Virgin

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Monday, 10 February 2014 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Scholastica, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White (Virgins)

1 Kings 8 : 1-7, 9-13

Then Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, as well as the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH from the city of David, which is Zion.

All the Israelites assembled near king Solomon in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests carried the Ark of YHVH and brought it up together with the Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent.

After the priests and Levites had brought them up, king Solomon with the entire congregation of Israel that had assembled before him and were with him before the Ark, sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could neither be counted nor numbered.

Then the priests laid the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH in its place in the inner sanctuary of the House – the Most Holy Place – underneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark, providing a covering above the Ark and its poles.

There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, where YHVH made a Covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, such a Cloud filled YHVH’s House that the priests could not continue to minister. Indeed, the glory of YHVH filled His House.

Then Solomon said, “YHVH has said that He would dwell in thick darkness. So the House I have built You will be Your House, a place for You to dwell in forever.”

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Prophets are despised in their own country and were not well accepted at the place of their birth. That was the reality that Jesus brought up in front of His very own neighbours and fellow countrymen in the Gospel reading today. Jesus Himself was doubted and rejected by the people of His hometown, the small village of Nazareth.

Why so? That is because we mankind, in our own distorted way of perceiving the world around us, including that of our friends and relatives, our fellow men, we tend to focus on things of the world, in the glory and power of the world, and adhere to the many prejudices and preconceptions that existed in the world.

The reality of life in the time of Jesus, just as it was before that and after that, even until this day, was indeed harsh. The poor has nothing and suffered a lot under the rich and the powerful, who had everything they need and want. The rich oppressed the poor and they showcased their power with brilliant displays of wealth and affluence.

This created the mentality and prejudices among the people, especially one who was accustomed to a very hierarchical societal nature. The society of Israel, even though distinctions between peoples were not as severe as some other cultures, such as the caste system in India among others, was still quite bad. The priests and the kings and the lords were at the top of the society, respected and feared for their power, while the poor peasants lay at the bottom of that same hierarchy.

The prophets and the Messiah were imagined by the people of Israel as people of great power and wisdom, as well as learning, which was well out of the league of the poor, who could barely even afford to have a comfortable and decent living. Therefore, that is why, because in reality, many of the prophets were people called by God to live a completely devoted life to God, and abandoning all privileges, they were often poor.

In the mind of the people, those who lived with the prophets, coming from the same village, town, or neighbourhood as the prophets, those people cannot be a genuine prophet of the Lord. Simply because they assume that they know who these prophets were! Yes, such was human arrogance and assumption! The same therefore also happened to Jesus as He preached to His own neighbours in Nazareth.

They would not believe in Jesus because they always had thought of Him as a mere carpenter and a carpenter’s Son, that is the Son of Joseph the carpenter, His foster-father. A carpenter, even though a respected job for its hard work, but a carpenter is often considered low in the society’s eyes, and certainly not determined for greatness.

This lens of unbelief prevented the people from knowing and understanding the truth that was in Jesus, that He is the Messiah, the very Divine incarnate, who had come to bring salvation and new hope to all of them. If only they would believe in Jesus, they would have received salvation directly from the Lord. Instead, they cast Him out of His own village and rejected Him.

In our first reading, the scenario is a bit different, but it is in the same spirit. King David of Israel, having his reign made secure by the Lord after numerous insurrections, civil wars, and conflicts, had been lax in his faith, and through the veil of lens of power and human glory, king David did things despicable in the eyes of God.

It might seem a trivial issue that David asked his officer Joab to conduct a census of the people of Israel and Judah, seeing how many people capable of being drafted to his ever growing kingdom and army. Yet, in this precisely, David, the faithful servant of God, was taken in by the allures of Satan, who deceived mankind with false promises of glory and power.

In doing what he had done, David seemed to be unsatisfied with all the glories that God had given him. In counting the number of his subjects, it seemed that David desired even more power and glory, forgetting that all of that had been possible because of the Lord and His grace, which He had poured generously upon David.

That was why, God taught David a lesson through His punishment, to remind him of that all of his glory came from the Lord and he could never do or gain anything without God his Lord. We too should learn the same lesson, that we should not depend solely on our human power or wisdom, but instead seek to follow and trust the Lord, from whom all goodness came.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Agatha, also known as St. Agatha of Sicily. St. Agatha was very dedicated to the Lord and was very faithful, despite temptations of the world and attempts to turn her to the debauched ways of the pagan world of her time.

St. Agatha devoted herself to God and vowed to maintain her virginity. A Roman centurion was allured by St. Agatha’s beauty and tried many times in vain to persuade her to be his bride. Angered by her rejection, the centurion used the fact that St. Agatha was a Christian against her, and in the midst of a brutal persecution against the faith, she was arrested and tortured.

St. Agatha endured the persecutions and the sufferings that she had to go through in prison, and she even went through a brutal removal of her breasts as one of her executioners’ punishments. She remained true to her faith to the end and did not walk away from the way of the Lord. St. Agatha and her zealous faith showed us all, that we have to put our trust in God, and place our faith in Him, for in Him, we secure our heavenly inheritance.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today therefore seek to love God ever more, and dedicate ourselves in faith to Him and to His ways. Let us always walk faithfully in His ways, and following what He had taught us through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May our Lord continue to be with us and guide us, as we walk through this darkened world, that we may not succumb to temptations of the evil one, but remain ever faithful to Him to the end. Amen.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Mark 6 : 1-6

Leaving that place, Jesus returned to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and most of those who heard Him were astonished.

But they said, “How did this come to Him? What kind of wisdom has been given to Him, that He also performs such miracles? Who is He but the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here among us?” So they took offense at Him.

And Jesus said to them, “Prophets are despised only in their own country, among their relatives, and in their own family.” And He could work no miracles there, but only healed a few sick people, by laying His hands on them. Jesus Himself was astounded at their unbelief.

Jesus then went around the villages, teaching.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Psalm 31 : 1-2, 5, 6, 7

Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, whose iniquity is wiped away. Blessed are those in whom the Lord sees no guilt and in whose spirit is found no doubt.

Then I made known to You my sin and uncovered before You my fault, saying to myself, “To the Lord I will now confess my wrong.” And You, You forgave my sin, You removed my guilt.

So let the faithful ones pray to You in time of distress; the overflowing waters will not reach them.

You are my refuge; You protect me from distress and surround me with the songs of deliverance.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

2 Samuel 24 : 2, 9-17

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people that I may know how many they are.”

Joab gave the total count of the people to the king : eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah. But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to YHVH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, o YHVH, I ask You to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”

The following day, before David awoke, YHVH’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, “Go, and give David this message : I offer you three things and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.”

So Gad went to David and asked him, “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give Him who sent me.”

David answered Gad, “I am greatly troubled. Let me fall into the hands of YHVH whose mercy is abundant; but let me not fall into human hands.” So YHVH sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba.

When the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, YHVH would punish no more and said to the angel who was causing destruction among the people, “It is enough, hold back your hand.” The angel of YHVH was already at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite.

When David saw the angel striking the people, he spoke to YHVH and said, “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let Your hand strike me and my father’s family.”

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Monday, 27 January 2014 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s theme is again continuing from the past few days’ theme on unity. That the words of Christ ring very true, how something divided against itself and each components opposed against each other, cannot survive or stand. He meant that for the devil, to show the Pharisees, how it was not possible for devil to exorcise evil spirits as they had accused Jesus of doing.

But He also meant it for us, for His faithful, that, we all should also not be divided against each other. We should seek on what unites us, or what may unite us rather than focusing on our differences and enmities. This ties in perfectly woth the theme of yesterday’s sunday readings, which focuses quite a lot on the avoidance of division and the importance of unity.

It is very true what Jesus had said, that a house divided against itself will not be able to stand. And our Church, that is the combination of all the faithful ones of God, will not be able to stand, if the faithful community is divided within, and divided along different lines of confrontations, we will end up be like that divided house, and we will not be able to stand against the forces of evil arrayed before us.

The first reading today from the second book of the prophet Samuel also took on a distinctive tone on unity, telling the story of what happened after the civil war that divided Israel after the death of their king Saul, and the ascension of David as king of Judah in Hebron. The people were divided between the descendants of Saul, and David who had been chosen by God Himself to be the new, rightful king over Israel.

That civil war for the kingdom of Israel was bitter, and they cost many lives. Some good warriors of both Judah and Israel were killed, and the war disadvantaged both sides. Today we saw how at the end of the conflict, the people of Israel came together to accept David as their king, and to recognise his kingship over them, and ultimately to overcome the bitterness of division which had taken its toll over them.

The kingdom of Israel would not be strong before the unity was achieved, and it was only after that civil war was ended that the nation would grow strong, and under the rule of both King David and Solomon, his son, that kingdom would grow to be very powerful, wealthy, and influential indeed. But, the bitter lesson of division continued to apply, and after another round of conflicting interests and feuds, the kingdom was split permanently in two, and the two halves were greatly weakened, ending with their subsequent destructions at the hands of their enemies, and the scattering of the people of God among many nations.

That is exactly what division can do to us, the faithful ones of God, if we are not careful. And Jesus also rightly pointed out that the devil cannot be divided among itself, and it means that the devil’s forces are united, against us! And they are united against us for a singular purpose, that is to bring about the fall of God’s people and to keep them away from the salvation awaiting them and instead join these forces of darkness in the eternal damnation that awaits them.

That is why it is important, and also appropriate, for us to avoid being divided ourselves, and for all of us to present a united front against the forces of Satan arrayed against us. That is why it is important, and very important for us, indeed, that we seek and fight for unity among us and put this as the first priority before everything else. Only when our house is in order, then we can go ahead and confidently fight the force of darkness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Angela Merici, a dedicated religious and virgin, who lived her life in great holiness and purity. St. Angela Merici was apparently very distressed when her sister passed away not in a state of grace and peace. She prayed and prayed hard to the Lord, and she saw a vision in which she saw her sister being in heaven among the saints.

St. Angela Merici also devoted her life to prayer and a devoted religious life, and she established a community of similar minded people, called the Company of St. Ursula, of women dedicated in a celibate life and pure virginity before God while committing themselves in service towards their brethren and neighbours around them.

St. Angela Merici might not have done great deeds in human terms, but her contributions to the faithful were indeed invaluable and great. St. Angela Merici showed us the model of Christian life, of how we should live our lives according to the precepts of the Lord. Yes, first is prayer, genuine and constant prayer, so that we will be ever attuned to the will of God and will remain true to His ways.

And secondly, that is to give of oneself in love and dedication, both to God and to the community of the faithful. This means to follow what the Lord asks of us, that is to love one another just as we should also love the Lord our God. In doing so, we will share God’s love with all those around us and make our communities and societies a more beautiful and loving ones.

And in order to tie this with the theme of today’s readings and reflections, as I often mentioned that divisions and feuds rose frequently because of our natural human tendency and vulnerabilities for sin. It is in our nature to be fearful, to be jealous, and to have pride and arrogance in our hearts, as well as greed and desire, that we tend to disobey the precepts of the Lord, and seek for our own greater glory.

In the history of the Church, divisions and conflicts most widely happened when the people of God, one or many among them, chose to ignore the true teachings and wisdom of the Lord, and instead rely on their own feeble and corrupted human mentality and emotions, resulting in conflicts of interests that often ballooned to conflict, not quite unlike what had happened in Israel during king David’s time.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, following the example of St. Angela Merici, let us first dedicate ourselves ever more strongly to our God, and promise to lead more holy lifestyle from now on, abandoning our human jealousies, pride, greed, and anger, and in exchange, receive the love and peace from God. Then, let us continue to persevere and seek the unity of all the faithful ones of God, that our Church will stand united again and will not be divided against itself, such that we may be able to stand against Satan and his forces. God be with us all. Amen.

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Monday, 27 January 2014 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Mark 3 : 22-30

Meanwhile the teachers of the Law, who had come from Jerusalem, said, “He is in the power of Beelzebul : the chief of demons helps Him to drive out demons.”

Jesus called them to Him, and began teaching them by means of stories, or parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a nation is divided by civil war, that nation cannot stand. If a family divides itself into groups, that family will not survive.”

“In the same way, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished. No one can break into the house of a strong man in order to plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man. Then indeed, he can plunder his house.”

“Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven humankind, even insults to God, however numerous. But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven : he carries the guilt of his sin forever.”

This was their sin when they said, “He has an unclean spirit in Him.”

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Monday, 27 January 2014 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Psalm 88 : 20, 21-22, 25-26

In the past You spoke in a vision; You said of Your faithful servant : “I have set the crown upon a mighty one; on one chosen from the people.”

I have found David My servant, and with My holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will ever be with him and My arm will sustain him.

My faithfulness and love will be with him, and by My help he will be strong. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.

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Monday, 27 January 2014 : 3rd Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Angela Merici, Virgin (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

2 Samuel 5 : 1-7, 10

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your bone and flesh. In the past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel. And YHVH said to you, ‘You shall be the shepherd of My people Israel and you shall be commander over Israel.'”

Before YHVH, King David made an agreement with the elders of Israel who came to him at Hebron, and they anointed him king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years : he reigned over Judah, from Hebron, seven and a half years; and over Israel and Judah, from Jerusalem, for thirty-three years.

The king and his men set out for Jerusalem to fight the Jebusites who lived there. They said to David, “If you try to break in here, the blind and the lame will drive you away,” which meant that David could not get in. Yet David captured the fortress of Zion that became the “city of David.”

And David grew more powerful, for YHVH, the God of hosts, was with him.

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Tuesday, 21 January 2014 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red (Martyrs)

Today, brothers and sisters in Christ, we heard how God made a wonderful choice in the one whom He has blessing for, in the one whom the Lord is Himself pleased with, that is David, to be His vicar in the world, to govern His people as their king and ruler, and therefore lead them in the worship of Himself.

David was chosen, not because of his strength, abilities, or wonderful appearance. As the Lord made it clear to Samuel, that He did not see just with the eyes, but He sees also the hearts inside mankind. He chose David because He saw in him the true heart of devotion, which had great love for God and His ways.

As we all should well know, that good appearance does not equate good hearts inside. Appearance can often be deceiving, and it is important for us to be able to see what is inside and what truly makes up a person. And therefore, we should also not be quick to judge on others, especially if they do not behave in the same way as we do things, as the Pharisees had done.

Continuing from my theme on the true meaning of the Law of God from yesterday’s Scripture readings, it is important for us to note that superficial obedience of the law is no good, compared to the true understanding of the purpose of God’s laws that is to bring mankind closer to God, instead of giving them a great burden.

God wished that through His laws, mankind can be turned, and changed, and transformed to be more like Him. Yes, for all mankind to follow God’s laws in good faith and understanding means to be profoundly changed in our way of life and behaviour, that we become truly children of God. God wants from us our love, and sincere dedication, as well as full attention. He does not want from us blind obedience or self-praise.

God sees the heart and He knows everything, just as He saw into the hearts of the people of Israel and the sons of Jesse, discovering David, in whom He found true faith and dedication, one worthy to be the shepherd of His people. Therefore God also sees into our hearts, inside each one of us, that He sees whether we are truly faithful to Him or just paying lip service to Him, or worse, to self-glorify oneself that their ‘piety’ may be praised by those who see them.

The Sabbath is the holy day in the faith of the Israelites, according to the laws of Moses, where God ordered the people to keep the day holy, and to honour Him on that day. Yet, over time, until the time of Jesus, the true meaning of the Sabbath had been subverted by the people, and in the Pharisees, the Sabbath become a dreadful day, where nobody may work or do anything, violation of which was condemned by the rabbis of Israel.

But Jesus made it clear to them, as well as to His disciples and to the people of God, what the purpose of the law, that it was made to serve mankind, that is to help them on their way to reach the Lord. Yes, it is to help and serve them, rather than to punish them or burden them unnecessarily. The sabbath is made for mankind and not mankind for the Sabbath. To do otherwise would mean the idolisation of the sabbath, which was meant for mankind to spend precious time with their beloved God.

The purpose of the Sabbath was so that, mankind, ever vulnerable to the temptations of evil and the corruptions of the world, would find time to spend with their God. A day of rest indeed, dedicated to prayers and communications between oneself and their Lord, not unlike what we have today with Sundays, on which day we go for Mass, and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

On the holy day, we spend our time with God, and we listen to Him. We should not rush it to return to our worldly dealings and businesses, but instead patiently and lovingly spend that time with God, that He may speak to us in the silence of our hearts, and we may get to learn what is His will for us, a way for us to follow. On that day, we do things for the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him.

And in order to do this, it does not always mean through prayer and inaction. Doing good and doing things in accordance with the Lord’s will is also something that should be done on that day. Remember that Christ stressed the importance of doing good for our brethren and loving them. He stressed that doing good things is not forbidden on Sabbath, because doing good is tantamount to serving the Lord and glorifying Him, which is precisely what the Lord wants from each of His beloved people.

The Lord sees the truth in the hearts of all mankind. Again, blind obedience and lip-service does not do one good, and instead they bring mankind to condemnation. The Pharisees purposely tried during many Sabbath days to trap Jesus in His works, and did everything in their power to protest, complain, and resist the good works of Jesus, which was done for the greater glory of God. Their sins were truly great and numerous, despite their outward piety and actions, which supposedly done to draw praise and glorification from mankind.

Will we follow their path? Or will we do as Jesus had done? Jesus taught us that what the Lord wants from us is our love, and to show that love in our words, actions, and deeds. God has given us much love, and indeed had given us great capacity to love. It is now our chance to prove our love and dedication to Him, by showing it in what we do everyday. Let us no longer just see our faith, particularly that of the Mass, as something empty, and that we should also no longer just go for Mass because we are obliged to do so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of St. Agnes, a well known virgin and martyr who lived at the time of the Roman Empire. She came from Rome, the heart of the Empire and therefore was also known as St. Agnes of Rome. St. Agnes was a secret Christian who was hiding from the persecutions of the pagan Roman Empire.

She was courted by a pagan centurion who tried many times without success to get her, and there were also many other suitors who did not succeed to get her attention. St. Agnes had devoted her life to a life of virginity and total devotion to the Lord. Thus, she refused to give in to the temptations of the centurion, who then reported her Christianity to the authorities, and had her imprisoned because of that. She was tortured and asked to renounce her faith by her prison masters.

St. Agnes suffered tremendously in prison, and reputedly she was even tortured greatly by the painful torture she had to go through, and even was dragged across the street naked without any clothing. She was then martyred for her faith, but unto the end, she would not recant her faith in God, and she remained faithful to the end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. Agnes showed us a way to follow the Lord, that is through total dedication and devotion of oneself. She loved God so much, that she did not hesitate to give up even her life to maintain her purity and faith in God. Some followed her way, and they became as we know, our priests, brothers and sisters, the nuns and monks, the friars, those who dedicated their lives wholly to God. Nevertheless, that does not mean that we cannot do the same too.

St. Agnes showed us that our faith cannot be an empty or dead one, or one of mere lip-service. Such faith would waver at times of great persecutions, one which our Faith is increasingly facing these days. We have to show our faith through concrete action, but one based on love. We do not have to go through martyrdom as St. Agnes had, but we certainly have to be ready to defend our faith, not by violence, but through love.

Yes, love one another, our brethren, and even those who hate and persecute us for our faith. Let us show the love of God to everyone, and may God who sees our love then love us back with His infinite love, and grant us peace, grace, and rich blessings! God bless us all. Amen.