religious

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Saturday, 23 November 2013 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Clement I, Pope and Martyr, and St. Columban, Abbot (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs) or White (Abbot and Mass of our Lady)

1 Maccabeus 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates, and weapons left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there but the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back, and he returned much embittered to Babylon.

While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard too that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem, and had rebuilt the temple walls to the same height as before, and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur.

When he received these news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned. So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt that he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me, and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”

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Tuesday, 12 November 2013 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all servants of the Lord Most High, our God. We are the ones subservient to that great Lord the Creator of all of us, and all the universe. Yet, at the same time, He calls us sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters, as the ones whom He loved so dearly, that He gave us Himself through Jesus His Son, so that we can be saved, and be lifted up from our fate that is death, into a new life with Him, eternal in heaven.

For we were created by the Lord not to suffer nor to experience death and eternal suffering that is our fate. This is in fact because of the fall of our ancestors, who disobeyed God, that we too are made susceptible to the power of death. They obeyed their own desires and wishes instead of the will of God, and fell they did, succumbing to the allures and lies of the evil one, Satan the deceiver.

Satan was once Lucifer, the greatest and the mightiest one among all the angels of God. Beautiful and radiant, he was the most brilliant of all creations, and yet, he sowed evil in his hearts. He became proud and arrogant of his own beauty, might, and power. In the perfection and beauty he had been created, he craved greater power, that is to set his place above that of God Himself. Thus he rebelled against heaven and against God, and was felled and thrown down away from the glories he had once commanded.

Satan was certainly displeased at this, and therefore he seduced our ancestors, leading them away from God with false and empty promises of greatness, that they were cast out of heaven and the eternal glory set out for us. That is how we deserve death and destruction, because we have been tainted by sin and by rebelliousness. But God did not let us to just perish and be destroyed, because in  Jesus, He gave us a new hope.

Mankind cried out aloud to the Lord for the sufferings and injustice they had suffered, for we all, and our ancestors all had suffered greatly under the yoke of evil, that is sin. For sin, even though outwardly often look good and enticing, but in reality, it distorts us and bring pain to us, that is the pain and suffering of severance from the love of God and from God’s grace.

For although the Lord loves us and cares for us very much, but He is at the same time also a just and a righteous God, who cannot stand the presence of sin and disobedience against Him and His laws. Those who had committed sin, had rebelled and been disobedient against Him. And the punishment for such disobedience and rebelliousness is none other than death. And death that leads to hell, that is the total separation from God.

It is for this fate that we cry out to God, for mercy and for forgiveness, that we do not have to suffer this grievous fate. And out of His love, God sent us Jesus, to be our Redeemer, to make righteous again the whole assembly of the people of God, that everyone may not suffer death and eternal suffering, but be raised in glory with Christ, to reclaim the glories in life that we had lost in our rebelliousness.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of St. Josaphat, also known as St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, a monk and later a great bishop of the Eastern Catholics. St. Josaphat lived a few hundred years ago, in what is now northern part of Ukraine. He lived at a time of great upheavals of the faith, which cost the faithful dearly and brought about many bitter emotions and feelings even to now, the present day.

Ever since the Universal Church’s unity was undermined by the series of heresies and breakups, there rose splinter groups claiming to hold the true faith in God. Many of these divisions eventually disappeared and the unity of the Universal Church was restored. But when the Eastern churches broke away from Rome over political and other petty issues over a thousand years ago, a great wound was created in the universal Church.

This is the reality of what faced St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, who grew up in an area of clashing ideologies. In the area where he lived, the population  was divided between the believers of the true Apostolic faith, and those who follow the churches that broke away from the Apostolic authority of the Church. St. Josaphat, upon his ministry and later on as a bishop of the Eastern Catholic community, had hard work laid out in front of him.

The people had mixed opinions about the faith in the Church, as they were in a way forced to comply with the decision of the state. Many of them belong to the Eastern Orthodox churches that broke away from the Universal Church over petty political and personal squabbles. The Union of Brest declared the reunion of all Christians in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into the Universal Church of God. Thus the task of St. Josaphat was made very difficult, with the people even openly rebelling against the religious authorities.

St. Josaphat persevered through all of those tribulations and faithfully served the people entrusted to him, even though they were openly against him and his obedience to the Apostolic See, to the Church of God, one and true. He served faithfully and dutifully even unto his death at the hands of the people of whom he was the shepherd. St. Josaphat was murdered by an angry mob just outside of a church and his body was thrown into the river.

In sweet and holy martyrdom therefore, St. Josaphat was welcomed into the glory of heaven. Following the footsteps of Jesus who died for His people, St. Josaphat too chose to die to himself and bring glory to God, that salvation may draw closer to His people. We too can do the same. Let us all draw closer to the Lord our Master and the source of our salvation. May He forgive us from our sins and welcome us back into His loving embrace. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2013 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 17 : 7-10

Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner?’ No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterwards.’

Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I do not think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; We have only done our duty.’

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Tuesday, 12 November 2013 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 16-17, 18-19

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

The eyes of the Lord are fixed on the righteous; His ears are inclined to their cries. But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth.

The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught.

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Tuesday, 12 November 2013 : 32nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Wisdom 2 : 23 – Wisdom 3 : 9

Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of His own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.

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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Wednesday, 16 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

Be righteous and be good, be loving, forgiving, and be compassionate, and finally be slow to anger and slow to judge on others. That is the Lord’s message to us in the readings today. These are the attributes of those who are truly belonging to God and reflect the nature of His love.

This is because, brothers and sisters in Christ, He does not want as His people those who are empty in them, empty of love and compassion, and empty of His presence. What He wants is that we would be filled with His Holy Spirit and His love, that we may be what He wants us to be, that is to be loving, merciful, caring, and compassionate.

We must not be enslaved to our pride and arrogance, the natural result of our love for ourselves and our sense of accomplishment. We love to be praised, and have good things whispered in our ears. We love words like, ‘Well done!’ or ‘Amazing!’ or ‘You have done a good job!’. There is in fact nothing wrong with these statements, as they are justified in their use if we truly deserve such praises, but it must not be overdone.

Pride and arrogance is the main reason and culprit behind why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law cannot accept Jesus, less still whatever He had taught the people of God. That is because in their state of wisdom and learning, they like to consider themselves to be well above the other people, whom they often regard as being less pious than them, as well as lacking in the knowledge of the Law, where in fact, they were the ones misguided by their pride, and in turn misguided even more people themselves.

The Lord cursed them because of this, and denounced their selfish and self-serving behaviour. They were cast down because in their pride, they had not given glory to God, but instead attributed glory to themselves. In their pride, they have rejected the Lord who came to save the world, in Jesus Christ, just as their ancestors had rejected, tortured, and murdered the prophets and messengers of God’s love.

To be a true disciple of the Lord, one requires a great humility and faith, and not just any faith, but also the living faith empowered by love. That requires us to not be idle and thus take up actions proactively, to ensure that the faith within us remains burning brightly and alive. We must always also make sure that our words and actions truly reflect our faith in God, that all who sees us, will see God reflected in us.

Today, brethren, we celebrate the feast of St. Hedwig, a religious from Bohemia, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a virgin and devout servant of God from France. St. Hedwig was the consort of the ruler of the area now known as Czechoslovakia and also Poland, and she was well known, together with her husband, for her immense piety and charity, especially to the poor and the neglected. And after her husband died early, she entered a monastery to dedicate herself to a life of prayer and contemplation.

St. Hedwig continued to live devoutly, and invited many religious priests and nuns into her country, greatly helping the cause of evangelisation, especially because her country was often notorious for its heresies and rebellions against the true faith by certain individuals. She also donated her possessions and wealth to the poor, giving everything she had for charity and dedicating herself fully to the Lord.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was also a very devout religious nun, who devoted herself to a life of prayer. What made her most well-known was the vision and appearance of Jesus Christ our Lord to her, revealing to her and the world, of the love He has for all mankind, through His most Sacred Heart. Jesus advocated the need for the world to devote themselves to Him, and devote themselves especially to His Sacred Heart.

That such devotion indeed can help mankind to overcome their sinfulness, and help them on the path towards salvation. That was the beginning of what we would now know as the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This important devotion helps many to reorientate themselves towards the Lord and salvation in God.

Therefore, brethren, let us humble ourselves and seek the help of the Lord, by asking Him for His mercy, and devote ourselves, and following in the ways of St. Hedwig and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and in the latter’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of our loving God, Jesus Christ, who came down to us, to bring salvation to us, out of His undying love for all of us. God bless us all and protect us forever and ever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 16 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

Luke 11 : 42-46

Jesus said, “A curse in on you, Pharisees; to the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting those.”

“A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse in on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people do not notice them, and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when You speak like this, You insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves do not move a finger to help them.”

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Wednesday, 16 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

Psalm 61 : 2-3, 6-7, 9

My soul finds rest in God alone; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and salvation; with Him as my stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Find rest in God alone, o my soul; from Him comes my hope. He alone is my rock and my salvation; with Him as my stronghold, I shall not be overcome.

Trust in Him at all times, my people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is our refuge.

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Wednesday, 16 October 2013 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

Romans 2 : 1-11

Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you are, if you are able to judge others. For in judging your neighbour, you condemn yourself, for you practice what you are judging. We know that the condemnation of God will justly reach those who commit these things, and do you think that by condemning others you will escape from the judgment of God, you who are doing the same?

This would be taking advantage of God and His infinite goodness, patience and understanding, and not to realise that His goodness is in order to lead you to conversion. If your heart becomes hard and you refuse to change, then you are storing for yourself a great punishment on the day of judgment, when God will appear as just judge.

He will give each one his due, according to his actions. He will give everlasting life to those who seek glory, honour, and immortality and persevere in doing good. But anger and vengeance will be the lot of those who do not serve truth but injustice.

There will be suffering and anguish for everyone committing evil, first the Jew, then the Greek. But God will give glory, honour, and peace to whoever does good, first the Jew, then the Greek, because one is not different from the other before God.

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Friday, 4 October 2013 : 26th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, one of the greatest saints of the Church and one of the most well-known saints that we have. He was the founder of the Franciscan religious order, distinguished by their brown habits and simple lifestyle dedicated to the Lord, and his was also the name taken through inspiration, by our current Pope and Vicar of Christ on earth, Pope Francis.

St. Francis of Assisi is well known for his love and devotion to God, and through his numerous good works and contributions for the sake of the Church of God and His people. He was known to be a miracle worker as well, healing many through his ministry, both physically and spiritually. He was honoured with the presence of the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ, on his hands and his feet.

St. Francis of Assisi was born of a rich silk and textile merchant, and lived a life of privilege in wealth and complete sufficiency, with no reason to be worried about his life in this world, having all his needs fulfilled. His father wanted him to continue his business as his heir, but the Lord had a different plan for St. Francis.

One day, when St. Francis was praying in a somewhat dilapidated Church, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Rebuild My Church”. St. Francis misunderstood this as rebuilding the dilapidated church building he was praying in, with leaking roofs and dilapidated walls. Therefore, he went and sold some of his father’s expensive silk clothes and fabrics, and used the money to rebuild that church where God had spoken to him.

His father knew about the incident and he was angry at St. Francis for his actions. St. Francis sought the local bishop for protection and counsel, and when his father complained to the bishop regarding St. Francis’ behaviour, St. Francis chose to leave everything he had ever received from his father, including his clothings. He removed all that and were naked before everyone, and before his father and the bishop. St. Francis gave the clothings and the other of his former possessions to his father.

The bishop, visibly touched by what he saw, covered St. Francis’ naked body with his vestment, and since that day onward, St. Francis abandoned all the former privileges he had in his former lifestyle as the son of a rich silk merchant, and become truly a servant of God and a disciple of Christ. One day, when he prayed, he received a vision of Christ crucified, and miraculously, he received the holy wounds of Jesus on himself, as the first known stigmatist.

As we all know, St. Francis went on to be the founder of the Franciscan order, whose members vow themselves to live in complete simplicity and humility, donning brown robes and sandals to show their commitment both to the Lord and to the poor. St. Francis was well-known for his dedication and service to the least in the society, the poor and the ostracised, the sick and the unloved, following the example of Christ Himself who gave Himself to these people whom many in the society looked upon in disgust and rejection.

St. Francis also championed evangelisation of the Gospel of Christ, and worked hard on his own part, to bring the Gospel to those who have yet to hear it or those who still lived in the darkness. He laboured hard for the sake of God and His people. St. Francis was also well known for his ability to speak to animals, and such is his love for God’s creations, that he also preached to those animals.

In today’s readings, we are urged to realise and know the love that God has for us, and the need for us to be proactive in love, both in loving God and in loving our fellow brothers and sisters. And the need for faith and obedience in God. We cannot be creatures of apathy and evil, but we must be full of love, sympathy, compassion, and faith, both in God, and in one another. That is what the Lord wants from us, and that is what He hopes that we will do, that we, as His children, truly are beings of love, as St. Francis of Assisi himself had done, in his love to all, men, animals, and all creations of God alike.

Therefore, brethren, let us reflect on our own lives, on our own actions and dealings with others, on every word that came out from our mouths and uttered by our tongues, whether they are filled with love, care, and compassion, or whether filled with darkness, viciousness, hatred, apathy, and evil. We are often at unawares that our actions do not reflect love, for either God or for our fellow brethren. We often indulge ourselves with our own selves and immerse ourselves in the depth of our pride and even arrogance, that we neglect others and the Lord, to fulfill our own selfish desires.

We need to open our hearts to love, and following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, to throw aside our sense of vanity and selfishness, to be loving servants of the Lord, to show love in everything we say, in everything we do, and in all our dealings with others and in our dedication to God our Father. Let us take this opportunity to make living the faith we have in God, that we do not end up being just empty in our faith and dedication, but instead having a living and dynamic faith, one that is anchored and strengthened by love.

May the Lord who is love and compassion inspire us to be loving and compassionate as St. Francis of Assisi has done himself, that is to love all men unconditionally, especially those who are poor, rejected, and reviled by the society. We ought to follow his examples and listen to the Lord who heeds us to love, and to follow his commandments, that itself is love. May we remain faithful and loving despite all the oppositions in this world, and despite all the evils and temptations presented to us, to be selfish and to be unloving. God be with us all, always, and may St. Francis of Assisi continue to intercede for us sinners’ sake. Amen.