obedience

by

Thursday, 26 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 7 : 21-29

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My heavenly Father. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in Your Name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in Your Name?’ Then I will tell them openly, ‘I have never known you; away from Me, you evil people!'”

“So then, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts accordingly, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock.”

“But anyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”

When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way He taught, because He taught with authority, unlike the teachers of the Law.

by

Wednesday, 25 June 2014 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 118 : 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

Explain to me, o Lord, Your commandments, and I will be ever faithful to them.

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law with all my heart.

Guide me in obeying Your instructions, for my pleasure lies in them.

Incline my heart to follow Your will and not my own selfish desire.

Turn my eyes away from vanities and direct them to Your life-giving word.

Oh, how I long for Your precepts! Renew my life in Your righteousness.

by

Tuesday, 24 June 2014 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 13 : 22-26

After that time, God removed Saul and raised up David as king, to whom He bore witness saying : “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all I want him to do.”

It is from the descendants of David that God has now raised up the promised Saviour of Israel, Jesus. Before He appeared, John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. As John was ending his life’s work, he said : “I am not what you think I am, for after me another One is coming whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Brothers, children and descendants of Abraham, and you also who fear God, it is to you that this message of salvation has been sent.

by

Saturday, 21 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 88 : 4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34

You said, “I have made a covenant with David, My chosen one; I have made a pledge to My servant. I establish his descendants forever; I build his throne for all generations.”

I will keep My covenant firm forever, and My love for him will endure. His dynasty will last forever, and his throne as long as the heavens.

If his sons forsake My law and fail to follow My decrees, if they violate My statutes and do not keep My commandments.

I will punish their crime with the rod and their offenses with the scourge; yet I will not withdraw My love from him, nor will I withdraw My faithfulness.

by

Friday, 13 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a direct continuation of the discourse and catechesis of yesterday’s Scripture readings, and we continue on the matter of understanding the Law and the true intention of the Lord as He revealed to mankind. We need to know that the Law of the Lord should not be taken at plain literal meaning, nor should we be proud of ourselves and assume that we know it all about God and His desire, and therefore be judgmental on others.

We need to understand the greater purpose of the Law and the rules of our faith. We cannot be blindly oblige to the rules without first understanding them, and yet we can neither fail to oblige with the excuse that we do not understand them or worse if we decide to ignore them. We must therefore make the conscious effort to understand the Lord and His Law. How do we do so, brothers and sisters?

By obeying the teachings and tenets of the Church, and the regulations established by the Church, and maintaining a good and healthy relationship with our shepherds, that is our priests and bishops. It is because these people are the ones who had been entrusted with our care by the Lord, and they have also been granted teaching authority by Christ Himself, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that they teach the faith and the Law of God in its purest form and in its true meaning.

Today we celebrate the feast day of one of the greatest teachers of the faith, that is St. Anthony of Padua, a very renowned Franciscan friar who was legendary and amazing in his homilies and discourses, so much so that even the Pope at that time employed him as the one to deliver the homilies at his court. St. Anthony of Padua also preached in many places across Europe, and from his teachings, he brought many people closer to God by awakening in them the proper understanding of His laws and purpose.

St. Anthony of Padua was well educated since his youth, and at the same time he was also very dedicated to the Lord, having been educated in the seminary since his youth, and eventually decided to join a sacred religious life. He learnt much about the faith and how to teach it well to the people of God, and through his vast experiences in many situations and stints in various religious orders, he gained great knowledge and ability to teach the faith to the faithful.

St. Anthony of Padua was a great orator and preacher of the faith, and yet he remained truly humble despite his renown and his abilities. In fact, the very first time when St. Anthony of Padua’s preaching abilities was identified, he was reluctant and afraid when he was pointed out to be the one to give a sermon to a group of gathered religious congregations. Yet, despite his reluctance and initial refusal, he made such an eloquent and impressive sermon, that the people who heard him were completely astonished.

St. Anthony of Padua continued to preach from then on, and demands for his sermons are always high, and the Pope even kept a record of his sermons, which was truly valuable for us, for there is truly much wisdom that we can learn from St. Anthony of Padua and his discourses. Through him the word of God and the intentions of the Lord were made clear to many people, who then grew on deeper in their faith because of that.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to keep faithful and true to the deposit of faith that is in the Church. Yes, we have to keep the complete entirety of the deposit of faith, which is the accumulated wisdom, teachings, and revelations that we have received through the holy men and women, who dedicated themselves like St. Anthony of Padua had done. Through them, we gain this precious knowledge and understanding, and therefore, in our lives, we have to continue safeguarding this deposit of the faith and teach it to others.

It is not difficult to do so, and we do not have to be like St. Anthony of Padua, or be as wise and eloquent as him in order to do so. What we need to do is in fact, to practice what we believe in our own lives, that in all our words, deeds and actions we will always reflect who we are, the children and followers of our Lord and God. If we practice genuinely what we believe in, then those who see us and who are still unbelievers, will certainly be touched by the light of Christ and believe in God, and come to believe and be saved.

May the Lord bring about His good works and graces through us, that He may make manifest His truth and love to the world, just as He had once made Himself known through St. Anthony of Padua. God bless us always and strengthen us at all times. Amen.

by

Thursday, 12 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 20-26

I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : “Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial.”

But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or a sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool!” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

by

Wednesday, 11 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Acts 11 : 21b-26 and Acts 13 : 1-3

A great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the manifest signs of God’s favour, he rejoiced and urged them all to remain firmly faithful to God; for he himself was a good man filled with Holy Spirit and faith. Thus large crowds came to know the Lord.

Then Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they had meetings with the Church and instructed many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

There were at Antioch – in the Church which was there – prophets and teachers : Barnabas, Symeon known as Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod, and Saul. On one occasion while they were celebrating the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.”

So, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

by

Tuesday, 10 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings focused on the theme of courage and commitment to carrying out the will of God, without fear and doubt, and the desire to bring the light of Christ to all the peoples, through ourselves and our actions. This is the essence and the heart of today’s Scriptures, which focus on the importance of courage as the servants of the Lord.

We are often doubtful and fearful to showcase our faith to others, and we prefer to keep things to ourselves, and in that way, we keep the light of Christ that is within us under the cover of darkness, and therefore we prevent others from seeing the same light which could have been their salvation. We keep our light hidden and therefore we are found wanting by the Lord.

We have received much gifts and wisdom from the Lord our God through the Holy Spirit which He had granted us through the Apostles. God has given much for us, in terms of resources and understanding, in order to help one another to know and understand God and His will. If we do not make use of these, then it is the same of wasting the good talents and potentials which He had granted us, and we will not receive a favourable treatment from God henceforth.

As I mentioned earlier on during the Solemnity of the Pentecost Sunday, we mankind have been given the Holy Spirit, those of us who believe in the Lord and keep our faith in Him alive. And the Holy Spirit that dwells in us will bear many fruits, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but only if we allow ourselves to be part of the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to come and make a difference in our lives.

By receiving the Holy Spirit we have received the revelations of truth about God, and in us, we have the knowledge of salvation and everlasting life. And we reflect the very light of Christ, the light of hope He bore, in ourselves, and we show this through our own words, deeds and actions. That is how we become the light of the world, just as Christ is the true light of the world.

If we do not listen to Christ and His teachings, we risk to be stagnant and idle, and our lives become unremarkable. We must have the flavour of Christ in us, and the vibrancy of the light He has in us, so that we may truly be the salt of the earth and the light of the world for the sake of all around us, who see us and become believers on the account of this flavour and uniqueness that is in us.

Our lives cannot be empty and meaningless, for if we do so, them we lose the main impetus in life, that is to make a difference in all that we do, both for ourselves and for others around us. What is this difference that we need to make? We need to make a difference in the lives of others, that through whatever we do or say, we bring new life to them, and that we bring them new purpose in life.

In doing so, we pass on the light and the flavour, that just as the cook add the salt into the dish, and the dish gradually become salty in its entirety, we too may make everyone justified and glorified through our exemplary lives, that whoever sees us, see not ourselves, but the Father who loves us all.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all strive to improve ourselves, on terms of our saltiness, our flavour, that is the vibrancy of our faith, and strengthen the ligh of God that is present inside of us. Let us not be easily affected by doubt or fear, but instead put our complete trust in the Lord, let us stride forth with courage, enlightening mankind who are still in darkness and bring them back into the light.

O Lord our God, be with us today, and make our lives meaningful and useful to You and Your people, that in whatever we do, say or act, we will always bring glory to Your Name and bring enlightenment to Your people, that they too may realise Your love and draw closer to You. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 10 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 13-16

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on it.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lampstand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.

by

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 : 7th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus our Lord is our Shepherd, and He is always on the watch. Never for even a single moment He let His sight away from us, for He cares for us and He will not want us to be lost in the darkness of the world, and indeed, in that darkness, the wolves, that is Satan and his fellow fallen angels await to see when mankind, the sheep and flock of the Lord are at their most vulnerable moments, and then strike to drag them into the eternal darkness and damnation.

As our Shepherd, and the Good Shepherd, He is someone who truly loves and is dedicated to us, His sheep, and He will not let us to fall into the hands of the devil and his agents, who are trying all the time to steal us away from our Shepherd and drag us together with them into damnation and eternal suffering in hell. That is the aim of those forces arrayed against us, and we should always be vigilant.

Our Shepherd is always with us, ever since He dedicated Himself completely to us through His sacrifice on the cross. He gave Himself out of His love for us mankind, and as our Shepherd and a good shepherd, He cares for us sincerely and unconditionally, even unto giving up His life for His sheep. This is what we are taught and what we have with us as our assurance of faith. God our Shepherd is always with us.

The wolves are always watching and waiting for moments of weakness, when we are most vulnerable to snatch us, and we know these from the moments in our lives when we feel dejected, when we feel sad and sorrowful in our daily lives, when we are met with failure, and even when we meet successes in life and glory, when we allow ourselves to be open to Satan and his agents to enter into our hearts and therefore into our lives.

There are these moments when we put our guard down, when we feel weak in the faith, and especially those moments when we feel that the Lord is not with us, and we question whether He even cares for us or loves us, for He is not apparently there for us when we need Him very much. But this is the persuasions and temptations of the devil, my friends, for the devil whispered lies in our ears and in our hearts, that the Lord is not with us, because we cannot see Him and feel His presence around us.

But this is false, brethren, for our Lord is truly beside us, and He watches over us all the time, and all that we need to do, is to open ourselves to the Lord and let His love and care for us to flow freely into us, and we surely can feel His works all around us, all of which are meant to keep us safe from the forces of Satan, that is the wolves trying to rip us apart from the loving embrace of our God.

We often do not realise how much our Lord loves us, and we often think that we ourselves are all that we need in this world. And in this, we breed our ego and pride, allowing them to flourish and become fertile ground for the devil to spread his seeds of rebelliousness and disobedience within us. This we cannot allow, brothers and sisters in Christ, for we must not allow even any inch of our hearts and minds to be taken over by the evil one, or we will go astray and be lost.

Let us all from now on, reflect on the love which our Lord has for us. In our breath, every single breath that we take in life, and every help He has placed on our way, our priests and those who minister the Gospel to us. Yes, all these are the manifestations of God’s eternal love and care for us, and which He showed foremost through none other than Jesus Christ, who became one of us, to be our Shepherd and guide us back on the way to God our Lord and loving Father.

May we grow stronger in our faith and devotion to our Lord and Shepherd, that from now on we will heed only the leads of our loving Saviour, and disregard all the dissenting voices and disobedience which Satan has taught us and planted in our hearts ever since the days of our ancestors. May the Lord continue to be with us, all the days of our life and keep us always firmly in His love. God bless us always. Amen.