wrath

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Sunday, 16 June 2013 : 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters, today we feel the love and mercy of God reaching out to us, willing to redeem us from our sins and our faults, despite our constant rebellion, and despite our constant complaints and whining. He is a merciful and loving God, that He sent to us His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as our only hope at salvation. For it is through the redemptive action of Christ by His suffering and ultimate sacrifice on the cross, through His priceless Blood, that we are all redeemed, and have hope in salvation, providing that we believe in Him and remain steadfast in our faith in Him.

Salvation lies only in the faith in Christ through the Church, that is, brothers and sisters, by the baptism sealed in the Holy Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, in which we are welcomed into the family of the saved ones in the Church of God, our Church. Outside the Church there is no salvation, although Christ did die for all and made all people righteous in redemption, by erasing from them the sins of their forefathers, the rebellion of mankind against the will of God.

The Lord did not come to save the righteous, for they are already saved. He came looking for sinners, for the worst of them, because these are the ones who need salvation the most. If they repent and accept Him as their Lord, they would be saved and be spared from the fires of hell and eternal damnation. The sinful woman, who repented and asked in great humility for forgiveness was a perfect example of this, how the Lord is willing to save those who had repented from their sinful ways and resolved to love God and serve Him henceforth, completing turning their backs to their old, sinful past.

The great and saintly Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen had once said that our relationship to the Lord is akin to that of a candle and a light. A candle and light illuminates its surroundings and reveal the hidden darkness, and unveil all the ugly things that lie hidden in the darkness. The closer something is brought to the light, the more is revealed of that thing in the light. The uglier is the defects, the more visible they become as it is brought ever closer to the light of God.

That is why, just as Christ had told us in the story of the creditor and the two debtors, in which the creditor graciously forgave both debtors from their debts, and as the Pharisees rightfully answer our Lord, that the one with the greater debt would appreciate and love the act more, because of the greater extent of the ‘debt’ that the one has over the other, so does the greater of sinners would then be ever more ready to be redeemed and reunited with Christ, and accepting His mercy.

It does not mean then those with less sin are then less worthy of our God or anything, or that they in any way would not be as pious and humble as those with the greater sin, in approaching the throne of God for forgiveness. Rather, what matters is what is within the hearts of each one of us, that we truly focus all our attentions towards the Lord our God.

What Archbishop Sheen and Christ had said is indeed that the greater is our sin, and the closer we are to the throne of God, the more our sins are being revealed. Therefore, as we approach closer to that throne of mercy, the more we should humble ourselves, because we are ever more reminded of the depth of our sins and our faults, and how unworthy we are before the Lord, who is good and perfect. But the Lord who is good and loving, is willing to make us worthy of Him and redeem us, and cleanse us from the darkness and ugliness that is within us.

That is why, it does not mean that being holy and pious then we become haughty and arrogant of our own holiness and our own sanctity, as indeed, if the words of Archbishop Sheen take hold, its meaning is clear, that those who are closer to God and always remain in His presence, will be even more aware of their sins and their darkness. The holy saints and holy people of God are always reminded of this fact, and the unworthiness of their own soul before the Lord, and that was what strengthened them and empowered them to strive always for holiness and purity of the soul.

Do not be like the Pharisees who were hypocrites, in that they glorify their own sanctity and purity in front of the people, in pursuit of human glory rather that divine approval, and also thought lowly of the sinners like the sinful woman, but he did not give glory to God, unlike the woman, who was in complete awareness of her sins, that she lowered herself before God and served Him in humility.

King David too, who was a great and righteous king of God’s people, Israel, was not free from the temptation of sin. The lust and desire for beautiful woman had corrupted his heart and clouded his judgment that he sinned before the Lord by causing the death of Uriah the Hittite and claimed his wife as his own. But King David also acted like the woman, in that when the prophet Nathan chastised him and brought him to the full awareness of his sins, he submitted to the wrath of God and humbly asked for His mercy and forgiveness, even though he was indeed a great and mighty king.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not fear the Lord, for although He was not happy with our sins, but He was willing to accept us back into His embrace and indeed He wants to embrace us again in His caring love, if we want to repent and change our sinful ways, the way that King David and the woman had brought to God their contrite hearts and their obedience to God.

Let us always be reminded of our sins and our unworthiness before God, and most importantly, remember the love of God, and His desire to be reunited with us, which will be accomplished if we accept His offer of salvation, that He made on the cross, and if we accept that offer, by accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour, we will receive eternal life and blessing in heaven.

May God be with us at all times, and purify our hearts from the taints of sin, empowering us with love and charity, to also help one another to return to God, our Father who loves us. Amen.

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Saturday, 15 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12

Bless the Lord, my soul, all my being, bless His Holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger; He will not always scold nor will He be angry forever.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove from us our sins.

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Thursday, 13 June 2013 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 20-26

I tell you then, if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to our people in the past : ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial.’ But now I tell you : whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial.

Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or a sister, “Fool!” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

Do not forget this : be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

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Sunday, 9 June 2013 : 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Psalm 29 : 2 and 4, 5-6, 11 and 12a and 13b

I extol You, o Lord, for You have rescued me; my enemies will not gloat over me. O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave, You gave me life when I was going to the pit.

Sing to the Lord, o you His saints, give thanks and praise to His Holy Name. For His anger lasts but a little while, and His kindness all through life. Weeping may tarry for the night, but rejoicing comes with the dawn.

Hear, o Lord, and have mercy on me; o Lord, be my protector! But now, You have turned my mourning into rejoicing. O Lord my God, forever will I give You thanks.

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Saturday, 1 June 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Justin, Martyr (Scripture Reflection)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today, we heard about how the Pharisees and the chief priests doubted the power and authority of Christ, questioning the origins of His authority and works, and in doing so, failing to see the work of God that is in Christ. For all the miracles and the wonders that Christ had done in this world, are the works of the Father, and in doing all that, He did not do it for His own glory, but for the Father who had sent Him.

Why did then, the Pharisees, and the chief priests, who are supposed to be people most knowledgeable in anything related to the Scriptures and the prophecies of the prophets regarding the Messiah failed to see that Christ is the Messiah, and failed even to see the works of God in Jesus? That is, brothers and sisters, because they are blind! They are blinded by their own weaknesses, by jealousy, by hatred, and by prejudice, and the pride they had in their own abilities, in their own intellect, and in their own worldly power.

The Pharisees claimed to serve the Lord and showed this through their external piety, through loud and well-recognised prayers in public places, and by their ultra-orthodox approach to the faith by very strict observation of the Law of Moses, and the norms of the society at the time, even to the little matters such as the washing of the hands prior to meals. But in their strict observation of that Law, they had in fact become corrupted by the power and authority that had been entrusted to them as priests of the people of God.

To them had been granted the authority, the same authority and priestly power as granted to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who became the first High Priest of the people of Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. To them had been granted also the responsibility of guiding the people to remain faithful in the path and ways of the Lord, that the people would not falter and stray in their lives, and remain in God’s grace.

Yet, they had, over the centuries, grown to trust men much more than they trusted God. They placed human glory and acclamation ahead of true, heavenly glory that only God can give. They had grown so accustomed to the privileges they had in their position of authority and power, that they themselves began to stray from the path that God has appointed for them and entrusted them to keep the people faithful in. They, the leaders of the people, out of all others had themselves been bought over by the evil one. Indeed, the saying cannot be further than truth, that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In their position of authority, and with the privileges and honour they had grown so accustomed to, the priests and the elders had become arrogant, and jealous against anyone they see as rivals to their own authority and power, even if that rival is in fact the very Messiah that God had sent to save the people of Israel, and all mankind. This defiance against the Messiah was very evident today, given how they questioned the authority of Christ, which as God, has authority over all creation.

However, it is important to note that although it seems that those priests and elders look evil from how they were portrayed in the Gospels, but they themselves were not inherently evil. All mankind are inherently capable of doing what is good, and also what is evil. Ever since our ancestors, Adam and Eve, ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we had been exposed to both good and evil, and therefore, are fully capable of doing both. Whether to do good or to do evil, is entirely within our own decision capacity.

That is why, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important that we keep our faith in the Lord strong at all times, and anchor ourselves firmly in His love, so that we will not go astray, tempted and bought off by the enticing offers of the evil one, who had in his possession, all the world and all its ‘good’ things, that can easily tempt and seduce those who are weak-hearted, and those without firm faith in the Lord.

Today, therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, and from here on, we should always be reminded on the evils of this world, and the dangers that we constantly face in our daily struggles against evil and all that he employed in this world against God’s children. Especially, brethren, if we had been entrusted with positions of authority and power, do not abuse that power that the Lord had entrusted you, and do not let the sheep entrusted to you, their shepherd, to go astray from the truth of God.

But we need not fear, brethren, for Christ is amongst us, and He is always with us, if only that we remain faithful and obedient to Him and do all the commandments that He had given us, we are safe. The devil will have no power over us, and we will truly become God’s children. And instead of jealousy, we will be in complete awe and wonder for the glory of God, and with the angels and saints, we shall glorify Him forevermore when we are reunited with Him once again, in the eternal bliss of heaven.

Today we also commemorate the feast of a great early martyr of the Christian Church, St. Justin the Martyr, who died for the faith in the second century after the coming of Christ, in the early Church times. St. Justin was born a pagan and a philosopher, with a great intellect and quality education, that made him a very well-educated person in the society at the time. St. Justin encountered many believers of Christ in his journeys and travels, and despite being involved in arguments and debates with them, in fact, gradually, it kindled in him the love for God, and the steadfast faith in Christ.

St. Justin, despite his great intellect and knowledge, did not give in to his pride and human weakness, and instead put himself in God’s love and place his full trust in Him. That is why He was glorified in death, out of his steadfast and unfailing faith, even unto death, because, unlike the Pharisees and the chief priests, he did not let human pride and arrogance to get in the way of salvation. May we be able to follow in the footsteps of St. Justin, and become truly the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Justin the Martyr, pray for us. Amen.

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Thursday, 30 May 2013 : 8th Week of Ordinary Time (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters, God our Lord and Saviour created everything in this world, in this universe, and He made them perfect. Our world was perfect before it was tainted by sin and evil, which brought in imperfections to the world that was once perfect.

Evil and sin had blinded us from the goodness and the love of God, and they have brought us further and further from God our Father and creator. While today we heard about the miraculous healing of Bartimaeus by Jesus, who healed him of his physical blindness and made him able to see once again, in fact our world today is still blinded, not physically but spiritually.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, many of us if not most are still in darkness, in deep blindness, although we can physically very well and our physical eyes are perfect. It is our hearts, the eyes of our hearts that are blind, blind to the truth that God has brought through Jesus, and blind to His commandments of love, that we should love one another and love God with all our might and our beings.

And just like Bartimaeus, who was so desperate to be healed and by his faith in Jesus, called out loudly for Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God, to come to him and heal him of his afflictions, we too, are like him, in that we call out to the Lord to heal us from our own spiritual blindness, which is even worse than the blindness of the physical eyes.

Our hearts are darkened by sin, and darkened by our cardinal sins, that are most prominently, pride, lust, greed, and sloth. And sadly, because of these, many people do not even realise that they are blind, just like the Pharisees whom the Lord rebuked for being so deeply immersed in their own pride and vanity, that they became blind to the truth of the Lord, and did not keep faithfully what the Lord has commanded and entrusted them to do.

Therefore, it is very often, that many of us, did not realise that we are blind, and in our pride, we refuse to acknowledge our blindness, our afflictions and weaknesses, and ask the Lord, like Bartimaeus had done, to plead for His mercy and compassion, that He would heal us from our spiritual blindness, and allow us to be whole once again, no longer blind, physically and spiritually.

The Lord is willing to heal us, and save us from our afflictions. Because if we remain in our blindness and in this darkness, we will eventually be damned with the evil one, to the lake of fire that awaits us if we remain blind, blind to the love of God, and blind to the plight of the many people around us, who long for our help.

And the Lord did such a great thing that He sent His only Son, to die for all of us, so that in His death, He redeemed us from our sins, and offered freely that salvation which are given to all mankind, but if they do not accept this salvation, they will remain blind. All that we need is, to humbly ask our Lord Jesus, to save us, and to accept Him as our Saviour through baptism and therefore, through the Church.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, from today onwards, we have to ponder on this matter, and strive to open ourselves to the love of God, and allow Him to transform us with His love, and open the blinded eyes of our hearts, that we can then truly see, both the love that is God, and the love that is within us, which if we use this gift of love that has been given to us, our world would indeed had been a much better place today.

May the Lord, who cured Bartimaeus from his physical blindness for his faith in Him, also cure all of us from our spiritual blindness, that we can truly and perfectly see once again, all the creations of the Lord that is good, and to be able to embrace once again, the fullness of God’s love. Amen.

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Tuesday, 7 May 2013 : 6th Week of Easter (Psalm)

Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 7c-8

I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your Holy Temple, and give thanks to Your Name.

For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.

You save me from the wrath of my foes, with Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.

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Tuesday, 16 April 2013 : 3rd Week of Easter (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard the story of the courage of Stephen, the first martyr, who welcomed death in Christ when he defended his faith and his belief in Christ against the Pharisees and the Jewish high priests when he was questioned and ridiculed for his faith. Instead of fighting back in anger, he explained in detail the story of mankind from its creation and how God brought about salvation through Christ.

Yet, they rejected still the explanation by Stephen, and despite the fact that Stephen himself was full of the Holy Spirit, which is manifested in his shining face, that looks like an angel, the Pharisees and the chief priests still failed to see the truth that was told to them by Stephen, and which they surely had heard as well, from Jesus Himself in their numerous encounters, especially those designed to trap Him and allow them to arrest Him for blasphemy.

They were blinded in their jealousy and hatred against the Lord, against Christ our Risen Lord and Saviour, that they refused to believe all that had happened and had been told about Him and His works, His resurrection, and His nature as the Messiah. They rejected Him not because His message was wrong, but because of human weakness and them allowing Satan to enter their hearts.

They persecuted Stephen and the disciples just as they had persecuted Christ. Yet, this is where Christian qualities came out best, in that of forgiveness and love. Instead of hating them back and cursing, Stephen, just like Jesus on the cross, forgave them and indeed, asked God not to blame the priests and the Pharisees for their faults, especially for having killed the holy man of God in Stephen himself.

Forgiveness is a very difficult thing to do, particularly if we are deeply immersed in hatred and prejudice against others. It is not easy to forgive, but if we do not forgive, we are merely continuing the vicious cycle of evil, that is perpetuated by hatred, anger, jealousy, and violence, which will continue to make the people blind from the truth of God, and that was exactly what happened to the Jewish priesthood who stoned and killed Stephen, and also brought Jesus to be condemned and death on the cross.

Despite all that, both of them forgave their oppressors and their condemners. They did not want to let Satan to revel in the continuation of that endless cycle of evil. Rather, as Christ had wanted, He wanted love to flourish, and begin a new rejuvenation of the human soul, purified from hatred and sin. In order to do so, even though it may be very difficult, we need to first learn to forgive, and to douse our anger and hatred with the cool spring of love.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us today pray, pray that God will grant us a new heart, filled with love and compassion, and mercy for others, and also filled to the brim with forgiveness, that we will forgive those who had caused us pain and suffering, and instead sharing God’s love with them, that neither us nor them will be lost, and we will eventually praise the Lord in our heavenly glory together. May God bless us all, and bless our world with His love and mercy. Amen.