living God

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Tuesday, 31 March 2015 : Tuesday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about first the Lord who sent His Saviour in the first reading, in a prophecy which the prophet Isaiah gave to the people as a sign of hope, at a time when the fortunes of Israel was really going down, where wickedness and sin were rampant, and where the society were no longer putting the Lord as the heart of their society.

The people of Israel were scattered and the northern kingdom, which had seceded since the days of the son of Solomon, had just been destroyed and conquered by the mighty Assyrians. They were carried off from their homes and ancestral lands, and they were brought to slavery in foreign and distant lands. They were separated and treated as nobody, and yet, the Lord promised His people that He never forget about them.

And that was where He sent His deliverer into the world, to be the One who would save all of His scattered people, not just because of the acts of the Assyrians, but also because of the consequences of sin, the disobedience which had separated us from our Lord’s love and care. The salvation which God had shown us through Jesus is the concrete example and clear manifestation of His mercy and love, which He showers upon all those who are devoted to Him.

Yet, as the Gospel today showed us, that we mankind are often filled with so much negativities and the temptations of the world so that we are unable to appreciate the love that the Lord had shown us, and just like Judas Iscariot, we often betray the Lord for other things we deem to be more important. And just like Peter, we often falter in our faith simply because of the fear that is within us, the fear of being rejected and refused by the world.

All of these stemmed from the fact that we value the things of this world very, very much, and we often cannot part ourselves from those things, and that is the reason why we did not do as what we are supposed to do, and why we disobeyed the Lord and His commandments. And in our disobedience we sinned before the Lord and was cast away from His presence, scattered in this darkened world.

Judas was always tempted by money, and that temptation further fueled his wickedness, which eventually led to his betrayal of his own Lord and Master. Only when it was already too late, after his betrayal of Jesus caused Him to be condemned to death, then Judas repented his mistakes, and to no avail. The Lord had given him many chances, but he refused to take them into account and change his ways.

How about Peter then? Peter was faithful to the Lord, but his faith was not solid, and he was sorely tempted when he was in the garden, sleeping because he was too tired to stand vigil with the Lord. Indeed, as Jesus said, that the flesh is weak even though the spirit is willing. Thus it is also the same with us, as we are often weak in the flesh and tempted by the many things in the world, affected by fear and uncertainty.

But God saw Peter’s faith in him, even as wavering as it was. Peter’s faith was true and sincere faith for the Lord. And ever since that moment of weakness and denial, Peter had been ever faithful, and God entrusted him with the care of all His flock on earth, and he became the first of the Popes, the Lord’s Vicar on this world. To those who are faithful, God will not be far from them, and He will show them His love and grace.

Thus today, all of us should be challenged to start anew and begin a new life, a life no longer bound by sins and evil, but instead challenge ourselves to walk in the path of the Lord. It will be difficult and opposition from the world will become part of our lives, but what are we going to lose? If we fear of losing world’s approval, fame and human praise, then I say that all these are not worth it, and indeed they are useless, if our souls are to be condemned to eternal damnation.

May Almighty God guide us and help us to walk on a righteous path, and may His blessings be with us always, that we may remain ever faithful and ever strong in our lives dedicated to Him. Amen.

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Monday, 30 March 2015 : Monday of the Holy Week (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we continue to proceed into the Holy Week, and in a few days’ time we shall be commemorating the three days of Easter Triduum, the heart of our faith, when we commemorate the time when our Lord instituted the Eucharist, and giving up His Body and Blood, He suffered and died for us, so that by His resurrection from the dead, He gave us a new life and a new hope that sin and death can be overcome.

Today we heard the hypocrisy of Judas, who criticised Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who had poured a whole jar of very expensive perfume made of pure spikenard on the feet of Jesus and wiped it dry with her hair. In another account, the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume also anointed His head with the same perfume, and she was criticised all the same.

As mentioned, Judas did not do so because he cared for the poor in any way, and he did it because he was a thief and a cheater, who stole the money from the common fund of the Apostles, which was meant for the poor and the needy. Thus, he spoke a lie and brought about calumny and injustice to another. His inability to resist the temptation of money, desire and the impurities in his heart led him to do what he had done, that is to betray his own Lord and Master, for a mere thirty pieces of silver.

Just for your knowledge, that when Joseph, the son of Jacob was sold by his brothers out of jealousy into slavery, he was priced at about the same price. And at that price, they were valued at even lower than animals. A good quality animal would have fetched far higher prices than those which Judas received for betraying his Lord and which the brothers sold Joseph with.

Thus we value so low the Lord who had loved us all completely and sincerely with all of His heart, we looked down on He who was tortured, mocked and rejected for our sake, who died for us on the cross, so that we might be saved. We did not appreciate the things which He had done for us, and all the hard works which He had undertaken for our own good.

We are often tempted and our minds and hearts clouded with worldly things such as greed, pride, pleasures of the flesh and many others. The Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests were all infected with the disease of greed and jealousy, as well as fear and insecurity. They were all concerned only with preserving themselves and their own livelihoods. This is why, even though they were supposed to be the ones with wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures, they refused to believe in Jesus and instead trying to undermine His works by plotting against Lazarus whom Jesus had resurrected from the dead.

They were manipulated by the wickedness and malice that Satan had planted in their hearts, which also exist in all of us. They were afraid of losing their position of honour and the respect which they have been accorded with by the society. They did not want to take a risk with the Romans, whom they were afraid that they would destroy all of their livelihood. And similarly with Judas, Satan manipulated his greed and desire for money, and in the end they destroyed and condemned only themselves.

It is a lesson for all of us that we cannot be hypocrites in our faith. Instead, we truly have to live out our faith, through our own actions. And we cannot be divided in our faith, just as we cannot have two masters. We cannot both serve God and worldly things, and as Jesus mentioned, that we will either despise one and love the other or we will not be sincere in our faith as a whole.

Therefore, let us all reflect on this occasion, and take steps to change our lives for the better. We can make a difference by committing ourselves more and more to the cause of the Lord. Now the choice is in our hands to make that difference. Let us therefore emerge from this Lenten observation, a better, more dedicated and more faithful servant of God. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 March 2015 : Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we mark the beginning the holiest and the greatest week of all weeks in the calendar of our year, the celebration of the Holy Week, which we begin with today’s observance of the Palm Sunday of our Lord’s Passion. On this day we celebrate two important events in the life of Jesus Christ our Lord, at the ending and culmination of His earthly ministry.

The first is that our Lord Jesus Christ came to claim His glory and to reveal His greatness and the truth about Himself, that He is indeed King, and King not just of the Jews, of the people of Jerusalem, but also of the entire world, of all mankind and indeed over all of creations, King of all kings. And it is this King who had come down from His glorious throne to the earth, that all of us are rejoicing for.

We cry out together in unison, in joy, the words, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” All these are the expressions of the true joy which mankind is expressing after so many years of waiting for the salvation of the Lord, the promise that God will succour His people and liberate them from the clutches of evil.

But we have to reflect as well, how the very same people who cried, “Hosanna!” and proclaimed Jesus as King over them, would within a few days turn against Him, and instead, they called for His death, they ignored Him and abandoned Him. They cried our instead, “Crucify Him!” and “Be away with Him! We would rather have Barabbas the criminal to be released to us than Him!”

And the Pharisees with the teachers of the Law and the chief priests also gladly condemned Him and rallied the people against Him, by putting false charges and false testimonies meant to destroy the very One who had given it all to save this sinful and fault-filled race so that they might avoid their fate that is annihilation. He was rejected, mocked and belittled. And yet, Jesus persevered on and continued to be faithful to us, even when we were always unfaithful. And that is the story of our Lord’s Passion.

The celebration of this Palm Sunday is to remind us all that firstly, all illusions of power, glory, fame and worldly possessions are all temporary and illusory, which we should not spend so much of our time trying to get all of them. Jesus is King, and indeed He rules over us all, and yet, if we ask ourselves, which king would have lowered himself and humbled himself as what our Lord had done? It is indeed because of His humility and obedience to the will of God His Father that all of us are given this chance at salvation.

Did Jesus boast of His kingship and His power? No, we never saw Him or heard Him boast about His greatness and especially not when we think it in terms of self-aggrandisement. On the other hand, in this world, many people bicker constantly over power, influence, wealth, recognition by others and for human praise. And this is not true power nor will the outcome be a good one.

We have to realise that with power comes responsibility, and with authority comes the need to use that authority with wisdom and purpose. And greater power carries even greater responsibility. The Pharisees and the elders misused that power, using the power to spread lies and to judge without justice, as they had done with many people and which they also had done to Jesus Himself.

They were respected in the society and honoured, but they used that privilege in order to advance their own cause and bring more good for themselves at the expense of others. They did not administer justice as they should, they were corrupt and they thought only of themselves, and they did not care about those who had been entrusted under their care. They were like paid shepherds, hired men who did not care at all about the sheep.

On the other hand, Jesus showed to all of us by example, that true power requires responsibility and wisdom to enable that power to be used for the good of all. True kingship and sovereignty comes not by coercion nor threats nor through persuasion, but rather through the example which is shown by action, as a real and concrete proof of sincerity and honesty in leadership.

And Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who is leading us, as our Lord and King, whom we rejoice at and glorify on this day of His glorification, as we commemorate His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But as our Shepherd, the other dimension of today’s celebration is also apparent, that is of His Passion and death, where He laid down His life for us all, His sheep. Remember Jesus once said that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep?

And how does all these relate to us? It is because all of us in this world are by our nature vulnerable and prone against all the temptations of the flesh, that is power, desire, greed, wealth, fame, human praise, and many others. Each of us have been given abilities and skills according to what God deems fit with us, but many if not most of us do not know how to use them appropriately.

To each one of us God has given His trust that we should take care of one another. He has entrusted this world for us to care for as well. And what a great responsibility this is indeed. We may see that such thing is daunting for us, but if we put our trust in the Lord and understand the purpose of our lives, then things will turn out good. Most importantly is that we have to get rid of ourselves, all the obstacles that will often come in our way in using the best of our abilities to help one another.

Instead of pride and arrogance, let us all learn humility and meekness. Instead of insatiable greed and desire, let us all learn to say enough and be contented with what we have received in blessings from the Lord. Instead of hating one another and being bitter against each other, let us all learn to appreciate each other and find way to love one another. This is what we need to do, and what we need to change in our own lives.

As we begin to embark on this celebration of the most intimate and deepest mysteries of our faith in this Holy Week, let us begin with the right mindset today, that we should look deep into ourselves. Have we made good use of what God had given us and entrusted to us? Or have we misused them and use those for all wrong purposes? The Pharisees and the chief priests were given wisdom, intellect and also power and authority to teach the Faith, but they gave in to their heart’s desire and end up where they were.

Let us all learn from the examples of Christ. Although He was great, mighty and praised and adored, but He did not let these to get over Him, and made Him to be arrogant or boastful. He remained humble and willing to listen to the will of God His Father and obey it. He was willing to be humbled such and humiliated and mocked to the point of which we see in His Passion and crucifixion, so that He might give us the salvation which God had promised us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore let us all learn to overcome our own shortcomings and temptations to be selfish and to be corrupted by power, fame, and all worldly things. Let us make use of this remaining time of Lent and this Holy Week to grow ever stronger in our faith, so that we will draw ever closer to our Lord and model our actions and deeds ever more closely aligned to His will. God be with us all, and may His blessing be with us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 December 2014 : Third Week of Advent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Jeremiah 23 : 5-8

YHVH further says, “The day is coming when I will raise up a King who is David’s righteous Successor. He will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness. That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety. He will be called YHVH-our-Justice!”

“The days are coming,” says YHVH, “when people shall no longer swear by YHVH as the Living God who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. Rather, they will swear by YHVH as the Living God who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where He had driven them, to live again in their own land!”

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/17/thursday-18-december-2014-third-week-of-advent-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Friday, 31 October 2014 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded yet again not to be hypocrites in our faith to God, and that our faith should move beyond just a mere observation of Laws and customs, which will be empty if they are not based on genuine love and care and concern which we ought to have for one another, and ultimately, the love we also ought to show to the Lord.

Our faith must be a living one, filled with love and action, and be filled with genuine understanding of the Laws of the Lord, knowing fully what God intended for us all, that is none other than our salvation, our prosperity and our good, and never to punish us without good reason and without first offering His mercy as a chance for us to repent from our sinfulness.

This was what Jesus had done, when He rebuked the Pharisees for their rigid and misunderstanding of the Faith and the Law of God, when they constantly and regularly opposed the good works of Jesus when He healed and restored many people even during the Sabbath, which was sacrosanct to the Pharisees and the elders of Israel, the puritan factions of the society of the people of God.

They often stood in the path of salvation of many, burdening the people with countless regulations and rules which they imposed very strictly on them, and on one count totalled an enormous six hundred and thirteen laws and rules, if not more, the regulations largely created by men to observe the norms and mores of the society, but in many of their applications, the Pharisees failed to understand the true meaning of the original Law as the Lord revealed to Moses.

Yes, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the scribes and the elders of the people were often proud of their own achievement, in keeping the commandment of the Law and all of its rules, in particular the Pharisees. However, as they did these observances and fulfillments of the rules, regulations and the customs of the Law, they did not do them for the sake of the salvation of the people, but they did them often for their own glory and fame.

Thus, Jesus was angry with them and rebuked them, because in their irresponsible and selfish actions, they closed the path to salvation for many, just as they have closed it for themselves, by ignoring and disobeying the true commandment of God, that is love. What they loved is not God nor men, but they loved only themselves, the love of their own vanity and pride, and the love of their own selves.

Indeed, what Jesus wants from us has been aptly summarised by St. Paul in the letter he wrote to the Church and the faithful in Philippi, which exhorted the faithful people of God to live righteously, doing good works based upon love and commitment to God, and abandoning all forms of wickedness and vices and sin, and therefore live without blame and blemish in the sight of God. But this is not achieved through self-serving methods and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but through real and concrete works of love.

What does that mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? That means, we have to work together as one community of the faithful ones in Christ. We are after all the members of His Church, the Body of Christ, and we are all justified through our actions as a member of the Church and thus as children of our Lord. We cannot have an empty faith and a faith that is merely words alone. The Pharisees’ faith are exactly that, and that did not bring them justification and salvation, and we can indeed do better than that.

We have to help one another, and give mercy and help to the ones who are suffering and in need, just as Jesus had done to many people who are afflicted with either physical or spiritual disabilities. Remember that Jesus once said, that whatever we did to the least of our brethren, the weakest, the least, the most ostracised and all, we did it for the Lord, and He who sees all, will reward us for our actions.

Therefore, brethren, let us from now on reflect on our own lives, and try our best to live out the most from our lives as children of God, and as the followers of our Lord who is Love. Let our faith be alive and vibrant, filled with love, care and concern for one another, and together, as the members of the Body of Christ, the Church, let us all seek together the Lord our God and be justified through our actions so that we may receive the eternal inheritance which He had promised all those who are faithful to Him. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/friday-31-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/friday-31-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/30/friday-31-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Tuesday, 16 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Luke 7 : 11-17

A little later Jesus went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

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Monday, 15 September 2014 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if yesterday we celebrate the great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in which we rejoice with God, for the cross which has become a concrete sign of triumph and victory against the devil and his machinations, then today we celebrate the feast and memorial of our Lady of Sorrows, that is of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, who was greatly grieved by the suffering and death of her Son at the cross.

Indeed, Jesus is the Son of God, the Word incarnate into flesh. However, many of us often forget that He is also the Son of Mary, for it is through her obedience and acceptance, that the Word of God was able to assume human form in His great humility, to be born from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother.

Jesus was indeed God in all of His fullness, and He was there before all ages, not counted among the creations, but as the Creator, through whom the Lord created all things. He was not formed as any other children, that is through the union of a male and a female, which bears a new human being. Rather, by the Holy Spirit He was placed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, assuming the form of a Man.

Nevertheless, we all know that a mother share a special bond with her children, as the child in the womb is nourished by the mother, and the child gets his or her food from the mother herself. Thus, there exists a special link between a mother and her child. The same kind of bond also existed between Mary and her Son Jesus, even though they are not related by blood, but because Jesus Himself once dwelled within the womb of Mary, and then she cared for Him through life as His own loving mother.

You can imagine the kind of feeling that existed within Mary’s heart and the thoughts that ran in her mind as she heard the words of Simeon, who predicted a sorrowful and painful future for her as the Mother of Jesus, a premonition and insight to what would happen in the future of her time, when the Lord Jesus would suffer at the hands of the chief priests and the Pharisees, and then He would endure such brutal treatment that culminated with His death on the cross, a most cruel death.

Yes, and Mary witnessed all of those events. In fact, she followed her Son as He walked down the path of suffering to Calvary, what we also know as the Way of Suffering or Via Dolorosa, from Jerusalem to the hill where Jesus was crucified. She witnessed how her Son was treated like the worst of criminals, even though He was blameless, and how He was framed for false charges and were subjected to lies by false witnesses.

Mary met her Son on His way of suffering, as immortalised through the Stations of the Cross, or Way of the Cross, the fourth station. She followed Him through to His crucifixion, staying close by His side, even witnessing how nails pierced the limbs of her Son, and then she stayed on until He gave up His Spirit and died. Such great indeed was the sorrow and agony that the Blessed Mother of our Lord suffered from, having to witness all these herself.

Yet, Mary remained firm and devoted to the Lord, and she did not doubt the Lord and why such suffering and humiliation occurred to her Son. Mary remained faithful and devoted as she was ever faithful, even though in her heart there was then a great sorrow. But she truly believed in God and in His plans, and just as staunchly and surely as she had said yes to the Archangel Gabriel who brought her the news of her special role in salvation, she also remained as firm as ever in faith throughout that greatest ordeal in her life.

She knew that even with her sorrow and sadness, God was still with her, and that everything was according to God’s plan. And therefore, she is truly our role model in faith, that even in times of difficulty and sorrow, she still held strongly to her faith in the Lord and did not doubt the Lord even for a moment, entrusting everything to God. After all, when the Lord Jesus Christ was risen from the dead, the Lord and His mother both have their final laugh against the devil and the forces of darkness desperately trying to stop God’s will and plan of salvation for mankind.

And this day also, we should reflect once again on the love that a mother has for her children, and in general, the parents’ love for their children. And this love, which should exist in all families united by the Lord, in the recent era and time, especially in our world today, had been gradually eroded by the lack of love and the lack of respect for the institution of the family itself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, how many of us this day actually support actions that break this harmony and love? How many of us are even involved in activities that snuff out lives from innocent ones? What I am referring is the actions of these days’ peoples who are obsessed with terms such as female rights and equality, as well as rights in general, as justification for actions such as abortion, child abuse and even divorce.

These actions are actions that betray love and destroy life, which should indeed be held sacred in what we know as the institution of the family. Yet the culture of today’s world no longer hold the institution of the family as sacred and as something that must be uphold and protected at all times. Instead, family and the sanctity of life had increasingly become more and more meaningless and less precious as time goes by.

In this, we have to look at the sorrow of Mary, which she expressed on the suffering of her Son and His eventual death on the cross. In that we can clearly see how Mary loved her Son, just as all mothers should love their children. Therefore, it should not even be the case where we treat the lives of the innocent children like as if they are nothing.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this feast of our Lady of Sorrow, let us recall the devotion and dedication which Mary had towards the Lord, and the true, genuine and undying love which she had shown to her Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, where we can see how we should also behave in our own families. Our families must be based on love, that is genuine and gentle love between the parents and their children, and must cherish life, instead of the culture of death which we have today.

Mary, our Lady of Sorrows, in your sorrow, may we all grow to rediscover the love in our families, that parents may be more loving and dedicated to their children and vice versa. May Almighty God bless our families with love, so that our families may indeed be beacons of light and faith for the world, and cherish life and harmony, instead of death and apathy. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 12 September 2014 : 23rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate yet another feast honouring the Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, that is the Blessed Virgin Mary. And today we rejoice together in the honour of her Most Holy Name, at which even Satan and all his allies tremble, just as they tremble and cower in fear when the Name of her Son is mentioned.

We all first should understand why we all have names with us. The reason is so that we can be easily identified by others around us. Some people indeed can remember names better than they can remember the looks and faces. And remember, brethren, that in most cases, especially in the past, after we die and pass away from this world, only our names would be left behind as the memory for others to see and judge.

Yes, we mankind are most prominently and easily known and remembered through our names, be it in our deeds and actions, be these actions good or bad, or if we have done nothing in particular, in which our names will generally be quickly forgotten. But there are those names that upon which, when we utter it, even the demons and Satan would tremble in fear.

If we utter the name of the holy angels and saints, Satan and his allies fear them because these men and women, and the holy angels remained staunch despite the temptations of the world and the temptations of free will and desire, and they remained faithful servants of God, and in the end, they receive heavenly glory and be with the Lord, interceding for us all day and all night long. Satan knows that those holy saints and angels are interceding for us even now, and when we utter their names and ask for their intercession, Satan knows that God is with us, and he can do nought to crush us.

And even more fearsome therefore is the Holy Name of Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who by that virtue and by the virtue of her perfect and upright behaviour, as well as total obedience to the will of God, is the greatest of all of God’s creations, the greatest among all the children of God and the foremost of all saints and rule even over the angels of God.

Satan flee in fear whenever he hears the Names of Jesus and Mary, because he knows that he has no power and no authority over them, and his doom is at hand. And if we refer to the Book of Genesis, just after mankind had sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God Himself prophesied the coming of salvation for mankind through a woman, who would be the descendant of men, and who would bear a Son, as we heard in the prophecy of Isaiah and the other prophets, and the snake, or Satan the deceiver would be crushed.

It is through Mary that the salvation of this world was made possible by her obedience to take part in God’s plan for salvation, and in her acceptance of the role as the Mother of our Lord and Saviour. This was evident later as Mary had to endure much physical and spiritual sufferings, as she followed on the life and works of her Son, who was met with such opposition and hostility, even unto death on the cross.

Truly, Mary agreed to be part of this very difficult and challenging task, but she did not even complain or resist when the news was brought to her by the Archangel Gabriel. She obeyed completely and fully, surrendering herself to the will of God and to His plans for her. From then on, Mary became the one who made the salvation of mankind possible, because through her, the Word of God was incarnate into flesh and blood, becoming our Lord Jesus, fully man through her mother Mary, and fully God, as He was conceived by the Holy spirit.

Satan, having been dealt a terrible and crushing defeat by Jesus through His triumphant sacrifice on the cross, rightly feared Mary, because she is the Mother of Jesus, who walked with Him and guided Him towards the triumph of the Lord and all that is good against evil and all its forces. In addition, Satan, whose goal is the corruption and destruction of all mankind rightly feared Mary, because in her we have a great and perfect example of a paragon of love and virtue, who obeyed the Lord in all things.

If we follow the example of Mary’s obedience, love and devotion to God, we cannot go wrong. That is why Satan feared Mary, because she is like a beacon of light that shine brightly on our path as we go towards her Son, Jesus Christ our. Lord. Thus we know the phrase, Ad Iesum per Mariam, or ‘To Jesus through Mary’. Following Mary and her examples are the best ways for us to be closer to God and to attain salvation in Jesus.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all whenever we are tempted to sin and to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, that we should utter the Most Holy Name of Mary, that Satan who tempts us when he hears that Name would flee in fear, and that our soul will remain pure and clean from his corruptions and evil. Satan knows that he is doomed, and the Name of the mother of the One who had defeated him will certainly remind him that, and make him flee in fear.

Let us not fear Satan and his darkness, for Mary is with us, this blessed one among all women and all creations of God is caring for us as our mother, who prays for us incessantly and constantly before the throne of her Son, our Lord in heaven. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Saturday, 12 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

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

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s lesson from the Holy Scriptures show us that while God is great and Almighty, enthroned above all else on thrones and angels, and covered by the holy and mighty seraphs and cherubs, He is still a loving and gentle God, who loves us all equally, and who gave us the greatest gift in none other than Jesus, His own Son and His own self.

Many of us often cower in fear before God, thinking that He is some sort of monster or such great figure that we need to fear and be trembled at, such that we ended up closing ourselves against Him, and do not let Him to come into our hearts. Our God is a loving God and a merciful God, just as much as He is God who hates and dislikes sin in all of its forms.

We fear many things, and we have various forms of our own fears in life. And foremost of all, we fear death in all its forms. Some people fear of losing their loved ones, and some fear of losing their possessions and material goods. Others fear darkness, while some fear the light instead. And as I said, many of us fear God and His presence.

But as mentioned in the Gospel today, rather than fearing those things that cannot harm our soul, and can merely our bodies and our earthly presence in this short life we have on earth, we should rather worry about the One who has the power to destroy us body and soul for eternity, that is none other than God Himself, who has the authority over all the living and the dead, including all of us.

Nevertheless, as I have said, there is no need for us to fear God, for He is truly loving and forgiving. If only that we draw nearer to His throne of mercy, then we, as long as our hearts are genuine in our own love and dedication to the Lord, will be given redemption and forgiveness. We have this fear in our hearts that God will punish us or hate us because of our sins, and therefore, this creates a mental block that prevent us from proceeding on our way to salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why we need to balance, between our fear of God, and our love for God. God is both merciful and wrathful, the former for our love and repentance, and the latter for our rebelliousness and sins. We must not fall into the trap of fear, that is so much fear that we are afraid to seek God’s forgiveness and therefore end up falling deeper into sin and darkness.

We cannot be lax in our life either, as if we end up too lax with ourselves, then we may fall into the other trap of Satan, that is temptation. If we do not have a certain discipline in our life and in our faith, we will stumble and fall in the face of the constant onslaught of the devil. We must be ever vigilant and ready to resist the devil, and follow always in the ways of our Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, the key lies in our readiness and focus in this life, and in our obedience and constant devotion to the Lord. Let us all change our ways so that we may reflect better our Lord’s ways. Let us ask God, who is enthroned among the seraphim and the cherubim, that He may send His angels to help us and guide us on our way, that we may remain well within God’s love and grace.

May Almighty God be with us, and may He strengthen our faith so that we may not fall into temptation and sin, and that we may also walk faithfully in His ways. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 10 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the words of the Lord in the Holy Scriptures today, both in the reading from the Old Testament and from the Holy Gospels are the true revelation that God is concerned with us, and He is truly not angry with us, or despise us in any way. On the contrary, He was concerned so much that He gave us none other than Jesus, to be our Hope and to be our Saviour from our certain destruction.

Yet in a way, it was also a lamentation by our God, on how mankind turned away and did not listen to the words of God, and spurned the love He had shown them, and did not care about the attention He had given them so much over the ages past. The words of Jesus in the Gospel also highlighted this fact. He taught His disciples to expect rejection, just as much as they should expect to be accepted by those whom they preach the word of God to.

Yes, brethren, our Lord seeks for us and He wants to be with us, accompany us, and talk with us, all the days of our lives. So much and so great is His love, that He truly does not want to be separated from us. But, what did we do to Him then? We often shut the door in front of Him, and we like to cast Him out of our lives. We rejected Him in favour of following the ways of the world.

Therefore, we cannot think that those who rejected the words of the Lord as mentioned in the Gospel, as well as the errant children of God in Israel, in the time of the Old Testament, are people separate from us, or that we are immune to the same errors and possibilities of falling into sin. As long as we remain in this world, we are always susceptible to the works of Satan and evil in corrupting our hearts to his purpose. We are always susceptible to sin, and we may also end up like those who were mentioned, unless if we take active steps to prevent it.

Let us today reflect on our lives, on the actions, words and everything we do, and see and think if all of them had been done in accordance to what the Lord taught us, and what He wanted us to do. Have we walked faithfully in His path, or do we prefer to follow our own path in life, following everything as we desired and as we wanted?

This is important for us, and indeed, it is crucial that we maintain a very healthy and active reflective lifestyle, thinking through our life actions, on whether they reflect ourselves as children of God, or as the children of this world, of Satan. It is easier for us to walk in the path of darkness compared to the path of light, and it is indeed tempting for us to be lax in our actions and deeds, so that we end up being like the people of Israel who disobeyed the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we seek the Lord anew? Shall we truly renew our efforts in finding Him, and following Him in our lives? It is indeed not an easy path, but it is truly manageable. Shall we continue our rejection of the Lord’s free offer of love, which He extended to all of us? Or shall we rather ignore Him and close the doors of our hearts to Him? The choice is ours, and we have been given free will to choose our path.

Let us therefore discern well, and use this opportunity to think well, of our actions and deeds. Let us no longer follow the rebelliousness of Satan and his fellow fallen accomplices, but let us all show and profess our undying and eternal devotion to our Lord. Remember always, brethren, that He died for us, so that we may live. There is no greater love than this, and there is no care greater than the care shown by God to us.

May Almighty God be with us all, keep us safe, and bless us with His grace forever. Amen.