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Monday, 23 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters, we are children of the light! Therefore, we too should be bright with the light that is within each one of us, and show it boldly to the world. We once lived in darkness and belong to the darkness, but the Lord who is loving and who is ever merciful had ransomed us from the dark through His own sacrifice on the cross, that we are made the possessions of the Light, that is Jesus our Lord and God.

Yes, brethren, in today’s first reading from the Book of Ezra the priest, the people of Israel, who had lived long in darkness, in the great depths of sin, and who had been sent into exile in Babylon for their sins, had been remembered and forgiven. God had brought them back out of darkness into the light, that they once again become His people, under the leadership of Ezra the servant of God and through Cyrus, the first Persian Emperor.

Although they had sinned greatly, that of their ancestors and their transgressions, the Lord who loved all was willing to regain them into His embrace, gathering them from all over back to the land He had promised them. The same He had done for them when they were oppressed in the land of Egypt. And so, He could not let Himself to abandon us who lived in darkness, and resolved to send the great deliverance, the Light of the world in Jesus.

Through Jesus, the world had received a new light, the light of God, that we may no longer live in darkness, but in the light. In each and every one of us who had been accepted into the Church through baptism, a light has been given, that is the light of Christ, which we witnessed through the presentation of baptismal candle at the time we were baptised. In baptism, we are made to be the belongings of Christ, and therefore become children of the light.

We are also given talents and skills within us, that each one of us possess these unique set of skills and abilities, that we are often ignorant about or fail to utilise effectively, and often even try to hide within ourselves for various reasons, some of which are fear, lack of confidence, ignorance, and many others that made us fail to shine.

Yes, in fact Christ is challenging us, whether we can truly get rid of these human fears and be courageous instead to be the witnesses of the Gospel of truth, the Good News He had proclaimed to the nations. In this way, this is how we truly shine brightly as the children of the light, on a lampstand, clearly visible and not hidden in darkness.

Fear and plain reluctance often comes in the way, with many of us lacking the confidence to make our light truly be seen, be it because of fear of our society, the fear of rejection by others, or pure laziness and sloth. In each of us, we had been given many gifts and graces, brethren, and therefore, much is also expected from us. We cannot be idle and hide the light in ourselves, excluding others from it.

This light within us, is manifested most easily in love. Yes, the love for God and for His children, our brothers and sisters. We show forth our light if we open ourselves and our hearts for others and for God, that from it, the purity of our love, care, and compassion may shine forth, dispelling the darkness the devil had created around us.

Today, we celebrate the feast of a great and well-known saint, that is Padre Pio of Italy, also known as St. Pius of Pietrelcina, one of the greatest saint of the last century, being widely known for his piety, his dedication, in his tireless ministry and service for others, in his healings and miracles, and through his life examples. He was known as a truly holy, pious, and saintly man, and this would not have happened, had he not revealed his faith like that of a lamp on a lampstand.

Padre Pio lived humbly and piously as a religious, as a Franciscan monk, who was well known for his stigmata miracle, in which the crucifixion wounds of Christ appeared on his hands and feet. He was harassed by the devil at many times in his life and he suffered, both from the pain of the miraculous stigmata, as well as rejection by the people of God at times. Yet, Padre Pio, now St. Pio/Pius persevered and endured in his hard work, for the good of the people and resolved to bring them to salvation in Jesus.

St. Pius championed the good works of divine grace, ministering healing and miracles even when he was still alive, and the stigmata showed to many, the nature of God’s love for us, that is the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus, through which we are saved. St. Pio became a great role model for many, through his humility, through his passionate service and love for all God’s children, and through his holiness, evident from his daily actions and prayers. He also put a great emphasis on the Most Holy Eucharist, in which lies the Lord Himself in the form of His Body and His Blood.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, with the example of this great saint, known to many of us as Padre Pio, the great servant of God and the worker of miracles, let us be inspired to follow him in his examples, in his prayerful devotion to God and in his loving commitment to one another, that is to our brethren around us, especially those in most need of our love and help. May St. Pius intercede for us always, that the Lord will constantly keep us in His love and grace and protect us always from the power of Satan, and bring us back into His divine embrace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 September 2013 : 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we are clearly asked to make a conscious and a decisive choice. That choice we need to make, to decide whether we will serve the Lord our God, or whether we will serve this world and all its wealth and glory. There is only one choice we can make, and we cannot be divided in this matter of our choice.

We must be decisive, brethren, to pick our side. We cannot serve two masters, as Christ had mentioned in the parable of the dishonest servant. As He had pointed out, we will only love one of the two masters and grow to resent and despise the other one. We cannot commit ourselves fully to more than one master. We will only give our wholehearted support to one, and halfhearted support at most for the other.

It is important, brethren, to take note that, in our world today, of the prevalence of our desire and even greed for things material in nature, and for things that bring about wealth, prosperity, and worldly happiness. Our world is deeply engulfed in a sea of commercialism and materialism, brethren, that we see it so often in our surroundings, the prevalence of the love for the material and for wealth in general.

As I have often mentioned, the wealth and properties themselves are not intrinsically evil or bad. Money, material goods, and possessions are neutral and can be used for either good or bad, depending on our own utilisation on them, or in short, how they are used and the way they are used. However, it is often that they are misused in a bad way, and also even in their procurement, plenty of evil had happened throughout the history of mankind.

When we do not learn to manage our own desires and needs, we will likely be taken over by them and be corrupted by the evils of the world. Many people became engrossed over possessions and wealth, that they became enslaved to these goods. We glorify them and desire to seek more and more of them. When we are unable to gain them through rightful and legal means, we begin to veer off from righteousness and seek shortcuts.

What are these shortcuts, brethren? They are ways evil in God’s eye. If we do not keep the faith in the Lord, we are likely to succumb to the temptations of the devil. When we desire more of these possessions, and when we are forced into an unfortunate situation, as the dishonest servant had done, they will be less likely to hesitate to seek the source of money and wealth that can help them, often in an illegal manner.

That was what the dishonest servant had done, in trying to saving himself after having first dishonestly manage the wealth of his master, by ensuring his own security after being fired, by doing even more dishonest acts, which were cheating against his master, by unilaterally changing the debts of his master’s debtors. This is wicked act, brethren, very, very wicked act before the Lord our God.

In the first reading, we also note the prophet Amos rebuking the people of Israel, especially the elders, who dishonestly cheated on the people by abusing their power and authority for their own benefits, especially in financial terms. And these often happened because of human greed, for things that they desire more, especially money, material goods, and wealth in general. But doing so means to go against the will of God, and that was why Christ was so critical against such practices, as was the prophet Amos.

This is also why, we cannot be servant to both God and money, and we cannot have both of them as masters. That is why we must make a choice. Do we want to serve God with all our heart? Or do we want to give it to something like money instead? Money ought to be used as means for us to do something good for one another, and ought not to be something that we treasure so much, that we forget about everything else, about God and our fellow men, and worse still if we even hurt others because of money!

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us make this opportunity to affirm our faith and dedication to the Lord our God, that we love Him and serve Him more than any other things on earth and in heaven. That there is no one greater than God that we place at the first place within our hearts. That we fully dedicate ourselves to do the will of God, through our loving actions, using the graces given to us to do good for those around us who are less fortunate.

Yes, brethren, for those of us who had been given much, much also will be expected of us. But this does not mean that of we are relatively poorer compared to others, then we cannot do anything with what we have. We have to play our own role in the society, be it small or large. We should utilise the goodness that had been given to us, be it in talents and skills, or in financial and material contributions.

And not only in utilising the resources that we have, including money, that we should discern carefully, but we also must be upright in our obtaining of these divine graces of our possessions. Do not cheat others or seek to gain in their suffering and loss. We are often corrupt because we seek to gain in the expense of others, and simply because we desire to possess more of these often material, goods.

Therefore, brethren, let us from today onwards, resolve to change our lives and lifestyle, that we no longer revolve around money, and instead revolve and centre it on God and His love. Let us come to view money as something that we can use for our own happiness, and the happiness of others. Let us then not live for money, but use that money and possession that we have, to bring good and do good, for ourselves, for our brethren, especially those in need, and for God.

May the Lord who is loving, show to us how to love, and how to care for one another, that we can use what had been given to us, for the good of everyone. God bless us all and be with us all, always, forever and ever. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 September 2013 : 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 16 : 1-13

At another time Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward  and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light. And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.”

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to money.”

 

Alternative Reading (shorter version)

Luke 16 : 10-13

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to money.”

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Saturday, 21 September 2013 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to  all.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, who is above all and works through all and is in all. But to each of us divine grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some He gave to be apostles, to others prophets, or even evangelists, or pastors and teachers.

So He prepared those who belong to Him for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity and sharing the fullness of Christ.

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Friday, 20 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and Martyr, St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang, and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the need of loving God with all our hearts, that we place Him foremost before all other things, loving Him with all our might. For He had come into the world to ransom us from evil. He had given of Himself to all of us, as an example we all also ought to follow. That we have to love Him just as He had loved us, and love our brethren, without exception, in the same way.

For Christ had called us to be good, and to do good for everyone’s sake. He had taught us how to love, the same love He had shown us when He hung on that cross on Calvary. To Him had been granted authority and power, and He healed all from their afflictions, physically and spiritually. These people were among those who were mentioned in the Gospel today, particularly Mary Magdalene, whom He had liberated from the possession of Satan. Many of His disciples and Apostles also were once great sinners, even murderers and tax collectors.

He had called them from the darkness, that they would have a new life in Him, and through Him, just as He calls all of us to follow Him. This means to leave our old sinful and conceited selves behind, and do what the Lord had asked us to do. We ought to leave things that corrupt ourselves behind, and put on a new clothes of purity, as it had been on the day we were baptised, when we took up a new life, a clean and pure slate of life.

In the first reading today, St. Paul mentioned an important element of sin, that is possessions, meaning material possessions, in the form of visible and invisible wealth, in money and all its manifestation. It is first important to note, brethren, that money and possessions themselves are not innately evil. It is how they are gained and how they are utilised that can potentially bring about great evil.

Money can be used for good and noble purposes, as well as for evil and wicked purposes. It can be something that bring about blessings and life, and in the same way, also something that bring about destruction and suffering. That is why we must be careful on how we approach and utilise our money and our possessions. Remember always, that money and wealth are themselves not intrinsically evil, that it is we who can make that difference between good and evil from what we have.

For example, with the same money or wealth, we can choose, whether we spend it lavishly on the latest fashion items and gadgets that we do not really need. It is a really bad habit for some of us, considering the recent developments of the smartphone technology, that every time a new smartphone model comes out, we are always first to queue and get our hands on it. Remember again, smartphones can be very useful for good purposes, but it is how we use them and think of them, that differentiate between good and evil.

As in the earlier mentioned case, the money can be better used for other purposes, not only for charity, but even for ourselves, for our education, welfare, and improvement, basically, for many different things that we could not do, if we had spent all the money on these unnecessary excessiveness. Judge wisely therefore, brethren, what we are to do with our possessions, for they are God’s blessing to us. Let us not misuse these gifts that had been granted to us.

Today, we celebrate the feast of martyrs of Korea, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, St. Paul Chong Ha-sang and their companions. They were among the first Christians of Korea, convert from their native religions into the faith of the Lord. Korea at that time was tightly closed against any form of external influences, especially Christianity, and the practice of the faith was strictly forbidden by the state.

Christians were harshly persecuted and forced to renounce their ‘alien’ faith and abandon the practices seen by the Korean government to be barbaric in nature. Many Christians were imprisoned and tortured and not few lost their lives for the faith. They are the ones we are commemorating today, the martyr saints of Korea, especially St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first martyr saint of Korea, and St. Paul Chong Ha-sang.

They stayed faithful to the Lord despite immense pressure by the authorities forcing them to abandon their faith, and preferred suffering for the Lord even until they met their death, staying true to the Lord to the end. They gave their life, so that more and more people would be inspired by their example, and stay faithful to the Lord and did not apostasize, despite the pressure or the temptations offered to them to abandon the Lord for worldly incentives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, after listening to the word of God, and the advice on how we need to make sure that we use the blessings granted to us for the right cause, and especially after witnessing the life story of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, St. Paul Chong Ha-sang, and the other martyr saints of Korea, let us be motivated, brethren, to do what is good in the eyes of the Lord.

May the Lord protect us and continue to bless us to be strong, to be the true witnesses of the Gospel, as the martyr saints of Korea had done. God be with us always. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear a very powerful story, one which certainly resonates with all of us. Firstly, it is that we ought not to let our  apparent inferiority and weakness be an obstacle to us, and allow others to belittle us because of our apparent shortcomings. That is because, brethren, even the least one among mankind, and the worst of all sinners have hope in them, that is hope in Jesus the Lord.

It is often that people are ostracised, bullied, and treated badly, simply because they appeared weak to their surrounding people, simply because they are perceived to be inferior, and therefore, to the people around them, they are not worthy of anything good. We are indeed ourselves also guilty of the same thing, as we often let our prejudices and pre-formed generalisations and mindsets to interfere in our approach to these less fortunate ones.

And that is how we belittle others around us and ostracise them, often even without we ourselves knowing that we had done such evil acts on our fellow brethren, simply because we are often not aware of the impacts of the actions we had done. Indeed, in fact, we have to make the habit of continuously reflecting on our own actions, especially our own shortcomings, that we become aware that as mankind, each of us have our own shortcomings, our unworthiness before God, and therefore we should not judge others, less so belittling them or treating them badly.

That was exactly what the Pharisee in the story of Jesus in the Gospel today had not done. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are the supposed experts and examples for the entire people of God, because of their piety and strict observation of the entire Jewish laws. Yet, as Christ had repeatedly pointed out in many different occasions, they did not truly have God in their hearts, as what they truly yearned was the glory and praise of men instead of the love of God.

They give in to their pride and arrogance, especially being placed in high esteem by the people, that they often judge others whom they deemed to be not as ‘holy’ as they were. They condemned prostitutes, tax collectors, and those they had considered as sinners in general. They failed to notice that they too were sinners, and in condemning these people, they have in fact judge others, while they themselves ought to be judged for their own wickedness.

They acted mighty and proud, proud with their great ‘piety’ and ‘obedience’ to the Law, but in fact, all these were empty, because they did not have God in their hearts. It is such that they have always been in the way during the Lord’s ministry in this world, planting obstacles wherever they could, and sowed dissent and trouble for Jesus and His disciples.

They failed to see the great repentance in the woman, the great humility in her as she approached the Lord and Saviour. She showed her regret for her sins through her tears, and through her complete humility. She did not show her faith, love, and dedication for the Lord through loud and long prayers as the Pharisees had done, but through her concrete actions. And to the Lord our God, her faith and love for Him was truly far greater than all of them combined.

Prayers are important, brethren, as it is our way to communicate with the Lord our God, in a two-way communication between Him and us. That is why, it is even more important to make sure that the prayers that we make truly are prayers worthy of our God, that is not like the prayers of the Pharisees.

We must humble ourselves before the Lord as the prostitute had done, seeking for God’s most merciful heart, throwing far away our pride and arrogance. The Pharisees liked to praise themselves and their ‘piety’ in prayers, and did not humble themselves for their sins. This is what we must not do.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast day of St. Januarius, who was once the Bishop of Naples in the early Church in Italy. St. Januarius lived and ministered through the times of difficulty for the Church and the faithful. He worked hard for the faithful, and ministered piously, even despite the harsh persecutions of the faithful, by the Emperor Diocletian, who led the last great persecution of the Church.

St. Januarius died protecting his faith and in his loving service to the people of God. As a result, he provided much ground for the Church to continue to grow and he also defended the faith against threats both external and internal. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us follow in the footsteps of St. Januarius, to serve the Lord with passion and commitment. Let us also be humble before the Lord our God. May the Lord who is merciful and loving, continue to watch over us and protect us sinners, that we may return to Him and praise Him forevermore.

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Thursday, 19 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

1 Timothy 4 : 12-16

Let no one reproach you on account of your youth. Be a model to the believers in the way you speak and act, in your love, your faith and purity of life. Devote yourself to reading, preaching, and teaching, until I come.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift conferred on you with prophetic words when the elders laid their hands upon you. Think about it and practice it so that your progress may be seen by all. Take heed of yourself and attend to your teaching. Be steadfast in doing this and you will save both yourself and your hearers.

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Tuesday, 17 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear the long preaching by St. Paul in the first reading, on the criteria required of one to be the overseer of the people of God, that is in the more contemporary language, means to be bishops and leaders of the Universal Church, including the Pope himself, our leader and the Vicar of Christ.

Just as not anybody can become the ordained ministers of the Lord, that is priests and deacons, therefore, the higher ordained orders demand even greater requirements and even stricter criteria. That is important because, just as the Pharisees and the chief priests had led their people into ruin, the leaders of the Church and their capabilities are essential to lead the people of God into the right way, that is towards the Lord.

If the bishops are improperly chosen, and if the early Church had not carefully decided on whom should be the overseers, there would certainly be chaos and divisions within the Church, damaging the unity and structure of the Church of God. Bishops should be upright men, who placed the Lord first before all other things, and avoid any form of fornication or impurities that may cause them to deviate from the path of truth.

Bishops, the overseers of God’s work, did not have it easy brethren, as they certainly had much oppositions, and also heavy demands and expectations on their shoulders. That was why, St. Paul was very strict in his criteria of who should be chosen as overseers, as bishops of the Church, especially the Pope, the bishop of Rome, whom all believers look up to, as their moral authority in this world, representing Christ Himself.

The people look up to them as teachers and leaders, and uprightness and righteousness are important priorities for the selection criteria, those with commitment to the Lord and dedication to doing good for the sake of others, and for the sake of God, and those with the heart and dedication for service of the Lord and for His people in the Church. Certainly not someone who desires the position because they desire power, money, and privileges attached such positions.

Yes, brethren, we need someone who is truly dedicated and devoted to his position as leaders and shepherds of the faithful. We need good shepherds, modelled after Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, who gave His all to His sheep, that is all of us, fully dedicated to us, and most importantly filled with love for us, those who had been entrusted to Him. The same too, therefore, ought to be expected of those who had been entrusted with positions of authority in the Church.

Yes, loving in the same way that Jesus had loved His people, the people of God, especially those who are suffering, those who are unloved, and those who are rejected by the society. Today, He showed His love to the widow of Naim, who had just lost her son to death. He showed His love to her and to everyone, by exercising His authority over life and death, bringing the son of the widow back to life.

He was so moved with compassion over the sorrow of the widow, who had lost the only one she had possessed in this world, her beloved. The Lord truly understood that feeling. Imagine, brethren! How would the Lord feel, with each one of us lost day by day, to sin and damnation, that is to be separated for eternity from He who loves all of us, without exception. If we suffer from such separation, imagine the wounds that cause to the loving heart of our God.

Therefore, we truly need good and dedicated and loving leaders in this Church of God, to be the ones leading us in our approach towards the Lord. We need someone who follow the Lord and His love for those entrusted to Him, and not someone who will immediately run away at the first sign of trouble, or someone who do not love the sheep and do not put all of his heart and effort to his ministry. For those are the false and bad shepherds, the hired men who care not for those given to them.

However, brethren, this should not just be limited to just our bishops, our priests and those in the position of leadership. It is also important for us, to also follow in their footsteps, emulating the examples of the Lord, and become role models and leaders for one another. It is important for us that we help one another and support one another, that we help each other in our journey towards salvation, guided by our chosen leaders, the priests, and particularly the bishops.

Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, a great religious and leader of the Universal Church, as both a Jesuit and a Cardinal. He lived at the era of upheaval in the Church, where heresies and rebellion against the faith were commonplace. St. Robert Bellarmine was appointed to positions of influence and entrusted with much responsibilities. Yet, he did not remain idle, and instead plunged himself into the work, totally committed to his vocation in life, that is to serve the people of God and uphold the truth of the faith.

St. Robert Bellarmine wrote extensively on the matters of the faith, contributing greatly to the advancement and enrichment of the faith in the Church. Through his works and contributions, many people returned to the faith, and his valuable writings remain widely studied even until today. St. Robert Bellarmine supported the Church’s attempt to counter Protestantism through the Countet-Reformation, working hard to protect the Holy Mother Church.

May the Lord continue to shower us with His love, and especially to our leaders, that we all will continue to reflect Christ and His love, love for all of us,  and the love He had once shown to the widow of Naim. Let us be loving and compassionate to our fellow men, showing them the care Christ had shown to us.

Inspired also by the examples of St. Robert Bellarmine, who committed himself fully to his appointed mission, and through his passionate defender of the faith, let us not be ignorant of the suffering of others, but let us empathise and open our hearts to those who need our love. And do not forget to always pray for our priests! Amen.

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Tuesday, 17 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

1 Timothy 3 : 1-13

If someone aspires to the overseer’s ministry, he is without a doubt looking for a noble task. It is necessary that the overseer (or bishop) be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, responsible, judicious, of good manners, hospitable and skillful in teaching.

He must not be addicted to wine or quarrelsome, but gentle and peaceful, and not a lover of money, but a man whose household is well-managed, with obedient and well-mannered children. If he cannot govern his own house, how can he lead the assembly of God?

He must not be a recent convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must enjoy a good reputation among the outsiders, lest people speak evil about him and he fall into the snare of the devil.

Deacons, likewise, must be serious and sincere and moderate in drinking wine, not greedy for money, they must keep the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Let them be first tried and, if found blameless, be accepted as deacons. In the same way the women must be conscientious, not given to gossip, but reserved and trustworthy.

A deacon must be husband of one wife, and must know how to guide his children and manage his household. Those who serve well as deacons will win honourable rank, with authority to speak of Christian faith.

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Monday, 16 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to the revelation of the great faith in the captain, who was likely a Roman soldier, and therefore not of the people of Israel. And we tie this revelation to the saying of St. Paul in his letter in our first reading today, that there exists only one way to salvation, that is through the great Mediator, Jesus Christ, Messiah of the world.

True faith in God lies not in the prayers after prayers that one utters. Yes, prayer is indeed important, brethren, but what is even more important is one’s own humility and awareness of themselves, and the complete surrender of oneself to the love of God, and in all these, the individual will then have a true, unshakeable faith in God.

It is that many people in Israel put themselves before God, and put their worldly desires before the Lord. That was also why the faith of the people in God, as was evident in how they looked at Jesus and His ministry, was truly shallow and weak faith, unlike that faith the captain of the army possessed for Christ and therefore for the Lord. That was also why, even though the people first proclaimed Jesus as a great Saviour, they were equally quick in condemning Him to death when He was convicted by false testimonies.

They loved not God and have faith not in Him, but on the wondrous things that He had done, and once those things were gone, or when challenges rose up to meet them, they quickly forgot about Him and rose up in rebellion. This was truly evident, when Israel walked through the desert into the Promised Land, that they rebelled and made complaints after complaints to the Lord for not caring for them enough in their journey, and even regretted having been brought out of Egypt.

The same also happened to Jesus, that people applauded Him for the miracles and powers He had shown, in healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, and loosening the tongues of the mute, and in raising the dead back into life. They followed Him and listened to His teachings, and yet, these did not take good roots in them, that they were easily shaken by fear and doubt.

On the other hand, the captain of the guards showed great faith in God, that He sent for Jesus to heal his sick servant and save him from death. Then, despite his relatively lofty and high position in the armed forces, and therefore in the society, he did not boast at all. He instead lowered himself before the Lord, as a sinner, who would not be worthy at all to receive the Lord who is good and perfect in his own residence.

One may interpret the way he said things to Jesus through his servant as being rude. After all, how can he say such things to Jesus who had spent so much of His time to come down to his place and heal his servant? Is he not being condescending and demanding of Christ the Lord?

No, brethren, in fact, in that sentence, and which was completely revealed in his last sentence, which we also utter during every Mass before the Lord’s Presence in the Holy Eucharist, showed perfectly the depth of his faith in the Lord and his humility, realising that he was truly nothing, despite his position of power, before the Lord Jesus our Saviour and God.

“Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” That is the precise words that we utter after the Agnus Dei, when the celebrant of the Mass show to us the Body of Christ crucified, through which He is willing to come upon us, in order to heal us from all our sins, iniquities, and unworthiness. We are unworthy of Him because of our sins, and yet He is willing to come to us, into us, so that He will be with us and stay with us, and we will also remain in Him, in His love.

It is precisely his understanding of his unworthiness before the Saviour of the world, before the Almighty God Himself, that he, the captain, though mighty in the eyes of men, but he is nothing compared to God and he is unworthy to stand before His presence, much less to invite Him to his humble and sinful abode. That is why, using his own experience as the captain of an army unit, he asked in his humility, for the Lord to give the orders, and he has complete faith that whatever the Lord commands, it will be fulfilled.

We too, brothers and sisters, should follow his example, and in saying the words that he had once uttered, every time in the Mass, let us say it with complete understanding and dedication to God, not because we are trained to say it without feelings, and not just because we memorised the phrase, and then utter them out of nothingness. Let us put ourselves into the shoes of the captain, understanding the love that God has for us, when He approaches us and offers Himself to us in His Body and Blood.

Today, brethren, we also celebrate the feast of two great saints of the early Church, namely that of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, the great leaders of the Church and the staunch defenders of the faith. They lived at a difficult time for the Church, at the time when the pagan Roman Emperors, particularly Decius and Valerian persecuted Christians and slaughtered them mercilessly.

Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian, his greatest supporter, as the Bishop of Carthage in Africa, also faced a great tribulation of the faith, with a heretical teaching by the priest Novatian, who also contested the Papacy as antipope to Pope St. Cornelius, causing a severe division of the faithful at the time when the enemies of the Church were persecuting strongly against her.

Pope St. Cornelius protected the important tenet of the faith, that is the Lord who is merciful, readily forgives those who had lapsed from the faith, as was often during his time as Pope. St. Cyprian was his strong supporter, against the heretic Novatian, who staunchly opposed to the forgiveness and redemption of those who had lapsed from the faith.

There were many Christians who lapsed from the faith due to various reasons, but many of which were linked with the temptations of the world and sin, especially because of the severe persecutions against the faithful at the time. According to Novatian heresy, these people were doomed, but Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian begged to differ. As Christ had taught His disciples, that even the greatest of sinners can repent and many saints were also once great sinners.

They defended the true faith and maintained the integrity of the Church and the faithful. Through their hard work, many were prevented from falling into the heretical teachings. They died as defenders of the faith under persecution by the Roman authorities, and in their martyrdom, they provided the rich soil upon which the Church could grow further and carry out their work of salvation.

May the Lord opens our eyes and the doors of our hearts, and inspired by the examples and works of Pope St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian that we will be able to learn the unworthy state that we are in, because of our sins, that we, in deepest humility, following the footsteps of the captain, will humble ourselves before Christ, who is the great Mediator, the bridge between us and the Father, through whom, the only path to salvation and eternal life in glory is possible. Let us praise God and thank Him for having mercy and pity on us, coming to us to heal us, despite of our faults and unworthy behaviours. God be with us always and may He show His mercy and love upon us. Amen.