God's love for you - 8th December

Webmaster • December 7, 2024

The Incarnation (2)


In the Incarnation, Our Lord's Divine nature joined together with our human nature, became true God and true man in one Person. God entirely a man and a man entirely God, there is no half and half. St Francis de Sales used iron and fire as an analogy to made us understand better: when you withdraws a hot iron plate after placing it into the furnace, one cannot say if the inflamed iron is fire or iron since they both so mixed together. It turned into a condition that can be described as iron is on fire and an iron fire, yet iron is still an iron in the fire and fire is still fire in the iron. In this Mystery, God made us physically see something that is beyond our human imagination and understanding - one who never dies can die, one who cannot feel sufferings can suffer, one who is Invisible and Almighty born into the world in a form of a babe that needs to be look after by human. Such sacrifice. Why does God spend such effort to do so? Why did Incarnation happen? You may say in order to die on the Cross for our salvation. It is true, but St Francis de Sales also said just a sigh or even a drop of tears from Our Lord would have unlimited price and merit, sufficient to redeem us all. Yet He did not wish to do so, rather our dear Jesus willed to go through countless pains and sufferings, from the moment of Incarnation, through His examples and later through His Words, to show and teach us how to live with reason and not our flesh's desires. Some may say, so to establish the Eucharist and dwell amongst us until the end of time. Also St Peter has said, through Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, caused us to be born again to a living hope to an unfading reserved inheritance in Heaven for us. All these are so true. But ultimately, don't all these reasons point towards one thing: God's Love, for us. These were all done for our sake. You are being loved. This Christmas, let us put aside all those thoughts of busy shopping, visiting, dinner planning...for a while, and think about this true meaning of Christmas. Love Him back in this Christmas.


(References: • 1 Peter 1:3-4 • The Sermons of St Francis de Sales for Advent & Christmas, "The union of the Divine and human natures in Our Lord", 24 December 1620)

By Webmaster May 2, 2025
God's lover Who can that be? It is us. To be precise, every one of us. God Loves us, whoever you are, and He desires our love to Him. It is an invitation: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' (Mk 12:30) Now, you might thinks: this is my all, my everything! Nothing left for myself? Exactly. When Jesus asks us to love Him, He expressed it in such a way which seems quite harsh: 'He who does not hate his father and mother is not worthy of me'. But we must learn to penetrate its true meaning. 'To hate' means 'not to put my love first'. He speaks of a love through which we must learn to lose ourselves. And this divine love, unlike human love which often violate the beloved when in excess, does not degrade our life. If you do love God, as a lover, you will try your best; because he who loves wants to see the lover's desires fully satisfied, and the will of the beloved will become the will of the lover. Also because love exists in such a way that it cannot be satisfied unless it continually increases and expands. But if you do struggle to unite with Him, do not worry, He is with you, He will come to meet you with His Love. Truly, we have no pure true love within ourselves unless we have God within us, who is Love Himself, who diffuses charity in our hearts, who teaches us how to love. And this Love needs to be loved, as only in the act of love does the object of love reveal himself to the lover, and unveil the lovableness through which the lover loves him. Within this Love, the lover is continually transformed into the Beloved and the Beloved into the lover, slowly the lover will be like the Beloved and gradually the lover acts like the Beloved. Through loving Jesus, we are being introduced into His Kingdom of Justice and Holiness and drawing us to the heights of charity where we would be one with God. The Lord's daily request of us, is simply that we love Him ever more. (Reference: 'Rosminian Spirituality: In the Spirit of the Founder', Fr Giovanni Gaddo, 1971)
By Webmaster May 2, 2025
Next weekend there will be a second collection for this Appeal. This year alongside supporting seminarians, this collection will also be used for wider discipleship activity across the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia. Please support this appeal to the best of your abilities
By Webmaster May 2, 2025
Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’  (John 21:15)
By Webmaster May 2, 2025
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By Webmaster April 25, 2025
The Love of God  What is Love? We probably can easily quote St Paul's words to the Corinthians: "Love is patient and kind, doesn’t envy, doesn’t brag, not proud...." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) But why is this one thing becomes so many different things? What is Love, exactly? God is Love and hence Love is a Mystery. The created cannot fully understand the Creator, hence no one can truly understand what Love is. However, we can have a glimpse of it by what we experienced and revealed to us. Love is like the dispersion of white light through a prism and gives out a spectrum of rainbowlike colours. But who can name all the shades of colours? Hence we can only use our limited words to describe Love, but still they are just like a tip of an iceberg. What can we say then? God is the Alpha and Omega, so Love is our beginning and our end and perfection. All the goodness of things and persons comes from Him alone. Without Him, we are nothing, but dust. God's Love is what created us, complete us, sustain us, die for us. But that is not the end. As His unlimited Love never ends, so are our souls never die. Our whole being is the imprint of God's Love. Our life eternal is the promise of God's Love. (Reference: 'Rosminian Spirituality: In the Spirit of the Founder', Fr Giovanni Gaddo, 1971)
By Webmaster April 25, 2025
We thank God for the life and wonderful example of Pope Francis. His was an Easter death and his Christ filled life was an example of faith for all of us.  Rest In Peace
By Webmaster April 25, 2025
‘Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’’  (John 20:26-27)
By Webmaster April 25, 2025
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By Webmaster April 22, 2025
Dear brothers, Happy Easter! Despite his illness of these past months, we were all saddened to hear the news yesterday of the death of Pope Francis. He was an extraordinary witness to the Risen Lord and we pray now that the Lord quickly receive him into the kingdom. I will be celebrating a “Mass of the Resurrection – Remembering Pope Francis” in St David’s Cathedral, Cardiff at 6.30pm tomorrow evening (Wednesday) . Please come to concelebrate if you can and encourage our people to come too. There will also be a Vigil of Prayer on Thursday Evening at 6pm in St David’s Cathedral to which we have invited ecumenical, inter-faith and civic dignitaries. Do come to that, too, if you are able, and encourage people to attend, if they can. With my thanks and with my prayers and best wishes. Yours devotedly, +Mark Archbishop Mark O’Toole
By Webmaster April 18, 2025
‘...The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting. Christ, my hope, has risen: he goes before you into Galilee…’  (Victimae Paschali Laudes)
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