Thy Will Be Done
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I had no love of scripture till now. It used to be too hard, confusing at times and time consuming.
Today I love it for it’s depth, the pure love it brings forth and the deep personal relationship it builds.
Although I may not be as passionate as my brethren, yet I find myself unfulfilled when talks or scripture sharing does not embrace fully all the dimensions, layers or depth the Word has to offer. Then again is it even possible at one seating?
“Every time the Cross I bear seems lighter and the joy of carrying it fills my heart, I seem to trip and fall and end up right where I began. The difference is that each time I draw closer to learning a little bit more on how not to fall.”
Lord I pray for your grace, help me to grow in my faith so that I may never forget that your yoke for me is easy and that you are always there to come to my aid should I need it. Amen
“Look to the Lord and be radiant”. Psalms 34:5
There will be a Eucharistic celebration and healing service on 6th of August, Saturday at the St. Anthony’s Auditorium at 7.15pm. Preacher Fr. Gerard Weerakoon. Come and receive God’s love and mercy. There will be potluck and fellowship after the event. All are welcome.
I have personally attended quite a few healing services and have witnessed that through His grace, love & by the healing powers of Jesus that all who have attended, had been touch in some way or another.
Come and experience Jesus, His love and mercy!
In tribulations God enriches his beloved souls with the greatest graces….The Lord sends them to us, not because he wishes our misfortune, but because he desires our welfare. Hence, when they come upon us, we must embrace them with thanksgiving, and must not only resign ourselves to the divine will, but must also rejoice that God treats us as he treated His son Jesus Christ, whose life upon this Earth was always full of tribulation…Tribulation opens the eyes which prosperity had kept shut…By tribulations we atone for the sins we have committed, much better than by voluntary works of penance. “Be assured,” says Saint Augustine, “that God is a physician, and that tribulation is a salutary medicine”…The same saint rebukes the sinner who complains of God sending him tribulations. “Why,” he says, “do you complain? What you suffer is a remedy, not a punishment”…By convincing us that God alone is able and willing to relieve us in our miseries, tribulations reminds us of him and compel us to have recourse to his mercy…Tribulations enable us to acquire great merits before God, by giving us opportunities of exercising the virtues of humilty, of patience, and of resignation to the divine will. The venerable John D’Avila used to say that a single blessed be God, in adversity, is worth more than a thousand acts of thanksgiving in prosperity. “Take away,” says Saint Ambrose, “the contests of the martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns”…The man whom the Lord afflicts in this life has a certain proof that he is dear to God….When we are surrounded on all sides with tribulations, and know not what to do, we must turn to God, who alone can console us…
We should turn to God, and pray to him, and never cease to pray till he hears us…We must keep our eyes continually raised to God, and must continue to implore his aid, until he is moved to compassion for our miseries. We must have great confidence in the heart of Jesus Christ, and ought not to imitate certain persons, who instantly lose courage because they do not feel that they are heard as soon as they begin to pray…When the favours which we ask are spiritual, or can be profitable to our souls, we should be certain of being heard, provided we persevere in prayer, and do not lose confidence…In tribulations, then, we should never cease to hope with confidence that the divine mercy will console us.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori
+ 1787, a bishop, founded the Redemptorists.
He is a Doctor of the Church
Matt 25:36
How many of us will ever get an opportunity to visit someone in prison in his/her lifetime? But if you did have an opportunity to visit someone, then is that all you have to do? How many trapped behind prison walls have more freedom then those on the outside because they have found God’s love through his son Jesus? And it was all because someone like you had brought the love of Jesus to them.
Still there are many, maybe more on the outside who are trapped in their own personal ‘prisons’ and remain trapped because they never knew the love, peace and comfort that God offers them through His son Jesus Christ. Someone like you and me can share Him with them to set them free!
Let us first identify some of them who are in ‘prison’ :-
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Readings:
Isaiah 55:1-3
Psalm 145:8-9, 15-18
Romans 8:35,37-39
Matthew 14:13-21
In Jesus and the Church, Isaiah’s promises in today’s First Reading are fulfilled. All who are thirsty come to the living waters of baptism (see John 4:14). The hungry delight in rich fare – given bread to eat and wine to drink at the Eucharistic table.
This is the point, too, of today’s Gospel. The story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 brims with allusions to the Old Testament. Jesus is portrayed as a David-like shepherd who leads His flock to lie down on green grass as He spreads the table of the Messiah’s banquet before them (see Psalm 23).
Jesus is shown as a new Moses, who likewise feeds vast crowds in a deserted place. Finally, Jesus is shown doing what the prophet Elisha did – satisfying the hunger of the crowd with a few loaves and having some left over (see 2 Kings 4:42-44).
Matthew also wants us to see the feeding of the 5,000 as a sign of the Eucharist. Notice that Jesus performs the same actions in the same sequence as at the Last Supper – He takes bread, says a blessing, breaks it, and gives it (see Matthew 26:26).
Jesus instructed His apostles to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Him. And the ministry of the Twelve is subtly stressed in today’s account. Before He performs the miracle, Jesus instructs the Twelve to give the crowd “some food yourselves.” Indeed, the apostles themselves distribute the bread blessed by Jesus (see Matthew 15:36).
And the leftovers are enough to fill precisely 12 baskets – corresponding to each of the apostles, the pillars of the Church (see Galatians 2:9; Revelation 21:14).
In the Church, as we sing in today’s Psalm, God gives us food in due season, opens His hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing. Now, as Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
May the prayers and reflections contained within it, enable you to excel in all you do for God’s Kingdom.
Amen.
Click Here to download or down below on the left hand side i.e. from my Catholic Flash Widget.
Jesus beads called Chotki originates from the tradition of the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.
I love it for it’s simplicity. Even the accompanying prayer is simple in form yet rich and deeply penetrating and when said in deep contemplation and reverence can bring about an inner transformation.
An instrument to help us pray always.
Luke 18:1
1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
Ephesians 6:18
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
Nowadays when it comes to matters of faith, I no longer believe in coincidences. Miracles and signs are present today as they were some 2000 years ago, we only need to open our hearts to be able to see God’s loving hand at work.
Last night after our family prayer session, my wife and son Seth, mentioned to me how awkward it felt for them to receive the Eucharist from me. It just so happened that on Sunday I was positioned towards serving the far right hand side of the Church, in which they were seated. And so they had little choice but to receive the Eucharist from me. I explained to them that nothing should ever distract them from the fact that they are receiving Christ – body,blood,soul and divinity. And it should not matter whether they are receiving Him from a priest,deacon,bishop or even an extraordinary minister of communion such as me. ( i.e. Even from a family member )
I went on to say that being in the EMC ministry did not make me extra special, holy or better than anyone else. In fact the term extraordinary simply meant Super Ordinary! The ordinary ministers of communion are the priests,deacons and bishops. We on the other hand are just acolytes that take a little more effort to dress in our Sunday best and are given the opportunity to share Jesus with our fellow sisters and brothers in Him.
Like all who serve in the various Church Ministries, we too must do our very best in the vocation or service we were called to do all for the Glory of God our Father. So if I am in the Choir then I should sing my best at all times, were I a Lector then I should do my very best in proclaiming the Word making every effort to ensure that my diction, timing, pronunciation etc. are correct. As an EMC I have to be reverent at all times even in the way I present the body of Christ. I have an added responsibility of living as a true disciple of Christ; that is to say, not just in Church but at home and at work. Yes I know…! In actual fact all the members of all the various ministries (the whole church community) should all strive to live as true disciples of Christ especially the leaders. But what I am merely pointing out is that as an EMC you are highly visible to ALL, especially when you have to go up to the sanctuary and then later serve the congregation, hence begs the question how can you then behave badly in public and still serve?
All of us in the various Ministries should never ever forget, that we serve God and His people and it is never Our Ministry but God’s! In Holy Communion our ‘I’s’ are transformed to ‘We’ so it does not matter how much we do individually, what matters is how much we do it for God and His kingdom.
And so it was amazing to me that just after saying all this last evening, this morning’s Gospel was about how certain disciples of Christ had wanted positions and Jesus saying to them at the end, that whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so the son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matt 20:20-28
A few days ago I was troubled, when I took it upon myself to try and point out certain things to a brother which I felt was doing or saying things which was contrary to Church teaching, even if he had the best of intentions. Needless to say that the exchange direct and indirectly did not go well. It ended with us praying for one another’s soul. 🙂 So I prayed very hard for an answer, I wanted to know if I was personally being self-righteous, even though a few others had shared similar sentiments about this brother before, though not at length. And I was led to this passage in Scripture :
Colossians 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
So my sisters and brothers in Christ, feel free to admonish me if I am doing or saying anything contrary to Christ’s teaching, so that I may grow in humility and love.
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Treasures of the Kingdom
1 Kings 3:5,7-12
Psalm 119:57,72,76-77,127-130
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52
What is your new life in Christ worth to you?
Do you love His words more than gold and silver, as we sing in today’s Psalm? Would you, like the characters in the Gospel today, sell all that you have in order to possess the kingdom He promises to us? If God were to grant any wish, would you follow Solomon’s example in today’s First Reading—asking not for a long life or riches, but for wisdom to know God’s ways and to desire His will?
The background for today’s Gospel, as it has been for the past several weeks, is the rejection of Jesus’ preaching by Israel. The kingdom of heaven has come into their midst, yet many cannot see that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises, a gift of divine compassion given that they—and we, too—might live.
We too must ever discover the kingdom anew, to find it as a treasure – a pearl of great price. By comparison with the kingdom, we must count all else as rubbish (see Philippians 3:8). And we must be willing to give up all that we have—all our priorities and plans—in order to gain it.
Jesus’ Gospel discloses what Paul, in today’s Epistle, calls the purpose of God’s plan (see Ephesians 1:4). That purpose is that Jesus be the firstborn of many brothers.
His words give understanding to the simple, the childlike. As Solomon does today, we must humble ourselves before God, giving ourselves to His service. Let our prayer be for an understanding heart, one that desires only to do His will.
We are called to love God, to delight in His law, and to forsake every false way. And we are to conform ourselves daily ever more closely to the image of His Son.
If we do this, we can approach His altar as a pleasing sacrifice, confident that all things work for the good—that we whom He has justified, will also one day be glorified.
The word illuminism, comes from the Latin for light: lumen
When one talks to an illuminist, evidence contrary to the latter’s view has little or no effect on his conviction. Even if the evidence is objectively compelling, it does not penetrate his mind or will. This is natural illuminism.
On the supernatural level this disease shows itself in the conviction that “I have a special light from the Holy Spirit; you do not. Therefore, I am right and you are wrong.” I like to call this form of the aberration the privileged-pipeline-to-God idea. One can present to this person objective evidence from reason, Scripture, the teaching Church, brilliant theologians, and once again, no dent is made on the illuminist’s mind. The reaction is the same:”I know better; you are wrong.” It is clear that disagreements with an illuminist spouse, relative, friend, fellow worker or parishoner will go nowhere until humility enters the picture – and that requires conversion. Psychology may help somewhat, but it cannot bring about the inner transformation we are talking about in this volume.
An extract from the book Deep Conversion Deep Prayer by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M.
“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children” ( Lk 10:21 JB)
Doctoral degrees are usually worthwhile, but they can trigger conceit in some people and it is the conceit that is the problem. So also with vanity stemming from other gifts and accomplishments. It blocks insight into the most important of all human questions, the ultimate whys and hows of being fully beautiful and fulfilled.
Love joins humility as the source of this superior light.
Let us journey from born egocentrism to true love for one another.
Let us not be insensible of Christ’s loving kindness. For if he had acted as we do, we would have been lost indeed. Therefore let us become his disciples and learn to live in the Christian way; those who are called by any other name are not of God. Cast out the evil leaven that has become old and sour, and replace it with the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. He must be the salt of your lives, so that none of you may become corrupt, since it is by your wholesomeness that you will be judged. It is absurd to profess Christ with the lips and at the same time to practice Judaism; for Christianity did not develop into faith in Judaism, but Judaism into faith in Christianity. It was in this that men of every tongue believed and were brought together unto God.
I do not write this to you, my dear friends, because I have heard that any one of you is thus disaffected, but because, though I am a lesser man than yourselves, I would have you all guard against falling into the snares of false doctrine. Have a firm faith in the reality of the Lord’s birth, and passion and resurrection which took place when Pontius Pilate was procurator. All these deeds were truly and certainly accomplished by Jesus Christ, who is our hope; may none of you ever be turned away from him!
May you be my joy in all things, if I am worthy of it. For although I am in chains, I do not deserve to be compared with any of you who live in freedom. I know that you are not inflated with pride, for you have Jesus Christ within you. And I know that you blush when I praise you, as the scripture says: The just man is his own accuser. Take care, then, to be firmly grounded in the teachings of the Lord and his apostles so that you may prosper in all your doings both in body and in soul, in faith and in love, in the Son, and in the Father and in the Spirit, in the beginning and in the end, along with your most worthy bishop and his spiritual crown, your presbyters, and with the deacons, who are men of God. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was in the flesh to the Father, and the apostles to Christ and to the Father and to the Spirit, so that there may be unity in flesh and spirit.
I have exhorted you only briefly, for I am aware that you are filled with God. Remember me in your prayers, that I may attain to God. And remember the church in Syria, from which I am unworthy to be called. How I need your united prayer and love in God! Remember, then, the Church in Syria, that it may be strengthened through your prayers.
The Ephesians at Smyrna, where I write these lines, send their greetings. They have come together here like yourselves for the glory of God; they have consoled me in every way and so has Polycarp, their bishop. The other churches, too, greet you for the glory of Jesus Christ. Farewell; may you abide in God’s harmony, possessing that undivided spirit which is Jesus Christ.
O Lord, as we travel through this day of our life, our strength is in you; in our hearts are the roads to our eternal destination, the place where you dwell for ever with your people in joy and in peace. Sustain us as we pass through the bitter valleys of suffering; shield us as dangers threaten; let us rejoice in the springs of living water which refresh us on our way. And always keep us faithful until journey’s end, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Of Wheat and Weeds
Readings:
Wisdom 12:13,16-19
Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43
God is always teaching His people, we hear in today’s First Reading.
And what does He want us to know? That He has care for all of us, that though He is a God of justice, even those who defy and disbelieve Him may hope for His mercy if they turn to Him in repentance.
This divine teaching continues in the three parables that Jesus tells in the Gospel today. Each describes the emergence of the kingdom of God from the seeds sown by His works and preaching. The kingdom’s growth is hidden – like the working of yeast in bread; it’s improbable, unexpected—as in the way the tall mustard tree grows from the smallest of seeds.
Again this week’s readings sound a note of questioning: Why does God permit the evil to grow alongside the good? Why does He permit some to reject the Word of His kingdom?
Because, as we sing in today’s Psalm, God is slow to anger and abounding in kindness. He is just, Jesus assures us – evildoers and those who cause others to sin will be thrown into the fiery furnace at the end of the age. But by His patience, God is teaching us—that above all He desires repentance, and the gathering of all nations to worship Him and to glorify His name.
Even though we don’t know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit will intercede for us, Paul promises in today’s Epistle. But first we must turn and call upon Him, we must commit ourselves to letting the good seed of His Word bear fruit in our lives.
So we should not be deceived or lose heart when we see weeds among the wheat, truth and holiness mixed with error, injustice and sin.
For now, He makes His sun rise on the good and the bad (see Matthew 5:45). But the harvest draws near. Let’s work that we might be numbered among the righteous children—who will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.
When the windows of your heart are open, you’ll find that it is not blind faith that leads you; But one that is grounded in intellect, coupled with grace that lets your spirit soar.
Julian Tan 2011
This is a Gorgeous Chaplet and the accompanying prayer for the chaplet is just as beautiful to pray for the intercession of Our Lady of The Snows.
2. On the First 3 beads after the crucifix pray one: Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.
3. On the centerpiece pray the Memorare.
4. On the 5 white beads, pray the Hail Mary
5. On the Blue Rose Beads pray :-
Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.
St Joseph, pray for us.
St Therese, The little flower, pray for us.
St Eugene the Mazenod, pray for us.
6. Finally on the centerpiece pray:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of His servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call be blessed; for the Mighty one has done great things for me and Holy is His name.
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Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
The Word’s Return
Readings:
Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 65:10-14
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23
Today’s readings, like last week’s, ask us to meditate on Israel’s response to God’s Word—and our own. Why do some hear the word of the kingdom, yet fail to accept it as a call to conversion and faith in Jesus? That question underlies today’s Gospel, especially.
Again we see, as we did last week, that the kingdom’s mysteries are unfolded to those who open their hearts, making of them a rich soil in the which the Word can grow and bear fruit.
As we sing in today’s Psalm, in Jesus, God’s Word has visited our land, to water the stony earth of our hearts with the living waters of the Spirit (see John 7:38; Revelation 22:1).
The firstfruit of the Word is the Spirit of love and adoption poured into our hearts in baptism, making us children of God, as Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle (see Romans 5:5; 8:15-16). In this, we are made a “new creation” (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), the firstfruits of a new heaven and a new earth (see 2 Peter 3:13).
Since the first humans rejected God’s Word, creation has been enslaved to futility (see Genesis 3:17-19; 5:29). But God’s Word does not go forth only to return to Him void, as we hear in today’s First Reading.
His Word awaits our response. We must show ourselves to be children of that Word. We must allow that Word to accomplish God’s will in our lives. As Jesus warns today, we must take care lest the devil steal it away or lest it be choked by worldly concerns.
In the Eucharist, the Word gives himself to us as bread to eat. He does so that we might be made fertile, yielding fruits of holiness.
And we await the crowning of the year, the great harvest of the Lord’s Day (see Mark 4:29; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 1:10)—when His Word will have achieved the end for which it was sent.
Lord,
Jesus bind us to you and to our neighbour with love. May our hearts not be turned away from you; May our souls not be deceived, nor our talents and minds enticed by the allurements of sin, so that we may never distance ourselves from your love. Thus may we love our neighbours as ourselves, with strength, wisdom and gentleness, with Your help. You who are blessed throughout all ages.
Amen.
ST Anthony
Question : I have recently had doubts about the Real Presence in the Eucharist. I went to Reconciliation and confessed that to the priest. But the more I thought about it, it was really a question that I couldn’t answer that caused those thoughts to pop into my head. The question was: If consuming Christ’s Body and Blood is not cannabalism, what is it then? Then that leads to me doubting what Christ said and questioning the Real Presence.
Should I receive the Eucharist even though I have these doubts?
Answer : The Eucharist is a miracle. In fact, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, it is His greatest miracle. We eat His body and drink His blood UNDER THE FORM OF BREAD AND WINE. Cannibals eat flesh and blood that has the appearance of flesh and blood.
When cannibals eat the body and blood of another human being, that person’s body becomes a part of the cannibal. But when eat the body and blood of Jesus, we become a part of HIM!
He is God, after all. In the Eucharist, His divine embrace permeates our bodies in a way that far exceeds the surface embrace that we experience with other people. You need to think outside of the human box. We are dealing here with a God that can create from nothing. You accept this, even though you don’t understand it. So with the Eucharist. It’s the same God. But most of all, to appreciate the Eucharist, we must have an appreciation of the Passion. If this reflection on His Passion moves you, then by all means, continue to receive the Eucharist.
Reflection on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ +
The agony in the garden was really the agony in His mind. He suffered the passion in His mind before He suffered it in His body—to the point of actually affecting the latter by sweating blood. But from then on, it was His bodily suffering that affected His mental suffering.
At the base of all His suffering was the one thing that human beings dread the most: rejection. He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and abandoned by all the rest of His Apostles; those He had hand picked as His closest intimates. He was most rejected by those who put Him to death. They not only wanted Him dead, they wanted Him to suffer. They not only considered Him to be worth nothing, they considered Him to be worth minus nothing! This significance was not lost on Him. He felt fully the rejection as each physical agony reminded Him.
So we thank Him for joining us on our human journey and actually choosing to experience what we fear the most.
We thank Him for enduring the arrest and the cruelty of the guards and the Sanhedrin. We thank Him for enduring the cruelty of Pilate who allowed Him to be executed rather than risk his own political ruin—and for the cruelty of Herod who wanted to be entertained by having Him work a miracle. We thank Him for all the time He spent satisfying their preoccupation with themselves, just delaying His ultimate death. We thank Him for the anxiety of that night in a cell.
The next morning He was brutally scourged with such intensity and violence that He became as an aged man in a matter of minutes. His multiple wounds bloodied His entire body. The loss of so much blood not only severely weakened Him; it also caused a severe, throbbing headache that remained with Him for the duration.
We thank Him for this and for the mockery He received when they put a purple cloth on His shoulders and pushed a crown of thorns down into His head which intensified His headache. They blindfolded Him and slapped Him, insisting that He ‘prophesy’ who had hit Him. They spat on Him and beat Him.
He stood at the praetorium in utter disgrace according to the attitude of the crowd—while in reality, He stood in utter glory: almighty God, being present to every person who has ever suffered rejection, joining them in their moment of pain. It was there that He was sentenced to death by crucifixion. Physically, He was utterly miserable. He revealed to St. Bernard that carrying the cross was His most painful agony. He was so weak, He could hardly walk. Nauseous and thirsty, He found the weight of the cross on His shoulder almost unbearable. It most likely dislocated His shoulder. It is not surprising that He fell down on the stone streets that were filthy with animal dung—with the cross on top of Him. And He got up each time.
It was only with the help of Simon of Cyrene that He made it to the top of Calvary. There they drove the nails into the carpal tunnels of His hands, causing pain throughout His upper body. The nail in His feet registered great pain through all the sensitive nerves there. When the cross was righted, His up-stretched arms squeezed His lungs and He began to pant for lack of oxygen. So He had to push down on His crucified feet to push His body up in order to fill His lungs with air. This took great effort because He was so weak. Yet He managed to maintain such effort for three hours of agony which increased gradually as He became weaker moment by moment. By the end of the third hour, His agony was at its peak
He had come to the point where His lack of strength simply was no match for what is known as Sepsis, where the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria, and in this eternal moment He died, giving us His life. Transcending time, this moment of divine love is present to us in the tabernacles of the world. Thank you, Lord. We adore you O Christ and we praise you. By your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
Sent from Julian’s Mobility Pad….
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been instituted to light in the hearts of Christians that fire of divine love which unfortunately was being extinguished, leaving the human heart empty or at least making it forget the benefits of its Redeemer and the immense love of God for our souls. To avoid such a great abuse, let us consider the Sacred Heart our Lord Jesus Christ as a model on which we should form and regulate our own. We will learn from this divine Master how to seek in all things the glory of God, our own sanctification and perfection in the practice of all the virtues, and the good of our neighbours. We will learn to make the exercise of prayer in a spirit of sacrifice, offering ourselves to God in union with our Lord Jesus Christ, never in any way receiving consolations that we have not earned, and persevering in this holy exercise despite all the obstacles of repugnance and of distractions. Let there be a bonding with Jesus Christ so close that there is only one heart with him, to love whatever conforms to the attitudes of this Sacred Heart and to avoid whatever could renew the sorrow he felt when, because of our faults, he said, ” My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Mt 26:38).
If we take this Sacred Heart for our model, we will not fail to comprehend that there are two virtues more than all the rest which we must practice since they are like the wellspring and the foundation of the rest of the virtues:” Learn of me, for I am humble and meek of heart” (Mt 11:29). By making ourselves acquire these two virtues, we can offer in this manner a worthy tribute of recognition and gratitude, and having thus achieved in our life attitudes conformed to the Sacred Heart, we will deserve to be united with him by an eternal love and joy.
Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy (+ 1888)
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
A Yoke for the Childlike
Readings:
Zechariah 9:9-10
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Matthew 11:25-30
Jesus is portrayed in today’s Gospel as a new and greater Moses.
Moses, the meekest man on earth (see Numbers 12:3), was God’s friend (see Exodus 34:12,17). Only he knew God “face to face” (see Deuteronomy 34:10). And Moses gave Israel the yoke of the Law, through which God first revealed himself and how we are to live (see Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5).
Jesus too is meek and humble. But He is more than God’s friend. He is the Son who alone knows the Father. He is more also than a law-giver, presenting himself today as the yoke of a new Law, and as the revealed Wisdom of God.
As Wisdom, Jesus was present before creation as the firstborn of God, the Father and Lord of heaven and earth (see Proverbs 8:22; Wisdom 9:9). And He gives knowledge of the holy things of the kingdom of God (see Wisdom 10:10).
In the gracious will of the Father, Jesus reveals these things only to the “childlike”—those who humble themselves before Him as little children (see Sirach 2:17). These alone can recognize and receive Jesus as the just savior and meek king promised to daughter Zion, Israel, in today’s First Reading.
We too are called to childlike faith in the Father’s goodness, as sons and daughters of the new kingdom, the Church.
We are to live by the Spirit we received in baptism (see Galatians 5:16), putting to death our old ways of thinking and acting, as Paul exhorts in today’s Epistle. Our “yoke” is to be His new law of love (see John 13:34), by which we enter into the “rest” of His kingdom.
As we sing in today’s Psalm, we joyously await the day when we will praise His name forever in the kingdom that lasts for all ages. This is the sabbath rest promised by Jesus—first anticipated by Moses (see Exodus 20:8-11), but which still awaits the people of God (see Hebrews 4:9).
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
The martyrs realized what they taught
This day has been made holy by the passion of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. We are, therefore, not talking about some obscure martyrs. For their voice has gone forth to all the world, and to the ends of the earth their message. These martyrs realized what they taught: they pursued justice, they confessed the truth, they died for it.
Saint Peter, the first of the apostles and a fervent lover of Christ, merited to hear these words: I say to you that you are Peter, for he had said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Christ said: And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church. On this rock I will build the faith that you now confess, and on your words: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, I will build my Church. For you are Peter, and the name Peter comes from petra, the word for “rock,” and not vice versa. “Peter” comes, therefore, from petra, just as “Christian” comes from Christ.
As you are aware, Jesus chose his disciples before his passion and called them apostles; and among these almost everywhere Peter alone deserved to represent the entire Church. And because of that role which he alone had, he merited to hear the words: To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. For it was not one man who received the keys, but the entire Church considered as one. Now insofar as he represented the unity and universality of the Church, Peter’s preeminence is clear from the words: To you I give, for what was given was given to all. For the fact that it was the Church that received the keys of the kingdom of God is clear from what the Lord says elsewhere to all the apostles: Receive the Holy Spirit, adding immediately, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.
Rightly then did the Lord after his resurrection entrust Peter with the feeding of his sheep. Yet he was not the only disciple to merit the feeding of the Lord’s sheep; but Christ in speaking only to one suggests the unity of all; and so he speaks to Peter, because Peter is first among the apostles. Therefore do not be disheartened, Peter; reply once, reply twice, reply a third time. The triple confession of your love is to regain what was lost three times by your fear. You must loose three times what you bound three times; untie by love that which your fear bound. Once, and again, and a third time did the Lord entrust his sheep to Peter.
Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching and their confession of faith.
“Yet He, Being Compassionate” READ Psalm 78:32–55
Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath.
Psalm 78:38
While some tally the sins of men and women and conclude that there is no hope for humanity, others notice that the grace of Christ is even more evident—establishing salvation, developing reconciliation, and building the Kingdom of God.
PRAYER: I will not be disheartened, O God, by those who tell me stories of human decadence and society’s disintegration; I have heard those stories before. Instead I will see every sin as a place where your forgiveness can operate and every rebellion as a focus for your redemption. You are more than a match for sin—mine and everyone’s. Amen.
Peterson, Eugene H. (2010). Praying with the Psalms
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Word of the ‘Living Father’
Readings:
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
John 6:51-58
The Eucharist is given to us as a challenge and a promise. That’s how Jesus presents it in today’s Gospel.
He doesn’t make it easy for those who hear Him. They are repulsed and offended at His words. Even when they begin to quarrel, He insists on describing the eating and drinking of His flesh and blood in starkly literal terms.
Four times in today’s reading, Jesus uses a Greek word – trogein – that refers to a crude kind of eating, almost a gnawing or chewing (see John 6:54,56,57,58).
He is testing their faith in His Word, as today’s First Reading describes God testing Israel in the desert.
The heavenly manna was not given to satisfy the Israelites’ hunger, as Moses explains. It was given to show them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
In today’s Psalm, too, we see a connection between God’s Word and the bread of life. We sing of God filling us with “finest wheat” and proclaiming his Word to the world.
In Jesus, “the living Father” has given us His Word come down from heaven, made flesh for the life of the world.
Yet as the Israelites grumbled in the desert, many in today’s Gospel cannot accept that Word. Even many of Jesus’ own followers abandon Him after this discourse (see John 6:66). But His words are Spirit and life, the words of eternal life (see John 6:63,67).
In the Eucharist we are made one flesh with Christ. We have His life in us and have our life because of Him. This is what Paul means in today’s Epistle when He calls the Eucharist a “participation” in Christ’s body and blood. We become in this sacrament partakers of the divine nature (see 1 Peter 2:4).
This is the mystery of the faith that Jesus asks us believe. And He gives us His promise: that sharing in His flesh and blood that was raised from the dead, we too will be raised up on the last day.
June 22, 2011 1:38 PM
“These inspired songs teach us how to speak to God, expressing ourselves and the whole range of our human experience with words that God himself has given us.”
The book of psalms consists of 150 prayers traditionally ascribed to the authorship of King David.
The Pope explained that a whole range of human emotions are found in the Pslams, ranging from “joy and suffering” to the “fullness of life to fear of dying.”
“In these prayers, the Psalms are manifestations of the soul and faith, in which everyone can recognize and communicate the experience of a special closeness to God to which every man is called,” observed the Pope.
The Pope said it was significant that Jewish tradition refers to the Psalter as “Tehillim,” which means “praise” in Hebrew. This makes the Psalms “ultimately a book of praise.”
“Despite the diversity of their literary forms, the Psalms are generally marked by the two interconnected dimensions of humble petition and of praise addressed to a loving God who understands our human frailty,” he said.
But the Psalms are also quite different from the other books of the Old Testament, Pope Benedict noted. Instead of being narratives with a specific meaning or purpose, he explained, they “are given to the believer just as text for prayer.”
In fact, the Pope urged pilgrims to pray using the Psalms, suggesting that in “praying the Psalms we learn to pray. They are a school of prayer.” He explained himself by drawing an analogy with how children learn to express themselves.
A child initially “learns to express their feelings, emotions and needs with words that do not belong to him,” but instead “he learns innately from his parents and those who live around him.” Very quickly “the words become his words” and those feelings, emotions and needs of his are then duly expressed, said the Pope.
He concluded by suggesting that the Psalms ultimately point people towards Jesus.
“Many of the Psalms are attributed to David, the great King of Israel who, as the Lord’s Anointed, prefigured the Messiah. In Jesus Christ and in his paschal mystery the Psalms find their deepest meaning and prophetic fulfillment.”
“Christ himself prayed in their words. As we take up these inspired songs of praise, let us ask the Lord to teach us to pray, with him and in him, to our heavenly Father.”
This was the seventh Wednesday audience delivered by Pope Benedict on the topic of prayer. His previous theme – the lives of the saints – took two years to complete.
SUNDAY BIBLE REFLECTIONS BY DR. SCOTT HAHN
How God Loves
Readings:
Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9
Daniel 3:52-56
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18
We often begin Mass with the prayer from today’s Epistle: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” We praise the God who has revealed himself as a Trinity, a communion of persons.
Communion with the Trinity is the goal of our worship – and the purpose of the salvation history that begins in the Bible and continues in the Eucharist and sacraments of the Church.
We see the beginnings of God’s self-revelation in today’s First Reading, as He passes before Moses and cries out His holy name.
Israel had sinned in worshipping the golden calf (see Exodus 32). But God does not condemn them to perish. Instead He proclaims His mercy and faithfulness to His covenant.
God loved Israel as His firstborn son among the nations (see Exodus 4:22). Through Israel – heirs of His covenant with Abraham – God planned to reveal himself as the Father of all nations (see Genesis 22:18).
The memory of God’s covenant testing of Abraham – and Abraham’s faithful obedience – lies behind today’s Gospel.
In commanding Abraham to offer his only beloved son (see Genesis 22:2,12,16), God was preparing us for the fullest possible revelation of His love for the world.
As Abraham was willing to offer Isaac, God did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all (see Romans 8:32).
In this, He revealed what was only disclosed partially to Moses – that His kindness continues for a thousand generations, that He forgives our sin, and takes us back as His very own people (see Deuteronomy 4:20; 9:29).
Jesus humbled himself to die in obedience to God’s will. And for this, the Spirit of God raised Him from the dead (see Romans 8:11), and gave Him a name above every name (see Philippians 2:8-10).
This is the name we glorify in today’s Responsorial – the name of our Lord, the God who is Love (see 1 John 4;8,16).
This is an eloquently written letter about the first Christians by an unknown second-century Christian writer to Diognetus :
Christians are indistinguishable from other men, either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based on reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it be Greek or foreign.
And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though the are only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labour under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they live on a level that transcends the law.
Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonour, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference is their answer to insult. For the good they do, they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they rejoice as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet non one can explain the reason for this hatred.
To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christians is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world. As a visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen.
When someone asks,”Who are you?” the response of a Christian should first be, “I am a child of God, the Father who created me, the Son who redeemed me, and the Holy Spirit who empowered me, Blessed Mary is our mother as is the Church, the people of God. The saints are our brothers and sisters.” Then we add our unique details: “In addition, I am the son/daughter of Anthony and Patricia Tan. I have a sister and a vast number of uncles, aunts and cousins.”
Rev.Val J.Peter
Only the names have been changed by the blog Author to reflect a local flavour
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
A Mighty Wind
Readings:
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13
John 20:19-23
The giving of the Spirit to the new people of God crowns the mighty acts of the Father in salvation history.
The Jewish feast of Pentecost called all devout Jews to Jerusalem to celebrate their birth as God’s chosen people, in the covenant Law given to Moses at Sinai (see Leviticus 23:15-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-11).
In today’s First Reading the mysteries prefigured in that feast are fulfilled in the pouring out of the Spirit on Mary and the Apostles (see Acts 1:14).
The Spirit seals the new law and new covenant brought by Jesus, written not on stone tablets but on the hearts of believers, as the prophets promised (see 2 Corinthians 3:2-8; Romans 8:2).
The Spirit is revealed as the life-giving breath of the Father, the Wisdom by which He made all things, as we sing in today’s Psalm. In the beginning, the Spirit came as a “mighty wind” sweeping over the face of the earth (see Genesis 1:2). And in the new creation of Pentecost, the Spirit again comes as “a strong, driving wind” to renew the face of the earth.
As God fashioned the first man out of dust and filled him with His Spirit (see Genesis 2:7), in today’s Gospel we see the New Adam become a life-giving Spirit, breathing new life into the Apostles (see 1 Corinthians 15:45,47).
Like a river of living water, for all ages He will pour out His Spirit on His body, the Church, as we hear in today’s Epistle (see also John 7:37-39).
We receive that Spirit in the sacraments, being made a “new creation” in Baptism (see 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). Drinking of the one Spirit in the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:4), we are the first fruits of a new humanity – fashioned from out of every nation under heaven, with no distinctions of wealth or language or race, a people born of the Spirit.
The titles given to the Holy Spirit must surely stir the soul of anyone who hears them, and make him realize that they speak of nothing less than the supreme Being. Is he not called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, the steadfast Spirit, the guiding Spirit? But his principal and most personal title is the Holy Spirit.
To the Spirit all creatures turn in their need for sanctification; all living things seek him according to their ability. His breath empowers each to achieve its own natural end.
The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth. By nature the Spirit is beyond the reach of our mind, but we can know him by his goodness. The power of the Spirit fills the whole universe, but he gives himself only to those who are worthy, acting in each according to the measure of his faith.
Simple in himself, the Spirit is manifold in his mighty works. The whole of his being is present to each individual; the whole of his being is present everywhere. Though shared in by many, he remains unchanged; his self giving is no loss to himself. Like the sunshine, which permeates all the atmosphere, spreading over land and sea, and yet is enjoyed by each person as though it were for him alone, so the Spirit pours forth his grace in full measure, sufficient for all, and yet is present as though exclusively to everyone who can receive him. To all creatures that share in him he gives a delight limited only by their own nature, not by his ability to give.
The Spirit raises our hearts to heaven, guides the steps of the weak, and brings to perfection those who are making progress. He enlightens those who have been cleansed from every stain of sin and makes them spiritual by communion with himself.
As clear, transparent substances become very bright when sunlight falls on them and shine with a new radiance, so also souls in whom the Spirit dwells, and who are enlightened by the Spirit, become spiritual themselves and a source of grace for others.
From the Spirit comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of the mysteries of faith, insight into the hidden meaning of Scripture, and other special gifts. Through the Spirit we become citizens of heaven, we enter into eternal happiness, and abide in God. Through the Spirit we acquire a likeness to God; indeed, we attain what is beyond our most sublime aspirations—we become God.
“A Cup with Foaming Wine” READ Psalm 75 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
Psalm 75:8 The cup of foaming wine, destined for the wicked and predicted for centuries by prophet and psalmist, is finally grasped firmly by Jesus and drained to the dregs. When the deserved wrath of God is drunk by the undeserving Son of God, the cup of wrath becomes a cup of salvation.
PRAYER: I will seek justice, O God, not in the acts of others and not in my own attempts at goodness, but in the deep exchanges of forgiveness and redemption that take place in Jesus Christ. Free me from self-promotion and self-justification to sing the praise of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Peterson, Eugene H. (2010).
SUNDAY BIBLE REFLECTIONS BY DR. SCOTT HAHN
Knowing God
Readings:
Acts 1:12-14
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8
1 Peter 4:13-16
John 17:1-11
Jesus has been taken up into heaven as we begin today’s First Reading. His disciples – including the Apostles and Mary – return to the upper room where He celebrated the Last Supper (see Luke 22:12).
There, they devote themselves with one accord to prayer, awaiting the Spirit that He promised would come upon them (see Acts 1:8).
The unity of the early Church at Jerusalem is a sign of the oneness that Christ prays for in today’s Gospel. The Church is to be a communion on earth that mirrors the glorious union of Father, Son and Spirit in the Trinity.
Jesus has proclaimed God’s name to His brethren (see Hebrews 2:12; Psalm 22:23). The prophets had foretold this revelation – a new covenant by which all flesh would have knowledge of the Lord (see Jeremiah 31:33-34; Habakkuk 2:14).
By the new covenant made in His blood and remembered in every Eucharist, we know God as our Father. This is the eternal life Jesus promises. And this is the light and salvation we sing of in today’s Psalm.
As God made light to shine out of darkness when the world began, He has enlightened us in Baptism, making us new creations (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), giving us knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (see Hebrews 10:32; 2 Corinthians 4:6).
Our new life is a gift of “the Spirit of glory,” we hear in today’s Epistle (see John 7:38-39). Made one in His name, we are given a new name – “Christians” – a name used only here and in two other places in the Bible (see Acts 11:16; 26:28). We are to glorify God, though we will be insulted and suffer because of this name.
But as we share in His sufferings, we know we will overcome (see Revelation 3:12) and rejoice when His glory is once more revealed. And we will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives.
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The Lord’s peace be with you all….
From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven
Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.
Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food.
Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.
He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement:No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are the sons of God. So the Apostle says:Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body.
Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.
Bro Lalith shares about his experince in Singapore during a prayer meeting at St Peters Colombo. I recommend if you have the time to watch the whole thing otherwise 1st mention 41:00 Thereafter from 57:00-1:05:00
O God, sow your word once more in our hearts today; till patiently the soil of our souls; bring forth a rich harvest, so that all may find nourishment for body and spirit through the lives of your people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
One day in Heaven we may all join hands and sing this song to Our God.
I absolutely LOVE this song~!
Lectio Divina, the chuch’s most ancient way of reading Scripture, can be done both individually and in a group. Though not a rigid method, it traditionally involves four basic levels. or movements. In each one, the same Bible passage is read from a different angle. Here is how Pope Benedict describes the process in Verbum Domini (87)”
1) Lectio, the first level, involves alert reading of the passage, with “a desire to understand it’s true content: what does the biblical text say in itself? Without this, there is always a risk that the text will become a pretext for never moving beyond our own ideas.”
2) Meditatio (meditation) prompts the question: What is this passage saying to us? “Here, each person, individually but also as a member of the community, must let himself or herself be moved and challenged.”
3) Oratio is the specific moment for prayer: ” What do we say to the Lord in response to His Word? Prayer, as petition, intercession,thanksgiving, and praise, is the primary way by which the Word transforms us.”
4) Finally, in contemplatio (contemplation),”we take up, as a gift from God, his own way of seeing and judging reality, and ask ourselves: what conversion of mind,heart and life is the Lord asking of us?” The process is not concluded “until it arrives at action (actio), which moves the believer to make his or her life a gift for others in charity.”
SUNDAY BIBLE REFLECTIONS BY DR. SCOTT HAHN
Alive in the Spirit
Readings:
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21
Jesus will not leave us alone. He won’t make us children of God in Baptism only to leave us “orphans,” He assures us in today’s Gospel (see Romans 8:14-17) .
He asks the Father to give us His Spirit, to dwell with us and keep us united in the life He shares with the Father.
We see the promised gift of His Spirit being conferred in today’s First Reading.
The scene from Acts apparently depicts a primitive Confirmation rite. Philip, one of the first deacons (see Acts 6:5), proclaims the Gospel in the non-Jewish city of Samaria. The Samaritans accept the Word of God (see Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:13) and are baptized.
It remains for the Apostles to send their representatives, Peter and John, to pray and lay hands on the newly baptized – that they might receive the Holy Spirit. This is the origin of our sacrament of Confirmation (see Acts 19:5-6), by which the grace of Baptism is completed and believers are sealed with the Spirit promised by the Lord.
We remain in this grace so long as we love Christ and keep His commandments. And strengthened in the Spirit whom Jesus said would be our Advocate, we are called to bear witness to our salvation – to the tremendous deeds that God has done for us in the name of His Son.
In today’s Psalm, we celebrate our liberation. As He changed the sea into dry land to free the captive Israelites, Christ suffered that He might lead us to God, as we hear in today’s Epistle.
This is the reason for our hope – the hope that sustains us in the face of a world that cannot accept His truth, the hope that sustains us when we are maligned and defamed for His name’s sake.
Put to death in the flesh, He was brought to life in the Spirit, Paul tells us today. And as He himself promises: “Because I live, you will live.”
Exodus and Easter
Israel’s exodus from Egypt forms the background for many of the readings we hear in Easter.
On the Third Sunday, both the Gospel and Epistle describe Jesus “redeeming” or “ransoming” Israel (see Luke 24:21; 1 Peter 1:18). The Greek word in both is only used elsewhere to refer to Israel’s redemption from Egypt (see Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 7:8). In the First Reading, Jesus is said to work “mighty deeds, wonders and signs” (see Acts 2:22) – the same words used to describe Moses’ work (see Exodus 7:3; Deuteronomy 34:10-12).
Moses told the Israelites not to fear but to trust that God would go before and find them a place in the promised land (see Deuteronomy 1:29-32). Jesus uses the same words in the Fifth Sunday’s Gospel. He also quotes Moses to claim that His words are God’s words and His works are God’s works (see Deuteronomy 18:18; 34:10-12).
There is much more exodus imagery in this month’s readings. The point is to show us that Jesus’ death and resurrection marked a new exodus (see Luke 9:31). The Christian life is like the sojourning of the Israelites in the wilderness. We have passed through the waters of Baptism and are now fed with bread from heaven as we make our way to the promised land of eternal life (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; 1 Peter 1:4).
I praise you, merciful Father, that you have not led me in a way bound by grim duty and joyless servitude, but in one that, though it transverses “the valley of the shadow,” always leads to “the house of the Lord.” Amen.
PSALM 69:30-36
30
But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help protect me, God,
31
6 That I may praise God’s name in song and glorify it with thanksgiving.
32
My song will please the LORD more than oxen, more than bullocks with horns and hooves:
33
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, take heart!
34
For the LORD hears the poor, does not spurn those in bondage.
35
Let the heavens and the earth sing praise, the seas and whatever moves in them!”
36
God will rescue Zion, rebuild the cities of Judah. God’s servants shall dwell in the land and possess it;
37
7) it shall be the heritage of their descendants; those who love God’s name shall dwell there.
The love which our Blessed lady had for God was so great that she suffered keenly through her desire of union with Him; hence the Eternal Father, to console her, sent her his only and beloved Son. If you wish to come to where I am going, that is, to glory, you must come this road, that is, through thorns. Before communion, we ought to exercise ourselves in many acts of virtues. Prayer and communion are not to be made or desired for the sake of the devotion we feel in them, for that is seeking self, and not God; but we must be frequent in both the one and the other in order to become humble, obedient, gentle and patient. When we see these virtues in a man, then we know that he has really gathered the fruit of prayer and of communion. Our sweet Jesus, through the excess of his love and liberality, has left himself to us in the Most Holy Sacrament.
He who works purely for the love of God desires nothing but his honour, and thus is ready in everything either to act or not to act, and that is not in indifferent matters only, but even in good ones; and he is always resigned to the will of God. The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years. To obtain perfectly the gift of humility, four main things are required; to despise the world, to despise no person, to despise one’s self, to despise being despised. Perfection consists in leading captive our own will, and in playing the king over it. A man ought to mortify his understanding in little things, if he wishes to easily mortify it in great ones, and to advance in the way of virtue. Without mortification nothing can be done. We ought to hope for and love the glory of God by means of a good life.
SAINT PHILIP NERI
Saint Philip Neri (1595) was an Italian priest and the founder of the Oratory.
Dear God, teach me to love my enemies and do good to those who hate me, to bless those who curse me and pray for those who abuse me, to be merciful even as you, Father, are merciful, after the example of Jesus Christ. Amen.
People despise and reject what they do not understand, and they frequently misunderstand righteousness; this means that the righteous often experience contempt. Closeness to God sometimes means alienation from other people.
Prayer: Father, you know my inner heart, my secret motives, my basic desires. My sins and my virtues are both under your mercy, so that I have nothing to fear from men and everything to hope from You, even in Jesus Christ Amen.
Psalms 69:6-7
6 Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Readings:
Acts 6:1-7
Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
1 Peter 2:4-9
John 14:1-12
By His death, Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house.
His Father’s house is no longer a temple made by human hands. It is the spiritual house of the Church, built on the living stone of Christ’s body.
As Peter interprets the Scriptures in today’s Epistle, Jesus is the “stone” destined to be rejected by men but made the precious cornerstone of God’s dwelling on earth (see Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14; 28:16).
Each of us is called to be a living stone in God’s building (see 1 Corinthians 3:9,16). In this edifice of the Spirit, we are to be “holy priests” offering up “spiritual sacrifices” – all our prayer, work and intentions – to God.
This is our lofty calling as Christians. This is why Christ led us out of the darkness of sin and death as Moses led the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.
God’s covenant with Israel made them a royal and priestly people who were to announce His praises (see Exodus 19:6). By our faith in Christ’s new covenant, we have been made heirs of this chosen race, called to glorify the Father in the temple of our bodies (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 12:1).
In today’s First Reading, we see the spiritual house of the Church being built up, as the Apostles consecrate seven deacons so they can devote themselves more fully to the “ministry of the Word.”
The Lord’s Word is upright and all His works trustworthy, we sing in today’s Psalm. So we can trust Jesus when He tells us never to be troubled, but to believe that His Word and works come from the Father.
His Word continues its work in the world through the Church. We see its beginnings today in Jerusalem. It is destined to spread with influence and power (see Acts 19:20), and to become the imperishable seed by which every heart is born anew (see 1 Peter 1:23).
O God, you are over all in all, beyond all. Open our eyes to see the wonders that surround us; open our hearts to know the wonders of our brothers and sisters; open our lips to sing your praise. Restore all peoples in your image, we pray through Jesus our Lord and savior. Amen
I decided to attend the 2 day four step retreat held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church which came highly recommended. It was over the weekend of 14th and 15th of May. Furthermore the pamphlet I had received about it, looked impressive with some of the testimonies from people who had attended in the past.
Without revealing too much about the retreat because it is something you should choose on your own to experience. The four step retreat in essence is four steps you undertake to have a personal encounter and lasting relationship with God our Father. I will stop here so that you will not have expectations or pre-conceived ideas except for the fact that you will definitely experience a change in your life should you desire it. 🙂
After the anointing with the Holy Spirit on the last day I must say I was overjoyed, as I had an extraordinary experience with the in-flowing of the Holy Spirit which lasted at least 15 minutes. A pure unadulterated, unconditional feeling of being loved! I decided that I was going to try and live my life in the Spirit.
Monday came and I attended the morning Eucharistic celebration before heading off to work feeling very elated as I was still very much in the Spirit. I was also looking forward to having dinner with my Dad in the evening as he turned 81 that day. Yes it was his birthday….
So after work I rushed home to meet the family at the restaurant nearby to have our dinner. I would later have to rush off once again to Church as we had our monthly EMC meeting. My wife who couldn’t join us for dinner as she was working, called to tell me that my younger son’s teacher had called her to inform her that she had passed his homework on to a classmate of his since he was on medical leave. I asked my elder son to help collect it for his brother but he insisted that his younger brother should follow him as well because the mother of the classmate was more familiar with him. My mum instructed the boys to carry my extra set of keys with them so that they could return home on their own. I was against the idea but relented because mum said that they could be trusted with the responsibility.
So after dinner mum, dad and I made our way home while the boys went to collect the homework. After showering I heard the doorbell and found that it was my boys outside. Apparently they were playing and started throwing the keys up in the air to see who could throw the highest when the bunch of keys got stuck up in the tree. Can you imagine the anger that was welling up in me? These bunch of keys were not only to my home but had at least 5 other personal keys of mine attached to the same keychain. After screaming at them, I marched them down to have a look to see if I could somehow retrieve it from the tree. As it was getting dark I could hardly see anything up the branches, I shook the tree but there was not even the slightest rattle of keys that could be heard. So I scanned the whole area surrounding the tree to see if they had somehow failed to see that it actually landed on the grass instead. After a while as the effort seemed more and more futile, I started screaming at them once again and even threatened to punish them severely.
Almost immediately after letting lose some expletives which I had not uttered in a very,very,very long while, I decided to walk away and pray. I prayed that Jesus would take away the anger from me and expressed how sorry I was about the outbursts. I surrendered to him and requested for Him to take over and that I would place all my trust in Him. Thereafter I began to feel the in-flowing of the Holy Spirit and soon I was calm. I then walked home silently with the kids. After getting changed I made my way to Church for the meeting but along the way I decided to call my elder son and tell him that although I was still a little annoyed, I will always love him no matter what happened. Our meeting began in the adoration room where I felt the overwhelming but wonderful presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of the meeting following was needless to say a success!
On Tuesday morning I made my way once again for the morning Eucharistic celebration, but before I got to the bus stop I decided to see if I could find the keys up in the tree in the daylight. I was secretly hoping to see if the ‘curse’ could be changed into a blessing as was preached about during the four step retreat. I was a little dismayed that the situation had not changed, as I still could not even see the bunch of keys anywhere. Still I decided to praise the Lord and thank him for my change of heart.
I was going to be working the afternoon shift and so while I was tempted to attend another talk by Brother Lalith the main speaker at the retreat which was scheduled to start at 1000hrs, I decided instead that I would spend some time with my family since it was a public holiday. When I got home, my wife informed me that she had made prior plans to bring the kids out with my mum-in-law! I took this as a sign that I was to attend the talk and so quickly got into a cab to to Church of the Risen Christ. I left the talk slightly after 5pm to make my way to the office, when I got a call from my mum saying that the ‘lost keys’ was upsetting to my father too, who then proceeded to pray to our blessed Mother Mary for help. ( This was amazing news to me as my father is not the prayerful type) He then had a feeling that he should go to the tree to have a look and LO and Behold! the bunch of keys was lying below! He is now convinced of the power of prayer! The ‘curse’ was truly transformed into blessings!
PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!
AMEN!
More on the four steps retreat can be found at www.crlmain.org
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Readings:
Acts 2:14, 36-41
Psalm 23:1-6
1 Peter 2:20-25
John 10:1-10
Easter’s empty tomb is a call to conversion.
By this tomb, we should know for certain that God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah, as Peter preaches in today’s First Reading.
He is the “Lord,” the divine Son that David foresaw at God’s right hand (see Psalms 110:1,3; 132:10-11; Acts 2:34). And He is the Messiah that God had promised to shepherd the scattered flock of the house of Israel (see Ezekiel 34:11-14, 23; 37:24).
As we hear in today’s Gospel, Jesus is that Good Shepherd, sent to a people who were like sheep without a shepherd (see Mark 6:34; Numbers 27:16-17). He calls not only to the children of Israel, but to all those far off from Him – to whomever the Lord wishes to hear His voice.
The call of the Good Shepherd leads to the restful waters of Baptism, to the anointing oil of Confirmation, and to the table and overflowing cup of the Eucharist, as we sing in today’s Psalm.
Again on this Sunday in Easter, we hear His voice calling us His own. He should awaken in us the response of those who heard Peter’s preaching. “What are we to do?” they cried.
We have been baptized. But each of us goes astray like sheep, as we hear in today’s Epistle. We still need daily to repent, to seek forgiveness of our sins, to separate ourselves further from this corrupt generation.
We are called to follow in the footsteps of the Shepherd of our souls. By His suffering He bore our sins in His body to free us from sin. But His suffering is also an example for us. From Him we should learn patience in our afflictions, to hand ourselves over to the will of God.
Jesus has gone ahead, driven us through the dark valley of evil and death. His Cross has become the narrow gate through which we must pass to reach His empty tomb – the verdant pastures of life abundant.
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