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Tuesday, 26 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Humility is one of the greatest virtues a Christian can have, and to be humble is one of the calling for us Christians, to accomplish. To be humble people of God, humbling ourselves before one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and also humbling ourselves before God. In our humility, God will be able to find the true greatness in us, that is our faith, and love for Him. Pride often closes our heart to the Lord, and distance ourselves from Him, and we will be therefore judged unworthy.

It is in humility that we learn to be able to receive the love of God, and to also render forgiveness and justice upon others, since in humility, we realise our own personal weaknesses as human beings, as imperfect creatures that are bound to sin, mistakes, and faults. Therefore, if we humbly place ourselves, and act in humility and love, we will know that we too are just like others around us, who are our brothers and sisters, no matter our rank, our wealth, or our affluence. For everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord.

If we fully realise the fullness of our weaknesses, our frailty, and our unworthiness before God, we will be able to act more justly on others, and to render loving acts and kindness to everyone, especially those whom we hate, who are less fortunate than us, that through these acts, they too can be transformed, from hatred into love, and from the poverty of the material, into the wealth of the soul. Why is this so? because we understand the nature of our frailty, our disposition towards sin and failures, that we will not easily mete out judgments on others, as we too have the same kind of weakness, and if we judge someone based on their failures, eventually, we ourselves will also be judged.

If we judge someone first, that someone will not look kindly upon us, and even may hate us. In doing so, not only that we have judged someone perhaps unjustly, but also may cause someone to fall into hatred and therefore sin. Instead, if we refrain ourselves from quick judgment and take the time to reflect upon our actions or possible course of actions, we will realise that the only way to end this endless cycle of judgment, hatred, violence, and more judgment is that to break free from it, through acts of love and justice.

Let us also in addition to that, also in humility, bow down before the Lord and wash ourselves away from our sins. Especially, in this season of Lent, which is perfect for this purpose, as we, through fasting, abstinence, and doing penance, can undergo a thorough spiritual cleansing and purification, to rid ourselves of the evils and faults that plagued us, and ensured that we are found worthy in the end, after a long battle with evil and sin, and the darkness and corruption they brought to our hearts, and to our minds. Let us also fill ourselves with love, and through that love, exercise loving acts, that all those whom we work on, will experience the love of the Lord, and therefore will also be called to salvation and purification of their sins through repentance, just as we are. That they all too may live!

Many will use the Gospel passage today as their main weapon to attack our Church mindlessly, as many literally interpret the Scripture so much that they lose the true meaning of the passage, and through their misunderstanding of the Church of God, they instead become the agents of Satan unknowingly in attempting to destroy and damage God’s Holy Church and God’s Holy people.

For indeed Jesus said that we should not call anybody in this world our father, Rabbi or Master, or leader, because indeed, we have only one such figure in all universe, that is God, God the creator, and God who saved us from eternal death, and brought us to eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. However, we understand that, as we know, our priests, whom we call Father, are called that because they are our spiritual fathers, just as we have our biological fathers who took care of our needs since our birth. And while biological fathers take care of our needs, our spiritual fathers ensured that we grew ever stronger in our faith and love of God. But most importantly, we call them so, because they are in representation of Christ Himself, in persona Christi, through the authority and power given to them through the Apostles. We call them Father ultimately not because we revere them as much as the Lord, but we revere the Lord through them, whom we call Father.

That is why, our Pope, whom we call Holy Father, while many will aggressively attack such a title, is nothing more than what I have mentioned. He, as the Bishop of Rome, as the leader of all the faithful in Christ, the successor of Blessed St. Peter the Apostle, to whom Christ entrusted His Church and all His ‘sheep’, is even closer in union with Christ, with God who is our Father. When we call the Pope our Holy Father, this is because we revere the Lord, our God, of whom the Pope is the Vicar, the representative in this world.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, if anyone would ever ask you the question, why you call your priests and so and so father, now you know how to answer them and enlighten them on the truth. That instead of succumbing to the evil one, we rise and fight against him, in the Name of God the Most High, our Saviour Jesus Christ. May God bless us all, that all of us may grow ever stronger in faith, in hope, and in love. That we can use this Lenten season to the best we can, to purify ourselves from our unworthiness before God, and to make ourselves ever closer to God, and help bring one another together closer to God. Amen.

 

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Monday, 25 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

We hear today, the call to do upon others, what we want to be done to ourselves. To show mercy and love to others, if we ourselves want to be shown mercy and to be loved. To care for others if we want to receive such care too, and to forgive others if we are to be forgiven. God wants us to love one another just as He has loved us, and through Christ, His Word, He taught us how to do so.

Many of us prefer to keep to ourselves and delve in our own pride and strength, and we often even bring harm to others either intentionally or unintentionally, in our quest to make ourselves better and better. We think that we ourselves are better and above the others. That we are above reproach, and that is why we like to judge others, comparing between us and them. It is very common that we look highly on ourselves, but this is what caused us to begin to judge and have prejudices against others around us.

But the Lord has brought with Him His commandments of love, which He taught us through Christ, His Son. What is this commandment of love? It is the command for us to love one another just as we love ourselves. We like to love ourselves, and we like to indulge in ourselves, but too often we neglect to see the plight in those around us, just because we are simply too focused on ourselves. There are much suffering in this world, and it is only us who can made a difference.

It is not easy to forgive someone who has done harm to us, and it is not easy to share our love with our enemies and those who hated us. It is definitely not easy to not to be prejudiced and be judgmental on someone, as very often we just jump to conclusions and form rapid judgment based on our flawed insight on others and what they do. It is also difficult for us to give, not only materially, but also in the form of spiritual gift, that is love to others. However, God wants us to begin to do all these, and to abandon our past, sinful ways. For if we do not begin to do all these, even from the smallest of steps, we will forever be mired in the cycle of sin, and therefore, death.

Through the Church, we have learnt the values of forgiveness, mercy, justice, and love. Let us therefore brothers and sisters, learn to do as the Lord has taught us to do. Not to wait for others first to forgive us or show love to us, but be proactive, for our Church is not a passive one, but an active and living one, and through our active actions, we can indeed make plenty of difference in our world today, beginning from those nearest to us, our families, our friends and relatives, and eventually those beyond, and most importantly those who hated us and disliked us.

Let us take the first step in all things, and very importantly, not to expect reciprocal behaviour from the other party. When we do things, do them sincerely, and out of pure love on others, on those who loved us, and on those who hated us. If we expect reciprocality, then we end up doing it out of reward and therefore we are being insincere. Rather, just do what we can, because first we love all our fellow brothers and sisters just as we love the Lord, and because we obey the Lord’s commandments. The things that Jesus mentioned today in the Gospel will come in due time, and will the Father not forgive us if we forgive those who sinned against us? Remember the Lord’s prayer.

For whatever good we do in this world, and when we do it in secret and humility, and when we do it for the greater glory of God, great is our reward in heaven. Do not wait for it, and do not look for it, for it will come only when we do not pause to seek our own glory, but continue in persistence and faith, to do what is good for our brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless us, our missions, and all those around us, that all of us will be able to love one another in the love that is God, and forgive the faults of one another, that all of us will be found worthy of Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Cardinal Keith O’ Brien of Edinburgh resigned amid controversy, and will not participate in Conclave

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/25/cardinal-obrien-resigns-full-statements

The resignation of Cardinal Keith O’ Brien, now Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland, UK, has been accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, and allegations of improper conduct have also arisen against him. As such, he found it wise not to participate in the Conclave, which will happen sometime in March 2013.

Therefore, at this moment, we will have 115 Cardinal-electors barring any other Cardinals who may also skip the Conclave due to poor health such as Cardinal-Patriarch Antonios Naguib of the Coptic Catholics who is reported to be in ill health.

 

With regards to Cardinal O’ Brien, it is easy for many within, and especially from outside the Church of Christ to accuse not only him, but the whole Church itself. Many would be very happy to see the Church destroyed, and therefore, crushing the last bastion of truth and light in our struggle against evil. The world does hate Christ and those who believed in Him. We in the Church, and our leaders are human, and we are all sinners. Indeed, to those who have been given the trust and authority, much responsibility is given too.

Whatever bad things Cardinal O’ Brien had done, much good he had also done as well, in the service of our Lord. We thank him for his long service to God and His Church and pray that he will cooperate in all matters necessary, so that our Church, indeed, will be purged from all evil that has encroached into it in recent years. Indeed, Satan has been so busy working against God and His people that not only that he is not satisfied with just turning the world against us, it also corrupts even those inside, to destroy us.

This is why, the Year of Faith is important, because we must remember first and foremost that no matter what Satan throws at us, our faith must ever be impeccable and strong, and we must always centre ourselves in the love of God, through the Church. So, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray that the Lord will send His Holy Spirit to cleanse, not only our Church, but also the whole world, from Satan the deceiver. Pray for our Pope Benedict XVI who will be retiring soon, and for his soon-to-be elected successor. God bless the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church!

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Sunday, 24 February 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

The Lord, Jesus Christ, who was transfigured on the mountain, as we heard in the Gospel today, we know to be both fully human and fully divine. He is fully human, having been incarnate into flesh through the Blessed Virgin Mary and the power of the Holy Spirit, and also being fully divine, as He is the Word of God, through whom all things were created by God the Father. Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent, by the Father to us, so that all of us can be saved, and can have hope to return to God who loves us, and not be lost to Satan and death.

Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus on the mountain, because they represented the two aspect of the Old Testament, that Jesus had come to fulfill, and perfect through His new covenant, as told in the New Testament. Elijah represents the prophets, whom had come through the centuries before the coming of Christ, to proclaim His coming, and the prophecies that through Jesus were fulfilled, and all telling of the coming salvation of the people of God from the tyranny of sin, and the end of the separation that had separated God from mankind.

Moses represents the Law, which was given by God Himself at Mount Horeb, the holy mountain, to Moses during his 40 days stay there. This Law includes the Ten Commandments of love, and the other laws of the people of Israel. Christ had come to perfect this Law by explaining the Law, and based them on the very nature of God Himself, which is love. That the Law is made out of God’s love for mankind, and that mankind must not blindly subject themselves to the Law, but rather understand them and carry them out in love for the good of their fellow men.

In today’s transfiguration story, it is indeed noteworthy how, we humans prefer things that are good, and we always hope that things will stay our way, and we like to stay within our comfort zone, that is the sphere that keeps us from the harms and dangers of the outside world. Such was why Peter suggested to Jesus, that they stay there in Christ’s glory, and not come down from the mountain. To come down from the mountain for Jesus, as mentioned that He spoke about that mission to both Elijah and Moses, was to be death for Him, as He would die on the cross, but would rise again on the third day.

He chose to come down, and the Lord too told the disciples to obey Him, through the voice in the cloud, not to be tempted to stay on in glory, but to descend and continue the mission. In this case, Christ lowered Himself such from His glory revealed at the Transfiguration, and in perfect humility and obedience to God, laid down His life for all His sheep, the children of God, for their salvation. It is Christ’s obedience that allow God to exercise the greatest work of all, that is the salvation of all mankind, and the salvation of the world.

Similarly, Abram, who is later to be known as Abraham, was rewarded by God with the promise that his descendants will be numerous as the stars and will receive the Promised Land, all because of Abram’s great faith, obedience, and love to God. Later on, we are told that such is his great faith and obedience, he was willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, the son of the promise, to obey the Lord’s will. The Lord saw his faith, and rewards him greatly.

If Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son, how much more would the Lord therefore then do for our sake? That is to give His own Son, which is part of Him in the Holy Trinity, to be a man and then die so that we can live?

We too, today therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, should imitate Abram/Abraham and Christ, who do not just stay in their comfort zone, and rather do their best to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God, no matter how difficult it was. Jesus had to face suffering and death, and Abram had to later to face the fact that the beloved son he was given to by the Lord, he had to sacrifice to the Lord. We do not face such difficult challenges, but we too have our own challenges in accepting and fulfilling the missions God has entrusted us with.

Too many times that we have failed to fulfill these missions simply because, we are content with our comfort zone, with whatever abundance we already have in this world, and in our own circles, either in our own family, with our own friends, or in our own career and workplace, and in the achievements and glory that we have achieved and made. We have to make sure that we step out of this comfort zone, as we ourselves are not Christians and not baptised just to be idle in our faith.

Our Catholic faith teaches us that we have to be proactive and do good for the sake of our brethren. Many people have need for our help and actions, and just as Coadjutor Archbishop William Goh mentioned in his recent ordination speech, our Church cannot be just a ‘maintenance church’, but rather must be a vibrant and powerful Church, that exerts its influence and love into this world.

Just like Abram, who was greatly rewarded by God out of his love and obedience to God, shall we then also obey God’s will, that is to help others around us, spread the Gospel and the Good News of our Lord, especially to those who seek for it, and to give the love of God that flows through us, to all mankind, that everyone too can become the children of God, and just like Abram, to be rewarded eventually with grace from God, which for us, is the promise of life eternal with Him in heavenly glory.

For no glory can come without hard work, and no glory exists without its sufferings and humility. The glorious Christ humbled Himself that all of us have hope through Him, by offering His own Body as the bridge between us and God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us be transfigured, and transformed just like Christ was, but not the way Christ was, rather, let us shed our old, passive, and idle path, our idle and dormant faith. Instead, let us boldly step forward into this world, bringing into it, the message of the Good News of our God, and to serve all peoples humbly with sincerity and love, both love for our fellow men, and for our Father who loves us. May God bless us today in all our works, in all our actions, and in all our dealings, that in all things that we do, we will always bring life and love to others, and to glorify God’s Name at all times. Forever and ever. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

God loves all, and He loves everyone, without exception. Not even the worst sinners can escape from His love. However, all of us, who truly love God in return, and keep His teachings and commandments, enjoy even greater love, and also He has made us His people, His children, and promise us every graces and blessings in our lives.

It is easy to love your friends, those who also love you, and your family, and those whom you know. It is easy to be with them and also live happily with them. But indeed, if we are all indeed called by God to be His missionaries to all the world, can we just stay content in being within our own sphere of safety? within our own comfort zone?

No! Indeed, as the Lord said to us, “Love our enemies” and “Pray for those who persecutes you”, we have to reach out to those who hate us, and especially to those whom because of the hate in our hearts, have hated too. It is natural for us humans to hate, as since the days of the fall of Adam and Eve, sin has entered the hearts of men, and therefore with it, came hatred, prejudice, and jealousy. It is natural for us to hate someone who hated us first, and it is natural for us to covet the possession of others, especially those who are more fortunate than us. However, remember that through our baptism in God, and through the Sacred Scripture that we read and listened to, we have all become the children of God, and have been made better than what our human natures allow us to be.

For as the children of God, we too should follow in God’s footsteps. No better example at this, that Christ, the Son of God, whose in His death throes on the cross, showed how great God’s love is to all peoples. For Christ Himself had said, “There is no greater love, than that of those who gave their life for their friends. To Christ, all of us are His friends, does not matter whether king or poor, big or small, saints or sinners. Even to those whom had handed Him the death penalty by shouting “Crucify Him!”, Christ also consider them as friends, and He gave His life for them. These were His enemies, but out of His great love, He forgave them, and asked the Father not to punish them, because they do not know what they were doing.

This was one example Christ gave why we should love our enemies. Not to die like Him for our enemies, but because, these enemies of ours are after all, also the children of God, whom God loves, despite of their sins, just like God loves us, despite of our sins. Therefore, we should love one another, even our enemies, that they too, may learn love, and in doing so, shed off their hatred and sinful ways, and join us in salvation. There are many who also persecute us, especially the faithful, as we have often heard happening all over the world. But how do we face this? Do we face them with hatred and more violence, or do we face them with love? with prayer? For if we face them with hatred, and violence, not only would they be condemned, but we too, since in doing so, we let ourselves fall to the snares of evil, and by bringing more hatred and violence, we prevent the works and love of God from being manifest.

Rather, let us indeed do what the Lord told us, to end the cycle of hatred, the cycle of evil, and steadfastly refuse the temptations of the devil. Bring back our separated brethren, who are separated from us by hatred, prejudice, and jealousy, and therefore, bring ourselves together into the Light, and made our world a better place, just as the Lord wishes for us, whom He loves dearly. Let us pray, that all of us will be strong, and will be able to carry out our mission, and in that mission, to reach out to those who hate us, our enemies, to be able to forgive them and the pains and sufferings they have inflicted on us, and to love all who had persecuted us. Let us make this world a better world, based in love, peace, compassion, and harmony, instead of hatred, evil, and death. Amen.

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Saturday, 23 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 43-48

You have hear that it was said : “Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy.” But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.

For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much?

As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.

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Monday, 18 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

God told us today, to be active in our faith, to live our faith, and to act out our faith. For indeed, faith without any act of love and justice is simply dead. Faith alone cannot guarantee us salvation. The Lord indeed said that if you have faith in Me, you will be saved, but He did not mean that we just have faith, staring at Him and just concern ourselves with Him all the time, ignoring all the sufferings that are around us, ignoring the plea for help made by our less fortunate brothers and sisters,

No, the Lord wants us to believe in Him and have faith in Him, but mainly through concrete action. How else to prove our faith to the Lord who is love and compassion, by doing what He is doing, that is to love and to be just to our neighbours, to our fellow men, and more so to those who are considered least and lowest in our respective societies. To God, we are all equal, but sadly, in our human society, more often than not, social hierarchy threw down many people who are poor, sick, and rejected into the bottom of the society, shunned and reviled by the people.

What God taught us, through Christ, is that the commandments that He has given through Moses to the people of Israel, had been perfected into the commandments of love. For all the commandments and rules He gave to Moses in the first reading today, it is clear that all of them are based on love. Love of our fellow men, and of course love for God. To love is to reach out to them with love, to reflect love in all things we do, and to make love the centre of our being, that through our actions, the love of God is made manifest in our world. For God’s love reaches all, but very often, this love becomes concrete and real through us, especially when we take on works of charity, approach those who are lonely and rejected, comfort those who sorrow and those who face tribulations and trials in their lives.

For God loves everyone so much, and equally, even to the least among us. Therefore, if we turn a blind eye to them, or even to join in persecuting them, the Lord will not be pleased. For to God, even those who are least, will also be worthy of His Kingdom, and sometimes it is true indeed, that those who have nothing, like those who are poorest and weakest, who loves God the most.

The failure to help and do good for our less fortunate brethren is what is called the sin of omission, just as we sin by doing something bad and evil, something displeasing before the Lord, so is the failure to do what is good and what will be able to alleviate the suffering of others, if we are fully capable to do it, but choose not to do so. Such is the sin of omission, which we are always repeatedly reminded in the Penitential Act we do in the Mass, “…what I have done, and what I have failed to do…” Let us therefore, not only make these declarations emptily, and let us from this moment onward, mean what we say.

Begin with those immediately around you, and those that you met along the way. If someone is asking you for help, even a simple one, do not outrightly reject them or shoo them away. If it is within your ability to help, why not lift a hand to give aid to those in need? But remember, not to do so in order to be praised ourselves like hypocrites, who show their acts of charity to make their fame increase, by trumpeting what they do in the streets. Do acts of charity with true sincerity and humility and out of love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us pray today, that God will give us a heart of love and compassion, to be moved by the plight of those suffering around us, and those who lack love in their heart, that we may bring love to them as well. May God bless us all, always. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 February 2013 : 1st Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Today, again we listened to the Word of God, and found that if we stay faithful to God, despite all the temptations and the challenges facing us in our journey towards Him, God will reward us greatly, and in heaven our reward is great indeed. God loves us, and He does listen to us when we call on Him, and if we keep Him in our heart, we will not lose Him, for He is faithful.

Our modern world is filled with many things, tempting indeed for us, and many of these are so attractive that they divert our attention away from God, and into them. Worse still, these temptations made us forget about the love God has on us, how He died for us on the cross to save us from death and sin. Instead, we sin even more, and cause the Lord to grief over our continued rebellions against His ever-gracious mercy. For today, we learn indeed that there are three main forms of obstacles against us, against us in our journey towards the Lord. These are greed, power, and pride. These also translate as the three sources of temptations that affect us terribly, namely, commercialism, the world, and ourselves, our sinful beings.

First of all, when the devil tempted Jesus to turn the stone into bread, in order to fulfill His hunger, the devil tapped into our own weakness to greed and for more. For hunger is a natural occurrence in our lives when we do not intake any food for a while, but many of us who are in great abundance, not only fail to resist the temptation of the devil, and place our stomach above all the rest. Just look at all the greed in all the excessive eating habits, the high rates of obesity in many developed nations, where people eat without abandon, and eat like as if there is no tomorrow.

Not only in the matter of food, but also in fact with regards to possessions and wealth, where there are many who dedicate their whole lives solely for the pursuit of wealth, and more wealth, and affluence, and then more affluence. These people may even stop at nothing to gain what they want, including hurting others in the process, especially those they see as competitors to their goal. This is how sin and evil permeate into the hearts of all the people, including even among the faithful today. Jesus told us the way to overcome this, that is to focus on the Word of God, for we do not live from bread alone, but indeed what is most important is the spiritual food that we have, that is the Scripture. Read the Scripture, reflect on it, share it, and understand it, and you will find that you will find fulfillment greater than food, wealth, and affluence can offer.

For food, wealth, possessions, and affluence will pass away, and they will not be with us after we die. There are many out there in the world who suffer from hunger and poverty, and yet many of the rich and even those who are in the middle class who are too busy with their worldly pursuits, to offer a helping hand. The Church, which is also the world’s largest humanitarian agency, had done much to help these people, the least among the least, the last, the shunned, and the weakest.

However, there is only so much the Church can do, and ultimately it depends on us to also extend our helping hand. After all, through the word of God in the Scripture, we now know that when we give aid to these least among us, to those shunned and rejected by the society, we have done it for Christ. For Christ too is rejected by many, and hated by the world. But we, who believe in Him, if we cling strongly to Him, we will gain our due reward when the time comes.

Then the second obstacle, which is power and the offer of worldly power indeed. The very well-known phrase of “power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely” is the perfect illustrator of this condition, in which power can corrupt us and twist us into a power-hungry beings seeking to gain more power or preserve our own power or control over others. This does not mean that power cannot be handled responsibly, but again, who do we then base that power on? Is it based on the Lord? or is it based on the evil one?

For indeed, a power that is of the Lord is also humble, and is also loving, for those wielding power responsibly, and belonging to the Lord will also know justice and love, and will not wield that power to cause suffering for others. Yet many use power and misuse that for their own purposes, and often cause suffering in others. The world offer a great temptation for many who has power, to always seek more and more in power and others, which is linked to that of the first obstacle, greed.

The quest for power has brought many destruction in the past, although also many constructive ones. Many people have died in wars and conflicts, especially those brought up by personal ambitions of certain people who seek ultimate power. They achieved it but for what? For power too does not last, and it is only temporary, either they are overthrown or they lose that power upon their death. Power is something that God entrusted to us, and therefore let us seek to use that authority responsibly, and not to misuse them for our own personal benefits and the detriment for others.

Then again, Jesus fought the devil and taught us that we should focus ourselves on the Lord and give the devil no attention, and base our own authority and power indeed in God and His teachings, that we can truly become wise, responsible, and just stewards of this power God has bestowed on us, for the good of others around us.

Then the last one, is the most difficult obstacle of all, that is the pride within our own being, and ourselves. We who are weak in flesh, are constantly tempted, and though our spirit is strong, but temptation of the flesh can indeed lead us astray from the path towards the Lord, but nothing is more difficult to conquer than that of pride. We humans are prideful in our nature, and pride is what has become the downfall of many. For pride prevented us from seeing in ourselves the defects that we have, and in pride too, we grow to seek more for ourselves, and hence greed, and also the quest for more power, that hunger also began from pride, pride in ourselves and our own abilities.

It is perfectly fine to be proud of our achievements if we also give what is due to the Lord, since it is with the Lord’s help that we can accomplish many things that we otherwise cannot accomplish on our own. Pride, undue pride in particular, is the main obstacle blocking us from giving what is due to God, to thank Him for His great blessing and kindness. Remember, the devil himself was the greatest, brightest, and most brilliant angels in all heaven, who was Lucifer, the light-bringer. But in pride, he has allowed himself to indulge in his own vanity, in his beauty and might, that he aspires to ascend and become God himself, challenging God the creator who created all including him. In his pride, he fell, and became the devil. We too, in our pride, can fall, and from the beautiful ones we are upon our creation by the Lord, we can fall to become nothing better than the servants of the devil in our pride and our hubris.

For pride prevents us from bowing down before the Lord, from acknowledging our sins and faults, and from approaching the Lord most merciful with a humble and contrite heart. Jesus taught us to be humble, and to not challenge the Lord our God in our pride, but to rather open ourselves to God’s love and mercy. Read the Scripture, understand the Word of God, and share our faith with one another, that we can learn more on the values and virtues of humility, simplicity, responsibility, and love itself.

Let us therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, in this Lenten season, strive to make this time a fruitful one, where we learn to wield power and authority we have responsibly, and to extend our hands to help those needy around us, those who hunger for food, those who hunger for love, and those who hunger for God. Bring to them what they need, and show God’s enduring love for all of them. Then let us also approach God with great humility, acknowledging our sins and weaknesses, and ask the Lord for His forgiveness, which He will be happy to do so, if only we approach Him with broken, humble, and contrite heart. A heart that longs for God and His love alone.

Let us like Jesus, confidently reject Satan, devil, Lucifer, the fallen angel out of pride, with a solid commitment to God, rejecting all his temptations and all his offer of corrupting goods and powers, and rather put ourselves completely in God’s hands and entrust ourselves to Him with all our hearts, our minds, and our souls. May all of us have a blessed Lent, and be prepared to commemorate our Lord’s Passion this coming Holy Week. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 February 2013 : Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to follow Jesus, our Lord is not easy, for in following the Lord, we are going to have to suffer and go through trials and tribulations, just as Christ Himself faced His great trial, and ultimately was crucified on Calvary for our sake. Christ asks us today to carry our own crosses together with Him, and to face together the persecutions and the oppositions against the Lord and His divine mission, that is to save all mankind from the slavery of evil and sin.

Let us stay straight on this path, led by Christ, towards God. Let us orientate our heart properly and appropriately that we will always keep the Lord as the focus of our life. For our short and temporary life in this world is indeed short and fleeting. It is just a fleeting moment in the history of creation, but for us, what we do in our lives are indeed important, and if we do not do anything to make sure that we are on the right path towards the Lord, we will not be able to reach Him in the end.

Christ made our journey back to the Lord possible, for it is through His death and resurrection that a great bridge, Christ Himself, appeared between us and the Father who loves us. This is why Christ had to suffer, had to suffer from pain and rejection, and ultimately had to die on the cross, because without the sacrifice of Christ, who is our High Priest and intermediate between us and the Father, there can be no reunion between us and God, for we are separated from Him by a huge and unbridgeable chasm of sin and death. Only Christ, the Lamb of God, is worthy of being the only bridge that crossed that chasm, and through Him, we have a path back to our loving Father in heaven.

No greater love than the one who lay down his life for his friends, and this is exactly what Christ did for us, for we are not just like friends to Him, as we are His brothers, and His sisters. He loves us so much that He was willing to endure, and out of full obedience of His Father, willing to carry the cross, and the burden of all our sins, to Calvary to die and liberate us from the evil one and his hold on us. Nevertheless, for exactly the same reason, the devil hates Him so, and therefore, also hates all who believes in Christ who has liberated us from him through His Precious Blood.

Evil has many things up his sleeve in order to detract us from our direct path to the Lord. Temptations of this world are especially effective weapon the evil one uses against us. False gods are abundant in our world of today, from money, pleasures of the body, commercial temptations, and many others. As Moses said in the first reading, we do have a choice, whether we embrace these temptations and therefore serve the false gods instead of the one, true God, and turn our back on Him, or we can reject these temptations, and continue faithfully to seek the Lord our God.

This path will not be easy, since the world, filled with evil, hates the Lord, and therefore, will do all it can to make us suffer through our journey to the Lord. This suffering can be manifest in many form, and do not have to be physical suffering, but also mentally. This does not mean that we must hate or shun the world in return. Rather, let us embrace those sufferings and pains, and turn them into joy, knowing that the Lord is always with us through our long journey towards Him, and we know that if we stay faithful to Him and face our heart ever towards Him, He will reward us with His love and the place in His Kingdom, that we deserved.

But do not come to Him empty handed, since, there are many others out there who do not yet start their own paths towards the Lord, either lost, or even manipulated by the evil one to fight against God and us, His beloved children. Let us stretch out our hands and reach out to these lost brothers and sisters of ours. Remember, that Christ came to save all mankind, even those who rejected and cursed Him. He forgave them, and as long as they are willing to turn back towards Him, they too, will be given eternal life, together with us.

Let us humble ourselves and follow in the footsteps of the Lord, who has braved through death to save us from our own deaths. This Lent, let it be a fruitful and great season for our being, for our own faith, and for that of those around us. Let us make a solid choice towards the Lord, to attune ourselves fully with His great love, and sanctify ourselves, that when this season of Lent is complete, we are reborn anew, ever greater in faith, in hope, and in love, particularly in this holy Year of Faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 February 2013 : Ash Wednesday (Scripture Reflection)

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we enter into the season of Lent, the season for repentance, and season for the blossoming of new hope and faith in God. For in this 40 days season of Lent, we have a great chance to bring ourselves ever closer to God, and to make ourselves ready to welcome God into our hearts, as we approach the most important liturgical season of the year, that is the Holy Week.

Today we receive the ashes, that is none other than the ashes produced by the burning of the palms from the previous year’s blessed palms of the Palm Sunday. These ashes which the priest will place on our foreheads are the reminder of our mortality and our fragility. It serves as a reminder for us, that we are human, and that we are limited, and ultimately, we are nothing before God, and our lives are just but a fleeting moment.

We have to prepare ourselves this Lent, and nothing better than to begin with humility, to humbly ask God for forgiveness. By the imposition of ashes, we show that we are ready to lower ourselves before God, most merciful and most loving.

These ashes may symbolise that we are nothing and that all we have are temporary, but even from the ashes, we can rise again to be great. Our sinful way of life and this world is just temporary, and therefore, let us do our best, not to be trapped, not to be ensnared by the false temptations and evils, and rather, let us make best use of our short and temporary existence in this world.

Let us turn our hearts to God, and sincerely ask for His forgiveness for our constant rebellion against Him. For in our human weakness, the evil one had had many tools to subvert us and lured us into sin to serve his own purposes, that is most importantly to separate us for eternity from the loving embrace of God. Let us use this Lenten season to rebuke Satan as Christ did when He was tempted during His 40 days retreat in the desert. Let us say no to Satan and his malicious ways, and reject him in all that we do. Make this Lenten season a holy and meaningful season, dedicated in prayer to God.

Let us approach the Lord with great humility and a loving heart reserved for Him alone. This is why Christ rebuked those whose hypocrisy made them pray in a very visible way, that is to be seen by all the people around them, with example being the Pharisees at that time. It is actually fine to show one’s great holiness, and indeed, one’s great faith and holiness, when shown, may deliver many to redemption too.

However, there is no prayer best than when we are alone with Him. To me, the best prayers are made, whenever I am in an empty shower in an empty bathroom, in my own room without anyone else, where, I can truly listen to the Lord speaking to me, and also to be able then to also speak to the Lord without restraint. Since, when we are alone with Him, we are truly open to Him, just as He is open to us. When someone is around us, less so a crowd, vanity, pride, and other sins will unavoidably arise in our hearts, and our focus will eventually be not entirely at the Lord anymore. No, indeed, if we allow our vanity and pride to grow great, we may end up focusing on ourselves, our own achievements by being ‘holy’ and ‘looked up to’ by the people.

Thus, today, let us, brothers and sisters in Christ, prepare ourselves for the Lord, make the best use out of this Lenten season. Do penance and repent sincerely, and the Lord will see our hearts and found them to be worthy. Let us step up our efforts in prayer and in our mission, in our work for the good of all around us, especially in this holy, Lenten season. Happy Lent everyone! Amen.