Reflection

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Tuesday, 12 February 2013 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Mark 7 : 1-13

One day, the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

Now, the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots, and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?”

Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : ‘This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules.’ You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandments of God in order to enforce your own traditions! For example, Moses said, ‘Do your duty to your father and your mother‘, and : ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’ But according to you, someone could say to his father or mother, ‘I already declared Corban (‘offered to God’) what you could have expected from me.'”

“In this case, you no longer require him to do anything for his father or mother, and so you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

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Friday, 8 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Scripture Reflection)

We heard today of the tale of how St. John the Baptist was killed by Herod, out of Herod’s adulterous behaviour with his brother’s wife, and that wife’s hatred on John. St. John the Baptist, who had come before Christ to make straight the way for the Lord, met his death at the hands of the corrupt and immoral person who called himself the king of Judea at that time.

Who is John the Baptist? He is the cousin of Jesus, son of Elizabeth, miraculously conceived when Elizabeth was already old and barren, because the Lord desires that through her, a great prophet preceding Christ be born. St. John the Baptist indeed become the last prophet just before the coming of the Messiah, declaring to the world to repent and to be baptised at the River Jordan, in order to prepare themselves for the Messiah, who in fact at that time, had already walked on this world, in the form of Jesus, son of Mary, and Son of the Most High God.

John the Baptist’s call was heeded by many, who came to be baptised by John, and to truly repent from their sins. Nevertheless, the Pharisees and the scribes, just as they will later reject Jesus, they were also skeptical of John’s prophetic mission, and did not repent as many others do. But John managed to lay out the foundation for the later works of Christ and His disciples, just like a farmer plowing the soil preparing for it for the sower, who is Christ, who spreads the seeds on the plowed soil, fertile and ready, and thus are able to produce fruits hundredfold and thousandfold.

After Jesus was baptised by John, He arises in importance, which John in great humility said to his own disciples that just as the Lord for whom he has come to prepare the path for, is rising, he himself has to become lesser. His task in preparing the path for the Lord is complete, and in the last part of his life, which was told in the Gospel today, he was imprisoned for chastising Herod the king and his adultery with Herodias, his brother’s wife.

In ancient Jewish custom, this is actually not unacceptable for a brother to take care of a deceased brother’s wife, and take her as his own wife. Remember another story from the Bible, where the Saducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, asked the Lord about whose wife is the woman who was married to seven brothers, who died one after the other. Clearly, this custom is identified as the norm at that time, as the widow is perceived to be financially incapable of supporting herself, and therefore, it is justified for the brother to come in and take care of his sister-in-law by marrying her himself.

However, in this case, this is different because, just as Jesus later will stress, that marriage is a sacrosanct act, in which a man and woman is joined by God, and through God, this union, when made is eternal and cannot be dissolved by either man or even angels. For what God has made one, no man shall divide. This is the new commandment of the new covenant that Christ brought with His coming, and John, as the messenger of the Lord, did his last service to God by putting forward this teaching, against none other than Herod himself.

It is sad that today, many disregard the sanctity of marriage, and think that marriage is a trivial matter, and that divorce can be so easily contemplated and done. Divorce is something which should be avoided at all costs, as it directly violates what God has told us, that what He had brought together in marriage, which is a Sacrament on its own, no one, not even the husband and the wife themselves should divide back into two. It is sad that in our modern world, many take divorces lightly, and even marry again after the divorce. Many who did this, did so because they claim that they no longer love the wife, or worse that they have been tempted with lust and desire for another woman or man.

In order to maintain the sanctity of marriage, it is paramount that in the family, the faith in the Lord be kept strong, and that all actions should be carried out in love, and in accordance with God’s will. This is why it is important for couples and families, to come together and have meals together as best as they can everyday, so that they will stay close, despite challenges and temptations, and pray together, that the Lord will continue to bless them and strengthen their union, so that the evil one cannot come in between them and made them to decide to split.

Many couples are able to last for decades and many last beyond 50 years, and indeed, until death brought them apart, but not forever, since we know that we eventually will be reunited with the loved ones when we ourselves ascend to heaven at the end of our own lives. Indeed, their secret is no other than ensuring that couples constantly speak to one another from heart to heart, and coming together at all times, with their children, to pray regularly, to share the meal at the table. Remember that when more than two and three gathered in God’s name, He will be there, and will remain there with them, always.

Another story which I will bring to your attention, besides the already told story of John the Baptist, Herod, and Herodias, is the story of the divorces of King Henry VIII, the founder of the Anglican ‘church’ in his vain search for a male heir. King Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she was not able to produce a male heir for him, although she did produce a daughter. His appeal to divorce her to the Pope was rejected, and King Henry VIII, displeased at the Papal disapproval went his own way and rebel from the Church, creating his own Anglican ‘church’.

St. Thomas More, King Henry VIII’s chancellor, refused to follow his king into rebellion from Rome, and chastised the king for his immoral behaviour in seeking to marry Anne Boleyn, who was to become the king’s second wife. He was asked to choose between loyalty to his king, and be given great wealth and influence as he always had before that, and thus even greater afterwards, or death if he remains faithful to the true Church. St. Thomas More abandoned all of his worldly wealth and fame, and chose to remain faithful to the Lord, and was therefore martyred.

Ultimately, King Henry VIII would kill Anne Boleyn after she herself failed to produce a male heir, and eventually married no less than four more times, with a total of having six wives and at least two mistresses, and all ultimately in vain, since even when there was a male heir, he died young, and the dynasty died out.

All that futile attempts was most damaging especially if we see how today, 80 million Christians who are in the Anglican Communion, are the direct product of this adulterous behaviour of King Henry VIII. This is an example on how if marriage is not kept as sacrosanct and indivisible in nature, not only it can affect just the two, but especially in King Henry’s case, it caused the destruction of the unity in the Body of Christ, that is the Church. Until today, we still pray and hope that all of them will eventually return soon to the true Faith and Church.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Jerome Emiliani, an Italian charitable man who cared deeply for the poor and orphans in early 16th century northern Italy, and died after in his pious work of service to the sick and the poor, he contracted a disease that killed him, and St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian nun, who was once a slave from Sudan, who after being freed from slavery, converted to Christianity and committed herself to the Lord by joining the Canossians as a nun. She was noted for her great faith in the Lord, and her dedication to Mary, His mother. She was also very much noted for her great heart and forgiving nature, seeking not revenge against her enemies, and even her former slavemasters, but rather seeking to forgive them and bless them instead.

Therefore, in the footsteps of these great saints, let us all strive, especially for those amongst us who are married, to keep our lives holy and meaningful, by doing what is good for the sake of others, just like St. Jerome Emiliani in service of the poor and the sick, by giving and sharing what we have more to those who need them more, and by our gentle and forgiving nature, following the example of St. Josephine Bakhita, who strive to keep herself pure and holy in the presence of God.

Let us pray also for the unity of all Christians, that especially for the Anglicans today, that their detachment from the Body of Christ that is the Church can soon be reversed, through our constant prayers to God, and through God’s actions, may the unity of the Church be restored. What damages King Henry VIII had done in his adulterous ways parallel to what Herod had done, in direct opposition to the Lord’s will on the sanctity of marriage, may we begin to heal through concrete attempts to reunite back the branches of the Body of Christ back onto its trunk, the Church.

Pray for us, St. Thomas More. And St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us all too. Pray for God’s holy Church that it will be one again, and indivisible, just like marriage, as the Lord has made His Church one, just like He and the Father is one and indivisible in the Holy Trinity. Amen.

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint+

(That they all may be One)

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100th Post reached! Deo Gratias!

I have reached my first 100th post with the Gospel Reading for the 4th Sunday of the Ordinary Time that I had just published. Thank you very much to all who visit this humble blog.

Pray for me, that I can always continue to write, for the love of God, and all mankind, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+

(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Today, once again Jesus emphasized on the importance on doing the will of God, and obeying the commandments that God gave us, handily summarised by Christ into the two most important commandments of all, that is love. As Christ said, “Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Therefore, to do the will of God, is to do these commandments of love, to be loving to all around us, to be ready to help whenever someone is in need, and of course, to love God Himself, by spending some time for Him, with Him, everyday, even in our busiest days. We also love God through our dedication and active participation in the Holy Mass, to approach the Lord sincerely to receive Him into our being, into our hearts. And finally to also participate in charitable activities, and share the love of God to all mankind.

The Lord don’t just want sacrifices, rituals, and prayers from us. Although indeed, prayers, rituals, and others are important, and cannot be ignored, it is paramount that we make our faith alive by putting it into practice for the benefit of our fellow brothers and sisters, that all mankind can share in the love of God, and can be truly brought out of worldly suffering, so that bereft of these sufferings, all of us can truly focus our hearts of the Lord and worship, and love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.

It may seem to those who take the passage literally that Jesus was rebuking and was being rude to His own family, and especially His own mother, Mary. But no, this is simply not the case, as Jesus truly loves all around Him, and most loved of all is His mother Mary, through whose dedication and obedience to God, Christ was born into our world. Rather, Christ through His words to the people at that time wants to tell all of them that, they too can be like His mother Mary, if they truly love God, and obey God’s commandments, and to truly focus all their beings towards God, just as Mary did. Mary is truly the role model for all of us, the greatest of all saints.

Then, we too are the brothers and sisters of Christ, and in Christ, since we are all become the children of God upon our baptism, when the Lord welcomes us as His. No longer Satan and sin have any power over us, since through the Lord, we are promised of eternal life. But again, this alone is not enough. We need to practice our faith, and show that we are worthy of being the children of God, through our good deeds to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Therefore, today, and indeed, all the days of our life, let us strive to do our best to spread God’s love through our own actions, and strive also to always listen to the will of God, and do what God asks of us. Let us pray that the Lord will send us His Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our ministry, and also pray for our priests that they too will be ever stronger in their faith and dedication, in serving the Lord and all of us, God’s children. Amen.

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Thank you to all the visitors! Pray for me and this blog. 500 views has been reached.

My blog posts have been viewed more than 500 times in the past 11 days by visitors from various countries. Thank you for visiting my humble blog. Pray for me that I will continue to be strong and faithful to write on about the faith, about His Scripture, and about the Lord Himself.

Total views : 517

Distribution by country (Total recorded : 500)

1. Singapore : 169

2. United States of America : 139

3. Philippines : 47

4. United Kingdom : 36

5. Canada : 17

6. Malaysia : 13

7. Italy : 10

8. Ireland : 8

9. Australia : 7

10. India : 5

11. Trinidad and Tobago : 4

12. Indonesia : 4

13. Belgium : 4

14. Germany : 4

15. Poland : 4

16. Argentina : 3

17. Namibia : 2

18. Malta : 2

19. Mexico : 2

20. France : 2

21. Switzerland : 2

22. Colombia : 2

23. Laos : 2

24. Brazil : 2

25. Kenya : 1

26. Macau : 1

27. Croatia : 1

28. Timor Leste : 1

29. Chile : 1

30. Hong Kong : 1

31. South Korea : 1

32. Spain : 1

33. Denmark : 1

34. United Arab Emirates : 1

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+

(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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Friday, 25 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle (Scripture Reflection)

Today’s first reading is simply about the events surrounding the conversion of St. Paul, how he was completely transformed, from the Christian hunting Saul into eventually the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul. He even was martyred in Rome together with St. Peter the Apostle during the time of the Emperor Nero. This was the ultimate fulfillment of the Lord’s message to Paul, that he would suffer a lot for the Lord’s sake.

The Gospel today is about the Lord’s mission to His disciples, who was tasked with spreading the Word of God and the Good News to all mankind, to all parts of the world. No longer is salvation and hope limited just to the Jewish people, since through the new covenant of Christ, the old covenant of God with Abraham and the people of Israel is made more perfect, now that all the descendants of Adam can take part in the new covenant made by Christ, sealed by His Precious Blood poured from the cross at Calvary.

St. Paul is the main tool through which the Lord brought forth His Word to the people of the world, that he was given the title Apostle to the Gentiles, as evident from his numerous letters, which now become what we know as the Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, and many others, always exhorting the faithful in the different parts of the world, to remain faithful and true to the commandments of God and the new covenant of Christ.

Saul was once a cold-blooded Christian killer and prosecutor, if one would say so. He participated in the death of St. Stephen, the proto or first Martyr, and also captured and tortured many early Christians. But yet, God chose him out of all people, amongst so many, to be His Apostle to the non-Jewish people in particular. One can easily notice the wonder that the Lord has made, turning someone who was once His greatest prosecutor and enemy, into the very person that defended Him with his life and zeal.

St. Paul himself became the testament and the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to His disciples in the Gospel today, together with the other Apostles. The Apostles cast out demons, as St. Paul did, and speak different tongues, inspired by the Holy Spirit that came at Pentecost, and thousands were baptised in the name of the Lord, and the Church was born. St. Paul picked up snake during his sojourn in Malta before reaching Rome near the end of his life, and was bitten, but was not harmed by the snake’s poisons. There are many instances of the healing of the sick and the infirm throughout the Acts of the Apostles, where the Apostles, especially Paul, whose ministry is the backbone of the later Acts of the Apostles, went around the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean in particular, to bring both the Good News, and also to bring healing to those who are sick, both physically and spiritually.

Many of us today, are like Saul, and although we love God as Saul was, obedient to the Law and the old covenant of God, we are afraid to take the extra step, to dedicate ourselves further and truly to God, to be like Paul was, the bringer of God’s word and covenant to the people of the world. We too, still in our daily lives, through the little things that we do in our lives, inflict pain and suffering to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are therefore no better than Saul was, but just as Saul was chosen and transformed, we too can be transformed into the new ‘Paul’, to fully commit ourselves to the cause of Christ. This is also to show that, no sinner is unworthy before God, as even the greatest sinner, when they turn their hearts to the Lord, can become great saints, just as St. Augustine was. Once a great sinner in his youth, through his mother, St. Monica, he was redeemed and became a great saint, saving thousands and millions, and many more souls through his ministry, and through his great writings, which we still read until today.

Let us therefore follow in the footsteps of St. Paul and the Apostles, to bring forth the Word of the Lord, and His New Covenant with all mankind, to all the mankind. That all mankind can be saved through the faith in Christ, which is made possible by our tireless and whole dedication of ourselves to Christ, becoming the apostles of this era, in the footsteps of the Apostles. Do not fear, for the Lord will provide, and He will guard you against the evils in this world, who are against God and His people. Speak for the Lord, and spread His love to all man.

St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us. Help us to become more like you in your zealous and humble service in God’s Name. That we can follow in your footsteps to bring God to all the people of this world, to all the Gentiles and the Jews alike. Amen.

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Thursday, 24 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor (Scripture Reflection)

Once again, we focus on Jesus as our High Priest in today’s readings, and how He as the High Priest, offered Himself, once and for all, which we witness in our celebration of the Holy Mass, the Sacrifice offered by the priests, united and one, and the same as the Sacrifice of Christ on the cross. While the priests of the Jewish people of the past were humans, and sinners like us, they too have to offer the sacrifices of animals to God for their own sins too, as they are not like Christ, who as the High Priest, and the perfect priest, is sinless, although He is just as human as we are, just as He is God.

Christ also offered the best that He had, just as Abel offered the best of his animals as sacrifice to God. While the offering of the priests can be compared to the offering of Cain, who offered grains, an imperfect offering in the eyes of God, and the priests of the Old Testament offered animals and their blood, while physically unblemished as ordered by the Law, they were imperfect, as they had to be repeated, and did not cover sins of all, did not serve all purposes.

But like Abel, who offered his very best to God, Christ, offered Himself, the very Lamb of God, and God Himself, whose Precious Blood is the only worthy sacrifice to redeem ALL mankind from their sins, once and for all. Through the Holy Mass that we should frequently participate in, we take part in Christ’s Sacrifice, and partake His Precious Body and Blood, that all of us truly take Christ into ourselves, and our beings become God’s Holy Temple. But, Christ’s offering is not just Himself and His being, as the Psalm clearly demonstrates the point. It is Christ’s ultimate and perfect obedience to God’s will, and His heart which is ever directed towards the Father, that He fulfills the will of God, that all of mankind can be saved from the slavery of sin and death. And who is more worthy of worship, than God who just like Abraham, willingly sacrificed His own Son, out of His love for us, that we too can be reunited with Him again in Heaven?

For the most important thing is not only the act and the externals of our being, but even more important is our hearts, whether we truly direct them towards the Lord, and the Lord alone, and to obey the will and the teachings of the Lord, as Jesus has taught us. This is why it is important to read the Scripture, and understand the very commandments of love that Jesus has given us, as the perfection of the Law and the Commandments of God. Let us therefore, align our hearts to God, lift up our hearts to the Lord, and always keep Him in our hearts, in whatever we do, wherever we are, and at all times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_de_Sales

Today we also celebrate the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of journalists and the press, and today is also the 47th anniversary of World’s Communications Day, in honor of St. Francis de Sales and his patronage. St. Francis de Sales was a very faithful and a very gentle priest, who eventually became Bishop of Geneva and wrote many books on the tenets of the faith. His deep faith and wisdom was made evident through his books, which influenced many even long after his death in 1622. He spearheaded many evangelism campaigns to return many Protestants in his time back into the true faith of the Church, and through his great preaching abilities and faith, many returned to the Church.

We may think that it is difficult to evangelise to others, especially those who are strangers to us. But let us begin from the place nearest to us, within our own families, and with our friends. We may be surprised to find that there are many people close to us, who are still in the darkness, and truly yearn to learn about God, to find God, and to reach out to Him. Let us not shut our ears to them, and let us gently approach them, just as St. Francis de Sales had done, to bring the Word of God to those who hunger, and to bring them into full understanding of the faith in God.

Communication requires at least two people, and we cannot just keep the faith to ourselves. Let us therefore today, renew the commitment to share our faith with others, that everyone too can be closer to God as we are, and together, we will worship Him, who is our High Priest, who through His great obedience to His Father, and through His offering of Himself, we are all promised of eternal life, as long as we remain true to Him. Amen.

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us.

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Wednesday, 23 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

In today’s readings, Jesus. as our High Priest and Lord, has come for us to heal us from our afflictions, especially the afflictions of our soul. In the first reading, He is associated with Melchizedek, a mysterious figure who greeted Abraham and blessed him after his victory in rescuing his nephew, Lot, who was abducted by a group of kings during their raid.
Who is this Melchizedek indeed? These few days in the readings we have heard many things about him, and particularly in this Letter to the Hebrews, he is frequently mentioned. This is because Melchizedek was a High Priest, and it is indeed possible that He belongs to God, and just like Jesus, or even Jesus Himself, as He was a High Priest of God, without known mother and father, and no genealogy, just like our Lord Jesus, born before all ages, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the union of the Holy Trinity.

It is emphasized today that the priestly authority ascribed to Melchizedek is divine in nature, from God Himself, and not bound by any human laws and restrictions. Therefore, Jesus Christ too, as our High Priest, also has His authority from the Father Himself, authority to heal, and authority to forgive sins, and these authority too He passed to our priests today, through the Apostles. The priests receive their authority from God, not limited by human laws and obstacles, since in God alone all authority resides.

Yet, there are many who blindly follow the rules, and become blinded by that, and instead of aiding the mission of the ones chosen by God, especially Christ Himself, they tried to hinder their mission by all means necessary. In the Gospel, the Pharisees purposely waited to see if Jesus would heal the paralytic and thus commit ‘sin’ in their eyes by breaking the law, instead of extending a helping hand themselves. Truly, the Psalm today represents the very thoughts that Jesus have, how sad He is that these supposedly learned priests and scribes of the people of Israel had attacked the cause of the Lord, out of jealousy and hatred, despite the Lord’s wish to extend His love to all, even to those who hate Him.

Yet, Jesus made clear His reason and His perfection of the Law, by saying that it is truly rightful to do what is good even on Sabbath, as when one is about to do things pleasing to God, the laws of the Sabbath should not be a barrier, as the law actually was made to condition the people of Israel to always keep a time for God, to commemorate His holy day, but if all of us are already doing this in our hearts, keeping the Lord close to us at all times, there is no longer need to adhere very strictly to the rules of the Sabbath, and why we no longer follow the Jewish law on Sabbath today, but we still honour the Lord on Sunday, His Holy Day, through our active participation at the Holy Mass and receiving the Eucharist.

Let us pray therefore, that our faith in God will be strengthened, that our resolve to do what is good for the sake of others, and for the sake of those who suffer around us be ever strengthened too. That we will not stay silent, whenever there are those who persecute others, and will not stay dormant, when our brothers and sisters require our help, no matter how small and insignificant that is.

Let us also pray for our priests, that they will stay faithful to their calling, forever priests in the order of Melchizedek, that the Lord will give them His authority through them to forgive us from our sins, and to heal us from our spiritual afflictions, and to feed us with the spiritual food of love, and the Word of God. Amen.

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Tuesday, 22 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

In today’s readings, God shows that He is faithful, and that He will reward all those who believe in Him. We can rest assured that God will protect us, as long as we too remain faithful in Him, and remain in His favour. After all, the Lord has proven His faith to us and His love by sending us His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour, by being the High Priest of all mankind, giving up Himself as a worthy sacrifice in place of our innumerable sins. Such indeed, is the extent of God’s love and reliability, as He is reliable as He is loving, the only one we can truly trust, since He stopped at nothing but gave Himself entirely for our sake. Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us anchor ourselves in Christ, and let God be the firm foundation of our faith, and our life. So that, even when troubles come, and even when uncertainties and temptations come, we can be assured that as long as we keep our anchor in Christ, we are in God’s good hands.

God did create rules and set of laws in the past to the Israelites, which He announced to Moses on Mount Horeb, the Holy mountain of God, and the purpose of these rules is none other than to serve as the same anchor to keep all the Israelites anchored in God and His teachings, and not to be led astray by the temptations of the other gods followed by tribes that the Israelites met on their way to the Promised Land, and in the Promised Land itself, to always remain faithful in God. Nevertheless, as was evident in the many parts of the Old Testament, the people of Israel disobeyed the Lord many times and did things in opposition to His commandments and His rules, which include the rule of the Sabbath.

However, the coming of Christ has brought an entire new dimension to the interpretation of these laws and their relations to God’s people, as Christ, being God Himself, has walked amongst His people, and He, the Son of Man, is the Master of the Sabbath, and thus, consequently also the new ‘Anchor’ of the people’s faith, replacing all the old laws and commandments with His new commandment of love, for the Son of God did not come to destroy but to perfect the old commandments and serve as the fulfillment of all the promises and prophecies made by the prophets.

Laws, customs, and regulations should not be seen as so binding and authoritative to the point of enslaving those whom these regulations are supposed to protect into their slaves instead. This is what Jesus meant when He said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. These rules, laws, and customs are there, because they are there to guide us to the correct path and prevent us from going astray, but not to limit us unnecessarily, especially when nothing that we do are wrong in the eyes of God. We have even seen that in the Book of the Maccabees, the Israelites under the leadership of the Maccabees allowed themselves to fight to defend themselves on the Sabbath against the pagan Greeks, rather than leaving themselves to be killed without defense. And so was David and his followers when they were truly hungry, for food is a basic and essential commodity to humans like us, and also to all creations. God certainly do not wish to deny us this essential commodity and leaving us to die of hunger just by inflexibly obeying the law of the Sabbath.

This is also why, we as Catholics, do not follow the Jewish Laws anymore, including the laws regarding food prohibitions, as what matters to Jesus Christ, the new ‘anchor’ of our faith, which renews the Law into its perfect form, is the purity and sincerity of our hearts and our souls, and not matters that concern our physique, such as food and rituals. Indeed, the Lord Himself said that (Matthew 15 : 11) “What enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean. What defiles a person is what comes out of his mouth.”

Therefore, what matters is the laws that regulate our spirituality, which will ensure our internal spirituality and soul remain pure and unblemished to the Lord, which can be achieved through prayers, and doing good work for the sake of God, and for the sake of all around us. “Ora et Labora” indeed, to pray and to do good works, so that our hearts will be pure and be worthy of God.

We do have rules and regulations in our Church, just as the Jews did, and we too have to obey these rules, as these rules, although are human in nature, can help us greatly in ensuring that all of us can have the optimum condition necessary to sustain our spiritual wellbeing and purity, despite all the temptations and the challenges presented by the world around us.

Therefore, let us all pray that Jesus, as the anchor of our faith and our life, will strengthen us, and will support us in our daily lives and daily encounters with temptations and challenges of the world, that we will be able, with the help of the rules and laws of the Church, maintain our spiritual health and maintain our purity in the eyes of God, focusing on the internal rather than the external dimension of our being.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_of_Saragossa

Today we also celebrate the Feast of St. Vincent, who was a Deacon and Martyr in the early Church. Also known as St. Vincent of Saragossa, St. Vincent was imprisoned for his faith in late Roman Empire under Emperor Diocletian, and met his martyrdom at the Emperor’s orders. St. Vincent is another shining example of loyalty to the faith in God, just as shown by St. Agnes, whose feast we celebrated just the day before. These martyrs show us that God rewards those who believed in Him and remain faithful in Him, as stated in the first reading today. As long as we keep our anchor in Christ, and remain strong in our faith in Him, even with all the challenges and persecutions laid by the world against us, like these saints and martyrs, we will eventually prevail and be rewarded with nothing less than life eternal with Christ, forever and ever. Amen.

St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr, pray for us.

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Monday, 21 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Today, the readings truly focus on Jesus Christ Himself, who is the High Priest of all mankind, as mentioned in the First Reading, and as the Bridegroom of the faithful, the Church. Today we focus especially on the nature of the priesthood itself. For priests in our Catholic tradition are men who have given themselves fully to God, and in doing so, they do not marry or seek to marry anymore, why? This is because they are indeed married, married to God, and to His beloved people the Church. It is in the footsteps of Christ who has loved us so much that He gave us His life for our salvation, that those who choose to become priests, also dedicate themselves to a life of holiness and service, out of pure love for God and all creations.

Christ is the High Priest, who offered Himself as the Lamb, the pure and unblemished Lamb whose Precious Blood cleanses all the filth of sin and freed us from slavery of death and evil. He is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, just as all our priests are priests of that same order. Once a priest, you are a priest forever. Who is Melchizedek? He is the King of Salem, Priest appointed by God, and named as the Priest of God the Most High, who presented the offering of bread and wine to God, and blessed Abraham, our forefather in faith. Today, priests also do what Melchizedek did, which is to offer bread and wine as offering to God, but yet, through Christ, this has become a truly Divine Offering, as not just any bread and wine is offered, but the very Precious Body and Blood of Christ Himself, the only Sacrifice worthy of our sins, countless and innumerable as they are. No one but Christ can redeem us from the incomprehensible nature of our sin’s extent.

Christ suffered for our sake on the cross, blood streaming down His Body from the cross, endured curses and spits from those who He had come to save. But yet, Christ obediently gave Himself, that even these who had rejected Him, may yet have hope of eternal life. He forgave those who cried out for His death, and although as human as He was as we are, He was also tempted to abandon His final task, but He accepted the chalice of sin and bitterness, submitting Himself fully to the will of God. This is why, He is our High Priest, through whom all of us are finally free from the certainty of death and separation from God.

For indeed God loves us so much that He sent us His only Son, and through the obedience of the Son, and through His Love, He endured all our sins that we are now hopeful of His Kingdom. He represents us before God bringing gifts of offering for our sins, but His gift is He Himself, who is the only worthy gift of all creation to cover for all our sins, both before, present, and after. So, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive not to sin anymore, as whenever we sin, let us remember that we burden Christ with ever more and more sin. Let us rather turn to His Love, and listen to His words that we all will truly be worthy of He who died for us.

That is why priests today are who they are, they dedicate themselves fully to God, and they give their time fully for God and His people, all of us, alone. For He, just like Christ, in the image of Christ, offer the gifts of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine every time we have Mass, that all of us are saved. This offering is neither separate nor symbolic from the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ, since the bread is Real Body, and the blood is Real Blood, and the offering of the Sacrifice is truly one and in union with the Ultimate Sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who through the priests in the Mass, gave Himself to us, His Body and His Blood, that we will have eternal life in Him. Pray for our priests and all the religious who dedicated themselves to God, that they will stay pure, that they will stay faithful in their mission and their dedication to God.

Jesus also mentioned about the wine and wineskins, and the cloth and the coat, and how new things should not be put together with old things, or they will destroy each other. This is because, Christ Himself, as the Lord, has brought a new Covenant to all people, not just limited to the people of Israel, that through His Sacrifice on the Cross, and through His blood, He made a new Covenant with all peoples that they all can be saved through Him. He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the prophets, and He brought a new rule of Love and Faith in God. The people no longer have the need to regularly sacrifice sheep, goats, and other animals to redeem them from their sins at the temple, for now God, as mentioned, has done it once and for all, as our High Priest. Gone are the rules and precepts of the past, and with it, the new teachings of Christ came into place. The new wine and the new cloth are Christ and His teachings, which render the old ones outdated, as Christ fulfills the prophecies, and He also made perfect the Law which had been passed down from Moses, so the old Law no longer applies, but the new Law of Christ, which is based on Love of God, and love of one another just as He loves us.

Today is also the Feast Day of St. Agnes, who we remembered as both a virgin and a martyr. Just like Christ, St. Agnes gave herself up to the executioners without complaints at the age of 13, rather than abandoning her faith and her chastity by marriage to the son of a Pagan prefect of the Roman Empire. St. Agnes is a shining example of faith and love to God, whom priests and indeed all of us should follow. That rather than betraying God and our soul, she chose death rather than promise of material wealth and fame. This is not to say that we all should choose death, but in our daily lives, we should constantly remind ourselves of our faith, and our ties with God, and always do all things in the name of the Lord, and in His honour. Let us ask St. Agnes to pray for us, that our faith in God will ever be strengthened, that whenever we falter in our faith and love for God, the Lord will send His angels and the Holy Spirit to empower us and renew our commitment in Him.

St. Agnes, pray for us, and may we be able to follow in your footsteps in loving our God and dedicating ourselves to Him, and also pray for our priests, especially those tempted by the worldly temptations and sin. Amen.