throne of God

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Sunday, 18 August 2013 : 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 12 : 1-4

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

Let us look to Jesus the founder of our faith, who will bring it to completion. For the sake of joy reserved for Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God.

Think of Jesus who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary. Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

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Thursday, 15 August 2013 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Scripture Reflection)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are celebrating a great feast of our faith, that is the Assumption of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who bore Christ into this world, her Assumption into heaven. What is this Assumption and why is it so special and so important to us? What is the significance of this event in our faith and in our Church?

The feast of the Assumption of Mary celebrates an important part of our faith that is the assumption of Mary at the end of her earthly life into heaven. This is not the same as our death and resurrection, brothers and sisters, because Mary did not die, nor did death had any sort of power over her. Instead, our Blessed Virgin and Mother of God was taken up in both body and spirit into heaven by the power of God Himself. Nothing truly is impossible for God, even with this kind of feat.

Our brethren in the Eastern Rites of the Church celebrate a similar but slightly different celebration called the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, in which, they believe that Mary was brought to sleep and then taken into heaven, not unlike our doctrine on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. All are centred on the fate of Mary, the mother of God, after the death, resurrection, and Ascension of her Son, Jesus into His glorious throne in heaven.

The great and saintly Pope Pius XII, whom will soon be declared saint when his canonisation process is complete in the near future, declared the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven 63 years ago, on 1 November of the year 1950 in his Apostolic Constitution ‘Munificentissimus Deus’ declaring definitively and conclusively through an infallible ‘ex cathedra’ proclamation, and in conjuction with the well-established belief and tradition of the faith that Mary did not suffer any form of physical death at the end of her life in this world, but instead was taken bodily into heaven.

Why was Mary taken up into heaven? Like Enoch of old, one of the direct descendants of Adam and an ancestor of Noah, she was taken up from us in this world into heaven to be with God. Enoch, unlike the other sons and daughters of mankind at the time, was a righteous and just person, a man of integrity, and a man of God, devoted and dedicated to the Lord his Master and Creator. It is because of his righteousness and his goodness, God did not want to allow him to be claimed by death and suffering, but He lifted him up into heaven, to be with Him for eternity.

Similarly, this had happened to Mary, the mother of our God. And even greater than Enoch because Mary was indeed special, in another essential part of our faith, we believe that Mary was indeed born into this world and indeed was conceived without the taint of sin, original sin or whatsoever. This she had revealed herself to St. Bernadette Soubirous, at the site now famously known as Lourdes, in a series of vision and appearances more than 150 years ago.

Our Lord’s mother was conceived into this world without sin, or the Immaculate Conception of Mary was because ever before she was conceived, she had been chosen as the vessel through which, the Salvation of our world is to come from. Yes, she was the one to bear the very Son of the Most High God, who came down to be one of us, that through Him, the whole of mankind may be saved from death, that is not just the physical death, but the eternal death caused by the separation from God in hell.

And because Mary had been chosen to be the mother of our Lord and God who is perfect and without sin Himself, it is fitting that she herself has no sin or taint on her own, and that brought about her Immaculate Conception, that she was indeed, through her life, pure as snow and blameless, as a lamb without defect, the same as her Son, Jesus.

In the same way then, at the end of her life, Mary did not suffer death and was directly brought to heaven in the same way Enoch her ancestor was taken up by God. Mary did not suffer death because just as her Son Jesus had conquered death and be triumphant over all evils and hell through His most glorious resurrection from the dead after His crucifixion, thus, it is not fitting for His own mother to be claimed by the power of death. Yes, because death is in fact a punishment to us, brothers and sisters in Christ, because we have rebelled and sinned against the Lord our God Almighty.

Ever since our first forefathers sinned against God by their disobedience, they have been cast out from the perfection of the Lord. Death was not originally intended for them, and never would death had claimed them, because they would have remained with God in eternal happiness had it not been for their sin and disobedience. Suffering and death is then the punishment that mankind had to suffer for the sins they have committed.

Through Mary, the deliverance of our world was brought at hand, the deliverance brought through Jesus, the shepherd and not any shepherd, but the Good Shepherd, who will lead the people of God, as the King of all the nations, and King of all kings. The vision of St. John the Baptist in the Book of Revelation on the lady crowned by stars bearing the baby indeed reflect what had happend through Mary and her Son, Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Mary is exalted above all else save God Himself, because of her role in the plan of salvation, and her many good deeds and total obedience to the will of God.

The lady labouring with child in pain, in fact also represent all of us, all mankind ever since the time of Adam until the last man, who labour in difficulty and suffering, longing to be freed from the seemingly inevitable and unescapeable fate of death and damnation in hell for our sins and disobedience. The great red dragon, who is Satan, the enemy of all that is good, threatens to destroy us, and drag us with him into eternal damnation in hell, just as he had converted even many of the heavenly angels to his cause, represented by the one third of the stars of the sky taken by the dragon.

Yet, as we know that the deliverance had come, through the Son of God made man, Jesus Christ. Yes, He is the Son destined to rule the nations, and the One taken up to heaven, to the throne of God. Yes, exactly as what had happened, that after His death and resurrection, Jesus was taken up into heaven by His own power in His glorious Ascension. He will then come again in glory, to judge all the nations and deliver the righteous ones to Him, and cast the wicked ones forever away from His presence. He is our hope, our only hope, born through the Virgin Mary, whose Assumption we celebrate today.

Why then we celebrate this Assumption? That is because, our Blessed Virgin Mary is truly an example to all of us, the role model we ought to follow, through her upright life, filled with love, devotion, and full obedience to the will of God. She is the greatest help and intercessor to us, indeed, the greatest of all saints and angels in heaven, the one nearest to the throne of God. That is why we revere her as the Queen of all saints and of angels. Her Assumption into heaven reminds all of us of this fact, as well as the fact that through Jesus, her Son, we have all been saved, saved from death and eternal damnation in hell.

Jesus gave Mary to John, His disciple, before He died on the cross, and He also gave him to her, to care for one another. At that moment, the Lord gave both Mary to all of us, represented by John, and then all of us, He also entrusted to Mary, His mother, just as He entrusted John to her care. Yes, in Mary we have our greatest defender, and our greatest help in achieving the salvation offered by our Lord Jesus Christ, indeed, the best way to Christ is through Mary, that is by following her examples, be obedient and loving as she had been, and asking her for her intercession for our sake before her Son, Jesus.

That is why, brothers and sisters, let us strengthen our love and devotion to the Lord, by strengthening our own devotion to Mary, His mother, who was lifted up to heaven in glory at the end of her life and now defend us before Satan our accuser. Let us together with our mother, Mary, rebuke Satan and reject his evil advances and temptations, and put his head under our feet and crush it, just as Mary, through her Son, had crushed the head of the evil snake, as foretold by God Himself to Eve.\

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, in her glorious Assumption into heaven, continue to pray for us, and intercede for us with all the saints and angels of heaven before the throne of her Son Jesus, that He, the King of all Kings and the victorious and conquering king, will come to smite the devil, the dragon, and bring us all to Him, and bless us with eternal grace and eternal life in heaven. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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Thursday, 15 August 2013 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 44 : 10bc, 11, 12ab, 16

At Your right hand, in gold of Ophir, stands the queen.

Listen, o daughter, pay attention; forget your father’s house and your nation.

And your beauty will charm the King, for He is your Lord.

Amid cheers and general rejoicing, they enter the palace of the king.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2013 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 96 : 1-2, 5-6, 9

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the distant islands be glad. Clouds and darkness surround Him; justice and right are His throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His justice, all peoples see His glory.

For You are the Master of the universe, exalted far above all gods.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2013 : Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Daniel 7 : 9-10, 13-14

I looked and saw the following : Some thrones were set in place and One of Great Age took His seat. His robe was white as snow, His hair white as washed wool. His throne was flames of fire with wheels of blazing fire. A river of fire sprang forth and flowed before Him. Thousands upon thousands served Him and a countless multitude stood before Him. Those in the tribunal took their seats and opened the book.

I continued watching the nocturnal vision : One like a Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into His presence. Dominion, honour, and kingship were given Him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served Him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; His kingdom will never be destroyed.

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Monday, 5 August 2013 : 18th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Mass of the Dedication of a Basilica)

Numbers 11 : 4b-15

“Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic. Now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to look at, nothing but manna.”

Now the manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bedellium. The people went about gathering it up and then ground it between millstones or pounded it in a mortar. They boiled it in a pot and made cakes with it which tasted like cakes made with oil. As soon as dew fell at night in the camp, the manna came with it.

Moses heard the people crying, family by family at the entrance to their tent and YHVH became very angry. This displeased Moses. Then Moses said to YHVH, “Why have You treated Your servant so badly? Is it because You do not love me that You burdened me with this people? Did I conceive all these people and did I give them birth?

And now You want me to carry them in my bosom as a nurse carries an infant, to the land You promised on oath to their fathers? Where would I get meat for all these people, when they cry to me saying : ‘Give us meat that we may eat?’ I cannot, myself alone, carry all these people; the burden is too heavy for me. Kill me rather than treat me like this, I beg of You, if You look kindly on me, and let me not see Your anger.”

 

Alternative Reading (From the Mass for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)

 

Revelations 21 : 1-5a

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away and no longer was there any sea. I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down from God, out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband. A loud voice came from the throne, “Here is the dwelling of God among mortals : He will pitch His tent among them and they will be His people; He will be God-with-them.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the world that was has passed away.” The One seated on the throne said, “See, I make all things new.”

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Monday, 1 July 2013 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, to follow Christ is to suffer and to endure rejection the way the world had rejected Him first, and we have to carry our own crosses in our faith journey with our Lord. That is what the Lord Himself told us we should do, to follow Him and love Him through the journey of the cross.

Our Lord is a loving God, and He loves all of His children, regardless of their backgrounds. We are all equal before the Lord. But as much as the Lord loves all of us, He is also a just God and a good God, who rejects the filth of sin and the corruption of evil. That was why He wanted to end the wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose sins had become so bad that they ended up angering the Lord greatly so that He would want to punish them.

Lot, the relative of Abraham settled in the valley of Sodom after his separation from Abraham, which occurred because of conflict between their shepherds over the matter of land. He then settled in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, and therefore would have been subjected to the destruction of the city by God’s wrath for its sins.

But God is a loving God and is not heartless, and that was why He would not let those who are just and good to suffer from the suffering and punishment intended for those who had rebelled against the Lord. Therefore, even without the interventions of Abraham, God certainly would still go and send His angels to help rescue Lot and his family, the only righteous ones that can be found in all of Sodom and Gomorrah, so that they would not suffer the same fate as the sinful ones.

The questions of Abraham to the Lord, his interventions to save the righteous merely serve to highlight even more clearly that our Lord and God is both a vengeful and angry God, but also a just and loving God. A God who detests sin and all of its evil fruits, and yet also forgiving and merciful to those who are repentant and those who love Him. He wants us all to return to Him, and He does not want us to be lost just because of our faults and those of our forefathers’.

Yet, it is indeed difficult to find good and repentance in our world, and that was why, despite Abraham’s repeated pleas to the Lord to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, if as little as ten righteous people could be found, the two cities were not spared simply because of the wickedness of those who stayed in them, not even ten righteous ones could be found. Only Lot and his family were considered righteous, and therefore, the Lord sent His angels to rescue them from the catastrophe of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

God loves us, but He also wants all of us to understand the need to be pure and good, as our Lord is good, and nothing evil can stand before Him and survive. The Lord is merciful, and if only we approach His throne with a contrite heart full of regret and grief for our sins, He will embrace us and reunite us with Himself.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, God gives us a chance at repentance and redemption in this life, one made possible by none other than the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord on the cross at Calvary. This sacrifice bridged the unbridgeable chasm between us and God. God will welcome us back if we are truly sincere in our repentance and our love for Him who also loves us with all of His heart.

May God be with us, as He had been with Abraham and may we all also remain faithful to God’s covenant with us, keeping His commandments and teachings passed down to us from the Apostles through the Church. Amen.

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Sunday, 16 June 2013 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters, today we feel the love and mercy of God reaching out to us, willing to redeem us from our sins and our faults, despite our constant rebellion, and despite our constant complaints and whining. He is a merciful and loving God, that He sent to us His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as our only hope at salvation. For it is through the redemptive action of Christ by His suffering and ultimate sacrifice on the cross, through His priceless Blood, that we are all redeemed, and have hope in salvation, providing that we believe in Him and remain steadfast in our faith in Him.

Salvation lies only in the faith in Christ through the Church, that is, brothers and sisters, by the baptism sealed in the Holy Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, in which we are welcomed into the family of the saved ones in the Church of God, our Church. Outside the Church there is no salvation, although Christ did die for all and made all people righteous in redemption, by erasing from them the sins of their forefathers, the rebellion of mankind against the will of God.

The Lord did not come to save the righteous, for they are already saved. He came looking for sinners, for the worst of them, because these are the ones who need salvation the most. If they repent and accept Him as their Lord, they would be saved and be spared from the fires of hell and eternal damnation. The sinful woman, who repented and asked in great humility for forgiveness was a perfect example of this, how the Lord is willing to save those who had repented from their sinful ways and resolved to love God and serve Him henceforth, completing turning their backs to their old, sinful past.

The great and saintly Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen had once said that our relationship to the Lord is akin to that of a candle and a light. A candle and light illuminates its surroundings and reveal the hidden darkness, and unveil all the ugly things that lie hidden in the darkness. The closer something is brought to the light, the more is revealed of that thing in the light. The uglier is the defects, the more visible they become as it is brought ever closer to the light of God.

That is why, just as Christ had told us in the story of the creditor and the two debtors, in which the creditor graciously forgave both debtors from their debts, and as the Pharisees rightfully answer our Lord, that the one with the greater debt would appreciate and love the act more, because of the greater extent of the ‘debt’ that the one has over the other, so does the greater of sinners would then be ever more ready to be redeemed and reunited with Christ, and accepting His mercy.

It does not mean then those with less sin are then less worthy of our God or anything, or that they in any way would not be as pious and humble as those with the greater sin, in approaching the throne of God for forgiveness. Rather, what matters is what is within the hearts of each one of us, that we truly focus all our attentions towards the Lord our God.

What Archbishop Sheen and Christ had said is indeed that the greater is our sin, and the closer we are to the throne of God, the more our sins are being revealed. Therefore, as we approach closer to that throne of mercy, the more we should humble ourselves, because we are ever more reminded of the depth of our sins and our faults, and how unworthy we are before the Lord, who is good and perfect. But the Lord who is good and loving, is willing to make us worthy of Him and redeem us, and cleanse us from the darkness and ugliness that is within us.

That is why, it does not mean that being holy and pious then we become haughty and arrogant of our own holiness and our own sanctity, as indeed, if the words of Archbishop Sheen take hold, its meaning is clear, that those who are closer to God and always remain in His presence, will be even more aware of their sins and their darkness. The holy saints and holy people of God are always reminded of this fact, and the unworthiness of their own soul before the Lord, and that was what strengthened them and empowered them to strive always for holiness and purity of the soul.

Do not be like the Pharisees who were hypocrites, in that they glorify their own sanctity and purity in front of the people, in pursuit of human glory rather that divine approval, and also thought lowly of the sinners like the sinful woman, but he did not give glory to God, unlike the woman, who was in complete awareness of her sins, that she lowered herself before God and served Him in humility.

King David too, who was a great and righteous king of God’s people, Israel, was not free from the temptation of sin. The lust and desire for beautiful woman had corrupted his heart and clouded his judgment that he sinned before the Lord by causing the death of Uriah the Hittite and claimed his wife as his own. But King David also acted like the woman, in that when the prophet Nathan chastised him and brought him to the full awareness of his sins, he submitted to the wrath of God and humbly asked for His mercy and forgiveness, even though he was indeed a great and mighty king.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not fear the Lord, for although He was not happy with our sins, but He was willing to accept us back into His embrace and indeed He wants to embrace us again in His caring love, if we want to repent and change our sinful ways, the way that King David and the woman had brought to God their contrite hearts and their obedience to God.

Let us always be reminded of our sins and our unworthiness before God, and most importantly, remember the love of God, and His desire to be reunited with us, which will be accomplished if we accept His offer of salvation, that He made on the cross, and if we accept that offer, by accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour, we will receive eternal life and blessing in heaven.

May God be with us at all times, and purify our hearts from the taints of sin, empowering us with love and charity, to also help one another to return to God, our Father who loves us. Amen.

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Saturday, 15 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 33-37

You have also heard that people were told in the past : ‘Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept.’ But I tell you this : do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes, and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil.

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Tuesday, 21 May 2013 : 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Sts. Christopher Magallanes, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Be humble, brethren, and you will be great in God’s eyes. For humility is one of the most difficult virtue to be achieved by us mankind, because of our frailty and susceptibility to the temptations of power, our natural sense of pride, and the sense of arrogance, which prevents us from stooping down and be humble before another person, which in this case, especially is the Lord our God Himself.

Humility is a great virtue, and the Lord is pleased with those who are humble. Even God Himself, in Christ, was truly humble. After all, what kind of humility can be ever greater than the humility that our God Himself had done when He lowered Himself so much to be born as a lowly and mortal man, through the Virgin Mary?

Love one another and do not contend with your brethren for power and personal glory, for what is our glory and achievements compared to the glory of God, that is the real glory? What is our minute achievement compared to the achievements and wonders created by our Lord and God? And with a single sacrifice on the cross, with the outpouring of His Most Precious Blood, He cleansed all creations of all time from their faults and sins, making everything good and worthy again of the Lord.

Do not fear for God is always with us, and He will continue to accompany us, as long as we are willing to hear Him and listen to His words. That is why humility and readiness to submit and listening capacity are important because pride and arrogance often cloud our perceptions and close our hearts from the words of the Lord.

Remember that Satan, the devil himself was born out of pride, out of jealousy of the Lord’s almighty power and authority, wishing to gain such powers for himself and unseating God to be the Lord of all creation. Thus was how Lucifer, the former lightbringer fell, and fell hard he did, from the most beautiful and mighty of all creation, to become the lowest and most despicable of all.

That’s the same with how the Lord will bring down the proud and the haughty ones, bringing them low, and at the same time, lifting up those who are humble and meek, and give them the authority even over those who are filled with their own arrogance and confidence in their own power. This is because they trust in their own power and abilities, and not in the power of the Lord who saves.

Today, we also celebrate the feast day of Saints Christopher Magallanes and his companions, who were martyrs of Mexican persecution of the Catholic Church in the early twentieth century. Mexico became a hotbed of anti-Church sentiments and even the government became very hostile to the Church and particularly to the clergy, resulting in massive persecution of the Church there and the martyrdom of many of the clergy, which includes Saints Christopher Magallanes and his companions.

Saint Christopher Magallanes and his companions resisted the opposition by the Mexican government by opening alternative seminaries when the government closed down a seminary intended for the preparation of new clergy. He preached against rebellion against the government by the faithful, but yet he was falsely accused of plotting in rebellion and was martyred. He remained steadfast and faithful till the end with his companions, who was martyred with him.

Saint Christopher Magallanes might just be a simple country priest in Mexico, but through his courageous actions and his zeal, and through his defense of the faith and the Church till his death, God elevates him to the glory of sainthood, and he is now there in heaven interceding for us before the Lord.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today strive to be more humble, to humbly submit our sinful selves before the Lord our God, asking Him for forgiveness and clemency. Let us also follow in the footsteps of Sts. Christopher Magallanes and his companions, in their zeal, their humility, and yet courageous defense of the faith, that we too can become brave witnesses of Christ and the Gospels, and will not buckle despite temptations by the devil and the world. May God bless us all in this journey.

Saints Christopher Magallanes and companions, pray for us! Amen.