Post Pentecost

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Wednesday, 10 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 18 : 20-39

So Ahab sent for all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah addressed the people and asked, “How long will you follow two ways at the same time? If YHVH is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God then follow him.” The people remained silent.

So Elijah continued, “I am the only prophet of YHVH left here to face Baal’s four hundred and fifty prophets. Get us two bulls. Let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood; and I will do the same with the other bull. But we will not set it on fire. Then you shall call on the name of your gods while I shall call on the Name of YHVH. The God Who answers with fire is the true one.” Then the people answered, “That is right.”

Then Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many. Then call on the name of your god lest you are left without fire!” So they took the bull and prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice; and no one answered them while they went on, dancing on one foot around the altar they had built.

By noontime, Elijah began to mock them, “Shout out louder. Baal is a busy god; or he may have gone out, or perhaps he has gone on a trip, or he is sleeping and must be wakened.” So they shouted louder gashing their skin with knives, as they are used to doing, until they bled. It was already past noon and they were still raving on, until the time of the evening offering. But still there was no voice. No one answered or gave a sign of life.

Then Elijah said to the people, “Draw closer to me,” and the people drew closer to him. He then repaired the altar of YHVH which had been thrown down. He took twelve stones corresponding to the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob whom YHVH had addressed saying, “Israel shall be your name.” With these stones, he built an altar to the Name of YHVH; and dug a trench around it that would contain about thirty litres.

He then arranged the firewood, cut the bull in pieces and laid them on the wood. Then, he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the firewood.” He said, “Do it again;” and they did it again; “one more time,” and they did it a third time. The water ran around the altar and filled the trench.

When the time of the evening offering came, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O YHVH, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel; and that I am Your servant, doing all these things at Your command. Answer me, o YHVH, answer me so that this people may know that You, o YHVH, are God; and that You are turning back their hearts to You.”

Then the fire of YHVH fell and consumed the burnt offering, together with the wood, the stones also, and the dust; the water also dried up in the trench. All the people witnessed this. Then they fell on their faces and said, “YHVH is God! YHVH is God!”

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Tuesday, 9 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Deacons)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, all of us heard of the story of the prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in our first reading today, and followed by the parable of the Lord, the famous parable of the salt of the earth and the light of the world in our Gospel passage today. Through all these, all of us as Christians are reminded to be ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’ in all of our words, actions and deeds.

In our first reading today taken from the First Book of Kings, we heard of the story of how the prophet Elijah went to the region of Sidon, during the time of the three years of great drought and famine, in which the whole land of Israel and the surrounding regions were deprived of any rain, with the whole land in drought and lacking water, and hence, are in great suffering for the lack of food. But the people remained stubborn in sin, especially the king Ahab, which caused the prophet Elijah to have to flee to the neighbouring territories.

It was in this occasion that the prophet Elijah encountered a widow in the town of Zarephath, who was also having difficulty herself, as she was bereft of hope and despairing, hoping that she could just have one last meal for herself and her son before they died out of food and income from the famine and drought. But the prophet Elijah told the widow to have faith in God, and to provide for him with food as he had requested, for the Lord would definitely take good care of her and provide for her for her faith.

The widow trusted Elijah and did as the prophet asked of her. Miraculously, the flour she used to make the bread for the prophet Elijah did not run out, as with the oil she used to make the bread. God provided for both His prophet Elijah, as well as for the widow of Zarephath and her son, whom at that time belonged to the non-Israelites living outside the bounds of the land of Israel. She was a pagan, and yet, she chose to believe in God and open her heart and mind to the Lord’s words and truth.

Through the love and the compassion, the kindness that the prophet Elijah showed to the widow, he himself had been blessed by God. And in later occasion, still during the drought as Elijah stayed for some time with the widow, the son of the widow fell seriously ill and died. The widow was very distraught at the loss of her son, but the prophet Elijah reassured her and entrusted the dead son to the Lord’s mercy and love. And through his prayers, the Lord resurrected the son of the widow and returned him to life.

Certainly, through all these, the widow must have become a firm believer in God, in contrast to the lack of faith among the Israelites and their king, Ahab. And in this way, the prophet Elijah had indeed showed us what it means for us to be ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’. Why is that so? That is because in the depth of her despair and darkness, the prophet Elijah had shown the path to liberation and salvation, to a new hope in God, even though he himself had been in difficulty himself.

In our Gospel today, we heard these two parables the Lord mentioned, on the salt of the earth and the light of the world, two very important commodities especially at that time. Salt was a very important preservative that helped to keep a lot of food produce from spoilage and was also important in its use in giving flavour to the food, while light was crucial in a society before the advent of cheap and easily obtainable light sources using electricity, in a world where darkness was often feared, and how light was so essential for many people’s livelihood.

Therefore, the Lord is calling on each and every one of us to be the bearer of this new hope and strength, courage and perseverance to one another during times of great difficulties and challenges. This is especially relevant this year, considering the numerous troubles, trials, dangers and problems we have encountered in the first few months of this year alone. How have we as Christians acted in the midst of all these challenges? Have we borne hope and light into our communities, and helped one another to shore up hope amidst despair and strength amidst weakness? Or have we instead been preoccupied with fear ourselves, and failed to put our trust in God, and ended up causing even more darkness, negativities and evil?

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Ephrem the Deacon, a holy man of God, whose life can be additional inspiration for us on how we ought to be ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’. St. Ephrem the Deacon lived during the early years of the acceptance of Christianity as the widespread religion and faith of the Roman Empire, and he was remembered for the immense collections of his many writings, poems and works, many of which inspired countless people to follow the Lord with greater zeal and faith.

St. Ephrem might not have had wonderful and mighty deeds filled with miracles and glory, and yet, in his tireless efforts and works in writing, in composing and creating inspiration and faith-filled contents in his numerous books, works and poems, he has become that ‘salt of the earth’ by enriching the lives of others, and the ‘light of the world’ by showing the light of God to those who were still in darkness and ignorance of God’s truth and love.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to dedicate ourselves to the Lord as the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world’ from now on? Let us all commit ourselves anew and be inspired by the good examples of our holy predecessors, and be good Christians from now on in words, actions and deeds, at all times. May the Lord bless us all and guide our path, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Deacons)

Matthew 5 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “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.”

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Tuesday, 9 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Deacons)

Psalm 4 : 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

Answer when I call, o God, my justice! When I was in distress, You gave me solace. Have compassion on me and hear my plea. And you, people, how long will you harden your hearts? How long will you delight in deceit and go in search of falsehood?

But you must know that YHVH has shown His kindness to me. When I call to Him, He hears me. Be angry, but do not offend. Keep your words to yourself, when you are in bed, and be still.

Many ask, “Who will give us a happy time? Would, that His favour shine upon us!” You, o YHVH, have put joy in my heart; more than by giving me wine and food.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Deacons)

1 Kings 17 : 7-16

After a while, the brook dried up because no rain had fallen in the land. Then YHVH spoke to Elijah, “Go to Zarephath of the Sidonites and stay there. I have given word to a widow there, to give you food.”

So Elijah went to Zarephath. On reaching the gate of the town, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said, “Bring me also a piece of bread.”

But she answered, “As YHVH your God lives, I have no bread left, but only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just now gathering some sticks so that I may go in and prepare something for myself and my son to eat – and die.”

Elijah then said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go, and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. For this is the word of YHVH, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be emptied nor shall the jug of oil fail, until the day when YHVH sends rain to the earth.’”

So she went and did as Elijah told her; and she had food for herself, Elijah and her son from that day on. The jar of flour was not emptied nor did the jug of oil fail, in accordance with what YHVH had said through Elijah.

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Monday, 8 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture listening first of all to the account from the First Book of Kings in which we heard of the great drought and famine that occurred during the reign of king Ahab of Israel. At that time, king Ahab was infamous as one of the most sinful among the kings of Israel, as he and his wife, queen Jezebel did not just disobey God and led the people of the northern kingdom of Israel into sin, but their deeds such as the murder of Naboth the vinegrower was truly wicked and evil.

The drought and famine were not meant to make the people to suffer without reason or justice. Rather, the Lord wanted to remind them all that their wickedness and evil have not been in accordance with the natural law, and as a result, with nature out of balance, they had to suffer by their refusal to obey the Lord and by ignoring His calls for them to repent from their sins and return to Him.

Meanwhile, the prophet Elijah who was sent to minister to the people of Israel had to suffer a lot as well, as he was one of the few prophets who remained in Israel. Many of the other, earlier prophets had been persecuted and even killed, exiled and cast out from the land. Prophet Elijah was alone in his courageous efforts to turn the people back towards God, against not only just the king and the queen, but also against the worshippers of Baal and the other pagan gods, with the Baal priests alone numbering at least four hundred and fifty.

It would be difficult not to think that the prophet Elijah might have considered to give up his very difficult and challenging ministry, working among a people that were not open and willing to listen to his words and the words of God. But God reassured Elijah that those who remained faithful in Him would not be disappointed, for there would be justice given to them, just as the right justice and punishment would also be due to those who consistently and stubbornly refused to listen to Him.

In our Gospel reading today, then we heard of the famous Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus, also known as the Beatitudes. These are a series of eight pronouncements by the Lord, as a very powerful reassurance to those who have listened to the Lord, followed Him, obeyed Him and walked in His ways. This is just what the Lord reassured the prophet Elijah with, and after hearing the punishment due to the wicked in our first reading, then we heard how being faithful to God is truly a good thing.

Therefore, as we heard, the Lord said that we are truly blessed if we are poor in spirit, mourn, gentle, hunger and thirst, gentle, merciful and being peacemakers, and these are reminders for all of us that as Christians, we are called to live our lives with virtues, obeying God’s laws, show love to our fellow brethren, and when we encounter challenges and difficulties, persecutions and troubles for being faithful then we must not give up our faith. All of us have to remain strong in our faith and stay committed to the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scriptures today, we are all encouraged and called to walk with the Lord and to follow Him. We are called to devote ourselves, our time and effort for the greater glory of His Name following the examples of the ancient prophets like Elijah, as well as our many saints and martyrs, our predecessors in the faith. And we are reassured by God, that no matter what, if we are faithful to Him, then we will be protected and strengthened.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment to be ever more faithful from now on, to be more Christian in our way of life, to be good examples of our Christian virtues and actions in our every way of life and in our every interactions with one another. May the Lord be our Guide, source of strength and provide us with what we need, just as He protected and guided the prophet Elijah in his perilous missions and journeys. Amen.

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Monday, 8 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 1-12

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them :

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.”

“Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”

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Monday, 8 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 120 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

I lift up my eyes to the mountains – from where shall come my help? My help comes from YHVH, Maker of heaven and earth.

Will He let your foot slip, the One watching over you? Will He slumber? No, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.

YHVH is your Guardian; YHVH is at your side; and you, in His shade; sunstroke will not be for you by day, nor the spell of the moon, by night.

YHVH guards you from every evil; He will protect your life. YHVH watches over your coming and going, both now and forever.

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Monday, 8 June 2020 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 17 : 1-6

Now Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHVH, the God of Israel Whom I serve lives, neither dew shall drop nor rain fall except at My command.”

Then the word of YHVH came to Elijah, “Leave this place and go eastward. Hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook and, for your food, I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

So Elijah obeyed the word of YHVH and went to live by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. There the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

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Sunday, 7 June 2020 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Trinity Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, one week after the Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, or also known as the Trinity Sunday. On this day we celebrate this very important and crucial aspect of the Christian faith, one that distinguishes itself from all the other Abrahamic and monotheistic faith, because we believe in the One and only True God, Who manifested Himself in Three Divine Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Since the very beginning of the Church, that is from the time of the Apostles, the Church had always believed in the Most Holy Trinity, through the truth that the Lord Himself had revealed to them, from the Father Who revealed to all and created all, and the Son, Who has descended into this world and revealed Himself in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, Whom the disciples had lived with, spoken with and interacted with, having seen His suffering and death on the Cross, and then His Resurrection and glorious Ascension into Heaven, and finally, the Holy Spirit Who came down upon them all on Pentecost.

The Church has always believed in the One and only True God in the Three Divine Persons, but for centuries, Church leaders and theologians debated and discussed the details of what this truly mean for the Lord Whom they all served. Unfortunately, there had been quite a view dissenting voices and ideas that came up from these disagreements over the nature of the Holy Trinity, which saw some rejecting the Holy Trinity altogether, or known as Unitarianism, a heresy that existed in different forms even to this very day.

Then there were also those like the Arians, who argued that the relationship between the members of the Most Holy Trinity is an unequal one, with the Father being superior over the Son, and the Son being subservient to the Father, as the Arians believed that the Son did not exist together with the Father from the very beginning, but rather, was merely the first to be created by the Father, and therefore, is inferior in nature to the Father. All of these false teachings came about from misunderstanding in the words of the Scripture which the Arians claimed as support for their argument, without understanding the whole truth.

Then there were also those who claimed that the Holy Spirit was also inferior, or was merely an ‘energy’ and not a Divine Person, essentially limiting the Persona into the duality of the Father and the Son. All of these were also rejected by the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, which prevailed over the heresies mentioned, and the Church fathers, after an often bitter and long struggle, managed to defend the true, orthodox and genuine Christian faith as we have it today, the faith of the Apostles themselves.

St. Athanasius the Great, the Patriarch of Alexandria in the fourth century in particular was renowned for his steadfast defence of the true faith against the encroachment of heresies, especially that of Arianism, which at that time were especially prevalent and had many support from many among the clergy, even many among the bishops. But the impassioned defence of the true faith from the faithful bishops and priests, led by St. Athanasius helped to turn the tide of battle against the heretical ideas.

St. Athanasius himself encountered plenty of difficulties and challenges throughout his ministry, having to go into exile a few times and facing opposition not only from the rebellious and heretical bishops and priests in his See and beyond, but even from the secular nobility, the powerful and at times, even the Emperors at Constantinople themselves. Yet, he remained resolute and firm, dedicated and faithful in his struggle to keep the truth and orthodoxy in the Christian faith, writing one of his famous contributions to the Church, the Athanasian Creed, in full support of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Although some argued that he was not the actual author of the Creed, but the ideas contained within the Creed speak volumes of the ideas of St. Athanasius, which is why he was credited with the origin of this venerable Creed.

I am sure all of us are familiar with the Nicene or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, as well as the Apostles’ Creed. Yet, definitely there are only a few of us who may be aware of what the Athanasian Creed is, less still being able to recite it with faith. For this Athanasian Creed itself is much longer and a lot more detailed even compared to the Nicene Creed, containing the basic essence of the Creed, but with special and really particular emphasis on the Trinitarian nature of our Christian faith, stressing and emphasising the relationship between each members of the Holy Trinity to each other.

As the Athanasian Creed has it, the Holy Trinity is described as, ‘And the Catholic faith is this: that we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Essence.’ And this part emphasises how there is only One God, and yet, the same One God exists in the form of Trinity of Unity, where each of the members of the Holy Trinity are distinct from one another, but yet equal to each other, and are perfectly united in Essence that they are at the same time, indivisible, for removing even one will diminish that Oneness of God.

And then it continues with ‘For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all One; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.’ And this part show us yet again the Unity between the Three Divine Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, which are also at the same time, easily distinguished one from the other without confusion, each with equal Glory and Majesty, and all Co-Eternal with each other, from before the beginning of time, through all time, to the end of time and forevermore.

The Creed keeps on going, repeating several times with very strong and firm affirmation that each of the members of the Holy Trinity are the same One God, equally God, none superior or inferior over the other, ‘the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God’ and ‘And yet They are not three Gods but One God’. And the relationship between each of the members of the Holy Trinity is explained clearly in that same Creed, as the Son is begotten by the Father, not created and co-eternal with Him, showing how the Son already existed from the very beginning, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father through the Son.

That last portion regarding the Holy Spirit had also divided Christianity even until this very day, as our brethren in the Orthodox Communion refused to accept the fact of this ‘proceeding’ of the Holy Spirit through the Son from the Father. This they argued because of the misunderstanding in the language and the fine differences in the literary understanding of the word ‘proceeding’. Historically, in the Greek language, the word ‘proceeding’ showed a clear subordinate relationship between the one that proceeded to the one it is proceeding from. Yet, no such subordination existed in the Latin language.

Thus, we, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church has always believed in the Holy Spirit that came to us from the Father, and proceeded through the Son, Jesus Christ, all being co-equal and co-eternal with each other, none being subordinate or superior over the other, the Holy Spirit merely passed through the Son to us, in the same manner the Lord Jesus breathed over His disciples and said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit, whomever sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whomever sins you retain, they are retained.’

Brothers and sisters in Christ, such was the deep mystery and detail in the very nature of our God, One and yet existing in Three Divine Persons, distinct, co-equal and co-eternal with each other, that there had been many misunderstandings both from within the Church itself, and from those who were outside the Church. There had been many who mistakenly accused Christians as polytheists and worshipping three Gods instead of One, but this is because they did not understand what it means by the Holy Trinity. How about us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Have we ourselves understood the meaning and importance of the Most Holy Trinity?

One way to understand the concept of the Holy Trinity, its presence of three easily distinguishable aspects and yet unquestionable unity is by using the example of a burning flame. A burning flame has three important aspects that can be easily distinguished, namely the appearance and state of the flame itself, and then the heat generated by the flame, and finally the light given out by the flame. For all of us, I am sure we know that while each of these stimulates different parts of our senses, but we know that we cannot separate each aspect of the flame from the other.

What does this mean? It means that, if we remove the light of the flame, then we can no longer recognise the flame as it is. Similarly, if we see a flame and we can see its shape and the state of the flame, and yet feel no heat, it is no longer a flame as we know it. And then, if we can feel the state of the flame, that is because of the excited particles of the air heated up and filled with energy, and feel its heat, and yet, if the flame emits no light, then how can we believe that it is flame and not something else?

Another good example to compare this concept of the Holy Trinity, is that of honey, as honey is the product of bees collecting the various flowers’ nectar, which they mixed with their own secretions to create the ever-healthy and good honey, provided that it is naturally obtained and produced. In natural honey, we know that it is honey when we touch it, feel its viscosity and particular texture, and then taste its sweetness and unique, floral taste, and finally, smell its similarly floral and nice, unique smell. Each of these aspects help us to identify that this substance is honey and not something different.

Imagine if we have what is allegedly natural honey, and yet, when we touch, it feels so diluted and runny, so as to look like merely water? Will we believe if people told us that this is natural honey? Certainly not. Similarly, if we have what is allegedly natural honey, correct by feel and touch, having the right viscosity, and yet, tastes very differently or even taste horrible? And honey can also be fermented into alcohol under the right condition, and in that case, it is no longer honey, but mead! Lastly, in a similar way, if we have what is allegedly natural honey, and yet it smells very different, although it feels like honey and tastes like honey, then it is not honey.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, using these examples of the flame and honey, we can see how the concept of the Holy Trinity is not as difficult as it may seem to us to understand. Of course, being one of the most profound mysteries out there, there are still a lot about the Holy Trinity that we may not fully understand, but at least, a basic understanding of its concept is very important for us all as Christians to have strong and genuine faith in God. And often, it does not need to be very complicated and difficult to do so.

Historically, St. Patrick was also well-known for using the iconic three-leaf clover as the symbol of the Holy Trinity, teaching the concept to the pagans there about God, One in Unity and yet existing in Three Divine Persons. The united nature of the three-leaf clover’s three leaves makes it such that separating one of the leaf from the three-leaf clover makes it no longer a three-leaf clover, much like taking out the heat of the flame no longer make it recognisable as flame, or removing the taste from honey which makes it no longer recognisable as honey.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate this Trinity Sunday, let us all carefully study and understand the basics of the concept of the Holy Trinity, that we may understand and appreciate better what our Christian faith is all about, and Who our God truly is. Let us all renew our faith and conviction in serving Him, loving Him and when possible, share the truth about His Holy Trinity to others. Whenever there is confusion and misinformation, hopefully we ourselves can stand up for our faith, explaining briefly to dispel the misconception, perhaps by using the example of the ‘flame’, ‘honey’ or even St. Patrick’s three-leaf clover mentioned earlier.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord, the Most Holy Trinity, in Whom we have been baptised, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Let us be thankful and be appreciative of the love of the Father, be inspired and strengthened by the obedience of the Son, and be encouraged and filled with zeal by the power of the Holy Spirit. May all of us be genuine and strong Christians, in all aspects of life, now and always. Amen.