Carrying your cross

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Yesterday we celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. We see beauty in the Cross, because the Passion of our Lord gives a human face to the love of God for a fallen humanity. But paradoxically, the cross is also a symbol and an instrument of powerlessness. There are few things that can match the depravity of this instrument of torture and death. For a brief moment, where hours seem like eternity, the Son of God gave up His access to the powers of the universe so that He could die at our hands. On the wood of the cross, the most powerful being in the universe chose to be powerless. The Lutheran theologian and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, describes the profound significance of this moment, “God allows himself to be edged out of the world and onto the cross. God is weak and powerless in the world, and that is exactly the way, the only way, in which he can be with us and help us.” So what God has done is that He took an instrument of evil, an instrument that brings death and transformed it so that it gives life, brings goodness and healing, and that’s what we hear Jesus saying about himself, “When I am lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, then I will give life.” The instrument of death becomes an instrument of healing, life and salvation.

The power and the powerlessness of the cross provide us with the necessary lens to view our own suffering, our daily crosses. And this is the way we experience God’s power here on earth, sometimes to our great frustration, and this is the way that Jesus was deemed powerful during his lifetime. The Gospels make this clear. Jesus was born powerless, and he died helpless on a cross. Yet both his birth and his death show the kind of power on which we can ultimately build our lives. The cross of Christ, therefore, teaches us that we can find power in weakness, in that which makes us vulnerable and even seemingly powerless. This path is a "road less traveled," a path that, unexpectedly, enables us to achieve genuine control in the face of suffering and even death. The hallmark of this path is the personal decision to accept our sufferings, actively laying down our life on behalf of others by embracing the particular kind of death God has ordained for us, patterning our choice on the choice consciously made by Jesus Christ. As no one had ever done before, Jesus charted the path of love-driven sacrifice, choosing to lay down his life for his friends. He was no mere victim in the sense of being a passive and unwilling participant in his own suffering and death. He was in control. No one could possibly take his life from him, unless he chose to lay it down.

As Christians, we are called to share in the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Like the Mother of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple who faithfully stood by the cross whilst others fled, we too are privileged to perceive the beauty and the glory of the Lord; a beauty and a glory however that is veiled in the ugliness of a tortured body, the degradation of poverty, humility, and vulnerability of the Crucifix that hangs before us. Today, as we commemorate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, let us draw strength and courage from our Blessed Mother, to embrace our daily crosses with hope and to witness our true love of God and our neighbors in bringing God’s kingdom of love, peace, joy, justice, and fellowship amidst hatred, conflicts, violence, depression, sadness, injustice, and self-centeredness.

The hidden power of the cross

Feast of Exaltation of the cross 

Today the church celebrates the Feast of Exaltation of the Cross. The Cross of Christ, the centre and pinnacle of God’s saving work, is also the centerpiece of our faith. The cross reveals the most profound depths of God’s love: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI tells us that “the cross … is the definitive sign par excellence given to us so that we might understand the truth about man and the truth about God; we have all been created and redeemed by a God who sacrificed his only Son out of love. This is why the Crucifixion … is the culmination of that turning of God against himself in which he give himself in order to raise man up and save him. This is love in its most radical form.” (Deus Caritas Est, 12)

The symbolism of power hidden in the cross is often lost on us, and is only revealed as a mystery of revelation. The Cross represents the Sovereign authority of God and his providence. This is certainly difficult to comprehend. Yet, what seems to us to be failure is, in God’s eyes, the victory of sacrificial love. It is on the cross, that Christ receives the highest exaltation from God, ironically, at the moment he suffered the greatest humiliation at the hands of men. As Christ was lifted up on the Cross, now by means of the Cross, he lifts up humanity, and indeed all creation. As today’s gospel reminds us, “for God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved”. The Cross possesses the power to forgive sins which are hidden, the power to heal consciences and human hearts. It is there that we have been set free of the debt of sin and liberated from the clutches of death.

The greatest gift- Faith in Jesus Christ

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

A birthday is an occasion when a person celebrates the anniversary of their birth, and is often celebrated with a gift in commemoration of that particular event. Today the church celebrates the birth of Mary. What would be the best gift for Our Lady on this special occasion? Faith - Faith in Jesus Christ. Her apparitions (eg: Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima)  constantly urged the faithful to turn back to Jesus, the saviour of the world. 

As we celebrate the birth of Mary, it is a great reminder for us to turn to Mary in time of great need, for she is "a sign of sure hope and solace" (Lumen Gentium, 68, Vatican II). There has been but one true revolution in the history of the world and that is precisely the Incarnation in the flesh of the eternal Logos in the person of the God-man Jesus Christ, whereby the power of sin, corruption, death and the authority of Satan are shattered and the chasm between the uncreated God and His creation is bridged. If the Incarnation is a foundational mystery of the faith then the person of Mary from whom Christ received His flesh and was born also stands at the centre of the faith. A faith in Christ which does not include the veneration of his mother is another faith, another Christianity from that held by the Church. A Christmas without the mother would be a meaningless Christmas, for the Word would not have taken flesh and become the source and summit of our salvation.

Today, let us join our voices with all Christians over the world as we lovingly invoke her intercession, “Pray for us O Holy Mother of God … that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ”. Mary continues to labor, through her intercession, so that Christ will be formed in us and so that we will be formed in Christ. For her birthday this year, let's allow her be our mother in the order of grace.

God is not asleep

Feast of St. Monica

For those of us who have been through a crisis would know what it means to be gripped by panic, doubt, fear.  One likely reason for such anxiety is that we begin to wonder whether God is really paying attention to us during our distress or had slept off on the watch. It is enough to drive a man crazy when he is confronted with the deafening silence of God.

Today the church celebrates the feast of St. Monica. She is one of my favourite saints. St. Monica was a tenacious, patient and persistent prayer warrior who pray for 17 years for the conversion of her son, Augustine, who later became so strongly drawn to the faith that he was eventually canonised as one of the church's greatest teachers and philosophers and was designated as a doctor of the church. Wow...17 years of patient and persistence!

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Monica, her life story provides us some insights about God's silence. The silence of God should not be interpreted as His refusal to answer, nor does it indicate that He is disinterested in our affairs. The silence itself is an answer. Today, we may be in the midst of a difficult situation, we may be facing a problem that seems so huge. In human experience, God does not always intervene or seem to intervene as we would desire and our cries of agony often continue unattended. Rather than the presence of God, we perceive only his absence. 

God in His infinite wisdom, reveals Himself both in word and in silence. Both serve His purpose. Both silence and revelation bring us to a point of decision, offering us faith that goes beyond the superficial, a deepened relationship with God, a broadened understanding of who He is. In his silence we come to discover that true joy is not the absence of pain but the presence of God. As we come to accept his Silence, we humbly acknowledge that in this life God never fully discloses all the answers to our questions. Our comprehension will always remain as at dusk, between the full illumination of understanding and the darkness of complete ignorance. We may know enough to see, but not enough to fathom its depth. He has given us what is sufficient for the next stage of our journey, and allows us to crave for more. With that mystery, with that craving, there is a lesson to be learnt - God is to be trusted. This will stand us in good stead for what lies ahead.

However, the good news is God does not remain silent forever, and he is definitely not sleeping on the job. God will speak from the centre of the maelstrom to declare his authority over the mess in our lives, and God will rise up to calm the storms that continue to assail the illusory and temporary calmness of our lives. So, in the face of such stormy weather, what should we do? Pressing the panic button, fleeing or just throwing in the towel are certainly not viable solutions. We recognise that great temptation to abandon faith in God who seems to have abandoned us to our troubles. So, even when He seems silent or asleep, don’t PANIC! Believe that He is firmly in charge and He will steer us on course. 

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia

Queenship of Mary 

Many of us have our favourite devotions to our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, under various titles, such as Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour and our Lady of Good Health. Today the church celebrates the Queenship of Mary, which can be found in the annunciation narrative. For the angel tells her that her Son will be King over the house of Jacob forever. So she, His Mother, would be a Queen.

The titles "king" and "queen" are often used loosely, for those beings that excel in some way. Thus we call the lion the king of beasts, the rose the queen of flowers. Surely Our Lady deserves the title richly for such reasons. But there is much more. The solidly theological reasons for her title of Queen are expressed splendidly by Pope Pius XII, "He, the Son of God, reflects on His heavenly Mother the glory, the majesty and the dominion of His kingship, for, having been associated to the King of Martyrs in the unspeakable work of human Redemption as Mother and cooperator, she remains forever associated to Him, with a practically unlimited power, in the distribution of the graces which flow from the Redemption. Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular choice [of the Father]. And her kingdom is as vast as that of her Son and God, since nothing is excluded from her dominion." (Radiomessage to Fatima, Bendito seja)

Notice that there are two titles for the kingship of Christ: divine nature, and "right of conquest", Eg, the Redemption. She is Queen "through Him, with Him, and subordinate to Him." The qualifications are obvious, and need no explanation. Mary's Queenship is basically a sharing in the royalty of her Son. We do not think of two powers, one infinite, the other finite. No, she and her Son are inseparable, and operate as a unit.

In fitting tribute to Mary, Queen of Heaven, the Holy Theotokos, I close with the lyrics of this hymn that shows the profound connection between Mary and her son Jesus. 

Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day;

Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!

Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine;

Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!

Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread;

Mary the stem, Christ the Rose blood-red!

Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood;

Mary the cup, Christ the Saving Blood!

Mary the temple, Christ the temple's Lord;

Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored!

Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven's Rest;

Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!

Mary the mother, Christ the mother's Son

By all things blest while endless ages run. Amen.

Victory of Love

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Today, the church celebrates the great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church celebrates this feast in commemoration of its solemn belief that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken in soul and body to heaven, that is, to the glory of eternal life, in full and perfect communion with God. Our brothers and sisters from the Eastern Christian tradition, on the other hand, celebrate the event as the Dormition, or Falling asleep, of the Holy Theotokos, the Mother of God. From ancient times, this event has been regarded by Orthodox Christians in the light of a second Pascha, or a second Easter. Thus, the Assumption finds its true glorious meaning in the revealing radiance of the Easter dawning sun.

As we raise our eyes above and through our imagination try to behold the splendour of this wondrous event of our Blessed Mother being assumed body and soul into heaven into the welcoming arms of the Holy Trinity in the presence of the angelic hosts and saintly choir, our vision looks beyond the person of Mary. The Assumption provides us with a glimpse of our future glory, our final home, the holy beatitude of heaven. Pope Benedict speaks to us of the power of this feast as one which “impels us to lift our gaze to Heaven; not to a heaven consisting of abstract ideas or even an imaginary heaven created by art, but the Heaven of true reality which is God himself. God is Heaven. He is our destination, the destination and the eternal dwelling place from which we come and for which we are striving.”

Today’s feast announces the victory of love over death. St Baldwin of Canterbury once delivered this beautiful homily on love and death.   “Death is strong: it has the power to deprive us of the gift of life. Love is strong: it has the power to restore us to the exercise of a better life. Death is strong, strong enough to despoil us of this body of ours. Love is strong, strong enough to rob death of its spoils and restore them to us. Death is strong; for no man can resist it. Love is strong; for it can triumph over death, can blunt its sting, counter its onslaught and overturn its victory. A time will come when death will be trampled underfoot; when it will be said: ‘Death, where is your sting? Death, where is your attack?” On this feast of Assumption, death is trampled beneath the foot of the woman who bore the Saviour of the world. Today, we celebrate the love of God and the love of our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, the Holy Theotokos, the New Eve, the Second Pascha and Hodegetria, She who shows the Way. We celebrate love’s triumph and victory over death. Today, we echo the hope of Mary in affirming the greatness of God – this is the God, who according to St. Paul, will put all his enemies including death under his feet.

Infinite Glory

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. One may ask what is the significance of this mysterious appearance which we celebrate today. In today's feast celebration, it revealed to us the true identity of our Lord as the Beloved Son of God, Light from Light, True God from True God. We get a glimpse of this when the disciples see Jesus transfigured on the mountain and His face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white (Mark 9:2-3).  

But this momentous event reveals something more! It reveals what is to become of us. The Transfiguration peels away the seemingly impenetrable veil that separates the world of the Invisible from our realm of the Visible. As we encounter the toils of our existence, the many tragedies that life brings, we need the light of the Transfiguration to keep us focused, strengthened, and faithful to the journey with Christ into the wilderness and along the Via Dolorosa of his Passion. We need to have before us the Transfiguration so that we may have a glimpse of the end of the story, the dawning glory of Easter, in order to be sustained in the midst the darkness, pain and isolation that we must endure not just in the forty days during Lent but also throughout our life long Lent. In the Transfiguration we taste the sweetness often hidden in the bitterness of failure, suffering and pain. In the Transfiguration we behold the beauty and glory often covered beneath layers of soot and the grime, concealed by the awful and scandalous experience of humanity’s suffering! In the Transfiguration, we finally receive the answer to the inexplicable mysteries concealed by death, an answer that can only be found in the Resurrection!