The word ‘inclusive’ became a sign word of the 21st century Western societies. Societies try not to leave any member forgotten, ignored, or rejected. This inclusiveness effort sounds fair and humane. Who would refuse and deny equitable treatment of all citizens? For example, it is laudable to provide public access for people with disabilities and other conditions.

However, it is undeniable that inclusiveness often means the normalization of immoralities. Usually, this normalization results from admitting immoral behaviours as human rights. People desire, praise, and promote promiscuity and sexual perversion as inalienable rights and liberty.

Of course, the rationalization of immorality is nothing new. The snake suggested Eve equality and fairness between God and man. It accused God of the monopoly of the knowledge of good and evil. In this way, the snake provided a reason for violating God’s prohibition. The ancient serpent devised and offered rationalization of sin for every age of human history. In our times, the serpent skews fairness and charity to pervert this generation.

You might not yet be so sure if this normalization of immorality is a lie. Then, observe how those insisting on ‘inclusiveness’ exclude people who have different opinions from theirs. People lose their jobs and social relationships just because they expressed their thoughts on morality. Inclusiveness activists and supporters silence anyone who differs from them. Not only that, but they also remove all your social and economic privileges. Sooner or later, faithful Christians will be segregated.

Christians have a moral obligation to exercise mercy to repenting brethren. Forgiveness is the primary sign of Christ’s followers, precisely because Christ came on earth to forgive. But Christ also commanded his follower to remind each other’s sinfulness and to preach repentance. Accepting an unrepentant person makes me an accomplice.

You might wonder how today’s first reading and the gospel may pair with each other. The first reading from the Book of Genesis tells us the story of Abraham’s test that God commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Meanwhile, we read the episode of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospel. You may uncover parallelism between these two passages. A careful reading will find many similarities. But I would like to note one common point.

It is sacrifice. You might not immediately perceive it in the Transfiguration. But when we realize what Jesus discussed with Moses and Elijah, it becomes clear. However, Mark does not tell us what they discussed. But we can guess from what Jesus ordered the three apostles. The hint lies in ‘this rising from the dead’. Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah about his Passion – his upcoming suffering and death. And we can confirm this in Luke’s gospel. Luke expresses Jesus’ coming Passion as his Exodus that he would accomplish at Jerusalem.

Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only legitimate son, Isaac, as God demanded. And Isaac was obediently followed his father Abraham bearing wood. Jesus announced his self-sacrifice according to the will of his Father in heaven. And God confirmed the divine sonship before the apostles.

We still speak about sacrifice in our times. However, sacrifice to God is almost forgotten even among Christians. The expression, ‘offering up’, is a sign of previous generations of Christians. The sacrifice of our times mostly means altruistic service. But when the Blessed Mother appeared to the three children of Fatima and asked them to sacrifice, she was not speaking about social service or volunteering. The Blessed Virgin was asking for prayers and suffering offered to God. Whether corporeal or mental, she was encouraging offering before God. We may call it a spiritual sacrifice.

But modern man has a hard time understanding it. Especially here in North America, where utilitarianism takes a deep root in our minds, people cannot find much meaning in offering sacrifice to God. We have a hard time seeing any utility of self-denial, for example, abstinence and fast except for health. Clerical celibacy may promote the efficiency of ministry or save operating costs, but for what other use? People ask themselves, “How can my fasting of meals affect or influence my friend’s conversion?” Or “How does my continence alleviate my mother’s pains from cancer?” A step farther, some will question, “How does God convert my sacrifice to any use? Isn’t he already equipped with sufficient grace to hand out? Why does God need my sacrifice? For what use?”

Judaeo-Christian experiences teach that spiritual sacrifice mediates God and man. All divine encounters in the Old Testament include offering sacrifices. Worship without a spiritual sacrifice, be it a burnt offering or a hymn of praise or a prayer of thanksgiving, is nothing but a lip service without God’s presence. You will not find an example of a divine covenant without offering a sacrifice in the Bible. In the end, the Son of God became the true Mediator between God and man for man’s salvation by himself becoming a sacrifice. The Mediator himself became the sacrifice!

The sacrifice of Jesus, the self-sacrifice of his life before God the Father, did not resolve poverty in the world, nor eradicated all diseases, nor installed permanent world peace, nor prevented environmental pollution. However, it opened the door to life eternal.

When God demanded Abraham of the sacrifice of Isaac, to our surprise, Abraham did not ask God any questions. A spiritual sacrifice is a sincere sign of faith and trust in God. And It seems the best way to move God. At every Mass, the sacrifice of Christ brings God’s presence down to us!

Have you heard the expression ‘kangaroo court’? If you or your parents emigrated from countries of recent memories with fascism or communism, you probably already know or heard about the examples of this kangaroo court. It is a popular court. Of course, it is not a part of a regular standing court system of the country. Many people accuse a person or a group of people of certain wrongdoings. But most often, the accused do not have any advocate. And there is no process to confirm the accusations. Accusations are accepted as true without verification. It quickly ends, and executions immediately follow. Under many communist revolutions, kangaroo courts destroyed countless numbers of lives.

I doubt if there is any country that allows a kangaroo court in our times. Even those times kangaroo courts were frequently held, no legitimate government permitted such a thing by law. But in recent years, we witness many kangaroo courts without realizing they are kangaroo courts. Mostly, these kangaroo courts take place on the internet, usually on social media platforms. The mechanism is almost identical to a kangaroo court. No one has proper legal authority, but everyone accuses and judges and sentences. The accused lose jobs and social relationships, suffer psychological traumas, and carry the scarlet letters, even before they are tried at legal courts. Many accused people in those kangaroo courts do not have a chance to bring their cases to courts. And even when they try in courts and prove their innocence, the courts scarcely restore their damages. No one is responsible for wrong accusations in those kangaroo courts.

Many people believe they can find the truth on the internet. Lots of people trust social media posts while they do not know their authors. Very few people check their facts. More people jump to conclusions and judgments. This generation does not like to be judged in any way. But it easily judges in cyberspace.

Jesus tells his followers to be fair and benevolent to everyone. He teaches us to imitate his Father in heaven who is impartial to everyone and gives good things even to evil people. But I fear that Christians find themselves accusing others in cyber kangaroo courts. If so, we are likely to hate people who are not even our enemies. Then, how far away we are from God’s perfect love Jesus urges us to imitate!

We will all agree that it is no good to hold grudge and hatred against someone. But it will be worse to hate someone even if you do not have any firsthand knowledge of the person. Unfortunately, this worse case occurs more frequently in recent years thanks to social media. Mass media producers such as broadcasting companies and newspapers are trained and regulated for objectivity in their reports. But social media contents are mostly not filtered and screened for their veracity or objectivity. Furthermore, social media contents are not reviewed for their contribution to the common good of society. So much of social media content is not beneficial to anyone, no newsworthy but only inciting unnecessary curiosity and voyeurism. But even worse, much of social media distorts facts, instills suspicions, stimulates anger, provokes hatred, and causes divisions. Not only public figures but also ordinary individuals fall victims. Not only adults but also youth become targets of bullying and public shaming.

Jesus warns us of judgment and punishment over our anger and hatred toward our neighbours. Of course, we can have just anger against injustice and corruption. And we may also have disgust and abhorrence of sins and crimes. Moreover, we can understand the emotional distress and trauma from manipulation, exploitation, or violence. It is not natural to feel glad to see perpetrators. But if you feel nauseous of someone you have never met, you should ask yourself if someone or something has control over you. Many people let social media dictate what they should see and hear on an hourly basis. If you find yourself angry at someone or some group of people thanks to what you have read or watched on social media, blame yourself first for your naivety and gullibility.

What is tragic about anger and hatred induced by social media is this: reconciliation is almost impossible. Certainly, we have victims. But most often, we cannot identify one single responsible perpetrator. When someone lost a job because of wrongful social media accusations or comments, even after his name is cleared, nobody is responsible for the damages.

Nonetheless, let us not forget the harsh condemnation that will follow. Jesus says, “I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Do I pray God to give me the virtue of poverty? But, do I honestly want to be poor and find joy in poverty? Do I pray God to allow me the virtue of obedience? But, do I sincerely want to abandon my will and autonomy? Do I pray God to grant me the virtue of chastity? But, do I heartily want the power to deny all pleasure of my mind and body for Jesus?

Yes, I wish I had those virtues. So, I pray to God that he may allow them to me. But do I want them? I said I wished for them. But, do I sincerely desire them? Here, I find contradictions within myself. There are divisions in my heart. I pray for virtues and holiness. However, my body and soul still find delights in what pulls me away from Jesus. How joyful would it be if my true desires accord with virtues! But it is not the reality.

Since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, man faces this unfortunate reality of sinfulness. If man could achieve virtues and holiness by his power against his sinfulness, he would not need a saviour. Perhaps he would struggle but could manage to save himself. God might send his Son for man’s salvation. Then, the Son of God would not be called the Saviour. Instead, he would be named a facilitator or an assistant. But the man soon realizes this is not reality. He cannot overcome his sinfulness by his strength. He cannot even desire what he wishes to desire.

Jesus tells us to pray to his Father. “Ask, and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

I pray that my body and soul may honestly desire holiness. And I pray that God let me discover the joy in perseverance toward virtues during this Lent.

There are two kinds of signs. The first one foretells near-future occurrences. Experienced mothers can tell what the signs are before labouring. You can save lives if you know what the signs are before a stroke. The other kind of signs tells you what to do. Road signs caution and warn road conditions and speed limits. And street signs let you know where you are and where to drive.

When the great city of Nineveh was on the way to God’s punishment, the prophet Jonah appeared before the city and warned them of God’s upcoming wrath. Its people recognized the sign and turned their ways from sinful lives. God relented and did not destroy the city as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Which kind of sign was Jonah?

When the parents of Jesus presented Jesus at the Temple after forty days of his birth, the prophet Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be a sign. Which kind of sign do you think the prophet Simeon was speaking? Jesus is the second kind of sign like the prophet Jonah. Jesus is the sign that warns us of our sinfulness but directs us to salvation.

Christ is still the sign that shows the direction to salvation. But he also invites us to become his signs. When we drive a long way, we check road signs and confirm if we are in the right direction to our destinations. We need many signs along the way. Likewise, the Saints of the Church, saintly people, and even angels help us take the right direction to salvation. Because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, her members should become Christ’s signposts for each other.

Am I Christ’s signpost to my family and friends? When a signpost is confusing, people get lost and even hurt. In this Season of Lent, let us examine ourselves if our lives direct to where our Lord is waiting for us.

The dramatic change or secularization of the Christian West since the last century has its fervent promoter. It is the mass media. There are Christian homes without the Bible. But I am sure there are no homes without a TV set or a radio. And in this 21st century, secularization is accelerated with social media and other online platforms.

And how do these mass media and others change Christians and others? By their words. Secular humanists, atheists, sexual revolutionists, abortionists, feminists, homosexual lobbyists, and all kinds of liberalists have been campaigning with these media to pour out their words to reach everyone’s ears. And they have been successful. Christians of this generation do not know the Bible while they can recite these groups’ mantras verbatim. Words have power. Words change people. And words make a reality.

“Thus says the Lord, your God,” the prophet Isaiah delivers God’s word to us, “so shall my word be that goes out from mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Many Christians worry about the Church in this secularized and anti-Christian world. And they wonder what they can do to re-evangelize the world. Then, let the word of the Lord be proclaimed. There is no other way but to read and hear his word. The word of the Lord is much more powerful than any human speech. Reading the Bible will change us because the word of the Lord is alive and have power. Reading the Bible is an act of faith. Let the word of the Lord soak our minds and hearts. It will bring forth a harvest of holiness in our lives and the world.

I find it remarkable that Jesus founded his Church on a person, Peter. He did not say, ‘I will build my church on this faith.’ What he said was, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.” Since Peter means ‘rock’, “this rock” means Peter. Was it not too risky to entrust all authority to a person? And this person, Simon Peter, was not even properly educated. Why did not Jesus write his revelation in a book and hand it to his disciples, saying, ‘I will build my Church on this manual of faith. This book will guarantee the authenticity of my church’? Would not it have resolved so many future troubles? It could have prevented heresies and schisms. It could have protected the Church from skepticism and atheism. It could have provided many practical answers to moral issues. But Jesus did not choose to write a revelation or a constitution. Why did he take so much risk?

I believe that Jesus established his Church on a person, Peter, because his gospel, his faith, and his Church must be alive in a person’s heart. This is the fulfillment of what the prophet Jeremiah had already foretold, “this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

The Christian calling is radically different from all other invitations. We can join many institutions but can also leave them. On the other hand, once you are baptized, you bear the indelible mark of baptism forever. We become a part of the Mystical Body of Christ. And we carry Christ’s New Covenant in our heart.

When Jesus told Peter to be the foundation of his Church, Jesus was not saying an impressive metaphor. Jesus was commanding Peter to give his whole being as the foundation of his Church. And his command became true – Peter is lying now under the bottom of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Truly, St Peter became the bedrock of the whole Church.

You might have heard some world leaders and people in prominent status speak about ‘reset’ since this pandemic started. It is still a matter of discussion what they mean by ‘reset’. Some people welcome it, but some others fear it. I do not know what those influential people intend to reset.

However, we are all familiar with the word, ‘reset’. Most frequently, we use this word for our electronics. When your phone or computer does not operate well because of too much junk data and apps, we reset them. When we reset them, we return them to their original conditions and configurations as they left their manufacturers. Resetting removes all unnecessary add-ons and burdensome accumulations on your machines. In other words, your appliances are reborn.

In this familiar sense of the word, Judeo-Christian religion has a long practice of resetting. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God renewed the whole world of sin by the Great Flood. Through the reset of the Great Flood, the whole creation was reborn. This returning to the original condition of God’s creation also found its expression in the tradition of Jubilee years in Israel. Every seven years, Hebrew slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and every tribe went back to their original inheritance. And Every fifty years was a great jubilee or a great reset. Israel people went back to the original conditions of what the Lord their God called them out of Egypt.

The Immaculate Conception was the beginning of the Great Reset. And Jesus was the Reset of mankind. Jesus and Mary were new Adam and new Eve. Now, through his death and resurrection, Christ opened a new way of resetting. It is the Baptism. When we are baptized, we are recreated according to the original image of God. Baptism removes all our previous burdens of sins. We are reborn without original sin.

But, not only that, but Jesus also gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation for frequent resetting. And the Church developed a special period of reset – Lent. In this season of Lent, Jesus calls us to reset our life so that we may return to the original innocence and purity we received at Baptism.

This is the second Lent under this pandemic. We were in shock and frozen at the first Lent last year because the pandemic just began. Since then, under frequent shutdowns and partial lockdowns, we started discerning essential things for our life. We had to learn how to remove all unnecessary activities. I think last year was a time of resetting our spiritual life, too. It was an extended Lent. I hope that we all realized how necessary the Mass and the other sacraments are.

Indeed, it is time to reset. We want to remove all unnecessary burdens of life. And this pandemic is a good time to do it. I wish we turn this disaster into an opportunity to renew our lives. We want to remove all sinful habits and sinfulness that oppress our life. Let the Holy Spirit bring us to a desert as he drove Jesus to the desert of testing. Jesus turned the forty days of temptation into preparation for his ministry. When we ask the Holy Spirit, he helps us with his angels as he assisted Jesus in the desert. As the people of Israel marched through the desert of Sinai by the lead of the pillar of cloud and fire, we will also be able to go through this desert of the pandemic by the lead of the Holy Spirit. As the people of Israel were reborn at the River of Jordan and entered the promised land, I hope that the Holy Spirit may reset all of us during this Lent and grant us the joy of the resurrection of Christ.

Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent. Have you decided on your Lenten resolution? If not, or looking for more, I would like to suggest something very biblical. And it is not for every day. Only seven times for the whole Lent. Let us listen to the prophet Isaiah:

If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Now you can probably guess what my suggestion is. During this Lent, let us spend the Lord’s Day in the Lord. There are seven Sundays from the first Sunday of Lent to Easter Sunday inclusive.

Please do not do any work, even cooking and cleaning. Let us not go shopping or visit a park. Do not visit friends or other families. Let us not watch TV or use the internet except watching the Mass and other Catholic devotions. If you want to avoid all these on Sundays, you should take care of these things during the week. To spend the Lord’s Day holy, we need to prepare for it.

Then, what do we do on these Sundays? If we cannot still gather at the parish, watch the Mass. And spend time on prayers, devotions such as the Rosary, and spiritual reading. But most of all, spare time for the readings of the Mass. Read them several times and reflect on them. We should give some time to the word of the Lord to settle down in our minds and heart. It is not so much for understanding. But it is instead for the word of the Lord to dwell in your mind and heart. We should go over several times what our Lord is telling us. Now, these might sound demanding. But another critical task for Lord’s Day is to rest well. Reading and praying should not take more than an hour or two. We should be able to spend the rest of the day taking rest in the Lord. You may slowly meditate and reflect on the readings of the Mass. Reflect on Jesus and his life. Meditate on death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Examine your life.

Christians are people of Sundays – the Lord’s Day. It is the most fundamental Christian character. During this Lent, let us renew our identity as the people of the Lord’s Day – the Day of Resurrection.