Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Friday, 28 June 2019 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Romans 5 : 5b-11

Because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; and we have become just, through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason, now we may be saved, through His life. Not only that, but we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, Our Lord, through Whom we have been reconciled.

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Friday, 28 June 2019 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

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

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

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

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

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

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Friday, 28 June 2019 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Priestly Life (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ezekiel 34 : 11-16

Indeed YHVH says this : I, Myself, will care for My sheep and watch over them. As the shepherd looks after his flock when he finds them scattered, so will I watch over My sheep; and gather them from all the places where they were scattered in a time of cloud and fog. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from their countries. I will lead them to their own land; and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in all the valleys and inhabited regions of the land.

I will take them to good pastures on the high mountains of Israel. They will rest where the grazing is good, and feed in lush pastures on the heights of Israel. I, Myself, will tend My sheep and let them rest, word of YHVH. I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak; but the fat and strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd My flock with justice.

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Friday, 8 June 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great occasion of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this day, we focus on the most loving Heart of Our Lord, Who has given everything for our sake, the Lord Jesus, Who even did not hold back from suffering for our sake, and dying on the cross for our salvation.

This Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had its roots from the long-established and traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart, which began hundreds of years ago, as popular devotion to the love which God had shown us, and which the Lord showed His servant, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, in a vision of His Most Sacred Heart, crowned with thorns and pierced, with a burning flame above the Heart, as a sign of His ever-burning and living love for each and every one of us.

This devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the oldest existing devotions in the Church, and one that all of us should be appreciative about, as it brings us to remember about the great love which God has shown to us, in His generous and rich mercy. The Church has decided to celebrate this Solemnity with great devotion, in order to benefit all of us on the way to our salvation in God.

First of all, we have to realise just how great the love which God has for each and every one of us, from the holiest of persons to the greatest among the sinners. To everyone, to all the children of men, God has shown His love, as personified in none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, the Love of God made Man, as St. John wrote in his Gospel, that God so loved the world, that He sent to the world and to us, His own Beloved Son.

And just as we often represent love with a heart, as the heart, is the source of our life, through the beating heart that is a sign of life, and also of emotions, because our heartbeat increases when we are feeling happy, intense, or in love, then, God’s love is represented in the same way, as the loving Heart of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is how the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus gained its place in our faith.

And symbolically, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, we heard about another important event involving the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord. It was during His crucifixion, right after He gave up His Spirit and died. As the chief priests and elders did not want the bodies to remain on the cross throughout the Sabbath, the Roman soldiers were instructed by their superior to ensure that the thieves and the Lord Jesus were dead.

Hence, they broke the bones of the legs of the thieves, an act which through our scientific research discovered that this could cause immediate death or very quick death to those criminals who has been left to hang on the crosses for hours. But at that time, the Lord Jesus was already dead, and many of the people who were there, including the soldiers witnessed His passing.

Nonetheless, in order to ensure that the Lord Jesus was truly dead, the Roman soldier, which by tradition was known as St. Longinus, pierced the side of the Lord with his lance, and immediately came pouring out blood and water from the Lord’s side. One would wonder why the Roman soldier pierced the side of the Lord to ensure that He was dead, if the heart is not even located at that part of the body.

That is because a Roman soldier like St. Longinus was very well-trained in numerous arts of warfare, and he must have been well-trained to hit the critical parts of the body, including the heart, from various places including from a person’s side. And when a person died, it has been determined by experience that if a person’s heart is pierced, there would be water accumulating in the spaces surrounding the heart, and hence, water and blood will come pouring out.

But the symbolism of the blood and water that came out from the side of the Lord Jesus was much greater than all of that. At every time the Holy Mass is celebrated, the priest mixes the wine with a little bit of water into the sacred chalice, and the material for the Precious Blood of the Lord was prepared. Both water and wine must be present, so as to make the whole process and Sacrament to be valid.

This is because the wine, usually red wine, with the colour of blood represents the Divinity of Christ, while the water represents His humanity, which are mingled together yet separate, distinct yet united, at the moment when the Lord offered Himself as the perfect Sacrifice on the Altar of the cross at Calvary, offering Himself as the perfect oblation for all of our sins.

The blood and water, symbolically represented by the wine and the water at the Mass, therefore shows us the salvation of God, brought forth by the giving of His life, the outpouring of His Body and Blood, given to us and shared with us, that all of us who partake in His Body and Blood, will have eternal life and share in the joy and glory of God forevermore.

That is just how much the Lord has loved us, and therefore, we ought to love Him just in the same manner. And that is why we devote ourselves to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, because ultimately, we believe that despite our shortcomings and sins, God has shown us His love, and He is willing to forgive us, provided that we are also willing to repent from our sins and turn wholeheartedly towards Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore deepen our devotion to the Lord, especially today, in His Most Sacred Heart. Let us draw ever closer to Him, and be filled with resolve to love God with a renewed vigour and faith. And let us also show the same love to our fellow men, as He has taught us to do. May the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord continue to pour His love upon us, and give us His generous mercy as always. Amen.

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Friday, 8 June 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 19 : 31-37

At that time, as it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men broken, so that the bodies might be taken away.

The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other man, who had been crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, so they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced His side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.

The one who saw that, has testified to it, and his testimony is true; he knows he speaks the truth, so that you also might believe. All this happened to fulfil the words of Scripture : Not one of His bones shall be broken. Another text says : They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced.

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Friday, 8 June 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Ephesians 3 : 8-12, 14-19

This grace, was given to me, the least, among all the holy ones : to announce to the pagan nations, the immeasurable riches of Christ, and to make clear to all, how the mystery, hidden from the beginning, in God, the Creator of all things, is to be fulfilled.

Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover, through the Church, the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan is being fulfilled, which God designed from the beginning, in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. In Him, we receive boldness and confidence to approach God.

And, now, I kneel in the presence of the Father, from Whom, every family in heaven and on earth has received its name. May He strengthen in you, the inner self, through His Spirit, according to the riches of His glory; may Christ dwell in your hearts, through faith; may you be rooted and founded in love.

All of this, so that you may understand, with all the holy ones, the width, the length, the height and the depth – in a word, that you may know the love of Christ, that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled, and reach the fullness of God.

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Friday, 8 June 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Isaiah 12 : 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

He is the God of my salvation; in Him I trust and am not afraid, YHVH is my strength : Him I will praise, the One Who saved me.

You will draw water with joy from the very fountain of salvation. Then you will say : “Praise to the Lord, break into songs of joy for Him, proclaim His marvellous deeds among the nations and exalt His Name.”

“Sing to the Lord : wonders He has done, let these be known all over the earth. Sing for joy, o people of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Friday, 8 June 2018 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Hosea 11 : 1, 3-4, 8c-9

I loved Israel when he was a child; out of Egypt I called My Son. Yet, it was I Who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; yet, little did they realise that it was I Who cared for them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as One Who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them.

My heart is troubled within Me and I am moved with compassion. I will not give vent to My great anger; I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not human. I am the Holy One in your midst: and I do not want to come to you in anger.

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Monday, 16 October 2017 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Hedwig, Religious and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious and Virgins)

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture speaking to us about being called by God and believing in Him, through what we have heard and witnessed. In the Gospel passage today, Jesus the Lord compared the people of Israel at the time of His coming with the people of the city of Nineveh, to whom the prophet Jonah had been sent.

In the past week, we have been listening to the story of the prophet Jonah and how he initially was reluctant to follow God’s orders telling him to declare to the people of Nineveh the message, but eventually he obeyed and went to Nineveh. He told the city and the people of Nineveh that the entire city would be destroyed because of the sins and wickedness committed by them.

The entire city believed in the message of the prophet Jonah, and repented from their sins, turning from their wickedness, sincerely showing forth their repentance. And God forgave them their sins. He spared their city and the entire people from destruction. When the prophet Jonah was angry at God’s seemingly sudden turnaround and change of mind, He explained that after all, He loved each and every one of them, regardless of their sins.

The key message here is that, if only that they are willing to repent from their sins, then God will forgive them. But if they refused to repent and believe in the Lord’s message, and continued to walk in the path of sin, then God will reject them because of those sins. It was due to sins unconfessed and unrepented that many had fallen into damnation and into the fires of hell.

And why did Jesus make the comparison with the people of Nineveh? That is because while the people of Nineveh believed and repented. On the other hand, the people of Israel at the time of Jesus and their ancestors refused to believe in God, either through the prophets sent to remind the Israelites, or through the Lord Jesus Himself. They hardened their hearts and closed their minds against God.

That is why God was angry at the people of Israel, for not following the examples what the people of Nineveh had done. The people of Israel always took pride in themselves being the chosen people of God, and as the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and yet, the people of Nineveh, often considered as a pagan and unbeliever, belonging to the Assyrians who were often reviled in the history of Israel as the destroyer of the northern kingdom, in fact believed in God and repented.

What the Lord wants each and every one of us to know is that, for all of us, God has given the equal chance for redemption and forgiveness, to be reconciled with Him and to be transformed from the creatures of darkness and sin that we were once, into the creatures of the light. But it is ultimately up to us to make the conscious choice between obeying and following God, or to abandon God and walk in the path of sin.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us should heed the examples of our holy predecessors who have gone before us, devoting their lives for the sake of God and His people, loving God their Lord through all of their actions. St. Hedwig or St. Hedwig of Silesia was the wife and widow of the Duke of Silesia in what is now Poland, renowned for her great piety and love for her people, while St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a holy woman renowned for her devotion to God, particularly to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

St. Hedwig was renowned for her great piety and exemplary religious life, devoting her time to care for her people, and she spent much of her time for charitable purposes and in the proper upbringing of her children. In fact, one of her sons and daughters is now considered as a candidate for sainthood himself, as two years ago the case for the beatification of Henry II the Pious, son of St. Hedwig was opened. St. Hedwig devoted herself completely to God after she was widowed, and joined religious life, to live in a life filled with prayer and commitment to God.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque meanwhile was a nun and mystic who received many visions from the Lord, showing her particularly the aspect of His Most Sacred Heart. It was through her visions that the now popular devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was propagated and promoted among the faithful. She wrote extensively about her experiences and all that the Lord Jesus told her.

In her own way, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, as well as St. Hedwig had inspired countless numbers among the faithful and those who did not believe in the Lord alike, calling all of us to the salvation and reconciliation with God. Through these holy saints, God wants to call us and to give us a chance at redemption, and now the choice falls upon us. Are we willing to listen to God’s words speaking to us in the depths of our hearts?

May the Lord bless us with strength, courage and the ability to devote ourselves anew to our God, listening to Him and following Him in our lives. Let us turn our backs from sins and from all the wickedness that we have committed in this life. May the Lord be with us always, and may He empower us to be ever better disciples of His. Amen.

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Monday, 16 October 2017 : 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 : 29-32

At that time, as the crowd increased, Jesus spoke the following words : “People of the present time are troubled people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation.”

“The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here, there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here, there is greater than Jonah.”