repentance

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Thursday, 28 August 2014 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of one of the greatest saints of the Church, that is St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the four original and the greatest among the Doctors of the Church. His mother, St. Monica was the saint whose feast day we celebrated just yesterday. This is to indicate it very clearly to us, of the close bond and link that existed between these two saints, particularly what St. Monica had done for the sake of St. Augustine her son.

St. Augustine was a great sinner, and in his youth, he led a life filled with vices and evil. He pursued the pleasures of the flesh and body, and all the desires of the world, as he thirsted for knowledge and satisfaction in things he thought as those that might be able to satisfy what he needs. Yet, he was not able to gain what he sought, although he tried to find it through immersing himself in philosophy and in gaining the knowledge of the world.

In this pursuit as well, St. Augustine of Hippo was influenced by those around him to follow the teachings of the false prophet Mani, who founded the Manichaean heresy. Manichaeanism was a very popular teaching among the philosophers, hedonists and all those who sought refuge from the increasingly ubiquitous teachings of the Christian faith, which these people despised.

St. Augustine therefore embarked on a very wrong path in his youth, and despite constant urging and persuasion by his mother, St. Augustine continued to adamantly walk on the path of sin and evil, giving himself away to the forces of Satan working in the world through his falsehoods and lies. Yet, St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine did not give up on him, and she ceaselessly prayed and hoped for his conversion to the truth and repentance.

And indeed, all of the hard works of St. Monica and all of her prayers did not go unheard. The Lord who worked in His mysterious ways brought St. Augustine to accept the truth, and eventually he left his past sins and sinful way of life, and ever since, followed only the Lord and lived according to His ways only. Thus, through the persistence and prayers of his mother, a great saint and thinker of the Church was born anew.

The lesson we can gain here at this point is that, in line with the reading we heard today from the Old and the New Testaments, when we live our lives and our faith, we must always be ready and be vigilant, so that we would not fall into the traps and lies set up by the evil one and his forces. The coming of the kingdom of God in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ had been foretold by the Apostles and through the revelations of faith, and Jesus Himself stressed that He will come again.

And the key message is that this coming of the Lord at the end of time will be sudden and without our prior knowledge, and no one can know the day or time, until when it is already too late for us if we have not done our preparations in this life. We have been given many opportunities in this life, but we often miss them or pretend that we do not care or that those do not concern us at all. At thus, similarly, when death comes to claim us at the end of our lives, which will also be sudden and without our knowledge, it will also be too late for us.

And that was exactly why St. Monica prayed so hard for the sake of her son, and how much she worked to help bring her son to salvation. That is because if the time comes and we have not yet repented and turned away from our sinful ways, then it is truly too late for us. No amount of work or anything done beyond that point can save us, and we will end up like the rich man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, where the rich man died and suffered for eternity in hell, with no more hope of salvation and the final judgment had been cast on him.

The readings from today also highlighted on the need for us to prepare ourselves well, to sanctify ourselves in the Lord and lead a holy and dedicated life, casting out all impurities and sins away from our bodies and souls. We need to cast away our pride and our desires, so that our lives may be more closely aligned to the will of God, and to what the way of the Lord tells us. St. Paul mentioned that just as our Lord is holy, we who have been saved in Him and who believe in Him must also be holy like Him, or otherwise we would have no part in His promised salvation.

To those of us who believe and put our trust in God, we will not be disappointed, for the Lord Himself would grant us fulfillment and blessings of His grace to the brim of our souls and beings, that we will be completely satisfied and empowered, providing that we put our trust and faith in the Lord, and ask Him always for His providence and help.

I would therefore also like to share with you on this feast day of St. Augustine, the story of how St. Augustine is now often associated with a seashell. This was in fact because, one day, St. Augustine was walking on the seashore, contemplating and thinking about the great mystery of the Lord and His divinity, as well as the nature of the Holy Trinity. Then he saw a young boy with a seashell, trying to carry all the seawater in the world with the seashell and pouring it into a hole in the sand.

St. Augustine asked the young boy what he was doing, and he commented on the futility of such an attempt to empty all the seas using the seashell into such a small hole in the sand. But then the boy replied to St. Augustine, saying that the same is happening for the quest of mankind to understand and uncover the fullness of the mysteries and the truth about the Lord. If the sea and all its waters represent the mysteries and truths of the Lord, then that small hole is indeed our limited and flawed intelligence and understanding.

It was likely that the Lord Himself or an angel appeared to St. Augustine in the form of the small boy, in order to remind mankind, that they ought to put their trust in the will and in the wisdom of God rather in their own limited human intellect, which was not able to comprehend the fullness of the truth about God. By understanding and realising this, St. Augustine of Hippo continued to work harder and harder to bring the Lord’s teachings and good works for the sake of the salvation of many souls.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us grow more and more aware of the life that we lead now, and whether we are suitably prepared for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by examining and deliberating on the kind of actions we have used in this life, the kind of words that we have used in life and in how we converse with one another, and ultimately the kind of love which we show one another, or the lack of love in our actions.

Let us help one another, inspired by what St. Monica had done for her son, St. Augustine, and if we have fallen into sin and darkness along the way, then let us rise again just as St. Augustine had risen from the darkness of the world into the light of Christ and begin anew in the Lord. Let us cast away all evils and impurities from our lives, and be ever vigilant and ready for the coming of our Lord, that when He comes again, He may find us ready and worthy of Him.

May Almighty God be with us, guide us on our way, that we may follow in the footsteps of St. Augustine of Hippo, the sinner turned into a great saint and pillar of the Church, who brought many souls into salvation, so that we too may help one another to reach the throne of our Lord’s merciful heart and be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 August 2014 : 21st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Monica (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented yet again with the great necessity for us to truly live in the faith, walk in the faith, and act according to our faith. It is necessary for us to embody what we believe in, not in just our external dispositions and appearances, but even more importantly that even in our heart, mind and soul we may be utterly transformed to conform the way of our Lord.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law claimed to represent the faith, and they claimed to have great piety and devotion to God, but their hearts were in fact devoid of the love of God. What was in their heart is the love for their own selves and the concern for their own well-being, status, fame and influence. This was why Jesus rebuked them so harshly, for they misused and abused the authority they had been entrusted with.

Then St. Paul in his letter to the faithful in Thessaly also emphasized on the need for action and work rather than mere inaction or passivity in life and in how the faith is lived on. We cannot be mere bystanders or have a passive attitude in living our faith, or else we can indeed be grouped together with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as hypocrites and lazy people who neglected their responsibilities and duties to the Lord and His people.

As we all know, faith without good works is a dead faith, and it does us no good nor help us in our way towards salvation. For those who believe that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, then they have failed to understand that faith itself cannot exist without a concrete and deliberate act on our part to live that faith in reality, through our words, deeds and actions. Faith is real and living only when we have taken steps to implement what we believe in our daily actions and deeds.

Otherwise, faith by mere thinking and understanding alone is not enough, as this kind of faith, not only that it is weak and shaky, but it is also not capable of inspiring others to also follow our suit in faith. Worse still, if our actions and deeds do not match that which we believe in, then we are truly hypocrites, who believe and say one thing in this manner, but do not act on it in the same way, and instead in ways contradicting what we profess to believe.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Monica, a great woman and saint, who lived during the time of the late Roman Empire. St. Monica was renowned especially because she was the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the four great original Doctors of the Church, and one of the most crucial pillars and builders of the Church, particularly the Church of the Western Roman Empire, centred in Rome, the heart of Christendom.

However, the virtues of St. Monica did not just come about because she was the mother of a great saint. In fact, it was in her role as a mother and a servant of the Lord that St. Monica had been found worthy of heaven as a holy saint together with her son, whose works and ministries for the Church inspired many around the world at that time, and brought about the salvation of many souls. If that was the role of St. Augustine of Hippo, then St. Monica’s role was equally important, that is the salvation of her son’s soul.

St. Monica was married to a rich Roman nobleman, Patricius, who was still the follower of the traditional Roman religion, the worship of the pagan gods of the Roman Pantheon. St. Monica herself was a Christian, and she was very devoted in her faith, which she showed through her generous charity and works. Her husband had a very bad temper and he was easily angered, but St. Monica worked and prayed hard for his eventual repentance and turning to the way of the Lord.

She also had three children, one of which was to be St. Augustine. St. Monica cared for him greatly and prayed for his sake, that he would grow to be a faithful and devoted servant of God, like that of his mother, having been baptised in early age. However, St. Augustine would go on to disappoint her greatly by immersing himself in the hedonistic and materialistic pleasures of the world, and went on to follow the practice of the syncretist and heretical Manichaean religion.

Although St. Monica was greatly saddened by the actions of her son, she continued to pray and did her best to convince him to return to the faith and repent. It was said that St. Monica wept daily because of her son, and she ceaselessly prayed for his sake, showing the true love of a Christian mother. She followed her son as he went for his journey, and working with another holy saint, St. Ambrose of Milan, she eventually succeeded in turning her son back towards the Lord, who eventually became a great pillar of the Church and the faith.

St. Monica did not give up, and every day, she thought only of her son, and she prayed fervently and without end for the salvation of his soul. This is the kind of faith that we need, one based on dedication, hard works, filled with prayers, tears, hope and action, as what St. Paul had written in the first reading today, and which Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for, due to their inactivity and hypocrisy in faith.

As we can see, the actions of St. Monica would go on to bring much good for the Church and for countless among the faithful. If not for her hard work, we would not have the wonderful works of St. Augustine, who in turn inspired countless people throughout the ages, and even today, who also followed in the footsteps of St. Augustine and repent their past ways and turn back towards the Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on the Scripture readings today, and on the actions of St. Monica, let us all think about our own lives, whether we have been truly active in living our faith and dedicating ourselves to God, not just by mere words, but also through actions and deeds. Let us all from now on, live our faith truly and concretely if we have not done so, for the good of all the faithful, that more may turn back towards the Lord and be saved. God bless us all and our endeavours. Amen.

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Dedication and Prayer for those who are suffering under persecution for the sake of their faith in God

St. Augustine of Hippo once said, “He who sings prays twice.” Thus, with the limitations and the resources I have, I would like to dedicate these in prayer for the sake of those who are currently suffering under great persecutions for the sake of their faith in God.

I would like in particular to commend those in Iraq, Syria and other places where the faithful are in a great and terrible danger and tribulation, on the run from those who seek for their lives, because they believed in the Lord.

May God hear our prayers and be with our brethren in their time of need, and that He may abide with them and be on their side, rescuing them from their enemies and those who seek their destruction. May He also bring those who persecute His faithful into His truth and light, that they may repent and turn towards Him.

 

Abide with me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

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(Usus Antiquior) Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 24 August 2014 : Homily and Reflections on the Holy Scriptures

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard how Jesus opened the ears and the tongue of the deaf and dumb person, who was brought to Jesus to be healed, and healed he was indeed. The openings of his ears were opened and the ligaments of his tongue loosened, he could therefore hear and speak once again. And it is in particular important for us to take note how this is closely related to the testimony of St. Paul to the Church in Corinth, on how he came about to the faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today’s Scripture and Gospel readings in fact talk about what happened during our own baptism, that singular and very important occasion when we are welcomed to be a member of the Holy Church of God, that is to no longer live in sin and in the darkness of this world, but instead embracing the light of Christ, professing Him to be our Lord and Saviour, and therefore cast out the veil that had blinded us and our senses to the great truth and majesty of the Lord. This applies to us be it that we are baptised in our early days in life or when we are baptised as adults.

In this Usus Antiquior rite, the celebration of the Mass of the Ages, we still faithfully kept in fullness the entirety of the sacred traditions we inherited from our fathers in faith, since the time of the early Church. And one of these sacred traditions was exactly the replica and reenactment of the actions which Jesus had done to the deaf and dumb man. This is called the Ephphetha or the opening of the ears and tongue, with the exact same meaning of the actions of Jesus we heard today.

The priest would do the same to the baby or the person being baptised, putting some spittle in the ears and touching the tongue of the person to be baptised, while saying the word, ‘Ephphetha’, to represent that because the priest in the person in Alter Christus, that is Christ personified, he represents the Lord who comes to open up our senses and end our blindness to His love and grace. And this is the very crucial and important meaning to this tradition we have kept faithfully since the beginnings of the Church.

This is meant to show the importance of baptism, as the gateway towards salvation, when we decide with full firmness and confidence to leave our old, sinful ways behind, that is also to leave behind a life of uncertainty and filled with doubts, and instead, come towards the Lord in order to begin a new life filled with faith, hope and love in the Lord. That means we are no longer blinded to God and His care for us, and we turn our back to our past lives, forgiven and given a new chance in life.

However, this must not stop here, as to stop here means that we have not done our part in life as the member of the Church and as the children of our loving God. In this, we can look at the example of St. Paul and what he had done for the sake of the Lord and his faith in Him. Remember, brethren, that faith saves us only if we commit ourselves to do good works based on that faith which we have, for without good works, our faith is as good as dead, and therefore we will not have any part in the salvation of God.

Baptism as I mentioned, with the rite of Ephphetha is just the beginning. It opens us up to the presence and to the power of God, which we are able to access and use for the good of ourselves and for those around us. All of us, each and every one of us had been given a special gift, all by the Lord who knows us and who knows what we are capable of doing. Therefore, it is only right that we use what we had been given with in order to bring much goodness to this world.

St. Paul himself was once a great sinner and even a great enemy of all the faithful, as Saul, the young Pharisee and zealot, who in his great but misled zeal, ended up pursuing, hunting and murdering many of the faithful of the earliest Church, the disciples of Christ in cold blood. He took part in the killing of the first martyr, Deacon Stephen, and he also hunted many of the faithful throughout Judea and Jerusalem, showing no mercy even to women and children whom he had dealt with.

He had even planned with great fervour and spirit to spread his works and persecutions to other places, with Damascus as one of his targets. Blinded as he was with hatred and misguided faith, as well as with the lies of the evil one, he seemed to be heading directly towards destruction and eternal damnation, but this was not what the Lord had in plan for him.

The Lord called Saul on the way to Damascus, revealing Himself and His truth to this wayward son, who eventually repented and was baptised by Ananias, the disciple of Christ. When Ananias laid his hands on Saul to heal him from his physical blindness, a scale which had covered his eyes fell off and he could see again, but then, this together with his baptism shortly later did not constitute just the opening of the physical eyes and senses, but eventually also the spiritual senses, allowing him to receive and understand what the Lord had in store for him and mankind.

This was how the great enemy of the Church and the faithful was completely transformed to become the greatest champion of the Lord and the bravest defender of the faith. No longer acting against God and His people, instead he preached about the Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ with a renewed purpose and zeal, calling many others to repent and follow in his footsteps. This is the purpose of his letters, which we heard today, that is to call mankind to repent and to love God sincerely once again.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are called to reflect on our own lives, whether we have been following the Lord and whether we have done what is expected from us to do, as His followers, His children and as members of His living Church, the Body of Christ. Have we done our parts to help in the evangelisation and the conversion of many who still lived in darkness? Remember that just like the deaf and dumb man whose ears and tongues were opened, and like St. Paul whose eyes were opened and allowed to see again, we too have been restored in the fullness of our senses, not just physical but also spiritual.

We have our part to play in order to be witnesses of our faith. We should follow the example of St. Paul who spoke up for his faith and who proclaimed to many others in great humility, the honour and chance he had been given with by the Lord, who had called Him from the darkness into the light, giving him a new lease of life and a promise of life eternal in Him.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we also celebrate today the feast of St. Bartholomew, also known once as Nathaniel, a righteous man who was called by Jesus to be His disciple and Apostle, and who faithfully exercised his part to play in God’s plan of salvation even unto his martyrdom and death in the defense of his faith, let us all also follow in the footsteps of these saints. We have also been called by the Lord, given much by the Lord, and we ought therefore give back to Him what we can give, by showing our dedication to others, sharing our faith with those who have little or none.

May Almighty God therefore guide us in our goodness and works. May He be with us and grant us courage to speak up for our faith, that those who listen to us may also believe, and those who see our deeds and actions may also decide to be the followers of the Lord, and thus bringing more souls towards the salvation in God alone, that what we experienced at our baptism may also be experienced by others, removing the blindness of our body and soul, and enabling us all to experience the love of God. God be with us all, always and forever. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 17 August 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings clearly highlighted the need for all of us to have a good and proper way of prayer and living our faith, namely one that is not tainted with our personal and human desires, hubris and sins of our heart. The Pharisee prayed not with the wholeness of his heart, mind and soul, and his being is not entirely focused on the Lord as he prayed, which is truly not the way for us to communicate with our Lord and God.

For prayer is indeed a communication between us and the Lord, and it is important that in prayers, we talk with the Lord from our heart to His heart, but we must also be able to listen, and therefore we may listen to the words of the Lord speaking in our hearts. The Pharisee was engaged in a litany of self-praise and self-aggrandisment, and not only just praising his own goodness, as he also looked down on others and thinking of others as being not as good as himself. This is what we must not do.

We are all sinners, brethren, like that of the tax collector, or the publican. And he knew the full weight of his sins before him, and that was why he was so repentant and felt so unworthy before the Lord. He did not put down others, and he certainly did not boast about his achievements, but rather, he allowed God to work His wonders in him, by opening his heart, mind and soul wide open for the Lord to bring light back into his darkened self.

And the Lord had given us much to build up on during this life we have on earth. Why is this so? Because God had given us the spirit of life and that is why we are living now in this world. However, we who have believed in the Lord and have given ourselves to be baptised in the Most Holy Name of the Most Holy Trinity also received in us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just as the disciples of Christ had received that day on the occasion of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit, as we all know have seven cardinal features and seven types of fruits that can be born out of the Spirit in us. And the Holy Spirit also gives us various abilities and endowments, all according to our needs and to the will of the Lord in giving us those gifts and blessings. But there are those among men who claim to be able to get all the numerous gifts of the Spirit, without understanding what they are truly about.

Yes, I am talking about those common practices of ‘speaking in tongues’ practiced often by our heretical and unrepentant brethren in the so-called Evangelical and Pentecostal tradition of the Protestant ‘churches’, who often go so far as to make the practice of tongue-speaking as the mainstream of their worship. They pronounced babbling sounds as if they are speaking in tongues, mimicking the speeches of the Apostles, but this is in vain. In fact, they do not proclaim and praise the Lord in doing that, but instead invoking Satan to be present among them to tempt them.

The way to serve the Lord is not through this method, as when we do that, we have to remember the action of the Pharisee and the publican or the tax collector in their respective prayers. What is the intention of speaking in tongues? This is a dangerous practice that if done without understanding, and it is also already prevalent even among certain sections of the Church, that this will lead the faithful not towards the Lord, but towards the self-aggrandisement of the Pharisee.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am also talking about those who in the Church, are claiming to represent the will of certain peoples, claiming that they are fighting for equality among different groups, some representing the women and some the laity as a whole themselves. Let me ask you this question, brothers and sisters in Christ, why did the Lord created us men and women in the first place? And why was there the division between the priesthood and the laity in the Church?

The answer to the first question is clear, as we are intended by the Lord to complement each other. Women were born from men, and without men, women are incomplete, and so therefore, men are incomplete without women. That is why, we can never have any equality in literal sense between the males and females in our society and in our Church, because each of us, man and woman are born with a particular purpose in life, and we have been given the specific gift, much like that of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Then regarding the priesthood and the laity, it is also similar. Those who are in the laity are those who choose to have an ordinary life, following the routines of this world that is to have a family and beget children for the love and glory of God, and those in the priesthood dedicated their whole life in devoted service both to God, their Lord, Master and Bride, as well as to the whole mankind.

We cannot stand for this kind of irresponsible movements and notions, and they are tantamount to challenging the Holy Spirit and God Himself, as if they are asking for the wholeness of the gifts that God had given mankind, which is a sign of hubris and human pride, which had once made Satan fall from his place of honour and glory, and which will also bring about our downfall if we are not careful.

Let us all reflect on this, and let us all lay down our pride, our arrogance, our human desire for fame, greatness and glory. Let us instead be like the tax collector, opening our hearts wholly and sincerely to the Lord, so that He may speak to us in the depth and in the silence of our hearts. Let us all build a culture of prayer, and not just any prayer, but prayer deeply rooted in our faith and in our desire to love both mankind and the Lord our God beyond all other things.

May Almighty God bless us and our endeavours, and strengthen the faith within us that we may all be examples for the world, becoming beacons of light in the darkness. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 17 August 2014 : Holy Gospel

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Luke 18 : 9-14

In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus ad quosdam, qui in se confidebant tamquam justi et aspernabantur ceteros, parabolam istam : Duo homines ascenderunt in templum, ut orarent : unus pharisaeus, et alter publicanus.

Pharisaerus stans, haec apud se orabat : Deus, gratias ago Tibi, quia non sum sicut ceteri hominum : raptores, injusti, adulteri : velut etiam hic publicanus. Jejuno bis in sabbato : decimas do omnium, quae possideo.

Et publicanus a longe stans nolebat nec oculas ad caelum levare : sed percutiebat pectus suum, dicens : Deus, propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Dico vobis : descendit hic justificatus in domum suam ab illo : quia omnis qui se exaltat, humiliabitur : et qui se humiliat, exaltabitur.

English translation

At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves as just, and despised others : Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one was a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee standing prayed thus with himself : “O God, I give You thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also this publican. I fast twice in the week, and I give tithes of all that I possess.”

And the publican standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven, but struck his breast saying, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

I say to You, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, because every one that exalted himself shall be humbled, and he who humbled himself shall be exalted.

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Sunday, 17 August 2014 : 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Romans 11 : 13-15, 29-32

Listen to me, you who are not Jews : I am spending myself as an apostle to the pagan nations, but I hope my ministry will be successful enough to awaken the jealousy of those of my race, and finally to save some of them. If the world made peace with God when they remained apart, what will it be when they are welcomed? Nothing less than a passing from death to life.

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.

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Saturday, 16 August 2014 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the essence of today’s Scripture readings that we heard is that we have to cast away our old lives and habits filled with sin. We have to seek the Lord with a faith much like that of the faith of a children. And why children? This is because, as we all know, a children’s heart, mind and soul are pure and immaculate as on the day when they were born, and they had not yet been corrupted by the many evils in the world, which had turned many people away from God and into destruction.

Jesus told His disciples to have faith like that of a children, and rebuked them for being angry with children coming towards Christ. Indeed, the faith of a child is a pure faith and one that is genuine and devoted in fullness of the heart, and also of the mind and soul. And thus, we too should also be like those children, who come and seek the Lord with true and genuine intentions, for them to come and approach the Lord with love and desire to be with Him.

It is much too often for us, for all mankind to be so engrossed with many things in our lives that we have often forgotten about God, our loving Lord and Father. And not only that, we also often forget about the laws and precepts of the Lord, and instead we grow fond of our own way of life, and how we see others live in this world, and therefore we end up defiling ourselves with sin and impurities that made us incompatible with the goodness of the Lord.

However, this does not mean that we have no hope or that we should despair over our conditions. What is necessary is that we are awakened and become aware of our shortcomings and sinfulness, so that we may know of the urgency with which we should act in seeking the Lord and asking for His forgiveness for our sins. Repentance and honesty in seeking forgiveness is the key, and this is very important for us to realise before it is too late.

God desires not our destruction, for each and every one of us are truly dear and precious to Him. We have been created as the greatest of His creations, with His own image printed on our faces and with the breath of His spirit within us, giving us life and strength. He has blessed us with much goodness and blessings, and we have been given so many opportunities to make use of whatever guidance He had provided us along the way that we may find our way towards Him.

Therefore, it is important for us to learn to use these opportunities given to us to help ourselves to escape from the trap and the temptation of sins, and look towards the light that is in the Lord. And today we celebrate the feast of a saint, who helped to bring many people, namely his people to the Lord, repenting from their great sins and come into the light of the Lord in faith.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen of Hungary, who was also the very first king of Hungary, the one who brought the faith to the people of Hungary, who was once the barbarian tribe of the Magyars who came to settle in the land of what is today’s Hungary over a thousand years ago. He was the first of the leaders of Hungary who was devoted to the Lord, and throughout his long reign, he established much of the structures of the Church in Hungary, bringing more and more people towards the faith.

St. Stephen of Hungary was truly a devout servant of the Lord, who worked hard to bring better lives to all of his subjects, and to bring them closer to the Lord through numerous initiatives designed to strengthen the faith via numerous missionary works and charitable acts, of which many were done by the king himself. The king generously donated much properties to the Church that they were able to build up a healthy and sizeable services to the faithful. More and more souls in the end were saved because of the works of St. Stephen.

Therefore, today, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are all invited to reflect on our current lives and the state of our souls, hearts and minds. Have we all been like those children who freely and sincerely sought the Lord Jesus without any reservations or doubts, and whether we have practiced what the Lord taught us through His disciples in our actions and in our words.

Hence, brethren, let us all once again seek the Lord and help one another to reach out to the Lord. Let us also never bar anyone from reaching out to the Lord, especially not those who truly and sincerely want to find God and follow Him. Let us ask for the intercession of St. Stephen of Hungary, that we may also follow his examples in piety and charity.

May Almighty God be with us this day, open our hearts and minds, that we may grow to love Him more and more, seeking Him with every moments of our lives. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 14 August 2014 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 77 : 56-57, 58-59, 61-62

But they challenged and rebelled against God the Most High, and disobeyed His decrees. They were unfaithful like their ancestors, deceitful and crooked as a twisted bow.

They angered Him with their high places; they aroused His jealousy with their idols. Filled with wrath, God rejected Israel.

He lead His glory into captivity, His Ark into the hand of the enemy. He gave His people over to the sword, so furious was He at His inheritance.

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(Usus Antiquior) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 27 July 2014 : Epistle

Lectio Epistolae beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans.

Romans 6 : 19-23

Fratres : Humanum dico, propter infirmitatem carnis vestrae : sicut enim exhibuistis membra vestra servire immunditiae et iniquitati ad iniquitatem, ita nunc exhibete membra vestra servire justitiae in sanctificationem. Cum enim servi essetis peccati, liberi fuistis justitiae.

Quem ergo fructum habuistis tunc in illis, in quibus nunc erubescitis? Nam finis illorum mors est. Nunc vero liberati a peccato, servi autem facti Deo, habetis fructum vestrum in sanctificationem, finem vero vitam aeternam.

Stipendia enim peccati mors. Gratia autem Dei vita aeterna, in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro.

English translation

Brethren, I speak a human thing, because of the infirmity of your flesh; for as you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification. For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from justice.

What fruit therefore had you then in those things, of which you are now ashamed? For the end of them is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end life everlasting.

For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord.