We are loved by God

Baptism of the Lord

Last week we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany, which the word "epiphany" comes from the Greek "epiphainen", a verb that means "to shine upon", "to manifest", or "to make known", Thus, the feast of the Epiphany celebrates the many ways that Christ has made himself known to the world, mainly the three events that manifested the mission and divinity of Christ: the visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12), the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11), and the miracle at Cana (John  2:1-11). The visit of the Magi is emphasized on Epiphany Day, and Christ's baptism is celebrated this coming Sunday.

At the first glance, the Baptism of the Lord might seem an odd feast. Since the Catholic Church teaches that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for the remission of sins, particularly Original Sin, Why did Jesus, the Sinless One, submit himself to John’s baptism? After all, He was born without Original Sin, and He lives His entire life without sinning. Therefore, He had no need of the sacrament, as we do.

In submitting Himself humbly to the baptism of St. John the Baptist, however, Christ provided the example for the rest of us. If even He should be baptized, though He had no need of it, how much more should the rest of us be thankful for this sacrament, which frees us from the darkness of sin and incorporates us into the Church, the life of Christ on earth! His Baptism, therefore, was necessary--not for Him, but for us.

Many of the Fathers of the Church, as well as the medieval Scholastics, saw Christ's Baptism as the institution of the sacrament. His Flesh blessed the water, and the descent of the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove) and the voice of God the Father announcing that this was His Son, in Whom He was well pleased, marked the beginning of Christ's public ministry.

In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of the “baptism” of his bloody death upon the cross. He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. Gregory of Nazianzus, a seventh century Church father tells us: “Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him." Examine Jesus’ humility and ask the Holy Spirit to forge this same attitude in your heart. We are called to be “light” and “salt” to those around us. The Lord wants his love and truth to shine through us that others may see the goodness and truth of God’s message of salvation. Let us ask the Lord to fill us with his Holy Spirit that you may radiate the joy of the gospel to those around you.

Happiness is a gift from God. It is a gift freely given by God to those open to receive it. Happiness is knowing in the depths of one’s heart that one is truly loved by God. Happiness is knowing that we are loveable and that we are precious in the eyes of God. No matter how others may see us, no matter how others may judge us, nothing can change this single reality – we are loved by God.

This knowledge was the driving force behind Jesus. At his baptism, Jesus received this beautiful words from God the Father – “This is my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on him.” Knowing that he was loved by his Father in heaven, Jesus began his mission to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God. Although he faced many setbacks, although he was criticized and hated by many people, although he was rejected by his own relatives and neighbours, although he was betrayed by his own disciples, Jesus never waivered in his resolve. Only one thing mattered to him – knowing that he was loved by God and nothing … absolutely nothing can change that. On the cross, in the midst of his pain and loneliness, Jesus was sustained by the knowledge of God’s love for him and that God will never abandon him at this moment of his greatest need.

This is what God wants to tell each of you: “You are my Son. You are my daughter. You are precious. I love you very much!!!” We don’t have to prove ourselves to God. We don’t have to show him that we are good or that we are perfect. God loves us in spite of our sins and weaknesses.

If we live each day with this knowledge of God’s love for us, we will not easily give up especially when we are faced with criticism from others. Whenever we celebrate the Mass, we are reminded again and again that we are loved by God. It was because of love, that God sent his only Son to die for us. Jesus, who gives his body and blood, is living proof of this. The mass is proof of God’s love. Because we are loved by God, let us now share this love with every other person.

"One Body,One Spirit"

Today, as president of Catholic Student Society-CSS  from University Tunku Abdul Rahaman (Sungai Long Campus), We are glad to have Rev. Father George Harrison from Church of Holy Family, Kajang to celebrate mass with us in this wonderful evening with the theme “One Body, One Sprit.” Most of us who are catholic, which come from different part of Malaysia, united as ONE to have this wonderful Eucharistic celebration.

As a student, we might face different challenges in life. The devil will try to attack each one of us to make sure that we break our relationship with God. The father of liar (the evil one/ the devil) will make sure that we separate ourselves from one and another.

Today, I can proudly tell everyone here, we are all united as ONE; we are all united in CHRIST in this wonderful celebration. We are His chosen people to bear good fruits and bear witness to the world through our words and deeds. My dear friends, today I want to encourage you to wake up every day expecting good. Keep your mind positive, full of joy, hope and anticipation of all the good things God has restore in you, His beloved! All of us are the disciple whom Jesus loves. We are the apple of His eye. The Lord’s wisdom, favor and provision flow mightily in and through all of us. Amen!

When you do this, you are accessing the Lord’s abundant provision for you, and the Father of Liar would not easily attack us in our daily life. All our stress, worries, negative emotions and anxieties will fade away.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sister Margaret and Miss Susan Peter for helping us in this wonderful celebration. Special thanks to all the CSS members: Joanne (Seremban), Sherena Jackson (Bintulu-Sarawak), Vivian Lim (Klang-Selangor), Francis Wong (Johor), Tan Kian Kiak (Sekinchan), Mary Seen (Pahang), Theresa Wong (Sibu-Sarawak), Clement Ling (Sibu-Sarawak), Hezron (Kepong), Monica Ling (Sibu-Sarawak).

Let us continue to bear good fruit, the fruit of a disciple which marked by FAITH, HOPE and LOVE, JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, FORTITUDE and TEMPERANCE.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called YOU…”

 Eph 4:4-6

Statues in the Church

Catholics, often, was accused by the claim of worshiping statues in the church! We are the worshiper of statue. People still make this ridiculous claim on it because Catholics have many statues in the churches, and they are violating the commandment of God. The commandment of God: 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not not bow down to them or serve them' (Ex 20 : 4-5). ' Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. (Ex 32:31). The commandment of God clearly stated in the old testament of the bible. So, now, does Catholics really commit the sin of idolatry since it is clearly mention in the old testament by God saying that you shall not make yourself a graven image?

The answer is NO! Calling Catholics idolaters because they have images of Christ, Mary and the saints in the church is based on the misunderstanding or the ignorance of what the says about the purpose and uses , both good and bad of statues.But, it is right to warn people against the sin of idolatry when they are committing it. There is a Anti-Catholic writer Loraine Boettner, in his book Roman Catholicism, makes a statement which stated that 'God has forbidden the use of images in worship'. Yet if we would search the scriptures (cf. John 5:39), you would find the opposite is true. God forbade the worship of statues, but he did not forbid the religious use of statues. Instead, he actually commanded their use in religious contexts.

People who against the religious statuary, actually they have forgotten about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example, In Ex 25: 18-20, 'And you shall make two cherubim of gold  [for example; two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be'.

David gave Solomon the plan 'for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to plan' ( 1 Chr. 28: 18-19). David's plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was 'by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning all,' included statues of angels.

Similarly, Ezekiel 41:17-18 describes that graven (craved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, 'on the walls round about in the inner room and on the nave were craved likenesses of cherubim.'

If you still able to recall, during a plague of serpents sent to punish the Israelite during the exodus, God told Moses to make A STATUE of a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Num 21: 8-9). One have to LOOK at the bronze statue of the serpents to be healed, which shows that statues could be used ritually, not merely as a religious decorations. Catholics use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted. Is just like a person looking at his or hers mother pictures, so it helps to recall the example of the saints by looking at the pictures of them in the church. Catholics also use statue as a teaching tools.  In the early church, they were especially useful for the instruction of the illiterate. It also use statues to commemorate certain people and events.

Gods forbids the [worship] of images as gods, but he doesn't ban the making of images. If he had, religious movies, videos, photographs, paintings, and all similar things would be banned. But, as the case of the bronze serpent shows, God does not even forbid the ritual use of religious images. It is when people begin to adore a statue as a god that the Lord becomes angry. Thus, when people did start to worship the bronze serpent as a snake-God (whom they named 'Nehushtan'), the righteous king Hezekiah had it destroyed. (2 Kgs 18:4)

Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Special thanks to Catholic online resources.