Son of God

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Friday, 27 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today Christ revealed His identity to His disciples, after asking them whether they know who He truly was. And the prophet Haggai in the first reading, comforted the people of God who laid in ruins after they returned to the land the Lord had given them after a long exile in Babylon.

In Christ, the Son of God, the world has been given the salvation that God had promised for them. In Christ, who is not mere man but a divine made man, the world achieve a fullness of glory in the Lord, the perfection that has been taken from us when we became lost after our rebellion at the beginning of Creation.

Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to mankind over time which He renewed through the prophets, and finally perfected in Jesus. God resolved to rebuild the destroyed mankind that they once again become His beloved ones, freed from sins and slavery to the worldly pleasures and sins.

Yet, although He is a conquering King who comes to destroy death and sin, and be triumphant over all evils, but He came as a humble King, One who is destined to suffer and die. Yes, death for our sake, that through the death, we may not die but live eternal with Him. He is the Lamb of God, the One to be slaughtered and whose Blood is to be shed, for the sake of all of us, for our salvation.

Although He is great and mighty, He faced suffering, persecution, and death, that He took in into Himself all the sins and sufferings of mankind, that we do not have to suffer them for eternity, and instead enjoy life everlasting in happiness with God. This is the renewal the Lord promised to the returned exiles of Israel through the prophet Haggai and the other leaders of the people. The renewal God had sent through His own Son, Jesus Christ.

The Lord loves us so much, that He was not willing to see us to suffer with the devil in eternal fire, to suffer for the consequences of our sins and faults. That was why He sent us Jesus, to be our Help, our Hope, and our Way, to return to Him, to reclaim the true joy, happiness, and the inheritance that we had forsaken when we disobeyed Him in the garden of Eden.

All that, and He was ready to endure lashes, torture, nails, and the cross itself.  The Lord Jesus walked that arduous path towards Calvary, enduring the weight of that cross, bleeding from His wounds, to die a criminal’s death on the cross, in Calvary, for our sake. Imagine the combined weight of the world’s sins, that is the sins of all mankind. That was the weight of the burden which caused Christ much pain and suffering, and He endured it.

At the same time, through that sacrifice of Himself, God had made His love for His people evident, by the giving of Himself for out sake. He gave us all new hope and light in life. Remember, before the glorious cross, the cross of Christ resurrected from the dead, there is always the cross of suffering, that is the cross taken up by the Christ suffering for our sins.

We cannot abandon the Christ, both in His glory and in His time of greatest humiliation on the cross, the humiliation that he turned into glory. That is why, brethren, we have a mission that has been given to all of us and that is to proclaim the crucified Christ to all people, to all the nations, especially to those who have yet to hear about the wondrous Christ and His works of salvation.

Today, we commemorate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, one of the great saints in the Church, who was well known for his commitment to the Lord, especially to the weak, the poor, and the unloved. St. Vincent de Paul was born in France and was educated to be a faithful and good follower of Christ, when he was captured among many by the Algerian pirates running rampant in the region during his time, and was made into a slave.

St. Vincent de Paul was enslaved and sold to a renegade Catholic owner, until he managed to convince him to return to the faith, who then helped to get St. Vincent to be released from his slavery. He then committed the rest of his life as a worker of the Lord, caring for the last, the lost, and the least in the society, emphasizing on the need to give love to these people, and not abandon them to the darkness.

St. Vincent de Paul was particularly caring about those who were enslaved, being once a slave himself, and showed them the true nature of Christian love, that is dedication and the giving of oneself for the sake of others in need. He was truly the embodiment of who we all Christians ought to become, to be people for others, to be faithful disciples of the Lord who is Love.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us follow the examples of St. Vincent de Paul, making real our faith in this world, through our dedication and service to our brethren in need. We do not have to do big things, but what we can do is, to do even simple things to those around us, to those whom we meet along the way, giving them simple acts of love.

Even these small acts are significant, brethren, and we must not discount them for bigger and more ambitious acts of charity, as it is in these small acts that we can do daily that truly make the difference, and truly bring out the love that we have in us, and sharing it with one another. St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us always, that in all the things we do, we may be more inspired to be charitable and loving. God bless us all, always. Amen.

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Friday, 27 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Luke 9 : 18-22

One day, when Jesus was praying alone, not far from His disciples, He asked them, “What do people say about Me?” And they answered, “Some say that You are John the Baptist; others say that You are Elijah, and still others that You are one of the prophets of old, risen from the dead.”

Again Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

And He added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and be put to death. Then after three days, He will be raised to life.”

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Thursday, 26 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or Red

Luke 9 : 7-9

King Herod heard of all this, and did not know what to think, for people said, “This is John, raised from the dead.” Others believed that Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets, had come back to life. As for Herod, he said, “I had John beheaded. Who is this Man, about whom I hear such wonders?” And he was anxious to see Him.

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Wednesday, 25 September 2013 : 25th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 9 : 1-6

Then Jesus called His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to drive out all evil spirits and to heal diseases. And He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

He instructed them, “Do not take anything for the journey, neither walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor silver coins; and do not even take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. And wherever they do not welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet : it will be as a testimony against them.”

So they set out and went through the villages, proclaiming the Good News and healing people everywhere.

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Sunday, 22 September 2013 : 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we are clearly asked to make a conscious and a decisive choice. That choice we need to make, to decide whether we will serve the Lord our God, or whether we will serve this world and all its wealth and glory. There is only one choice we can make, and we cannot be divided in this matter of our choice.

We must be decisive, brethren, to pick our side. We cannot serve two masters, as Christ had mentioned in the parable of the dishonest servant. As He had pointed out, we will only love one of the two masters and grow to resent and despise the other one. We cannot commit ourselves fully to more than one master. We will only give our wholehearted support to one, and halfhearted support at most for the other.

It is important, brethren, to take note that, in our world today, of the prevalence of our desire and even greed for things material in nature, and for things that bring about wealth, prosperity, and worldly happiness. Our world is deeply engulfed in a sea of commercialism and materialism, brethren, that we see it so often in our surroundings, the prevalence of the love for the material and for wealth in general.

As I have often mentioned, the wealth and properties themselves are not intrinsically evil or bad. Money, material goods, and possessions are neutral and can be used for either good or bad, depending on our own utilisation on them, or in short, how they are used and the way they are used. However, it is often that they are misused in a bad way, and also even in their procurement, plenty of evil had happened throughout the history of mankind.

When we do not learn to manage our own desires and needs, we will likely be taken over by them and be corrupted by the evils of the world. Many people became engrossed over possessions and wealth, that they became enslaved to these goods. We glorify them and desire to seek more and more of them. When we are unable to gain them through rightful and legal means, we begin to veer off from righteousness and seek shortcuts.

What are these shortcuts, brethren? They are ways evil in God’s eye. If we do not keep the faith in the Lord, we are likely to succumb to the temptations of the devil. When we desire more of these possessions, and when we are forced into an unfortunate situation, as the dishonest servant had done, they will be less likely to hesitate to seek the source of money and wealth that can help them, often in an illegal manner.

That was what the dishonest servant had done, in trying to saving himself after having first dishonestly manage the wealth of his master, by ensuring his own security after being fired, by doing even more dishonest acts, which were cheating against his master, by unilaterally changing the debts of his master’s debtors. This is wicked act, brethren, very, very wicked act before the Lord our God.

In the first reading, we also note the prophet Amos rebuking the people of Israel, especially the elders, who dishonestly cheated on the people by abusing their power and authority for their own benefits, especially in financial terms. And these often happened because of human greed, for things that they desire more, especially money, material goods, and wealth in general. But doing so means to go against the will of God, and that was why Christ was so critical against such practices, as was the prophet Amos.

This is also why, we cannot be servant to both God and money, and we cannot have both of them as masters. That is why we must make a choice. Do we want to serve God with all our heart? Or do we want to give it to something like money instead? Money ought to be used as means for us to do something good for one another, and ought not to be something that we treasure so much, that we forget about everything else, about God and our fellow men, and worse still if we even hurt others because of money!

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us make this opportunity to affirm our faith and dedication to the Lord our God, that we love Him and serve Him more than any other things on earth and in heaven. That there is no one greater than God that we place at the first place within our hearts. That we fully dedicate ourselves to do the will of God, through our loving actions, using the graces given to us to do good for those around us who are less fortunate.

Yes, brethren, for those of us who had been given much, much also will be expected of us. But this does not mean that of we are relatively poorer compared to others, then we cannot do anything with what we have. We have to play our own role in the society, be it small or large. We should utilise the goodness that had been given to us, be it in talents and skills, or in financial and material contributions.

And not only in utilising the resources that we have, including money, that we should discern carefully, but we also must be upright in our obtaining of these divine graces of our possessions. Do not cheat others or seek to gain in their suffering and loss. We are often corrupt because we seek to gain in the expense of others, and simply because we desire to possess more of these often material, goods.

Therefore, brethren, let us from today onwards, resolve to change our lives and lifestyle, that we no longer revolve around money, and instead revolve and centre it on God and His love. Let us come to view money as something that we can use for our own happiness, and the happiness of others. Let us then not live for money, but use that money and possession that we have, to bring good and do good, for ourselves, for our brethren, especially those in need, and for God.

May the Lord who is loving, show to us how to love, and how to care for one another, that we can use what had been given to us, for the good of everyone. God bless us all and be with us all, always, forever and ever. Amen.

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Sunday, 22 September 2013 : 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 16 : 1-13

At another time Jesus told His disciples, “There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward  and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.'”

“The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do : I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.'”

“So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.'”

“The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness : for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light. And so I tell you : use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.”

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to money.”

 

Alternative Reading (shorter version)

Luke 16 : 10-13

“Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?”

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to money.”

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Saturday, 21 September 2013 : Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Ephesians 4 : 1-7, 11-13

Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love. Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to  all.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, who is above all and works through all and is in all. But to each of us divine grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. As for His gifts, to some He gave to be apostles, to others prophets, or even evangelists, or pastors and teachers.

So He prepared those who belong to Him for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity and sharing the fullness of Christ.

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Friday, 20 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest and Martyr, St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang, and Companions, Martyrs (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

1 Timothy 6 : 2c-12

Teach and stress these things. Whoever teaches in some other way, not following the sound teaching of our Lord Christ Jesus and true religious instruction, is conceited and understands nothing. This one is crazy about controversies and discussions that result in envy, insults, blows, and constant arguments between people of depraved minds and far from the truth. For them, religion is merely for financial gain.

In reality, religion is a treasure if we are content with what we have. We brought nothing into the world and we will leave it with nothing. Let us then be content with having food and clothing. Those who strive to be rich fall into temptations and traps. A lot of foolish and harmful ambitions plunge them into ruin and destruction.

Indeed, the love of money is the root of every evil. Because of this greed, some have wandered away from the faith, bringing on themselves afflictions of every kind. But you, man of God, shun all this. Strive to be holy and godly. Live in faith and love, with endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith and win everlasting life to which you were called when you made the good profession of faith in the presence of so many witnesses.

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Monday, 16 September 2013 : 24th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Psalm 27 : 2, 7, 8-9

Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your innermost sanctuary.

The Lord is my strength, my shield, my heart was sure of Him, I have been helped and my heart exults, with my song I give Him thanks.

The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, be their shepherd and carry them forever.

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Saturday, 14 September 2013 : Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a very important feast of our faith, the very centre of our faith itself, and the foundation of our faith, that is the Most Holy Cross of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. The cross is the symbol of our salvation, and not just mere symbol in fact, as the cross is where the Lord our God was lifted high up in between the heavens and the earth, bleeding and suffering.

The cross was the common way for the Romans to punish criminals, particularly those considered as dangerous threat to their Empire, and that was the punishment meted out by them on Jesus, on the advice of the Pharisees and the chief priests. It is truly a humiliating way to die, the criminals’ death, that He was lifted up, left almost naked on the cross, bound and pierced with nails, and left hanging there until He gave up His Spirit to the Father.

That cross, the humiliating cross, was taught by the enemies of Christ, prime among all, Satan himself, as the end of the road for Christ, as the victory that he finally achieved in his rebellion against God, as the ultimate foiling of the Lord’s long conceived plan for salvation of mankind and the world. The enemies of Christ rejoiced in His seemed ‘defeat’ and death. The cross become their symbol of victory against the Messiah and the Lamb of God.

And yet, the cross truly is the symbol of victory, as it has been transformed from the humiliating cross, into the triumphant cross of glory. The cross was transformed from the symbol of humiliation, defeat, and despair, into the sign of hope, of victory. All of that was because of Jesus and His death, which happened as He hung on that wooden cross in suffering.

Jesus who was without sin and perfect as One fully divine and fully human, and yet He was punished for all of our sins, and He bore all that as He carried His cross to Calvary and as He hung between the heavens and the earth. His bleeding wounds are symbols of His suffering of bearing our faults and sins, the punishment that we should have endured ourselves, but the Lord in His love, endured them all for our sake, that we may live.

Just as when the people of Israel suffered because of their rebellion, when the Lord punished them with fiery serpents, for having doubted His power and complained repeatedly for the Lord having shown His love and kindness to them. The serpents represent the punishment for sins that we have committed, and the wickedness that we had committed and found wanting in the eyes of God. Yet, He showed great mercy on all of His children, by giving them a new hope, on the bronze serpent, lifted up high by Moses, that all who looked at it will not die but live.

Jesus Christ is the bronze serpent for all of us, that through His loving sacrifice on the cross, just as He mentioned to Nicodemus, that He was lifted up high between the heavens and the earth on that cross, for the exactly same purpose, that all who look at Him and believe, will not die, and not just any death, but death everlasting, will live. He died so that we may live, and have eternal life in us, the life God the Father had given, the Spirit had nurtured, and the Son had renewed through His death.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we commemorate this important feast of the Holy Cross of Christ, let us always keep in mind, the painful suffering that our Lord, the Lamb of God led to His slaughter, endured for our sake, so that we may live and not die. Let us also always be mindful of the numerous wounds on His Body, which represent each and every one of our sins without exception. Remember that every time we sin, or every time we are tempted to sin and do something against the commandments of the Lord.

Let us also put our hope in Christ, the victorious and conquering Lord, putting our hope in His triumphant cross, the symbol of victory against sin and evil. Do not turn our back on the cross or be shy about the Lord on the cross. Remember that with every cross, there is also Christ there, because just as He is a triumphant God, He is also a suffering God, who so loved the world that He willed Himself to descend unto our world and be the redemption for our sins, paying to the last cent, our faults and iniquities, that we ought to have suffered from.

Let us rejoice in Christ and His Holy Cross, giving thanks and praise for the One who gave up His life on the cross, that we may live. May the cross lead us and inspire us to take up our own crosses and follow Christ at all times. Amen.