Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: December 2013

2 January

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Most of us would have been taught about the faith as children or as adults, depending on whether we were baptised as infants or as adults. However, regardless of when and how we were taught, we are reminded in today’s reading to “Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning: as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you, you will live in the Son and in the Father; and what is promised to you by his own promise is eternal life.”

As we go on in life, we may face various challenges, persecution, temptation, etc. However, we should make every effort to remain faithful to Christ and to God. As the reading also reminds us: “You are anointed with truth, not with a lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him. Live in Christ, then, my children, so that if he appears, we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at his coming.” Have we been taking heed to these words and remain in Christ? It may not be an easy task, but let us persevere and trust in God, knowing that God will care for us and not abandon us.

Mary, Mother of God – Solemnity

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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. More importantly, we celebrate God becoming man. Because of Mary’s yes to God, God became man and we have Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation is the result of the cooperation between God and man, and Mary’s cooperation made this possible.

God sent his Son to redeem us and to enable us to be adopted as sons. As the second reading tells us: “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.” Are we aware of our being adopted sons of God? Are we appreciative and humbled that we have been made heirs? Sometimes in life, we may forget who we are and may go astray. However, God is always waiting patiently for us to come back to Him, just as the father waited for the prodigal son to come home.

Let us thus, like Mary, treasure all these things and ponder them in our heart, for God has given a wonderful gift to us, the gift of His Son. As we also celebrate World Day of Peace, let us bring the peace Christ to all and continue to dwell in His presence.

7th day within the octave of Christmas

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Are we children of God, friends of Christ? Or are we rivals of Christ? This may seem a simple question. After all, who wouldn’t want to be a child of God, a friend of Christ? But sometimes our way of life, our behaviour, our actions, our attitude, may cause us to be rivals of Christ instead of friends of Christ.

Today’s reading tells us that “Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged; if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left us, to prove that not one of them ever belonged to us.” What exactly does it mean to belong? If we say that we love God and neighbour, then it may seem that we may belong. However, saying we love God and neighbour is not enough. We need to show that we love God and neighbour. It is through our actions that others will see that we are Jesus’ disciples. Talk is cheap, action speaks louder than words.

Thus, let us seriously ponder. Are we really belonged? Or have we gone astray? Let us choose wisely, and do what is necessary if we want to belong.

6th day within the octave of Christmas

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Some of us would have struggled through life to be in good relationship with God. Sometimes, we may feel as if our efforts are not bearing much fruit; or being and staying good seems like an uphill task. However, today’s reading is a great source of inspiration and comfort for us:

“You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world. The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world, because nothing the world has to offer – the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride in possessions – could ever come from the Father but only from the world; and the world, with all it craves for, is coming to an end; but anyone who does the will of God remains for ever.”

Do we have the love of the Father within us? Or have we begun to love the world more? Though we need to survive in this world, let us not be overwhelmed and seduced by its embrace. Though we do not know when the world would actually come to an end, let us not be caught offguard. Our goal ought to be to remain forever with God.

Holy Family

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Where do we get most of our education from? Some may say from kindergarten. Others may say from primary or secondary school. Others may even say at college or university. However, all these forms of education can only be beneficial to us if we have learnt the basics, and the basics are (hopefully) taught to us at home, at a very young age. It is in the family that we learn to be a person, a citizen, a Christian, and God’s children.

However, the family is under threat. We see more and more families becoming broken. We see lack of communication taking place; husbands and wives not talking to each other; children not talking to their parents or siblings. We see greater increase in divorce rates, because some people are not happy in their marriages and look elsewhere for love and comfort. We see children being left alone at home or under the care of grandparents, maids or babysitters, as parents work late or prefer to live and enjoy their lives outside. We see elderly parents being abandoned or placed in nursing homes and rarely visited, because some people find it inconvenient to care for them (it seems strange and unfortunate that our parents were making sacrifices to care for us when we were young, but some of us are unwilling to do the same when they are old). Some parents have even given up or lack patience to teach their children, preferring to wash their hands and let others do their dirty work. I remember hearing a parent approaching a teacher and asking the teacher to control his son who is very “naughty.” The teacher said: “If you cannot control your son at home, where you see him daily for several hours, how do you expect me to control him, when I see him only twice a week for about 30 minutes each?”

All these things may sound like a hopeless situation. But it need not be, if we are prepared to make God and our faith the centre of our lives again. The Holy Family, whose Feast we celebrate today, reminds us that it is not hopeless. The Holy Family was not a perfect family. They too had their problems. But what sets them apart from other families is their faith in God. They understood that a family is never truly a family unless God is made the centre of it. Does this mean that once we make God the centre of our lives, we will not have any problems? No. But we know that God will care for us and not abandon us. The problems we face become easier to manage, if we let God take control and help us, for he will not abandon us.

Whatever obstacles and problems we face in our lives and in our families, let us not despair or give up. God can and will help us. The question is: are we humble enough to walk in His ways and let Him guide us and our families? Do we offer ourselves and our families to God, so He can transform us into something better?

Dec 28 – The Holy Innocents, Martyrs – Feast

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Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents. Like St Stephen whose Feast we celebrated on Dec 26, the Holy Innocents were martyred or killed. Their deaths were a consequence of Jesus fleeing to Egypt. Why did they have to die? King Herod was a paranoid and insanely jealous man. He did not want anybody coming between him and his throne. He saw Jesus as a threat to his sovereignty and power. So, in his mind, the best solution would be to kill Jesus. Since he did not know what Jesus look like and where Jesus was, the simple option would be to kill any babies around, with the hope that one of them would turn out to be Jesus.

Some of us too can sometimes be paranoid or jealous about something. As a result, great sins could be committed to protect what we think is rightfully ours. Are we forgetting our ultimate purpose to be in good relationship with the Lord and eventually dwell in His presence? Have worldly pleasures and riches blinded us? Let us choose wisely for our eternal future.

Dec 27 – Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist – Feast

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Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostle John. He is accredited for writing the Gospel according to John. He was the only apostle who was not martyred. We also know that John was given the responsibility to care for Mary by Jesus, when Jesus was about to die. He is known as the “beloved disciple.” Throughout his life and writings, he had one simple message: “My dear children, love one another.” God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son. John followed God’s example in sharing love with others through his example and in his writings.

What about us? In this world where love seems more and more superficial, are we following St. John’s example in spreading true love to all? Let us take heed what St. John taught us about love: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:7-12).

Dec 26 – Saint Stephen, the first Martyr – Feast

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Most of us are still in a merry mood, as this is the season of Christmas. All of a sudden, the church brings in this feast of St. Stephen. Some of us may feel that this feast seems out of place, or seems to spoil the mood. However, we must not forget the real purpose of Jesus coming.

St. Stephen whose feast we celebrate today reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice we ought to make. If we are challenged to give up our faith, or if we are threatened with death if we do not commit sacrilege, would we be willing to die for the faith? This ultimate sacrifice is not easy to do, especially since some of us may value our lives and may find it difficult to just let it go for the greater glory of God. However, should we be put in such a situation, what would our response be?

This feast of St. Stephen reminds us that Jesus came to offer His life for our salvation, and on the cross he did just that. Would we be able to put aside our fear and doubt and offer our lives as a pleasing sacrifice for the faith? May God give us strength and courage to do what is right when the time comes.

Christmas Day – Mass During the Day

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Nowadays we hear the word “love” being used and misused rampantly. People sometimes interchange the word “like” or “enjoy” with the word “love.” For example, a person may say “I love ice-cream” but actually mean “I like or enjoy eating ice-cream.” Or perhaps a person may say “I love shopping” but actually mean “I like going shopping.” The word “love” is too often used instead of the word “like” or “enjoy,” for things which are merely pleasing, but evoke no great warmth of feeling or desire. This habitual use of the word “love” to express other feelings minimises and cheapens the real meaning and potential of love in its true sense.

While some of us may not fully understand or appreciate the word “love,” God has shown us in many ways the true meaning of the word “love.” Today we celebrate Christmas Day and today, “The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” This “Word” is Jesus Christ who came because “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” What about us? Are we willing to love others with all sincerity, just as God loves us unconditionally? Let us bring the joy of Christmas, spreading peace, love and goodwill to all persons.

Christmas Eve – Midnight Mass

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Most of us would not want to be alone during the Christmas season. We would like to be with our families, friends, loved ones and share the joy of Christmas with them. However, there are some of us who, for some reason or another, may not have opportunity to be with our families, friends, loved ones. When we are alone during this time, how would we feel?

When Jesus was born, He too was alone. Only His parents were there to welcome Him. The first people to know about His birth were the shepherds, who were also alone out in the fields with their flock. Shepherds were considered unclean, according to Jewish law, as they had contact with all sorts of animals. However, what is surprising is that the angels came to announce the birth of the King of kings to them. We often think that such an announcement should have been made to kings, the powerful, the rich… But to shepherds? Yet, these shepherds were the first to know and the first to visit our new born King.

Look around us… Do we see people who are alone around us? Do we invite them to share the joy of Christmas in our homes? Do we bring the joy of Christmas to them, if they are unable to come join us? We may have received many gifts or presents for Christmas. Are we willing to offer gifts and presents to others around us, especially those who are alone, marginalised, suffering, etc.? In our merry-making and joy, we may forget those around us who are alone. We may even forget the real meaning of Christmas: the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We may have been influenced by worldly distractions such as giving gifts to each other, santa claus, santarinas, frosty the snowman, etc. “Today a saviour has been born to us, he is Christ the Lord.” Let us bring the joy of Christmas to all around us and we as one faithful rejoice His birth.