rebellion

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Saturday, 15 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

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

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord provided for His people out of His great love. He was moved with compassion seeing them all so faithfully following Him despite having no food to eat or place to properly lay their heads on at night. He showed His love to them, by giving them food to eat, that everyone may share in that food and be filled to satisfaction.

The people of God were lost, and they were lost in the darkness. The Lord was sorrowful for them and He wanted to show them His mercy. Ever since our ancestors betrayed the Lord’s trust and love, we have been cast out of God’s loving embrace, and separated from Him, we were indeed once like sheep lost in the wilderness without a shepherd to lead and guide them.

And the parallel can be drawn with what happened with the division of Israel between the son of Solomon, King Rehoboam, who ruled over Judah, and Jeroboam, the chosen usurper of the Lord who was given the ten tribes of Israel of the northern kingdom. The ten tribes was in a sense, torn apart from the whole unity of the twelve tribes of Israel, much like how our own ancestors were torn out of God’s grace because of their sins.

But Jeroboam did not fulfill well his appointed role as God’s shepherd for his ten tribes of the north, and he, like Solomon and Saul before him, was consumed with human emotions and in particular, the fear of losing his power and authority in the world. And in seeking to avoid that loss, he resorted to do things wicked and inappropriate before the Lord.

He created his own set of religious rules, established a new priesthood not based on the prescriptions of the Lord that is not of the Levite tribe, and also set up idols, in the image of the golden calf, so that the people under his rule would go and worship them instead of going to the House of God in Jerusalem. He feared that if his people were allowed to go to Jerusalem freely, his authority would be undermined.

He certainly had forgotten that the golden calf itself was the same reason for the Lord’s wrath against His people, when they threw away their faith in Him at Mount Horeb, committing a grievous rebellion and betrayal against the Lord. And Jeroboam lightly took the same offense and replicated it as his own, as part of his own insecurity of the fear of losing his power.

The people were misguided and they were misled by the king and his new laws and ordinances, they were led to believe in things that are against both the will of God and His laws. And sadly, what Jeroboam and his successors had done was truly no different from what mankind had done in the past few hundred years. And that exactly what had happened because of human ambitions and desire for glory, which caused my grief and damage to the Church of God.

Yes, I was referring to the attempts by many people to challenge the authority of the Faith and the Church, establishing their own independent ‘religions’, centred on themselves and their pride instead of on the Lord, the One and only God we should worship and focus our whole attention on. We all know what had happened, the people who had broken the unity of the Church of God and His people.

Martin Luther, John Calvin, King Henry VIII, and many other names that can be named are these people who walked the same path as that of Jeroboam. While some of their intentions might initially be good and noble, for the good of the Church and the people of God, but in the end they made up mess out of everything they did, and brought the people of God to sin. Yes, just as what Jeroboam had done.

They put their human interests and desires first before the interest of God. They put their human ambition and thinking ahead of the wisdom and love of God. Some of them even had the nerve to separate the people of God from the One and only Church, just so that they could serve their own purposes, like that of King Henry VIII who sought an heir so desperately so as to marry six times, and in the end it was still in vain, and he brought the people of God under his care to ruin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the week of prayer for Christian Unity might have been over close to a month ago, but that does not mean that we cannot continue to pray for unity. We have to continue to pray for unity without cease, and we have to hope and work daily for the unity of the faithful in the Church of God. Learning from the examples of Jeroboam, let us seek the reunion of our separated brethren who had followed the example of the wicked king.

Let us bring one another to our Lord, who wants to see us together, and who loves us so much. He wants to feed His people and give them nourishment of faith, just as He had done with the five thousand, feeding them with much food until they were completely satisfied. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray and pray hard for unity, and let us pray that God will continue to love us and grace us with His blessings. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 14 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk, and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 80 : 10-11ab, 12-13, 14-15

There shall be no strange god among you, you shall not worship any alien god, for I the Lord am your God, who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

But My people did not listen; Israel did not obey. So I gave them over to their stubbornness and they followed their own counsels.

If only My people would listen, if only Israel would walk in My ways, I would quickly subdue their adversaries and turn My hand against their enemies.

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Friday, 14 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cyril, Monk, and St. Methodius, Bishop, Patron Saints of Europe (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Kings 11 : 29-32 and 1 Kings 12 : 19

Once, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh found him on the road. The two of them were alone in the open country when Ahijah, who had a new garment on, clutched and tore it into twelve pieces.

He then said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself for this is the word of YHVH, the God of Israel : ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hands to give you ten tribes. Only one tribe shall be left to him for the sake of my servant David and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.'”

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to the present time.

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Thursday, 13 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

The faith of the Syro-Phoenician woman is an example to us all, an exemplary faith that we should all have. She was adamant in her faith, and unchanging, she persisted even after refusal and supposed rejection from the Lord for her plea. She persisted and her faith in God, in Jesus was truly genuine. She did not turn left or right in seeking the Lord but straight away push at Him and persisted in her faith, and for that she was rewarded.

Contrast this, brethren, with the faith of king Solomon, the son of David, God’s faithful servant and chosen king over Israel. King Solomon was wise, wealthy, and powerful, blessed by God far beyond every other ruler that had ever existed and will ever exist in this world of ours, and yet his faith was not firm and solid, and in his old age in particular, he gave in to the temptations of the world and did things wicked in the eyes of the Lord.

In our faith to the Lord we have to be direct, and we cannot be hesitant or half-hearted, because it is in that moment of hesitation, that a weakness in our hearts can appear, and the devil can utilise that weakness to attack us and make us to fall into sin. If we hesitate or not serious about our faith, then we are inviting trouble, akin to throwing the door of our hearts wide open for the devil to enter and wreck havoc in us.

That is what happened to king Solomon, and to a much lesser extent, to king David his father. David the father of Solomon, as we had heard in the past few weeks was guilty from some sins that he had committed, and yet his faith in God was and remained very strong. He was very passionate in his faith and he did not even hesitate to lead the people in praise to God.

David did let the devil to come into his heart, when he was taken by the beauty of Bathsheba, and when he was tempted by the power and glory he had received from God in the might of his kingdom, that he committed sin before God. But he was quick to repent and reaffirm his faith strongly to the Lord, without question and without much hesitation, if any.

Solomon let himself to succumb deeper into the temptation of Satan. Unlike David, Solomon had been blessed since the start of his reign, and his reign had been largely peaceful, and Solomon himself was blessed with great power, majesty, and wealth, which surpassed any other nations of his time and ever since. It was easy for Solomon to become lax and forget about how he had obtained all those glories in the first place.

Solomon’s downfall came from his many wives and concubines, whom he had taken from the many nations he had conquered and brought as his own. He loved them and certainly took pleasure at them, as was common in any king’s harem at the time. And through that, Satan infiltrated even deeper into Solomon’s heart, and as a result, he refused to listen to the rebuke and chastisement of God, who then resolved to punish Solomon and withdrew the blessings He had given him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the contrast between the faith of David, of Solomon, and of the Syro-Phoenician woman is an important lesson for all of us, that we should not take lightly the faith we have in God. A strong faith is a potent and powerful shield to defend ourselves from the influences of the devil, and it will also help us to keep our way to the Lord straight and firm, that we will not fall as Solomon had fallen.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take this opportunity to reaffirm our faith in the Lord, and continue to trust in Him. Let us also pray that God will continue to strengthen our faith, that we may be well defended in our battles against the forces of evil trying to persuade us to turn our back to the Lord as Solomon had done.

May God keep us straight in His path and show us the way, that we may walk in faith towards Him and be reunited with Him in glory for eternity. Amen.

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Thursday, 13 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 11 : 4-13

In Solomon’s old age, his wives led him astray to serve other gods and, unlike his father David, his heart was no longer wholly given to YHVH His God. For he served Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.

He did what displeased YHVH and, unlike his father David, was unfaithful to Him. Solomon even built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mountain east of Jerusalem and also for Molech, the idol of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

YHVH became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from YHVH, the God of Israel. YHVH appeared to him twice and commanded him not to follow other gods. But he did not obey YHVH’s command.

Therefore, YHVH said to Solomon, “Since this has been your choice and you have kept neither My Covenant nor the statutes I commanded you, I will take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I will not do this during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will take it from your son.”

“But I will not take it all; I will reserve one tribe for your son for the sake of David My servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen.”

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Saturday, 8 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins and Saints, or Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Psalm 118 : 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

How can young people remain pure? By living according to Your word.

I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.

In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.

Praise to You, o Lord; instruct me in Your statutes.

That with my lips I may declare all Your spoken decrees.

I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

2 Samuel 24 : 2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people that I may know how many they are.”

Joab gave the total count of the people to the king : eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah. But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to YHVH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, o YHVH, I ask You to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”

The following day, before David awoke, YHVH’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, “Go, and give David this message : I offer you three things and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.”

So Gad went to David and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give Him who sent me.”

David answered Gad, “I am greatly troubled. Let me fall into the hands of YHVH whose mercy is abundant; but let me not fall into human hands.” So YHVH sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba.

When the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, YHVH would punish no more and said to the angel who was causing destruction among the people, “It is enough, hold back your hand.” The angel of YHVH was already at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

When David saw the angel striking the people, he spoke to YHVH and said, “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let Your hand strike me and my father’s family.”

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Monday, 3 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, and St. Ansgar, Bishop (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Bishops)

Today we witnessed the exorcism conducted by Jesus our Lord on the possessed man of Gerasenes, and how even the evil spirits obeyed the Lord and feared His authority. In today’s readings, we listen about the concept of authority and power, and how mankind had interacted with these across time, with the story of the rebellion of Absalom, the son of David, and how Jesus cast out the demons from the man.

The authority of Jesus was clear. He was the Son of Most High God as the demons themselves proclaimed. He was the Word of God made flesh, incarnate into Man in Jesus through Mary His mother. The evil spirits, the Legion feared Him because they knew who He was, even if mankind could not recognise who He was.

The evil spirits feared Jesus as Lord not because He has wealth, influence, or power that denote greatness in our human eyes. The greatness of the Lord is not measured in terms of human power and glory. What is power and glory to us mankind have no meaning and are nothing before the Lord our God. Jesus Himself showed us all this through His own actions.

Jesus was great not just because He was already the Lord and Almighty God, but because in His actions He showed the perfection of God’s love and mercy to us all. He was great because even though He has power, majesty, and authority, He chose to come down and be our servant, that through His works, we may have new hope in Him, and as our Shepherd, He guided us through the narrow gates towards salvation.

As Jesus mentioned in His Last Supper with the disciples, that the true meaning of leadership is service. A leader must be the servant of the people whom he or she leads, and the power and authority that the leader has been given must not be misused. True authority does not equal oppressing others or destroying those whose ideas or views not necessarily in line with our own views and opinions.

The Lordship and authority of Jesus is one of humility and service, and He did not boast of His miracles and achievements, while mankind like us must have been tempted to glorify ourselves or seek praise and glory from others for what we have done, gaining credits for our works. The irony is that, it is always the devil and the evil spirits in league with him that clamoured to proclaim Him! Yes, such as the evil spirits that inhabited that man of Gerasenes.

The authority of Jesus in casting out the numerous demons, the Legion, from that man showed His power and sovereignty over all things, be it angel, man, or demons, and is a testimony clear enough for all of us today to hear. We are fortunate to be able to witness this testimony through the Holy Gospels written by the Holy Apostles, who witnessed what happened first hand on that day.

If we trust in the Lord and in His power, then we will have no need to worry, for our Lord will be with us and He will take care of us well, and He shows us how to live a good and faithful life. The contrast we can see in the first reading today, which is centred on the civil war in Israel, between king David, the faithful servant of God and his own son, Absalom.

Absalom as the oldest son of king David was driven by his youth and ambitions, and he aspired to be the king of Israel, even though his father was still the reigning king and the chosen one of the Lord. Absalom succumbed to the taste of power and human glory, and that doomed him, causing him to rise up in rebellion against his own father.

As the story would go, Absalom was defeated in that war, and he lost his life in the process. The example of Absalom and David in today’s reading showed the frail nature of human power and glory. Power and glory in human terms are just temporary. We cannot hope to depend on our human power, as if we depend on them as Absalom had done, then we shall fail.

In a way even king David also had a part of blame on himself in this matter. David as a king as was common among the kings of his time, had many wives and children. Having more wives and children was associated with power and glory, and the more wives and children one had, the more powerful and prestigious was one seen by their people and their neighbouring countries.

Trusting in human power and authority was what had made David, the faithful servant of God, to err in some occasions. First of which was his plot to kill Uriah after committing adultery with the latter’s wife, Bathsheba, despite Uriah’s great loyalty to him, and then David’s sin of wanting to count the number of the people of Israel and Judah, as if he revelled in the great glory God had given him and was immersed in a moment of self-glorification and self-praise.

And David met his troubles because of what he had done, be it the rebellions of his sons and their mischievous behaviours, or the disease and pestilence that swept across the land and killed many, as the sign of God’s displeasure. This is proof that trusting in human and worldly power does not bring us good. Rather than be proud of our own power, ability, and achievement, we should rather trust in the Lord and walk in His ways.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of two saints of the Church, that is of St. Blaise and St. Ansgar. St. Blaise was the well known patron for throat based diseases, which feast day usually saw the traditional blessing of the throats with two crossed candles. St. Blaise was a renowned physician who went around many places to heal peoples, often with miraculous results, and people flocked to him seeking the consolation of the flesh as well as the soul.

St. Blaise was a faithful follower of the Lord, and practiced his faith truthfully in the works that he had done, but when Christians were persecuted by the last persecution of Christians by Emperor Licinius of the Eastern Roman Empire, he was arrested by the governor of his province and subsequently was tortured and martyred for his faith in the Lord.

Meanwhile St. Ansgar was an Archbishop who lived in northern part of Germany during the late Dark Ages, and was renowned as the Apostle of the North, for his works of evangelisation, bringing the Good News of the Lord to many peoples in the northern Europe, where paganism still dominated most of the people. St. Ansgar tirelessly worked for the cause of the Lord and gained many converts, even baptising lords and kings of the pagans.

Despite his position in the Church, St. Ansgar did not have an easy work ahead of him. Often times many of his supporters withdrew their support from him, and St. Ansgar had to proceed with his missions with great difficulties. Yet, St. Ansgar persevered and he never complained. And the Lord gave him the help he needed through various sources, and he prevailed in his missions.

The examples of St. Blaise and St. Ansgar show that if we walk upright in the path of the Lord and if we remain faithful to Him and trust always in Him, then we have no need to fear at all about the work we are to do, our about our lives. God will care for us and He will protect us. He has all the power and authority, and no evil shall dare to approach us, for they know who they will be dealing with if they mess with us.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today therefore put our trust in God, and keep our faith in Him strong, especially avoiding the bad influences of this world, taming our greed and desire, particularly for power, authority, and influence among many others, and seek only for the Lord. May our Lord therefore be with us, and guide us to walk upright at all times in His ways, that we may never again fall into sin. Amen.

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Monday, 27 January 2014 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s theme is again continuing from the past few days’ theme on unity. That the words of Christ ring very true, how something divided against itself and each components opposed against each other, cannot survive or stand. He meant that for the devil, to show the Pharisees, how it was not possible for devil to exorcise evil spirits as they had accused Jesus of doing.

But He also meant it for us, for His faithful, that, we all should also not be divided against each other. We should seek on what unites us, or what may unite us rather than focusing on our differences and enmities. This ties in perfectly woth the theme of yesterday’s sunday readings, which focuses quite a lot on the avoidance of division and the importance of unity.

It is very true what Jesus had said, that a house divided against itself will not be able to stand. And our Church, that is the combination of all the faithful ones of God, will not be able to stand, if the faithful community is divided within, and divided along different lines of confrontations, we will end up be like that divided house, and we will not be able to stand against the forces of evil arrayed before us.

The first reading today from the second book of the prophet Samuel also took on a distinctive tone on unity, telling the story of what happened after the civil war that divided Israel after the death of their king Saul, and the ascension of David as king of Judah in Hebron. The people were divided between the descendants of Saul, and David who had been chosen by God Himself to be the new, rightful king over Israel.

That civil war for the kingdom of Israel was bitter, and they cost many lives. Some good warriors of both Judah and Israel were killed, and the war disadvantaged both sides. Today we saw how at the end of the conflict, the people of Israel came together to accept David as their king, and to recognise his kingship over them, and ultimately to overcome the bitterness of division which had taken its toll over them.

The kingdom of Israel would not be strong before the unity was achieved, and it was only after that civil war was ended that the nation would grow strong, and under the rule of both King David and Solomon, his son, that kingdom would grow to be very powerful, wealthy, and influential indeed. But, the bitter lesson of division continued to apply, and after another round of conflicting interests and feuds, the kingdom was split permanently in two, and the two halves were greatly weakened, ending with their subsequent destructions at the hands of their enemies, and the scattering of the people of God among many nations.

That is exactly what division can do to us, the faithful ones of God, if we are not careful. And Jesus also rightly pointed out that the devil cannot be divided among itself, and it means that the devil’s forces are united, against us! And they are united against us for a singular purpose, that is to bring about the fall of God’s people and to keep them away from the salvation awaiting them and instead join these forces of darkness in the eternal damnation that awaits them.

That is why it is important, and also appropriate, for us to avoid being divided ourselves, and for all of us to present a united front against the forces of Satan arrayed against us. That is why it is important, and very important for us, indeed, that we seek and fight for unity among us and put this as the first priority before everything else. Only when our house is in order, then we can go ahead and confidently fight the force of darkness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Angela Merici, a dedicated religious and virgin, who lived her life in great holiness and purity. St. Angela Merici was apparently very distressed when her sister passed away not in a state of grace and peace. She prayed and prayed hard to the Lord, and she saw a vision in which she saw her sister being in heaven among the saints.

St. Angela Merici also devoted her life to prayer and a devoted religious life, and she established a community of similar minded people, called the Company of St. Ursula, of women dedicated in a celibate life and pure virginity before God while committing themselves in service towards their brethren and neighbours around them.

St. Angela Merici might not have done great deeds in human terms, but her contributions to the faithful were indeed invaluable and great. St. Angela Merici showed us the model of Christian life, of how we should live our lives according to the precepts of the Lord. Yes, first is prayer, genuine and constant prayer, so that we will be ever attuned to the will of God and will remain true to His ways.

And secondly, that is to give of oneself in love and dedication, both to God and to the community of the faithful. This means to follow what the Lord asks of us, that is to love one another just as we should also love the Lord our God. In doing so, we will share God’s love with all those around us and make our communities and societies a more beautiful and loving ones.

And in order to tie this with the theme of today’s readings and reflections, as I often mentioned that divisions and feuds rose frequently because of our natural human tendency and vulnerabilities for sin. It is in our nature to be fearful, to be jealous, and to have pride and arrogance in our hearts, as well as greed and desire, that we tend to disobey the precepts of the Lord, and seek for our own greater glory.

In the history of the Church, divisions and conflicts most widely happened when the people of God, one or many among them, chose to ignore the true teachings and wisdom of the Lord, and instead rely on their own feeble and corrupted human mentality and emotions, resulting in conflicts of interests that often ballooned to conflict, not quite unlike what had happened in Israel during king David’s time.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, following the example of St. Angela Merici, let us first dedicate ourselves ever more strongly to our God, and promise to lead more holy lifestyle from now on, abandoning our human jealousies, pride, greed, and anger, and in exchange, receive the love and peace from God. Then, let us continue to persevere and seek the unity of all the faithful ones of God, that our Church will stand united again and will not be divided against itself, such that we may be able to stand against Satan and his forces. God be with us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 26 January 2014 : 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

God came unto us, to be our Light, the guiding light that enlighten our paths, that we may walk true and upright on His way, that we will not fall into temptation or walk towards the wrong ends. The Light of the world Himself had come in Jesus, that through Him, we who once were aimless and lived in darkness, may now know which direction to go, and how to reach towards salvation in God.

And in order to do so, it is important, as rightfully highlighted by St. Paul in his letter to the Church in Corinth, which was bitterly divided into factions at that time, that they stay united and strong in faith, rather than being divided by petty differences and human ambitions. Yes, this ties in perfectly with how the last week was the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, when we prayed sincerely for the Lord to help His Church to reunite once more, as One and only Church.

We have been divided far too often, ever since the time of the Apostles and the early Church fathers. Brothers and sisters in faith were divided against each other and could not agree on what the faith constitute, and resulting sometimes even in violence and bitter divisions, which sadly endured until this day. Indeed, it can be said that, many times, the Light of the world had come into this world to save it, but mankind continued to rebel against Him, and prefer to dwell in the false light that is Lucifer, Satan! The Devil!

It is important therefore that we all remember that our faith is all about Christ, and is all about devoting ourselves without division or distraction towards He who came to be our Saviour, and who liberated us from the chains of death. Our faith cannot be separated from Christ, or it may risk division as St. Paul had rightly warned the people.

The devil can easily corrupt mankind, and he can easily come into our hearts and sow the seeds of dissension and divisions, that we argue and hate one another, with the goal of separating us from Christ, and veil from us the truth represented by the light of God. That was how many of the divisions in the Church originated from, that is from human ambitions, from human arrogance and pride, and from human stubbornness, much like the stubbornness of the people of Israel of old.

God came to this world to be its Saviour, but His coming was not a leisurely walk in the park. Instead, it was filled with rejection and suffering. Mankind preferred to stay in their state of ignorance and darkness, rather than repenting their sins and walk once again with their God. And yet, Jesus continued to love them, and taught them the truth about Himself and about what God had put in place for all of them.

And lastly, He gave up Himself, and shedding His own Body and Blood, He offered Himself as the perfect Lamb of sacrifice, in atonement for our sins, that we all are made worthy and pure again through that sacrifice. And through His glorious resurrection, He defeated death forever, and released mankind from their bond and slavery to death and evil. It was this fact and this truth, which St. Paul tried very hard to project and spread to all peoples, together with the other disciples and apostles of Christ.

And many still refused to truly believe in the message of salvation. Many of them believed but many also did so halfheartedly. They did not give their total devotion to God, but instead keeping themselves at a distance from truly reaching out towards the Lord. That was why Satan was able to come and influence them, and as a result divisions, hatred, and conflict easily arose among the people of God.

And this had happened many times in the long history of the Church and the faith. Many, lured by the temptations of worldly power and corrupted by the sin of ambition, greed and pride, tore apart the unity of the Church, and spread false teachings that came not from God but from Satan, the false lightbringer. They spread chaos and confusion among the faithful, and often even taking advantage of the chaotic situation of the time, to spread their seeds of heresy.

Many examples of such dissension and heresies as we all know happen throughout the history of the Church, and they remain a very serious problem even today, and even as it will be in the future. Many people think that they are even better than God and His truth, and end up becoming false Messiah, bearing false news and false teachings that misled many and condemned many to damnation together with them.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, amid this increasingly difficult times, we should always hold firm our faith in God, that is in Jesus, the one and only true Light of the world, from whom we gain light and revelation of the truth, against all the falsehoods that Satan had placed in all of us. Jesus is our beacon of light, and the One who guides our way towards God the Father. If we do not turn to Him and devote ourselves entirely, seriously, and completely to Him, then we too may fall.

It is also our duty, brethren, to bring the Light of Christ to all peoples, especially to those who had been lost in darkness of this world and to those who had turned their back on Him. But we cannot do so, if we ourselves are divided against each other, and if we hate one another, because of the divisions and dissensions that separated us.

Even though the week of prayer for Christian unity is over, but we should not stop praying and working just there. Instead, day after day, month after month, and year after year we should continue to work hard for the unity of the faithful, and then, after that had been achieved, to bring the Light of Christ to the hearts of many, opening them to the Light, and hope that they may be redeemed in Christ, rejecting their past lives of sin and embracing new life in God.

May our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, and continue to bless us and shine upon our way with His light, that we will be able to continue to proceed on the way towards salvation, until the end when we reach Him, and together, we will enjoy forever the fruits of eternal glory with God. Amen.