persecution of the faithful

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Tuesday, 3 June 2014 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the continuation of the prayer of Jesus for His disciples, for all mankind and for the world. Jesus made clear to all of His disciples of the truth about all things on Himself and all the things that He had come into this world for. He made clear to all mankind that it is through Him all salvation will come from, and no one can reach the Lord other than through Himself.

God has given all to His Son, Jesus Christ, that in Him can be found hope and redemption. And it is this that we believe in and treasure as our faith. Jesus has given His all in order to save mankind, which was His mission upon coming into the world. Despite the difficulties and the challenges that He faced, He obeyed the will of the Father perfectly and thus bring glory to God and redemption to mankind.

Today’s readings are both about those who are about to face danger and peril, and in both cases, indeed they would face a violent death in the end. As we know and heard, Jesus in the Gospel today was praying for His disciples, and He did this during the time after the Last Supper just before He went through His Passion and suffer for our sake, and died on the cross.

In the first reading, St. Paul also showed his anguish, having been accused and resisted by many of those whom he had been sent to work with, and he was also about to be judged in Jerusalem, after having been arrested and sent back for judgment by the authorities. We know that eventually St. Paul would appeal to the Roman Emperor and asked to be judged in Rome, where he would eventually meet his end, by beheading on the order of the Emperor Nero, who instigated the first official persecution of the faithful and blame them for the fire of Rome.

But both of them did not fear the persecution and death they were to face. Instead, they welcomed death openly without fear, and they continued to work for the Lord’s sake all the way till the end. St. Paul continued to minister along his way to Rome, converting many to the Lord, including those in Malta and in Rome itself. And Jesus as we all know, healed the severed ear of the servant of the High Priest, Malchus, and He forgave those who condemned Him to death, on the cross itself.

This is an attitude and a way of life which we all should emulate in our own lives, that is to truly bring about a genuine and living faith in each one of us. We have to be like St. Paul and Jesus in their mission that they carried in complete faith to God the Father. And today, we celebrate the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, holy men who did not fear or hesitate to defend their faith unto death, and worked for the sake of the Gospel.

St. Charles Lwanga was born in what is today modern day Uganda in south-central part of Africa, and he was born into the then kingdom of Buganda, which still practiced animism and abhorrent practices, especially wicked sexual practices and perversions prevalent at that time, particularly those committed by the king of Buganda himself.

St. Charles Lwanga had quite a high and significant position in the court of the king, and while the whole court and country was made to reaffirm their paganistic beliefs and cast out Christianity, which when this happened just about one and a half decades ago, the faith of the One True God began to enter into Buganda and converted many to the true faith.

St. Charles Lwanga himself secretly converted to the faith and through his works in secrecy, he managed to convert many people, especially many convicts and others who then joined the true faith together with St. Charles Lwanga. But the end came for him, when he chose to stand by his faith, when the king’s sexual perversion and debauchery went bad and by persuading the victims of the king to adopt the faith and resist the king’s influences, St. Charles Lwanga and some others were punished and tortured, and were finally executed.

St. Charles Lwanga stayed faithful to the end, and publicly showed his faith to others, and even praying over his executors as they tortured him, hoping that they too will be baptised and receive the faith as he had done. His faith and devotion to the faith was truly commendable, and we too should be inspired by what he has done.

Our faith must be strong and vibrant, and we cannot be idle. We have to stand fast by the Lord’s side and not be afraid of rejection or persecution by the world or others disagreeable to our faith, that is those who are still in the darkness of Satan and the world. Let us all be courageous, and be inspired by St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, the Ugandan martyrs, in their faith, so that we may grow ever more worthy of the Lord and be righteous before Him.

May God be with us all, and may St. Charles Lwanga intercede for us together with his companions in heaven. May God help us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 3 June 2014 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Acts 20 : 17-27

From Miletus Paul sent word to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Church. When they came to Him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, how I served the Lord in humility through the sorrows and trials that the Jews caused me.”

“You know that I never held back from doing anything that could be useful for you; I spoke publicly and in your homes and I urged Jews and non-Jews alike to turn to God and believe in our Lord Jesus.”

“But now I am going to Jerusalem, chained by the Spirit, without knowing what will happen to me there. Yet in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and troubles await me. Indeed I put no value on my life, if only I can finish my race and complete the service to which I have been assigned by the Lord Jesus, to announce the Good News of God’s grace.”

“I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom of God will ever see me again. Therefore I declare to you this day that my conscience is clear with regard to all of you. For I have spared no effort in fully declaring to you God’s will.”

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Monday, 2 June 2014 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we indeed believe in God and we put our trust in Him. However, as we all witnessed in our own lives, and in today’s Scripture readings, we know that things are not always good and nice to us all the time. There will be moments of difficulties and challenges that we will need to overcome, and opposition and resistance will always be a part and parcel of our lives.

Today we celebrate the feasts of two saints and martyrs of the faith, who are truly renowned in the Church, that of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, both of whom received their martyrdom in the early fourth century, three hundred years after the birth of Christ. They went through one of the most intense period of persecution of the faithful, done by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the last of the systematic and thorough persecution of the faithful people of God.

Although not much informations from their era remained to tell us greater and more about their tales and life stories, but through the Church, which preserved the knowledge about them, the two saints and martyrs were faithful servants of God, as both a preacher and for the case of St. Peter, an exorcist who cast out demons and evil spirits. They went around proclaiming the Good News through words, deeds and actions.

However, at that time, the Roman Empire had not yet accepted Christianity, and to live as a Christian at that time, and in many of the preceding years, decades and centuries, it was best to keep it secret and well-hidden the fact that someone was a Christian, or else from various quarters, persecutions and oppositions against them, often ending in violent deaths, would happen.

These martyrs lived at a time when the most infamous and destructive of the persecutions happened, the Diocletian persecution, when Christians were literally hunted throughout the Empire for maintaining their faith. These persecutions occurred in waves of intensive and efficient hunt for the faithful, destroying their Scriptures wherever they can be found.

That was indeed a tough and trying time to be faithful and to be identified as such, but St. Marcellinus and St. Peter remained true to their calling, and continued to serve the people of God despite the obvious threats to their lives. They did not fear death or persecution, because they know that God is with them and ultimately that their lives belong to God.

They did not fear death or evil, also because the Lord through His Holy Spirit is in them. They received the Holy Spirit through baptism and the laying of the hands on their heads by the successors of the Apostles of Christ, and this empowered them to go on with their arduous and challenging ministry. Yet they did not give up because the Spirit gave them strength.

We too, brothers and sisters in Christ, have received the Holy Spirit and the grace of God through our baptism and our confirmation in the faith, and we therefore have been similarly empowered to be ministers of the Gospel and His servants in this world much like St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, who had ministered without fear and doubt, even when faced with persecution and certain death.

Brethren, the devil hates us all, and he will certainly do everything within his power to strike at us, just as he had once done to the holy martyrs both in Rome and in other places where the faithful faced grievous persecutions. Let us all be strong and be inspired by the examples of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, who had courageously defended their faith before God and before His people.

May God strengthen us, guide us, and be with us always, that we may bring glory to Him and save many souls from the darkness of the evil one in this world and together reach out to salvation in the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 1 June 2014 : Seventh Sunday of Easter, World Communications Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 4 : 13-16

Instead, you should be glad to share in the sufferings of Christ because, on the day His glory is revealed, you will also fully rejoice. You are fortunate if you are insulted because of the Name of Christ, for the Spirit of glory rests on you.

I suppose that none of you should suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone suffers on account of being a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace; rather let this Name bring glory to God.

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Saturday, 31 May 2014 : Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Zephaniah 3 : 14-18

Cry out with joy, o daughter of Zion; rejoice, o people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!

YHVH has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. YHVH, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune. On that day they will say to Jerusalem : Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for YHVH your God is within you, YHVH, saving Warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for He has revived His love.

For you He will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast. I will drive away the evil I warned you about, and you will no longer be shamed.

 

Alternative reading

 

Romans 12 : 9-16b

Let love be sincere. Hate what is evil and hold to whatever is good. Love one another and be considerate. Outdo one another in mutual respect. Be zealous in fulfilling your duties. Be fervent in the Spirit and serve God.

Have hope and be cheerful. Be patient in trials and pray constantly. Share with other Christians in need. With those passing by, be ready to receive them. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not wish evil on anyone. Rejoice with those who are joyful, and weep with those who weep. Live in peace with one another. Do not dream of extraordinary things.

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Monday, 26 May 2014 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 26 – John 16 : 4a

From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth. When this Helper has come from the Father, He will be My witness, and you, too, will be My witnesses, for you have been with Me from the beginning.

I tell you all this to keep you from stumbling and falling away. They will put you out of the synagogue. Still more, the hour is coming, when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God; they will do this, because they have not known the Father or Me.

I tell you all these now so that, when the time comes, you may remember that I told you.

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Saturday, 24 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and our Lady of Sheshan in China, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great event and a great day of prayer and asking for supplication, that is for the suffering that our brethren in faith suffers even this very moment, as they had for the past decades, of the great persecution and hostility against the faith and the faithful in China. Today is the day of universal prayer, when we, as one Church of God, pray as one for the deliverance of our brethren who are daily persecuted just because they remain faithful and true to the fullness of the truth that God has revealed and kept within His Church.

Today we also commemorate, perhaps very appropriately, the feast of our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary in her aspect as the Help of Christians, as the hope for all mankind who are in the darkness of this world and under the dominion of Satan, for Mary, as the mother of Jesus our Lord and Saviour, is the vessel through whom the Lord worked His great graces and power, that led to our salvation in Jesus.

Today also we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Sheshan, who is the representation of Mary the Help of Christians, the patroness of the Basilica at Sheshan near Shanghai in China, which was famous both in China and around the world, and one of the lasting symbol of the perseverance of the faithful throughout the many decades of persecutions against the faith and the faithful ones of God.

Today’s celebration and prayerful devotion is a vivid and strong reminder to all of us, that in our world today, despite it being generally easier for us to live in the world, with all the amenities and goodness and improvements in the living quality and standards, especially for those who live in the developed countries, not everything is always good for us. Persecution against the faithful is real, even in this day, and we should never think that persecution is only a thing in the past or during the Roman times.

These days, being a faithful person is getting ever more difficult, especially because there are more and more oppositions against the faith and as mankind grew in their power and achievements, they also grew in pride, and loathed having to be ‘ordered’ around by someone whom they deem to be inexistent in their faulty and lacking sense of understanding. Mankind grew in their opposition and resistance to the love of God and His ways, preferring to follow their own ways.

That is precisely the condition of the Church besieged around the world, from the West and the developed world in general where the faith is under serious attacks from the so-called secularism and relativism, especially in terms of moral and scientific relativism, which undermined the teachings of the Church on the faith in the hearts and minds of many among the faithful, leading them to fall into corruption and trap of the evil one. Mankind misused the wisdom and intellect given to them to serve their own purposes, and this even lead to them doubting about God and thinking that He is not present, using their scientific discoveries to try and proof that in vain.

Then, there are also many oppositions and persecutions by those affected by the heresies of the faith, and by those whose eyes had been clouded by the devil and therefore unable to comprehend the truth of the Lord, which He had revealed through Jesus, and from Him, through the Church and its teachings. These persecutions occur throughout the world, and many of our brethren suffer from it. Daily, there are new persecutions everywhere in the world, that even new martyrs arise every single day.

And we come to the main point of importance for this day, that is the persecution of our brethren in faith in China, and to a lesser extent, the persecution of the faithful and mankind in general, in other Communist and authoritarian states, most notorious being the state of North Korea, which continuously and without regards to human rights and nature, punish and torture countless peoples for opposing their authorities and out of fear of losing their absolute control and power over the people.

Let me give a brief history and explanation of how the Church in China came into this sad and unfortunate state of affairs. The faith was brought to China by many missionaries of the faith centuries ago, who persevered through oppositions and persecutions. The faith grew very rapidly and soon millions of the faithful came forth in that country with the oldest civilisation in the world. They managed to reconcile their faith with their culture and all the differences between them.

As the Chinese monarchy and Empire crumbled and replaced by republican governments just over a century ago, and the people and the faith went through a difficult time, and wars and conflicts were commonplace in those turbulent years, culminating in a deadly and devastating war, between China and Japan that took the lives of millions. And yet, during those difficult times, the faith continued to grow rapidly.

But the devil certainly did not rest and he worked hard to undermine the successes that we had achieved. The Communists that first spread from Russia and then into China, brought great ruin and suffering for the faithful. They followed the godless, atheistic and anarchic teachings and ideologies of Karl Marx, or Marxism, who argued that religion is the opium of the masses that is the people, because to him religion gave people false hope. This shows how mistaken Karl Marx was and how ignorant he was in the faith, the one true and only faith.

Yet, people took the idea seriously, and as Marxist ideas propagate by rising along the line of class divide and class warfare, gaining the support of the poor supermajority, Communism became very popular and brought about great trouble for the faithful, in many parts of the world. And although persecution of this nature had ended with the inevitable fall of many Communist regimes around the world just around two decades ago, but in countries like China and North Korea, persecution continues right until today.

In China, the advent of the Communist power in there spelt trouble for the faithful and for the Church, when in 1949, the Communists won the power struggle for the ultimate power and control in China, and persecution had continued ever since in various ways and methods. For more than six decades, the faithful had been subjected to varying degrees of persecution, be it openly or subtly, and many martyr were born out of this great persecution.

The Communist and atheist government tried to control the Church by creating their own ‘official church’ which they controlled with absolute power and tyranny to partially give a facade that the government tolerated freedom of religion and faith, but in fact, until today, is greatly fearful and opposed to the Church and to the faith, rightly so because they built their authorities on the power of the devil, and with the faith, the devil shall fall, and so will those who depend on his power.

They forced the faithful to go through forced labour and intense concentration camps, through various tortures and punishments, and yet they failed miserably, as the faith will only grow ever stronger with persecutions, and they will not succeed. They acted in desperation for they fear of losing their power, but the Holy Spirit will certain not remain silent. As He had done before, He will come and then transform this world anew, and yes, transform China anew!

Brothers and sisters, let us all pray, and pray hard for the deliverance of our brethren in faith, who are persecuted and discriminated daily for their perseverance to remain faithful to the truth in the Lord. We are in this sense, very fortunate that we have such freedom to practice our faith, but again, we have to be ever vigilant, that we do not fall into the trap and temptations of Satan. Let us pray for the many missionaries who work in spreading the Good News, be it openly or clandestinely in the country of China and North Korea, and many other parts of the world that are still in darkness.

May our Lord, together with His blessed mother Mary, the help of all Christians, protect and help all those who suffer for His sake, and those who keep alive faithfully their faith and devotion to Him. May they all be safe and be blessed day after day, and may we also be inspired by their perseverance and dedication to Your Most Holy Name. Lord, bless China and her people, and may Your Name be known throughout that country, that the whole people may know You and turn to You as their Lord and Saviour. Amen!

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Saturday, 24 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and our Lady of Sheshan in China, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 18-21

If the world hates you, remember that the world hated Me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own. But you are not of this world, since I have chosen you from the world; because of this the world hates you.

Remember what I told you : the servant is not greater than his master; if they persecute Me, they will persecute you, too. If they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. All this they will do to you for the sake of My Name, because they do not know the One who sent Me.

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Saturday, 24 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and our Lady of Sheshan in China, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 99 : 2, 3, 5

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God; He created us and we are His people, the sheep of His fold.

For the Lord is good; His love lasts forever and His faithfulness through all generations.

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Saturday, 24 May 2014 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of Mary Help of Christians and our Lady of Sheshan in China, World Day of Prayer for the Church in China (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 16 : 1-10

Paul travelled on to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy lived there, whose mother was a believer of Jewish origin but whose father was a Greek. As the believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him. So he took him and, because of the Jews of that place who all knew that his father was a Greek, he circumcised him.

As they travelled from town to town, they delivered the decisions of the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for the people to obey. Meanwhile, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number every day.

They travelled through Phrygia and Galatia, because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

There one night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and begged him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” When he awoke, he told us of this vision and we understood that the Lord was calling us to give the Good News to the Macedonian people.