One True God

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Saturday, 20 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

2 Corinthians 12 : 1-10

It is useless to boast; but if I have to, I will go on to some visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a certain Christian : fourteen years ago he was taken up to the third heaven. Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. But I know that this man, whether in the body or out of the body – I do not know, God knows – was taken up to Paradise where he heard words that cannot be told : things which humans cannot express.

Of that man I can indeed boast, but of myself I will not boast except of my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, it would not be foolish of me, for I would speak the truth. However, I better give up lest somebody think more of me than what is seen in me or heard from me.

Lest I become proud after so many and extraordinary revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a true messenger of Satan, to slap me in the face. Three times I prayed to the Lord that it leave me, but He answered, “My grace is enough for you; My great strength is revealed in weakness.”

Gladly, then, will I boast of my weakness that the strength of Christ may be mine. So I rejoice when I suffer infirmities, humiliations, want, persecutions : all for Christ! For when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Friday, 19 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings tie very closely to the lives of the saints and martyrs whose memory we are celebrating today. As such, the readings spoke about being the servants and followers of God, and what is to be expected of us, and how we ought to live our lives so that we may remain faithful and true to the Lord our God.

In the first reading today, St. Paul spoke of how he had encountered many oppositions and difficulties along the way, and how he had suffered many tribulations and torture at the hands of his enemies, rejection, been spitted on, lashed with ropes, imprisoned, and many other forms of inhuman torture which also unfortunately were the fate of many other Christians at the time.

And if we notice, Christians throughout time, even until today, including what the recent events had shown us, still encounter the same if not even worse persecution and torture. When we stand up for our faith, indeed there will be those who disagree, because they have rejected the truth which can be found only in the Lord our God.

But in the Gospel today, Jesus comforted all of us, by saying that we indeed ought to stand up for the faith and the truth. He spoke of seeking not earthly treasures but heavenly ones, and this is implying that we should not settle for the happiness and good things that can be found in the world, but we must strive for greater things, that is the true joy that only God can give, even though the world may disapprove of us.

The earthly treasures Jesus spoke of were the approval of the world, the pleasures of the world, money, wealth and possessions, sexual lust and pleasures, greed and human desires, fame, human praise and many others that we should all know about. Meanwhile, the heavenly treasures that God spoke of is the true joy and happiness that do not end, even to the end of time and beyond, for we will forever live in perfect harmony with the Lord our God.

This is exactly what the martyr saints of Vietnam, St. Philip Minh and his many companions in martyrdom had also done. They chose to remain true to their faith in God, despite the threat of persecution, torture, suffering and death by the authorities at the time, which was intensely against the Church and the Faith spreading in the country of Vietnam.

The government tried to persuade the faithful to abandon their faith, some even by offering them money, property, as well as opportunities for work and promotion in the social strata, so that they hopefully might be persuaded to abandon their faith in God and embrace what the government had provided them. But many refused to accept all these, as they fully knew that to do so means to trade the eternal and true wealth they had received and assured by the Lord, for the temporary and illusory pleasures and joy of the world.

The same thing had also been done by the Apostles and the disciples of Christ, and many of the members of the early Church, when they were faced with the oppression and persecution of the world. And even until today, many still faced persecution by the world because of their faith in the One, True God as the world is opposed to Christ and to His truth. This is why the faithful suffer such great persecutions for their faith.

May the examples of the saints and martyrs, especially that of St. Philip Minh and his companions, the Vietnamese Martyrs, be an inspiration to all of us on this day and beyond, to live our lives faithfully, so that we may truly seek the true treasures which await us in heaven despite the challenges that will come our way, rather than settling for the temporary treasures of this world that will inevitably cause us to lose forever our eternal inheritance and a prelude to eternal suffering. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 19 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 6 : 19-23

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not store up treasures for yourself here on earth, where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.”

“For where your treasures is, there also your heart will be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!”

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Friday, 19 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.

They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.

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Friday, 19 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

2 Corinthians 11 : 18, 21b-30

As some people boast of human advantages, I will do the same. But if others are so bold, I shall also dare, although I may speak like a fool. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I begin to talk like a madman) I am better than they.

Better than they with my numerous labours. Better than they with the time spent in prison. The beatings I received are beyond comparison. How many times have I found myself in danger of death! Five times the Jews sentenced me to thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with a rod, once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked, and once I spent a night and a day adrift on the high seas.

I have been continually in hazards of travelling because of rivers, because of bandits, because of my fellow Jews, or because of the pagans; in danger in the city, in the open country, at sea; in danger from false brothers. I have worked and often laboured without sleep, I have been hungry and thirsty and starving, cold and without shelter.

Besides these and other things, there was my daily concern for all the churches. Who is weak that I do not feel weak as well? Whoever stumbles, am I not on hot bricks? If it is necessary to boast, let me proclaim the occasions on which I was found weak.

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Thursday, 18 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard about how we ought to pray to the Lord. We heard how Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, through the teaching of the perfect prayer, which we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, or Pater Noster (our Father), as it is a prayer which signifies the relationship which exists between us and God who is our Father.

Why is it such a good and perfect prayer? That is because firstly, as Jesus had pointed out that when the pagans and the Pharisees pray, they like to pray with lots of words and loudly, and the louder and the more dedicated is the prayer, the more they believed that their prayers would be heard and fulfilled. And they liked to make the prayer in the public places, to show the people how pious they were.

Instead, Jesus formulated the perfect prayer that is not just succinct and to the point, capturing all the essences of a prayer, but it is also demonstrating what a prayer truly should be, that is for us all to communicate with the Lord our God, through the opening of our hearts, and the exposure of our hearts, minds, body and soul to the holy presence of God.

Truly, a prayer is like how a child talks to his father, as a communication between them, building up from their relationship. A prayer should not be a one-sided communication where we are the only ones speaking and talking, and yet we ignore the Lord who is speaking deep in our hearts. Sadly however, this is mostly the case when we talk about prayers.

More often than not, when we look at how we pray, it is a litany of demands, of wants, and of accusations, on how God had not done enough for us or that He had not listened to what we wanted. We also often pray to God only when we remember Him, that is when we are in difficult times, and need urgent and immediate help, as if God is a sort of last resort help we can always depend on for free and take it for granted.

And when we are in good times and times of plenty, more often than not, we forget entirely about God and ignore His presence around us. God is always with us, regardless whether it is during time of plenty or time of suffering, but we often do not see that it is God who has blessed us with such great graces, all the blessings and good things we enjoy in life, and most importantly, our very lives are gifts from God indeed.

When we pray, it is often that we focus on ourselves, on our needs, on our wants, on our desires, on our greed and on our own selfishness, as it is in our nature to put such an emphasis on ourselves. But this is why many of us do not have a good and fruitful prayer life, as our prayers are often empty and meaningless, if not improper and downright offensive to God.

Jesus taught us how to pray, that when we pray, we ought to open ourselves to God and allow Him to speak in us, and we also recognise Him as the Lord and Master of all things, and thus all that we are and all that we do are subject to His will and authority. Thus, this is why we said the first half of the Lord’s Prayer, glorifying the Lord our God and humbly submitting ourselves to His will.

And then, we must also give thanks to God for all of His grace. We know that God will bless us with all that we need, our daily bread, and He will also definitely forgive us our sins if we have also forgiven others who sinned against us. We do not need to doubt this, as the Lord Himself had affirmed this many times, by His words and actions. The Lord is ever faithful, ever loving and ever merciful, if we ourselves are willing to change.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, let us all pray for great grace from God, that all of us may realise how much more we need to do, and how much more genuine we need to be in our prayers. Let our prayers not be expressions of our ego or greed, but let it be a genuine expression of love and the desire for us to speak with our Father who created us and loved us all.

May Almighty God be with us always, and may He continue to lead us and guide us, to enable us to focus our attention to Him, giving Him thanks for all that He has done for us, by cultivating a good and disciplined prayer life. Let us all mean every words we say when we say our Lord’s Prayer, filled with renewed vigour and strength of our faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 18 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 7-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they believe that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.”

“This, then, is how you should pray : Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.”

“If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.”

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Thursday, 18 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 110 : 1-2, 3-4, 7-8

Alleluia! I thank the Lord with all my heart in the council of the just, in the assembly. The works of the Lord are great and pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are His deeds, His righteousness endures forever. He lets us remember His wondrous deeds; the Lord is merciful and kind.

The works of His hands are faithful and just, trustworthy are all His precepts, ordained to last forever, bearers of truth and uprightness.

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Thursday, 18 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Corinthians 11 : 1-11

May you bear with me in some little foolishness! But surely you will. I confess that I share the jealousy of God for you, for I have promised you in marriage to Christ, the only Spouse, to present you to Him as a pure virgin. And this is my fear : the serpent that seduced Eve with cunning could also corrupt your minds and divert you from the Christian sincerity.

Someone now comes and preaches another Jesus different from the One we preach, or you are offered a different Spirit from the One you have received, with a different Gospel from the One you have accepted – and you agree!

I do not see how I am inferior to those super Apostles. Does my speaking leave much to be desired? Perhaps, but not my knowledge, as I have abundantly shown to you in every way. Perhaps my fault was that I humbled myself in order to uplift you, or that I gave you the Gospel free of charge.

I called upon the services of other churches and served you with the support I received from them. When I was with you, although I was in need, I did not become a burden to anyone. The friends from Macedonia gave me what I needed. I have taken care not to be a burden to you in anything and I will continue to do so.

By the truth of Christ within me, I will let no one in the land of Achaia stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

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Wednesday, 17 June 2015 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are all reminded, of the purpose of our actions which we do as part of our faith in God. All of us ought to pray and to devote ourselves to God, through actions such as charity to others and fasting at the allotted time, such as during the season of Lent and on Good Friday, and abstain from meat on Fridays.

But all these observances and practices would mean nothing to us if we do not understand or know the significance of such practices. As an example, Jesus often criticised the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their very rigid and unbending observance of the Law, and while the intention may be good, but their blind obedience and devotion was their undoing.

When we pray, do we do it for the sake of fulfilling our faith obligations? And when we go to the Mass, do we do so out of fear that if we do not go to the Mass on Sundays then we will be deemed as sinful? Do we truly believe in what we do? Or do we do it without knowing its purpose? When we pray, we ought to know that we are communicating and talking with God in our hearts, so we open our hearts and allow God to enter into us and speak in the depth of the silence of our hearts.

When we do something charitable, we also open ourselves to the rich graces and love of God, and we become the extension of God’s love, through which He showed His mercy and love to men. And when we fast, we do so because we want to die to our desires and to our human needs, and therefore be more capable of focusing our attention to the Lord. It is truly about God, and not about ourselves.

Therefore, if we look at the examples, we should know that when we pray, when we go to the Mass, when we fast and when we do something charitable to others, it is truly about the Lord, and also about those whom we do our charity for, and not about ourselves. It is however a tendency for us to look into ourselves and become too focused on ourselves as we do all these good things.

It is imperative therefore, for us to reexamine ourselves and our focus in life, especially in how we live our faith lives. Have we been genuine in our devotion to God, or have we instead been so selfish and self-serving in our actions? If we are truly faithful, then we would try our best to do everything with proper understanding. It is also a lesson for all of us to take our faith seriously.

Remember, we need to have a correct understanding of our actions so that our actions may benefit us. When we do something, let us all do it for the sake of God and for the sake of others around us, and less for ourselves. Many of the vices and evils happen in our lives exactly because we put ourselves first above God and above others.

Indeed, let us all not seek praise for ourselves and the approval of the world. Let us all be more humble in everything and let go of the pride that often had its grip on our hearts. Let us seek to understand more of what we need to do to be truly faithful to the Lord our God. Give thanks to Him who have given us so much, and for all of His generous graces and blessings for us.

Our prayers and actions should not be dead or filled with self-gratification. Rather, they should be filled with the expression of love and devotion to the Lord, filled with joyful thanksgiving for God’s grace, and also for the mercy and forgiveness for all the sins and wickedness which we have committed in this life. May Almighty God be with us all, fill up our hearts with His love, that we may love Him ever more, through our prayers and through our actions in this life. God bless us all. Amen.