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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Genesis 13 : 2, 5-18

Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver, and gold. Lot who went with Abram also had flocks, cattle and tents. The land was not sufficient to allow them to stay together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.

A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s flock and those of Lot. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at the time. Abram said to Lot, “Do not let there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, since we are brothers! Is not the whole land there belong to you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot looked up and saw the whole valley of the Jordan : how well it was watered! Before YHVH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, this was like one of YHVH’s gardens, like the country of Egypt, on coming to Zoar. Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley and journeyed eastward. In this way they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the country of Canaan while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against YHVH.

YHVH said to Abram after Lot had left him, “Raise your eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, the east and the west; all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; if the grains of the dust can be counted, then your descendants may be counted.”

“Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for it is to you that I am giving it.” So Abram moved his tent and came to live by the oak of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to YHVH.

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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters, all in our most beloved Jesus Christ, our Lord, God remains with us all the time in our lives, if we keep His commandments and His divine love alive within all of us, through our own words, actions, and deeds that reflect and show the greatness of God’s love to those who still live in the darkness of this world.

He feeds us with the food of life, and the drink of life, that is none other than His own Precious Body and Blood, that He gave freely on His sacrifice on the cross in Calvary. He gave us Himself that all of us will be with Him and will have Him within all of us, and be strong and courageous in our daily struggle against the evil one, who hates all that is good and all that belong to the Father.

The struggle against Satan, his fallen angels and all the powers in his employ in this world continues daily, even today, tomorrow, and beyond. If we do not keep a strong faith in God and a strong heart of love, filled with God’s presence, we will falter and go astray in our path and fail to achieve the ultimate goal of our life, that is salvation and reunion with God our Lord.

The flock will be scattered when the devil comes like wolves to attack the sheep, and they will target the shepherd in particular, that they will be destroyed and the sheep scattered, like those sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The wolves however, will also hide behind sheepskin and pretend to be false shepherds, that will try to guide the sheep into trap, into darkness, and into damnation, together with them, who have already been condemned.

For indeed, there are very many false teachings and false prophets in our world today, as well as false idols that mankind increasingly turn their hearts to. They no longer put the Lord as the centre of their life and their attention. They no longer worship God and give Him the thanksgiving and praise due to Him. Instead, they worship the false idols and praise them, in place of the true God.

And the evil one and his ‘wolves’ especially target those who work in the fields of the Lord, namely our priests, bishops, and all who labour in the Name of God. As all of you can easily find in our world today, that there are many attacks daily against all the ministers of God’s Gospels, and those attacks come even from those who believe in Christ, having been seduced into falsehood by the agents of Satan, falling into the temptation of the world.

No, I am not referring to those idols, made of gold or silver, or any imageries, but in fact, these false idols are even far more deadly and dangerous than those, because while those idols are dead and lifeless, but these false new idols are able to corrupt the hearts and soul of mankind, that they shut themselves off from God’s grace and providence.

Money, worldly lusts, and also other forms of temptations readily available in our world today, are major distractions and obstacles in our path. They easily tempted the weak and those who do not keep their faith strong, and ensure that their anchor in God is firm and solid. That is why, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that all of us keep a strong and healthy prayer life, that in prayer, we keep our line of communications with the Lord firm and undisturbed. Take some moments off our busy daily schedules, and listen to God speaking in our hearts, about His will, and about His truth.

For the truth of God will dispel the falsehoods of the evil one, and it will give us true joy and happiness that only God can give, and which the world cannot give. What God gives us is what can truly bring true joy within our hearts, and bring us into perfection. It is up to us, brothers and sisters, to help one another, and those who still walk in darkness, that all of us will be opened to God’s truth, God’s light, and His divine love.

May God guide us into Himself, and allow us to be reunited with Him in the bliss of heaven, away from the evil one and all the falsehoods he had sprung in this world, all of which have been condemned to eternal damnation. We also pray for our priests, and all those who work hard for the sake of the Lord and the salvation of all mankind, that God will protect them and grant them strength and courage in their ministry. May God grant us everlasting life, forever and ever. Amen.

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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 : 7th Week of Easter (First Reading)

Acts 20 : 28-38

Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has placed into your care. Shepherd the Church of the Lord that He has won at the price of His own blood. I know that after I leave, ruthless wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. And from among you, some will arise corrupting the truth and inducting the disciples to follow them.

Be on the watch, therefore, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to warn everyone even with tears. Now I commend you to God and to His grace-filled word, which is able to make you grow and gain the inheritance that you shall share with all the saints.

I have not looked for anyone’s silver, gold, or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have provided for both my needs and the needs of those who were with me. In every way I have shown you that by working hard one must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus Himself said, “Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.”

After this discourse, Paul knelt down with them and prayed. Then they all began to weep and threw their arms around him and kissed him. They were deeply distressed because he had said that they would never see him again. And they went with him even to the ship.

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Monday, 29 April 2013 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor (Psalm)

Psalm 113B : 1-2, 3-4, 15-16

Not to us, o Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, for the sake of Your love and faithfulness. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?”

There in heaven is our God; whatever He wishes, He does. Not so the hand-made idols, crafted in silver and gold.

May you be blessed by the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Heaven belongs to the Lord, but the earth He has given to humans.

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Ring of the Fisherman for Pope Francis, 266th Pope, Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, leader of the Universal Church

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Another image from Rome Reports

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Pope Francis’ Ring of the Fisherman, which is one of the symbol of the authority as the Pope, as both a bishop (episcopal ring) and the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, leader of the entire Universal Church. It will be given to Pope Francis at the celebration of the Papal Inauguration Mass, on the Feast of St. Joseph, Tuesday, 19 March 2013, together with another symbol, that is the pallium.

The ring’s image closely follow that of Pope Benedict XVI’s Ring of the Fisherman, with slight difference in the shape of the ring, and the ring being made of gold-plated silver instead of gold. Depicted on the ring is the image of St. Peter holding onto the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and fishing, as he was a fisherman, but called by God to be a ‘fisher of man’.

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Silver Wedding Anniversary (25 years) of my parents : May God bless their marriage and grant them happiness!

Today, Thursday, 28 February 2013, will indeed forever be a memorable day to me. Since, as you all know, that today, is the day when our beloved Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be our Pope as he is stepping down to make way for his successor, whom he thinks will be more capable of handling the duties of the Papacy than him in his old age.

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Indeed, today in fact, will be memorable to me, because it is also the day of the silver wedding anniversary of my parents, who were married on 28 February 1988. Since then, their marriage, although has had its share of troubles, had been mostly happy and filled with grace. I hope that through me, God will always bless my parents.

It has not always been easy for my mother in particular, and for me to an extent, as my mother and my father were not bound by a Christian marriage solemnised with the Sacrament of Marriage, because my father is not yet a Catholic, until the moment I write this post. My mother had been fearful of going to the Church again since her marriage, as she was afraid of what my father would say or act. Thankfully, recently she had been more courageous to go to Church again after my continuous insistence and encouragement. Deo gratias!

Nevertheless, would it not be for my mother, who passed to me her old Catholic Bible when I was young, I may not be here today, and this blog would not have existed. I have to give thanks to her for bringing me up tirelessly despite the problems that I caused her from time to time. I do pray that my whole family will be brought together in Christ soon, that my father will finally be receptive to the Word of God and want to be baptised into the Church.

It has always been my wish that my entire family can one day pray together as one family, and sharing meals together, giving thanks to God for all the blessings He had given me and my family, and for all these 25 years my parents had been together. I cannot thank God enough for that, but that He keeps them safe while I am away overseas, is already great enough a blessing for me.

My mother does have her reservations, especially coming from a rather traditional Chinese family, but indeed gradually she is becoming much more receptive to my calling to be a priest. Mother, if God is willing, and if God calls, it is not for us to reject is it not? For if Mary obediently answer the Lord and gave herself fully to Him, that through her the salvation of this world came, so too even a Pope or Cardinal or bishop would not have been a Pope, Cardinal, or bishop had God not called him first, and had the family not been supportive, especially in prayers.

I do not deny that I do have the desire to be higher in the hierarchy of the Church, as human as I am, but all this is because, I love God’s people, and I want to be able to give myself more to them, to reach out ever more to them, but again, with greater mission, comes greater responsibility. First, is to be a simple priest, what next is for the Lord to decide for me. I am all yours, o Lord.

Therefore, I ask all of you, to pray for me, and my family, that first my parents’ marriage will ever be happy, blessed, and filled with love that is of God. And that God will care for them and bless them as they have blessed me all these while. Pray for me too in my journey, that I will be ever stronger in faith, stronger in love, and stronger in hope, and stronger ever in my dedication to serve God and His people, my brothers and sisters.

That when the time comes, my parents will be the one who will present to me my first chasuble, and hopefully then, my whole family will be able to receive Communion from me, and hence have been united with me in Christ. Pray too for our Church, that in these turbulent times, we will be able to receive a wonderful new Shepherd, filled with God’s Spirit and strength to lead the Church as Pope Benedict XVI had.

We pray for him too that in his prayerful retirement, he will help the Church to become ever holier and ever more powerful in its resolve to fight against evil and all the corruption it has wrought on this world. God bless us all, and God bless my parents and our Pope! Amen!

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Thursday, 28 February 2013 : What a memorable day indeed to me

Thursday, 28 February 2013, will therefore be a very memorable day to me. Not only that, on that day, is my parent’s silver wedding anniversary (They married on 28 February 1988 – 25 years ago), but also on that day, Pope Benedict XVI will, at 20:00 Rome time, no longer be our beloved Pope.

We pray for him in his retirement and also for his successor, who will be elected soon, and I will also pray for my parents’ and their loving and happy marriage that it will continue to be so. I hope they will be there when I become a priest, and if God willing, maybe a bishop, a Cardinal, and Pope. Reminds me of Cardinal Sarto (later to become Pope Pius X), whose mother managed to stay on until just after he was made Cardinal. It was he himself who presided over the funeral.

I want to give my mom a Catholic funeral, because although my mom’s identity doesn’t say that she is, she is and always is a Catholic since the day of her baptism many years ago. But that is still long to come, and while she and my dad are still with me, I will treasure them, just as I treasure the Lord in my heart.