revelation of truth

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Saturday, 12 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

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

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s lesson from the Holy Scriptures show us that while God is great and Almighty, enthroned above all else on thrones and angels, and covered by the holy and mighty seraphs and cherubs, He is still a loving and gentle God, who loves us all equally, and who gave us the greatest gift in none other than Jesus, His own Son and His own self.

Many of us often cower in fear before God, thinking that He is some sort of monster or such great figure that we need to fear and be trembled at, such that we ended up closing ourselves against Him, and do not let Him to come into our hearts. Our God is a loving God and a merciful God, just as much as He is God who hates and dislikes sin in all of its forms.

We fear many things, and we have various forms of our own fears in life. And foremost of all, we fear death in all its forms. Some people fear of losing their loved ones, and some fear of losing their possessions and material goods. Others fear darkness, while some fear the light instead. And as I said, many of us fear God and His presence.

But as mentioned in the Gospel today, rather than fearing those things that cannot harm our soul, and can merely our bodies and our earthly presence in this short life we have on earth, we should rather worry about the One who has the power to destroy us body and soul for eternity, that is none other than God Himself, who has the authority over all the living and the dead, including all of us.

Nevertheless, as I have said, there is no need for us to fear God, for He is truly loving and forgiving. If only that we draw nearer to His throne of mercy, then we, as long as our hearts are genuine in our own love and dedication to the Lord, will be given redemption and forgiveness. We have this fear in our hearts that God will punish us or hate us because of our sins, and therefore, this creates a mental block that prevent us from proceeding on our way to salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why we need to balance, between our fear of God, and our love for God. God is both merciful and wrathful, the former for our love and repentance, and the latter for our rebelliousness and sins. We must not fall into the trap of fear, that is so much fear that we are afraid to seek God’s forgiveness and therefore end up falling deeper into sin and darkness.

We cannot be lax in our life either, as if we end up too lax with ourselves, then we may fall into the other trap of Satan, that is temptation. If we do not have a certain discipline in our life and in our faith, we will stumble and fall in the face of the constant onslaught of the devil. We must be ever vigilant and ready to resist the devil, and follow always in the ways of our Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, the key lies in our readiness and focus in this life, and in our obedience and constant devotion to the Lord. Let us all change our ways so that we may reflect better our Lord’s ways. Let us ask God, who is enthroned among the seraphim and the cherubim, that He may send His angels to help us and guide us on our way, that we may remain well within God’s love and grace.

May Almighty God be with us, and may He strengthen our faith so that we may not fall into temptation and sin, and that we may also walk faithfully in His ways. God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 11 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen about how God cares for us, and indeed, how He takes very good care of us, even after we have sinned and rebelled against Him. And even though this life we have in this world may be difficult and filled with challenges, He will not abandon us or let us walk alone in the darkness.

And today we celebrate the feast of St. Benedict, a well-known saint and monk, who was also known by the name of St. Benedict of Nursia, who founded the Benedictine religious order, and was well-known for his strict rule for his religious order, which entails a strict regimen of prayerful life and life lived in perfect harmony with one another and with God.

But this rule also shows the great values of love, faith, and hope that is instilled in generations of monks and religious, not only in St. Benedict’s religious order, but also many other orders who drew their inspiration from St. Benedict and his works. From this we can see, how this saint was truly a great saint, and how his works had laid a strong foundation of faith for many throughout history.

St. Benedict and many other holy men and women, and many religious and workers of the Lord were truly as what Jesus mentioned in the Gospel today, that is to be like sheep among the wolves, to walk in the path of God amid a worldful worth of sin, temptation and difficulties which Satan placed in our way, to prevent us from reaching salvation in God.

St. Benedict and the many others who came before and after him were all truly faithful and good disciples of the Lord. Not only that they remained faithful amidst all the cunning tricks and lies of the devil in order to subvert all mankind into his cause, but they also worked hard, for the good of all God’s people, and spreading the Good News to the whole world.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must follow in the examples of St. Benedict of Nursia, that in our faith we must be truly dedicated to Christ our Lord. We cannot be half-hearted in our faith. Instead, we must ensure that every actions and deeds that we do is in tune with the Lord and His will. We must have a good prayer life and time dedicated for the Lord in our lives. We cannot excuse ourselves of having no time for God.

For if we do not open ourselves to the Lord and allow Him to work His wonders in us, then we risk endangering ourselves by bringing ourselves closer to the corruptions of this world, and yet without God as our anchor for us to hold onto, so that we may not be lost in the torrents and streams of this world. Many of mankind had failed and had fallen on their way to the Lord, all trapped and fell along the way as they got distracted from their true goal in life, that is God.

In this life, mankind are always tempted, every day of their lives. We cannot escape from the allures of the world, and all the good things that Satan used in order to detract us and pull us away from our way towards the Lord, and therefore into damnation. It is easy for us to follow our desires and our needs, and therefore forget about what our Lord had taught us. And this is truly dangerous, brothers and sisters, for we have to remember that, we have just this one chance, and only this chance in life to be freed from the ensnarement of sin.

We need to have a discipline in this life, to control our actions and deeds, so that we may temper our desires, so that we may not be enslaved by them, and therefore will not easily succumb to the temptations of Satan. Therefore, let us follow the example set by St. Benedict and many other holy men who followed after him, and also many those who came before him. We must have a heart shaped and dedicated for love, one that will not bend in the face of evil and its temptations.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves to a new life in Christ, one that is founded on light and not on darkness, one that is founded on love and not hatred, and one that is founded on life and not death. Let us all work together, so that we may begin anew in Christ, and live worthily from now on, if we have not done so. May Almighty God guide us and bless us on our way. St. Benedict of Nursia, pray for us as well, that we may be more like you in faith. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Holy Scriptures are truly appropriate for the occasion of the day. For today we celebrate the feast of many martyrs of the faith, that is the Chinese martyrs, who died defending their true faith zealously despite persecution and oppression from their own countrymen and authorities who viewed them as their enemies.

The Chinese martyrs are led with St. Augustine Zhao Rong, one of the first Chinese native priests, who was brought up in the faith, together with many others who were converts to the faith, and who zealously defended their faith, even unto the point of death. The Chinese martyrs, or more appropriately termed the martyr saints of China were a large group of holy martyrs, both native Chinese faithful and many missionaries from different countries who committed themselves to the spreading of the Word of God.

However, the situation and the general condition in China during the times when these martyrs lived, that is between the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, and some to the early twentieth century coincided with the reign of the Qing Dynasty in China, which was highly isolationist and suspicious of any threat to its rule, as they themselves were the conquerors of China and were not safe in their reign, beset by numerous rebellions.

Although I try not to go to much into detail about the history of China at the time, but it is very important for us to understand it briefly to know the reason why the faithful were tortured and had to suffer even death. The Chinese civilisation and the many dynasties ruling over the Empire of China had a very long and venerable history, and rich ensemble of achievements, as long as very long history of self-sufficiency and prosperity.

The Chinese people and the Empire in particular sees itself as the centre of the world, and the centre of all civilisations, as the Middle Kingdom, another name that China is well known of, a direct translation of what the Chinese people called their own state, even until today. The other civilisations, states and countries were considered inferior to the Chinese civilisation, and these were often regarded as barbarians.

When the first missionaries brought the faith to China, and in particular when the age of active missionary actions brought the faith to China a few hundred years ago, the faithful were seen with both contempt and suspicion by both the authorities and the people as a whole. The missionaries were valued by the authorities, including the Chinese Emperor, for their skills in science and other aspects of knowledge and learning, but regarding the faith, they were greatly restricted in their actions.

Yet this did not stop many from listening to the word of God, to the word of truth, and casting aside the falsehoods of the world, they chose to follow the Lord and became one of the faithful like us. But because of the prejudice and the hostility with which the others saw these faithful, they suffered greatly under persecution, both secretly and openly. And eventually many died and were killed under various circumstances, especially when the faithful were openly attacked and persecuted against.

St. Augustine Zhao Rong and many of his other companions in sainthood and martyrdom, coming from different era and times, encompassing several centuries, might have had different lives and different experiences of faith, but they all shared the same experience of defending their faith and their soul against damnation, in choosing to keep faithful to the Lord instead of apostasy for the sake of worldly safety and well-being.

Their examples showed us how martyrdom is not something confined to the past, to the times of the Ancient Rome or the Middle Ages, but is something that is real to us and to the faith. Persecution and martyrdom is common, especially in our world today, where intolerance against both our faith and we ourselves, the faithful is constantly on the rise, from various avenues and sources. Persecution and opposition against the faithful is getting more and more common, and even acceptable to the world.

But as we see in the Scripture readings today, the Lord called many to His side, and made them His disciples and Apostles, all with the sole intent of bringing His words and salvation to this world and all of the people living in it. God sent them first to His first chosen people, the direct heir and descendants of Abraham that is the people of Israel. Yet, the first among God’s chosen ones did not respond well, and thereafter, God sent all of His disciples to proclaim His words among all the nations, for the salvation of all peoples.

As rejection and opposition faced the disciples and the Apostles as they ministered with their Lord to the Israelites, the same kind of reception should also indeed be expected for all the servants of the Lord across the entire world, going about to preach the words of salvation and living their faith, just as what happened to saints and martyrs throughout the ages, including St. Augustine Zhao Rong and the others, the martyr saints of China.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all ask the intercession of the holy saints and martyrs of China, of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, so that they may pray to God to strengthen our own faith, that in our time today, we may always be true to our faith, and live our faith genuinely in full obedience to the Lord, rebuking Satan and all of his false promises and lies.

May the examples of the martyrs help us to live our own faith with zeal and love, for the good of all of us, and for the good of all mankind. May Almighty God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 July 2014 : 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 11 : 25-30

On that occasion Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased You.”

“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

“Come to Me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest. For My yoke is good, and My burden is light.”

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Thursday, 3 July 2014 : Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus.

In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

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Thursday, 2 January 2014 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 2 : 22-28

Who is the liar? The one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is an antichrist, who denies both the Father and the Son. The one who denies the Son is without the Father, and those who acknowledge the Son also have the Father.

Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you too, will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise He Himself gave us : eternal life.

I write this to you thinking of those who try to lead you astray, you received from Him the anointing, and it remains in you, so you do not need someone to teach you. His anointing teaches you all things, it speaks the truth and does not lie to you; so remain in Him, and keep what He has taught you.

And now, my children, live in Him, so that when He appears in His glory, we may be confident and not ashamed before Him when He comes.