The Messiah In Disguise

9 September 2018 at Church of St Anthony of Padua.  The children are going to receive their First Holy Communion.

High in the mountains was a monastery that had once been known throughout the world. Its monks were pious, its students were enthusiastic. The chants from the monastery’s chapel deeply touched the hearts of people who came there to pray and meditate. But something had changed. 

Fewer and fewer young men came to study there; fewer and fewer people came for spiritual nourishment. The monks who remained became disheartened and sad. Deeply worried, the abbot of the monastery went off in search of an answer. Why had his monastery fallen on such hard times? 

The abbot came to a guru, and he asked the master, “Is it because of some sin of ours that the monastery is no longer full of vitality?” 

“Yes,” replied the master, “it is the sin of ignorance.” 

“The sin of ignorance?” questioned the abbot. “Of what are we ignorant?” 

The guru looked at the abbot for a long, long time, and then he said, “One of you is the messiah in disguise. But you are all ignorant of this.” 

Then the guru closed his eyes, and he was silent. 

“The messiah?” thought the abbot. “The messiah is one of us? Who could it be? Could it be Brother Cook? Could it be Brother Treasurer? Could it be Brother Bell-Ringer? Could it be Brother Vegetable Grower? Which one? Which one? Every one of us has faults, failings, human defects. Isn’t the messiah supposed to be perfect? But, then, perhaps these faults and failings are part of his disguise. Which one? Which one?” 

When the abbot returned to the monastery, he gathered all the monks together and told them what the guru had said. 

“One of us? The messiah? Impossible!” 

But the master had spoken, and the master was never wrong. 

“One of us? The messiah? Incredible! But it must be so. Which one? Which one? That brother over there? That one? That one?” Whichever one of the monks was the messiah, he was, surely, in disguise. 

Not knowing who amongst them was the messiah, all the monks began treating each other with new respect. “You never know,” they thought, “he might be the one, so I had better deal with him kindly.” 

It was not long before the monastery was filled with new found joy.  Soon, new students came to learn, and people came from far and wide to be inspired by the chants of the kind, smiling monks. For once again, the monastery was filled with the spirit of love.

                               Photograph of Church of St Anthony of Padua in the year 2008.  

Mark 8:27-30 --  Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah 

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”  

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Messiah means the one who saves.  Jesus is said to be the Messiah.  Since young I always questions about who God is and questions about my faith.  I never know the answers until I had committed a serious mortal sin.  Jesus came to save me.  Indeed He is the Messiah.  Thank you Jesus for saving me.  In the church, we always have children and adults who wanted to receive Jesus as their saviour -- be it during First Holy Communion or RCIA.   

Can You See God

Photograph of Jesus arisen from the tomb, third day after His death.  Photograph taken at Church of St Anthony of Padua in the year April 2010.  

Can You See God?

A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question about God. "Susie, can anybody ever really see God?" he asked. 

Busy with other things, Susie curtly replied,  "No, of course not silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him." 

Time passed, but his question still lingered. So he approached his mom, "Mom, can anybody ever really see God?" 

"No, not really," she gently said. "God is a spirit and he dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see Him." 

Somewhat satisfied but still wondering, the youngster went on his way.  Not long afterwards, his saintly old grandfather took the little boy on a fishing trip. They were having a great time together. The sun was beginning to set with unusual splendor and the grandfather stared silently at the exquisite beauty unfolding before them.  On seeing the face of his grandfather reflecting such deep peace and contentment, the little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly, "Granddad, I--I-- wasn't going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me the answer to something I've been wondering about a long time. Can anybody - can anybody ever really see God?"

The old man did not even turn his head.  A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. "Son," he quietly said. 

"It's getting so I can't see anything else."

                           Saul falls to the ground as he sees a bright light and hears a voice.

About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?  (Acts 22:6,7)

Just like what Saul had encountered Jesus in the bible as a bright light, I too have encounter God in the same way one night in the year of 2008.  I was lying on bed and I was transcended.  My eyes were closed, but I could see very bright light and it flashes three times, as though taking photographs.  After that I hear sound, various sound like that of the wolves, and so on.  This continue until the early morning and the whole night I never sleep at all.  In the morning, I heard the sound of trumpet.  And it was the sound of victory over sins...

The Precious Gift

Photograph of a white dove spotted at my neigbourhood while our family was walking to church on 10 April 2010, my first time in my life encountering a real white dove.  

What is your Precious Gift?  

Once upon a time, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this precious gift because He explained, "what man could find too easily would never be valued by him." 

"Then you must hide this gift on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of his counselors. 

 God shook His head, "No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks." 

 "Hide it then, O Great One, in the depths of the earth." 

 "I think not," said God. "for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth." 

 "In the middle of the ocean then, Master?" 

 God shook His head. "I've given man a brain.  You see, one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans." 

 "Where then, Master?" cried His counselors. 

 God smiled, "I'll hide it where every man and woman will be able to find it if they look sincerely and deeply enough. I'll hide it in their heart."

Photograph of Jesus risen from the tomb on Easter day, photograph taken at Church of St Anthony of Padua on 4 April 2010

My precious gift is that I had found God after 38 years of my life.  Jesus came to me in the year 2008 when I encountered Him on my bed early in the morning when I woke up on 8 March 2008, international women day.  It is a gift that cannot be seen, and it is only to be felt in the heart... a valuable gift that cannot be bought with money.  To add on to what I had felt, I found the white dove and parallel to that, the church was decorated with the White Jesus arisen from the tomb.  What a real coincidence, fate or destiny that was already planned?  Jesus often taught in parables.  This is a parable that he had taught me!  The white dove walking with the spotted doves and black doves -- signified that the Master is walking with the sinners!  Jesus had saved my life, a sinner who had sinned!

Quotes about Abortion

                            Photograph of Peace, who was a victim of abortion.  Read her story...

I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is 'Abortion', because it is a war against the child... A direct killing of the innocent child, 'Murder' by the mother herself... And if we can accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love... And we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts... ~Mother Teresa  

Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born. ~Garrett Hardin 

I am opposed to abortion and to government funding of abortions. We should not spend state funds on abortions because so many people believe abortion is wrong. ~Bill Clinton 

We don't like to kill our unborn; we need them to grow up and fight our wars. ~Marilyn Manson 

The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in ourcentury is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn. ~Pope John Paul II 

 Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. ~Alveda King 

Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. ~American Convention on Human Rights 

 ... we explained simply what contraception was; that abortion was the wrong way — no matter how early it was performed it was taking a life; that contraception was the better way, the safer way — it took a little time, a little trouble, but was well worth while in the long run, because life had not yet begun. ~Margaret Sanger 

When we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins. ~Robert Casey