The Word of Life with Fr. CY

22/08/2024

The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flowers like the flower of the field;
the wind blows and he is gone
and his place never sees him again.

15/07/2024

From the Journey of the Mind to God by St. Bonaventure

Mystical wisdom is revealed by the
Holy Spirit

Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant, and the mystery hidden from the ages. A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a pasch, that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: Today you will be with me in paradise.
For this passover to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless he surrenders himself to it; nor can he surrender himself to it unless he longs for it; nor can he long for it unless the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame his innermost soul. Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit.
If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardour of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: My soul chose hanging and my bones death. Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: No man can look upon me and live.
Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ from this world to the Father, so that, when the Father has shown himself to us, we can say with Philip: It is enough. We may hear with Paul: My grace is sufficient for you; and we can rejoice with David, saying: My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!

23/09/2022

THE LORD TO WHOM WE MUST GO TO
We begin our reflection on Christ to whom we must go to have eternal life.The theological articulation of the person of Christ has its foundation in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Christ is the second person of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity holds that God who is the ultimate efficient cause of all that exits is One in essence of three persons. That is, God is three-in-One: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds eternally from the Father as the Word and Image of the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is the “mutual love and nexus of the Father and the Son.” In order to understand the Person of Jesus Christ, therefore, it is important to consider his person in the context of the Trinity - “immanent procession” (as the Son of God) and his person as Jesus Christ - “economic procession” (the Messiah).
The Immanent Procession of Christ the Son of God from the Father
It is important to first of all state that, the term procession in relation to the divine Persons - (the Son and the Holy Spirit), is not to be understood as “something going out from.” Aquinas cautioned that understanding the term procession as “something going out from” will be incompatible with the divine essence. There is no motion in God, therefore, there cannot be “going out” in Him. God is simple, there is no diversity in Him and “going out will imply multiplicity.” The procession of the Son from the Father is “immanent procession” (an inward procession). Aquinas maintains that it is a procession as existing in God, which can be likened to the manner of the “intellect, the action of which remains in the intelligent agent” The Son, therefore, proceeds within the Father as a distinct Person from the Father yet of the same essence with Him. Aquinas argues that the procession of the Son from the Father is called generation and the Word proceeding from Him is called the Son. Unlike all believers who through their baptism are sons of the Father by adoption (for they came from God through creation in time), Christ is the Son of the Father by generation that is subsisting in the nature of the Father. He is, therefore, the begotten Son of the Father. Whether this applies to the Son metaphorically, Aquinas answered no. Citing Augustine’s De Trinitatis (vii, 11) he states, “As the Son is related to the Father, so also is the Word to Him Whose Word He is.” The “Word” used of God signifies something proceeding from Him and of same nature with Him and we have already said that, that which proceeds from the Father and is of the same nature with the Father is the Son. Thus, Aquinas said: “Word” said of God in its proper sense, is used personally, and is the proper name of the person of the Son. For it signifies an emanation of intellect: and the person Who proceeds in God, by way of emanation of the intellect, is called the Son, and this procession is called begetting.” He went further to say that the Word subsists in God because it is in God’s nature. Being (“to be”) and understanding (to understand) are one and the same thing in God, thus the Word cannot be an accident in God nor His effect. Since His intellect is the same as His essence, His Word must necessarily be in Him rather than apart from Him. The gospel of John reveals thus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1, 1).” This passage, Aquinas argues, destroys three heresies of: Photinus (who argued against the pre-existence of Christ), Sabellius (who argued that Christ is the same person as Father) and Arius (who argued that Jesus Christ is not God). “In the beginning was the Word”- speaks about the pre-existence of the Son; “the Word was with the Father” - the Son is distinct from the Father/ the Son is not the Father, and “the Word was God” – Jesus Christ is God.
If Jesus Christ is one Person, why the multiplication of names such as the Son and Word? Aquinas argues that the names attributed to the second Person express His perfection in various ways: He is Son because He is of the same nature with the Father, and He is called the Word because He is begotten immaterially by the Father. The immanent procession of the Son from the Father indicates how Christ is the fitting saviour of the world.

20/09/2022

16/09/2022

Pray for us.

12/09/2022

PROLOGUE
YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE
The crowd which had gathered in Capernaum and a host of the disciples turned back and no longer went about with Jesus. There was a climate of abandonment around Jesus, hence, he did not perform miracles this time but only spoke at length about his self-offering as "the bread of Life”. The people did not understand his teaching and his disciples found his words strange and inexplicable. “So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (Jn 6, 68). This expression of faith by the apostle Peter is but an affirmation that it is only in Christ, that every man who desires salvation can find true words that will lead to eternal life. People continue to ask themselves questions on who and what it is to place their hope. Our reflection in the page responds with Peter: whoever entrusts himself to Jesus of Nazareth will not be disappointed. This is not an emotional abandonment nor an act of irrational trust. It is a certainty that arises after listening to Christ, being intimate with him and a belief that only him has the response to man’s deepest desire. For this reason, Christ has always attracted people of all time to himself.
For those who believe in Christ this reflection guides them in response to the gift of faith. This is so important because the believer always needs something more, to strengthen and animate his hope. He also needs more knowledge and the renewed joy of his faith. The Scriptures present men like this to us. For example, Nicodemus the Pharisee, convinced by the words and teachings of Christ, went to see Jesus at night because he wanted the words of Christ to be deepened in him for a more lively faith. In the light and effort of continuous search for Christ, Jesus invariably let himself be found at this appointed time, by anyone who seeks him with a sincere heart. There are some who moved by nostalgia, by a desire, perhaps by an unconfessed need, go to Jesus in search for answers to their disturbing questions. This is not yet faith, or perhaps it was once a faith, however, it is an encouraging starting point towards a possible faith and awakening of it for those that have lost it. Zacchaeus was of these, intrigued by what he heard of Christ, he wanted to have a glimpse of Christ, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Christ who was passing by . Changes visited him, and the contact of such a visit, changed his life (Lk 19, 1-10). There are still some who have closed the door to Jesus. They do not know him and they are scared of the challenge that knowing and meeting Christ brings to ones life. They have their particular story and fears, hence, they remain reserved and reluctant to delve into issues concerning Christ, his person and the message of salvation he proclaimed. The Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well is an example of such people. When Jesus met at the well and asked her name, she was reluctant to talk to him: a Jew relating to a Samaritan woman! She asked herself. Jesus opened the book of her life and forced her to read it. In this encounter she and her people found the true happiness – the true happiness she has sought for throughout her life. In Jesus they found the prophet of God and the saviour of the world (Jn 4, 4-26). Hence, even to those whom Jesus appears to be a stranger, bumping into him can be a decisive moment of change in their lives. To those who believe and want to give reason for their faith; to those whom the person of Jesus poses a problem and wish to know more about him, to those who are far from him but want to give meaning to life: this reflection is aimed to help and guide us.
Our reflcetion therefore,opens with the reflection on the mystery of the person of Christ. Then it present Christ meeting men with concrete problems, in different situations and his invitation to everyone to walk with him. The road is long and tiring, but it is worth paying the price: Jesus is the “way, truth and life”. Other Brothers and sisters take this part with us, in the common gift of the Holy Spirit, to tell the world the love of the Father that unites everyone. And the final goal that this journey allows us to glimpse is this: through Christ, in the Spirt, all of us are led to the Father, the source and ultimate end of all existence. With Peter’s burning hope, we can all entrust ourselves to Christ and make the journey with him, so that we may find true peace that our hearts seek.

12/09/2022

Love cherishes the good name of others, even one's enemies. Amoris Laetitia no. 112

11/09/2022

24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
READINGS: Ex 32, 7-11, 13-14; Ps 51, 3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1 Tim 1, 12-17; Lk 15, 1-32.
In today's Gospel we have heard the three parables that a sheep is lost, a coin is lost, and a son is lost. These three parables are parables of God’s mercy. God is merciful, despite our sins he forgives us. We are lost in our sinful condition. Being lost indicates a situation of desperate isolation away from our patrimony. Let us identify ourselves with the lost sheep, separated from the safety of the flock, exposed to the dangers of predators, remembering the first parable told by Jesus.
Let us identify with the youngest son who squandered all the inheritance by living in a decadent way. He became a slave to his own self isolated life, suffered from hunger and lack of human dignity, since he was treated worse than the pigs he had to look after. He was separated and distant from his father, his older brother and his father’s house where there was prosperity. Let us also identify with the eldest son, who was also lost in his individualistic isolation, because he was indignant at his younger brother. The demon of his indignation separated him from the family celebration, from communion with his father and from reconciliation with his younger brother, who had been found.
Being lost also indicates a situation of misuse of available resources. We have already identified with the youngest son who squandered all the wealth of his share of the inheritance of his father’s house. Let us identify ourselves with the woman who suffered and fought so that all her capital would remain gathered and not lost elsewhere in her house. The one coin, lost and separated from the other nine, was absolutely necessary and did not allow the woman to buy what she had planned. Being lost indicates our condition as sinners. Being a sinner means two things. In the first place, it is living isolated, separated, slaves to one’s own desires, without communion with God and without considering others as brothers or sisters. Secondly, it is not knowing how to manage the capital of the available assets. For us Christians this capital is the death on the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. We can symbolically contemplate the death on the cross in the fattened calf that the Father had killed to celebrate.
We can symbolically contemplate the resurrection of Jesus in the following three images: the finest tunic for the found son to wear, which can represent the risen Christ with whom we are clothed through the celebration of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist; the ring on the finger, representing the gift of the Holy Spirit who works the new and eternal covenant; finally, the sandals on our feet, which represent the joy of our dignity as children of the Father and not as slaves.
If we do not place our life on the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but place our “I” at the centre, we are lost in our condition as sinners. We are all sinners, constantly exposed to the danger of being lost in our self- isolation from God and his Church, and in our inability to manage the inheritance that has already been given to us through the event of Jesus’ death and resurrection, as we tend to act with stiff necks and ignorance. We got lost because of our stubborn and ignorant actions.
Let us identify with the people of Israel on their way to the promised land. We welcome the denunciation made by God to Moses, making the first reading our own: I have observed this people: behold, they are a people with a hard head. We put before us our projects, our professional and economic goals, our individual fulfilment, forgetting and ignoring that the Father, united with the Son in the Holy Spirit, walks with us, has a life plan for each of us, accompanies and he sustains us with his providential action, he gives us his commandments, the teachings on his kingdom of justice and peace through Jesus, his definitive Word. We find it hard to stop, to pray and meditate on the Word of God, to promote a lifestyle based on the individual prayerful reading of the Word of God every day and on the sharing of the Word prayed in small fraternities of biblical circles. Our modern cast metal calf can represent our tasks, our daily projects, the idolatry of money and power.
The youngest son decided to act stubbornly, trusting to exploit the wealth of his share of the inheritance, coming from the proceeds of the joint work done in the Father’s house. Beloved brothers and sisters, whoever acts with individual faith, without walking together with his community, ultimately squanders all the spiritual riches he has received and becomes a slave to his selfish instincts. This is because our faith in God is communitarian and this is why we need the Church.
The Pharisees knew perfectly all the commandments of the Torah, but they criticized Jesus, because he welcomes sinners and eats with them. They were lost because of their stiff necks, their arrogance, feeling being the best and the righteous. They were aware of the precepts and standards of God’s Law, but ignorant of the greatness of the mercy and faithfulness of God the Father. The Pharisees of the time of Jesus are represented by the elder brother in the parable of the merciful Father, since they did not accept to welcome sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and suffering as their brothers. The hard neck of their “considering themselves righteous” made them ignorant, closed to the gift of divine mercy. We must be people who are open to forgiving others.
The feast of our communion with God together with all the lost sheep has already begun since the death and resurrection of Jesus was fulfilled and the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured into our hearts. Recognizing the gift of intercessory prayer of those who pray for us sinners, like Mary, Moses and all the saints, let us free ourselves from arrogance, like that of the elder brother, the slave of the parable.