true courage

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Saturday, 18 October 2014 : 28th Week of Ordinary Time, Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate with the entire Universal Church, the feast of one of the four great Evangelists, that is the four writers of the Holy Gospels. Today is thus the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel accorded with his name, the Gospel of St. Luke. As a background, St. Luke was once a renowned physician, who became one of the faithful and followed St. Paul in some of his journeys, including what St. Paul wrote in the letter he wrote to Timothy, another faithful disciple of the Lord.

As we can see from what St. Paul shared with Timothy, St. Luke remained faithful and devoted to the tasks entrusted to him. Yes, this is true even though his fellow journeymen had left to pursue their own interests or for various other reasons. They encountered difficulties along the way, and not all the people they were sent to welcomed them. There were indeed instances when they were welcomed and accepted gladly, but more often than not, they literally had the doors slammed on their faces.

This is exactly what Jesus mentioned as He sent His group of seventy-two disciples, who were meant to help both Jesus Himself and His Apostles in the ministries and works they were doing. Jesus mentioned how they would be sent like lambs among wolves. They would not encounter easy works and acceptance easily, but will be constantly subjected to difficulties and suffering. The lambs rightly represent the disciples and the Apostles, while the wolves represent the various people of God, from which a great majority refused to listen to the Word of God.

Remember that in the other occasion in the Gospels, Jesus also mentioned how that as He who is the Lord and Master of all would suffer rejection and suffering at the hands of mankind, the very people of God to whom He had been sent, then His disciples and Apostles, as well as all those who follow Him and walk in His path will also suffer the same fate. Thus, it explained the fate which St. Paul and St. Luke the Evangelist met during their journeys.

But did they stop on their path? No! That is what made them different from those others who gave up along the way, who could not endure the difficulties and challenges and preferred the comfort of their old lives, settling for the less worthy. What can indeed be more worthy than the Lord and to live to proclaim the Lord’s words to the nations? And St. Luke, together with the other saints continued courageously to defend their faith and to continue the hard works for which they are admired and adored now.

Remember what the Lord had said in the Gospel today, in the Gospel written by St. Luke himself, so that we may know it and hear it as if it was spoken directly by the Lord Jesus Himself to us? Yes, that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers and workers are few. So what did Jesus then tell His disciples? Exactly, that they should ask the Lord of the harvest to send more labourers and workers to tend to the harvest. This truly makes sense, as more labourers will help the Lord of the harvest to bring in even more harvest and bring about more bountiful returns.

But what does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This means exactly that the harvest is truly plentiful in our world, and the harvest refers to the people of God, who are ripe for picking and salvation in God, are awaiting for the labourers and workers who serve the Lord, to pick mankind for the Lord of the harvest, that is the Lord our God.

The field itself refers to this world. This world is filled with much difficulties and uncertainties, but it also offers much opportunities and chances for the crops grown in the field of this world. The pests and the weeds that threaten the crops refer to the forces of darkness that is led by Satan, the father of lies and evil, who always try their best to seduce mankind and make them to follow him instead of the Lord.

The rich harvest is a very tempting thing to the pests and weeds, who will definitely try to snatch and destroy the good harvest from the hands of those who collect these rich harvests to the Lord of the harvest. Thus, the same applies to us, as Satan and his fellow fallen angels is out there trying to turn us mankind, by appealing to our human desires and weaknesses, so that we may fall along our path towards the Lord, and then into damnation with them.

The labourers and the workers of the harvest refer to the servants of God, the disciples of Christ and the Apostles, who like St. Luke the Evangelist and many other saints, worked hard and courageously, like lambs among wolves, to ensure that the harvest of the Lord is collected amidst all the pests and the weeds, that is amidst the challenges and difficulties. Their successors, our priests and bishops, and all who devoted themselves to the service of God, continued their hard works even until this very day.

But this does not mean that the works of the Lord are limited to them only. In fact, brothers and sisters in Christ, we too are the workers and servants of the Lord. How is this so? That is because all of us who believe in the Lord and had received the revelation of truth through the Holy Scriptures and the Church, and have been baptised and accepted into the Church of God have the responsibility to spread the Good News of the Lord.

If St. Luke the Evangelist wrote one of the four Holy Gospels and through it countless souls had been saved, then we too can do it in our own way, by showing the faith through our own actions, that show our sincere and genuine faith, which is not in mere words but also through real actions, so that all those who see us, may know that we belong to the Lord, and therefore hopefully they too will seek salvation in God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, inspired by the examples of St. Luke the Evangelist and other holy saints of God, and remembering always the words of the Lord, how the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few, let us all pray sincerely and fervently, so that we may truly know and understand what we can do in order to help the works of God in the salvation of mankind.

May Almighty God bless us all and strengthen us, that we may courageously take up the cross and bear the mission entrusted to us, so that we may help the works of God, saving many others who await God’s salvation and who still live in the darkness of the world, and so that those of us who are called, we may embrace our calling and devote our lives in the full and complete service of the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.

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Message to the Faithful and Reflection on the Occasion of the Solemnity of Pentecost Sunday

Liturgical Colour : Red

Brothers and sisters in Christ! Today I wish you all Happy Pentecost and indeed happy birthday to us all as the members of His One Church, the One Body of Christ. Today is indeed the birthday of the Church, as the Pentecost day when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles marked the very beginning of the Apostolic ministry of the Church as we know it.

The Pentecost day from its name signify a period of fifty days since the celebration of the Passover, that is the Jewish Passover. Why do we call this solemnity, the solemnity of the Pentecost? That is because the Jews also celebrate Pentecost, but for a different purpose. After the people of Israel had been brought out of Egypt, they travelled for days through the desert, from the Red Sea to the Mount Horeb, or the Mountain of God.

There the people encamped on the plain, while Moses ascended up the mountain to meet the Lord and receive something that was truly very important. The Pentecost celebration by the Jewish people celebrated that moment when the Lord gave His gift, the Law which He revealed to Moses, to the people of Israel, as a guide on how they should live their lives worthily of the Lord. The Pentecost for the Jewish people therefore originally meant the reception of the Law as the means of enlightenment, that the people who was once lawless and without guide, now has the Law to guide them.

As we witnessed in the Scripture reading, the reading on the Tower of Babel, which many of us are quite familiar with, shows how mankind after creation had grown proud on earth with their accomplishments, and tried to challenge God by building the tower that reaches to the heavens. As a result, God punished mankind who had grown proud by confusing their languages and customs, that they become separated into many peoples and many languages. Hence the people of God became leaderless and without guidance.

But God did not intend to let this go on forever. So first through Moses He gave the people the Law, as the first guide for them to seek Him. But it is not perfect, for although the Law itself in its entirety is perfect, but mankind whose wisdom has been brought to disarray by God has different mindsets and ways of thinking. That is why we often disagree on many matters big and small, and we often have different opinions on things and other occurrences. The same therefore happened to how the people of God interpret the Law.

Some took a laidback and leisurely attitude to the Law, while others took the Law very seriously and even to the point of being very detailed and thorough in their observation of the Law. There were widely differing views and interpretations, which ended up in the corruption of the true meaning of the Law. The observation of the Law over time became ritualistic and formal observations, and the elders of the people over time interpret the Law in ever more varying ways so as to create extensive new rules and regulations that the people have to obey, an astounding six hundred and thirteen rules in all for the people to observe.

Hence, that is why the people grew ever more distant from the Lord, and they grew ever more wayward, particularly that of the leaders and the priestly class. These people grew to enjoy the power that they possess as judges of the people, and abused their power in many occasions. Over time, this grew worse, and these leaders ended up leading the people of God further from salvation, as they committed wicked things and sins before the eyes of God.

The Lord promised the coming of the Messiah, who would liberate the people of God and brought them to a new light and understanding about God. And He had well-prepared the people long before the coming of this Messiah, who came in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, and also the Son of God. He is the Word of God made flesh, and by entering into the material body of mankind, He entered our world in order to redeem it.

The Son, Jesus Christ was with God, and is now with God, and He is equal with the Father, and together with the Holy Spirit, He is One. Yes, there is only One God, omnipotent and unsurpassed in all things, but at the same time, the Oneness of the Lord consists also of three distinct and equal Divine Persons, in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of them are equal to each other, but they are not the same to each other. Yet, they are perfectly bound in love, forming what we know as the Most Holy Trinity.

And this was the truth which the Messiah and Son brought into the world, together with the proclamation of God’s love and saving works, which He intended to fulfill through the works of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He taught the people of God by the means of parables and stories, as well as explanations, which He made even clearer to His disciples, the Apostles. But they had not been able to understand it yet before the coming of the Holy Spirit, for the understanding is in them, but their confused mind still blocked them from truly understanding the completeness of truth in Christ.

This is where the Pentecost came in, the Christian Pentecost, that is the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, the beginning of the Church of God on earth. Just as the first Pentecost involves the revelation of God through the Law, the second and greatest Pentecost involves the revelation of God in its completeness and fullness through the Holy Spirit Himself that descended directly to the people of God through the Apostles.

Jesus had promised the disciples often, that He would send them the Helper, or the Advocate, which in fact is the Holy Spirit. And He fulfilled that promise on the Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descended like a fire on each of the disciples, who went on to preach from then on, without fear and full of courage, the truth about Christ and the Good News of His salvation, passing down the Holy Spirit to all those who are faithful to God.

The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of the disciples and their minds, inflaming in themselves the fire of wisdom, understanding and love. The Holy Spirit is the great Teacher promised by Jesus, that He would teach mankind the complete truth about the Law and the Love which God has for mankind, and through Him would come the entirety of the revelation of His plans for us, that is for our salvation.

The Most Holy Trinity is working in tandem in order to make sure that everything goes on smoothly. God the Father is the source of all things, of all knowledge, wisdom and power, and the Son, Jesus, is the channel, through which the Father made manifest all of His love for mankind, which culminated in His death on the cross, the ultimate proof of love by God for men. And lastly, the Holy Spirit is the energy, the power that makes everything possible, through which the grace of God enters mankind, and that was exactly what happened at the Pentecost.

We can see clearly the difference between what happened before the Pentecost and after that. Before the Pentecost, the disciples were often doubtful and fearful. Even when Jesus was still with them, they often had doubts and fears while following Him. When Jesus was arrested by the chief priests, the disciples were scattered, like sheep whose shepherd had been struck down. Even Peter denied the Lord three times in order to preserve his own safety, because he was uncertain, afraid and doubtful.

But after the Holy Spirit had descended on the disciples on Pentecost, there was a drastic and total change in attitude and outlook in them, that the once fearful disciples became courageous and fearless in proclaiming their faith openly. From the meetings that were carried under locked doors into the public preaching on the streets and in the Temple, and persevering even against the harsh persecution by the chief priests and the Pharisees. That is the power of the Holy Spirit.

However, all of this would not have been possible if they had not opened themselves and commit themselves to do the will of the Holy Spirit. We too, brothers and sisters, have received the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation, when the Spirit granted to us in Baptism is strengthened with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit like that of the Pentecost day when the flames of the Holy Spirit descended unto the disciples of Christ.

But we cannot be idle, for if we remain idle, then we will never bear any fruits of the Holy Spirit. There are seven fruits of the Holy Spirit, all of which bear the testimony of God’s love and blessing on us, and they need to be cultivated in us, if we are to bear these fruits. The Apostles and the disciples of Christ opened themselves completely to the Spirit and were committed to do the works of the Holy Spirit, and therefore they bore many fruits in their lives and received rich rewards in the end.

In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus said that a tree that bears no fruit or bad fruit is useless, and ought to be thrown into the fire and perish. That will be the same for us, if we fail to make use of the Holy Spirit which had been passed down to us through the Sacrament of the Church from the Apostles. We have to bear fruits, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, if we are to receive rich rewards from the Lord, otherwise, we will be cast out from His presence and unworthy of Him.

Let us all therefore, in this Pentecost day celebration, renew our commitment to the Lord, and recall the day when we received the Holy Spirit unto ourselves. Let the Holy Spirit make great works within us, that we may bring the love of God to all the peoples of all nations, and bring many souls closer to God, that they too may receive the Holy Spirit and be saved. God be with us all, and may His Spirit be upon us always. Amen.

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Monday, 2 June 2014 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, Martyrs (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White or Red (Martyrs)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we indeed believe in God and we put our trust in Him. However, as we all witnessed in our own lives, and in today’s Scripture readings, we know that things are not always good and nice to us all the time. There will be moments of difficulties and challenges that we will need to overcome, and opposition and resistance will always be a part and parcel of our lives.

Today we celebrate the feasts of two saints and martyrs of the faith, who are truly renowned in the Church, that of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, both of whom received their martyrdom in the early fourth century, three hundred years after the birth of Christ. They went through one of the most intense period of persecution of the faithful, done by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the last of the systematic and thorough persecution of the faithful people of God.

Although not much informations from their era remained to tell us greater and more about their tales and life stories, but through the Church, which preserved the knowledge about them, the two saints and martyrs were faithful servants of God, as both a preacher and for the case of St. Peter, an exorcist who cast out demons and evil spirits. They went around proclaiming the Good News through words, deeds and actions.

However, at that time, the Roman Empire had not yet accepted Christianity, and to live as a Christian at that time, and in many of the preceding years, decades and centuries, it was best to keep it secret and well-hidden the fact that someone was a Christian, or else from various quarters, persecutions and oppositions against them, often ending in violent deaths, would happen.

These martyrs lived at a time when the most infamous and destructive of the persecutions happened, the Diocletian persecution, when Christians were literally hunted throughout the Empire for maintaining their faith. These persecutions occurred in waves of intensive and efficient hunt for the faithful, destroying their Scriptures wherever they can be found.

That was indeed a tough and trying time to be faithful and to be identified as such, but St. Marcellinus and St. Peter remained true to their calling, and continued to serve the people of God despite the obvious threats to their lives. They did not fear death or persecution, because they know that God is with them and ultimately that their lives belong to God.

They did not fear death or evil, also because the Lord through His Holy Spirit is in them. They received the Holy Spirit through baptism and the laying of the hands on their heads by the successors of the Apostles of Christ, and this empowered them to go on with their arduous and challenging ministry. Yet they did not give up because the Spirit gave them strength.

We too, brothers and sisters in Christ, have received the Holy Spirit and the grace of God through our baptism and our confirmation in the faith, and we therefore have been similarly empowered to be ministers of the Gospel and His servants in this world much like St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, who had ministered without fear and doubt, even when faced with persecution and certain death.

Brethren, the devil hates us all, and he will certainly do everything within his power to strike at us, just as he had once done to the holy martyrs both in Rome and in other places where the faithful faced grievous persecutions. Let us all be strong and be inspired by the examples of St. Marcellinus and St. Peter, who had courageously defended their faith before God and before His people.

May God strengthen us, guide us, and be with us always, that we may bring glory to Him and save many souls from the darkness of the evil one in this world and together reach out to salvation in the Lord. God bless us all. Amen.