world

by

Thursday, 18 July 2013 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, come to Christ our Lord whose yoke is light, and come to the Lord who had liberated us from the yoke of sin and death. He has liberated all of us from our fate that is death through His own death on the cross, and His resurrection give us all new hope of life, in the eternal bliss of heaven.

Yes, following the Lord has its own crosses, that is difficulties, because this world that is filled with evil will certainly oppose us with all of its might, that they will try to destroy us just as they had tried to destroy our Lord Jesus Christ by condemning Him to death, the humiliating death on the cross. Yet, Christ had triumphed, and not even death could hold Him captive, but He gloriously turned hell upside down, releasing the souls of the faithful from the slavery in hell and death.

For Christ is like the new Moses, whom the Lord had sent to liberate all the people, all mankind, all of creation, instead of just the people of Israel. If Moses was sent to liberate the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt under the Pharaohs, Christ was sent to liberate everyone, without exception from our slavery under sin, with Satan as the jailer.

Following Christ will be difficult, and there will be lots of oppositions from those in the world, particularly from the allies of evil. But this is nothing if compared to the suffering and difficulties that we will face for eternity, if we do not follow Christ and choose to follow the devil instead. That is also to represent how light is the yoke of Christ, compared to the yoke of the devil, because while the yoke of Christ leads eventually to eternal happiness, and only a temporary suffering, the yoke of the devil leads to never-ending eternal death and suffering, from the complete separation of man from God.

But yet, many people seem to prefer the heavier yoke of the devil than the lighter yoke of Christ, why? That is because the yoke of the devil looks more attractive in our hearts. It looks better and also feels better than the yoke of Christ. The yoke of the devil looks sweeter, better, and more promising, and the devil had also sweetened it further with all the pleasures and offerings this world can give, whereas in the yoke of Christ, we can only see suffering, although it is a suffering accompanied by the love of God.

That was why the same had happened to the people of Israel, when they followed Moses through the desert towards the Promised Land. They rebelled and rebelled constantly against the leadership of Moses and against God Himself. They saw the desert as the sure place of death, while their life in Egypt, under slavery, they deemed to be better than the nomadic life in the desert. Yes, even in slavery! They were glad to remain in slavery rather than be free, so that they could enjoy their ‘good’ life in Egypt.

That good life in Egypt, my brothers and sisters, is truly equivalent to our current life in the state of sin. Because sinning is actually enjoyable, and the devil put no stops to ensure that we remain in our state of sin and indifference towards the merciful God. We constantly rebel against the will of God and the teachings of His prophets and apostles, as we have always done, just like the people of Israel themselves had done in the desert. They complained of their temporary suffering, as we does now, but they failed to realise that true happiness lies at the end of that suffering. Remember, the yoke of Christ is light, and it leads to salvation, while the yoke of the devil leads only to death and eternal suffering.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, do we resolve now to take up our crosses while following He who was crucified? That is to take up the Cross of Christ? Or do we slacken and let the devil has the better of us and lead us to eternal damnation? If we are to follow Christ, as He Himself had said, we must be ready to take up our crosses and suffer the rejection by evil and the world. But that is nothing, compared to if we are rejected by our Lord Himself, in which, then, there will be no hope left.

Let us resolve to follow the Lord and be ready to face all the consequences of following Him, facing it with faith, courage, and devotion, without ever going out of our way or being led astray. May the Lord who is merciful look kindly upon us, and help us during this journey of the faith, and guiding us through the persecutions and sufferings that will be inflicted upon us.

May the Lord bless us all and protect us, so that all of us will persevere, and fall not into eternal damnation in hell, but achieve eternal life in bliss in heaven, with our Lord who loves us. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 16 July 2013 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Psalm)

Psalm 68 : 3, 14, 30-31, 33-34

I am sunk in the miry depths where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, swept and engulfed by the flood.

But I pray to You, o Lord, at a time most favourable to You. In Your great love, o God, answer me with Your unfailing help.

But I myself am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity.

Alternative Reading (from the Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

by

Sunday, 7 July 2013 : 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Lord challenges all of us, to be His disciples and His followers, and what we are expected to do, when we choose to become His servants, the extensions of His will in this world. For to become the followers of Christ does not mean an easy life to us, or a leisurely work. Indeed, becoming the followers and disciples of Christ, mean that we die to this world, and abandon all the pleasures and the good that is in the world, for the sake of Christ.

There will be those who accept us, and there will likely be even more who will reject us, sometimes may not even be in a friendly manner. That is because not all people attune themselves to the Lord and His message, and many prefer to live in the ignorance provided by the world and all its temptations. To be a servant and disciple of Christ therefore means to struggle against the world and fight in this uphill battle for the sake of the Lord.

However, we must not give up, for certainly the Lord Himself did not give up on all of us. He still keeps up hope on us, and still continue to love all of us. Indeed, He embraced all of us, gave us all the love that He has in Him, that is infinite, and treat us like His own children. Nothing less indeed than giving us His own life, through His death on the cross, that we may have eternal life ourselves, those of us who believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour.

God cares for all of us and He will bless us if we stay true to Him and follow Him as His disciples, particularly for those of us who have been called by the Lord to be His servants and serve His people. He will provide for all of us, and even if we face difficulties and opposition, as we surely will, the Lord will always be with us, and we should not need to worry at all.

The problem with our world today is that there are so much things that are good and enticing to men, and there are so much things that tempt us away from the Lord and His call. It is not that we should ignore or shun all of the world’s goodness, but we must know the limit to such goodness, otherwise we would succumb to our natural weakness of desire and greed. If we can understand self-control, we would be able to prevent the world from corrupting our hearts and blocking our path towards the Lord.

Our world has become very materialistic and secular in nature, that many people no longer place God as first in their hearts, and even no longer has the Lord in their hearts. In God’s place came in all the greed that is of the world, for material wealth, possessions, luxury, comfort, and excesses. The crazed search for more money and wealth is just one of the many examples of how our world had changed for the worse.

Especially it is increasingly becoming very difficult for the Church to find new priests today, and new servants of the Lord. Even the numbers of religious brothers and sisters have also dropped significantly, a sign in tandem with the increasing secularism of the world, and the increasing temptation of the world on us mankind.

In the past it is easy for the Church to find new priests and religious members because God still lives strong in many people’s hearts, and many willingly give up everything they have in life for the sake of the Lord, and serve His people through the Church, be it as priests, brothers, nuns, or even as lay worker. However, as I had mentioned and all of you knew, that times had changed. Now, many people are too fixated on their material possessions that they are increasingly unwilling to abandon all of them for the sake of God and His people.

However, internal reasons are not the only reasons, though it does play a very important part in why we have a great decline in the number of people in our seminaries today. The other reasons are external, from our friends, our society, and ultimately, our own families. In many parts of the world, success in life had increasingly been equated with monetary and economic success, and educational achievements, both linked to each other in such a way that, our life becomes more like an investment than a life.

Yes, as you know, in our modern world, raising a child increasingly become more and more expensive as years go by. Every year, inflation brings all living costs higher and higher, and consequently it becomes ever more difficult to raise a child, with soaring expenditures and declining income relative to those expenditures. Education, in particular, became so expensive, that educating a child in our society today becomes something like a chore.

That is why, coupled with the increasingly stronger link between education, its achievements and success in life, made so many parents becoming more and more reluctant to let their children go, when they reveal to them about their intentions in life. You see, God chooses whom He wants to be His servants, and He calls them all, through subtle means. Not many would take up that offer and that call, but many did answer and treasure the calling.

Yet, parental objections often stood in the way of the Lord’s call, because the parents thought of priestly life and a life dedicated to the service of the Lord and His people is a wasted life, a shameful life, and indeed, an investment wasted, because we gradually see our lives less as a life that we truly should see it, but merely more and more as an investment, about money and material possessions.

Friends and society also play a great deal in shaping one’s calling, because peer pressure and objections in the society do prevent one’s calling from being realised, especially when coupled with parental objection. These are in fact, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, some of the crosses that we must bear if we are to follow the Lord. This is exactly because the world does not love Christ, and neither does it welcome Him. The world follows its own ways, and those are not the ways of the Lord.

The purpose of today’s readings however is not to attack or put down parents, just because they rejected or opposed their children’s calling, but rather, to remind all of us that, life is not just about our possessions, or about how much money we have in the bank, or how big is the salary we receive in a month, or even, how many cars and other utilities we have. Life is indeed about Christ, and about loving Christ and our fellow brethren.

We Christians who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ must be brave and courageous, in defending our faith against the assaults of the world and its temptations, and must be ready at all times to take up our crosses, to walk alongside Christ in His suffering. These crosses mean to take an active part in our participation in the Church, according to our own calling, that is for those called and chosen to serve the Lord in divine priesthood, to be brave in embracing one’s calling and rejecting the voices that try to prevent one’s call from being realised; and for those in religious orders, to be faithful in prayer and service; and lastly, but not least, for the laity themselves, that they will take up a more active participation in the Church and groom themselves for better understanding of their faith.

In doing so, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have done God’s will, to be His disciples and preach the Good News to all of the world, including to our fellow brethren and ourselves. Therefore, now, let us pray that the Lord will give us strength and courage to face all the troubles in life, and also give us the understanding of the nature of God’s call and vocations, and bravely defend the faith of the Church in all of our deeds.

May the Lord give us His Holy Spirit, that we will always ever persevere, amidst the difficulties and challenges in this world, in showing God’s love to all, and also to preach the Good News of the Lord to all nations. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Sunday, 30 June 2013 : 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today in the reading, particularly the First reading from the First Book of Kings, we listened to the calling of those who had been chosen by our Lord and God. Those whom he had been chosen like Elisha were called, and were given specific trust on certain ministries that they have been entrusted with. Elisha was called from the fields and his oxen by Elijah, to be his successor, and continued the works of the prophet in the lands of the Kingdom of Israel.

We too have our calling, our vocations in life, and what they are depends on what the Lord has in plan for all of us. There are those among us called to be ministers of the Lord, in the same way as Elisha the prophet had once been called. Those of us who are called then, if we accept the calling, become priests, religious, deacons, and all the others who dedicate themselves fully to serve the Lord and minister to His people, while spreading the Good News of the Gospel.

One may think that Christ may sound very rough and impolite when He said that the dead should bury the dead, and one may also think that Christ is being rude when someone asked to first say goodbye to his family before following Him and was rebuked with the words that if someone turn back from their chosen or appointed duty, that person is not fit for the kingdom of God. However, there is in fact great truth inside what Christ had told us today as we heard in our Gospel reading today.

Indeed, in order to serve the Lord, and in order to minister to His people, we must not be half-hearted in our efforts and our work, and we must put all our hearts, all our minds, and all our beings into the works, and focus all of our attention on Christ. There must not be space for doubt or indecision in our hearts, or we risk evil to enter our hearts and corrupt our purpose, which may turn the very noble act of our ministry into something corrupted and hideous.

Well, one may say that this is just a one-time farewell, or a one-time thing, but we must not underestimate the power of evil, as little as that is compared to the power of the Lord, and the power of the world’s temptations and allures. Many had fallen into those temptations and could not keep up their commitment to the service to the Lord and His people, and ended up becoming a contempt to the faithful and a disgrace to the Lord and to the faith.

For we humans are weak, and we are naturally predisposed to temptations and human desires, desire for wealth, and desire for pleasure. If we do not have a hundred percent attention on the Lord, and if we do not put all our hearts and beings into the task ahead of us, not just for the case of the service to the Lord and God’s ministers, but indeed for any other occupations and careers, we must be entirely focused on what we are doing, or we risk mistakes and other flaws that may undermine our own credibility and trustworthiness.

Worse still for the servants of the Lord, because we are directly accountable to God for our actions, our words, and our deeds. When one especially has been called and had chosen to accept the calling and become one of the servants of the Lord, one must not be distracted by worldly concerns and desires. Not even one peek! Since even one peek would tend to corrupt our hearts and twist the true purpose of our ministry, even with just one attempt.

We often think that, ‘It’s only once, it won’t hurt, will not try it again anyway afterwards’, but there is no guarantee that after the first one we will definitely not do it a second time, a third time, or even become an addict. And for priests, religious, and servants of God, a very strict code of conduct must indeed be in place, for they have been marked and appointed as shepherds of God’s people, and shepherds cannot lead their flock unless they themselves have been proper in their conduct and behaviour.

The sheep follow the shepherd, and therefore, if the shepherd does something wrong, the sheep of the flock are bound to follow the actions of the shepherd. We who are called and chosen have to remember that we are responsible for God’s people and to the Lord Himself, in that we must make sure that we do not make any of God’s children, to fall into sin because of us. Remember that Christ greatly chastised those people who did so, “Better for those who let these little ones to fall into sin, to go into hell and be tortured there for eternity’. He condemned those who had misused their authority and abused people’s trust and God’s trust in them.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today pray for those called and chosen, for those priests, bishops, our Pope, and those in the religious orders, that they will remain faithful and steadfast in their faith and in their calling, that they will faithfully discharge the duties that the Lord had entrusted them, and lead the flock God had entrusted them with dignity, love, compassion, and determination.

Let us also pray for those who are aspiring to join the service of the Lord, and those who had been called, but had not made their decisions in their lives. Let us pray, that indeed, in the face of so many worldly temptations and allures, they can remain faithful to their faith and their calling. Let us pray that the parents of those who are called will not be stubborn and reject God’s call for the sake of their own selfish desire for their children. This is one of the main reason why so many did not end up follow their calling, because their parents and their families did not support God’s work by their rejection!

For parents, let’s be open-minded, and be open to the fact that one of your sons and daughters may be called by God to be His servants to serve His people, all of us, and instead of disgust and opposition, take that as a great opportunity and an honourable occasion. Not everyone is called, and not everyone is worthy, and as the parents of those who had been called, all of us should be proud of them instead, and support them to make a wise and carefully thought decision.

May the Lord therefore grant all of us strength and determination to persevere in our missions in life, to be a loving child of God, to be a loving brethren to our brothers and sisters in need, and to listen to God’s will. May the Lord be with all those whom He had chosen from among us, that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide them and strengthen their faith, resolve, and dedication to their respective ministries. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Monday, 24 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (First Reading)

Isaiah 49 : 1-6

Listen to me, o islands, pay attention, peoples from distant lands. YHVH called me from my mother’s womb; He pronounced my name before I was born. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me into a polished arrow set apart in His quiver. He said to me, “You are Israel, My servant, through you I will be known.”

“I have laboured in vain,” I thought and spent my strength for nothing.” Yet what is due me was in the hand of YHVH, and my reward was with my God. I am important in the sight of YHVH, and my God is my strength. And now YHVH has spoken, He who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him.

He said : “It is not enough that you be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel, I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”

by

Saturday, 22 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorials of St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, Saints John Fisher, Bishop and Thomas More, Martyrs (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the words of the Gospel, in which we are told not to worry about our needs and our desires in this world. Christ had taught His disciples that the Lord takes care of the needs of His people, and He will protect those whom He considers as His own. Therefore, as long as we belong to Christ, to the Lord, we will be safe and we will always be provided, with all the things that we need.

Worry is a natural part of a human being, and worry cannot be separated from our own selves, from our own insecurities and our own natural predisposition to the desire for things, material or otherwise, in order to secure our own survival. Such is also the law of nature according to those who study it, that we are always concerned with our own survival, and therefore would do all that we can in our own power, in order to maintain our survival.

That is why we grow increasingly concerned with our own human needs, of food, of material goods, and even of relationships and love. We worry about things that may happen to us in the future, especially if those things may affect us in a negative manner. Fuelled by these insecurities, we end up becoming selfish and overprotective of ourselves and those precious to us, that end up in numerous causes for sorrow and anguish.

Many problems of this world can be traced to our own worries, our own insecurities. The reason that many nations maintain powerful armies and forces is because they are always ever insecure about their own future, with often endless probabilities and possible scenarios of ‘enemy’ attacks on them, so that they, in their insecurity, end up building that tool of destruction, in order to protect themselves, but inadvertently, when the violence does come, that tool is often used to cause great destruction and mayhem in our world.

One of the most important reasons why countries become embroiled in long-drawn conflicts is because of conflict over resources and material wealth of the earth, with well-known examples of crude oil, gas, and other precious metals, which become a source of contention between states, and led to the build-up of enmity and mutual hostility between nations.

That was why Christ told us that we should not worry, and indeed that we should put a complete trust in God, for God who loves and cares for us will take care of us and provide us all that we need. Let us take note that it is very often that what we want is not what we truly need. Many items that we want are merely the product of our own desires and greed, driven by this world, which had brought upon us countless lucrative deals that entice us to want to have more and more of such goods.

Commercialism and materialism are rampant in our world today, brothers and sisters in Christ. One can just imagine its extent from the insatiable human desire for things that bring wealth and prestige to their owners. Our media is filled with advertisements and channels that promote decadent lifestyles. A lifestyle of great excesses and waste. A lifestyle that is apathetic to the needs of others, and a lifestyle that is often lived in ignorance of the reality of life in this world.

Today we commemorate the feast day of St. Paulinus of Nola, a bishop who lived in the later years of the Roman Empire, and also the feast day of St. John Fisher, a bishop in the late Renaissance England, in the times of the English Reformation, and his fellow saint, with whom he was also martyred, St. Thomas More, who is also known as the patron saint of lawyers.

St. Paulinus of Nola was a bishop who renounced his privileged early life as an influential senator of the Roman Empire, and chose to follow the ways of the ascetics, to give himself fully to the Lord, and eventually became a priest and bishop of Nola. He was also a well-known writer and poet, with many of his writings influencing later people and saints of the Church.

The example of St. Paulinus of Nola, who disavowed wealth and did not pursue human glory and possessions. He looked for what is more valuable to him, and indeed should be truly valuable to all of us, that is the Lord Himself, our real and true treasure. He did not find it shameful to abandon all the worldly pursuit of wealth, and all the fame and affluence he had while he was an influential senator of Rome.

It does not mean that all of us should then become monks though, and follow ascetic lifestyle. But certainly the examplary life of St. Paulinus of Nola, whose writings inspired many in the faith, and whose pursuit of the true richness in Christ, can become a powerful driving engine behind our own personal journey in the faith. And equally, just as St. Paulinus of Nola had shown all of us, the examples of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More too, cannot be ignored.

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More lived in a difficult time, a difficult and troubled time to be a follower of the Lord, and to be the faithful ones in the Church of God. For they lived at the time when the English Reformation begun, under the persona of King Henry VIII, whose greatest sin was to break away from the Apostolic authority of Rome just because he did not get his second marriage approved, in his crazed and ultimately fruitless pursuit for an heir, a son to inherit the throne of England.

St. John Fisher was the bishop of Rochester, and a closer advisor to the king, while St. Thomas More was a laity, the powerful chancellor for the king of England. When the king began his upstart new ‘church’, naturally, he wanted all of his subjects to follow him into his rebellion against the authority of the Church, especially those nearest to him in confidence and power.

Those who followed the king into his disobedience and rebellion gained prestige with the king and much material wealth and affluence, which was also the reason why many followed the king into his disobedience against Rome. Yet, St. Thomas More, and also St. John Fisher, despite the offers made by the king, particularly St. Thomas More’s lucrative chancellorship, they remained steadfast to their faith in the Lord, and remained firmly within the Church, against all attempts and temptations for them to leave the Church of God.

In refusing the order of the king, they faced suffering, persecution, prison, and eventually death in martyrdom, in their defense of the faith. They remained faithful and true to the Lord to the end, and they received their eternal reward and glory in heaven, having shedding their blood for the sake of their faith.

The lesson to be learnt here is of course not that we must shed our blood and our life like what the two martyrs of the faith had done, but just like St. Paulinus of Nola, we must value our faith and the Lord our God as the much more valuable and priceless treasure, the true treasure of our life, over any kind of worldly and material wealth, that is offered by our world, and especially in our present day world, becoming ever more tempting in their approach to all of us.

Do not give up our faith in God and our righteousness for moments of pleasure and false happiness, through the means of material goods of this world. Not that we cannot enjoy what this world can offer and neither should we restrain from gaining any material possession or money, but all of these must be done in moderation, so that it would not end up in these shutting out the Lord from our hearts, because remember that the Lord Himself said that wherever the treasure is, the our hearts lie.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today renew our commitment to strengthen our faith in the Lord, that we will ever keep Him in our hearts, that He will know that we belong to Him, and will reward us greatly when He comes again as our King. God bless us all. Amen.

by

Thursday, 20 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 6 : 7-15

When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they believe that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask Him.

This, then, is how you should pray :

Our Father in heaven,

holy be Your Name,

Your Kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.

Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one.

If you forgive other their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.

by

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.

by

Monday, 17 June 2013 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we learn how to be true followers and disciples of the Lord through our own deeds and actions. That we reflect in our actions love and compassion that is of the Lord, and do not promote violence and hatred. People then can recognise the presence of God within us, and will know that we belong to the Lord, and may then follow Him themselves, inspired by what they have seen within us.

The reference to the ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘tooth for a tooth’, was the ancient Law of Israel, contained in the Law of Moses, given to the people of Israel during the Exodus. The Law entitled those to whom had been afflicted, an equal retribution to what had been afflicted on someone. While this seems to be a just decision, but it can cause a perpetuation of hatred and violence if misused, as what had most certainly happened over the centuries of the usage of that Law.

If we misuse the Law, and perpetuate hatred with that Law, by the means of unending cycles of revenge brought by the demand for equal punishment for those who made faults upon us, then we are no longer children of God, because God is good and He is love. Instead, we become the children of the devil, because the devil represents destruction, hatred, and violence, represented in the misused law of justice, turned into a mockery of revenge.

Instead, we must be courageous to break away from that cycle of evil, of hatred, of vengeance, and of violence, by committing ourselves steadfastly in the ways of the Lord, in that of love, compassion, and kindness. We should be ready to forgive others when they made mistakes to us, and even when they hurt us, because when we hurt someone back because they hurt us, that will cause a lasting enmity which may simply continue without end, and will end up causing even more problems in the future.

We need to show that we belong to God, and that we reflect the works of the Holy Spirit through our words, actions, and deeds, and not belonging instead to the devil, who works ceaselessly to deceive God’s children and bring them into the pit of falsehood through the means of the world’s temptations that would ensnare the weak-hearted and those without a strong faith in God.

That is why we need to fortify ourselves through our faith, and by living that faith, through good deeds and actions, anchored and based in the Lord, that we reflect Him in all the things that we do. By having a firm anchor in God, we will not be easily led astray and therefore, will not fall into temptation of evil, and will not follow him into the path of evil, that is revenge, seeking vengeance, hatred, and perpetuation of violence, such as presented by the ‘eye for an eye’ law.

Instead, we will seek the truth of God, the love of God, and will aim for a perpetuation of love, or peace, harmony, and friendship among the children of God, that instead of a deadly and vicious cycle of evil and hatred, in its place, we follow a wonderful cycle of love, that perpetuates love and brings hope instead of death.

One may ask, why did then the Lord who is good, gave to His people this kind of law which would certainly have ended with vengeance, evil, and hatred? Surely He would keep away things of evil from His children? That is in fact because of the very stubbornness of the people of Israel, most evident during their Exodus from Egypt, when they repeatedly disobeyed the Lord, to the point of rebellion, so that the Lord had no choice but to impose a strict Law on them, so that they will not stray even further. God’s intention was good, and that was why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to explain the true meaning of the Law, that it was intended for love, and not for vengeance, and that such laws are in fact unnecessary.

In particular, brothers and sisters, we also need to learn the value of forgiveness, because it is never easy to forgive someone of their faults to us, especially if it causes us pain and suffering. But if we do not forgive and instead choose to claim equal justice and vengeance, that would perpetuate the ill feeling between us, and will not promote the cause of love. God wants us to live in peace and loving harmony with one another, and the first step we must take in order to achieve that is, to forgive.

Once we know how to forgive, we would be able to halt the progression into the endless cycles of revenge and hatred, because we break that cycle, by our act of love through forgiveness and mercy. Remember that although we are sinners and deserve death, and that the Lord hates sin, and yet, the Lord is willing to forgive us from our sins, and gave us even His only Son as a sacrifice to redeem us from our sins, that we can be made worthy for Him.

If our Lord can do so much for our sake, then is it not right that we should also do what He has done for us? After all, we are His beloved children, and children ought to emulate what their father is doing, and there is no better father than God Himself, who is the Father of all mankind and of all creation.

Let us, brothers and sisters in Christ, become children of God through our love and dedication to God’s truth, peace, and love, by our actions and concrete deeds, so that through us, we will propagate a new light in this world darkened by evil and hatred. Sow love with our actions, and we will reap peace as a reward. Let us always strive for peace and harmony. If only all people would know to love one another and forgive, this world would have been a much better place. Amen.

by

Friday, 7 June 2013 : Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast in the Church, that is the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we commemorate the very presence of the noble and loving Heart of our Lord Jesus, out of whom projecting light and love to all creation, to all mankind. This love He offered freely through His Most Precious Body and Blood which He offered through His ultimate sacrifice on Calvary.

Today, in the readings, we heard the readings on shepherds and the nature of shepherds’ works, and how it is compared with that of the Lord, who is often called the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd, according to Christ, gave up his life for his sheep, and protect and love his sheep with all of his being, unlike hired and rogue shepherds who do not love the sheep and the minute danger appears, they will run away and leave the sheep behind.

No, Christ did not do that, because He is indeed the Good Shepherd, the true chief shepherd of all, because He cares for all His sheep, to the point of giving Himself up on the cross, that through His surrender, crucifixion, and death, He made mankind whole again, and by the shedding of His Blood, He purified mankind and made them worthy, and redeemed them from the damnation due to the sins of our forefathers who rebelled against the love of God.

As the shepherd, He gave Himself so that His sheep may have life. He really loves us very much. He rejoices whenever there is even one amongst us who repented and return into His way. That is because, just as Christ Himself had mentioned in His parable on the shepherd and the lost sheep, even ninety-nine good and decent sheep cannot replace the joy of repentance of a single wayward sheep.

Even if just one wayward sheep is to return into the path of the Lord, that would bring great joy in heaven and on earth. Because all those who are already saved are indeed already secured in their heavenly inheritance. As long as they remain faithful to the Lord, they will eventually receive their heavenly reward and eternal life that Christ had promised to all who believes in Him.

But for the wayward one, no such guarantee exists, because as long as someone is cut away from the Lord, he will not have the promised salvation. Especially if this wayward sheep is basking in sin and darkness, in the depth of human weaknesses and the influence of evil which would then prevent salvation from reaching this one. But if this one is to repent and return to the faith in God, he will be saved, and will have equal inheritance with those who had already been saved.

Then some may ask, why then the hassle over just one sinful and wayward sheep. Why the trouble to spend so much just to convert one unworthy one that this one may be saved too? Can we not just be satisfied with the many people whom we have already saved? Yes, we may think that it makes perfect sense for us, especially if we consider the amount of energy and dedication needed in order to bring one in darkness back into light.

But not so with the Lord. He does not care, because Christ had died on the cross, not just for a select few, not just for His Apostles and disciples, not just for those who believe and follow Him, but also for all the people, for all mankind, without exception. He died for all, so that all may be redeemed. Through the outpouring of His Blood from the cross, He cleanses all mankind, just as the blood of the lamb of sacrifice purifies the people of Israel of old from their sins.

Yet, redemption does not yet equal salvation, because redemption just means that all of us had been redeemed and cleansed from the taints of sin from our ancestors, from the rebellion of Adam and Eve, whom first rebelled against the will of God, and instead followed Satan. Therefore, all mankind had been freed from the tyranny of Satan who enslaved us through sin. We have been released from the chains that held us and enslaved us, but it does not mean that we are guaranteed salvation.

Because at the same time, God also granted all of us free will, to choose freely the path that we want to take in our own lives, and many times we chose the path that steer away from God and became lost, just like a sheep lost from the flock, without a shepherd to guide him back into the flock. Such sheep can be in deep danger from wolves which will devour it without hesitation.

Therefore that is what can also happen to all those who became lost to the Lord in their lives in this world. This world has many evils, dear brethren, because it has many temptations, especially in our modern world today, that can deviate one’s heart away from the Lord, and instead inducing that someone to indulge in worldly pleasures and pleasures of the flesh, ignoring God’s love for him or her.

God wants everyone to be saved, because He loves us so much. Yes, our God, in His Most Sacred Heart is a very loving and kind God, who is slow to anger and merciful to sinners who repented their sins and profess their faith in Him, but at the same time, He is also perfect and good, and nothing evil can ever stand in His presence and survives.

That is why, even though it may seem to us why God did not just make everyone saved, that is simply not possible, because although we had been freed from the slavery of sin, but we still have sin dwelling within us, that still keeps us away from being truly close to God.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus, before He was lifted up to heaven, gave His disciples a great mission, that is to baptise and make disciples of all nations and seal them in baptism in the Name of the Holy Trinity, essentially, bringing all the scattered sheep of the Lord together, to become one people once again, one people who worship one and only God, our God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, since our own baptism we have also inherited this charge that has been entrusted to the apostles. We too are apostles of our own time, and our actions, while they may seem to be insignificant are always of use in glorifying God by bringing back God’s scattered flock so that they may be one again. Do not ever underestimate what a person can do, as a person can do much good and much harm even if he or she is only one person.

Therefore, through our own actions, in our daily lives, we can make a great difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters, especially those who have yet to believe in the Lord and have yet to hear and accept His redeeming Good News. It’s our charge now, brethren! With the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus within our hearts, let us bring God’s salvation to everyone so that God’s lost sheep can be found again, and there will then be great rejoicing across creation, for the sheep that were lost, had been found again, and will not be condemned to eternal damnation with Satan and his angels.

God, our Good Shepherd, bless us through Your Most Sacred Heart, and inflame in us the fire of love and zeal of faith in You, that we will never waver. Amen.