Cristo Rey Young Adult Ministry

Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi

Francis was a spoiled child and spent his parent's money without care or control. He knew how to party and did so with great gusto and great frequency!

Francis' conversion of life -- becoming a "new creation"� -- took many years. God worked in Francis by giving him a depth of compassion and love for the poor. That love for the poor later translated into Francis embracing extreme poverty and seeing such poverty as the spiritual food that would give him rest for his soul and make the yoke of Christ an easy yoke. He referred to his "Lady Poverty"� and embraced her completely finding both beauty and joy in the absence of material things. This transformation was not easy at first. The young men with whom he had eaten so many suppers and sung so many songs, now jeered at him, and even his brother joined in the cruel sport. Francis was too tender-hearted not to be hurt by all this, but he never answered angrily. He thought: "It is because they do not understand." But, if his rich friends were unkind, the poor folk who had loved him for his gentle words and for his gifts, when he was the proud young merchant, loved him the better now that he had given them all his money, and was ready to share his crust of bread with any hungry man. At the little hospital where Francis had gone first in splendid clothes, with a full purse at his side, the l***rs were surprised to see him come so poorly dressed, with no horse and no money. But, when they saw how gently he took care of those who were most sick and helpless, they called him "Brother Francis"; and they forgot their suffering while he talked and sang to them.

Through this incredible gift of love, Francis was able to do what most of us would think impossible. There was a time when he would be disgusted by the site of a l***r. At one point after his conversion, he faced a man with leprosy, embraced the man and put some coins in his hand. Emboldened by this victory of love, he went immediately to a l***r colony and begged the pardon of those there, lingered for a while, distributed money to them and left only after kissing them all on the mouth. He had fully taken on the yoke and burden of Christ, he had become a "new creation"� and that was "everything"�.

We are all creatures of one family. St. Francis calls us to a radical humility in relation to the world (to the entire created order, and especially to other people), a passionate love of Christ that expresses itself in compassion for people, reverence for nature, willingness to serve the Lord with gladness, and a great generosity of spirit. May we embrace that spirit, and become instruments of peace, and bearers of love, hope and joy.

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

Jesus is waiting for us to begin our new ways to evangelize in the Franciscan tradition. Once we begin, I am convinced Jesus will
empower us with his Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of mercy, reconciliation, and liberation for the glory of God.

September 21 2021, Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Good News: Jesus came for the salvation of sinners.

Matthew was a tax collector, a profession looked down upon by the Israelites not only as corrupt but unpatriotic because they serve the Roman oppressors. Being despised in society, the tax collectors must have low self-esteem. Imagine therefore the surprise and the joy in Matthew’s face when Jesus, with a growing popularity as a respected Rabbi called him to be His follower. Without any second thought, he got up and followed Jesus.

Everyone is called to follow Jesus. It doesn’t matter what our background is. We may be a great sinner but our past does not define us. It doesn’t even matter what people think of us. What is important is our response to His call. It is our decision today and our plan for the future that God looks upon with His merciful eyes.

Jesus indeed came to heal our physical as well as emotional and spiritual illnesses. He came to give back our dignity and make us whole.

Do we have time to listen to Jesus? Does He have a space in our heart? May we be like Matthew who answered His call and followed Him. In this way, he allowed himself to be transformed by God’s power.

Thursday, 22 July 2021 : Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, one of the closest followers of the Lord Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. St. Mary Magdalene was mentioned several times in the Gospels, as one of the most fervent disciple of the Lord. She was according to some traditions, the repentant woman and adulterer, or pr******te who had turned towards the Lord and became His disciple. In the same tradition, the Lord also exorcised seven demons or evil spirits from her.

St. Mary Magdalene was just an ordinary woman, and according to some tradition, even was an unworthy woman in the eyes of people like the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, as if she was a pr******te as some tradition mentioned, then she was truly a filthy and unclean person that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law considered as less than human beings, as sinners that were condemned to damnation and destruction because of their vices and sinful actions. This attitude and prejudice remained even though those pr******tes and others like the tax collectors and people who suffered from diseases and demonic possession could repent and turn away from their sinful ways.

The example of St. Mary Magdalene showed all of us that there is no end for sinners, and there is bright future even for those who have been great sinners, no matter how unworthy they are before the Lord and man alike. St. Mary Magdalene and her conversion to the faith and her commitment to the Lord showed us that God called and chose all of His people even from among those deemed as the most unworthy, that they might turn towards the light and inspire others to follow their examples as well.

As Christians, we are also called to follow in the footsteps of St. Mary Magdalene, to be converts to the true faith and to redirect ourselves and our focus on the Lord. Though we are sinners and we may have been unworthy, but God through His love has always ever been so generous in His kindness and patience, in reaching out to us and calling on us to repent from our sins. In God alone we can find healing and redemption from our sins, and the story of St. Mary Magdalene is a proof and assurance for us, that even great sinners can become great saints.

What truly matters is our focus and internal disposition towards the Lord. We are all called to respond to His call to holiness and to abandon our past, sinful lives, as St. Mary Magdalene had done, and then respond to the call to be part of the Church’s mission, that is to testify for our faith and to be the bearers of God’s truth and Good News to all of His people, as St. Mary Magdalene herself had done when she brought forth the news of the Lord’s resurrection and broke the wonderful news to them, despite many of them at that time not believing in her words.

Let us all therefore walk in the footsteps of St. Mary Magdalene, following her piety and faith, her humility to follow the Lord and casting aside our past sinfulness. Just as she humbled herself in one occasion, to wipe the Lord’s feet with her tears and drying them with her hair, let us all tearfully and sorrowfully also seek the Lord, full of regret and sorrow over our sins and waywardness. Let us all turn away from all those that are evil, and face the Lord once again with true and genuine love, and be the source of inspiration in faith for one another.

May the Lord be with us all and may He strengthen each and every one of us that we may courageously follow Him with greater zeal and dedication, in each and every moments of our lives, and that we should persevere with faith, no matter what challenges, trials and temptations we may encounter. Let us all sinners be sinners no more, throwing away the shackles of our sins by the Lord’s grace and forgiveness, and be fully reconciled and reunited with Him. May God bless us all and His Church, all of His faithful ones, all the same, now and always. Amen.

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle, Saturday June 3, 2021

Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” John 20:27–29

Thomas the Apostle, in many ways, represents each and every one of us in this exchange with Jesus. We’d like to believe that we always believe and are not unbelieving. But it’s important to admit the humble truth that we may not believe as deeply as we should. And it’s important to reflect upon our own reaction to the blessings that others receive that we do not.

Recall that Thomas was not among the other Apostles when Jesus first appeared to them. Therefore, when Thomas returned and heard that Jesus had appeared and that he missed His appearance, he clearly felt bad. Unfortunately, the sorrow Thomas felt at not being present when the Lord appeared to the others left him with a certain bitterness rather than joy. This is the sin of envy. Envy is a certain sorrow over the blessings others receive that we do not. Ideally, Thomas would have rejoiced at the blessing that the other Apostles received by encountering the risen Lord. But, instead, his sorrow at missing this even left him sad. He said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Why was Thomas absent from this encounter with our Lord? Perhaps it was by divine providence, in that God wanted Thomas to set for us an example. If so, then one example Thomas set was that we must humbly rejoice in the blessings others receive when we are not also the recipient. Of course, if Thomas were there, then it would have been easier for him to share in the joy. But, in many ways, Thomas’ absence provided him an even greater opportunity. An opportunity that he failed to embrace.

When you see others receive blessings from God, how do you respond? Many people respond by immediately looking at themselves, wishing they were blessed in the same way. They struggle with envy. They think, “I wish I had received that blessing.” This form of envy is not always easy to see. For that reason, Thomas is given to us as a witness of what not to do in this situation.

Of course, Thomas is not a horrible person, which is why Jesus does later appear to him. That time, Thomas spoke words that are traditionally spoken as a devotion by the faithful at Mass when the Consecration occurs. He said, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus then gently rebukes Thomas by saying, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” But this gentle rebuke was an act of love, in that Jesus wanted Thomas to ponder the reason for his unbelief. Jesus clearly wanted Thomas to examine the unbelief caused by envy, which appears to have led to an intentional lack of faith.

Reflect, today, upon this holy Apostle. Today, Saint Thomas the Apostle is among the great saints in the Kingdom of Heaven. God used him to teach us these important lessons about envy, humility and faith. Let his weakness, from which he fully recovered, help you examine your own struggle with envy over the blessings that others receive that you do not. Learn to rejoice always in the ways that God is at work in our world and learn to grow in humility, so that when others are blessed in ways that you are not, you react as Saint Thomas ultimately did: “My Lord and my God!”

My most generous Lord, You pour forth Your blessings upon others, day and night. As I see those blessings, help me to overcome all temptations toward envy so that I may rejoice in Your grace given to all. You are my Lord and my God, and I thank You for every way that You bless my life and the lives of those around me. Fill me with a deeper gratitude, dear Lord, for every grace and blessing I see every day, especially those graces not given directly to me. Jesus, I trust in You.