Saints

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Friday, 20 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings from the Scripture tell us a strong message that God wants all of us to know. He wants us to realise that we should not crave for human glory and power, or in any form of worldly glory and earthly recognition, but rather instead, we should rely on the Lord and on His precepts, building up our spiritual account rather than piling up our earthly and material wealth.

It is not necessarily wrong for us to gain and accumulate wealth or possession, as the material and the goods themselves are neutral and are capable indeed for both good and evil, as I have often mentioned. We do need them to satisfy the basic needs of our life, and we also can use them to accomplish many good things for others around us.

The problem and the danger comes when we begin to lose sight on the purpose of our lives and the purpose of what we have with us. We end up succumbing to our own personal emotions and human vulnerabilities, which end up in us committing sins before men and before God. Such is what had happened in the first reading that we heard today, on the story of the rise and fall of Queen Athaliah of Judea.

Queen Athaliah was the wife of King Joram of Judea, who met his end together with King Ahaziah of the northern kingdom of Israel, when God meted out His punishment to the house of Ahab, who had brought much wickedness to the northern kingdom. With the death of the king, then one of his sons should have taken over his position as king of Judea. However, as we saw and heard, that was not how things turned out to be.

Queen Athaliah decided to take matters and power into her own hands. As she was not of the House of David, she had absolutely no right to rule in her own right as the Queen of Judea. Yet, she did what she did, and she took power into her own hands after murdering many sons and children of her husband the deceased king, and then installed herself in power, thinking that she had removed all obstacles and were then secure.

Her example was a clear-cut example of how things will go if we allow pride and human desire, in our greed and want, to take over our being, our heart, mind and soul. It corrupted her and many other people throughout history, causing them to fall into the trap of power which the devil had set up to attack us at our most vulnerable, that is our pride, ego and our desire.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must not let our pride, ego and desire to get the better of us, and we have to learn to control them, so that we may avoid what had happened to men and women throughout the centuries, as exemplified by Queen Athaliah, making them to fall into sin and committing things evil in the sight of God and mankind. We must forgo our pride and allow God to come into our love, and speak within our hearts. We have to listen to Him and find out what His will is for us.

In our world today, we are inundated with many things of the world, where achievements, glories, and the power among men are preeminent. Those who have more of all these will receive human approval and praise, and those who have less or none of those will be looked down upon and rejected by the society. This is the hard reality of the world we are living in now.

So what are we to do, brothers and sisters? What should we do? Most importantly, we need to do something that many of us had often not done, in the midst of our busy life schedules, that is to pray, and pray genuinely to the Lord our God. This prayer is not just empty prayers and a prayer without meaning or understanding. A prayer is a conversation with God, a two-way conversation in which we speak with God and He speaks with us.

That is how we should act, to bring ourselves ever closer to God and keeping ourselves always in touch with Him, and there is no better way to do this other than through prayer. Yes, prayer that is made with the heart and through the heart, when we open the doors of our hearts and minds to God who then may keep in touch with us and touch our heart with His love.

May the Lord guide us in our ways and our lives, so that we may not follow the path of decadence and evil, controlling our emotions and avoid falling into the temptation of power and pride, and give ourselves totally to God’s love and providence. May He bless us all always and forever. Amen.

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Friday, 20 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 19-23

Do not store up treasures for yourself here on earth, where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.

For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!

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Friday, 20 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 131 : 11, 12, 13-14, 17-18

The Lord swore to David a promise, and He will remain true to it : I keep your descendants on your throne.

If your sons keep My covenant and the decrees I have taught them, their sons, too, will sit forever upon your throne.

For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling. This is My resting place forever; this I prefer, here will I dwell.

From here a Saviour shall come forth, a Son of David; here shall shine forever the lamp of My Anointed. In shame will I clothe His enemies, but upon His head a crown shall shine.

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Friday, 20 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 11 : 1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom.

Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the House of YHVH for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land. In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the House of YHVH. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king’s son.

The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day.

Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of king David which were in the House of YHVH. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the House of YHVH.

Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king’s son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, “Long live the king!”

When Athaliah heard the noise of the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the House of YHVH. The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason, treason!”

Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, “Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her.” He gave this order, because he thought, “She should not die in the House of YHVH.”

They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king by the horses’ entrance, there they killed her.

Jehoiada made a covenant between YHVH and the king and the people so they would be the people of YHVH. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar. Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the House of YHVH.

All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king’s palace.

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Thursday, 19 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listen to how our Lord taught us Himself, how we should pray, and in the first Reading, we also learn how we should become, or what are the things expected from us as the children of God and as His disciples. The two prophets, Elijah and Elisha are the ones mentioned, and they and their actions ought to be our model of the faith.

And in relation to all of that, I would like to bring your attention to the saints whom we are celebrating today, the Saints of the Vietnamese persecution of the faithful, also known as the Vietnamese martyrs, led by the Vietnamese priest, St. Philip Minh. They consisted of the laity and the religious, all thoroughly dedicated to the cause of the faith.

They all faced persecution for their faith and for their work in testifying and proclaiming that faith to others around them. As we know, Elijah and Elisha the prophets faced many difficulties in their mission, as we can read from the two Book of Kings in the Bible, how they had to go from town to town, and even having to exile themselves in foreign lands at times, when their lives were in considerable danger through being opposed to the king and the people’s wickedness.

St. Philip Minh and his companions, the Vietnamese martyrs lived through different periods of time spanning several hundred years, but they all faced similar opposition and persecution against their faith, when many were asked to choose between recanting their faith in Christ and live or to abandon and forsake Christ in exchange for their lives.

The Vietnamese monarchy and the government, ran by strongly Confucian-influenced officials and nobles viewed the faith in Christ as an aberration in the society and as a great and terrible threat to the unity of the nation and to the authority of the Confucian-run government. Hence, the officials and the Vietnamese Emperor officially went on a great persecution and opposition against the faith and the faithful.

Yet, the faith made great progress in Vietnam, and even it still does until this very day. Persecution against the faith and the faithful still continues even to this day, under the atheist and anti-faith Communist government in power, and yet the faithful continued to go on in their daily struggle and remain true to their faith in the Lord.

The Vietnamese martyrs showed us a great example of how we should treasure and live our faith meaningfully, for they had been tortured and forced to recant their faith, and yet they persevered on, and they did not give in to the demands and the offers of their executors and torturers. They chose to remain faithful and continued with their evangelisation of the faith, be it through their work or through their death, that they bring more and more souls into salvation and into knowing God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it does not mean that we should seek martyrdom or be confrontational about the faith, but instead it means that we should not take our faith for granted, and we have to be active and genuine in living our faith. We have to realise that in having and in keeping this faith, we will find ourselves often standing in opposition to the values and ways of the world, because we belong to the Lord. Remember, as Jesus Himself said, that this world hated Him and therefore it would hate us too.

Our faith life will inevitably meet challenges and difficulties along the way, some of which had happened to the prophets Elijah and Elisha, as well as to St. Philip Minh and his companions, the Vietnamese martyrs. The question now is, are we able to follow in their footsteps and remain faithful to the Lord and walking in His ways at all times, despite the challenges and difficulties?

Let us from now on reflect on this, and on the lives and actions of the prophets and the martyrs, that we may reflect on our own lives and actions. Let us hope that we may change for the better, and grow stronger in our faith, that our faith may be genuine and filled with love, both for God and for our fellow men. God bless us all. Amen.

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Thursday, 19 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 6 : 7-15

When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they believe that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.

This, then, is how you should pray :

Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.

Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.

If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.

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Thursday, 19 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 96 : 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Clouds and darkness surround Him; justice and right are His throne.

Fire goes before Him, burning His foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth watches and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.

Shame on worshippers of idols, on those proud of their worthless images. Let all spirits bow before Him.

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Thursday, 19 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Philip Minh, Priest and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Sirach 48 : 1-15

Then came the prophet Elijah like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number.

Speaking in the Name of the Lord, he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.

How marvellous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? By the word of the Most High you brought a dead man back to life; you brought kings to destruction and thrust famous men from their beds.

You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb; you anointed kings to be avengers and prophets to succeed you.

You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses. It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live. Such was Elijah, taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit.

During his life, no leader could shake him, no one dominated him. Nothing was too difficult for him and even in death his body prophesied. In life he worked wonders, in death his deeds were amazing.

Despite all this, the people were not converted and did not turn away from sin; not until they were deported far from their country and scattered over the earth.

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Wednesday, 18 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are given a very fundamental and thought-provoking question. Is our faith for the Lord and for the glory of His Name? Or is it for ourselves and for our own glory? It is easy for us to lose our focus in faith, which will result in us falling on our way towards Him. We must stay focused and stay strong in our faith, and listen to the word of God which Jesus had made clear to all.

God desires none other than our love and devotion, and He does not need flashy display of our dedication, or long prayers made in the view of the entire world to see, if this is done for the sake of our pride and our desire to be known and heard. What God needs from us is the correct orientation of our hearts, that is for us to show Him our entire hearts and minds, filled with no other thought than devotion to Him.

This is of course easier said than done, as it is in our human nature to be distracted, that is to indulge in our own pride and selfishness instead of thinking about God, or dedicating ourselves in love to Him. We have to break free from this trap, brethren, that we do not fall into self-glorification and self-praise, especially as we live through this life and as we attain certain achievements and good things in life.

We have to always remember that we have to always give glory to God with all the things we do, and we have to always remember that all the great things we are capable of doing, are all possible because of the Lord and His help, which He had given to us in abundance throughout our lives. We have to be like His servants Elijah and Elisha the prophets, who worked hard throughout their lives, not for their own glory, but for the glory of God for whom they lived for.

Elijah and Elisha served the Lord without hesitation, and their faith were genuine. Indeed, like all humans do, they were all tempted especially when harm and difficulties came their way, but they did not falter. They worked not for their own glory or for human praise, but instead for the glory of God and for the good of His people. They even faced danger and being hunted by the pagans and the wicked as they were doing their ministry to the faithful.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is the kind of devotion that we need, not the empty and meaningless prayers and actions that we do not implement in our own lives consciously and in real terms. This is the kind of love that God wants from each and every one of us. He knows all that we do, and He knows all of our intentions, in all actions and words that we commit and say.

That is why the Gospel today is a warning, a reminder and an admonition against us, by our loving God, so that we may not fall into the same trap into which many of our forefathers had fallen into, that in doing good things sometimes many of us grew to forget the real purpose of such actions, and were overwhelmed by the praise and glory that we attained, that we ended up committing sin before God.

Let all our actions from now on be truly genuine and pure, pure in intention and heart, and that they may be genuinely concrete in helping our less fortunate brethren, by the outpouring of our love and care, so that we may truly walk in the way of the Lord, and be considered righteous and true before God our loving Father, with genuine and pure intention and not falsehoods or self-glorification. May God be with us all, and bless our actions this day, that they may bring life and love to others. Amen.

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Wednesday, 18 June 2014 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seen in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.

If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.

When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will reward you.

When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have already been paid in full already. When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.