The Church has frequently proclaimed her faith in the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. It forms, as it were, the "continuation" o f the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the firstborn of many brethren (Rom 8:29), extended to all men and women, living and dead, just and sinners, that will take place when He comes at the end of time. At death the soul is separated from the body; with the resurrection, body and soul are reunited again for ever (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 997). The dogma of the resurrection of the dead refers to the fullness of immortality to which mankind is destined, but at the same time it is a vivid reminder of our dignity, and in particular of the dignity of the body. It speaks to us of the goodness of the world, of the body, of the value of a life lived out day by day, of the eternal vocation of matter. That is why in the second century when writing against the Gnostics, the phrase resurrection "of the flesh" was used—that is to say, human life in its most material aspect, temporal, changeable, apparently fleeting.

St Thomas Aquinas considered the doctrine of the resurrection to be natural in respect to its final cause (because the soul is made to be united to the body and vice versa), but supernatural in respect to its efficient cause (that is, God). [1]

The risen body will be real and material, but not earthly or mortal. St Paul rejected the idea of resurrection as a transformation happening within human history, and spoke of the resurrected body as "glorious" (cf. Phil 3:21) and "spiritual" (cf. Col 15:44). The resurrection of every man and woman, as happened with Christ, will take place after death.

The Church in the name of Christian faith does not promise us a successful life on this earth. She does not talk of a "utopia," since our earthly life will always be marked by the Cross. However, through the reception of Baptism and the Eucharist, the process of resurrection has is some way already begun (cf. CCC, 1000). According to St Thomas, at the resurrection the soul will inform the body so deeply that it will reflect the soul's moral and spiritual qualities. [2] Thus the final resurrection, which will take place when Christ comes in glory, will make possible the definitive judgement of the living and the dead.

With respect to the doctrine of the resurrection four points can be made:

—the doctrine of the final resurrection excludes theories of reincarnation, according to which the human soul after death migrates to another body, repeatedly if necessary, until it is finally purified. In this regard, Vatican Council II referred to "the one life we live," [3] for it is established that men die only once (Heb 9:27);

—the veneration of relics of the saints is a clear manifestation of the Church's faith in the resurrection of the body;

— although cremation of the human body is not illicit, unless it has been chosen for reasons that go against faith (cf. CCC, 1176), the Church strongly advises maintaining the pious custom of burying the dead. "The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in the faith and hope of the resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy: it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit." (CCC 2300);

— the resurrection of the dead accords with what Holy Scripture calls the coming of "the new heavens and the new earth" (cf. CCC, 1042; 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1) Not only will mankind attain glory, but the entire cosmos in which we live and move will be transformed. "The Church to which all have been called in Christ Jesus and in which, by the grace of God, we achieve sanctity," we read in Lumen Gentium (no. 48), "will not achieve its full perfection until 'the time comes for the restoration of all things' (Acts 3:21), and when along with human kind the whole universe, so intimately united with man and through him achieving its end, will be perfectly renewed." There will certainly be continuity between this world and the new world, but also an important discontinuity. The hope of the definitive installation of Christ's kingdom shouldn't weaken but rather strengthen, with the theological virtue of hope, our effort to achieve progress on earth (CCC 1049).

https://opusdei.org/en/article/topic-16-i-believe-in-the-resurrection-of-the-body-and-life-everlasting/

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm. 

Eight days ago, we and all the rest of the 1.3 billion Catholics throughout the world gazed with wonder and gratitude on the Resurrection of our Lord.

Today, we turn our eyes back to the little group of Apostles who, eight days after Easter Sunday, were gathered once again in the upper room. And Jesus appears to them, once again, in the glory of his resurrected body, effortlessly passing through their locked doors and their hidden fears.

The first thing he does is go after the one lost sheep whose heart is astray: he lets doubting St Thomas touch his glorious wounds, mercifully removing all doubts that had separated him from the rest of the tiny church.

And then he looks into the eyes of his Apostles, breathes on them, and gives them the power and task to forgive sins in his name. This was the start of the sacrament of confession, which ever since then has been bringing other stray sheep back into the Good Shepherd's merciful care.

Almost 20 centuries after that encounter between Christ and his Apostles, in the year 2000, Pope John Paul II established this first Sunday after Easter as a universal Feast of the Church in honor of that Divine Mercy.

In so doing, he was fulfilling a request our Lord himself made in his appearances to the Polish nun, St Faustina Kowalska.

Just the thought of Christ's mercy fills us with confidence and hope. But it should also fill us with humility. If Christ is so eager to spread the news about his boundless mercy, it's because we need that mercy.

It's because sin is a reality in our lives and in our world, and sin causes real damage that only Christ can repair. This is the tough side of God's mercy - the reality of sin.

Being Images of Christ's Mercy

In the revelations of his Divine Mercy, Jesus asked St Faustina to commission a painting. The painting would show Jesus standing, dressed in a white alb, with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand opening his heart.

Out of his heart there were to be streaming two beams of light - one white and the other red. He explained what those rays symbolized:

• The two rays denote Blood and Water.
• The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous [baptism].
• The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls [the Eucharist].
• These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross ...
• Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (Diary, 299).

Today Jesus is reminding us of the power and abundance of his mercy. We should be full of joy and confidence at this reminder. But what about all of our brothers and sisters who aren't with us? What about all our neighbors, colleagues, and classmates who have never experienced Christ's mercy or never heard about it?

Jesus died for them too. And he is sending us to be messengers of his mercy to them. By our kind, truthful words, avoiding all gossip and useless criticism, we shine forth the white light of Christ's mercy.

And by our selfless acts of service to others, seeking no reward except the joy of following Christ, we become extensions of the red ray of Christ's very own life, given up for us on the cross.

Today, as Christ feeds us once again from the very fountain of mercy, Holy Communion, let's ask him for the grace to be living images, living paintings, of his mercy in this world so wounded by sin.

History of the Message and Devotion to Divine Mercy

The Message of the Divine Mercy that Sr. Faustina received from the Lord was not only directed toward her personal growth in faith but also toward the good of the people. With the command of our Lord to paint an image according to the pattern that Sr. Faustina had seen, came also a request to have this image venerated, first in the Sisters' chapel, and then throughout the world. The same is true with the revelations of the Chaplet. The Lord requested that this Chaplet be said not only by Sr. Faustina, but by others: "Encourage souls to say the Chaplet that I have given you."

The same is true of the revelation of the Feast of Mercy. "The Feast of Mercy emerged from my very depths of tenderness. It is my desire that it solemnly be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the fount of My Mercy."

These requests of the Lord given to Sr. Faustina between 1931 and 1938 can be considered the beginning of the Divine Mercy Message and Devotion in the new forms.

Through the efforts of Sr. Faustina's spiritual directors, Fr. Michael Sopocko, and Fr. Joseph Andrasz, SJ, and others — including the Marians of the Immaculate Conception — this message began to spread throughout the world.

However, it is important to remember that this message of The Divine Mercy, revealed to St. Faustina and to our present generation is not new. It is a powerful reminder of who God is and has been from the very beginning. This truth that God is in His very nature Love and Mercy Itself, is given to us by our Judeo-Christian faith and God's self-revelation. The veil that has hidden the mystery of God from eternity was lifted by God Himself. In His goodness and love God chose to reveal Himself to us, His creatures, and to make known His eternal plan of salvation. This He had done partly through the Old Testament Patriarchs, Moses and the Prophets, and fully through His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the person of Jesus Christ, conceived through power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, the unseen God was made visible.

Jesus reveals God as Merciful Father

The Old Testament speaks frequently and with great tenderness about God's mercy. Yet, it was Jesus, who through His words and actions, revealed to us in an extraordinary way, God as a loving Father, rich in mercy and abounding in great kindness and love. In Jesus' merciful love and care for the poor, the oppressed, the sick and the sinful, and especially in His freely choosing to take upon Himself the punishment for our sins (a truly horrible suffering and death on the Cross), so that all may be freed from destructive consequences and death, He manifested in a superabundant and radical way the greatness of God's love and mercy for humanity. In His person as God-Man, one in being with the Father, Jesus both reveals and is God's Love and Mercy Itself.

The message of God's Love and Mercy is especially made known by the Gospels.

The good news revealed through Jesus Christ is that God's love for each person knows no bounds, and no sin or infidelity, no matter how horrible, will separate us from God and His love when we turn to Him in confidence, and seek his mercy. God's will is our salvation. He has done all on our behalf, but since He made us free, He invites us to choose Him and partake of His divine life. We become partakers of His divine life when we believe in His revealed truth and trust Him, when we love Him and remain true to His word, when we honor Him and seek His Kingdom, when we receive Him in Communion and turn away from sin; when we are mutually caring and forgiving.

https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/history

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

1. Please note that April 5^th and 6^th (Monday and Tuesday) are public holidays; our church will be closed after the 9:00 AM Mass is over.
2. As the fourth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic has gradually stabilized, the government has relaxed its "Group Gathering" measures to allow ceremonial gatherings to resume subject to appropriate precautionary measures.  Please refer here for the latest Chancery Notice with regard to public masses, pastoral guidelines, etc.
3. Novena of Divine Mercy - Friday, 02 April 2021 to Saturday, 10 April 2021, 15:00 PM 
4. Divine Mercy Sunday, 11 April 2021 Morning Sunday Mass, 2nd Sunday of Easter (08:45, 10:00, and 11:15)  Afternoon Mass, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday; 13:00, Adoration; 14:00, Confession; 15:00, Chaplet of Divine Mercy followed by Holy Eucharist.

On the first day of the week, the third day of his Passion, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Today is his day.

Many great historical figures have led exemplary lives, taught wise doctrines, and even died for the truth. But only one has risen again. Among the vast array of humanity's greatest heroes, only about Jesus Christ can we say: "He rose again on the third day, in fulfillment of the scriptures."

Only in Christ's resurrection do goodness and power finally unite. The good guy wins! Only in Christ's resurrection does love prove that it is stronger than death.

In Christ and in his resurrection, a new - a wildly new - hope dawns for all mankind, the hope that if we stay united to him through faith and grace, we will rise with him, rise from our very tombs, and live with him forever in the never-ending adventure of heaven.

No one else offers such a hope, because no one else has risen from the dead to be able to offer it - only the Lord.

The Resurrection is the definitive watershed in the history of religions; it makes Christianity absolutely unique. In the Resurrection, reality becomes more wonderful than myth.

Only the reality of the Resurrection can explain the reality of the history of the Church: A few weak, non-influential, and uneducated fishermen from Galilee, frightened out of their wits when Jesus was arrested and executed, suddenly become world travelers, phenomenally successful preachers, and valiant martyrs.

And the Church they spread continues to spread after they die, holding fast to the exact same doctrine they preached, century after century, in nation after nation. Only the abiding presence of the Lord can explain this, and only the resurrection explains the abiding presence of the Lord. This is what makes us, as Christians, different.

Happy Easter, may the resurrect Jesus always lives among you. 

Not surprisingly, early Christians used candles in their liturgies. Initially this was done for practical purposes (especially when praying in the catacombs), but the light coming from the candles quickly became symbolic.

The candle-lit ceremonies reminded Christians of Jesus' words in the Gospel of John, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). For this reason, candles became a central part of Christian worship and were associated with the light of Christ.

Besides using multiples candles for practical illumination purposes, there began a tradition where a single candle was used as a direct symbol of Jesus. According to Fr. Edward McNamara, "The most likely origin [of the Easter candle] is that it derived from the Lucernarium, the evening office with which early Christians began the vigil for every Sunday and especially that of Easter. In turn, this rite is probably inspired by the Jewish custom of lighting a lamp at the conclusion of the Sabbath. The rite therefore has its roots in the very beginning of Christianity. In the Lucernarium rite the light destined to dispel the darkness of night was offered to Christ as the splendor of the Father and indefectible light. This Sunday rite was logically carried out with greater solemnity during the Easter Vigil."

Over time the Easter candle was given greater prominence and was decorated to further expound on the Paschal mystery. Below is a brief guide to the Easter candle along with the corresponding symbolism.

Wax Candle

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "The pure wax extracted by bees from flowers symbolizes the pure flesh of Christ received from His Virgin Mother, the wick signifies the soul of Christ, and the flame represents His divinity."

Light

The Roman Missal summarizes this symbolism perfectly, "May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds." This connects the Easter candle to Jesus, "light of the world," as he describes himself in the Gospel of John.

From the Easter candle are lit all the other candles in the church, showing how Jesus is the source of our light.

Flame

The flame is reminiscent of the "pillar of fire" that led the people of Israel and protected them as they escaped the slavery of the Egyptians. The Exsultet refers to this symbolism when it states, "This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin."

Cross

The cross is the supreme symbol of Jesus and the instrument through which he saved the world from sin and death.

Alpha and Omega

It is common in Christian art to find two Greek letters: the alpha (Α) and omega (Ω). These two letters have an ancient history in Christianity and are rooted in the book of Revelation, where Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:6-7).

Year

As the priest traces the year on the Easter candle, he prays, "All time belongs to him, and all the ages." This reminds us that God is here with us today and is constantly guiding all creation to himself.

Grains of incense

Five grains of incense are inserted into the candle on top of the cross, symbolizing the five "holy and glorious wounds" of Jesus Christ.

https://aleteia.org/2018/04/10/heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-easter-candle/

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

Today we are in the middle of a paradox. On the one hand, we are filled with joy. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, throngs of people rejoice. The promised Savior has finally come! The Messiah is here! Redemption is at hand!

But then, on the other hand, we turn towards the sorrowful narrative of our Lord's rejection, suffering, and death - with his passion. Palm Sunday is also Passion Sunday. It is a solemn, silent moment.

How can a day of triumph be filled with both joy and sorrow? Because what seems to be Christ's defeat is actually his victory, the victory of everlasting love. "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

That's what Jesus taught, and that's what he did in his passion, to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that his love for us has no limits. The angels sang "Glory to God in the Highest" when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and now the people sing, "Hosanna in the Highest" as Jesus enters Jerusalem.

Both entrances were motivated by God's love, the same love that led him to be obedient to the Father even to the point of death, so as to reverse the disobedience of Adam, pay the price of our sins, and rescue fallen mankind from hopelessness and injustice.

We have solved our paradox. The source of our sorrow is sin, our sins, the cause of Christ's suffering. But the source of our joy is Christ's love, the very reason Jesus was willing to suffer, and the very power that, through his sacrifice on the cross, conquers our sins.

And so Christians can always live inside the paradox of Palm Sunday, can always find joy, the joy of Christ's limitless love, even amidst the profoundest sorrows.

Bringing Christ's Victory to Others

During these days, the Holy Spirit wants to teach how to live this paradox more deeply. He will do so as we spend more time with Christ in personal prayer and come together for the special liturgies during the week.

If we live this week well, seven days from now we will know Christ's love for us better, and so we will be better able to experience true Christian joy, even in the midst of life's trials.

We should be grateful for the freedom we have in this country to celebrate Holy Week, a freedom not all Catholics enjoy, and we should also be grateful for our faith, that precious gift which is the key to living these days fruitfully.

But there are many people around us who do not have this faith. Each of us knows some of them: neighbors, colleagues, even family members. Maybe no one ever told them about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Redeemer. Maybe life's challenges made them fall into temptation, trading in their true Christian faith for some other, more fashionable world view.

Whatever the reason, the fact remains: they don't have palm branches in their hands today. They are not sharing in Christ's victory, not even a little bit. They are like the people in the Gospel who came up to the rejoicing crowds and asked, "Who is this? What's going on?"

Is there any better way for us to celebrate this holiest week of the year than by answering that question? By telling them who Jesus is and who he wants to be for them?

Pope John Paul II used to say that the best way to grow in our own faith was by giving it away to others. This week, strengthened by our celebration today, let's put that theory to the test. Christ's victory is too precious to keep to ourselves.

Today we begin the celebration of Holy Week. For many of us, this is known as Palm Sunday. But if we came here to Church only because of the palms, we are terribly mistaken. This celebration is not about the palms. This is all about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is Passion Sunday. That is why the Gospel reading we heard is very long. It is the story of the Passion of our Lord.

The Celebration Palm Sunday Mass of the Passion of the Lord, the final Sunday of Lent and the start of Holy Week is the most solemn week on the Christian calendar. Palm Sunday Mass begins by recalling Jesus' entry in Jerusalem when palm branches were waved and cloaks placed at his feet. Christ's triumphant journey to the Mount of Olives. This week sees the climax of the mission of Jesus Christ in which the deepest meaning of his life is unfolded and in which his teaching becomes very real for us in his own words and actions -- his suffering, death, and resurrection. It begins in triumph; it descends into the suffering of death on Friday and rises with joy in the resurrection of Easter.

Ultimately, our liturgy turns our attention to the central event of Holy Week, one which has been at the center of our reflection and penance all during Lent. For us, as Christians, this is the ultimate event of Jesus' life. And, for that reason, that gives the further title to the celebration of today: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. The cross is the central event of the Passion. On the cross, Jesus is the Suffering Servant…the willing Servant, the One who gives himself on behalf of all humanity and in obedience to the will of the Father. That suffering won for all of us and all humanity the definitive victory over sin and hopelessness - a victory we declare and celebrate with these palm branches. These were the ancient world's symbol of victory.

Reflecting during this Holy Week, on the purpose of Jesus' death, saying it both comforts and challenges us. By his self-giving act of dying on the cross, he redeems us; he saves us from our sins and reconciles us with God. The challenge is the call he gives us to be his disciples, to live like him, drawing closer to Christ and letting him win over our hearts.

We should not let this Holy Week be like any other week. Spend some time reading over this beautiful story of the Passion during the week. Give the One who gave his life for each of us a chance to enter your heart this week. The week is holy because God is with us. Come to know him once again. His love gives life, hope, and joy."

The palms will be kept in our homes until the approach of the next Lenten season, when they will be burned to create the ashes used on Ash Wednesday. The vestments worn on Palm Sunday are red, the symbol of martyrdom and blood, a color that will be again used on Good Friday.

The celebration of Holy Week continues with the Chrism Mass, during which the bishop will bless the oil of the sick and the oil of the catechumens and consecrate the sacred chrism. The oil of the sick is used to anoint the sick, the oil of catechumens to bless those preparing for baptism, and the sacred chrism is used for baptism, confirmation, and the ordination of priests, as well as the consecration of altars and churches.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

A group of St Anne's parishioners recently attended the WCCM (World Community for Christian Meditation)  Lenten Retreat in St Paul's House of Prayer in Sheung Shui over the weekend, March 13-14, 2021

Back row L to R: Anthony Tse, Dee Mulligan, John Mulligan, Joanne Cheng, Daniel Lee, Paul Jackson, Irene Jackson
Front row: Naomi Chui, Agnes Chiu Lee, Danielle Lee, Vivian Lee and Fr Tommy Murphy, our retreat master. 

We live in a technology-centered world. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that. Even advanced technology is morally neutral; it is a useful tool, either for doing good or for doing evil.

But our experience of the power of technology to solve material difficulties can pose a danger to our spiritual lives. We can forget that as Christians, what matters most is not what we are able to do for God or for ourselves, but what God has done and wants to do for us.

Jesus is first and foremost our Savior, not our consultant. Jeremiah makes this clear in today's First Reading.

Through the prophet's words, God explains that, he will make an everlasting covenant with us; he will plant the law of freedom and interior peace within our hearts; he will forgive our evildoing and remember our sin no more.

The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of this same truth.

Jesus doesn't point out how to reach everlasting happiness and then send us on our way, as if we could make the journey by our own efforts. Rather, through his life, death, and resurrection, he himself becomes the "source of eternal salvation."

And in today's Gospel passage, Jesus himself explains that his total love and obedience, up to the point of his humiliating death on a cross, is the turning point of history. With his self-sacrificial crucifixion, "the ruler of this world will be driven out."

In other words, Christ's faithful love will undo Adam's original sin and conquer the devil's sinful rebellion, the source of evil in the world. By announcing this beforehand, he shows that he is going to suffer it willingly, freely fulfilling his Father's plan of salvation.

And this - what God has done for us - matters more than anything we can possibly do for God.

Letting Christ Be Our Savior

The more we experience Jesus as our Savior, the more we will experience the abundant life, the interior peace, wisdom, strength, and meaning, that comes with his salvation.

But because our culture is so secularized, we have to make an effort to let him be our Savior. Two of the key activities for Lent (which is almost over!) can help us do that.

First, we can choose to spend time with him in prayer, even if, from a practical, technical standpoint, prayer may seem like a waste of time.

Second, we can choose to spend time serving others who are suffering and in need. The traditional name for this kind of Christian charity is almsgiving.

We all know people who are suffering. They may be suffering economically - their marriage and family life stressed by financial pressures beyond their control. They may be suffering physically - their body and mind weakened or ravaged by disease, injury, or old age. They may be suffering emotionally - working through an experience of betrayal, infidelity, or loss. They may be suffering existentially - wondering why they are on the planet and where they can find a reason for living.

As Catholics, we experience those same forms of suffering, but we know what to do with them. We bring them to Christ, our all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving Savior; we grip our crucifixes; we offer them to the Father for the salvation of souls and the reparation of sins. In the few remaining weeks of Lent, let's reach out and help lighten someone else's cross, just as our Savior constantly helps lighten ours.

Let's show-and-tell, with our actions and words, someone else about the Savior they are looking for. Who knows, maybe by sharing the good news of God's love with others, we will come to believe it more deeply ourselves. 

The question of the meaning of suffering, in many ways an impenetrable question, finds an answer, above all, in the Passion of Jesus. On the cross, Jesus not only embraced human suffering in an incomparable way, but also made suffering redemptive. He conquered evil with good. He accomplished our salvation from sin and death by His own suffering on the cross. In suffering voluntarily and innocently, Christ gives the answer to the question about suffering and its meaning.

Much of the troubles in the world are caused by people who would rather run away than face their problems, difficulties and sufferings. Drug addiction, divorce, abortion and all vices are results of this desire to run away and avoid difficult situations. But we have to be constantly reminded that suffering is part of our human existence in this world. Problems and difficulties are realities in the world that we cannot avoid. It is utterly pointless to run away from them.

We see sufferings everywhere. For many of us, it is understandable if those who are suffering are the evil people. But that is not the case. What we see are innocent people and children who suffer the most. That is why we are tempted to complain to God. Why do the good and innocent suffer? If God is love and full of mercy, why does He allow these people to suffer? If God is all- powerful, why does He not put a stop to suffering?

The answer to all these questions is right in front of us: the image of Jesus nailed to the cross. God became man like us in all things but sin. Jesus is God in human flesh. It is God who is nailed to the cross. It is God who suffers and dies. And He never complained. He did not succumb to the temptation to use His powers to get down from the cross. He did not stop His own suffering. All these He endured so that we can be saved and have the fullness of life. The image of Jesus on the cross simply tells us one very important truth: God has no intention of taking away suffering from the world. In fact, He, too, suffered, for in His unfathomable wisdom, He knows there is great value in suffering: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12:24).

And if we are suffering in this world, the cross tells us that God is also suffering – for us and with us. We are not suffering alone; God is one with us in our suffering. The suffering and death of Jesus gained for us eternal life. He was the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, and his death brought life and salvation to the whole world. This truth must give us inspiration and strength to bear our crosses patiently and follow Jesus to Calvary.

Unfortunately, many people still remain in the darkness of death due to selfishness and sin. Selfishness is what prevents us from living life to the full. Jesus reminds us: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." (Jn 12:25). Clinging on to a life in this world, which ultimately is passing away makes us blind to the beauty and infinite goodness of eternal life. On the other hand, willingness to let go of this life for the sake of eternity helps us discover the fullness of life here and hereafter.

It is only in dying to our self that we begin to live. Like the bread that must be broken in order to be shared to others; and like the candle that must be consumed in order to give light, so also we must learn to give of ourselves, to die to ourselves, in order for others to live. In so doing, we make our own lives more meaningful and fruitful, for we are able to share fully in the life Jesus – a life of total self-giving. For truly, as beautifully put by St. Francis of Assisi, "it is in giving that we receive; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

During the remaining days of Lent, let us seriously do some acts of self-denial: fasting, abstinence, almsgiving, sacrifices and acts of penance. These will surely help us practice dying. Saying "no" to our pleasurable vices, saying "no" to a comfortable and pampered lifestyle, saying "no" to selfish search for worldly gain and success will be very painful for most of us and could be tantamount to dying. But we have to, in order that we may be able to share ourselves with others – so that others may live. This is what martyrdom means nowadays, not anymore bloody martyrdom, but equally painful and fruitful martyrdom.

St. Gemma Galgani said, "If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love."

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

Join us for a taste of meditation! Every week, the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) hosts an hour of online meditation, and every month, there will be a bilingual session. The program consists of a teaching on meditation, instructions on how to meditate, 25-minutes meditation, and finally the Gospel of the day. There is sharing but only if you wish to participate. A community of 40-50 people join each time.

Thursdays, 8:00 PM

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89503349036?pwd=WmVjZzIvTDBlYzJ0Z2JHUFE2YUFEQT09

Meeting ID: 895 0334 9036

Passcode: 304121

11 March (Cantonese)
18 March (Cantonese)
25 March (Cantonese)

01 April (Bilingual)

You never really know someone until you know what's in their heart - what motivates them, what they're looking for, why they do what they do.

In the Gospel passage we just listened to, Jesus lays bare the heart of God.

Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, Israel's ruling body. It is at night - Nicodemus was afraid to come to talk to Jesus during the day-time, afraid to be seen with him. Maybe they are sitting around a campfire, or at a table with an oil lamp on it, casting restless shadows on their faces.

What message does Jesus give to this confused and fearful Jewish leader?

The history of salvation, from the fall of Adam and Eve until the final judgment, revolves around the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Son of God. Why did he come? Because the Father sent him. Why did the Father send him? Because he "loved the world so much." God simply couldn't bear to see us perish in our sins; he longed to share with us his everlasting life. He cares. God cares.

And Jesus Christ is the definitive proof that he cares.

He cares so much that he is willing to sacrifice his only Son to atone for the sins that have separated man from God, the source of all good things. We need look no further to find the very core of the Gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life."

No hidden agenda, no selfish undertones - pure generosity. This is the heart of God, of the Lord who longs for our friendship. Only when we internalize this fundamental motive of God does our Christian adventure really begin.

After the legalization of the Church by Constantine, the Church fathers continued to emphasize the importance of confession. St. Ambrose (d. 397) wrote, "It seemed impossible that sins should be forgiven through penance; Christ granted this power to the Apostles and from the Apostles it has been transmitted to the office of priests" (De poenitentia). Similarly, St. Athanasius (d. 373) asserted, "As the man whom the priest baptizes is enlightened by the grace of the Holy Ghost, so does he who in penance confesses his sins, receive through the priest forgiveness in virtue of the grace of Christ" (Contra Novatus). By the mid-400s and the pontificate of Leo I, private confession under the seal of secrecy became the norm to safeguard the reputation of the penitent and to attract others to the sacrament.

Therefore, we go to confession because it is a sacrament given to us by Christ, and it has always been a practice of the Church. This sacrament reconciles us first with God: "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with Him in an intimate friendship" (Catechism, #1468). Secondly, the sacrament reconciles us with the Church: "It must be recalled that… this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations, which repair the other breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He is reconciled with all creation" (John Paul II, Reconciliatio et paenitentia).

This sacrament is so important in our sharing in the life of Christ, the Church has even mandated its practice. To prevent laxity, the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) required that "every faithful of either sex who has reached the age of discretion should at least once a year faithfully confess all his sins to his own priest. He should strive as far as possible to fulfill the penance imposed on him, and with reverence receive at least during Easter time the sacrament of the Eucharist": This rule is still a precept of the Church, commonly called the "Easter Duty." The Council of Trent in 1551 in its Doctrine on the Sacrament of Penance asserted that since mortal sin "kills" the life of God in our souls, these sins must be confessed and absolved through the Sacrament of Penance (a principle repeated by Pope John Paul II in The Splendor of Truth). Trent also said "it is right and profitable" to confess venial sins.

We could end the answer here. However, regular confession is a healthy spiritual practice. Each sincere Catholic needs to periodically– every month or two– do a good examination of conscience holding himself to the standard of Christ. Each person should reflect on how well he has lived a "Christ like life" by following the commandments and the teachings of the Church. Perhaps one's failures are not so much commissions as they are omissions. For all of these, we bring our soul to the Lord and receive forgiveness. The healing grace of the Sacrament of Penance washes away sin and gives us the strength to avoid that sin again. The more we love the Lord, the more we are aware of the smallest sins and the more we want to say, "Lord, I am sorry. Please forgive me." I am sure this is why Pope John Paul II goes to confession weekly, as did Mother Teresa during her life. We too ought to take full advantage of this beautiful sacrament which draws us closer to the Lord.

https://catholicstraightanswers.com/why-go-to-confession/

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

We all want to be satisfied in life. That's what happiness is, really, the achievement of satisfaction, of spiritual contentment, of a sense of fulfillment that doesn't wear out. Everything we do is directed towards that end.

It's like we have a homing device built into our hearts, and it keeps drawing us towards fulfillment and satisfaction. We keep seeking new activities, accomplishments, relationships, adventures - all because we feel this interior drive for fulfillment, meaning, and happiness.

This is a good thing. God made us that way. He put the homing device in our hearts, because he wants us to find that satisfaction and fulfillment, that happiness.

But there is a problem. Ever since sin entered into the world, we have had a tendency to look for this fulfillment in the wrong places.

God designed the human heart to find its lasting fulfillment in a deep, personal, ongoing friendship with him - in what the Catechism calls "communion with God" (#45). This is why the first three commandments, as we read in today's First Reading, have to do with our relationship with God - that's the most important thing.

But our fallen human nature tends to look for it in other places: career success, money, pleasure, power, popularity... But that is wrong.

Those things are fine in themselves, and they have their place in the human story. But they cannot substitute God! Only God can satisfy our deepest longing.

And that's why Jesus gets so worked up in today's Gospel passage.

The Temple was set aside as a place where people could go to pray, to encounter God and develop their friendship with him. But all of these merchants and money changers had made it into a mall, a place of buying and selling things!

The place that should have helped people find God had gradually become full of obstacles to finding God. Jesus passionately wants us to find God, because he wants us to find true satisfaction.

Two Methods for Cleansing the Soul

Jesus wants our friendship, because the only place we can find the fulfillment and satisfaction we yearn for is in communion with God.

And he wants this for us so much, that sometimes he goes to extreme measures in order to cleanse the temple of our hearts.

Many times, this is why he permits suffering in our lives.

When we suffer, we are forced out of our comfort zone; we learn our limitations; we discover that the promises of this world's politicians, advertisers, and self-help gurus just don't hold up under pressure.

When that happens, we can become more open to hearing God's voice, to stop pretending that we don't really need God and start leaning more completely on God.

But Jesus doesn't want to have to resort to extreme measures all the time.

And so, he gives us another option, an ongoing opportunity for us to work with him in cleansing out the temple of our hearts. It's called confession.

The sacrament of reconciliation is a voluntary cleansing of the temple. As Christians, our hearts are the real temple of God - the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Trinity dwell within us.

But our sins and selfish actions and habits can turn that temple into a place of confusion, noise, and tension, instead of one where we encounter God and discover his love.

Whenever we make a good confession, we give Jesus free entrance into our hearts, so that he can cleanse them, and fill them up again with the light and strength of his friendship.

Jesus wants to lead us to the meaning and fulfillment we long for. Today, let's promise that we'll give him the chance to do so. 

Jesus entered this world to forgive sins. Recall the words of our Lord: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him may not die but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). During His public ministry, Jesus preached about the forgiveness of sins: remember the parables of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11ff) or the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1ff), and His teaching that "there will likewise be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent" (Luke 15:7). Jesus Himself forgave sins: remember the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1ff) or the woman who washed His feet with her tears (Luke 7:36ff). He also taught us to pray for forgiveness in the "Our Father": "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" (cf. Matthew 5:9ff). His mission of reconciliation would climax in His passion, death, and resurrection: Jesus suffered, died, and rose to free us from sin and death.

However, Jesus never trivialized sin nor rationalized it. No, for Jesus, sin is sin, a violation of love against God, self, and neighbor. However, in His divine mercy, Jesus called the sinner to realize the sin, to repent of it, and to be reconciled with God, self, and neighbor.

Jesus wanted this ministry of reconciliation to continue. On that first Easter Sunday evening, Jesus appeared to His apostles, "breathed on them," and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound" (John 20:21-23). Only twice in Sacred Scripture do we find God breathing into human beings. First, in the Genesis account of creation, God breathes the life of a soul into the man He has created (Genesis 2:7). Now, Jesus, the Son, breathes His life into His apostles, His priests, so that through them He will "breathe" life into the souls of contrite sinners. In this scene, Christ instituted the Sacrament of Penance and made His apostles the ministers of it.

At the ascension, Jesus again charged His apostles with this ministry: "Thus it is written that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. In His name, penance for the remission of sins is to be preached to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of this" (Luke 24:46ff). Clearly, Jesus came to forgive sins, He wanted that reconciliation to continue, and He gave the Church a sacrament through which priests would continue to act as the ministers of this reconciliation.

We see this ministry of reconciliation lived-out in the early Church. St. Paul wrote, "God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (II Cor 5:18). The Didache (or Teachings of the Twelve Apostles), written about AD 80, stated, "In the congregation you shall confess your transgressions" and "On the Lord's Day, come together and break bread… having confessed your transgressions that your sacrifice may be pure." St. Cyprian in his De lapsis (c. 251) concerning the reconciliation of Christians who had succumbed to offering pagan worship rather than face martyrdom, wrote, "Let each confess his sin while he is still in this world, while his confession can be received, while satisfaction and the forgiveness granted by the priests is acceptable to God." At this time of persecution, when local "parishes" were small, individuals publicly confessed their sins at the beginning of Mass (as mentioned in the Didache) and received absolution from the bishop or priest.

https://catholicstraightanswers.com/why-go-to-confession/

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

We are still at the beginning of Lent, this season of repentance and penitence, but today the Church is already talking to us about the Resurrection.

In the transfiguration of Jesus in today's Gospel, Peter, James, and John get a glimpse of Christ's eternal glory, the glory he claimed fully after the resurrection.

St. Paul, in today's Second Reading, writes passionately about God's power and faithfulness as revealed in Christ. And he actually changes his emphasis mid-sentence to take the spotlight off Christ's death on the cross and let it shine on his glorious resurrection.

And in the passage about Abraham and Isaac, which narrates events that took place almost 2000 years before Christ, the release of Isaac from his bonds gives him new life - this too is a symbol of Christ's resurrection.

Even today's Psalm, when it speaks about walking with the Lord in the Land of the living and God "loosening the bonds" of his servant, is pointing our attention towards Christ's glorious resurrection.

And yet, Easter is still more than a month away! What's going on here? It's very simple, really.

Lent is indeed meant to be a time of repentance and penitence, a time of sacrifice and reflection in which we acknowledge the weight of suffering in the world and in our lives, suffering that always has its roots in sin.

This suffering is always part of the story of every human life, with or without Christ; but with Christ, it is not the end of the story. Crosses purify us of selfishness, if we allow them to, teaching us to lean more on Christ and to have a greater experience of his wisdom and joy - his resurrection.

In our Catholic faith, the cross and resurrection are two sides of the same coin; we must never allow ourselves to think of one without thinking of the other.

Carrying Each Other's Crosses

This balance between the cross and the resurrection, sorrow and joy, helps make sense out of a lot of confusing aspects of the spiritual life.

Since both are necessary for our growth in holiness, just as sunlight and darkness are both necessary for the growth of plants, God allows us to experience both, in accordance with the timing that he deems best.

In the resurrection moments, God grants us exceptional clarity and satisfaction in our Christian journey. But, like spoiled children, we tend to hold on to those good feelings as if they were God himself.

We echo Peter's comment in today's Gospel: "Lord it is good for us to be here! Let's just put up some tents and never leave!" But earth is not heaven, and God loves us too much to let us settle for anything less than the fullness of his friendship.

And so, he leads us down from our high mountains and walks with us to Calvary, letting us share the weight of his cross. On mountaintops he strengthens our hope, but with crosses he strengthens our love, as we learn to cling to him more than to his gifts.

And that's what Christian wisdom is all about. What can we do to speed up our Christian wisdom learning curve?

The easiest way is to work together. If we decide never to let those around us carry their crosses alone, then we can be sure someone will do the same for us.

By carrying each other's crosses, we combine the joy of Christian charity with the pain of our earthly exile - keeping perfectly in mind both the cross and the resurrection.

As Jesus comes to us to help us carry our crosses, let's promise him that we will do the same for those around us. 

It's the sacred season of Lent. Recall that the three disciplines of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In the concepts of anticipation and preparation for the Lord Jesus we find a connection to the practice of fasting and abstinence during Lent. Lent is a time of penance and atonement for sin in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord. Fasting and abstinence are integral to that preparation for several reasons, such as building virtue, self-mastery, and helping to avoid sinful tendencies that may ultimately lead to spiritual death in the case of mortal sin.

The practice of fasting during Lent finds its genesis in our Lord's journey into the desert where he fasted and prayed for forty days and nights in preparation to begin his public ministry (Matt 4:1-2; Luke 4:1-3). The forty days of Lent are in imitation of Christ's time in the desert. During Lent, the Christian walks into the desert with Christ and fasts so as to have the strength to avoid temptation with the help of God's grace. Lent is also a penitential season in which we strive to atone for our sins and purify our lives in preparation for the celebration of Christ's glorious rising from the tomb on Easter Sunday.

Lent is a time that offers us an opportunity to come to terms with the human condition we may spend the rest of the year running from and it brings our need for a Savior to the forefront. There are many reasons to observe Lent, and they nourish the believer's reflection on the passion of Jesus Christ.

First, Lent reminds us of the terrible situation we were in before Jesus. It helps us remember of how far God has brought us. Lent is like that. It reminds us of the terrible condition of sin that you and I were in prior to being saved in the risen Jesus. It's always healthy for us to "remember our spiritual roots." Lent helps us remember always to include in our testimony a story of "I remember when I was headed for destruction because of my sinful condition." In this way, Lent always keeps us humble and eternally grateful for the awesome, undeserving gift of a love relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Have you forgotten how far you've come?

Second, Lent reminds us of the terrible consequences of sin. As the Bible demonstrates, sin is anything we do that breaks down the love relationship that we are designed to share with the Trinity and our neighbor. Lent reminds us that sin is a terrible, destructive power in our lives: it tears away at the love relationship we were designed to maintain with the Trinity and our neighbor. Before Jesus, you and I were slaves to sin. After Jesus, we are no longer slaves to sin, but repeatedly hampered by it (as Hebrews 12:1 says, it's like a heavy weight that bogs us down). As Christians, Lent reminds us of the absolute necessity of confession and repentance. Lent reminds us of how we should be repulsed by any sin, and the necessity of being in step with the Spirit as He transforms us into the image of the Son. Do you have any sins that you've allowed to rule in your life?

Third, Lent reminds us of the necessity of contrition and self-control. Fasting performs two functions: (1) it demonstrates contrition because we abandon something that we enjoy; (2) it helps us practice self-control. The assumption is that if I can say no to sleep or food or drink, then surely, I can say no to various sins. So, we sacrifice various necessities and pleasures to demonstrate contrition and practice self-control. We need self-control because we tend to make idols out of nearly everything. Lent reminds us not to cling too tightly to anything or anyone other than God.

The Season of Lent is, therefore, our desert experience. Let us be aware of God present in our life. Let us also be aware of the lurking enemy around and inside us. And if we just strive to stay close to God, through our prayers and acts of charity and penance, He will surely give us all the graces we need to overcome all these dangers to our soul and to grow in holiness and Christian perfection.

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.

Two images from nature dominate this First Sunday of Lent.

In these images we find the key for living the next six weeks deeply and fruitfully, as God is hoping we will live them.

The first image is that of the desert.

After Jesus was baptized, but before he began his years of public ministry, St Mark tells us in today's Gospel that the Spirit "drove Jesus out into the desert," where he experienced temptation.

Throughout the Bible, the desert is often referred to a place of testing, where we experience our weakness and dependence on God. Water and food are hard to come by there, and the temperatures and emptiness are oppressive to both the body and the mind.

The desert is a place where our illusions of self-sufficiency and comfort fade away. When we are in the desert, either literally or figuratively, we quickly realize that we need God.

In other words, the desert is the opposite of the Garden of Eden. It is the place of suffering and hardship that sin has led us to. Both original sin and also our own personal sins have interfered with God's plan for our lives and for our world; they have put us in need of salvation.

The second image in today's Readings is the flood, the abundance of water that cleansed the world of sin at the time of Noah.

That ancient flood of water foreshadowed Christian baptism, the flood of grace that purifies our souls from sin, bringing new spiritual life into the desert of our sin-damaged hearts.

Sin and salvation: our sins, and Christ's loving sacrifice that leads to salvation.

These are the most fundamental aspects of our Catholic faith, and these are the themes that should fill our hearts and minds throughout the season of Lent.

Practicing the Virtue of Hope

Besides the desert and the flood, there is another, third, image from nature in today's Readings: the rainbow.

Noah probably didn't know the scientific explanation behind rainbows, but he did understand their spiritual meaning. All of creation has a physical nature that science explores and explains. But creation also has a spiritual meaning - it is a gift from our God, a gift full of messages, lessons, and inspiration. Science can explain the prismatic refraction of light in a rainbow, but it cannot explain the thrill of wonder that fills our hearts we behold that same rainbow.

A rainbow appears when sunlight and storm clouds come together. And God chose this as a symbol of his covenant, of his promise that salvation would conquer sin.

That covenant and that promise still stand; we have to put our hope in them. Jesus, as today's Second Reading reminds us so beautifully, has suffered, died, risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, conquering sin and evil once and for all.

The crucifix is our rainbow; the cross of Christ is our Ark.

No storm can cancel out Christ's victory over evil; no clouds can reverse it; no flood can extinguish it. And so, while we suffer in the storms of hardship and sin that make our lives and world so painful and difficult, we still continue to follow Christ, because the light of his love shines brightly even in the midst of the storm.

Today we have the privilege to renew our hope once again through this Mass and Holy Communion, to be freshly inspired by a glimpse of our rainbow.

When we see a rainbow in the sky, the first thing we do is tell those around us, so they will see it too. This Lent, let's do the same with the rainbow that shines in our Christian hearts.