teachings of the Church

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Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast of the Church, the Marian feast of Theotokos, Mother of God, as well as this day as the day of universal prayer for the peace in the world. On this day, also the first day of this new year of our Lord 2015, we give thanks to God for the past year, for all that He had done for us, the wonders and graces He had provided us in the year that had passed.

And on this New Year’s Day too, we ought to look forward and see in this new year to come, an ample opportunity for us to do what we have not been able to do in the previous year, and thus we have to reflect and evaluate on our own lives, our ways of life and how we interact with one another. This new year should begin with a new resolution on our side to achieve peace in this world, a lasting peace without hatred and violence, and one that is inspired by the examples of the Blessed Mother of our Lord, Mary.

For Mary is our role model, both in life and in how we should be faithful to the Lord. She is special amongst men and all who were created by God, for firstly she is the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore as He is both fully God and fully Man, she is by that virtue is the Mother of God, or in the original Greek, Theotokos, and it is this nature and title bestowed on Mary, the faithful servant of God, that we rejoice together as one Church.

There are unfortunately those who failed to understand this nature of Mary, and the great role she had played in the history of the salvation of mankind. They refused to honour her and glorify her, because they thought that in doing so they have idolises her and made her as if to be a goddess. But they were mistaken in this, and that was the lie that Satan tried to propagate in order to destroy the Church and harm the faithful ones.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, why do we honour Mary such, with many titles and graces? Why do we call her the Blessed Virgin Mary? Should we not honour man but God only? If we look deeper at the Scriptures and its meaning, then we will understand. Mary herself mentioned in the Magnificat, the prayer of rejoicing and revelry at the fulfillment of God’s promise through her, that she was blessed for all ages because of what God had done through her.

And we honour Mary as the mother of God because in Jesus we see the true, complete, full and perfect unity between the Divinity of which He is God, part of God and is truly God, limitless and omnipotent, and the Humanity, of which He was made into Flesh, the flesh of Man by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary is the mother of Jesus, both God and Man at the same time, fully God and fully Man, without separation, distinct in the two natures of divine and humanity, but united in the one person of Jesus Christ.

Those who deem Mary as a ‘goddess’ that we worship, do not make sense at all. If Mary is a goddess, then truly, where would the humanity of Christ come from? Indeed, God is almighty and it would truly be a trivial matter for Him to come directly in the form of Man if He so wished, but He chose to come through the woman, so that what God had revealed to man at the beginning of time might come to its full completion.

God said to Satan, in the serpent, and to the first woman, Eve, that he would bite the heels of the sons of the woman, while the woman will crush the serpent under her feet. Satan had introduced sin to men, and ever since that moment of rebelliousness and disobedience, men had fallen into sin, and apparently with no hope of rescue or escape, that is until the Woman came and made full God’s promises.

That woman is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She obeyed the Lord fully and let herself be used for the entire purpose of God, and as such, where Eve had failed, succumbing to her own vanity and personal desires for knowledge and more, Mary had succeeded and her examples became the source of inspiration for many. Mary remained faithful and committed to the Lord, to her Son and followed Him unto even His death on the cross.

Mary played such an important role in our Faith, as she was not merely just the mother of Jesus the Man, but also as the mother of the Word incarnate into flesh through her. The divinity and humanity of Jesus are completely and perfectly united in His person, two distinct natures but one person. Anyone who rejects this truth deviates from the teachings of Christ and is a heretic.

Such was the case with Arius, the famous preacher who would eventually be known for his role in the rise of the Arian heresy, where the rejection of the divinity of Christ was becoming commonplace, and this heresy was born out of the confusion that the devil spread in order to make the people unable to comprehend how Jesus could be both Divine and yet also Man at the same time.

If we look at the Scriptures, in the Holy Gospels, Jesus did things that both Man and the Divine do. He ate with His disciples, drank with them, was affected by sorrow and sadness, and He wept, yes for Lazarus, the one whom He was close friend with, when he apparently died from his sickness. Yet, at the same moment, He brought Lazarus back to life, healed the sick and forgave the sins of many, which are things that only God can do.

Thus, Jesus is truly fully Man and fully God, and it never occurred anywhere in the Gospels that the two natures were separate, but the two were always together. It was not merely the human Jesus that suffered for us on the cross, for no man could have born the entirety of the weight of the world’s sins, but God indeed can do so, and it was Jesus, both God and Man, who carried that cross up to Calvary and die for our sins, that we may live.

And if Jesus is both God and Man, then it is perfectly fine for Mary to be called the Mother of God, and that was what the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year of our Lord 325 had affirmed in Faith, that Mary as the Mother of Jesus, is the Mother of God. Then, how is this relevant to us, brethren? That is because, Mary is our role model, and she is also our mother. For Mary has been set aside by God to be the mother of Jesus and in her works and actions, she became our example.

If all mankind are to follow the examples of Mary, then this world would have been so much better. No more violence, no more hatred, for if all were to follow Mary’s examples, they should have been filled with love, both for God and their fellow men, and not with hatred or evil. That is why, on this day, the day when Pope St. John XXIII dedicated his last Papal Encyclical, Pacem in Terris or Peace on Earth, this day is a day which we should dedicate with much prayer for the sake of peace in the world.

That time, the world had just been on the brink of a great nuclear war between the two superpowers of the world, and war had been avoided just because of very tense diplomacy between both sides. The threat of annihilation of countless peoples was just very great, one that we may not be familiar with today. Thus, as we begin this new year today, let us all pray together as one people, one Church, and all belonging to the house of the Lord, that peace, the peace of Christ may reign over all and the world, that it may dispel the evils that Satan had planted in this world and in us.

Jesus had entrusted Mary to John, His disciple, and that singular act is a great action of God entrusting His own mother to be the mother of us all. Let us thus, ask Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of our Lord and God, who is also our Mother, to pray for all of us, for she, even though not a god nor goddess but a human being, being closest to the throne of her Son in heaven, she may intercede for us and gain for us the richness of the mercy and grace of our God. God bless us all. Amen.

First Reading :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (First Reading)


Psalm :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Psalm)


Second Reading :

Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Octave Day of Christmas and World Day of Prayer for Peace (Second Reading)


Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/31/thursday-1-january-2015-solemnity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-mother-of-god-octave-day-of-christmas-and-world-day-of-prayer-for-peace-gospel-reading/

Epistle (Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord) :

(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord, Octave Day of Christmas (Double II Classis) – Thursday, 1 January 2015 : Epistle


Gospel (Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord) :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/31/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-circumcision-of-our-lord-octave-day-of-christmas-double-ii-classis-thursday-1-january-2015-holy-gospel/

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Wednesday, 31 December 2014 : Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard yet again about the incarnation of the Divine into Flesh, the assumption of the Divine Word of God of the mortal flesh of Man. In it we continue to reflect and celebrate in this blessed season of Christmas, the commemoration of the birth and entry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into this world.

The Christmas season is a time for us all to rejoice, but even more so, that we have to take a step back and realise the very reason why the Lord had done this, while He truly had no reason to do so. He is perfect in everything and He is perfectly fine by Himself, and yet He decided that He wants to share the love He has with those whom He had created in His own image, that is all of us mankind.

He came so that through what He taught His disciples, He might deliver the wisdom and truth of God unto mankind, so that, realising the truth about God and His love, they may find their way towards Him. That is because if we are not able to find our way to Him, we are likely to be lost in the darkness of the world, becoming tempted and failing to sin just as our ancestors had been tempted by Satan.

St. John in his letter which is our First Reading today warned of the presence and rise of antichrists, those whom Satan had charged with the corruption and subversion of the world and all the people of God, so that instead of following the true Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, we will follow the lies of Satan instead, spread through the wicked antichrists.

Do not think that antichrists will come only with the coming of the end times, as they are already here. We have many antichrists around us, those who pretend to speak for the truth, but instead subverting the truth into lies, while making people to believe in what they said as true. A simple and common example would be how the world, how the media perceived what the Church and its teachings mean, and how they twisted them and corrupt the people against God’s Church.

It is also similar with how the media and the people often misrepresented the Pope and his teachings, especially with our current Pope, Pope Francis. Pope Francis is an orthodox defender of the faith, who merely pushed for a more loving and meaningful application of our Faith in the world, but with no intention whatsoever to dismantle or destroy even a single iota or piece of the sacred teachings and Traditions of the Faith which we faithfully kept.

We too, brothers and sisters in Christ, are often distracted with the many lies and goodness of this world, the temptations of the evil one designed to bring us away from the salvation in God through Jesus Christ. We often find the ways of this world, and the various offers made by Satan and his agents in this world to be much more attractive than what our Lord offers us. Yet, what Satan offers us bring just temporary satisfaction and the end result in eternal death and condemnation.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we should help one another in the Faith, committing ourselves to help one another defending ourselves from the lies of Satan, from the traps of the antichrists, and help each other to remain firmly faithful to the teachings of the Faith. Today we also celebrate the feast of Pope St. Silvester I or Pope St. Sylvester I, the Pope who lived during the time when Christianity, our Faith had been accepted by the Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine the Great.

Although the Faith had been accepted and was no longer persecuted then as it had been in the previous decades and centuries, but it did not mean that Pope St. Silvester I had an easy time as the Vicar of Christ. Instead, he had to deal with various heresies and false teachings of the Faith by various people trying to lead the people away from the truth of Christ and the true Faith.

Most prominent among the false prophets was Arius, who spread his teachings of Arianism, rejecting the divinity of Christ, proclaiming that Jesus was a mere Man and not God. Thus, if we look at this false prophet, it is very obvious that he was repudiating the very core of our faith, that is the belief in Jesus, the Logos or the Word of God, who is God and is with God, as the Gospel of John today proclaims, and who descended unto us, incarnate into Flesh by the means of His mother, Mary. Pope St. Silvester I and the other bishops condemned this falsehood and heresy through the now famous Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, reaffirming true Christian Faith and teachings.

Do not let Satan and his antichrists deceive us, but let us instead firmly believe in our Lord, who is the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ, who out of His eternal love for us, was willing to descend upon us and dwell among us, so that we may be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

First Reading :

Wednesday, 31 December 2014 : Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (First Reading)



Psalm :

Wednesday, 31 December 2014 : Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of Pope St. Silvester I, Pope (Psalm)



Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/30/wednesday-31-december-2014-seventh-day-within-the-octave-of-christmas-memorial-of-pope-st-silvester-i-pope-gospel-reading/

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Tuesday, 30 December 2014 : Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard about how all things shall receive the fullness of God’s grace and His wonderful mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God, the Word of God, the Divine incarnate into the flesh of Man. He chose to become one of us so that by His incarnation and by His actions in the world, He might become the source of all hope and inspiration for countless peoples of all races and nations, to be the Liberation of mankind from the chains and tyranny of sin.

Anna the prophetess had waited for a long time for the coming of the Saviour in Jesus, the Holy Child, whom in the Gospel today was presented at the Temple on the eighth day to the Lord as the firstborn Son of His mother Mary. She was fortunate that she was given the grace and opportunity to behold the Saviour in the Flesh, and to see Him with her own eyes. Many in the past ages and the future, including all of us now, have no such opportunity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us have been saved in Jesus Christ, by the shedding and the outpouring of His Blood, and we have been paid for in full by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, who provided the only and the one only sure path through to reach salvation in God. He has brought us all over from our old lives of sin and dependence of things of the flesh, and instead He offered us all a new life founded on His firm foundation.

If we put our trust and faith firmly in Jesus, then I say that, we have overcome the evil one, that is Satan and all of his evil temptations, and we have triumphed, overcoming our slavery and enslavement to sin, which began when men first listened to Satan and to their own desires instead of listening to God. We have been brought out of the slavery of our heart, mind, body and soul, just as the Israelites were brought out of Egypt with the great power of God.

The Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt with His great power, and He destroyed their shackles, as He also destroyed our shackles of sin, but just as the Israelites who complained and refused to listen to God, worshipping pagan gods and idols and preferring to walk their own ways, we also often rebelling against God, walking on our own paths, and listening more to our own desires and wants rather than listening to our Lord.

Therefore, it is necessary for us to persevere in this world filled with numerous temptations and things that distract us from our focus on the Lord. Satan is always actively trying to subvert us and turn us away from salvation in God, and into damnation together with him. He knows what things can best be used to persuade us and entice us to sin, and this is the great danger facing all of us, if we are not aware or able to resist the advances of Satan, we are in danger of losing our way.

Hence, as we continue in our celebration of Christmas, in this holy and blessed season, and as we approach the coming of the new year, let us all keep our focus on Christ, and try our best not to be distracted by the many things in the world. We have to keep Christ at the centre of our celebration of Christmas, and indeed, at the centre of our lives.

May all of us be able to seek our way to the Lord, and keep our gaze firmly focused and locked onto Him, so that amidst the various dangers and temptations that the world presents to us, we may persevere and remain strong in our Faith and will not lose our way, so that at the end of the days, rich rewards of salvation and eternal life will be ours. God bless us all. Amen.

First Reading :

Tuesday, 30 December 2014 : Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas (First Reading)


Psalm :

Tuesday, 30 December 2014 : Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas (Psalm)


Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/29/tuesday-30-december-2014-sixth-day-within-the-octave-of-christmas-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 29 December 2014 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear about listening to God and obeying His laws, and fulfilling the commandments which He had given to us. It is highlighted in the first reading today from the first letter of St. John the Apostle, that as the servants and disciples of God, that we have to live out our faith and be concrete in that faith, showing it in our actions, words and deeds, and not doing what is contrary to the teachings of our Lord Jesus.

If we call ourselves as the children of God and as the members of His Church, then we have to behave as one. We cannot profess to be the children of God, and yet our actions prove to be completely otherwise. The very reason why it has been so difficult for many to believe in Christ and indeed why many of them refused to believe in Him is because we who are the disciples of Christ preached about Him but we did not practice what we preached.

How can they believe in us and in what we preached to them if we ourselves did not embody what we have preached. Instead, we become an embarrassment of the Faith, and our Lord will not be pleased at us. Not only that we have failed to observe His laws and commandments, but we have also made others to lack the faith in Him because of our own wicked actions and deeds, not in line with what we preached.

Therefore, we have to mean what we say, and we have to act on what we believe in. Otherwise, our faith in God is empty and meaningless, and instead of salvation we will gain condemnation from God and eternal punishment. St. James in his epistle, the letter of St. James, highlighted in it that faith without works is essentially the same as dead. That means faith without action based on that faith is a useless one and indeed, as I have elaborated, this kind of faith is harmful to us.

Yes, and that is the same faith which the hypocrites committed. The Pharisees and the scribes of the Law whom the Lord condemned as hypocrites were externally and outwardly seeming to be pious and good servants of the Lord, but in reality, they have no God in them, for whom they spared no place in their hearts. They preached faith and devotion to God and trumpeted their devotion loud for others to see, and yet they did these for themselves and to satisfy their own vanity.

Jesus condemned them precisely because they have no regards for the Lord and did not obey His laws and commandments as they should have. They have besmirched the Name of the Lord and spat on His precepts. They cared not for the Lord nor for His people but for their own self-aggrandisement. They were the ones who should have recognised the Christ when He came, and yet they doubted Him, rejected Him and laid difficulties along His works and His paths.

Our actions must not be like that of theirs, and instead we have to do as we believed, and we have to act in the way not contradicting the very Creed we profess. And this is what we can learn from the saint whose feast we are celebrating today, namely St. Thomas of Canterbury, also known by his name, St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury during the high Medieval age of the twelfth century, during the reign of King Henry II of England.

St. Thomas Becket was a devoted man of God, who followed the will of God wholeheartedly and who took the laws and commandments of God seriously in his heart. He was particularly staunch at the enforcement of the law of God and the Church. He was once a servant of the king entrusted with many matters because of his skills in management, appointed to chancellorship by the king.

The king had hoped that if he appointed St. Thomas Becket to the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the primate of England and the chief of the religious officer of the state, he would continue to show preference to serve the king and the state as he had been before. But St. Thomas Becket would prove him to be wrong. He was a faithful and pious servant of the Church, who did not mince his words and who was sorrowed by the great corruption in the lives of the king and his servants.

St. Thomas Becket practiced his faith faithfully to the core of its foundations, fulfilling the teachings of Christ. He showed mercy and love to sinners who sought God’s help, but to those who were wicked and unrepentant, and to those who persisted in their love for the world, he had no love for them. He excommunicated and expelled many from the Church those who had followed the path of the Pharisees, getting themselves rich at the cost of others and those who have caused untold sufferings for many.

He gained the enmity and hatred of many in the king’s court and circles, and this eventually led to a group of knights who plotted to assassinate him as he celebrated the solemn prayers. He was assassinated in cold blood at the holy places, while he surrendered himself completely to God. Those who were involved in the assassination including the king were punished severely by the Church, excommunicated and asked to do serious and long series of penance for their murder of the holy man of God, who was canonised as a martyr and saint soon after his murder.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the example of St. Thomas Becket should inspire us all to walk and practice our faith with genuine intention and devotion to our God. If only that all the faithful would emulate his upright life and devotion to his Faith, then the whole world would have been converted upon seeing our brilliant examples and dedication to the way of the Lord.

It is therefore necessary that we mean what we say, and if we are to preach the Word of God, then we have to mean what we preach and practice it ourselves, so that others who see us may know that we truly belongs to Christ, and not following our own selfish way. May St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Thomas Becket pray for us and intercede for us sinners. Amen.

First Reading :

Monday, 29 December 2014 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (First Reading)


Psalm :

Monday, 29 December 2014 : Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr (Psalm)


Gospel Reading :
https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/28/monday-29-december-2014-fifth-day-within-the-octave-of-christmas-memorial-of-st-thomas-becket-bishop-and-martyr-gospel-reading/

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(Usus Antiquior) Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Double II Classis) – Sunday, 28 December 2014 : Homily and Scripture Reflections

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, commemorating those children in Bethlehem who were slaughtered mercilessly by King Herod the Great, in his insecurity and fear that the promised King of Kings, Heir of David would dethrone him and made him to lose everything. He slaughtered all the infants and babies of age two and below, innocent as they were, in order to fulfill his own ambitions and desires. Thus, he had sinned greatly against God.

This feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us of our human nature. We are by nature often selfish and thinking only about ourselves and how to aggrandise ourselves. And in the process of that, we often bring harm and suffering to others, as we stride forth in our quest to bring more to ourselves, be it fame, human praise, wealth, influence, and many other things we often covet and desire.

In order to fully understand the story of the slaughter of the Holy Innocents we have to understand more about who King Herod the Great and why he did the deeds he had done. King Herod was an Idumean or a Nabatean, the group of people who lived to the south of the land of Israel. He was not even one of the Jewish people, but he was rewarded the kingship by the help of the Romans, who contracted the help of King Herod and his father to overthrow the previous ruler of Judea.

In exchange, king Herod had to pay his respects to the Romans who became his overlords, and Herod had to acknowledge their power and superiority over him, and thus he was no more than just a puppet king installed by the Romans. Yet his example then shows us how the greed and ambition of men can have no bounds. In the case of king Herod, he did all he could to preserve his own power and kingship, showing jealousy and hatred to all those who seek to challenge his authority.

But while Herod dwelled on earthly things and sought in vain to aggravate his own personal and worldly agenda, Jesus the true and one King of all showed that His kingship and authority is not one based on the ways of the world, but based on the goodness that is in Him. In this we can make a stark comparison between Herod and Jesus, and this comparison can also be extended into our own, personal lives.

While Herod was vain and power-hungry, Jesus was humble and contented. And while Herod used violence to project his authority, the Lord Jesus had no need for such a thing, as He made His authority clear simply by the clarity of His teachings and messages, and the truth which He preached and bore witness to. By His obedience, He brought mankind into the Light of God and many are saved through Him, while Herod committed a great sin trying to eliminate the One whom to him is none other than a potential rival.

Brothers and sisters, it is therefore a clear reminder to all of us, that as we live this life, we cannot strive to seek what is vain and what is worldly, in expense of the fate we are to have in the world to come. Christ Himself told His disciples explicitly, not to build for themselves wealth and power in this world, but build instead the guarantee and wealth in the world to come.

And how do we do this? We have to stop and reject the temptation to bring about our own benefit and selfishness at the expense of others. Otherwise, we will end up like king Herod, who committed a great sin of murdering the holy innocents of Bethlehem just so that he might satisfy his worldly desires and greed. And in the end, those who have committed wicked deeds will be punished, just as Herod died not long after that, and his kingdom divided among his sons, and eventually these were destroyed shortly after by the Romans.

Most importantly, he has to answer before God for what he had committed. The holy innocents gained the glory of heaven even though they were still very young, as they have suffered great persecution and martyrdom for the sake of the Lord. But Herod is likely to fall into hell for what he had committed. He is likely to suffer there for eternity without any hope for salvation.

Do we want this fate for us? Certainly not. I am sure that we want to avoid this as far as possible. But in order to do that, that is why we have to take the lesson from king Herod and his actions in slaughtering the holy innocents to our heart. We have to get rid of our selfishness and desires that often come in the way of our ability to follow the Lord with the whole of our heart.

As we still continue to proceed through this Christmas season, let us share the joy we have and the graces and blessings which we have received. Let the Lord’s love and grace permeate through all the peoples and all creations so that all of us together may be drawn closer to His ways and away from the selfish ways of the world. May Almighty God bless us and guard us, so that we may not succumb to our emotions and desires, the same one that had brought down Herod to damnation in his murder of the Holy Innocents. Holy Innocents of Bethlehem, pray for us! Amen.

 

Epistle :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-double-ii-classis-sunday-28-december-2014-epistle/

 

Gospel :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/26/usus-antiquior-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-martyrs-double-ii-classis-sunday-28-december-2014-holy-gospel/

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Saturday, 27 December 2014 : Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Brothers and sisters in Christ, after yesterday we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, today we celebrate the feast of St. John the Evangelist, one of the four Evangelists, who wrote the Holy Gospels. He was the closest disciple to Christ, and also reputedly the youngest among them, the one to whom Christ entrusted His mother Mary to be under his care.

And St. John the Evangelist was special among the Apostles in a way that, he did not die from martyrdom of faith, but through a natural death of old age. Yet, before he met his death and pass from this world, he saw the final and complete fulfillment of God’s plan and promises as we can read in the Book of the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John. This is the vision which John received regarding the coming of the end times.

St. John the Evangelist wrote his Gospel in a very different manner compared to the three other Gospels, as while the other three focuses more on the history and on the chronological actions of Christ, St. John in his Gospel is much deeper in terms of depth of the meaning of the words he had written, and this Gospel of St. John discusses more about the nature and the mission which Christ is undertaking in His salvation of the world, hidden behind the mysteries of the faith.

He has the gift of faith, readily believing and putting his trust in the Lord. As one of the very first disciples to be called by Jesus, he had followed the Lord on many occasions, and is among the most trusted by Jesus, along with St. Peter and St. James, his own brother. He witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Jesus was transformed right before his eyes and revealed the truth about His divinity.

All these serve to shape St. John the Evangelist as who he was and in how he wrote his Gospel, which serve to deepen the faith among the people of God, by revealing the great extent of the mysteries which surround the glory and majesty of the Lord made flesh in Jesus Christ. Through his works in the Gospels and through his letters and Epistles, he made clear to the faithful about who Christ is, and what He has been sent into this world for.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are now still in the midst of the Christmas season, which was just the day before yesterday. In Christmas we celebrate and honour our Lord Himself who has made Himself to assume the humble form of a Man, so that He may dwell among us, and by His works, He made manifest God’s love for us through the healing of the body and soul of many people. And ultimately, by His suffering and death on the cross, and by the offering of His own Body and Blood,

And that is exactly the focus of the Gospel of John, as it had been iterated very clearly in the first chapter of the Gospel, that the Word is God, He is with God, and He has been incarnate into flesh and born of the Virgin, that is Mary. It is this very nature of Christ which John is focusing on throughout his Gospel, and which we too should reflect as we live out our faith.

For God is Love, and He has loved us so much that He is willing to give Himself, a part of Himself, the Divine Logos or the Word, who created the universe, to save us from certain death and destruction. This is also the meaning of Christmas, that the Lord who has descended upon this world, to dwell among us His people, as one of us, and through His actions and works we are justified.

Although He is divine, but He is also Man at the same time, fully God and fully Man, and thus He was tempted as all of us were tempted, and He faced challenges just as we too face our challenges in life. And while Adam and all of us fell into the temptations and sinned, but Christ in His obedience and love for His Father became the exemplary Man, the new Adam, who became a beacon of true Light shining in the path of all mankind as an example to all.

Therefore, as we continue our celebration of this holy Christmas season, and as we honour St. John the Evangelist on his feast day, let us all deepen our faith in Christ, following the examples of faith of St. John the Evangelist, and also the obedience of Christ and the love He had shown to us, His beloved people. We cannot separate Christmas for this celebration of God’s love, for without Christ, our Christmas is meaningless.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may our faith in the Lord be strengthened, and may all of us come to greater realisation of the love which our Lord has for us, so that we may appreciate His love and therefore come to also show this love to our fellow brethren. That is the true essence of Christmas, brothers and sisters in Christ. St. John had shown us that Christ is the manifestation of God’s love, and just as He had shared His love with us, we too should share this love with one another.

May our Christmas celebrations and joys be truly enriching and meaningful, that everyone may share in the Joy that Christ had brought us, our Lord and God who loved us so much that He was willing to come to us and even lay down His life to liberate us from eternal death. May God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/saturday-27-december-2014-feast-of-st-john-apostle-and-evangelist-gospel-reading/

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Friday, 26 December 2014 : Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr of the Church (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, the day after Christmas, is the feast of the protomartyr of the Faith, that is the first of those who have died for their Faith in God. He is St. Stephen, one of the seven deacons appointed to serve the people of God, sharing and giving the nourishment, and in charge of the Church’s charitable acts and works.

One might be wondering, why after the joy of Christmas, then we immediately go on to celebrate a tragedy, that is the death of a faithful and holy servant of God. But truthfully, if we have understood what Christmas is truly about, then this would not surprise us at all, and indeed, it would have fit perfectly into the order of things. Christmas joy and happiness is not about the glamour, the parties, the revelries and the things we do to make things look great, but it is truly about the Joy we have, for our God has given the perfect manifestation of His love for us and His faithfulness through Jesus.

Did Jesus come into the world to affirm His people and praise them? No, in fact, He did not mince His words, and His words are true, and filled with criticisms at those who have misinterpreted the Law, and worse still for those who even misled the faithful with their sinful ways. As such, as we all should know, Jesus did not have an easy time, and oppositions always came His way, particularly from the Pharisees and the chief priests who viewed Him as a rival to their power, influence and authority.

This is exactly what Jesus mentioned in the Gospel today. He mentioned how those who believed in Him will also suffer just as He had suffered. The world had rejected Him, and all those who placed their trust in the world also rejected Him. Then, the same too would also happen to all those who walk in the way of Christ. The world will also reject them and attempt to eliminate them, just as they had tried to eliminate Christ.

It is to say and highlight that following Christ is not an easy path, and it is certainly not for those who seek to be complacent and desire acceptance by the world. As St. Stephen had shown us, as well as many other martyrs of the Faith that followed in his footsteps, being faithful to God and obedient to His will is a tough one, and often life is placed on the line, and many lost their lives refusing to abandon their Faith in God.

Christ came into our world, incarnate as the Baby Jesus that we celebrate as Christmas, but many would not want to listen to Him and what He had come to tell them, because they were misled, they were deep in the lies of Satan and they embraced to much of worldliness that prevented them from realising the truth about themselves.

That is why when Christ came into the world and bring the truth to them, many found it difficult to accept what He had told them. The Pharisees and the elders of the people refused to listen to St. Stephen as well. St. Stephen spoke at length, telling them all about God and His wondrous works throughout the ages, and he highlighted how the stubbornness of the people of God prevented them from receiving the grace of God and understanding His will.

They closed their ears and covered them, while shouting and lusting for the death of St. Stephen. They tortured him and stoned him to death. This is a clear example of how mankind often refuses to listen to the truth and instead prefer to be buoyed and bought over by the lies of the devil. We are often distracted from the truth, and when the truth comes our way, we come up with a thousand excuses and more to deny that truth.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us live in denial, and we do not recognise our sinfulness before God. We tend to shut God out of our lives, and that is why many of us do not recognise the true value and meaning of Christmas. Christmas is about the coming of the Saviour, whose truth and love would dispel all falsehoods and lies, and we have to face the truth no matter how horrible and ugly the truth is.

Therefore, as we continue to rejoice in the joy of this Christmas season, let us also heed the examples of St. Stephen and the other holy martyrs, who had given up their lives for the Lord, in defense of their faith. They did not hide the truth, but reveal the entirety of the truth they have received from Christ. Therefore, we as the disciples and followers of Christ must also not mince our words, and we must not compromise on the Faith.

Let us preach the Good News of the Lord and the fullness of faith with complete trust and confidence in God’s providence. Practice the Faith through our words, actions and deeds, just like St. Stephen, who did not become angry or hateful to those who have condemned him to death, but instead like Christ, he forgave them and begged that their sins may not be counted against them.

Thus, foremost in our concerns should be the propagation of the unadulterated and unchanged Faith in all its fullness. We cannot be witness to half faiths, or else we witness for nothing. Instead, let us persevere, even against the opposition of the world, to be the bringer of the Joy of Christmas into the world. May Christ be with us all, His peoples and disciples, give us strength and renew our courage and resolve to live our faith with full effort and sincerity. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/friday-26-december-2014-feast-of-st-stephen-protomartyr-of-the-church-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/friday-26-december-2014-feast-of-st-stephen-protomartyr-of-the-church-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/25/friday-26-december-2014-feast-of-st-stephen-protomartyr-of-the-church-gospel-reading/

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Wednesday, 24 December 2014 : Fourth Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is the Eve of Christmas, the day before the big celebration of our Church, commemorating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ at Bethlehem in Judea, the very moment and a singular very important event in the history of the world when the Lord who is Divine, Almighty and ever powerful, would come into this world, as a Baby, laying down in a manger in a dirty and cramped stable fit only for animals.

Today as we end the season of Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of Christ, the feeling is indeed one of joy and jubilation, as reflected in the Scripture readings today. In the Gospel, Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist gave thanks to God for His providence and love for us, and for granting to him the grace of having John born of his wife, Elizabeth, at their very old age.

In the first reading we heard about king David of Israel who had finished most of his wars and conquests, and peace had settled over all the land, and he wanted to build a proper and worthy House for the Lord. But the Lord refused to allow him to do so, as it would fall to his son, Solomon, who would build the first Temple of God, the dwelling of the Lord among His people.

All of these readings have the same purpose, that is to declare for us the eventual coming of the Lord, who will come to claim all of His beloved ones. Thus while we are today at the very gate of Christmas to celebrate the moment when He came into the world the first time, in the Baby Jesus, this does not mean that we celebrate something that is relevant only in the past, as God will come again at the end of time as He had promised us. He went forward and ascended to heaven in order to prepare the place for us.

At this point, it is fitting for us to realise the true meaning of our celebration of Christmas as well. This love and desire by God to dwell among us and to embrace us as what He had done through Jesus, the Divine incarnate into Man, is well reflected by today’s readings too. It is all about Emmanuel, the name of the Saviour promised through the prophet Elijah. It means God is with us, and this is what we celebrate in Christmas, that is we celebrate God who loves us so much, that He was willing to assume our humanity and to dwell among us.

Christmas is indeed about Christ, as the name suggests, and it is about God’s Love made manifest through Christ. It is because of this same love, that even though we are sinners and have disobeyed God, and thus deserve punishment, condemnation and destruction, but God gave us another chance, and His love us so great that He is willing to forgive us and willing even to dwell among us, to be with us united perfectly in love.

The first reading talked about the House which king David proposed to make for the Lord, as it was not befitting for the Lord, so he thought, to live under a tent. But not even the Temple created by Solomon his son would actually be fit for the Lord, no matter how mighty and glamorous it is, as we can read in its detailed descriptions in the Book of Kings. That is because that Temple and the Temple that was rebuilt and existing during the time of Jesus, were of human origins, made by human hands, but God had designed another Temple, a place truly deserving and worthy of His Real Presence.

And what is this Temple? It is all of us, brethren, every single one of us, mankind whom God had made with His own hands and given even the very image of Himself as our image. We are the Temples of the Lord’s Presence, and the Lord who came into this world and which we celebrate in Christmas, is really about God coming into us and dwelling in us. That is the meaning of Emmanuel, God is with us.

But unfortunately, many of us if not most defiled ourselves with sin, the very reason why we have been separated from God’s love in the first place. Sin and wickedness corrupted us and defiled this Holy Temple that is our body and our beings. Remember that the Scriptures and our Lord exhorted us to keep holy this Temple and not to defile it by fornication, wickedness or any form of sins?

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, as we embrace Christmas and all of its joys and celebrations, let us not be distracted and lost our true purpose in celebrating this Christmas. Let us commit ourselves to change our sinful ways so that this Temple we have in ourselves will no longer be defiled, but will be worthy of the Lord present in each one of us. Remember that the Eucharist we receive regularly is His Real Presence, and thus He dwells in us even now.

May this Christmas be meaningful to us, so that we may truly be transformed into the loving and faithful children of our Lord, whose birth into this world we celebrate in this occasion. May Almighty God guide us and lead us into His love, and help us to resist all forms of temptations and all the lies of Satan designed to bring us into sin and damnation. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/wednesday-24-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/wednesday-24-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/wednesday-24-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-gospel-reading/

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Tuesday, 23 December 2014 : Fourth Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear yet another repetition of the readings on St. John the Baptist and the sending of the messenger who would be the one to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. This is a theme often repeated throughout the Advent season, as the very nature of this season is of preparation for the Advent, or the Coming of the Christ our Lord.

This coming of Christ into the world is often associated by all of us with the celebration of Christmas, when we commemorate the birth of the Baby Jesus, Word of God (Logos), Divine incarnate into Flesh. That was His first coming, yes. The first time when God extended His love into the world, to fulfill completely and perfectly the plan for our salvation and deliverance which He had planned since the beginning of time.

But the Lord also said and promised that, while then He departed the world and ascended into heaven after His death and resurrection, He promised that He would come at the very end of time and ages, as the Great Judge of all the living and the dead, precisely just as we believe in our Faith and which we profess in our solemn Creed. Therefore, what we have to realise is that we do not just celebrate what had happened in the past, but also with joy and expectation, we wait for the coming of Christ as He had promised.

We do not just rejoice and be happy in this celebration of Christmas. Yes, we should all be joyful for Christ our Lord Himself had decided to come Himself into this world so that through Him a new hope for all of us might arise. But at the same time, on all of us had been charged the same responsibility as had been given to St. John the Baptist, that is to prepare the way for the Lord when He comes.

The Lord had planned for the salvation of His people, who had sinned and disobeyed Him, falling into sin. But as long as the people remained attached to sin and unable to detach themselves from such sins, then it is difficult for them to change their ways and for them to heed the call of the Lord when He came. From time to time, God sent them His servants, the prophets and messengers to remind them. But whenever these passed away, they returned back their previous ways of sin.

Hence, in order to prepare the way for the coming of the Saviour, and to make the best out of it, God had sent forth His messenger, John, who was sent to the people and as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, he would chastise the people of God and called them to repentance. For it is in repentance from their sins that they would be able to discard the veil of sin and allow the Word of God to come into their lives and transform them.

But this does not end there, brothers and sisters in Christ, for sin remains at large in the world, and many remained under its thrall and influence. If this continues, many would be under the threat of eternal damnation. That is why, today, as we approach Christmas, we have to also realise that there are new John the Baptists required in our world today. And who else would do that besides us?

Jesus our Lord taught His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him. This cross is the commandment, which Christ had entrusted His disciples with, and therefore it has also been entrusted to us. This is to call and bring all peoples of all nations to the Lord, baptising them with the Holy Spirit. We who have been made the children of God has thus this duty to spread the Good News to others, by our words and actions, calling them to repentance as St. John the Baptist once did.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, a Polish priest and saint who was renowned for his great piety and his great dedication to the advancement of Catholic education. St. John of Kanty established Catholic educational institutes and universities, and helped define many aspects of Catholic teachings and made his own ample contributions.

St. John of Kanty was also renowned as a very charitable and pious person, who often donated to the poor and helped to care for those whom he met on the road. He also was well-known for his extensive pilgrimages, even on foot, at one time to the Threshold of the Apostles, to Rome the Eternal City of the saints. St. John of Kanty had many contributions, and through his examples and works, countless peoples were inspired and turned to the faith and were saved.

Even today, what he has done is still a great inspiration for all of us. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we follow in his footsteps? If we do things as St. John of Kanty had done, be assured that many people who see how we speak, how we act and how we conduct ourselves will come to believe in the Lord. Therefore, as this Advent is ending and as we pass on to Christmas, let us all make a new resolution, to be there for our brethren in need, and bring the Light of Christ to them, that they may be saved. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/tuesday-23-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-of-kanty-priest-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/tuesday-23-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-of-kanty-priest-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/22/tuesday-23-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-memorial-of-st-john-of-kanty-priest-gospel-reading/

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Monday, 22 December 2014 : Fourth Week of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear of two joyful and very grateful women, for what God had done unto them, as a sign of God’s faithfulness and grace to all those who had placed their complete trust in Him. The first woman is Hannah, the second wife of Eliakim and the mother of Samuel, the prophet of God and Judge over Israel. The second woman is none other than Mary, the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

Both of them had been granted great graces by the Lord, and even more so for the second one, that is Mary. Hannah prayed before God with her whole heart and attention at the House of God as she was unable to have a child with her husband, and although he loved her more than Peninah, the other wife, but the latter bore him ten children while Hannah had none.

Peninah often ridiculed her and made fun of her because of her barrenness and inability to bear children. Distraught over this and deeply troubled, she had nowhere else to turn but to turn to the Lord, who succoured her and rescued her from her troubles. She was given her first son, Samuel, whom she dedicated and consecrated to the Lord to be His servant forever.

Hannah sought the Lord for help and she was truly sincere. And the Lord heard her and answered her prayers. This emotion of joy and happiness of having herself heard by the Lord is reflected in the Song of Hannah, which tone is similar to what Mary in the Gospel today sang, the song known as the Magnificat, a great expression of joy and praise to God, as reflected by the words of that beautiful hymn to the Lord.

In that, Mary thanked God for what He had done for those who trust in Him. It is not so much that God would punish those who are rich, privileged or with power. God does not discriminate between His people by their background, possessions or other attributes. All are equal before God, equally loved and with equal opportunities at receiving His bountiful mercy.

The key learning point from the Scripture Readings today is that God rewards those who are faithful to Him, and those who put their trust completely to Him. He rewards not those who boast of themselves, but instead He blesses those who boast of the Lord and His love. Indeed, what Mary did was truly boasting in the Lord, announcing before all the whole world, and we still continue to echo this song regularly in our prayers and devotions, in our observation of the daily Divine Office, that the Lord has done great things for His servants who entrust themselves to Him.

In our world today it is difficult for us to put our trust in the Lord, for it is often that we put our trust in ourselves first. We rely on things of this world first, on our own power and abilities before we put our trust in God. The tendency is for us to follow our heart’s desire rather than to listen to the Lord. Temptation of Satan in this world is truly plentiful, and he never runs out of tactics to trap us and bring about our downfall.

This coming Christmas is both therefore a challenge and opportunity for all of us. It is a challenge for us to break free of our mindset and enslavement to our desires and greed, and it is thus also an opportunity, for us to seek the Lord anew and rediscover our faith in God, through sincere and genuine celebration of this feast of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

You see, brothers and sisters in Christ, how committed is the Lord in His desire to help us all, that He extends Himself as the perfect Gift for mankind, the gift of everlasting and true Love. The blessings which Mary sung about has been given to all of us freely without charge, as long as we believe and put our trust in Him. Yet it is also a challenge for us all, as it is not easy for us to break free from our dependence on this world and its various things.

Temptations will be aplenty, brethren, and it is now up to us to challenge ourselves as we approach Christmas. Let us ask ourselves, are we ready to welcome the Lord into our midst? Have our words, actions and deeds truly represent our nature as the children of God? Thus, from now on, let us all put our trust in God, commit ourselves to change our ways in accordance to what God had taught us. Be prepared and let us welcome the coming of Christ into our midst in this commemoration of Christmas with open minds, heart and soul. God bless us all. Amen.

 

First Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/21/monday-22-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-first-reading/

 

Psalm :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/21/monday-22-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-psalm/

 

Gospel Reading :

https://petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang.com/2014/12/21/monday-22-december-2014-fourth-week-of-advent-gospel-reading/