Tuesday

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Tuesday, 2 July 2013 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Genesis 19 : 15-29

At daybreak the Angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and two daughters who are here, lest they perish because of the sin of the town.” As he hesitated, the men took him by the hand and his wife, and two daughters with him, because YHVH had mercy on him. And they led him outside the town.

When they were outside, the men said to him, “Flee for your life and do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountain lest you perish.” But Lot replied, “My lords, your servant has found favour with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.”

“See, there is a town near enough for me to flee to and it is a small one. Let me flee there : it is very small, that is why the town is called Zoar. So I will be safe.” And the angel answered, “I grant you this favour as well by not destroying the town you speak of. But flee fast for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot reached Zoar. Then YHVH rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulphur out of the heavens from YHVH, and He completely destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the towns and everything that grew there.

Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt. Early next morning Abraham returned to the place where he had stood before YHVH. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley and he saw smoke rising from the earth like the smoke from a furnace.

So when God destroyed the towns of the plain He remembered Abraham and made Lot escape from the catastrophe while He destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, being a good person, and a good child of God is never easy. It is much easier to follow the path of the world, and immerse ourselves in its corrupting influence and take in all the pleasures and temptations that it offers us, rather than to follow the Laws of God and the teachings of the prophets.

It is much more difficult to become the followers of Christ and to follow the teachings of Christ and His Apostles rather than becoming the disciples of this world, that is the disciples of evil. For the world, for all its goodness, belongs to the evil one, who will certainly utilise all within his power to corrupt the children of God, that is all of us.

That is why Christ had said that the path that leads to the Lord is a narrow one, a narrow path, and a narrow gate indeed. Because it is very difficult to go to the Lord, and it is easier for one to stumble along the path, that narrow path, and fall into damnation than to successfully reach the Lord at the end of that way, at the other side of the narrow gate.

Difficult as it is to reach the Lord in that journey, along that path, God has given us His help, in none other than the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, His own Son, whom He sent to all of us to be our Redeemer, and our Saviour, He rescued us from our own damnation, from the hells that is our fate, for our rebellion against God since the beginning of time.

The story of Abraham and Lot, his cousin, which all of us are well aware of, is another example of the difficulty facing us in our journey towards the Lord. Abraham and his cousin, Lot, are God-fearing peoples, and they obey the will of the Lord in all that they do. They do not fall astray of the narrow path that God has given them. But the same cannot be said of the people who were living with them, and around them.

As we all know, Lot was involved in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the names which still resonate in our minds even today, as the example of God’s wrath and punishment that awaits those who defy Him and those who do not obey His words and His will. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were enormous, and that was why those who fell astray from the narrow path of salvation, if they do not repent, will face eternal damnation as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once did.

The temptations of pleasure and the lure of wealth easily corrupts mankind, both their bodies and their hearts. Once corrupted by the sins of the world, they would be easily led astray from the path of salvation into damnation. That was exactly the sort of problems faced by those people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and even the people of Israel throughout their history, and ultimately, all of us.

God loves us, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and He wants to forgive us, if we repent from our faults and our sins. But He is also a just and avenging God, who hates sin and all forms of evil that is unworthy of His presence and His love. He detests sin and evil, and great is indeed the suffering of those who refuse to follow the way of the Lord and instead follow the teachings of this world.

But that is exactly why God sent so many prophets to us, to the people of Israel, so that hopefully through their ceaseless calls for repentance and their teachings, the people of God will once again open their hearts to God’s love, and discard all things that make them unworthy of the Lord. And that is why He even sent His own Son into this world, because He loves us, and He wants all of us saved from the fate of death that awaits us, if we do not repent from our sinful ways.

But yet, we remain in our own rebellious nature, and continuing to rebel against His compassion and love, many of us slaughter His prophets and saints, and preferring to listen to the devil than God, we shut our hearts from the words and encouragement of the prophets and the saints that does none other than to push for our own redemption. That was why we even rejected Christ, who offered Himself willingly for all of us, that we may live, and no longer fall under the thrall of sin.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect today, on the nature of our Lord’s salvation, and even more importantly, on His love, remembering always His care for us, His concerns for us, and His love for us, shown by no greater example than the ultimate sacrifice at Calvary, when He gave up His own life and shed His own Body and Blood, so that all of us who believe in Him may not die, but gain everlasting life with Him for all eternity. God bless us all. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 7 : 6, 12-14

Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls to the pigs : they might trample on them, and even turn on you and tear you to pieces.

So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you : there you have the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate : for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life, and how rough the road; few there are who find it.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5

Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words, who do no harm to their neighbours.

Those who cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.

Who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2013 : 12th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Genesis 13 : 2, 5-18

Now Abram was very rich in flocks, silver, and gold. Lot who went with Abram also had flocks, cattle and tents. The land was not sufficient to allow them to stay together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.

A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s flock and those of Lot. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at the time. Abram said to Lot, “Do not let there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and yours, since we are brothers! Is not the whole land there belong to you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot looked up and saw the whole valley of the Jordan : how well it was watered! Before YHVH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, this was like one of YHVH’s gardens, like the country of Egypt, on coming to Zoar. Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley and journeyed eastward. In this way they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the country of Canaan while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against YHVH.

YHVH said to Abram after Lot had left him, “Raise your eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, the east and the west; all the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; if the grains of the dust can be counted, then your descendants may be counted.”

“Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for it is to you that I am giving it.” So Abram moved his tent and came to live by the oak of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to YHVH.

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Tuesday, 18 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if yesterday we heard the virtue of forgiveness and not pursuing hatred into vengeance, by showing mercy and love to one another, today we heard that we must love one another, and not to give into that hatred, that we should love even our enemies, and being our enemies, we need to love them even more, so that our love would truly stand out as being true love, and not love that is not sincere.

But no, brothers and sisters, it does not mean we should forsake or stop showing love to our friends, and to those who are dear to us. In fact we must love them even more, especially because loving someone with whom we had already had good relationship with is easier, and it is natural therefore that we should shower them with more love.

But to love only those whom are already on good terms with us and also love us back is easy, and therefore does not need much effort, as loving our enemies, just as the Lord had told His disciples as we heard in the Gospel reading today. Loving our enemies is the first step for us to discover the true meaning of love. Because love is not just giving ourselves to those whom we deem worthy of our love, and therefore is conditional. Instead, love should be unconditional, and we should offer it to everyone. Yes, even to those who hate us and persecute us. They are in fact in ever greater need for our love.

This is a challenge the Lord posed to us, to love our enemies, just as we love those who love us back, and just as we love ourselves. If we love our enemies, then we have surpassed that barrier, which prevented us from truly appreciating the meaning of love. For love is not to be kept within ourselves, and neither should it remain just within our circle of friends and close ones, but in fact should be shared, that it will grow and bring its blessing to many more people.

Many of those whom we are enemies with are most likely just because of circumstances, and many people in this world indeed remain unloved, and lacking love, they are unable to comprehend the meaning of love on their own, and therefore may resort to committing evil things, which inadvertently may lead to them being our ‘enemies’.

Remember that an enemy is a subjective term. If we consider someone our enemy, then that someone, if he or she responds in kind, we will also be his or her enemy, and therefore, being enemies are in fact reciprocal, and from there, eventually it will likely become worse, as seed of distrust and hatred grew between the parties involved. That is why loving our beloved ones and hating our enemies do not work anymore, because, while we grow ever closer with those who are dear to us, our enemies will also, in time, become our more and more troublesome enemies.

Loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us however, is a key that breaks the cycle, this cycle of hatred and enmity, and bring forth a renewed chance at a relationship. If someone considers us his or her enemy, but if we do not do the same, and instead act with love towards them, this may even sway them and touch their hearts, that whatever evil had caused that enmity in their hearts will be erased, and therefore allowing our love to come into them, the love that we receive from God, that they too will be loving like us.

Is it not much better to have more friends than enemies? Indeed, in fact, we should not have enmity to anybody at all. We are all the same children of God, equal before His eyes and presence. We should not let the evil one poisons our heart with enmity, fear, wrath, anger, and jealousy, which eventually is the main cause to many cases where relationships turn sour into becoming enemies.

Do not let the evil one spread his lies and his evil upon us. Be friends and loving with everybody, and then we will finally understand the true meaning of love. Just like our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not pick those whom He died for on that cross. Yes, indeed, Christ died for all mankind, and He offered His salvation freely for all who would accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. He forgave His enemies, the chief priests and the Pharisees, those who called for His death, and who had crucified Him.

Forgiveness and love are not easy to be done. To forgive means to forget all the anger, jealousy, and hatred, and all the negative emotions that are bound to accompany us, whenever we are hurt, whenever we are persecuted and treated badly. But, if we ourselves do the same thing in revenge to another, is it not then we ourselves are the enemy here? We are merely perpetuating the cycle of evil.

Love is what God desires of us, because we are His children, and we are ought to be like Him, and God is Love. That is also what He told us through Christ His Son, and through the commandments that He had given to Moses on the holy Mount Horeb, that all of us should love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our strength and being, and then also to love our neighbours, be it those who love us or those who hate us, just as we love ourselves. Just as it is not right to hurt ourselves, is it not also improper for us to hurt our neighbours, our brethren, whom we ought to love? Especially those in the deepest depth of darkness and those without love.

Let us share our love through our actions and through our words, that all of us will be more like our Lord who is Love, and that we will be able to practice what Christ had taught His disciples, to love our enemies, and to pray for those who had persecuted us, and to bring hope to those who are downtrodden. Be like Christ, brothers and sisters, and show Him through our actions to all who see us, that they too may believe and be saved! Amen.

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Tuesday, 18 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 43-48

You have heard that it was said : ‘Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy.’ But this I tell you : ‘Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.

If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much?

As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.

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Tuesday, 18 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 145 : 2, 5-6, 7, 8-9a

I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God while I live.

Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all they contain. The Lord is forever faithful.

He gives justice to the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord straightens the bent. The Lord protects the stranger.

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Tuesday, 18 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

2 Corinthians 8 : 1-9

Now I want you to know about a gift of divine grace among the churches of Macedonia. While they were so afflicted and persecuted, their joy overflowed and their extreme poverty turned into a wealth of generosity. According to their means – even beyond their means – they wanted to share in helping the saints.

They asked us for this favour spontaneously and with much insistence and, far beyond anything we expected, they put themselves at the disposal of the Lord and of us by the will of God. Accordingly, I urged Titus to complete among you this work of grace since he began it with you.

You excel in everything : in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge : you feel concern for every cause, and besides, you are first in my heart. Excel also in this generous service. This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others to check the sincerity of your fraternal concern.

You know well the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although He was rich, He made Himself poor to make you rich through His poverty.

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Tuesday, 11 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we celebrate a feast of a great Apostle and Church Father of the early Church of Christ, that is our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. St. Barnabas the Apostle was a constant travel companion of St. Paul during his apostolic trips and missions across the Eastern Mediterranean region.

St. Barnabas was a devout follower of Christ, and was chosen among many, with Paul, whom the Lord Himself converted to His cause, to be the spearhead in the spread of God’s Gospel and as the champions of the faith, allowing the spread of the Good News and the propagation of God’s message of salvation to many people who long for God’s love and care.

At the time of the Apostles, the Church was still in its early days, in its youth. Jesus Christ our Lord had just died, resurrected, and then risen up to heaven. It was an enormous task that Jesus had entrusted to all of them, to make disciples of all the nations, and baptise them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

There was bound to be opposition to their efforts, but certainly there were also warm receptions and acceptance of the teachings of Christ, and that of the faith, which eventually would become the roots for the growth of the Church in the centuries following the passing of St. Barnabas the Apostle and St. Paul his contemporary.

First, naturally, they went to their own people, to the people of Israel, to whom they preached the Good News and that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. But, they faced an unusually strong rejection, particularly from the chief priests and the Pharisees, whom themselves had opposed Christ and harassed Him continuously throughout His ministry.

But there were also those among the Jews who accepted God’s word and teachings, and they became the basis of the Church, which was more readily accepted by the pagan people of the Greek origins, the Gentiles. Why the difference in the acceptance of God’s message by these peoples? That is because, to the pagans, they were in darkness, and they were blind. God’s word in the Good News brought to them by the Apostles, was like a warm light of revelation of the truth to them.

The rejection of God’s message by His own people was because of jealousy and human arrogance, particularly in the chief priests and the educated Pharisees, because the people of Israel themselves had known God earlier, ever since the days of Moses and Abraham, unlike the pagan nations. This made them arrogant in their own knowledge and understanding, and they thought that any prophets or teachings not in line with their own version of the faith, would be wrong, as what they certainly thought of Christ and His followers.

Indeed there were those who accepted the message and become God’s disciples, but the time had not been easy for them, for they were persecuted, and even St. Paul was once Saul the great persecutor of the faithful. Nevertheless, with the guidance of the Lord, the Church grew and became more and more anchored in this world, until it becomes what we know today, as the Church.

Missionary work is never easy brothers and sisters, for there will always be those who close their ears from the Good News and turn their hearts away from the Lord. Yes, brethren, even among our own family members, our relatives, and our friends. Even those in the Church are not entirely free from this problem. Missionary work today is not only needed outside the Church, but in fact also inside the Church, to rejuvenate the faith in the many faithful who had been led astray by the world and the evil one.

God chose those whom He was willing to call to be His apostles and disciples, to be His hands in working the good works of God. Through the Twelve Apostles and the disciples of the Lord we receive this faith we have in God through the Church, which is today led by their successors. He sent them during His lifetime to evangelise to the people and to do good works, and themselves having no possession left on them, so that they would not be distracted by material and earthly goods, but devote their time and energy for God alone.

But be careful, brothers and sisters, for it is easy for us to misunderstand the true intent of the Lord in the Gospel today. People easily attack the Church and its ministers for their seemingly ‘material’ and worldly wealth in all the gold and glitter that we see in the churches and in the Mass. The golden chalices, the golden ciboria, and the other gold vessels and vestments used in the Mass.

These are not for our own possession, nor for the Church, for the gold vessels and vestments used in the Mass and in our churches is not for human glory, for indeed, they are for God’s own glory alone. God is so great that in our own way to glorify Him, we have given the best from ourselves, to craft vessels that would be worthy of Him, made of the most precious metals and materials. Not for our own glory, but for the glory of God. That is why we need to have a better understanding of our faith.

Let us then reflect on the words of the Scripture today, and strive to be better disciples of the Lord, and to take up the mantle of the apostles and the disciples, to be messengers of God’s word through the Church, and make disciples of all the nations. May God be with our works and bless us all the time. Amen.