Day 1 Triduum: A Disciple after the Heart of Jesus
Flag Raising
Homily:
In his homily, on the first day of Triduum mass of Sts. Chastan and Imbert Feast, Fr. Louis said that Jesus in the Gospel (Jn 12: 24- 26) seems to be demanding that we renounce ourselves and take up the cross every day. We may not have heard this in any other religion. “So why must we suffer?” he asked.
He related the story of Sts. Chastan and Imbert who sacrificed their lives for the faith. In order to end the persecution of native Christians in Korea, Jacques Chastan surrendered to the authorities. He was bastinadoed and beheaded in 1939. In 1925, Laurent Imbert and companions were also executed. Both of them had taught at College General in Penang- Chastan from 1828 to 1830 and Imbert from 1821 to 1822. Jacques Chastan was also the 4th parish priest of the Church of Immaculate Conception from 1830 to 1833. In another story of the youngest saint in Korea, a 13 year old Peter Yu accepted ember in his mouth instead of giving up his faith. Fr. Louis also showed slides of persecution tools used to torture and execute Christians.
“What is the cross we are bearing?”he asked and explained that there three crosses we bear:
- Cross of pain: A physical pain or impairment that we face but despite the suffering we become a blessing to others by enduring it.
- Cross of acceptance: When we face issues in our relationships but yet accept the person we have issues with as they are
- Cross of sin: When we struggle with a repetitive sin such as pride, jealousy and others
These are thorns that help us recognize that we need Christ. We need to cry out to Jesus and tell him we are longing for him. Call on him to take our hand so that we can follow him. He explained that we may not be able to overcome the cross on our own and so we need God. If we can take up our cross we are those “who sow in tears but will sing when we reap”.
He ended his sermon with the following question: Are we able to be a disciple of Christ and carry the cross? He added that we have to be a disciple after the heart of Jesus – see beyond the cross and offer up the cross.
