God is not a Being who does not know how to love: Our quest for God is essentially the search for the full account and meaning of our life. Our life has a meaning because the essence of 'God is Love.' If we would know what God is, then we need only, to look into our own hearts.  

We live in a pluralistic society, one in which a wide variety of religious expressions is the norm. In such society, many believe that all paths lead to God; that one religion is as good as another. This would be true if all "paths" were merely human or man-made. And, if all religions were created by men, it would be arrogant and inanity to claim that one path is truer than another. But what if a particular path was not of merely human origin? What if one path was given to us directly by God? 

Jesus, God's Son, in human body is a literal revelation of God in the form of man. Jesus was in the form of God but He took "the form of a servant", the "likeness" and "appearance" of a man to save us and reveal the depth of God's love. Therefore, we can literally speak of God in human form.

His state was divine,
yet he did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross. - Philippians 2:6 - 

Anthropomorphism refers to the practice of describing God in human terms, as He has feet - Exodus 24:9-11 - hands - John 10:29 - a face - Matthew 18;10 - a heart - Hosea 11:8 - and so forth. Although the Old Testament and New Testament deny any literal similarity of form between God and His creatures, the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible uses such human language to affirm that God is personal and active in His creation. - Job. 9:32 - John 4:24 - 

KENOSIS is a theological term used in connection with dual nature of Jesus as fully human and fully divine and true man and true God. The word comes from a Greek verb which means "to empty" - Philippians 2:7 - but emptied himself, "Jesus made Himself of no reputation".

In fact, human beings: man and woman, male and female was created to see God. By sin, man/woman lost the blessedness for which he/she was made and found the misery for which he/she was not made. He did not keep what was good even though he could keep it easily. Without God it goes badly for us. Our efforts are in vain without God. Man cannot look for God unless God himself teaches him and find him or unless God reveals Himself. God created man in his image so that he might be aware of him, think about him and love him. The believer does not try to understand so that he may believe but he believes so that he may understand - for if he did not believe, he would not understand. - St. Anselm of Canterbury -

WHY GOD BECAME MAN. - This is the debt which man and angel owe to God and no-one who pays this debts commits sin; but everyone who does not pay it, sins. This is justice or uprightness of will which makes a being just or upright in heart, that is, in will; and this is the sole and complete debt of honour which we owe to God and which God requires of us. - St. Anselm of Canterbury -

Adam and Eve were created by God in a state of sinless perfection so they could glorify God, reflecting His righteousness on the earth and enjoy fellowship and union with Him. Their calling was to exercise dominion or control over God's creation through their own labours and those of their offspring in faithful response to the word of God.

As a specific test of this loyalty. God commanded them not to eat of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". - Genesis 2:17 - Adam and Eve were to demonstrate their willingness to live "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord". - Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4 - God warned them clearly that their disobedience would result in death. They disobeyed and failed to submit to the authority of God. Hence, they sinned against God. This event plunged them and all mankind into a state of sin and corruption. The account of the Fall is found in Genesis Chapter 3. The disobedience and sin of Adam and Eve that caused them to lose the state of innocence in which they had been created.

The fall from their original state of innocence occurred when Satan approached Eve through the serpent who tempted her to eat of the forbidden fruit. Satan called into question the truthfulness of what God had spoken about the tree and its significance. Satan urged Eve to discover through trail and error whether it was in her best interest to do what God had forbidden. Eve's sin did not only consist of being tempted but in believing and acting on Satan's lie. Her rejection of God's command occurred when she ate of the forbidden fruit and persuaded her husband to do the same thing. The term Fall should not be interpreted to suggest that their sin was accidental. The temptation was purposeful and their submission to it involved their willing consent.

The immediate consequence of the Fall was death, symbolized by their loss of fellowship with God. For the first time, Adam and Eve experienced fear in the presence of the Lord God; and they hid when God approached. - Genesis 3:8-10 - Because of their unbelief and rebellion, they were driven from the garden that God had provided as their home. From that time on, man would experience pain and encounter resistance as he worked at the task of earning his daily bread. Physical death with the decay of the body is not a natural process. It entered the human experience as God's curse upon sin.

Adam and Eve did not sin simply as private persons but as representatives of all members of the human race. Their sin is the sin of all; and all persons receive from them a corrupt nature. It is this nature that stands behind all personal violations of the Lord's commandments. For this reason, the fall of Adam is the fall of the human race. The apostle Paul confirmed of Christ as the second Adam who would rebuild the old, sinful Adam through His redemption and salvation.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet. - 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 -

Be transformed by the changing and renewing of your heart, mind, attitude, character inwardly or in appearance, to the values, ideals and behaviour of a fallen world. Believers should continually renew their heart and minds through prayer, pondering and reflecting of God's Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit and so be transformed and made like Christ. - 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 -

Transform refers to change radically in inner character, condition or nature. The apostle Paul exhorted Christians, 'Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.' - Romans 12:2 -

*** The experience of God in His Transcendence is supposed to be complemented with the experience of God in His Immanence. The former understands God as "completely Beyond human reach"; the latter understands God as the "intimate all pervasive Being". The first is prone to objectify the experience in clear and distinct ideas about our relationship to God; the second prefers to describe similar experience. The former experiences God as cold and distant; the latter finds God an intimate all encompassing Force.

Stern objective legalism in religion which comes from the experience of the Transcendence, can be tempered with subjective personal flexibility which flows from the experience of the Immanent. The rigidity of community demands can be softened with a respect for the legitimate rights of the individual person.

Christians find the harmonious tension of the Transcendence and the Immanence in Jesus Christ. He reveals to us the "Completely Other", God the Father, not as an inexorable Force who punishes and rewards accordingly but a loving Father. He reveals also the Holy Spirit, the "intimate" Counsellor, Consoler and Guide who dwells in us. However, the Holy Spirit only reveals what He has heard from the Father and the Son.

But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembering all that I have said to you. - John 14:26 -

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. - John 16:13-15 -

So the experience of the Immanent cannot be subjective in the bad sense of the word. What the Spirit of God reveals conforms with the basic truths of objective revelation. A Christian, therefore, must discern whether what he/she receives is from God or from the Evil. Saint John tells Christians,

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God." - 1 John 4:1-3 -

On the other hand, God the Father is not worshipped in ritualism nor obeyed legalistically, for Christians, God is spirit, and those who worship "must worship Him in spirit and truth" - John 4:23-24 - We obey God the Father or the Transcendence because we love Him. If, out of love, we obey His laws which flow from His love for us, we will be perfected.

The subjective is tested by the objective; the objective is personalized by the subjective.

In a similar way, Jesus Christ holds together the demands of the community and the legitimate rights of the individual. The key to unlock this seeming contradiction is love. Love takes care of the needs of the individual in such a way as to build up the community. The community, on the hand, exists so that individuals can blossom to be full mature persons. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" - John 10:10 -

The most comforting result of the experience of Jesus Christ, God with a "human face" is the knowledge and experience of being loved and understood by God as we are: human beings with all our strong and weak points, with all our joys and sorrows, etc. God, having shared our human existence, tells us strongly in a way we humans can understand that He cares for us in all our joys and sorrows. Having experienced this, we are then able to communicate it to others: we try to love as God loves us. This experience is unique to all Christians. 

*** By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing S.J. 

I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ Jesus and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers and sisters, I am far from thinking that I have already won.

All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus. We who are called 'perfect' must all think in this way. If these is some point on which you see things differently, God will make it clear to you; meanwhile, let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are. - Philippians 3:9-16 -

In the Old Testament, God communicated with His people, the nation of Israel, through Moses, to whom He had already made Himself known in the vision of the burning bush. God instructed Moses to tell his fellow Israelites what had been revealed to him. This was no impersonal force at work but the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [Israel] in fulfillment of His promises to them, God was acting now on behalf of their descendants.

In communicating with His people. God revealed both His identity and His purpose. His purpose was to make the Israelites a nation dedicated to His service alone. This message, conveyed to the Israelites through Moses, would have been ineffective if God had not delivered them personally. On the other hand, His deliverance would have been meaningless without the message. Together both constituted the Word of God to the Israelites - the saving message of the God who both speaks and acts.

This pattern of God's mighty acts and the prophetic word interacting with each other continues throughout the course of salvation history. The Babylonian Captivity is a good example of this process. A succession of prophets warned the people that if they did not mend their ways, Captivity would come on them as judgement. But even during the years of the Captivity the prophets continued to speak, encouraging the captives and promising that God would deliver them from their plight.

The prophets were God's primary spokesmen to the people of Israel in the Old Testament times. But they were not His only messengers. Priests and sages, or wise men, were other agents through whom God's will was made known. The teachings of many of these messengers are preserved in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

In addition to God's revelation of Himself through Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, God's Word also records the response of those to whom the revelation was given. Too often the response was unbelief and disobedience. But at other times, people responded in faith, love and obedience. The Psalms, especially proclaim the grateful response of men and women who experienced the grace and righteousness of God. These faithful people sometimes voiced their appreciation in words addressed directly to God. At other times they reported to others what God had come to mean to them.

In the New Testament, revelation and response came in the person of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, Jesus was God's perfect human form. His works of mercy and power portrayed God in action especially His supreme act of sacrifice to bring about "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus". His teaching expressed the mind of God.

God's justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God's glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus. - Romans 3:21-26 -

The words and acts of Jesus also proclaimed the meaning and purpose of His works. For example, His act of casting out demons "with the finger of God" was a token that the kingdom of God had come upon them. He also declared that His death was the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, was "a ransom for many". - Mark 10:45; 14:49 -

In his life and ministry, Jesus also illustrated the perfect human response of faith, love and obedience to God. Jesus is the Son of God. Thus, He performed the mighty acts of God and He spoke authoritatively as God's Messenger and Prophet. - Hebrews 3:1-2 -

Hence, Baptism is a means by which God conveys grace. By undergoing this rite, the person baptized receives Remission of sins and is regenerated or given a new nature and an awakened and strengthened faith in Christ. Baptism involves the application of water to the head and body of a person. It is frequently thought of as an act by which believer enters the fellowship of the universal Church - that the power to convey grace is contained within the sacrament of Baptism . It is not the water but the sacrament as established by God and administered by the universal Church that produces the change.

Baptism enters the eye to reach and move the heart. The Gospel of John 3:5-6 is important to the advocates of the sacramental view of baptism: Jesus replied: I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit. Through 'Baptism' we are freed from sin and reborn as sons and daughters of God; we became believers or disciples of Christ. There are two baptisms which are mentioned: the baptism of the Holy Spirit - the baptism that brings mercy, forgiveness and life. The baptism of Fire - the baptism that brings judgement, condemnation and death. The baptism of the Holy Spirit belongs to the present age of grace and the baptism of Fire belongs to a future age of judgement.

A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people who were beginning to think that John the Baptist might be Christ, so John declared before them all, 'I baptise you with water but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out'. - Luke 3:15-17 - Matthew 3:11-12 -

"This bath is called enlightenment because those who receive this [catechetical] instruction are enlightened in their understanding... Having received in Baptism the Word, "the true light that enlightens every man", the person baptized has been "enlightened" he becomes a "son of light" indeed, he becomes "light" himself": Baptism is God's most beautiful and magnificent gift... We call it gift, grace, anointing, enlightenment, garment of immortality, bath of rebirth, seal and most precious gift. It is called gift because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own; grace since it is given even to the guilty; Baptism because sin is buried in the water; anointing for it is priestly and royals as are those who are anointed; enlightenment because it radiates light; clothing since it veils our shame; bath because it washes; and seal as it is our guard and the sign of God's Lordship. - CCC # 1216 - John 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; Hebrews 10:32; Ephesians 5:8 -

All Old Covenant pre-figurations find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan. After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you". - CCC # 1223 - Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16 -

Our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of Saint John the Baptist, intended for sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness" Jesus' gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying. The Spirit who had hovered the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved Son". - CCC # 1224 - Philippians 2:7; Matthew 3:16-17 -

In his Passover Christ Jesus opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of his Passion which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a "Baptism" with which he had to be baptized. The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of new life. From then on, it is possible "to be born of water and the Spirit" in order to enter the Kingdom of God. - See where you are baptized, see where Baptism comes from, if not from the cross of Christ, from his death. There is the whole mystery: he died for you. In him you are redeemed, in him you are saved. - CCC # 1225 - Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50; John 3:5,19:34; 1 John 5:6-8 -

From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed Saint Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans. Always, Baptism is seen as connected with faith: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household", Saint Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi. And the narrative continues, the jailer "was baptized at once, with all his family". - CCC # 1226 - Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12-13, 10:48, 16:15, 16:31-33 -

According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ's death, is buried with him and rises with him: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. The baptized have "put on Christ" Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies and sanctifies. - CCC # 1227 - Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:27; 1 Corinthians 6:11, 12:13 -

Hence Baptism is a bath of water in which the "imperishable seed" of the Word of God produces its life-giving effect. Saint Augustine of Hippo says of Baptism: "The word is brought to the material element and it becomes a sacrament. - CCC # 1228 - 1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 5:26 -

It is very difficult for the world or today generation to understand sorrow but that is only because it does not have such love. The more one loves, the more one shrinks from hurting the beloved and the more one grieves at having done so. But this grief should not make us dour and self-centered like those who say, "I can never forgive myself for that." That is hell - when the soul refuses to accept forgiveness for having wounded Love Divine.

The difference in standards between the pagan, unbeliever, old or new and the believer [Christian] which results in remorse in one instance and sorrow in the other, is evidenced by the Lord's six statements beginning with, 'But I say this to you'. These contradict six precepts of worldly wisdom, each beginning, 'You have learnt'.

The Pagan, Unbeliever, standard statement: when he and she was hurt or injured by peoples even though they are wrong or guilty: "Do not let him and her get away with it. Take revenge, plant evil plan and stir up class enmity in order to seize power.

The Christian standard statement: For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

'You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill: and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother "Fool" he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him "renegade" he will answer for it in hell fire.' - Matthew 5:20-22 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: Freedom is what you think and when you do is always right or no right, no wrong. Be self-expressive. Repression of sex instincts causes frustration. Liberty means the right to do whatever you please in the realm of the flesh.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.' - Matthew 5:27-30 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: When you are a materialist, rich, successful and powerful. Be it, anything, human can do, for example, Get a divorce! Marry again. What a big deal?

The Christian standard statement: 'It has also been said: Anyone divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.' - Matthew 5:31-32 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: You are highly educated and very rich. Because you delude yourself into thinking that you are god, hence take matters into your own hands. Say: I'll be damned if I will do it.

The Christian standard statement: 'Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all either by heavens, since that is God's throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need to say is "Yes" if you mean yes, "No" if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.' - Matthew 5:33-37 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: Always be proud of who you are or you will lose your pride. Forgiveness is weakness. Hit him back. Get even with him/her.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two mile with him. Give to anyone who asks and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.' - Matthew 5:38-42 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: When someone or if anyone offended you, humiliated you in public and hates you even though you are found not guilty or you may be found guilty. Sue him! Kill him! Hate him if he hates you.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.' - Matthew 5:43-48 -

Love is not only one of God's attributes: it is also an essential part of His nature. "God is Love" - the personification of perfect love. Such love surpasses our powers of understanding.

Out of infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until knowing the love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God. Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians 3:16-21 -

God is love and He has demonstrated His love in the gift of His Son. The greatest desire of God is that we love Him with our whole being. - Matthew 22:37 - Our love should be expressed as His has been expressed, in both words and deeds. People sometimes find it difficult to say to God and others 'I Love You'. But when love for God fills our lives, we will express our love in prayer to the one who is ultimately responsible for all that we are. For the Lord Jesus said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father and I shall love him and show myself to him. - John 14:21 -

If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it. - John 15:7 -

My dear people,
love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God's love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God's love for us when he sent his Son
to be sacrifice that takes our sins away. - 1 John 4:7-10 -

In love there can be no fear,
but fear is driven out by perfect love:
because to fear is to expect punishment,
and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love.
We are to love, then,
because he loved us first.
Anyone who says, 'I love God',
and hates his neighbour,
is a liar,
since a man who does not love the brother that he can see
cannot love God, whom he has never seen.
So this is the commandment that he has given us,
that anyone who loves God must also love his brother. - 1 John 4:18-21 -

We speak well of one whom we highly esteem and love. The one who we respect and love above all others naturally receives our highest commendation. For God Himself. We glorify and worship Him, for His love, His works and for His words, His peoples give sincere praise. Amen.

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he suffers the loss of his soul?"

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

Jesus bore witness to the distress He felt in His heart; Believe Me, Jesus said, believe Me, one of you is to betray Me. - John 13:21 - There were twelve questions in all. Ten of the apostles asked, "Is it I, Lord?" They were all full of sorrow, and began to say, one after another, Lord, is it I?" - Matthew 26:22 - 

One, however, asked: "Lord, who is it? - John 13:26 - 

This was John himself. The twelfth had little choice but to continue his pretense. 

Then, Judas Iscariot, he who was betraying Him, said openly, Master, is it I? - Matthew 26:25 -

Notice that eleven called Him Lord - but Judas called Him Master. It is a perfect illustration of Saint Paul's insistence that "it is only through the Holy Spirit that anyone can say, Jesus is the Lord." - 1 Corinthian 12:3 - Because the spirit that filled Judas Iscariot was satanic, he called Him Master; the others called Him Lord, in full confession of His divinity.

Throughout the first part of the Passover meal, both Our Lord and Judas had been dipping their hands in the same dish of wine and fruit. The very fact that Our Lord Jesus chose bread as a symbol of the betrayal might have reminded Judas of the Bread promised at Capernaum. Humanly speaking, it would seem that Our Lord should have thundered out His denunciation of Judas, but, rather, in a last attempt to save him, He used the bread of fellowship.

He answered, The man who has put his hand into the dish with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man goes on His way, as the scripture foretells of Him; But woe upon that man by whom the Son of Man is to be betrayed; better for that man if he had never been born. - Matthew 26:23-25 -

In the presence of divinity, who can be sure of his innocence? It was reasonable for every disciple to ask if it was he. Man is a mystery even to himself. He knows that within his heart there lie, coiled and dormant, serpents that at any moment can sting a neighbor, or even God, with their poison. None of the Apostles could be sure that he was not the traitor, even if none was conscious of a temptation to betray Him. Judas alone knew where he stood. Even though Our Lord Jesus revealed His knowledge of the treason, Judas remained fixed in his determination to do the evil. The revelation that the crime was uncovered and the evil stripped naked did not shame him into withdrawal.

Some recoil in horror when their sins are put bluntly before them. But though Judas saw his treachery described in all its deformity, he in effect declared in the language of Nietzsche, "Evil, be thou my good." Our Lord gave a sign to Judas. In answer to the question of the Apostles ("Is it I?"), He declared:

It is the man to whom I give this piece of bread which I am dipping in the dish. Then He dipped the bread, and gave it to Judas the Son of Simon, the Iscariot. - John 13:26-27 -

That Judas committed his sin freely is evidenced by his subsequent remorse. So too was Christ free to make His betrayal the condition of His Cross. Evil men seem to run counter to the economy of God, to be an errant thread in the tapestry of life, but they all fit into the divine plan. If the wild wind roars from the black heavens, there is somewhere a sail to catch it and yoke it to the useful service of man.

When Our Lord Jesus said, "It is the man to whom I give this piece of bread which I am dipping in the dish" He was actually offering a gesture of friendship. The giving of the morsel seems to have been traditional among both Greeks and Semites. Socrates said that it was always a mark of favor to give a morsel to a table neighbor. Our Lord held open to Judas the opportunity to repent, as He later did once again in the Garden of Gethsemane. But though Our Lord held the door open, Judas would not enter. Rather, Satan would enter in.

The morsel once given, Satan entered into him; and Jesus said to him, Be quick on thy errand. - John 13:27 -

Satan possesses only willing victims. The marks of mercy and friendship extended by the Victim should have moved Judas to repentance. The bread must have burned his lips, as the thirty pieces of silver would later burn his hands. Only some minutes previously the hands of the Son of God had washed the feet of Judas; now the same divine hands touch the lips of Judas with a morsel; in a few hours, the lips of Judas will kiss those of Our Lord in the final act of betrayal. The Divine Mediator, knowing all that would befall Him, directed Judas to open wider the curtain on the tragedy of Calvary. What Judas was to do, let him do quickly. The Lamb of God was ready for sacrifice.

The Divine Mercy did not identify the traitor, for Our Lord hid from the others the identity of the betrayer. The practice of the world, which loves to spread scandals, even those which are untrue, is here reversed in the hiding of what is true. When they saw Judas leave, the others assumed that he went on a mission of charity.

None of those who sat there could understand the drift of what He said; some of them thought, since Judas kept the common purse, that Jesus was saying to him, Go and buy what we need for the feast, or bidding him give some alms to the poor. - John 13:28 -

But Judas has gone out to sell, not to buy. He would minister not to the poor, but to the rich in charge of the temple treasury. Though Our Blessed Lord knew the evil intention of Judas, He still continued to behave kindly. He would bear the ignominy alone. In many instances, Jesus acted as though the effects of the deeds of others were unknown to Him. He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, even when He wept. He knew who believed Him not and who would betray Him, yet this did not harden His Sacred Heart. Judas rejected the last appeal, and thus despair remained in His heart.

Judas went out, "and it was night" - John 13:30 - an appropriate setting for a deed of darkness. It perhaps was a relief to be away from the Light of the World. Nature is in sympathy at times in discord, with our joys and sorrows. The sky is gloomy with clouds when there is melancholy within. Nature was suiting itself to the evil deeds of Judas. When he went out, he found not the fact of God's smiling sun, but the Stygian blackness of night. It would also be right at midday when the Lord was crucified.

Judas is intelligible only in terms of the Body and Blood of Christ. Clawing at money was the effect, not the cause, of a ruined priesthood.

Bishops, Priests, Clergy can learn much by reflecting on Judas Iscariot and the priesthood.

1. - Those who have been called in the sacred associations of the priesthood know best how to betray Our Lord Jesus Christ. Judas knew where to find Our Lord after dark.

Here there was a garden, into which He and His disciples went. Judas, His betrayer, knew the place well; Jesus and His disciples had often forgathered in it. - John 18:1-2 -

2.- Divinity is so holy that all betrayal must be prefaced by some mark of esteem or affection.

It is none other, he told them, than the Man whom I shall greet with a kiss. - Matthew 26:48 -

3. - No bishop or priest knows the ultimate depth of spiritual sorrow and grief until he has felt the hot, blistering kiss of a brother in Christ who is a traitor.

4. - A priest can always sell Our Lord Jesus, but no priest can buy Him.

Whereupon they laid down thirty pieces of silver. - Matthew 26:15 -

5. - Any pleasure, profit or gain that once receives through rejecting the Eucharistic Lord proves so disgusting that the beneficiary is impelled, like Judas, to throw it back in the face of those who gave it.

And now Judas, His betrayer, was full of remorse at seeing Him condemned, so that he brought back to the chief priests and elders their thirty pieces of silver; I have sinned, he told them, in betraying the Blood of an Innocent Man. - Matthew 27:3-4 -

Could not the money have been given to the poor? Judas never thought of that then.

6. - Many psychoses and neuroses are due to an unrequited sense of guilt. The Lord would have pardoned Judas as He pardoned Peter, but Judas never asked for pardon.

When a man hates himself for what he has done and is without repentance to God, he will sometimes pound his breast as if to blot out a sin. There is a world of difference between pounding a breast in self-disgust and pounding it with the mea culpa of one asking for pardon. Self-hatred can become so intense as to pound the life out of a man, leading him to suicide. Though death is a penalty of original sin and naturally feared by any normal person, some rush into its arms.

The conscience of Judas warned before the sin. After the sin it gnawed, and the rending was such that he could not bear it. Down the valley of Kidron he went, that valley of so many ghostly associations. Jagged rocks and gnarled and stunted trees he chose as the proper place to empty himself of self. Everything around proclaimed his destiny and his end. Nothing was more revolting to his eyes than the gilded roof of the temple, for it reminded him of the Temple of God he had just sold. Every tree seemed the gibbet to which he had sentenced innocent Blood. Every branch was an accusing finger. The very hill on which he stood overlooked Calvary, whereon the One he had sentenced to death would unite heaven and earth, a union he would now exert his final efforts to prevent. Throwing a rope over a limb of a tree, he hanged himself. - Matthew 27:5 -

The lesson is clear. We are Eucharistic priests. Watch a priest say Mass and you can tell how he treats souls in a confessional, how he ministers to the sick and poor, whether or not he is interested in making converts, whether he is more concerned about pleasing the "Bishop" than "the Lord God" how effective he is in instilling patience and resignation in those who suffer, whether he loves the rich, or the rich and the poor, and whether he gives only money-sermons or Christ words. The moral rot of the priesthood starts with a want of lively faith in the Divine Presence, and the sanctity of the priesthood starts there too.

The question is not why do we sin, because there is a distinction between temptation and sin. Temptation is merely a solicitation, and invitation, a suggestion to do wrong. Sin is the voluntary doing of that wrong thing. Sacred Scripture says, "Blessed is the man who suffers temptation." In this context means trial. The sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "And lead us not into temptation," is a petition to escape trials which we cannot master.

When Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible states that God tempted Abraham, it merely means God tried Abraham's faith as a goldsmith tries gold in the fire; there is a world of difference between God trying His people and inciting their corruption.

Coming more precisely to the subject of temptation, here are a few basic principles:

1. - Temptation comes from the duality or complexity of our nature. We are not simple creatures like crystals, but rather a compound of body and soul, matter and spirit. The human personality is like a driver in a chariot, as Plato suggested. Before him are two headstrong steeds: one is the animal urge with us, and the other the spirit. The charioteer, or the driver, has great difficulty to get both steeds headed in the same direction.

Though modern psychology has done much to develop the nature of this tension, it must not be thought that the tension inside man was not known in the past. The greatest of Greek dramatists, Sophocles, wrote of the great primeval disharmony that it was "grave with age and infected all men." Ovid, the Latin poet, wrote: "I see and approve the better things of life, but the worse things in life I follow."

Every human beings in the world can bear witness to the civil war which goes on inside his being. Good people sometimes act like bad people; very bad people, in certain circumstances, will act like good people. Goethe regretted that God had made him only one man. There was enough material in him for both a saint and a villain.

2. - It must not be thought that origin of temptation is solely to be sought in the individual human personality. If the origin were wholly within the person, it is conceivable that some would be without temptation; but there is no one in the world who is not tempted - absolutely no one. The nature of the temptation may vary one from another, and they may even vary with age. Confucius divided temptations into three different stages of human life: in youth man is tempted to lust, in middle age to pride and power, and in old age to avarice or greed. No one tells the full story of temptation by seeking its origin in a grandfather or a grandmother, or too much love for a father or too little love for a mother, crowded tenements, low calorie diet or insufficient education.

3. - The true origin of the conflict is not to be found in the individual exclusively but in human nature. This assumes there is a difference between "nature" and "person". Nature answers to the question, "What is it?" A person answers to the question, "Who is it?" A pencil is not a person. An atom is not a person. John Jones is a person. Something has happened to disturb the original human nature so that it is now neither an angel nor a devil. Human nature is not intrinsically corrupt (as some theologians claimed, more than 400 years ago) nor is it intrinsically divine (as philosophers began saying, more than 50 years ago) Rather, human nature has aspirations for good which it sometimes finds impossible to realize completely by itself; at the same time, human nature has inclinations to evil which solicit it away from these ideas.

It is like a man who is down a well of his own stupidity. He or She knows that he ought not to be there, but he cannot get out by himself/herself. Or to change the picture, he is like a clock whose mainspring is broken. He needs to be fixed on the inside, but repairs must be supplied from without. He is a creature who can run well again, but only if Someone outside has the kindness to repair him. This Someone is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Redeemer of human nature. He came not to teach only but also to heal the breach caused by false freedom.

Many evil things are done quickly. Hence the Divine Savior/the Lord Jesus Christ, the night of the Last Supper, said to Judas Iscariot who was about to betray Him: "What you are going to do, do quickly." Satan on the mount of temptation tried to induce the Lord Jesus Christ to a short cut of saving people, and not by the Cross of Redemption. Satan promised all the kingdoms of the world "now." The reward for leaving evil in the hearts of people was the immediate delivery of political powers of earth.

Impatience or precipitous hurry is related to pride and to egotism. The annoyance felt at the cold coffee, the late morning newspaper, the delay in the appointment, all betray that the ego is considered that which must be served immediately.

The business person is always in a hurry; even his or her pleasures are fast. He does not taste food; he gulps it. He waits not for fruit; he plucks blossoms. About the only patience he has, and it is not true patience, is waiting for the stock market to go higher. This is really not patience, but a haunting quest for "more."

Youth too, has something of this impatience in its precociousness as regards pleasure. At an early age youth can feel already jaded, among some of life's sensible experiences. There is a lust of finishing life, even before it has begun. That is why there is such a love of speed, for the speed of youth is not to get to a certain point, but to show impatience with life.

Despite the American love of hurry, in the New Testament alone there is a recommendation to patience more than thirty times. Patience is not a passivity, but a strong endurance in the face of seeming defeat and disappointment; it is a refusal to be crushed by the blows of circumstances.

Two of the famous expressions are: "He who believes, does not hasten," and "In your patience, possess your souls." The possession of the soul describes the state in which a person has full command and undisturbed enjoyment of himself in opposition to outside influences, which disturb and decompose his peace of mind. Vain is wealth and prosperity and even health when unrestrained violence of temper becomes a source of disturbance and vexation. The loud complaint, the querulous temper and the fretful spirit disgrace character and show that the mind is unmanned by misfortunes.

There are many who excuse themselves, saying that if they were in other circumstances they would be much more patient. This is a grave mistake, for its assumes that virtue is a matter of geography and not of moral effort. It makes little differences where we are; it all depends on what we are thinking. What happens to us is not so important as how we react to what happens. Patience is not absence of action. It waits for the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.

Patience is not insensibility. It is a result of thought. It is a very active bearing up of oneself under the pressure of calamity. Every person has a soul to save, but this cannot be done except by steadfast loyalty to the highest and the best. Patience then is a submissive waiting, a frame of mind which is willing to wait because it knows Whom it serves, because it is willing to endure in gratitude to God Who endured all, and also because the soul is worth more than the universe.

What often passes as religion is nothing but ethics and natural morality. Religion as a Divine force implies something that is non-human; namely, a gift from above [God] which can be accepted or rejected. God in some way enlightens the mind to see a truth that was never seen before; He strengthens the will to do things about it that were never done before, thus setting before us motives which will persuade the will to accept what is freely given. This gift is called 'grace' because gratis.

The grace of God is like the light of the sun which is outside the window. If the blinds of our will are down, or if the windows are dirty because of our behavior, the light will not come in. Human cooperation is, therefore, essential for the entering into a higher and Diviner life than the merely human. All this is a very mysteriously and slow process. In the springtime the fields are arrayed in their beautiful vesture, but one cannot see the power of God raising the sap through root and fibre, along stem and branch, and unfolding each bud and blossom.

So it is with the work of salvation. No angels announced that God has commenced His earthly life. He who, however, begins to be responsive to the gift, immediately sees that there are tremendous obstacles to be surmounted, mountains of pride and self-righteousness to be laid low, prejudices to be swept away. The consideration that God works in the soul leaves it without either excuse for negligence or ground for despondency.

Anyone with psychological insight can see a kind of interaction going on inside of himself. On the one hand there is the overcoming and the casting out of evil, and on the other, there is the assimilation and unfolding of good. It is like passing from disease to health. There is a joint working of God and man, man being able to do his part because God works, and God's working requires man's cooperation. The food in our stomach will not avail us for health, unless the organism cooperates. We must at least be able to digest it. God can no more become the spiritual life, light and strength of the soul any more than undigested bread can become the staff of life.

Most human beings refuse to allow Divine workings in their souls because it requires a change of behavior. The result is continued mediocrity and ordinariness. Man without the grace of God is like a body without food. What a starving man is, such is man without God. It would be foolish for a starving man to say: "I cannot take any food until I am stronger." How could he expect to be strong without food: One cannot feed on oneself. That is why humanism is insufficient. God is waiting to do His Part; we in secret either cooperate or lose the benefit.

BY  VENERABLE / ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN  ( 1895 to 1979 ) 

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.