slavery of sin

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Monday, 11 August 2014 : 19th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard of a very relevant passage from the Holy Scriptures and the Gospels. We heard how a people in bondage and slavery is given a new hope, where the darkness and the chains that bound them were proven to be loose-able, and mankind gained a new hope in God.

In the first reading, we heard about the calling of Ezekiel by God in the land of exile, in Babylon where some of the people had been brought to when the king Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Judah and Jerusalem. He was called from among the group of exiled people of Judah, a people enslaved by war and conquest, and a people without hope under the chains of the Babylonians.

Yet, God made Ezekiel to be His servant and spokesperson to the people in exile and to the future generations, giving them new hope in life and assurance that God is on their side. In the Gospel today, Jesus explicitly mentioned when He spoke to Peter on the matter of paying taxes, that we are the children of God, and to those of us who are true children of God we are given special privileges as the children of our loving Father.

Jesus mentioned that the children of those who tax the people, namely the kings and rulers, need not pay the tax by common sense and rationale. That means those princes and the family members of the rulers do not need to pay the taxes because they belong to the group of those with power and wealth, and thus instead of paying taxes, they truly should be the ones who receive the taxes from the people.

In that sense, therefore, because we are children of the Most High God, Lord of all lords and King of all kings, Master of everything that exist in this Universe, we need not be bound or answer to any other powers and forces, except that of our Lord and Father of course. He is the only One whom we should be obedient to, and the only One whom we should listen to, and not any forces of this world, and definitely not Satan, the father of corruption and evil.

And yet why are we still bound by the laws of this world and obey the statutes of our countries and nations? Why are we then still bound to the earthly rules established by the rulers of this world, our leaders and rulers? It is the exact same reason as why Jesus mentioned in the Gospel, that in order not to incite outrage and opposition from the masses, the sons and relatives of kings and rulers also have to obey and pay their share of the taxes.

And thus, we all, as the children of God, do still have the need to obey the laws and statutes of this world. But we have to always remember that in doing so, we must always use our faith in God and our conscience as guidance. We must never obey those that come in direct opposition to the laws and statutes of the Lord. Obey and be faithful citizens, but we have to be children of God first before considering ourselves as children of this world.

God is our light and our guide in the darkness of this world. Indeed, there are many moments when we can easily fall into despair, such as when we are persecuted or hated because of something, especially if it is because of our faith. But as the Lord showed Ezekiel, that everything that are arrayed against us, they are all nothing compared to the infinite and great majesty and power of our God.

God had given us Jesus, His own Son to be our Saviour and Redeemer. He is the One whom we can trust and place ourselves to. There is no other option for us other than to follow the Lord whenever we lose our way in this world. We must seek the Lord and find Him, and even in greatest despair and sorrow, we must never lose hope because Christ is our hope and our light.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Clare, the founder of the Clarist religious order, also known as the Order of Poor Ladies, much inspired by the Franciscan order of St. Francis of Assisi, a contemporary of St. Clare, also known as St. Clare of Assisi. The religious order she founded became the female counterpart of the Franciscan tradition, and over the years they worked together to bring much goodness to the people of God.

St. Clare was born into a rich and privileged background, and she was destined to be married off to another rich man and heir of other Italian noblemen and wealthy peoples, and yet, God had another plan for St. Clare. St. Clare was very devoted and faithful to God since when she was still very young, and she was adamantly opposed to any plans to marry her off to a rich suitor. She ended up running away from home and sought refuge with St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Clare then devoted herself fully in prayer and to the works related to her religious order, and together with her sisters in service to God, they served the people who are poor and weak, those who are marginalised and bring them new hope in life. She was also well known for her defense of her convent, when an invading force by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was about to ransack the place.

With the monstrance containing the Holy Eucharist inside lifted high above her head, she repelled the invaders, who were scattered in great fear by a blinding light that came out from the Real Presence in the Eucharist. This is a sign of God’s devotion to mankind, to release them from their bonds, just as He released St. Clare from her bonds in her family, Ezekiel and the exiles of Israel from their Babylonian exile and slavery, and eventually all of mankind from the slavery of sin through the loving sacrifice of Jesus, His Son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the life and works of St. Clare, we all should from now on put our complete trust in God. We should no longer doubt Him but believe in Him completely, that in Him we have our hope, and our only hope against the forces of darkness and evil arrayed against us, seeking to bind us with the chains of sin, in order to drag us with them into hell.

Therefore, let us all put our trust in God, and strengthen our faith in Him. Let us all no longer fear Satan and his darkness, for God is with us, and He will always be with us, and His light will dispel the darkness of our sins. What we need to do now is to truly repent, change our ways and follow Him. God be with us all. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (II Classis) – Sunday, 3 August 2014 : Epistle

Lectio Epistolae beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos – Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Romans

Romans 8 : 12-17

Fratres : Debitores sumus non carni, ut secundum carnem vivamus. Si enim secundum carnem vixeritis, moriemini : si autem spiritu facta carnis mortificaveritis, vivetis. Quicumque enim Spiritu Dei aguntur, ii sunt filii Dei.

Non enim accepistis spiritum servitutis iterum in timore, sed accepistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum, in quo clamamus : Abba (Pater). Ipse enim Spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro, quod sumus filii Dei. Si autem filii, et heredes : heredes quidem Dei, coheredes autem Christi.

English translation

Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die, but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry Abba (Father). For the Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God; and if sons, heirs also. Heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ.

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Monday, 7 July 2014 : 14th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through Jesus, we have been granted healing and renewal, just as He had once brought the daughter of the synagogue official from death and healed the afflictions of the woman with haemorrhage. The same healing and renewal He also therefore offers us if we are to put our trust and faith in Him, just in the same way as the woman had done.

Our world today lacks the faith that the woman had, and many of us had lost faith in the Lord and chose to walk on their own path, and more often than not, this led them to be lost forever into eternal damnation. We prefer to trust in ourselves and in the desires and wants of our hearts rather than trusting in the wisdom and love of our God, which He offered to us freely to help us on our way to Himself.

Our attitude is often like those mourners who mourned the departure of the daughter of the official, thinking that we have absolutely no hope, and therefore that all is lost, hence we submit ourselves into doing things evil in the eyes of God. Or our attitude is like those who refuse to seek the Lord and prefer to keep things to ourselves, fearing His wrath and retribution for our sinfulness.

We cannot remain like this, brothers and sisters in Christ, for it is imperative that we seek the Lord with the faith like the woman with the bleeding problem. She had so much faith that she said to herself, that if only that she touched the fringe of the cloak of our Lord, she would be healed, and indeed, because of her faith, she was healed. If only that this world and all the people living in it has such a faith! Yes, this world would have been a much better place.

Faith is what is often lacking in this world today, and it is more urgently so, because we live today in a time when there is an ever greater need for true piety and faith in the Lord. Our world is growing deeper and deeper in darkness and evil, and the ways of this world is increasingly more and more wayward and distanced from the Lord and His ways. And many increasingly lose their way in the dark tangles of the devil’s works.

Many resigned themselves to a seemingly dark and hopeless despair, not knowing that there is indeed hope, and one indeed that we cannot lose sight in. And there are also those who willingly gave themselves up to the allures of the pleasures of the world, giving in to the demands of their hearts’ desires and greed. And the devil rightly uses that opportunity to snare these people deeper and deeper into his hands.

We often conveniently forget that we have hope, and that hope will not fail us if we do not give in first to despair and hopelessness. Yes, and we have that hope in Jesus Christ, the hope of all creations, whom God had sent into the world in order to bring hope and healing to all of us, who had been under the poison of sin and the slavery of death ever since the days of Adam and Eve, our ancestors.

Death, sickness and despair had been our staple ever since the beginning of mankind’s days. We cannot really separate the realities of life from all these occurrences. That was what happened to the daughter of the official, who was sick and then died, and many despaired in sorrow for her seemingly unfortunate fate. But Jesus came to show that death does not have the final say over things.

Mankind are often too preoccupied with their own self-preservation, always thinking of ways to prolong their lives and make their lives better with various treatments and other things, which all are really born of one thing, that is our fear of death and our despair over the lack of hope for our future after that death. And all these are again because we have little to no faith in Jesus our Lord and our only Hope.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, is it too difficult for us all to put our hope in Jesus our Lord? Is it too difficult for us to trust Him with all our concerns and desires? If history and experience had justified all things past, then we know that trusting ourselves with all these unnecessary desires did not work well for us, and we ended up ruining ourselves more often than not.

Our Lord knows all that we need, and He will provide for us in His own way. In that way we need not worry any longer. Indeed, as He said, that worrying over our future or having more concerns, desires and wants do not increase the length and happiness of our lives a single bit. In fact, those things will likely speed up our descent into damnation and eternal despair.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us from now on change our perspectives in life. Let us begin to put our hope and trust in Christ, and cast away all worries and all unnecessary desires, greed and wants from our lives, so that gradually we may become more and more like the children of God, whom we are supposed to be.

Let us also help one another to grow in faith, hope and love, that in all the things we do, we always do it in the loving embrace of God, and keep ourselves close to Him and to His most loving heart. May Almighty God continue to keep us close to Him and bless us and our works in this world, bringing more and more souls back to Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 1 July 2014 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 5 : 5-6, 7, 8

You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil has no place in You. The arrogant cannot stand before You. You hate all who do evil.

You destroy all who speak falsehood, who thirst for blood and live on lies; all of them the Lord detests.

But I, by Your love and grace, may come into Your House. In reverence I bow down and worship at Your holy Temple.

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Monday, 23 June 2014 : Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 1 : 8-12

You have not yet seen Him and yet you love Him; even without seeing Him, you believe in Him and experience a heavenly joy beyond all words, for you are reaching the goal of your faith : the salvation of your souls.

This was the salvation for which the prophets so eagerly looked when, in days past, they foretold the favour of God with regard to you. But they could only investigate when the Spirit of Christ present within them pointed out the time and the circumstances of this – the sufferings of Christ and the glories which would follow.

It was revealed to them that they were working not for themselves but for you. Thus, in these days, after the Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven, the Gospel’s preachers have taught you these mysteries which even the angels long to see.

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Friday, 18 April 2014 : Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, Easter Triduum (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Hebrews 4 : 14-16 and Hebrews 5 : 7-9

We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our High Priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach the throne of grace; we will obtain mercy and, through His favour, help in due time.

Christ, in the days of His mortal life, offered His sacrifice with tears and cries. He prayed to Him who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His humble submission. Although He was Son, He learnt through suffering what obedience was, and once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him.

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Monday, 7 April 2014 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. John Baptist de la Salle, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ! Today’s scripture readings very clearly highlight the truth, how in our lives in this world, we often forsake the Lord and His ways for the temporary pleasures of the flesh and of the world. We let our emotions and sin to cloud our judgments and to affect our actions and deeds. In that way we preferred the ways of Satan and his rebelliousness rather than the truth and love that is in God.

In today’s first reading, we see how the two most respected people among the entirety of the people of God, the two appointed elders of the people of God, were actually the ones who brought sin and destruction upon the people, by judging as guilty an innocent woman, all because so that they could hide the sin that they had planned to commit with her. If the Spirit of God had not acted through Daniel, the young prophet, an innocent life would have been lost.

And in today’s Gospel reading, we heard the well-known story how Jesus dealt with the woman caught in adulterous behaviour, how He did not condemn her for her sins, and in fact called upon the people who wanted her dead, to reflect upon their own sinfulness and not to be judgmental, for they themselves were subjects to the same judgment of God for they all have sinned.

Today we are all called to holiness and new life, that is a life filled with the love of God, and blessed by God’s presence, that we no longer indulge ourselves in our sinful ways and manners of life, and instead commit ourselves to do the will of God and immerse ourselves in the way of the Lord, as Jesus had told the sinful woman, ‘Do not sin anymore.’

The key to salvation is for us all to be able to recognise first that we are sinners, and we are all faulty at one point in our lives, and we are imperfect, and therefore, flawed as we are, we are bound to commit sin and other acts displeasing to God. But it is also equally important that we realise how loving our God is towards us all, the most beloved ones of His creations.

It is indeed true that God hates sin, and He hates all forms of darkness and evils, that were born out of disobedience to His will. Nevertheless, He loves us even more than the hatred He has for our sins. But this love will not manifest itself if we keep ourselves locked and separated from His love, if we refuse to acknowledge that we are sinners, and that we need to repent. Only through the understanding of one’s sinfulness and accepting that we need God’s mercy that we can get closer to God and towards salvation in Him.

Sin keeps us away from the goodness of God and it even deviates us in our path, that we veer off the path towards God and instead we walk on towards doom and destruction. That was what happened to the two elders who tried to commit sin with Susanna, the faithful woman, and ended up sinning even greater by committing themselves ever deeper into their sinfulness.

They sin because they keep themselves in their sinfulness, and instead of acknowledging that they were sinners and committing themselves to repentance and new life, they became fearful and selfish, and they committed even greater sins in the process, condemning the innocent to death, while seeking freedom for themselves who had sinned, at the price of the blood of the innocent.

The same the Pharisees and the chief priests had done to the Holy and Innocent One of God, none other than Jesus, who was condemned to the death because of their jealousy and insecurity. They themselves said that it would be better for one man, that is Jesus, to die rather than the whole nation. In reality, they are concerned not for the nation, but only for themselves, for the wealth and the position that they had enjoyed as the leaders of the people, corrupted by their own power.

This is what we should not do, and we should not be like them. We should not be swayed by the allures of power and we should not give in to our selfishness and pride, that we become like the Pharisees. We have to be humble and be open to the love of God as I have often mentioned. Jesus called us to be loving children of God, and He wanted us to be saved. That is why, He forgave the adulterous woman, not just because He loves us, but because He also sees the hope in us.

Yes, the Lord sees the hope in us, and He desires for us all to be reunited with Him. Even the greatest of sinners have hope of salvation, again providing that they open up themselves to accept the Lord’s infinite mercy. That is the key ingredient of salvation, that we too should be receptive to God’s mercy and love. We cannot harden our hearts and refuse to allow the Lord to enter our hearts.

God offered us His salvation, if we want to accept Him and listen to Him. And today we have a role model whose model we can follow and aspire to, as what he has done in this life is to show us, how to be like Christ and to follow Christ in His ways. Yes, that person is St. John Baptist de la Salle, the missionary priest and patron saint of Christian schools and education.

St. John Baptist de la Salle is particularly dear and known to me, because he is the patron saint of my Alma Mater, and when I was in that school, I learnt a lot about who St. John Baptist de la Salle was. He is the main patron of the Lasallian congregation, consisting of brothers and community of devoted religious called the Brothers of Christian Schools. What is the significance?

This is because St. John Baptist de la Salle dedicated himself to the poor children, the last, the lost and the least of the society. He emulated and followed what Jesus had taught us and His disciples. St. John Baptist de la Salle shows that we have to be merciful and loving to others, especially to those who lack love in them, and to those who have sinned. That was what Jesus had done to the prostitute, forgiving her from what she had done.

St. John Baptist de la Salle shows us that we need to be genuine in loving and giving of ourselves to others if we are to be truly good disciples of the Lord. We cannot be hypocrites who look highly upon ourselves and look down on others when we ourselves too are lowly sinners. Let us not be like the Pharisees who condemned others whom they deem to be unworthy of salvation.

We have to preach love and forgiveness that Jesus had taught His disciples, keeping in mind that it is important for the neglected and the lost ones, including all of us, to be able to get in touch with God and His generous offer of forgiveness. No one is beyond God’s salvation and mercy, and especially to those who are the last, the lost and the least.

Let us therefore help one another and open the path for others to also reach out to God. Let us not be prideful, hate-filled and jealous, but instead love one another genuinely and tenderly. May the Lord bless us all, for all eternity. God bless us all with His love, and that we too may love sincerely and with all of our hearts. Amen.

 

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Tuesday, 1 April 2014 : 4th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, out of the Temple of the Lord comes water, gushing forth in great torrents, as seen by the prophet Ezekiel. This water is a symbol of many things, but one symbol that it represents is healing and cure, which is again represented in the Gospel today, in the healing of the sick and paralysed man in the pool of Bethzatha.

Thus from the Lord, out of His will and His love for us, came healing for all of us, the healing of our sickness and our worrying state, both of the body and the soul.  That was the reason why the Lord came to us, seeking us and wanting us to come back to Him, so that we may be healed of our afflictions, the afflictions of our souls, which is sin.

Yes, we are all, despite our healthy appearances, are always sick, and prone to this dangerous illness, that is sin, which eats away at the very core of ourselves and corrupt us, to cripple us and make us destroyed. But God is willing to accept us and our broken beings, the brokenness of our hearts, providing that we ourselves too are willing to accept Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus will ask us, just as He had asked the paralysed man, “Do you want to be healed?” This was the proof of His love and care for us, and He wants us all to be healed. But it all depends on us, whether we accept His offer for healing, and whether we say yes or no to that offer. We have to take the initiative to accept Him in our lives.

It is often that we either fear God and His punishment for our wickedness that we do not want to seek Him out even when we are in the great depth of darkness and sin. We are either ashamed of our sinfulness or are ignorant of it. That is why we do not seek the healing of the Lord and dwelled on instead in our wickedness and in our debauched way of life.

And indeed, we should follow what Jesus had told the sick man, that is to take up his mat and walk away from the place he had remained at for many decades of his life. Not to say that we have to literally pick up a mat and walk, but what I mean is that, we have to take initiative in our actions, that we may get out of our idleness and to be freed from the trap of darkness, with which the devil had managed to keep us held captive in the corruption of this world.

We must learn to be courageous to say no, no to the devil and to his temptations and approaches. We must learn to reject his offers of goodness and pleasure, knowing that these are temporary, and will lead to eternal damnation and suffering later on. And that is why we also at the same time must learn to be courageous to say yes to God.

Get rid of our fear, of our pride and our reluctance. Open our hearts and let God come in and dwell within them. Let God transform our beings that we may be truly children of God, who lives in the grace and favour of the Lord, no longer bound by the paralysis of the soul, that is the worldly pleasures and temptations that kept us affixed to our place on the ground like that of the sick and paralysed man healed by Jesus.

Let us all, brothers and sisters in Christ, seek healing in God, and ask Him for His forgiveness and mercy. Let the healing of Christ enter our soul, that we may be made pure again, free of sin and bonds that keep us from salvation in God. Say no to the devil, but say yes to the Lord! God bless us all. Amen.

 

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Sunday, 26 January 2014 : 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Isaiah 8 : 23b – Isaiah 9 : 3

He has just afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the future He will confer glory on the way of the sea, on the land beyond the Jordan – the pagan’s Galilee.

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death. You have enlarged the nation; You have increased their joy. They rejoice before You, as people rejoice at harvest time, as they rejoice in dividing the spoil.

For the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressors, You have broken it as on the day of Midian.

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Saturday, 11 January 2014 : Saturday after the Epiphany (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

We may be confused at first, when we listened to the first reading today, how that there are two kinds of sin, one that does not lead to death and one that leads to death. But indeed, there are indeed two kinds of sin that we know of in the Church, one being the venial sins, the lesser sins that are not very serious, and the other being the mortal sins, sins that are both heavy and serious in consequences.

But this does not mean that we should not take all sins seriously. Indeed, every kind of sins are serious and deadly, no matter how light or small they are. We cannot treat sinfulness lightly or we may end up in death. What is this death? As we all know, that the Lord is the Lord of life, and in Him, we have hope of eternal life, and liberation from the power of sin and death.

If we sin, that we are no longer worthy of the Lord, who is perfect in goodness. Yes, goodness that is not marred by sin. Sin, no matter how small, prevents us from truly reuniting ourselves with the love of God. And you all know that even if you build a building slowly, brick by brick, it will eventually become a large building. So it is the same as our sins then.

That is why as the Church had taught us, it is important for us to go to confession frequently, and not just that, but resolve to live a life without sin, as best as we can, every single day of our life. Confession should not be taken lightly, nor should we fear it. That is because the priests who hear our confession has been given with the authority from on high to forgive sins, just as with Jesus Christ, our Lord, who is Lord over all and had the authority to forgive sins, which He imparted to His disciples and from them, to our priests.

Do not fear, for the priests are also charged with the maintenance of the seal of confession, that is nothing that is shared by us to the priests should ever be made known to anyone else other than the priest. We should not fear to confess even our most secret sin. After all, the Lord is a loving and forgiving God, who will see that we are sorry for having sinned against Him and if we truly repented our sinfulness.

Sin is serious, brothers and sisters in Christ, and we should be conscious of our own sins, and understand the malice of sin above all else. Venial sins or small sins may not be a big hinder to our relationship with God, but they do make up to a big mountain of sin if we continue to do them without considering our state of sin.

We should indeed adopt the example of St. John the Baptist, who in great humility proclaimed the greatness of God, how great He was as compared to himself who is just mere servant of God. He readily said to his own disciples how he should decrease in importance while the Lord rose in importance. He did not let His human pride to get in the way, unlike many of us.

We often let fear and our human pride in the way of forgiveness. We do not let the Lord to come and absolve us from our sinfulness. We stood by our pride and let the devil to urge us to continue with our rebellion against God. No, this is not the way we should follow. Instead, cast aside our pride and fear, and instead put in a complete trust in the Lord and in His love and forgiveness.

Let us therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, from now on, follow the steps of St. John the Baptist, lowering ourselves humbly before God, and asking for His forgiveness from our sins, that we will be made righteous once again through our. Lord Jesus Christ, who sanctified and made holy all those who believe in Him. Let us be thrall of sin and evil no more, and let us from this day henceforth, be free and liberated!

Go often to confession and confess our wrongs to God, for our loving Father will surely hear us, forgive us, and embrace us with His love. God forgive our sins and be with us all always. Amen.