unity

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Sunday, 12 May 2013 : 7th Sunday of Easter (Gospel Reading)

John 17 : 20-26

I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in Me. May they all be one, as You Father are in Me, and I am in You. May they be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me, that they may be one as We are one; I in them and You in Me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unity; and the world shall know that You have sent Me, and that I have loved them, just as You loved Me.

Father, since You have given them to Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, and see the glory You gave Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world has not known You, but I have known You, and these have known that You have sent Me. As I revealed Your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal it, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I also may be in them.

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Wednesday, 8 May 2013 : 6th Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we belong to God, and we are His alone. Why is this so? Because we are created by Him, He who is our Creator, who created all the universe and gave life to all things that have life, including all of us, to whom He gave the greatest love of all. For in Christ’s words Himself, He said that there is no greater love than for one to give up his life for the sake of his friends. And that exactly what God has done.

Out of His infinite love, God came down to this world and walked among us as lowly humans like us. He gave Himself fully for our sake, and He did not even shirk from giving us His own flesh and blood in the ultimate gift of love, not only so that we may not die from the death that we deserved for the evils that we had done, but also that we may have nourishment and strength in life, that we can become truly the children of God.

By His blood that flowed down the cross on Calvary, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God had marked all of us as His own, and the Father recognises all of us the faithful ones in Christ because of that. This blood is no different from the young lambs sacrificed during that first Passover in Egypt, when the people of Israel was being delivered from their torturer and their slave masters. God showed His might and brought His people out of Egypt by punishing hard on those who persecuted His beloved people.

But different from that earthly blood of the lamb, which was splattered on the doorposts of the believers, that the angels of death would not kill the firstborn children of the people of Israel, the perfect and precious Blood of the Lamb of God not only marked the people of God, and differentiating them from those who placed their trust in the evil one, but the Blood also cleanses and purifies our beings from sins and faults, making us righteous and perfect once again, and worthy of God our Father who is good and perfect.

By this Blood had the martyrs and the holy people of God washed their clothes white again, that is with the Blood of the Lamb, just as St. John the Evangelist had seen in heaven in his Book of Revelation. We too, who had been persecuted for our faith in Christ in this world, those among us who had been ridiculed and ostracised by our steadfast belief in the truths of the Lord, had been marked by this precious Blood, which we also receive through the Eucharist in the Mass.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, remain steadfast and unflinching in our faith and dedication to our Saviour and our God. Do not let the devil, his lies and temptations disturb us or cause us to go astray from our path towards righteousness in the Lord. We had been marked by God through baptism, when we are washed from our impurities, sins, and unworthiness, and like His saints, we had receive a new gown of purity, washed by the Blood of the Lamb, as a sign of our salvation, that the angels of death seeking the destruction of the sinful ones will ‘pass over’ us.

This is our Christian Passover, that is Easter, when we celebrate Christ resurrected and triumphant over death and evil. May all of us be granted courage, faith, and strength at all times in our lives. God bless all of us. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 May 2013 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (Scripture Reflection)

Today, we hear the words of Christ, that we all should love, just as Christ and His Father, our Lord have loved us, so then we should also love them back with all our hearts, our minds, and our souls. For love lies at the very centre of our faith in God, and it is in love that we truly can have faith in Christ. If we have no love in us, we can never be truly faithful to Christ and to God, for without love, we cannot possibly understand what they are doing and what they have done, for our sake, and for our own good.

Love one another as God has loved us. Indeed, it may seem to be easy for many to say that they can love, but in fact, love should not be taken for granted, for the ability to love is not as easily obtained as one would think, but true love require great dedication and effort, in order for love to be present, to be maintained, and to be able to flourish. Our world lacks love, and it is in this lack of love, that the many problems of our world can trace their roots from.

Have we followed Christ’s commandments, the commandments of love, to love one another as unconditionally as Christ had loved us? He died for all of us, by suffering on the way to Calvary and finally hung between the heaven and the earth, so that all of us may be saved from death that is our fate, and by His resurrection we can share in His life, that all of us will have eternal life in Him. This He offered to everyone, even to those who hated Him, and even to those who persecuted Him, and His people.

To be able to love is a great blessing to all of us. If we are able to learn more about love, and how to love, we will be able to transform ourselves, but indeed not just ourselves, but also those around us, and many other things surrounding us. Love is indeed the key to life, life eternal in God, both for ourselves and to those to whom we show and reflect God’s love.

Today, we celebrate the memorial and feast of a great saint, Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, who was one of the great early Church Fathers that helped to establish the Church of God, and strengthened the faith of the people of God, in the onslaught of heresies and heretical thoughts espoused by those who the devil had entrusted to destroy God’s Church. The devil hates love, and therefore, it is only natural that he will want to destroy the very place where love can still be found in this world, that is in the Church of God.

St. Athanasius defended the Church against the heretical teachings of Arius, the popular presbyter and preacher, who espoused the idea that Christ is not fully man and fully divine, and rather just as a man, a mere human, without divine qualities, as we believe in our Creed. St. Athanasius had to suffer exile and persecution due to his steadfast defense of the Lord and the true faith in God, against these heresies. Yet he prevailed, and due to his ceaseless efforts to bring many back to the true faith in God, he managed to prevail in the end, and bring back countless ones back into God’s Church and therefore into God’s love.

For we have to remember always that Christ is no mere human, for He is the Son of God, both fully human and fully divine at the same time. He is God, and with God since the beginning of time. And it was because of the great and infinite love that God has for all of us, that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be man like us, and in this great love, we are saved and are given chance for eternal life, if we would receive His divine love and that He is our Lord and God.

For if we believe that Christ is just mere human, then there would be no hope for all of us, all of us beloved by God and who place our trust in Christ. For a human’s blood has no power to free us from the chains of slavery of sin, which Satan has imposed on us, since the rebellion of our forefathers, Adam and Eve, our ancestors. But because Christ is God, and with God, one with He who created us, we have hope since the Lamb of God Himself shed His Precious Blood, that we can be saved, out of His great and infinite love for all His people.

Now that we know how much God has loved us, and how much He wants us to remain within His love and care, should we now then vow to our Lord and God, that we will love Him ever greater and ever more? Let us put our full trust in Him and follow in His ways, in the footsteps of St. Athanasius, the great defender of the true faith in Christ. St. Athanasius of Alexandria, pray for us. Amen.

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Thursday, 2 May 2013 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (Gospel Reading)

John 15 : 9-11

As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love! You will remain in My love if you keep My commandments, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you all this, that My own joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.

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Wednesday, 1 May 2013 : 5th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker (Gospel Reading)

John 15 : 1-8

I am the true vine and My Father is the vinegrower. If any of My branches doesn’t bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit. You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you don’t remain in Me.

I am the vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing. Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned.

If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.

 

Alternative Reading (Mass of St. Joseph)

 

Matthew 13 : 54-58

He went to His hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did He get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn’t He the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary His mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas His brothers? Aren’t all His sisters living here? How did He get all this?” And so they took offense at Him.

Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.” And He did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

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Historic visit by Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Tawadros II to the Pope of the Church, Pope Francis

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Pope Tawadros II (Theodore II) of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic Church, Successor of St. Mark the Evangelist, first Bishop of Alexandria, is visiting Rome to pay a visit to the Pope and Supreme leader of the Universal Church and Successor of St. Peter the Prince of the Apostles, Pope Francis.

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The Coptic Church is the direct descendant of the Patriarchate of Alexandria of the early Christian Pentarchy (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), which broke apart from Rome and the Universal Church due to the disagreement in the Council of Chalcedon of 451, on the true nature of Christ.

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This disagreement is more due to misunderstanding in the nature of God, whether Christ’s human and divine persona is distinct or mixed. The initial term for non-Chalcedonians is monophysites, which is a heresy stating that both persona are mixed and indistinguishable. In fact, the Coptics and the other non-Chalcedonians in fact adopt miaphysitism, which while distinguishing the human and divine nature of Christ, but also acknowledge the mystery of the relationship between the two persona.

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Pope Tawadros II visits Rome in conjunction with the historic first meeting between the two Popes of Rome and Alexandria in 1973 by Pope Shenouda III, Pope Tawadros II’s predecessor, and Pope Paul VI. During that meeting a historic joint declaration of faith and friendship was announced and declared between the two Churches of God.

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Pope Francis received a gift of an engolpion, which is a form of imagery in medallion, which is worn in the same way as pectoral cross, which are worn by the bishops of the Eastern Rite.

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We hope that all Christians, with the Copts and the Orthodox Churches can be reunited once again with the true and only Church, that is the Church of God, as one Body, indivisible by men and worldly ambitions, in the One, Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

 

Pray always for Christian Unity. That we are One, just as Christ our Lord and the Father in heaven are One.

 

Ut Omnes Unum Sint, ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

(That they all may be One, for the greater glory of God)

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Tuesday, 23 April 2013 : 4th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

John 10 : 22-30

The time came for the feast of the Dedication. It was winter, and Jesus walked back and forth in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him and said to Him, “How long will You keep us in doubt? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in My Father’s Name proclaim who I am, but you don’t believe because, as I said, you are not My sheep. My sheep  hear My voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life. They shall never perish, and no one will ever steal them from Me.”

“What the Father has given Me is above everything else, and no one can snatch it from out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

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Thursday, 18 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Jesus again reiterated the message in today’s Gospel reading, that He is the bread of life, the source of salvation, which can only come through Christ, and through the ultimate sacrifice He had committed on that hill of Calvary on that fateful day, when He was raised high between the heavens and the earth. That moment marked the moment when the pure and unblemished Lamb of God was sacrificed that His blood, splashing down on us, washes us away from our sins.

The Lamb of God did not resist when He was about to be killed, He kept His mouth shut and silent against the false accusations of those who tried to kill Him and bring about His death. Through His submission to the will of the Father, He had been glorified after His death through resurrection, and through this submission, He brought about salvation and reunion of all mankind with God who loves them all.

He died for us that we might live. His blood purifying us from our faults and sins, making us pure once again and worthy to stand before the presence of our God in heaven. Heaven had been closed to all of us since the day when our ancestors defied the will of God, and obeyed the evil one instead, believing in the wisdom of Satan rather than God, and through their disobedience, mankind fall into sin and become the thrall of death.

That was because Adam and Eve, our first ancestors failed to resist the temptation of evil in order to gain more knowledge into themselves, and desiring to become equal as God. But they, who were pure since the day of their creation, now knew the meaning of evil and sin, and as a result, the white slate of paper became splotched with ink and became ruined. That was the state of our soul too before our salvation in Christ.

We suffered the same punishment that Adam and Eve had been made to suffer for their rebellion, that is to roam this earthly plane, to work and toil hard, and death would claim us, and to dust our bodies would return, and we were to be enslaved by Satan. But yet, God is loving just as He is just. He hates sin, but He did not leave us His beloved children without hope of salvation. That hope He brought into our world through Christ His Son, whom He sent to be the Messiah who would save all mankind, once and for all, from the dominion of the evil one.

Christ had become the new Adam, the new beginning, by virtue of being born as man, but unlike Adam, who was sinless and pure as Christ was, but sinned through disobedience, Christ as the Lamb of God obeyed the Lord fully unto His death. This perfect obedience became the perfect offering that entirely countered the rebellion of our ancestors and made all of us worthy once again of God.

Through His Precious Body and Blood, which He offered to all of us freely, He made us into one body in Himself, the Body that is our Church, that all who believes in Christ may be united as one people, and praising God as one people, and sharing the faith that we have in God with one another, and also share the love that He had given us, that love would reign as the motivation behind all our actions.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us always remember that Jesus Christ our Lord is the bread of life, and also the way, the truth, and the life, and in Him alone lies salvation. Let us treasure the Eucharist that we receive in the Mass, that we truly honour the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord, and worthily take Him into ourselves, that we may always be united with Him, and be united with our fellow brethren, who also believe in Him our Saviour. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 1 April 2013 : Monday of the Easter Octave (Scripture Reflection)

Christ is risen! He has risen from the dead!

That is the key to our faith, that is our faith in God. God who has loved us so much since the time of creation till now, and his everlasting love made Him to give us the only means to salvation, that is through Christ who died and then returned to life in the glorious Resurrection, which we commemorate in this Easter season. Such is the joy that our joy overflowed and lasted the entire fifty days since Easter Sunday to the day of Pentecost.

For in Christ, the keys to the kingdom of heaven is finally available to us, for Christ destroyed evil’s hold on us and sin’s slavery of mankind through His death. He descended into hell though He was sinless and pure, all because He did so out of pure love for us, and to release our forefathers who had died before us, who had been righteous but were still enslaved by the power of sin, because of mankind’s rebellion against God.

That was why Christ came into this world, to be the servant of our Lord who sent Him. He was rejected, vilified, and eventually was condemned to death like a criminal on a cross. That was so that the servant of God would be glorified, and lifted up high for all to see. For in Him, lies the salvation of this very world. As I had often mentioned, the Most Precious Blood which He offered to all of us through the Last Supper with His disciples, was poured down the wood of the cross, as a cleansing font of salvation, in which, if we choose to do so, we can cleanse ourselves and purify our beings in the blood of the Lamb.

Yes, Christ who is our Paschal Lamb of sacrifice, who did not resist, and pure as He was, He bought off our sins into Himself, that in His purity, our sins will be destroyed. And yet, as King David had mentioned, that God will not suffer His Son to suffer for such great injustice, that He suffered no corruption, because He who suffered for our sins was indeed still and always will be unblemished. This is why God brought Him up again on the third day as Christ Himself had mentioned.

If Christ died on the cross and remained dead, we would then have no hope, since Christ Himself succumbed to that same power of death which had enthralled us all this while. Death is our just punishment for our rebellion against God who is good and perfect. But Christ, through His Resurrection, showed His triumph over death, and He, who is the first to be risen from the dead in glory, through His own glory, conquered death, and threw a final rebuke against Satan, releasing all of us from the same bonds of death.

His victory gave us a new hope and indeed, the hope in Him, He who conquered death, and conquered evil in the same time. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us, in this Easter season, strive to put our trust and hope in Christ, our Lord, and strive to grow deeper in our faith in our God, and also our love for Him and for our neighbour. That we will grow ever stronger in faith, hope, and love, the three virtues that mark us as truly belonging to God, our Lord. Pray for one another as well.

Amen.

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Saturday, 23 March 2013 : 5th Week of Lent, Memorial of St. Turibius de Mogrovejo, Bishop (First Reading)

Ezekiel 37 : 21-28

You will then say to them : Thus says YHVH : “I am about to withdraw the Israelites from where they were among the nations. I shall gather them from all around and bring them back to their land. I shall make them into one people on the mountains of Israel and one king is to be king of them all. They will no longer form two nations or be two separate kingdoms, nor will they defile themselves again with their idols, their detestable practices, and their sins.”

“I shall free them from the guilt of their treachery; I shall cleanse them and they will be for Me a people and I shall be God for them. My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all. They will live according to My laws and follow and practice My decrees. They will settle in the land I gave to My servant Jacob where their ancestors lived. There they will live forever, their children and their children’s children. David, My servant, will be their prince forever.”

“I shall establish a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I shall settle them and they will increase, and I shall put My sanctuary in their midst forever. I shall make My home at their side; I shall be their God and they will be My people. Then the nations will know that I am YHVH, who makes Israel holy, having My sanctuary among them forever.”