not be tempted by the evil one, and will be able to internalise within our hearts, the Good News of our Lord’s salvation, and do not just remain at that, but spread it to the whole world, to all mankind.

May we, therefore, be able to follow in the footsteps of St. Luke and the Apostles,  to carry out the words of the Lord in the Gospels to all the nations, that through us, our own actions and words that reflect the Holy Gospels, we may bring all mankind towards God their Father, who will welcome them into His eternal kingdom. May we be courageous to follow in the footsteps of St. Luke, the Holy Apostles, and the other disciples of Christ. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 14 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyr)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord Jesus is our promised salvation, the One whom the prophets had been proclaiming about. He is the descendant of David, the One to inherit for eternity the kingdom that had been given to His forefather, to be the king of not just Israel, but over all the world, and indeed, as the Lord Creator of all, as the King of all creations.

He is also the descendant of Adam, the first man, and as a new Man, the Son of Man, becoming the new Adam, the first One to rise from the dead and into glory. Just as Adam had fallen into temptations of Satan, the evil one, with his wife, Eve, then Christ had broken hold of evil over mankind, the descendants of Adam, by being the faithful One, the One who held on true to His faith and love in God, even unto death.

Yes, for through Jesus, the new Adam, mankind had been liberated, ransomed with the price of the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Himself. That is the price He had paid for the sake of our salvation and liberation from slavery of sin under Satan. That ultimate sacrifice He had done at Calvary, to die on the cross for the sake of all mankind, is the sign of Jonah that He had promised to show the people, who so stubbornly demanded Him to show a miraculous sign.

Yes, brethren, demanding Jesus to show them a sign, while what they have experienced while they were with Him, especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who had always tailed Jesus wherever He went, and tried Him with questions and traps they had laid for Him. They have seen what Jesus had done, and had heard His teachings, and yet they did not believe, or rather, refused to believe in Him or in what wonders He had done.

The sign of Jonah is the reinforcement of what had happened to Jonah, when he tried to escape from his prophetic responsibility, to bring the judgment of God to the city of Nineveh. His escape ship was struck with a vicious storm, and he had to throw himself into the sea so that the ship would not sink. God sent a big fish, a whale, to swallow and protect Jonah in its belly for three days. That is what had happened to Jonah, and precisely what Jesus had shown the people of God.

Jesus Christ Himself was taken away from the world, that after His death, He went down into hell, not as a condemned one, but instead as a triumphant and conquering One, as One who liberates those who had been imprisoned unjustly by the evil one, delivering them from the darkness of the hell and this world into the light of heavenly glory. For three days, He was hidden from the world, just like Jonah who was in the belly of the fish for three days.

And just as Jonah who had been freed from the belly of the fish and went on to continue his ministry to Nineveh and its people, and after realising the benevolence and merciful nature of God, understanding that the people of Nineveh was not punished because they were repentant and regretful of their past sinful ways, so did Jesus bring about salvation and forgiveness for all those who had shunned their sinfulness and embraced Him as their Lord and Saviour.

This is the fundamental core of our faith, one that we have to keep uphold strongly throughout our life. We must never forget that our Lord had died for us and given up His life so that we may live and not suffer death eternal in hell, for He had freed us from bondage to Satan and bring us into new life of holiness and true joy.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of Pope St. Callistus I, also known as St. Callixtus I, one of the first Popes and therefore one of the early leaders of the Universal Church. Pope St. Callistus I faced many difficult experiences in his life, and even more so during his ministry as the successor of St. Peter, as the leader of the Universal Church. There were oppositions and persecutions from the pagan Romans and their Emperors, and life was truly difficult. There were also oppositions from within the Church, with rival factions and disagreements threatening to split the Church apart, especially over treatment of lapsed Christians and forgiveness given unto them when they decided to return to the Church.

Yet, Pope St. Callistus I persevered through these tribulations, and led the people of God through those difficult times, enduring oppositions after oppositions, and led the people of God back to God, reconciling themselves with one another. Pope St. Callistus dedicated himself to the cause of Christ even unto his death, his martyrdom in the defense of his faith. In that, he had upheld the faith that he had in Christ, in the One who had Himself persevered through numerous trials and oppositions, and death so that all of us may be saved.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us then commit ourselves ever more devotedly to the Lord our God who had given His all for our sake, that we will not abandon Him, and truly believe wholeheartedly in His Passion, in the suffering and death He had endured for the sake of us all. And may Pope St. Callistus I pray for us and intercede for our sake before the Lord Jesus, our loving God and Father of all. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 October 2013 : 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Thanksgiving, especially giving thanks on what is due for us to give thanks for, is what is truly lacking in many of us. We do not give thanks to those who had done good things for us. Worse still, we often seek glory for ourselves, even for things that we do not do on our own, claiming honour and glory for ourselves, even of it is not rightful for us to do so.

That is the essence of the readings that we listened to today, brethren in Christ. A thanksgiving for the Lord who had shown us His care and love, and His dedication, one which we often overlook or simply forget, in the joy of the moment, after we had received the goodness of God.

The readings highlighted one of our major shortcomings throughout life, that is to forget the role of God in our lives, and to overlook Him and His role in favour of our own achievements and glory. That is what happened to the lepers who were healed from their afflictions, which out of ten, only one returned to the Lord to give Him thanks for His mercy and love.

We contrast this to the behaviour of Naaman, the Syrian, and one of the leper who is a Samaritan, who showed their affection to those who had done good unto them, thanking them sincerely on the love shown to them. They have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and therefore were made righteous.

Why use the example of a Syrian and a Samaritan? Firstly, I want to highlight the importance of understanding the true desire of the Lord in promoting the right attitude and mindset to His people. He did not intend the examples to highlight the differences between the people of Israel and the ‘pagan’ peoples around them.

Why so? That is because, the people of Israel, having been chosen as the people of God through the covenant God had renewed with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, they have always thought of themselves to be special. That they are always the good ones, the upright, and the ones ensured salvation as their birthright.

They have always looked at the pagans in disgust and contempt, considering them damned and evil, while in fact, as we all know, as written throughout the Old Testament and even the New, as they had rebelled against God, tested Him, doubted Him, and even abandoned Him for other gods, the golden calf, and the false gods of the people of Canaan who lived around them. They had done what is wicked in the eyes of God and did not repent, but grew to be ever worse and deeper in their wickedness

Thus, in line with their stubbornness and God’s love for all mankind, without exception, He had sent Jesus His Son, to reveal the true nature of His love for all. He wanted to show Israel their wickedness and the need for them to repent, as well as for them to realise that being the first chosen people of God does not give them an excuse for their sinfulness, and that they in fact, should welcome all mankind as fellow brothers and sisters in God.

It is important for us to be warm and welcoming, as well as open to others around us, not to be quick to judge and condemn us, but instead seek on what is good within us, and embrace one another with love. That, is what the Lord truly desires from us, not our length prayers of the mouth, nor our empty obedience, but the love and commitment from our heart, for the sake of one another, and for God Himself.

Jesus our Lord, the Son of God had been sent into this world that through Him we may gain healing and new life, that we abandon the darkness of evil and this world, for the light of Jesus who is the light of the world, healing us from our afflictions that are sins and wickedness of the evil one. He had been sent to heal us from the sickness that engulf us, be it physically or spiritually, just as He healed the ten lepers who came to Him for healing and mercy.

That is why, I have to reiterate again of the importance of thanksgiving and gratitude, for there is no greater thing that we have ever observed in the history of creation, other than the ultimate sacrifice Christ had went through for us, for our sake, that we will not die an eternal death but live a life eternal, and live through not an eternal punishment but an eternal joy with God.

We have to beware of this leprosy, the true leprosy of the soul, that is our pride, arrogance and lack of gratitude for the Lord and His love and instead trusting our own feeble human power. We tend to think good of ourselves and do not give thanks and glory to God. We are often ignorant of the love that God has shown to all of us, not least of which, in the giving of Himself through Jesus Christ His Son, He had made us all whole and worthy once again, rescued from hell and given the promise of eternal life, as long as we remain faithful and true to His ways.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit ourselves to cast far, far away this leprosy, the sickness of our soul, away from us, that we cast away the evils and sins from ourselves, purifying our heart, body, and soul in the light of Christ, the light that cast away all the illusions of Satan, the impurities and corruptions of this world, and made ourselves whole and pure again in God.

Today, Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ on this world, will consecrate this world, the entire world, to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in our Lady of Fatima, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Mother of God, through whom Jesus Christ our Lord is born into this world. And therefore, just as she had cared and loved her Son Jesus with all of her heart and all of her love, she too will from now on take care and love our world and all those who live in it, that is all of us, brothers and sisters, all mankind as one.

This world, brothers and sisters, is in great darkness, under the power of evil and Satan, where brothers hurt brothers, where sisters slander sisters, and where mankind slay one another in hatred. It is where violence and injustice are the common order of the day. It is where mankind dwells in their pride, and disobeys God’s commandments and spurns His love on daily basis. It is the perfect example of leprosy of the soul that I have mentioned earlier on.

That is why, through entrusting this world to the care and intercession of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus, we hope that this world can become a better world, and be healed of this sickness, the leprosy of sin and evil that had infected us all for way too long. It is time for us all, with the help and assistance of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through her, with the power and might of God Himself, to break free entirely from the chains of slavery that had bound us for all these times.

May the Lord our loving and merciful God look away from the sins we had committed, and as we approach His throne of love and mercy, may He welcome us back into His embrace, and bless us with His eternal love and grace. May Mary, His Mother also continue to pray for us and care for us in the same way that she had shown Jesus her love, while He was on earth. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Priest)

Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Have mercy and mercy will be shown to you. Show love and love will be shown to you. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heed the readings today, this is the common theme that we all can and should certainly be able to pick up and identify, as a common virtue of our faith in Christ. Christ in today’s Gospel taught His disciples how to pray to God, and that prayer, as we are all familiar with, is the Lord’s Prayer, Pater Noster, or our Father.

That prayer is a simple and yet perfect prayer, and indeed how all prayers should be. Prayers is less about glorifying ourselves before God, and even less still a litany of wishes and desires that we often request or even demand from God. How many of us have been angry at God for not fulfilling our wishes, which we constantly include in our prayers?

Prayer is truly about opening oneself to God and to His eternal love, that is to let Him embrace us with the warmth of His love, that we are made perfect once again in love. That is the essence of prayer and the essence of our loving dedication to God who is our Father. Prayer is a line of communication between Him and us, as a medium through which we do not just speak, but also listen, to the words of the Lord being spoken within our hearts.

Too often the noise of this world prevents us from being able to listen to the word of God, and we become preoccupied in our own worldly dealings, in our own emotions and prejudices, in that we end up trusting our own judgments more than we trust or believe in the wise judgments of the Lord. That is also the essence of today’s readings, in that, we need to be able to overcome those personal prejudices and ill emotions within our hearts, that we will be able to make a reasonable judgment.

Indeed, remember that in fact we are not in a proper place to judge, not even ourselves, since as many sins as we can see in others around us, there are often in fact even more sins within us that we cannot see. To judge others for their sins and to condemn them for those sins is not right, for if we judge them for those, surely we will be judged too, for our own, equally if not more numerous sins.

That is why the Lord reminded Jonah of this fact, of the need for one to be merciful and forgiving, for the virtue of mercy and forgiveness is abundant, and out of them, love will be born. Love cannot exist if we do not first show mercy and forgiveness, especially to those who had wronged us, and to those who had caused us pain and suffering.

It is important that we as the followers and children of the Lord, to be chain-breakers. Why so? Which chains are we talking about? It is the chain that binds our heart and shut it tight, hardening it against the love of God and preventing us from sharing our love with our brethren around us. These chains are sin and worldly temptations that bind us to themselves and to hell, preventing us from being saved.

Indeed, we need to be loving and forgiving at the same time in our lives in this world, in our calling as the disciples of Christ, the One who is Love. We cannot remain bound to those chains we had talked about, and rather, we must break free, both from our own chains of sin, or break free the chains that bound others, that all of us will be loved by God for eternity.

Today we commemorate the feast of St. Denis, the bishop of Paris in the Roman province of Gaul, at where is now known as France. He was a zealous servant of God who lived upright and just life, during the time of great persecutions against the Church and the faithful. The Emperor Decius reigned at the time St. Denis was martyred for his faith. Decius was known to be strongly opposed to the Church and to the faith in God, and ordered one of the most vicious and brutal of all the persecutions of Christians by the state.

St. Denis and some people who were condemned to die with him were beheaded on a hill in what is today Paris, and yet, a miracle happened. It was told that St. Denis did not die even though his head had been cut off from his body. St. Denis picked up his head and walked for several miles, preaching and testifying the greatness of the Lord, made evident in the miraculous occasion of St. Denis himself. He only died when he reached a spot where he was then buried, and where now stands a basilica erected in the honour of his name, that is the Basilica Cathedral of St. Denis in Paris.

Today we also honour St. John Leonardi, an Italian priest living during a time of trouble for the Church and for Christendom, at a time when the Reformation rebels were spreading wildly their heresies and teachings across Europe and gained sizable following. St. John Leonardi was devoted to the people of God, especially the weak and the poor, and did many charitable acts to help and love them.

He also spread the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and promoted the observation of the Liturgy of the Hours, a dedication of one’s prayer in daily basis, as well as the Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist. Not limited to that, St. John Leonardi also established the religious order of the Clerks, who took part in and contributed to the effort in stemming the Protestant heresies.

Both these saints and their companions had been devoted to their cause, their calling, and committed themselves fully to both the Lord and His beloved people. Therefore, should we then not do the same? Our calling in life is to love, that is to love both the Lord and to love one another, that in love, we truly become worthy of being called the children of God, who is Love. If we instill love in one another, that love will grow to encompass us, and we will grow to love even more, and then, we will truly be worthy to be called God’s children, of God who is love.

May the Lord continue to bless us and strengthen us with His love, caring for us and providing for us, that we will always ever be covered by His grace and blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 7 October 2013 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate an important Marian feast, a day dedicated to the Mother of God, Mary, the lady and our mother. Today, in particular, we celebrate an aspect of her that we often find to be ubiquitous in our faith and devotions, that is the holy rosary, the linked beads in chain, that we use to guide us in our prayer.

What is the rosary and what is its significance in our faith, and how does it affect us in our journey of faith in this world and beyond? The rosary is a weapon, a spiritual weapon in a spiritual warfare between the forces of evil led by the devil, against us, the children of the light, the beloved ones of God. This devotion was introduced by Mary herself, when she appeared to St. Dominic, who was then the first to recommend the devotion of the rosary to the people of God.

We often take the rosary for granted, and instead of taking the devotion seriously, we said the prayers without meaning and said the words faster than even the bullet trains! That is exactly what happened if we do not truly understand the usefulness and the purpose of the holy rosary, which is a potent weapon, a spiritual weapon, in the spiritual warfare constantly fought between us and the devil and his servants.

Then how did this feast of our Lady of the Rosary come about? This feast originated in the late sixteenth century, after the great victory of the forces of the faithful, fighting against the forces of the devil, represented by the Muslim forces of the expansionist Ottoman Turk Empire. This battle is the Battle of Lepanto, which happened on this date, today, in the year 1571.

This great victory marked a great turning point in the history of Christendom, where the faithful are no longer on the defensive, after the enemy was dealt a massive defeat by the power of God. Pope St. Pius V, the Pope at the time, decided to commemorate the great victory by dedicating it to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that the victory over the enemy was made possible.

In the same way therefore, today, through the rosary as our weapon, the spiritual weapon, we would like to celebrate our victory and triumph against the evil one and his forces of darkness, as we, the children of the light, had triumphed against the darkness, much like the victorious Christian vanguards at the Battle of Lepanto more than four centuries ago.

Nevertheless, brethren, even though we have been victorious, as through Mary and her Son Jesus, whose sacrifice on the cross dealt the evil one a complete and thorough defeat, but the devil still has plenty of tools under his sleeves. He continues to marshall his forces of darkness to harass us, especially those who are most vulnerable, those whose faith are wavering and weakened.

The devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus our Lord and God, through the holy rosary is a potent tool to prevent this from happening, that is to prevent our brethren to fall into the temptation of Satan and his angels, the fallen ones. The rosary, as I mentioned, is a powerful weapon in this constant spiritual warfare raging daily around us, where angels and devils fight for the sake of our soul, for its salvation or damnation.

Through meaningful and devoted praying of the holy rosary, we invoke the protection of the angels sent by Jesus our Lord, through the intercession of His blessed mother Mary, hearing the prayer we have made through the rosary in complete devotion and love. The Lord will certainly not abandon us to the forces of the enemy. He will smite them and cast them away from us, His beloved children.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, the rosary, in which we pray the prayers dedicated to the Lord and His mother Mary, emulate the Marian virtues of obedience and love, which we ought to follow and emulate ourselves. Through her obedience and love, we have Jesus who came into this world, and we have a hope, hope of salvation and eternal life in Him.

This rosary is our spiritual weapon and also our spiritual defender, a breastplate of faith and devotion, protecting us from the threats of the evil one and his forces. Let us therefore, spread the habit of praying the rosary meaningfully and devoutly, to all around us, especially to those among us whose faith is wavering. May the Lord continue to watch over us, and may His blessed mother Mary continue to intercede for us, for our salvation, as we continue to offer her and her Son, our love and devotion through the rose of the holy rosary. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you that, unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in My Name receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you : their angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father.”

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Tuesday, 1 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as per the theme of the readings yesterday, today we once again listen to the words of Jesus, on the importance of humility in our lives, in all our dealings with God and with one another. That humility is one of the key elements necessary for the salvation of one, because with humility, many of the necessary attitudes needed for one to be saved can be achieved.

It is too often that we are so preoccupied with ourselves, and immersed in our sense of pride and our natural arrogance that we fail to realise our own shortcomings and our sinfulness. That is why many of us tend to continue to dwell in the world of sin and darkness instead of seeking the light in God. We close ourselves and our hearts to the Lord, all because we think of ourselves as great and beyond reproach.

That was the reason of the fall of many, who put their trust in their own strengths and disregarded any advice that the Lord had given to them through various sources. Pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to even more pride. And in our pride, we forget about God, we forget about those around us, and even those who are dear to us, and we tend to care only for ourselves.

Ever since we have fallen into sin, we have been prone to any kind of sins and evils, including pride. It is also how the devil fell, as Lucifer the lightbringer, who was enraptured by his own beauty and might, as the greatest angel, turned to pride and then jealousy and hatred against God. That is how pride brings down even the mighty and the powerful. Indeed, those who are mighty are more prone to pride than those who are weak, but that does not mean that all of us can be complacent.

The way to greatness is truly through humility, as through humility, we tend to be better able to express ourselves in love, in gentleness, and in faith to God. The Lord who sees us doing these things, will truly reward us and glorify us, just as He had glorified Christ our Lord, His Son, whose sacrifice in perfect humility, brought about the salvation of mankind.

Through His own humility, Christ showed the love that is within Him to all those whom He touched and met. He lowered Himself in great humility so that He can love us all more perfectly. To the extent, that He gave His own life, so that we may live and not die. He sets the example with His own actions, the saving power of His eternal love.

Jesus also told His disciples to be more like little children. Why so? That is because it is the faith of little children that is the purest, the purest faith and love towards God. Very often, we as adults, are so preoccupied with the things and matters of the world, that we forget what is more important in our lives, that is love, gentleness, hope, and God Himself.

If we can just be more like children in our faith, then we will certainly be better persons, with faith untainted by the concerns and corruptions of this world. We ought not to forget our true calling in this life, that is to love, and to love tenderly, especially to those who are unloved, we can truly be like those children, whose faith and dedication to God are pure and total.

That is what was echoed by the saint whose feast day we celebrate today, namely St. Therese of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Therese Lisieux. St. Therese Lisieux was well-known for her great humility, her piety, and her deep spirituality and devotion for the Lord, that she showed in her short life, as she died early in her early twenties, and yet in that short life, she had really done much for the sake of the Lord and His people.

St. Therese Lisieux joined the religious life and devoted herself fully to the Lord, and received series of visions and revelations through her life. She dedicated herself to her life of prayer in simplicity and perfect obedience to the will of God. Through her numerous writings, she communicated her feelings and beliefs, in the life dedicated to God.

It is through her extensive writings, poems, and other works, that St. Therese Lisieux influenced many of us even to this day. Although she had lived only a short life in this world, through her works and writings, she lived on forever, inspiring and strengthening many in their own paths towards the Lord. She is now up there, as one of the saints, interceding endlessly for our sake, we who are sinners still living in this darkened world of pride and evil.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, after we hear the examples set by St. Therese Lisieux and that of many other saints, let us emulate their virtues, their piety and humility, realising the depths of our own sins, and asking the Lord for His pardon out of His eternal love for us. Let us also be proactive in love, that we love tenderly, love sincerely, and love generously, both to God and to our fellow men.

May the Lord continue to shower us with His love and that we will come to ever greater realisation of our own unworthiness before Him, and therefore come ever closer to reach out to the throne of mercy, asking Him to show His infinite mercy to us, and forgiveness for our innumerable sins. God bless us all and watch over us always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 1 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Solemnity of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “I assure you that, unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in My Name receives Me.”

“See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you : their angels in heaven continually see the face of My heavenly Father.”