Solemnity

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Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast in the Church, that is the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we commemorate the very presence of the noble and loving Heart of our Lord Jesus, out of whom projecting light and love to all creation, to all mankind. This love He offered freely through His Most Precious Body and Blood which He offered through His ultimate sacrifice on Calvary.

Today, in the readings, we heard the readings on shepherds and the nature of shepherds’ works, and how it is compared with that of the Lord, who is often called the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd, according to Christ, gave up his life for his sheep, and protect and love his sheep with all of his being, unlike hired and rogue shepherds who do not love the sheep and the minute danger appears, they will run away and leave the sheep behind.

No, Christ did not do that, because He is indeed the Good Shepherd, the true chief shepherd of all, because He cares for all His sheep, to the point of giving Himself up on the cross, that through His surrender, crucifixion, and death, He made mankind whole again, and by the shedding of His Blood, He purified mankind and made them worthy, and redeemed them from the damnation due to the sins of our forefathers who rebelled against the love of God.

As the shepherd, He gave Himself so that His sheep may have life. He really loves us very much. He rejoices whenever there is even one amongst us who repented and return into His way. That is because, just as Christ Himself had mentioned in His parable on the shepherd and the lost sheep, even ninety-nine good and decent sheep cannot replace the joy of repentance of a single wayward sheep.

Even if just one wayward sheep is to return into the path of the Lord, that would bring great joy in heaven and on earth. Because all those who are already saved are indeed already secured in their heavenly inheritance. As long as they remain faithful to the Lord, they will eventually receive their heavenly reward and eternal life that Christ had promised to all who believes in Him.

But for the wayward one, no such guarantee exists, because as long as someone is cut away from the Lord, he will not have the promised salvation. Especially if this wayward sheep is basking in sin and darkness, in the depth of human weaknesses and the influence of evil which would then prevent salvation from reaching this one. But if this one is to repent and return to the faith in God, he will be saved, and will have equal inheritance with those who had already been saved.

Then some may ask, why then the hassle over just one sinful and wayward sheep. Why the trouble to spend so much just to convert one unworthy one that this one may be saved too? Can we not just be satisfied with the many people whom we have already saved? Yes, we may think that it makes perfect sense for us, especially if we consider the amount of energy and dedication needed in order to bring one in darkness back into light.

But not so with the Lord. He does not care, because Christ had died on the cross, not just for a select few, not just for His Apostles and disciples, not just for those who believe and follow Him, but also for all the people, for all mankind, without exception. He died for all, so that all may be redeemed. Through the outpouring of His Blood from the cross, He cleanses all mankind, just as the blood of the lamb of sacrifice purifies the people of Israel of old from their sins.

Yet, redemption does not yet equal salvation, because redemption just means that all of us had been redeemed and cleansed from the taints of sin from our ancestors, from the rebellion of Adam and Eve, whom first rebelled against the will of God, and instead followed Satan. Therefore, all mankind had been freed from the tyranny of Satan who enslaved us through sin. We have been released from the chains that held us and enslaved us, but it does not mean that we are guaranteed salvation.

Because at the same time, God also granted all of us free will, to choose freely the path that we want to take in our own lives, and many times we chose the path that steer away from God and became lost, just like a sheep lost from the flock, without a shepherd to guide him back into the flock. Such sheep can be in deep danger from wolves which will devour it without hesitation.

Therefore that is what can also happen to all those who became lost to the Lord in their lives in this world. This world has many evils, dear brethren, because it has many temptations, especially in our modern world today, that can deviate one’s heart away from the Lord, and instead inducing that someone to indulge in worldly pleasures and pleasures of the flesh, ignoring God’s love for him or her.

God wants everyone to be saved, because He loves us so much. Yes, our God, in His Most Sacred Heart is a very loving and kind God, who is slow to anger and merciful to sinners who repented their sins and profess their faith in Him, but at the same time, He is also perfect and good, and nothing evil can ever stand in His presence and survives.

That is why, even though it may seem to us why God did not just make everyone saved, that is simply not possible, because although we had been freed from the slavery of sin, but we still have sin dwelling within us, that still keeps us away from being truly close to God.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus, before He was lifted up to heaven, gave His disciples a great mission, that is to baptise and make disciples of all nations and seal them in baptism in the Name of the Holy Trinity, essentially, bringing all the scattered sheep of the Lord together, to become one people once again, one people who worship one and only God, our God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, since our own baptism we have also inherited this charge that has been entrusted to the apostles. We too are apostles of our own time, and our actions, while they may seem to be insignificant are always of use in glorifying God by bringing back God’s scattered flock so that they may be one again. Do not ever underestimate what a person can do, as a person can do much good and much harm even if he or she is only one person.

Therefore, through our own actions, in our daily lives, we can make a great difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters, especially those who have yet to believe in the Lord and have yet to hear and accept His redeeming Good News. It’s our charge now, brethren! With the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus within our hearts, let us bring God’s salvation to everyone so that God’s lost sheep can be found again, and there will then be great rejoicing across creation, for the sheep that were lost, had been found again, and will not be condemned to eternal damnation with Satan and his angels.

God, our Good Shepherd, bless us through Your Most Sacred Heart, and inflame in us the fire of love and zeal of faith in You, that we will never waver. Amen.

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Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Gospel Reading)

Luke 15 : 3-7

Jesus told the Pharisees and the scribes this parable : “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders?”

“Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!'”

I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.

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Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Second Reading)

Romans 5 : 5b-11

The Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and we have become just through His blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason now we may be saved through His life.

Not only that; we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through whom we have been reconciled.

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Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Psalm)

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

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Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (First Reading)

Ezekiel 34 : 11-16

Indeed, YHVH says this : “I myself will care for My sheep and watch over them. As the shepherd looks after his flock when he finds them scattered, so will I watch over My sheep and gather them from all the places where they were scattered in a time of cloud and fog.”

“I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from other countries. I will lead them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in all the valleys and inhabited regions of the land. I will take them to good pastures on the high mountains of Israel. They will rest where the grazing is good and feed in lush pastures on the heights of Israel.”

“I Myself will tend My sheep and let them rest, word of YHVH. I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd My flock with justice.”

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Sunday, 2 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ! Today we celebrate a great mystery of our faith, that is the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi, in which God gave His own flesh and blood for us to consume, that He may live in us, and we in Him, that we can gain eternal life through Him. He gave up Himself that we may live, that we have a share in His death and His glorious resurrection.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist is the centre to our faith, and the Real Presence of Christ our Lord in the consecrated bread and wine is what makes our faith truly Catholic. That is because we believe that in the Holy Mass, whenever the priest offers the bread and wine and consecrate it before the Lord, in the same words that Christ had used on the Last Supper, the bread and the wine truly become the Real Body and Blood of our Lord, and not just a purely symbolic or memorial reenactment of the Last Supper, but a real transformation of the material of the bread and wine, into the Body of Christ.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, what we receive in the Eucharist is the real Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, and therefore, as the Eucharist is divine, being the essence of God Himself, we must treat it with the greatest deference and respect. For this is the God who came down to us as man like us, and died for us, by shedding His blood, the Blood of the Lamb of God, that all mankind may be saved.

The Lamb of God had been slaughtered, and He did not resist, nor did He protest against His unjust sentence of death, even though He is without sin, because without His death, without His sacrifice, as the only completely perfect sacrificial lamb, there is nothing that can match the severity of all the sins of all mankind combined together. Only Christ, God incarnate as man, has this power and authority over sin, and by His sacrifice, we are made pure again, white as snow.

But Christ did not give us His Body and His Blood in the Eucharist without reason, ever since He gave His disciples the first Eucharist in the Last Supper, and as He had always mentioned, that those who eat that Bread, the Bread of Life, and drink from the cup of salvation, will gain eternal life, because Christ Himself would dwell within all of us, and we would then have a share in His glorious resurrection, and therefore eligible for salvation. Only if we accept Christ, live according to His commandments, and receive Him in the Eucharist, then we gain the fullness of salvation.

As Christ would dwell within all of us who receive Him in the Holy Eucharist, our bodies must be worthy of Christ, of God who is good and perfect. We may be lowly and weak mortals, but as long as we keep our faith in God and strive to do only what is good in the eyes of the Lord, we are worthy of Him. Remember the saying, that our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit? That is because the Lord Himself through His Real Presence in the Eucharist has been willing to come to us, through the bread and wine transformed that we consume, that He would then dwell in us forever more.

That is why, we must not defile our bodies and minds with sin and corruption of evil, because our very body itself has become the very Temple of God, where the Lord resides, just very much like the Temple of Jerusalem, at the time of King Solomon, when God was willing to come down and reside in the Temple built by Solomon, and His presence overwhelmed all the people who witnessed it, so great is His majesty and power.

The Lord had decreed that no filth of evil and sin should enter the Temple, and there were large dedicated places where the people can wash and purify themselves prior to entering the Holy Temple, so that they would not defile the place physically and spiritually with the filth of their sin. It is kind of parallel to how we purify ourselves with the holy water as we enter the church building at the holy water font, and seal ourselves in purity, with the Name of the Holy Trinity and the sign of the victorious cross, in which we rebuke evil and reject Satan, and therefore, would then enter the holy place of God and preventing us from defiling that Holy Temple.

The same therefore, should apply to all of us. Ever since the Lord is willing to dwell within all of us, through His Real Presence in His Most Holy Body and Blood, we have become the new Tabernacle, the new Temple of the Lord, each one of us, who had been baptised, and who had received the Eucharist in good standing in the faith through the Church. We must therefore respect the same with regards to ensuring the purity of our own beings, that we, as the Temple of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, will not be defiled by our human weaknesses and sin.

St. Paul, in the same book as our second reading today, in his first letter to the people of Corinth, confirm this, that our bodies are indeed the Temple of the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit also dwell within all of us who have received the Spirit, ever since the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles in Pentecost. Thus, our bodies became ever greater in terms of the need to maintain its purity, against the evils of the world, and against the temptations of the evil one through worldly pleasures and desires, that corrupts and bring darkness to our otherwise pure and holy Temple, where God resides.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, our God has indeed dwelled within each one of us, and this is symbolised by yet another great event in the history of salvation, when Christ gave up His Spirit and died on Calvary, when He finally shed His own life and blood, for the redemption of all mankind. At that moment, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant and the Lord Himself supposedly reside, from the rest of the Temple in Jerusalem, tore in two pieces from top to bottom, at the moment when Christ died on the cross.

That moment, when the veil was torn, was a defining moment. It symbolises that the Lord is no longer limited to just that holy space within the Temple in Jerusalem, as He had been, ever since He chose to dwell at the Temple, since the time of the King Solomon of Israel. Through the tearing of that veil, God made His new covenant, which He proclaimed in the Last Supper, complete, with all mankind.

That new covenant is the redemption offered by the death of Christ on the cross, through which we receive His Body and His Blood, given freely to all of us. So that, ever since, Christ, who is God, dwells within all of us who receive Him in the Eucharist, ever since the time of the Apostles, who was commanded by Christ Himself to continue the celebration of the Eucharist, in memorial of His Sacrifice on Calvary.

But beware, brothers and sisters in Christ, this is where exists a danger in misunderstanding the meaning of Christ, when He said about the Eucharist as a memorial. Many wrongly interpreted it as the sign that the celebration of the Eucharist is nothing more than a memorial, a symbolic celebration and imitation of the real sacrifice on Calvary. That the bread and wine that we consume are mere bread and wine, and not the Body and Blood of Christ.

Beware, brethren, that we do not fall into confusion and falsehoods spread by the evil one. For within that Eucharist, within the bread and the wine, Christ is present, really present, in His complete being, and that is what we call and know as the Real Presence of God in the Eucharist. We believe that our priests, with the same authority that Christ had given to the Apostles, in the consecration of the offerings of bread and wine, bring about the complete transformation of that bread and that wine, to become the Most Precious Body and the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, some of us may ask, why then the bread still look like bread, and the wine still look like wine? And there seems to be no change in the physical appearance or substance of the bread and wine? That is exactly the wonder of the mystery of our faith in Christ. Because, yes, the bread and wine’s outside appearance remains that of physical bread and wine in shape, but it has in fact been completely transformed into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, in what we call as transubstantiation, because there is a real change or ‘trans’ in the substance of the bread and the wine, into the flesh and blood of our Lord.

Remember! That Christ Himself often repeated that those who did not partake in His flesh and His blood, those who did not receive His body and blood, will have no part in Him, and will not have eternal life. Only those who willingly, and in worthy state receive the Lord into themselves, through the Eucharist, will gain the eternal rewards from Christ, that is eternal life and glory with Him in heaven. That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is very important that we take the Eucharist seriously, that from now on, we begin to participate more in the Mass and in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, that we truly understand our faith, and why we have to regularly receive our Lord in the Eucharist.

The Body and the Blood of Christ, each is Christ complete in themselves, that means, if we only receive the Body, that is the ‘bread’ or the Blood, that is the ‘wine’ we do not receive half of Christ, but in fact, we have received the fullness of Christ in each of them. When we receive either the Body of Christ or His Blood, we receive Christ in His fullness, in His glorious majesty and power, into ourselves. That is why, brethren, we must be worthy! We must be worthy to have the Lord dwell within us, as His Temple!

Remember that if we willingly and knowingly receive the Lord when we are in the state of mortal sin, we will be damned instead of being saved, because we did not keep our house in order, and did not receive the Lord properly and worthily. That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, keep our bodies, our Temple of the Holy Spirit, away from fornication and corruption of sin. Keep ourselves pure, as best as we are able to, and welcome Christ every time we receive Him in the Eucharist, that He will see that our ‘house’ that is our heart, in good order, and therefore reward us with His grace and blessings.

If we had sinned and in the state of mortal sin, which prevents us from truly accepting the Lord into ourselves, into our defiled Temple, that is our being, we must first abstain from receiving the Eucharist, from receiving our Lord. What we must do is indeed, first to ask the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness, and seek a priest to be forgiven from our sins. Remember that to our priests, God has given the authority to absolve sins, if only we ourselves are humble and willing enough, to admit our own sinful nature, and seek to return once again to God’s love and embrace. Only once we have been absolved, then we can receive the Lord again, and He will once again dwell within us, transforming us from inside with His love.

Let us reflect on the mystery of our faith, that is the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ on this sacred occasion, that from now on, we will increase our dedication for our Lord, really present in the Blessed Sacrament, in the form of His Body and His Blood, which He had given freely, so that we may live, and we may share in Him, the fruits of eternal life and salvation. God bless us all, now and forever more. Amen!

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Sunday, 2 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (Gospel Reading)

Luke 9 : 11b-17

So, Jesus welcomed the crowd, and began speaking about the kingdom of God, curing those who needed healing.

The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell Him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for we are here in a lonely place.”

But Jesus replied, “You yourselves give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves and two fish. Do You want us to go and buy enough food for all this crowd?” For there were about five thousand men. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Make people sit down in groups of fifty.”

So they made all of them sit down. Jesus then took the five loaves and two fish, and raising His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them; He broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the crowd.

They ate and everyone had enough; and when they gathered up what was left, twelve baskets were filled with broken pieces.

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Sunday, 2 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (Second Reading)

1 Corinthians 11 : 23-26

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that He was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is My body which is broken for you; do this in memory of Me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, He said, “This cup is the new Covenant in My blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until He comes.

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Sunday, 2 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (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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Sunday, 2 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi (First Reading)

Genesis 14 : 18-20

Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth! And blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hands!”

And Abram gave him a tenth part of everything.