Scripture

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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

In today’s Gospel, Christ taught the people of Israel who followed Him, the parable of the sower, which is truly a well-known parable to us. This parable tells us about how the faith that we have, is not to be taken for granted. Indeed, we should not just let the faith that we have to go stagnant and remain just within us. If we cultivate the faith that is in us, through our good works in the name of the Lord, we can put our faith into practice, and truly, just as Christ said, we will bear fruits of our faith, thirty, sixty, and hundredfold.

Why does then Jesus teach in parables? It is because, for those who truly have the faith, and have the faith rooted in them through their actions and love, these parables will truly be meaningful to them, and by listening to these parables, their faith is strengthened. Then, to those who does not even have the faith, even if Christ is to explain the parables clearly to them, they still would not believe.

To all of us, therefore, who has been baptised in Christ, we are privileged to have been part of God’s redemption, and we also receive the mystery of the kingdom of God as given to the Apostles, and we have the Scripture, through which, we can understand more on the mystery of God and the salvific mission of Christ. We also have our priests and fellow brothers and sisters in the Faith, who can further teach us and make us understand even more. Nevertheless, through the parable, Christ also warned us of what can happen if our faith remain stagnant and does not take root in our hands, we too can fall in our path towards Christ.

Those seeds that were eaten by the birds, are like those of us who are tempted by Satan and sin, who in his various attractive ways, he could steer even the holy ones into sin and therefore death. Satan has many ways to detract ourselves from the path to God, especially by offering worldly things and goods, that if we are not strong in our faith, we can be easily led astray, similar to those seeds who are choked by the thorns. These distractions and temptations are the ‘thorns’ that choke the faith that is present in us. Therefore, we have to ensure that our faith is deeply rooted in Christ. How to do so? Simply by striving to read the Scripture every day, reading the Word of God, which fulfill our spiritual hunger, and strengthen the anchor of faith we have in Christ. We should also spend some time in prayer every day, and indeed in all things that we do, we should pray before and after, before to ask the Lord for strength, courage, and guidance; and after to give thanks to the Lord for His blessing and company.

Let the faith takes deep root in us, or else we would become like those seeds that withered because they have no roots. In happiness or sadness, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, we should hold on fast to our faith in God. Do not just seek God when we are sorrowful, but share our joy too with the Lord, and never forget the Lord when we are in trouble. Just because we are in trouble it does not mean that the Lord is not with us. He is with us, and He carried us through the tribulations and troubles, and with His aid, we shall prevail. No matter what evil throws at us, if we remain strongly anchored in Christ, and do God’s will through our dedication to our brothers and sisters in need, we will not be harmed by the evil one.

Then, let us also strive to participate fully in the celebration of the Mass, through which the Lord comes down to us in the form of His Precious Body and Blood. This is no separate sacrifice, unlike those sacrifices of animals and grains as prescribed in the Book of Leviticus for the people of Israel in the Old Testament, where those sacrifices must be repeated continuously for the sake of the sins of the people.

The Sacrifice of the Mass, is the same Sacrifice Jesus Christ, our Lord made on Calvary, on the cross, through which He gave up Himself that all of us are saved. In the Mass, the priest, in persona Christi, or representing Christ, offer Himself to the Lord, through the bread and wine, which is converted into the very Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, the only worthy sacrifice, worthy of all our sins, that through them, our sins are forgiven.

Therefore, receive the Lord often, and prepare for Him a worthy and holy Temple in your heart, worthy of Him, and this will deepen our faith in God, such that indeed, the seed of faith planted in us, will not just stay dormant, but will bear fruit, thirty, sixty, hundred, and even thousandfold and more. Amen.

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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Mark 4 : 1-20

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake; but such a large crowd gathered about Him, that He got into a boat and sat in it on the lake, while the crowd stood on the shore. He taught them many things through parables. In His teaching, He said, “Listen! The sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some of the seed fell along a path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil; it sprang up immediately because it had no depth, but when the sun rose and burned it, it withered because it had no roots.”

“Other seed fell among thornbushes, and the thorns grew and choked it, so it didn’t produce any grain. But some seed fell on good soil, grew and increased and yielded grain; some seed produced thirty times as much, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.” And Jesus added, “Listen then, if you have ears.”

When the crowd went away, some who were around Him with the Twelve asked about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But for those outside, everything comes in parables, so that the more they see, they don’t perceive; the more they hear, they don’t understand; otherwise they would be converted and pardoned.”

Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the Word. Those along the path, where the seed fell, are people who hear the Word, but as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.”

“Other people receive the Word like rocky ground. As soon as they hear the Word, they accept it with joy, but they have no roots, so it lasts only a little while. No sooner does trouble or persecution come because of the Word, than they fall.”

“Others receive the seed, as seed among thorns. After they hear the Word, they are caught up in the worries of this life. false hopes of riches and other desires. All these come in and choke the Word, so that finally it produces nothing.”

“And there are others who receive the Word as good soil. They hear the Word, take it to heart, and produce : some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred times as much.”

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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre, and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Hebrews 10 : 11-18

So, whereas every priest stands daily by the altar offering repeatedly the same sacrifices that can never take away sins, Christ has offered for all times a single sacrifice for sins and has taken His seat at the right hand of God, waiting until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet. By a single sacrifice He has brought those who are sanctified to what is perfect forever.

This also was testified by the Holy Spirit. For after having declared : “This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come – says the Lord – I will put My Laws in their hearts and write them on their minds.” He says : “Their sins and evil deeds I will remember no more.”

So, if sins are forgiven, there is no longer need of any sacrifice for sins.

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Today, once again Jesus emphasized on the importance on doing the will of God, and obeying the commandments that God gave us, handily summarised by Christ into the two most important commandments of all, that is love. As Christ said, “Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Therefore, to do the will of God, is to do these commandments of love, to be loving to all around us, to be ready to help whenever someone is in need, and of course, to love God Himself, by spending some time for Him, with Him, everyday, even in our busiest days. We also love God through our dedication and active participation in the Holy Mass, to approach the Lord sincerely to receive Him into our being, into our hearts. And finally to also participate in charitable activities, and share the love of God to all mankind.

The Lord don’t just want sacrifices, rituals, and prayers from us. Although indeed, prayers, rituals, and others are important, and cannot be ignored, it is paramount that we make our faith alive by putting it into practice for the benefit of our fellow brothers and sisters, that all mankind can share in the love of God, and can be truly brought out of worldly suffering, so that bereft of these sufferings, all of us can truly focus our hearts of the Lord and worship, and love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.

It may seem to those who take the passage literally that Jesus was rebuking and was being rude to His own family, and especially His own mother, Mary. But no, this is simply not the case, as Jesus truly loves all around Him, and most loved of all is His mother Mary, through whose dedication and obedience to God, Christ was born into our world. Rather, Christ through His words to the people at that time wants to tell all of them that, they too can be like His mother Mary, if they truly love God, and obey God’s commandments, and to truly focus all their beings towards God, just as Mary did. Mary is truly the role model for all of us, the greatest of all saints.

Then, we too are the brothers and sisters of Christ, and in Christ, since we are all become the children of God upon our baptism, when the Lord welcomes us as His. No longer Satan and sin have any power over us, since through the Lord, we are promised of eternal life. But again, this alone is not enough. We need to practice our faith, and show that we are worthy of being the children of God, through our good deeds to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Therefore, today, and indeed, all the days of our life, let us strive to do our best to spread God’s love through our own actions, and strive also to always listen to the will of God, and do what God asks of us. Let us pray that the Lord will send us His Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our ministry, and also pray for our priests that they too will be ever stronger in their faith and dedication, in serving the Lord and all of us, God’s children. Amen.

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Mark 3 : 31-35

Then His mother and His brothers came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call Him. The crowd sitting around Jesus told Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking around at those who sat there, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to Me.”

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 10, 11

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and be awed, and put their trust in the Lord.

Sacrifice and oblation you did not desire; this You had me understand.

Burnt offering and sin offering you do not require.

Then I said, “Here I come!”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

I have not locked up in my heart Your saving help, but have spoken about it – Your deliverance and Your faithfulness.

I have made no secret of Your truth and of Your kindness in the great assembly.

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Hebrews 10 : 1-10

The religion of the Law is only a shadow of the good things to come; it has the patterns but not the realities. So, year after year, the same sacrifices are offered without bringing the worshippers to what is the end. If they had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have felt guilt and would have stopped offering the same sacrifices.

But no, year after year their sacrifices witness to their sins and never will the blood of bulls and goats take away these sins.

This is why on entering the world, Christ says : “You did not desire sacrifice and offering; You were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings.” Then He said, “Here I am. It is written of Me in the scroll. I will do Your will, o God.”

First He says : “Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were You pleased with them – although they were required by the Law.” Then He says, “Here I am to do Your will.”

This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus.

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Thank you to all the visitors! Pray for me and this blog. 500 views has been reached.

My blog posts have been viewed more than 500 times in the past 11 days by visitors from various countries. Thank you for visiting my humble blog. Pray for me that I will continue to be strong and faithful to write on about the faith, about His Scripture, and about the Lord Himself.

Total views : 517

Distribution by country (Total recorded : 500)

1. Singapore : 169

2. United States of America : 139

3. Philippines : 47

4. United Kingdom : 36

5. Canada : 17

6. Malaysia : 13

7. Italy : 10

8. Ireland : 8

9. Australia : 7

10. India : 5

11. Trinidad and Tobago : 4

12. Indonesia : 4

13. Belgium : 4

14. Germany : 4

15. Poland : 4

16. Argentina : 3

17. Namibia : 2

18. Malta : 2

19. Mexico : 2

20. France : 2

21. Switzerland : 2

22. Colombia : 2

23. Laos : 2

24. Brazil : 2

25. Kenya : 1

26. Macau : 1

27. Croatia : 1

28. Timor Leste : 1

29. Chile : 1

30. Hong Kong : 1

31. South Korea : 1

32. Spain : 1

33. Denmark : 1

34. United Arab Emirates : 1

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam+

(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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Monday, 28 January 2013 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Mark 3 : 22-30

Meanwhile, the teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, said, “He is in the power of Beelzebul : the chief of demons helps Him to drive out demons.”

Jesus called them to Him, and began teaching them by means of stories, or parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a nation is divided by civil war, that nation cannot stand. If a family divides itself into groups, that family will not survive. In the same way, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished.”

“No one can break into the house of a strong man in order to plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man. Then indeed, he can plunder his house.”

“Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven in humankind, even insults to God, however numerous. But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven : he carries the guilt of his sin forever.”

This was their sin when they said, “He has an unclean spirit in Him.”