redemption

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Monday, 4 November 2013 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Bishops)

Romans 11 : 29-36

Because the call of God and His gifts cannot be nullified. Through the disobedience of the Jews the mercy of God came to you who did not obey God. They in turn will receive mercy in due time after this disobedience that brought God’s mercy to you. So God has submitted all to disobedience, in order to show His mercy to all.

How deep are the riches, the wisdom, and knowledge of God! His decisions cannot be explained, nor His ways understood! Who has ever known God’s thoughts? Who has ever been His adviser? Who has given Him something first, so that God had to repay Him?

For everything comes from Him, has been made by Him and has to return to Him. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

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Sunday, 3 November 2013 : 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we hear today how the Lord loves all, even the rich, the privileged, and the sinners. He cares for everyone without distinction of class or rank. What matters to Him is, how dedicated we can be to Him, giving all of our very beings, committed to Him in prayer.

Today, we heard the story of Zaccheus the dwarf, who was a tax collector and a rich man. He climbed the tree despite the obvious difficulty he faced because of his height, just so that he can see Jesus who came to visit the area. The Lord praised him and his faith, particularly in front of those who slander him and Jesus Himself for interacting with a person widely considered as a traitor and a great sinner at the time of Jesus.

This was because, at that time, the place where Jesus conducted His ministry, the present day Israel and Palestine, was under the rule and authority of the Roman Empire, as the province of Judea. The Romans imposed taxes on all their provinces and territories, and in this, they employed the local merchants and agents to conduct the tax collection.

Those people then became wealthy, as they were well paid by their Roman employers, but they became the objects of scorn by their own people, seeing them as traitors who sold their race and their nation to the Romans and get profits and much money from doing so. This is of course not true, but it is what most people believed in, and as such, they developed stereotypes against the tax collectors like Zaccheus and dissociated themselves from these ‘wicked’ people.

That was why the people sneered when Jesus said to Zaccheus that He wanted to have a meal at his place and eat together with him. They did so because they must have thought, how can a teacher and a prophet (to them) like Jesus be mingling together with such sinners, traitors in fact no less. This is compared to the Pharisees who were well respected in the Jewish society, who disdained sinners and considered themselves holy above all others.

It is their pride that became their downfall. They pride themselves in their holiness and great piety, which they had achieved through prayer and rituals they went through every day. But in fact, in their hearts, they do not have God. God was absent from their hearts, and His love did not take root in them. Instead, it is in ‘sinful’ man like Zaccheus, where the Lord truly resided, and made his heart His residence.

Our Lord and God is truly loving and merciful, brothers and sisters, because He is willing to forgive the sins of even great sinners like Zaccheus, providing that they come and seek His mercy and love in humility. And that was precisely what Zaccheus had done. He surrendered himself, baring his sins to God, and made a public proclamation of faith to God. He was sinful, yes, and yet through his humility and love for God, he was forgiven and given glory, while those who slandered sinners and did not acknowledge their sins were rebuked.

God gives mankind many chances to repent, to acknowledge their sinfulness, abandon their old lifestyle of sin, and embrace His laws and precepts, that is basically love, following what Christ had told us in His ministry. Yet, to many of us, it is not easy for us to look away from our sins and instead focus ourselves towards God. We have often been so immersed in our sins, that we have been ensnared deeply by them. Yet, that does not mean that we have no hope.

Indeed, as I always would like to say, the greater the sinner is, the more likely that one is to be aware and to be ashamed of his or her sins. The greater a sinner is, the more that the person can be aware of how evil his or her actions, words, and deeds had been, and consequently approach closer and closer towards the throne of the Divine Mercy, that is God.

This is of course not for everyone, as not many will come to realisation of their sins, or have the desire to repent from those sins. Regardless of how great and how many the sins we have committed, it is often that we either ignore the sins we have committed or commit even more sins. As such, we fall deeper and deeper into the path towards damnation, and away from God our loving Father.

We have to be more like Zaccheus, for despite his sinfulness and how he was slandered in the society for their perception of him, he did not shy himself from meeting the Lord and making the effort to come and see Him, again despite his short stature which made it difficult for him to do so. We ought to be more like him, in making that effort, to seek the Lord, remorseful and shameful of our own sins, and make the same commitment as Zaccheus, to do what is good from then on. Either as an act of charity as Zaccheus had done, or through even simple acts of love to others in need.

Another thing that we have been taught today is, not to become like the people who slandered Zaccheus and Jesus our Lord, simply because of their prejudices and bias, formed by preformed concepts they had on Zaccheus as the ‘traitorous’ tax collector. We should not be quick to judge others for what they are, and indeed we must not judge, as Jesus, in other instances had taught us so.

Why so? That is because if we judge others, then we too can be judged, and often that we who did not notice our own sins, will be judged more than the one whom we had judged. We should never form any prejudice or preconceptions in our minds about anyone, and even if the person has shortcomings in him or her. Rather, what we should do is that we should encourage and help each other, supporting each other on the path towards salvation.

Therefore, let us today aspire to become more like Zaccheus, seeking the Lord in our lives, and vow to change our ways for the better. May the Lord who loves us continue to watch over us, bless us, and empower us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 November 2013 : 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 19 : 1-10

When Jesus entered Jericho and passed through the city, a man named Zaccheus lived there. He was a tax collector and a wealthy man. He wanted to see what Jesus was like, but he was a short man and could not see Him because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree. From there he would be able to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way.

When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, Zaccheus, come down quickly, for I must stay at your house today.” So Zaccheus climbed down and received Him joyfully.

All the people who saw it began to grumble, and said, “He has gone as a guest to the house of a sinner.” But Zaccheus spoke to Jesus, “Half of what I own, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.”

Looking at him, Jesus said, “Salvation has come to this house today, for he is also a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

John 6 : 37-40

Yet all those whom the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me.

And the will of Him who sent Me is that I lose nothing of what He has given Me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day. This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall live eternal life; and I will raise Him up on the last day.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Romans 5 : 5-11

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and we have become just through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation.

 

Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason now we may be saved through His life. Not only that; we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through whom we have been reconciled.

Alternative Reading

Romans 6 : 3-9

Do you not know that in baptism which unites us to Christ we are all baptised and plunged into His death? By this baptism in His death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the Glory of the Father, so we begin walking in a new life. If we have been joined to Him by dying a death like His so we shall be by a resurrection like His.

We know that our old self was crucified with Christ, so as to destroy what of us was sin, so that we may no longer serve sin – if we are dead, we are no longer in debt to sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again and death has no more dominion over Him.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Saturday, 2 November 2013 : Solemnity of All Souls (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Violet or Black

Isaiah 25 : 6, 7-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich foods and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world; for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

 

Alternative Reading

 

Wisdom 3 : 1-9

The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them. In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster; it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace.

Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope. After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with Him; after testing them as gold in the furnace, He has accepted them as a holocaust.

At the time of His coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever. Those who trust in Him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with Him in love, for His grace and mercy are for His chosen ones.

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Thursday, 31 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, opposition is against us, against the servants of the Lord our God, against the good works dedicated to the service of God and His people, and finally, against the Lord Himself.

Today the Lord highlighted a historical fact, on how the people of God, the chosen people of Israel, rejected the Lord, His love and kindness, and cast away those whom God had sent to them. They did not just send them away but many of them were even slaughtered in cold blood.

The people whom the Lord had chosen and made as His own has rebelled and turned away from Him. Naturally, the Lord would have been angry and should have destroyed them all from the face of the earth. However, He is loving and merciful just as He is just and angry against the sins mankind have committed. He wants His people to be saved, and not to fall for the sins they have done.

The Lord Himself was rejected when He came to be with His people, and to liberate them from the yoke of the evil one. He did not leave His people to the power of the evil one, but they spurned His love. He was condemned for sins that He did not commit and was condemned to a humiliating death on the cross. Nevertheless, you all know what the Lord did.

He took up all those sins that were placed upon Him, and took them into Himself unto death. All these He had done for us, so that we do not have to suffer the consequences of the sins we had committed. For the consequences of sins are suffering and death, and the Lord who loves us dearly, does not want us to suffer those fates. That is why He offered Himself through Jesus His Son, to be the sacrificial victim to liberate us from our fate of destruction and death.

He laid down His own life that we shall live, that we shall not die an eternal death and suffer eternal suffering in hell. Nobody can separate us from Him, just as St. Paul had said in the first reading today, in his letter to the Church in Rome, the Empire’s capital. St. Paul asserted Christ’s eternal and undying love for all of us, that He is willing to suffer all the grievous sufferings actually intended for us as our deserved punishments for our sins.

It is that through His one and only ultimate sacrifice on the cross, that the Lord saves us all from the valley of death and brings us closer to the heavenly rewards that we have been blessed with through Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, as is noted in the Gospel today, despite all the love and kindness that the Lord has poured on us, there are still those who do not follow Him and even despise Him, just as they had despised the prophets and messengers sent before the Lord.

It is easy for us to dismiss them as being others, as being not all of us. Yet, we should indeed look first into ourselves, whether we have ourselves been righteous or wicked in our actions, and whether we have been ignorant or obedient to follow the Lord and His commandments. If we have done any of these, then we too have taken part in the suffering of the Lord.

Remember, that every single wounds on the Body of Christ is the sins that we have committed, with every words of evil that came out of our mouth, and with every actions of our limbs and bodies that do not reflect love or bring pain and suffering to others. Hence, brethren, let us, from today onwards, reflect on our own actions, and learn from what we have done, that we will cast from us, any actions that contribute towards the suffering of Christ in His Passion.

May our loving and merciful God continue to nurture in us His wonderful love, that we will grow to be ever more faithful and loving children of God, saved by Jesus His Son, and rejecting Satan and all of his advances. God guide us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 31 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 13 : 31-35

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave Him this warning, “Leave this place and go on Your way, for Herod wants to kill You.” Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox my answer : ‘I drive out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish My course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on My way today, and tomorrow, and for a little longer; for it would not be fitting for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.”

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on, you will be left with your temple, and you will no longer see Me, until the time when you will say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.'”

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Thursday, 31 October 2013 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 108 : 21-22, 26-27, 30-31

But as for me, o God my Lord, for Your Name’s sake, act on my behalf, deliver me, in the goodness of Your love. For I am poor and needy, my heart is stricken within me.

Help me, o Lord my God, and save me for the sake of Your love. Let them know that this is Your hand, that it is You, Lord, who do this.

To the Lord, I will give my thanks; I will praise Him in the great assembly. He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who condemn them.