Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: March 2015

Thursday of Week 16 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we come across people who call themselves Christians, but they live lives quite contrary to a Christian way of life. Some of these people seem to think that being a Christian merely means accepting Christ as a personal saviour, but beyond that, how they behave, how they conduct themselves, how they treat others, is irrelevant to them. They claim that once they have accepted Christ as a personal saviour, they can do as they please and behave as they like. But is this what being a Christian all about? Is it so simple as that?

Being a Christian basically means we are following the ways of Christ. This means that we must love God and love neighbour, not just to put on a show, but with genuineness and integrity. But when people begin to interpret Christianity according to their own ways and for their own covenience, then perhaps they may be like what Jesus said in today’s Gospel concerning the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.” If we are so stubbornly holding on to our views, beliefs and understanding of what we think Christianity is all about, then we may be missing the point of Christianity’s true meaning, since our ears have become dull, our heart has grown coarse and our eyes are shut.

Today, if we realise and readily admit that we have gone off course as Christians, then let us come back to its true meaning. Let us not be afraid to see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and understand with our hearts, so that we could truly be healed by Christ and follow His ways faithfully.

St. Mary Magdalene, Feast

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Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel, we come across Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb while it was still dark. She sees the stone which covered the tomb has been moved away and does not enter. Perhaps, she was afraid, perhaps she was unsure what to expect, but instead of entering the tomb, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. Sometimes we too are like Mary of Magdalene. Instead of going further to discover what has happened, we choose to run away. We are not prepared to go further or deeper because we fear that we may not find what we were expecting or we fear that we would not be prepared to face what is inside. But unless we are willing to take the risk and enter the tomb, we will always be standing outside speculating, wondering, guessing, never knowing the truth, as we see in what Mary of Magdalene said in the Gospel: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him.” It was only when Jesus said to her, “Mary!” that she realised that she was standing face to face with Jesus, and not just the gardener.

Some people go through life without making important decisions; or they stay clear of commitment; or they fear going deeper into any relationship because they are fearful or are not prepared to face the changes that may take place. But unless we are prepared to take the risk, unless we are prepared to make the commitment, unless we are prepared to go deeper or further, we will always remain outside fearful, doubtful and uncertain, and we will be stuck with the question: “What if.” Let us not be afraid, for the Lord is risen and it is the Lord who is calling us to risk it all, and it is the Lord who will be our guide.

Tuesday of Week 16 Year 1

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Some people seem to think that being related to a priest or a bishop gives them the right to demand special treatment or certain privileges. Just because such people are either the parents, sibling or related to the priest or bishop in some way, they think that others must kow tow to them or satisfy their demands. Some of such people even have the gall to threaten others by claiming that if their demands are not met, or if they don’t get the treatment they think they deserve, then they would complain to the priest or bishop, thinking that the priest or bishop would entertain their complaint. But is this the kind of “relationship” that Jesus expects of us?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is reminding us that having a relationship with Him is more than just familial or blood-relationship. In the Gospel, He says: “‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.'” Are we claiming “relationship” with Jesus only in name, while we lord it over others? Or have we learnt to be humble and do the will of God?

Monday of Week 16 Year 1

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Some people can never be satisfied or content, no matter how much you have done for them. Give them an inch, and they demand a yard; pacify them by giving in to some of their demands, and they may try to take away more if given the slightest opportunity. Such people are impossible to please, since whatever they are given is never enough, and there may seem to be no end to their demands. Could some of us fall into the category of such people?

In today’s reading, we come across the Israelites who are classic examples of such people. The Israelites had been rescued out of Egypt by God. God had provided for them and protected them but when they discovered that the Egyptians were in pursuit of them, they began to doubt God’s sincerity, despite all He had done for them so far. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord, and even had the gall to say to Moses:”‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!” But did God get angry or fed up with these Israelites? No. He still continued to rescue them even though they were ungrateful and difficult to satisfy.

What about us? Have we been so stubborn and unsatisfied, no matter what God has done for us? Or have we so easily lost patience towards others, preferring to wash our hands off them instead of being patient and persistent towards them, just like God has been patient and persistent towards us? God did not abandon the Israelites and continued to care and provide for them. In the same way, God has not abandoned us, no matter how difficult, dire or dangerous the situation we may be in. Are we willing and humble enough to continue trusting in God and let Him care for us?

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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Family members these days seem to be getting busier and busier with their own thing. Parents are busy with work, socialising with their friends, doing all sorts of errands, and other matters to attend to. Children are busy with school, college or university, socialising with their friends, doing errands entrusted to them, and other matters that crop up. Work, study and personal interests have become more and more important, at the expense of family life, family bonding and couple bonding. If left unchecked, family relationships suffer. We hear of more and more cases of couples divorcing, children developing social problems, and when these children grow up, they move away and abandon their aging parents, or even become misfits in society. The reason for these problems is that family members just do not seem to have time for each other, they have lost that bonding or loving feeling, they drift apart.

When it comes to our relationship with God, we too could be drifting away from Him when we pray less, when we seldom come to church, when we don’t hear His word in the bible, when we do not spend much time listening to Him in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and when we do not get involved in the various church activities. We become more and more engrossed with the ways of the world, while becoming less and less connected to God. We begin to lose our ability to listen to His voice, until one day, we may find that we have become alienated from Him. Why? Because we have, through our actions, attitude and behaviour, chosen to abandon Him, even though we may not always realise it until it is too late. On the other hand, God has not abandoned us. In fact, He is constantly looking out for us, earnestly and tenderly calling us to return to Him, but we have neglected or have become less and less sensitive to listen to His voice.

In today’s gospel reading, we see how the apostles themselves were so enthusiastically caught up with their work that they had forgotten the need to spend time with one another and with Jesus. Work is good and important, but spending time with one another and with God in prayer and reflection is more important. We sometimes forget that we are not superman or superwoman, since without prayer, we will not have the spiritual strength, stamina and energy to face the many challenges of life which come our way. We will soon experience burnout, fatigue and frustration.

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah has issued a stern warning to all of us, clergy, religious and laity alike: “Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered… You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them. Right, I will take care of you for your misdeeds…” Each and every one of us have been called and chosen to be shepherds in our own situations, and we have been entrusted to the moral, educational and spiritual development of not only ourselves, but also of those under our care. If we fail or neglect to take care of the pastoral needs of all under our care, then God will “raise up shepherds to look after them and pasture them.” We will face the consequences of our neglect. Are we aware of this? Have we taken the necessary steps to address this before it is too late?

Being a shepherd caring for God’s flock is certainly no easy task. Moreover, the shepherd is not only the clergy, since each and every one of us are called to be shepherds in our own way and in our own circumstances. We must follow the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, but if we have been so caught up with our own busy schedule that we have no time for God, for our families or others, then how are we going to be effective shepherds and effective witnesses of the Gospel? No. We cannot nourish others if we ourselves are malnourished or stressed out. That is why we must heed Jesus’ voice, beckoning us in today’s Gospel to “come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” Let us not take lightly or play play with Jesus’ invitation. Rather, let us seize the opportunity to rest a while with the Lord and with each other, so that we will be rejuvenated and recharged to become effective shepherds in our different situations, following after the example of Jesus, our loving and Good Shepherd.

Housekeeping – Week 15 Year 1

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For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:

12 July 2015 – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
13 July 2015 – Monday of Week 15 Year 1
14 July 2015 – Tuesday of Week 15 Year 1
15 July 2015 – Wednesday of Week 15 Year 1
16 July 2015 – Thursday of Week 15 Year 1
17 July 2015 – Friday of Week 15 Year 1

Friday of Week 15 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we come across people who are extreme in their religious views. Such people seem to believe that only their view of a particular religion is the correct or accepted view, and everyone else is deviant or heretical. Some of these people may even go to extremes by committing acts of violence to try and force others to adhere to their views. We have seen countries torn apart by such extremists, who have no qualms of executing or exterminating even people who share the same faith, but hold a different view of the faith they profess.

In today’s Gospel, we come across a group of people who are extreme in their religious views. We call these people the scribes and the Pharisees, who have become so extreme in their interpretation of the law or torah. When it comes to the sabbath, these scribes and Pharisees have gone to the extreme in ruling that no work whatsoever can be done. Even doing a good deed, or caring for someone, or helping someone, is forbidden to them during the sabbath. But Jesus reminded them: “And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless.” It is pointless to keep the sabbath by only showing the external practices just as the scribes and Pharisees did, but our attitude, behaviour and conduct is unbecoming of a Christian. May we take heed of what Jesus said, and observe the sabbath with the right intentions, so that in all we say and do, God is glorified.

Thursday of Week 15 Year 1

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Throughout our lives, we may have been putting on or taking on many different roles and responsibilities. Sometimes these roles and responsibilities could turn out to be quite difficult and burdensome, especially after carrying and performing such roles and responsibilities for an extended period of time. Some of us may feel tired, worn out, or even burned out as we bear the heavy weight of the yoke of such roles and responsibilities. Some may feel tempted to call it quits, or to seek other forms of comfort to lessen or dull the pain. But what should we as Christians do when we are experiencing such a condition?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is comforting us and assuring us when He said: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” When we have Jesus helping us and guiding us, we are no longer encumbered by the weight of the yoke we are carrying, since we are not alone in the situation we are in. May we be willing to let Jesus care for us throughout our lives, and let Him be our constant guide.

Wednesday of Week 15 Year 1

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Each and every one of us have been called in one way or another to serve God in different ways. Sometimes God could be calling us in a spectacular way, sometimes the call may not seem that out of the ordinary, but when God calls us, are we able to identify His voice and respond? Are we willing to respond to God’s call or would we try to ignore it, or make all sorts of excuses to try and escape from doing His will?

In today’s reading, we come across the call of Moses, who was called by God to bring His people out of Egypt. Moses was already living quite a comfortable life looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. Moses would have been quite reluctant to leave his present life and he even said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”But God did not let Moses off the hook: “‘I shall be with you,’ was the answer ‘and this is the sign by which you shall know that it is I who have sent you… After you have led the people out of Egypt, you are to offer worship to God on this mountain.'” So Moses went, especially since God’s call was so persistent and constant, that it would have been quite difficult to say no.

Today, God may be calling you to serve Him in a particular vocation. His call may be just as persistent as what Moses had experienced. May we be humble and docile enough to respond to His call and do His will for His glory.

Tuesday of Week 15 Year 1

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Sometimes we come across people who seem to be not bothered about many things, especially if it does not seem to affect them directly. They only are concerned about themselves, or how wealthy or financially secure they can become, or how popular they can become. But when it comes to others, such people are indifferent towards them (in Malay, it is known as “tidak apa” or :tidak peduli” attitude, or don’t care or don’t want to know or don’t want to get involved attitude). We sometimes see such indifferent attitude when it comes to, for example, parking a vehicle, where some people think the road belongs to them or that any place can be used to park their vehicle, and they park indiscriminately, causing congestion and a dangerous situation for other people and vehicles. It is only when such people are slapped with a traffic summons, or their vehicle is damaged, that they begin to take notice and work up a big fuss, even though they are obviously in the wrong but they choose to be arrogant and refuse to admit it.

In today’s reading, we come across the mother of Moses who could have been indifferent towards Moses and send him to his fate. But she did not allow such a thing to happen, and even managed to rescue him by letting him be adopted by Pharoah’s daughter. Then, Moses as an adult could have enjoyed his life and live a good life as a prince of Egypt and not bother about his countrymen. But Moses did not do such a thing. He did not look away or was indifferent to the violence an Egyptian inflicted on his countryman and even killed the Egyptian to save and protect his countryman.

What about us? Have some of us become so indifferent towards the sufferings and needs of others? Have some of us become self-centered, only thinking about our needs and wants? May we realise that the world is to be shared and cared for by all, and that as witnesses of the Good News, we should show our faith by helping and caring for others, just as God does for all.