San Diego

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Friday, 9 December 2016 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard from the Scriptures the contradictions from the ways of the Lord and the expectations of this world, as the Psalm we sung today show how different is the path of the wicked from the path of the just and the righteous. It is a reminder for us that as Christians, many of us should wake up to the reality that not all of the ways of our faith are acceptable and easily welcomed by the standards of this world.

But many of us often live our lives oblivious to this fact, and often it is because we are not living our faith in the manner it should be done. We are often lukewarm in our faith, and we are not practicing what we believe, but rather we follow the norms of this world, even though some of these ways and norms may be contrary to what we believe in our Christian faith.

It is a question that we should ask ourselves in this time of Advent, as we come to prepare for our celebration of Christmas. Are we living our lives in this world out of routine and just trying to do what this world is expecting us? Are we just following the motions and follow what this world has shown us? Have we ever stood up for our faith in the Lord and dared to be different by living our faith genuinely, even when others around us disapprove, ridiculed us and even rejected us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to challenge ourselves in how we live our lives in faith. We cannot be lukewarm and ignorant any longer, for those who have professed to believe in the Lord and yet their actions showed otherwise, these will be found wanting by the Lord, as those whose faith are not living, but dead, for faith without good works, as St. James said in his Epistle, is as good as dead.

Perhaps, we should follow the example of the holy man whose feast we are celebrating today. St. John Diego or St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was one of the first saints of the Americas, then known as the New World. He was one of the first natives of the New World to convert to the faith, after it was brought there by courageous missionaries who delivered the word of God and His Good News to those people still living in the darkness and ignorance of God.

Through his newfound faith in God, he was inspired to live an upright and honest life in accordance with God’s ways, and he was devoted to good works and charity, caring especially for his sick uncle with devotion. And it was told that this upright and devout man received a vision and apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of God, what is now known as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

St. John Diego received the apparition of Mary at a hill known as Tepeyac, where now the great Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located at. He saw the Blessed Virgin clothed in the traditional cloth of the natives known as the tilma, and then related the experience to his local bishop. The bishop doubted this vision, and he did not believe at first that Mary had appeared to him.

For several times the apparition appeared again and again to St. John Diego as he went about carrying out his works among the poor as a lay member of the Franciscan religious order. And eventually the bishop asked for a sign that this vision is truly an authentic and trustworthy one. The Blessed Virgin appeared to St. John Diego with an instruction to go to the hill of Tepeyac, and there he found many white flowers that are not usually found in that region.

St. John Diego gathered the flowers in his own cloak or tilma and hurried back to the bishop to show him the flowers he had gathered. However, what surprised the bishop most was not the flowers, but rather what he saw was printed inside the tilma of St. John Diego, which is none other than the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe herself.

And ever since then, many people were saved because of the inspiration of St. John Diego, through the vision of the miraculous cloak or the tilma upon which the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is printed, which is now enshrined in the great Basilica, and through the messages that Our Lady passed on to St. John Diego, which he disseminated among the faithful.

From his example, we should be inspired by his dedication to the Lord, his upright and just ways, and despite the opposition and ridicule from others, in this case, from his own bishop and from his relatives, he nevertheless continued to persevere on nonetheless, and as a result, brought many others to salvation and liberation from sin.

May all of us be able to follow in his footsteps and be good and devoted disciples of the Lord ourselves. May He bless us and strengthen our faith, so that in all the things we say and do, we will always bring glory to Him and to His Name. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us all sinners. Amen.

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Friday, 9 December 2016 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)
Matthew 11 : 16-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain : ‘We played the flute for you, but you would not dance. We sang a funeral song, but you would not cry!'”

“For John came fasting, and the people said, ‘He is possessed.’ Then the Son of Man came, He ate and drank, and people said, ‘Look at this Man! A glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet the outcome will prove Wisdom to be right.”

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Friday, 9 December 2016 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)
Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Friday, 9 December 2016 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)
Isaiah 48 : 17-19

Thus says YHVH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel : I, YHVH, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go. Had you paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from My presence.

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Wednesday, 9 December 2015 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the Lord Who calls all His people to Himself, that they should put their trust, hope and commitment to Him, for His way is salvation, and in Him they will find rest and the solution of their troubles. The Lord reminded us that after all the sufferings and troubles we may encounter on our path of being faithful to Him, we shall find our eternal rest in Him.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, God spoke to us through the prophet of the importance our putting our trust less in ourselves and in our own abilities, and placing more trust in the Lord and in what He can do for us. This is what we have to learn and what we have to accustom ourselves to, as in following our own path, or the path shown by the world, only uncertainties lie ahead of us.

We often did not realise that we have so many limitations with us, our shortcomings and vulnerabilities, and yet we are easily swayed with pride and hubris, thinking that whatever good and great things we have achieved, they were due to our own abilities and our own strengths. And as a result, this is why many of us have this tendency today to forget about God and all the good things He has done for us.

And many of us only seek the Lord and try to find Him, begging and beseeching Him whenever we are in distress and in times of difficulty, but when good tines are upon us, many of us readily forget about the Lord and instead become focused on satisfying our ego and our hearts’ desires first above all. And this is why we tend to be swayed away from God, as we only remember God when we are in need, and if what we wanted are not fulfilled by God, we tend to become angry against God.

This is not the way for us to relate to our God, our loving Lord and Father. And neither is the way that follows our own whim and desires. For God is a loving God, Who cares for us all especially because we are His beloved ones, the most beautiful and beloved among all of the things and life that He has created, and yet many of us did not show the love that we ought to give Him.

God has given us so many good things, all the blessings and graces that filled our lives on this earth, and the greatest of all being this life that we have been blessed with, is also a gift from God, and yet many of us do not realise how thankful we are to breathe every single seconds of our lives. Instead, we become preoccupied with ourselves, with our desires and the things that we want in this world, and we fail to give thanks to Him Who had made everything possible for us.

Let us take note of the examples of the saint whose feast day we celebrate on this day, St. Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, also known as St. Juan Diego, a Native American saint whose life was spent in total and complete dedication to God and to His blessed mother Mary. And he also spent many hours in prayer and spiritual devotion, while also being loving and charitable to his brethren around him.

He dedicated his whole life, together with that of his family, his properties and possessions, for the sake of the Lord and His Church. And his piety was truly renowned, and many people became inspired by the faith that St. Diego has shown. And he received many visions and inspirations of faith that helped to deepen his faith and the faith of those who are around him further.

On one occasion, the Blessed Virgin Mary herself appeared to him in a vision telling him to go to a hill and gather flowers that grow on the hill, and wearing his cloak, also known as tilma, he went to the hill and found flowers that did not normally grow on that location. He gathered them back and went back to the governor, to whom St. Juan Diego had related his vision.

The governor doubted the veracity and authenticity of the vision, and he asked for a proof. St. Juan Diego gathered the flowers as a proof as directed by Mary, and when he showed the flowers to the governor, what shocked the governor was not so much the flowers but the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary herself that was printed upon the tilma or the cloak, which from then on were known by its more popular name of our Lady of Guadalupe.

From this example, we can see how the Lord rewards those who are faithful and devoted to Him. And He will bless and love all those who commit themselves to Him in faith. And He will show His favour to all those who belong to Him, and He will never abandon them to the darkness. The examples, the piety and the dedications of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin should be an inspiration to all of us, to lead a life devoted to the Lord in all things.

Let us all learn to place our trust in the Lord and commit ourselves to live in accordance with the will of God, so that all of our words, deeds and actions will always be pleasing to God, and He Who sees all and knows all, will keep us forever in His grace, and grant us eternal life and happiness that He has promised to all of His beloved ones. God bless us all. Amen.

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Wednesday, 9 December 2015 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Matthew 11 : 28-30

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “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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Wednesday, 9 December 2015 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10

Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor does He punish us as we deserve.

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Wednesday, 9 December 2015 : 2nd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Saints)

Isaiah 40 : 25-31

“To whom, then, will you liken Me or make Me equal?” says the Holy One. “Lifted up your eyes and see : Who has created all this?”

He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one of them is missing. How can you say, o Jacob, how can you complain, o Israel, that your destiny is hidden from me, that your rights are ignored by YHVH?

Have you not known, have you not heard that YHVH is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, His knowledge is without limit.

He gives strength to the enfeebled, He gives vigour to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in YHVH will renew their strength. They will soar with eagle’s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.