Act of Love of St. John Vianney

This beautiful prayer struck me deeply , with it’s simplicity and humility, yet a beautiful and powerful prayer.

 

“I love You, O my God, and my sole desire is to love You until the last breath of my life.  I love You, O infinitely lovable God, and I prefer to die loving You than to live one instant without loving You.

I love You, O my God, and I do not desire anything but heaven so as to have the joy of loving You perfectly.

I love You, O my God, and I fear hell, because there will not be the sweet consolation of loving You.

O my God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to say it in every beat.  Allow  me the grace to suffer loving You, to love you suffering, and one day to die loving You and feeling that I love You. And as I approach my end, I beg you to increase and perfect  my love of You.” ~ St John Vianney

 

Sacraments Vs Sacramentals

 Holy water plays an important role in the sacraments of the church , as well as the sign of the cross – a self blessing. However the use of Holy Water during the Sign of the Cross is not a necessity to celebrate the sacraments in the church or to begin worship. As the article writes , it serves as a  reminder of our baptism in Christ. Similarly , during Easter Mass, when the priest blesses the congregation with Holy Water, or during the Passion Mass, when the priest blesses the Palms, if the holy water doesn’t touch you (or the palms) , does it mean that you are not “Baptized again” or that your palms are not “Blessed” , This is certainly not the case  !

 My question to you , is our faith based only on such external signs. Then without it , is our faith weakened ? The practice of our faith , should be based on a deeper understanding of Christ’s Love and Mercy, as well as the mysteries of the Sacraments that he instituted for us. The celebration of the Sacraments are key foundations to our faith. Would the Hail Mary’s be less devoted if we used a Rosary that isn’t blessed ? Is a house blessing by the Head of the household, any less meaningful ? Would my prayers and blessing for you be any less worthy of God’s attention , then that of a priest ? Is the sign of the cross, any less holy without Holy Water? Can we pray, even if we do not have a holy picture in front of us ?

 I believe that the sacramentals such as Holy water, and blessings are important aspects of the practice of our religion , but not a necessary part. It serves as a reminder of the practice of our faith, externally to the public as well as internally to ourselves, but our Faith in Christ should never waver even with the absence of the sacramentals.  He is the Lamb that paid the price of our sins with His own blood, and that is what is important in our faith.

 I personally see the Sacraments brings us to Communion with Christ and the Church, while the Sacramentals serves as a daily reminder of the practices of our faith

The Pain of Lent

Lent is often called the blessed season; rightly so as it is a season of spiritual preparation and renewal. The Catholic church realizes that we as human may not truly appreciate the season of Lent if we just blitz through it in 3 days like what Jesus did in the Passion Death and Resurrection. Instead a preparation of 40 days is needed for both the individual and the church to prepare for this great mystery. Even Jesus prepared his disciples over a period and He himself went through 40 days of fasting and prayer to prepare Himself for the task at hand.

However I realize that in the season of lent, we ourselves face a spiritual darkness, or perhaps we are more aware of our own spiritual darkness. It is in this season, if truly observed and practiced brings to us an awareness of our sins. This awareness highlights the impact of our sins on our soul and our relationship with God. It is a painful awareness that in our failings and weaknesses, we distant ourselves from our Loving God.

No doubt that the focus of Lent is rarely on this spiritual darkness but instead on the Loving grace of God's mercy. The focus is instead using this spiritual darkness to lead us to a conversion of our hearts and minds, after being painfully aware of our sins. Rightfully so, as the focus of christ has always been on our salvation and not on the account of our sins and failings.

That is truly and rightfully the objective of Lent. I guess before we can truly appreciate something good, we need to experience what we are missing, then only we will appreciate the Gift Christ gave us on the cross.

This is also why the. Sacrament of reconciliation is so important during lent. It allows us to partake in the mysteries of lent in that short 10 mins , where we suffer for our sins when we confess, we die to our sins in the act of contrition , and we are resurrected again through the absolution given in confession.

No doubt lent is a beautiful season when taken seriously and practiced whole heartedly.
Regards ,

Lincoln Lee

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Mark 3:13-19

In todays gospel jesus called his 12 disciples to the mountain and they came to him including Judas the one who'll betray him.

As we are called by Him, we have 12 body parts that we can use for his service. 2 eyes, 2 ears , 1 mouth, 1 brain , 1 heart , 2 hands, 2 Legs , 1 body.

And since we like the disciples are called to his service annointed and empowered, so are our ourselves called to do the same. But like the 12 disciples where 1 betrays Jesus , we too have a part of Judas in each of us. Which one of our 12 body parts will betray Jesus each day.

Will we turn our eyes from injustice, or a deaf ear to a sympathetic friend, or use our minds for mischief, or use our hands to hurt some one , or our mouth to spread gossip, or close our heart to other ppls's suffering. Each time any of ourselves betrays Jesus, we betray His love and annointing, and we crucify him again.
Regards ,

Lincoln Lee

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Talk about Expectations & Annointing

I went to this site on the net, out of fun to check out which bible verse is associated with my Birthday. Boy was I in for a shock. Haha talk about high expectations and anointing. And only yesterday I was praying for God's anointing ! Sigh…….

 

Isaiah 9:6 NIV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

If you so will you can make me clean. MK 1: 40-45.

In todays Gospel, a leper came and begged Jesus for pity and to be healed. When Jesus healed him, he was instructed to keep quiet present himself to the high priest and offer up a sacrifice as the teachings of moses. But instead the moment he left Jesus, he went telling everyone and ppl start crowding around Jesus to the point that He could not teach

In reflection, Jesus heals all of us but often he wants us to proclaim his glory through our actions rather then through our words. He wants us to give back to him in our own sacrifice. And instead when we think we know better and decide to only speak of his glory , through our intentions although Good was not what Jesus wanted. In the end by simply proclaiming Jesus was prevented from conducting his ministry.

So in summary, we are not always called to proclaim Gods glory , but we are also called to action. We are not only called to speakof Gods Glory but more important to procaim his glory through our daily lives. Without action we may simply cause Jesus more headache :).
Regards ,

Lincoln Lee

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Five Loaves and Two Fishes

Ever wonder what this story in the Gospel means to you. I was reflecting on this last night, and I discerned another meaning to this story. In a nutshell, Jesus was preaching to a large crowd of people, approximately 5,000, when it was getting late. His disciples advised Jesus that He should send the crowd off to the farms and towns to look for their own food. Instead Jesus asked the disciples to bring what food they had; which was Five Loaves of Bread and 2 Fishes, Blessed it and distributed it enough to feed 5000 people, with 12 baskets full to spare. Interestingly the Gospel reading starts off with saying that Jesus noticed the large crowd, moving around like Sheep with out a Shepherd, and He decide to preach to them.

 

A simple and lovely story on how Jesus takes care of his flock. For me I further understood it that it the Five Loaves and Two Fishes really represented the gifts that we have. The number of items , 7 in total could reflect the gifts/ fruits of the spirit. Yet these simple and meager gifts, 5 loaves and 2 Fishes, especially in today's context – really boring meals, barely enough for our own self and not others, through the grace and blessing of Jesus, are multiplied to serve many others, and still be blessed with many more that it is abundantly overflowing. The 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes, were taken from a little boy in the crowd, symbolizing how Jesus, can use your gifts to serve many of his wondering flock.

 

A further important part of the reflection, is that these gifts without Jesus, will still remain the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, that could only feed the little boy. However in the midst of "Chaos" and with Jesus as our shepherd, and through His nurturing and blessings of the gifts we have, our potential is limitless and overflowing. He uses the simple things in our life, to bring our the full potential we can be, to reach out to the lost and searching, and fills them with good things

 

Putting God First

In our busy daily lives, and in our pursuit of worldly matters, we often forget to put God first. Especially in our simple daily task, and in times of joy and happiness, we tend to forget God's loving influence and touch in our daily lives. I myself would admit that I often forget to put God first, especially when I am enjoying myself and having a good time. And conversely it is worrying that I tend to turn to God at times of turbulent, and troubles.

 

If we consider God as a close friend, the reverse would actually be true. We often share happy moments with our loved one's, announcing and celebrating significant milestones with them such as promotions, parties and etc, yet we similarly neglect or tend to forget to share these moments with God. Honestly, if God was human, I am sure that He would be greatly offended. But ..then again, that’s the beauty of God, He is not human. He is the almighty, the ever merciful and compassionate.

 

God not only loves us in our best moments, but His love for us does not change in our darkest moments. His love is deeper then the deepest ocean and longer lasting then eternity. His love is always there, and He loves us so much, that He does not compel or force us to love him back . He wants a genuine and loving relationship, and will always be standing there whenever we are ready to turn to Him. When I reflect on this, I realized, there is no man / woman on earth that exemplifies this love , or anywhere close to it, yet we often seek out belonging and relationships with our fellow human beings rather then turning to God.

 

In recent times, I've learnt that putting God first in whatever you do, somehow makes things easier. In times of happiness and joy, to share your happiness with Him, and to thank him for the abundant blessings he has graced me with, and in difficult times, to offer a prayer, admitting my own weakness, and to ask for His guidance and presence to be with me. By doing this, especially in difficult times, things do not turn out as bad as I would have expected.

 

Like before going into a meeting or conversation, knowing well that it could be a problematic one, I offer a prayer, asking for help, patience, guidance and wisdom, and without fail, things turn out better then expected. Or when I am enjoying myself on a holiday with great company, in a beautiful surrounding, I marvel at God's creation, and the perfection of His creation, the sunsets, the breeze, the waves of the sea, and I thank him for giving me the opportunity to experience these things , and with the people I care for.

 

I admit that it I often forget to practice this, but when I do, I find the experience a lot better, and sweeter for me. I appreciate what I have and am grateful for my many blessings. In difficult times, I then see His loving and guiding hand, protecting me from harm, and supporting me in my challenges.

Questions on the Practices of the Catholic Faith

I was recently asked a few questions regarding the practices of the catholic faith by an atheist friend with regards to homosexualty, women priest and the vows of celibacy.

Apparently I wrote it well enough that they thought I googled it for them. I assure you it was written entirely by myself.

So here are the questuions and my reponse to it based on my limited understanding of the teachings of the Catholic church.

Homosexuality - The act of homosexuality is seen as an act that is agaisnt nature. Sex is intended for the creation of life between a married couple. Although married couples may have sex on a frequent basis - contraceptives are not allowed, as it will interfere with the creation of life ( act of God) . Hence although sex can be out of pleasure, the married couple should be ready to accept the resulting factor of a baby if it so happens. Hence homosexual sex , is a sexual act, whereby no life can be created, hence an unnatural act. Similar to masturbation, as no life can result from it. Premarital & Extramarital sex is also a sin, because these "unions" are of a self serving nature, and destroys the sanctity of the institution of marriage. However it must be emphasized that it is the act of Homosexuality that is despised and not the homosexual individual , as the Church views all creation of God as Holy and beloved, irregardless of their actions.

Women Priest - Jesus's 12 apostles were all male ( all appointed by Him) , and Peter was apointed the first pope of the catholic church. Going down the line of popes, it is believed that it must be passed on to a male. In addition to this, the pope leads an global religion, where his authority is represented in the Bishops, which are represented in the priest. As such, the Priest , Bishops and Pope must be male.

This does not mean that the church views the contribution of Females as any lesser. I am sure you have noted the importance we have placed to Mother Mary's role in the Church, as the Mother of God and the Mother of Church. Hence women who wish to commit their life to God, can do so as a religious Nun , in service to different ministries. You have seen nuns who dedicate their life works in Hospitals ( Assunta / Fatima Hospital) , Education (Convent Schools) , Poor and Destitute ( Mother Theresa) or complete prayers ( Carmelite nuns) . They too take similar vows as the priest - Chastity, Obedience and Poverty. Also to note, the Catholic church follows not only the teachings of Christ through the Holy Bible, but also through the Holy traditions, as well as Theological intepretations and teachings such as Canon Law ( the law of the church). Holy traditions and Theological intepretations are all based on the Holy Bible.

Vow of Celibacy - Is one of the most important vow for a priest or religious. When entering into the sacrament of Holy Orders ( Ordanation as a Priest / Monk / Nun) the individual commits him/herself fully to Christ , and to service to Christ through his ministries and vocation. A commitment of life to God basically ( similar to Sacrament of Marriage - a lifetime commitment to your spouse) . In addition to this, in the life of service, the individual needs to focus on the ministry they are in fully and entirely, and not to be distracted with building and fostering a family, as their family is now the Church. Hence the individual leaves everything behind to serve God, especially the persuit of worldly pleasures and materials . Hence the Vows of Poverty , Chastity and Obedience.

I am sure many married couples can testify how difficult it is to focus on building the family, taking care of your spose, providing for the family. As a priest or religious, their "allegience" is to the church, as opposed to a married couple who needs to take care of one another. Having said that it is common , that Nuns / Priest have adopted children as their own to be the legal guardian. The act of celibacy extends to sexual acts and not only matrimony, as the point above highlights, sex is intended for the creation of life, hence masturbation is a sin.

Regards ,

Lincoln Lee

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