loving one another

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Saturday, 15 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

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

3 John : 5-8

Beloved, you do well to care for the brothers and sisters as you do. I mean those coming from other places. They spoke of your charity before the assembled Church. It will be well to provide them with what they need to continue their journey, as if you did it for God.

In reality, they have set out on the road for His Name without accepting anything from the pagans. We should receive such persons, making ourselves their cooperators in the work of the truth.

 

Homily and Reflection :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/13/saturday-15-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-albert-the-great-bishop-and-doctor-of-the-church-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Thursday, 13 November 2014 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we approach the end of our liturgical year, that is as we approach towards the season of Advent in preparation of Christmas, we hear the readings of the Holy Scriptures that are taken in preparation for the coming of the end of times, that is when the Lord will come again as He had promised His people, the time when the Kingdom of God is truly here.

But Jesus also warned us, all of His people that we have to be careful and vigilant against false prophets who claimed that they know about the coming of the kingdom of God. Or those who attributed certain celestial signs to the Second Coming of Christ. This group, often called the Millenials and with all other sorts of names are trying to mislead the faithful by twisting the truths of the Sacred Scripture to suit their own purposes.

There is no one who knows of God’s plan except that of God Himself, He who planned everything meticulously, all prepared in advance for the salvation of all of us, from death into new life. And Jesus Himself in the Gospel today, as He often did many times during His ministry, prophesied about His own upcoming suffering and death on the cross, as the crucial part of God’s plan for salvation of mankind.

Everything has been planned well and meticulously for our sake, and the Lord Himself came down to execute His plan, and to bring mankind back to Himself. and just as in his letter to Philemon, St. Paul mentioned this Onesimus whom he was sending to Philemon, and how he was made free and liberated from slavery, the same our Lord had done to us, through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

And indeed, St. Paul also mentioned how in sending Onesimus to Philemon, he was sending a part of his own heart to him. That is because Onesimus was dear and precious, a good friend to St. Paul, and sending him off to another is naturally not an easy decision. Thus, it should even be much more difficult for our Lord to part with a part of Himself, One of the Holy Trinity, whose members are united to each other in perfect love.

Yet, He willingly sent His Son to us, knowing that in doing so, He may gain us back from our downfall into sin. He loves His Son very much, but He also equally loves us all as well. By His coming and His loving Passion, the sacrifice He went through at Calvary, He broke us free from our slavery to sin, by bearing all those sins and all of their consequences upon Himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, we are asked and called to realise that all of us have been granted such a great grace by God, to have our punishment nullified, and a new chance of life given to us, and what seemed once hopeless and what seemed like an eternal slavery to sin, the Lord had made a new path, through which He might exercise His power to rescue us from that darkness.

And He also gave of Himself to us, through His Most Precious Body and Blood, that He may dwell in us, and us in Him, and by sharing in His Most Precious Self, we indeed have the kingdom of God coming within us, for the Holy Presence of God itself is in us, and through our transformation in faith, we become the concrete and true symbol and concrete evidence of the coming of the kingdom of God.

Therefore, what we can do today and from now on, brothers and sisters? It is for us to follow the Lord and to show Him our sincerest gratitude and thanks for having done so much for us. He has loved us all so dearly and so much, that He did not even shy from suffering and dying for our sake, just so that we do not have to suffer those for eternity if we fall into the eternal hell.

Thus, we have to be righteous and just in all of our actions, and we have to be like Him, in what He had done, we too have to do it. That means, we should stop hating and showing violence in our actions, and instead we have to learn to forgive and love those who hated us, and also to love one another, helping those in need whenever and wherever we can do it. And ultimately, of course we have to give the best of our love to our Lord and God.

May Almighty God bless us all, forgive us our sins, and bring us all to everlasting life. Amen.

 

First Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/12/thursday-13-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/12/thursday-13-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/12/thursday-13-november-2014-32nd-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 5 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are reminded of the need for us to be prepared in our faith and in our lives, that we will be ready when the Lord comes again. We cannot be idle in our faith and we cannot be slack, as our faith is not just by mere words or proclamations, nor can it be an empty faith, for an empty faith is no good at all. Rather, we must have a living faith that is founded upon action, and love in those actions.

Our faith must be carried on through our life, and we must therefore be prepared for the day of judgment. Before every time we act we must also think it through thoroughly first, just as Jesus mentioned in the parable He taught the people, on the matter of kings fighting a war with another king. A careful deliberation and preparation will help us, just as it helped the kings, to carry out a wisely thought and considered option in life.

Why is this so important? That is because many of us acted in this life without proper consideration and even without thinking first. Many of us acted at the whim of our desires and wants, which often resulted in acts of incredible selfishness that cared for only ourselves, and frequently causing a disadvantage if not even pain and suffering for others around us.

By following our own desires, the desires of our hearts, and following in the corruptions of Satan, we are not true to our faith, as our faith requires us to be truly faithful to the Lord. Jesus said that when one is not ready to forgo his links and connections to the world and to people who are dear to us, in order to follow the Lord with all of our hearts and strength, then we are not ready to become His disciples.

Jesus did not mean that we must segregate or detach ourselves from our loved ones, our families and friends, and others known to us. He did not mean that we should hate them or anything of the sort. On the contrary, He wants us to love them and embrace them, just as much as we love Him. As I have often mentioned, there can be no perfect love for God if we do not love our neighbours and those around us, and vice versa, that there can be no perfect love for our neighbours if we do not first love the Lord our God with all of our might.

What He meant was that if our attachment to those around us prevent us from loving God sincerely and completely, then we have to do something about it. For example if our relatives and families, or our friends are doing things that are considered wicked and horrendous in the sight of God, then we have to stand up to it, and we have to do what is right, that is to remind them that they should not do such wickedness and stop sinning.

And this may cost us our relationship with them, and our friendship with them too. And this is a risk we have to take. We have a choice, brothers and sisters in Christ, either to conform to their actions, and save our relationships, keeping our friendship with them, at the cost of perhaps most likely their souls, for they committed sin before God and did not repent.

How about us in that case? Because we did not act as we should have done, and refused to follow the Lord’s commandments, bringing souls of men into jeopardy and damnation, we too will have to answer for our lack of action, as we caused them to fall into hell and thus lost to God. If we had done our part to remind them of their sinfulness, they might have the chance to change their ways and become better.

Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are indeed reminded of the need for us to be proactive in our faith, and to take action whenever it is possible for us. This is part of our duty and responsibility as the member of the Church of God. We must be fully ready to take up our crosses in life, following the Lord in His ways. And one way to do that is indeed to remind our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, despite of our relationships, to keep faithful in the Lord.

Let us all together be as what St. Paul said in the letter which was read as our First Reading today, to be children of the Light, and therefore we ought to do as what the children of the Light should do, that is to shun all forms of sins and fornications of the body and the soul. We have to help one another in this, as all of us are predisposed to sin, and we are all vulnerable to temptations of the flesh and of this life.

At times, the soft approach to remind one another may not work, so it may be necessary at times to bring sense back to us, and to awaken us from our sinfulness and back into the light. May our Lord Jesus therefore give us strength, both to resist the temptations of sin and the body, and also to have the strength to be able to overcome our hesitation when we see someone whom we knew, who commits a sin before God, that for his or her own good, that someone may be delivered from the gates of damnation into salvation in God. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/04/wednesday-5-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-first-reading/

Psalm : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/04/wednesday-5-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-psalm/

Gospel Reading : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/04/wednesday-5-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 3 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 12-14

At that time, Jesus also addressed the man who had invited Him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbours. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid.”

“When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you; you will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

 

Homily and Reflection : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/03/monday-3-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-de-porres-religious-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Monday, 3 November 2014 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Philippians 2 : 1-4

If I may advise you in the Name of Christ and if you can hear it as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy : have one love, one Spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit.

On the contrary let each of you gently consider the others as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but rather that of others.

 

Homily and Reflection : 
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/11/03/monday-3-november-2014-31st-week-of-ordinary-time-memorial-of-st-martin-de-porres-religious-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Wednesday, 29 October 2014 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Ephesians 6 : 1-9

Children, obey your parents for this is right : ‘Honour your father and your mother.’ And this is the first commandment that has promise : ‘that you may be happy and enjoy long life in the land.’ And you, fathers, do not make rebels of your children, but educate them by correction and instruction which the Lord may inspire.

Servants, obey your masters of this world with fear and respect, with simplicity of heart, as if obeying Christ. Do not serve only when you are watched or in order to please others, but become servants of Christ who do God’s will with all your heart. Work willingly, for the Lord and not for humans, mindful that the good each one has done, whether servant or free, will be rewarded by the Lord.

And you, masters, deal with your servants in the same way, and do not threaten them, since you know that they and you have the same Lord who is in heaven, and He treats all fairly.

 

Homily and Reflection : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/28/wednesday-29-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Monday, 27 October 2014 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 10-17

At that time, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all.

On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all His opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of Him.

 

Homily and Reflections : https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/10/26/monday-27-october-2014-30th-week-of-ordinary-time-homily-and-scripture-reflections/

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Sunday, 26 October 2014 : 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 22 : 20-26

You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not harm the widow or the orphan. If you do harm them and they cry out to Me, I will hear them and My anger will blaze and I will kill you with the sword, and your own wives will be widows and your children orphans.

If you lend money to any of My people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and do not charge him interest. If ever you take a person’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him by sunset, for it is all the covering he has for his body. In what else will he sleep? And when he cries to Me I will hear him, for I am full of pity.

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Monday, 20 October 2014 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are asked through the Scriptures we have heard, to reflect on our own lives, on whether our lives have been filled with selfishness, self-centredness, egoistic acts and behaviours, as well as pride or arrogance, or whether our lives had been filled with love, that is genuine love for one another, and the love for God just as much as we love ourselves.

It is very difficult for us men to live according to the latter standards as compared to the former standards. We have a big ego with us, just as the word ‘Ego’ in Latin means ‘I’, that is we are first and foremost always concerned first about ourselves, and then far below that concern is the concern about others who are around us. We are by our nature selfish, and filled with desire to the point of greed and unwillingness to show charity to others.

This ‘I’ is dangerous indeed, and do you all know who was Satan, our great enemy, before he is known now as the prince of evil and darkness? He was Lucifer, the ‘lightbringer’, one created bright, beautiful, mighty and great among all the angels who serve the Lord day and night, not to outshine his Creator, but to show all creation how great and mighty the Lord is, in creating such a perfect and wonderful creation.

Yet, in the beauty, greatness and perfection in which he had been created, Lucifer grew proud and attached to his perfection and wonders, and thus his ego grew, and his desires grew to the point that he aspired to be like God and even to surpass His own creation, in his own words, that he wanted to raise his throne above the stars of God, and to rule over all creations.

It is this pride that led to his downfall, and it is this same arrogance over his apparent greatness and abilities that made him to commit sin before God. And his rebellion against God brought him nothing but his own downfall, as he was cast out of heaven, as a sign to all others who also followed him into his rebellion, thinking that in the greatness and all the endowments they had received, they had the right to boast or be proud of those achievements.

And what did he get in the end? Nothing but damnation and eternal punishment, for the pride and greed that brought him nothing else but oblivion. Hence, this is also to help remind us, just as we heard in the Holy Scriptures, how Jesus and St. Paul both urged the people of God to let go of their ego, their pride, their arrogance, their selfishness, and all of the vices they had committed in life, and embrace the true faith, in accepting the fullness of the faith as taught to them by the Lord and through His Apostles and disciples.

How is this relevant to us? We can look at our own lives. It is very obvious that at some points and moments in our lives, we are vulnerable to our ego and our desires. How many times in our respective lives, that we put our own prosperity above that of others? How many of us did not hesitate to do certain actions, even when fully knowing that such actions may bring hurt to others, but may benefit us in some ways?

Surely this life is filled with many of such examples, when we mankind succumb to our desires and began to greedily desire on things and possessions, even often beyond our means and at the expense of others. This is also the precise cause of the many evils and miseries in the world, namely wars, conflicts, abuses, hatred and jealousy of one another. That is because mankind had grown proud of themselves and what they can do, and by what they have discovered in life, that they think too highly of themselves and as a result, inevitably come into conflict with one another due to conflicting interests.

Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, what then, we can do so that we can prevent or to settle this matter? We are often too focused on the world, and all things worldly, to the point that we ended up worrying too much about what we ought to eat, what we may receive in life, what possessions we should have or obtain, and many other things, while forgetting that in our pursuit of such things and in our worry, we may end up causing trouble for one another.

Worry and fear is not the way, brothers and sisters in Christ. We have to realise that our Lord and God loves us very much, and He wants to love us tenderly just as a father loves his children. He provides us with essentially everything that we need in this life. He will care for us as He had always done, and if we put our complete trust and faith in Him, we shall never be disappointed.

Indeed, those who put their trust in themselves will be disappointed, and just like the rich man who worried about where he ought to put his excess harvest products and building new barns to contain them, he did not put their trust in God and thus he will suffer for his selfishness and lack of love, both for men and for God. Thus, this is exactly what we need to avoid.

Let us all from now on, lead a life filled with genuine faith in God, seeking God at all times, and seeking to imitate Him in all that we do, so that in everything we do in this life, we may be truly like the children and the servants of God, and like the Apostles and disciples in their lives, so that our lives may be filled with love and charity, love that we show for our fellow men, particularly those who are in most need for our love, the last, the lost and the least among men.

And lastly, let us all love God by devotion and by action, showing our genuine faith to Him founded in love. May Almighty God see our love and our faith, and by those love and faith we have done in this life, may we be made justified and worthy of salvation and the promise of eternal life which God had made through Jesus His So. Let us pray therefore for one another, and helping one another that all of us will reach the Lord our God safely. Amen.

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Thursday, 9 October 2014 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Denis, Bishop and Martyr, and Companions, Martyrs, and St. John Leonardi, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 11 : 5-13

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is travelling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Do not bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I cannot get up and give you anything.'”

“But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.'”

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”