Saints

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Covering of Images and Crosses in churches : First Vespers of the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Today, in the evening of Saturday, 16 March 2013, after the First Vespers of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the images (statues of saints and our Lord included) and crosses in the Church should be covered, especially if the Bishops’ Conference recommends such a practice.

This is to prepare us for the Holy Week, and to begin the journey towards the Holy Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday), that culminates with the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The crosses are covered until the Good Friday services, when they are revealed to the people, in the Veneration of the Cross. The other images in the churches remain veiled until before Easter Vigil celebration begins.

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Monday, 11 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a, 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, O you His saints, give thanks and praise to His holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my protector. But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing.

O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Thursday, 7 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today let us stand with God and declare our faith and love in Him, that we would not be like the stiff-necked people in Israel in the past, and those who spurned God’s love and even accused Him of doing evil in His divine ministry in this world. For they were blind, blinded by their human weaknesses, blinded by sin and evil that they have committed.

For they have no true love for the Lord in their hearts. They love not the Lord but the praise of men and worldly honour. For these people failed to see the works of the Holy Spirit in Jesus, in healing the disabled, and casting out demons from the possessed. They instead submitted to their human jealousy and hatred of the good deeds of the Lord. There were also those, as mentioned in the Gospel today, put the Lord to the test, to see if He is really sent by God, to test His powers by sending a sign for them to see.

In fact, the act that Jesus did in casting out demons from the possessed had been the very sign that they have sought, in order for them to believe in Him. But they still failed to see, for their eyes were veiled with a thick layer of worldly sin and filth, that prevented them from seeing the works of God that is good. Jealousy is another thing, that it was indeed possible that in the hearts of some of the people gathered there, there brewed jealousy for the powers that God had, in Christ. It was the same case in the Acts of the Apostles, where Simon the sorceror attempted to bribe the Apostles to have the same authority and power given to them. But the authority of God is not purchaseable, and God gives it only to those whom He deems worthy.

Indeed, brothers and sisters, today God wants to show us that we have to believe in God, and not to be distracted by the evil one, that we begin to accuse God’s works as evil, out of our blindness to see the truth, which eventually will cause divisions between us, and in the end, as Christ had said, we will not be able to stand united, and shall fall down.

Truly, we are One, One in Christ, one as a member of the One Body of Christ, that is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, that is our Catholic Church. We must all always remember the warning that Christ had given us today, that no house divided against itself will be able to stand and survive. The devil will not survive if he is divided against his servants and his collaborators, and therefore, so does our Church.

Throughout the millenia since the birth of the Church, there had been many dissents and divisions that led to the painful separation and destruction of unity in the Church of Christ, in parallel to the civil war of the nation as mentioned by Christ. We managed to stay together as the Catholic Church, and even managed to welcome some of our separated brethren back into unity with the One and only Church of our Lord. But even within our Church today, there are divisions, that will threaten to destroy the unity and harmony between all the faithful ones in God.

There are those who are blinded to the reason for unity, and chose to separate themselves from the Universal Church to pursue their own goals and ideas, rejecting all other ideas and anything that our Church had come through in the past 50 years since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. On the other hand, there are many who had succumbed to the world, and buoyed by the evils of the world, begin to demand for worldly changes and innovations to enter the Church.

We must learn to be courageous and say no to all these things that brought disunity and discord into the holy Church of God. We must stand firm despite all the pulls that the world and evil that tried to break up the unity of the Church. How are we to bring back our separated brethren in Christ, those who had been lost in their long journeys in the faith, into the One Church of God, if we ourselves are divided in a civil war against ourselves?

Therefore. brothers and sisters, once again let us pray for unity, both among ourselves, the faithful in Christ already united in His Church, and ourselves and our separated brethren in the myriads of ‘churches’ throughout the world, with our brethren in the Eastern Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Churches, and that very soon, Christ’s prayer and wish that all of us may be one (That they all may be One) just as He and the Father is one and indivisible, will be fulfilled, and all faithful in God, will be One.

Today, we also commemorate the memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, who were martyrs in the early days of the Church. Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity were a noble mother and her slave respectively, who were martyred in the height days of the Roman Empire, due to their steadfastness to stand by their faith and their God, and refused all forms of persuasion for them to leave their faith and convert back into paganism. Their faith in God and solid stand had earned them martyrdom and thus eternal life and place in heaven with God who loves them and all of us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us not be divided among ourselves and instead strive for unity, beginning from those near to us, and gradually let us work for unity of all, reach out to our brother Christians who is not yet in full communion with the Holy Church of God. Pray that all will soon return and be united in Christ in the Church He had established on Peter, the Rock.

Pray for us, Saints Perpetua and Felicity, that we also can follow in your footsteps and imitate the strong and unshakeable faith both of you had in the Lord, even to giving up your life for God’s sake, out of love for Him and His children, all of us. Amen.

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Thursday, 7 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Luke 11 : 14-23

One day, Jesus was driving out a demon, which was mute. When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed. Yet some of them said, “He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” Others wanted to put Him to the test, by asking Him for a heavenly sign.

But, Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.”

“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God, has come upon you? As long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on, and disposes of his spoils.”

“Whoever is not with Me, is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me, scatters.”

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Thursday, 7 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Psalm)

Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.

Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged Me, and they put me to the test.

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Thursday, 7 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (First Reading)

Jeremiah 7 : 23-28

One thing I did command them : Listen to My voice and I will be your God and you will be My people. Walk in the way I command you and all will be well with you. But they did not listen and paid no attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart and turned away from Me.

From the time I brought their forebearers out of Egypt until this day, I have continually sent them My servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no attention and were worse than their forebearers.

You may say all these things to them but they will not listen; you will call them but they will not answer. This is a nation that did not obey YHVH and refused to be disciplined; truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips.

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Wednesday, 6 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Hebrews 12 : 4-7,11-15

Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin? Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children : “My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when He punishes you. For the Lord corrects those He loves and chastises everyone He accepts as a son.”

What you endure is in order to correct you, God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father?

All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it. Lift up then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled but healed.

Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. See that no one falls from the grace of God, lest a bitter plant spring up and its poison corrupt many among you.

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Saturday, 26 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (Scripture Reflection)

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-01-26

Today’s readings focuses on the ministry of the apostles and the early bishops of the Church, which include Saints Timothy and Titus, whose feast we celebrate today. Both saints were the same as those mentioned in the first reading, and were the correspondents in the letter from Paul to them.

Saints Timothy and Titus were the early successors of the Apostles, whose succession was done by the means of the laying of hands by the Apostles. This practice of the laying of hands created the basis of Apostolic Succession established in our Church today, where all bishops today in the world, can trace their authority back to the Apostles, in a chain of bishops unceasing until the Apostles themselves, and therefore, ultimately derive their authority from Christ Himself, as in the Gospel, Christ Himself appointed the disciples, which in addition to the twelve, were to do the work of the Lord, helping Christ in His ministry during His lifetime. After the death and resurrection of Christ, and after Pentecost, many of these disciples would be the first bishops of the Universal Church.

There are many duties expected of these disciples, in particular to bring the message of the Lord to all, especially those who welcome them. The mission would not be easy, as there will be those who reject Christ and thus reject His apostles, to the point of even persecuting them, as what happened during the great persecutions in the Roman Empire, where thousands of the bishops and priests, together with many of their flock were martyred because they stayed true to their faith in God. Nevertheless, the early fathers of the Church persevere in their faith, and as a result the Church grew, and eventually converted the Roman Empire to Christ.

The missions of these bishops and representatives appointed by Christ and His successors were manifold, namely to heal the sick, to bring peace and the Word of God to people who long for them, and to lead the people towards God their Saviour, and most importantly, as St. Paul told to St. Timothy, that the bishops and Church leaders should be beacons of faith and courage, that all others would see in them and be resolved on their own to also have the same faith and love of God. This mission never ends, so long as the world remain in darkness, and many remain out of reach of the Word of God. Let us make haste and bring the Word of God to them, through the ministry of our priests, deacons, and bishops, helped by all of us, which surely will bring many to the salvation in Christ.

Through the laying of hands, the bishops pass down the Holy Spirit that the Apostles had received at Pentecost, which become the foundation of the authority our bishops and priests today have, for their authority is not human or worldly authority, but authority that comes from God Himself. That is why priests today have the authority to forgive sins when we come to them for confession, just as the Lord Himself said to the Apostles after His Resurrection : “Receive the Holy Spirit, and those whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; and those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Through this, the Lord with the Holy Spirit pass down His authority to forgive sin, and to heal the sick, to the Apostles, and from them down to even the humblest and least of priests today. Therefore, let us always pray for our priests that they will remain holy, pure, and steadfast in their faith in God, that they can carry their mission to the best of their abilities. 

We too can play our part to help our priests and bishops, with all the simple things we can do. We can help provide for our priests, and we can also help him to reach further and beyond in his ministries, maybe through transportation or other means of help, and most importantly, we can also pray for vocations! Remember, the Lord Himself said in the Gospel today, how though the harvest is indeed plentiful, and yes, there are still millions out there waiting for the ‘fishermen’ of the Lord to catch them, and to bring the Word of God to them, but sadly, the labourers, that is our priests, are getting lesser and lesser in numbers. The temptations and obstacles of the world prove too much for some to overcome, including family resistance and peer pressure, which can ruin an otherwise brilliant candidate for the priesthood, and how sad it is when we lose a potential priest, just because we do not support him, who could have saved a thousand souls for Christ, and many, many more.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray fervently that the Lord will bless His Holy Church with plenty of faithful and holy bishops, priests, and deacons, and devout young men, dedicated to God, that one day, they may choose to follow Christ and pledge themselves to Him in sacred priesthood. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (Gospel Reading)

Luke 10 : 1-9

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place, where He Himself was to go. And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to His harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals, and do not stop at the homes of those you know.”

“Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house.”

“When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there, and say to them : ‘The Kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’

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Saturday, 26 January 2013 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (Psalm)

Psalm 95 : 1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.

He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!

Do not be stubborn as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah. For forty years they wearied me and I said, “They are a people of inconsistent heart, they have not known My ways.”