Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Friday of Week 27 Year 1

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Have you ever stopped to think what jealousy could do to you, especially if you allow it to fester and control you? Some people may be quite surprised and embarrassed when they discover what happens when they allow themselves to be jealous. Some begin to behave in a silly or erratic manner, and they begin to say things which are silly, stupid or which make a fool of themselves. Some begin to waste time and effort trying to plot and bring the other person down, when they could have used such time and effort to do good. Some even begin to lose sleep and become increasingly frustrated, when others seem to be doing better or are more successful than they are, and their health is affected. But at the end of the day, why do we need to be jealous? What are we really trying to prove?

In today’s Gospel, we read: “When Jesus had cast out a devil, some of the people said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – Since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then.'” We can obviously see that some of the people had allowed jealously to get the better of them, causing them to talk nonsense. Instead of trying to belittle Jesus, these people only end up belittling themselves. May we become aware of the dangers of allowing jealously to control us, lest we inadvertently end up by being worse than we were before.

Thursday of Week 27 Year 1

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Life is such that we do not always get what we want immediately. Sometimes we need to ask a few times before we get what we want. Sometimes we do not get what we want at all. When we do not get what we want, what happens? Some of us may begin to feel as if God has abandoned us or God does not care, some may even start going for other means, hoping that these other means would give us what we want. But more often than not, we still end up not getting what we want. Then what? Do we just give up, get angry, pout and throw a tantrum? Or are we willing to be patient, persistent and consistent, with hope and trust that God would grant us our needs and wants?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.” Sometimes we ask for things or for help, but we are not persistent, patient and consistent in what we ask for. Sometimes, what we ask for may not be good for us. That is why we need to discern whether what we are asking for is really needed or necessary, and whether what we are asking for would ultimately glorify God. May we be humble and patient enough to let God guide us and grant us what we truly need, according to His time and for His glory.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Memorial

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The feast of the Holy Rosary originated from the naval victory at Lepanto on 7 October 1571. In that naval battle, a small combined Christian fleet defeated a mighty Turkish armada, thus stopping the invasion of Christian Europe. The victory was considered a miracle and Pope St. Pius V attributed it to the praying of the Holy Rosary and the intercession of Our Lady.

From this incident, we can discover that the Rosary is indeed a very special devotion to Our Lady. Many Popes, clergy, religious, saints and lay persons have always recommended it as a good form of devotion. The Rosary is vocal and mental prayer; and it is also personal as well as communal prayer. When we meditate upon the mysteries of the Rosary, we experience Christ through Mary. Not only that, by praying the Rosary, Mary accompanies us in prayer, and praying the Rosary sustains us in the battle against the evil one and his accomplices. Therefore, let us not slack in praying the Rosary, and like Mary surrender ourselves to God so that He may be our help and guide.

Tuesday of Week 27 Year 1

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Some of us may have heard of the idiom, “once bitten twice shy,” which basically means when something or someone has hurt you once, you tend to avoid that thing or person. In the case of Jonah, this time he complied with God’s command, after having had the unpleasant experience of being in the fish’s belly for three days and threes nights and later vomited out on shore. Jonah went to warn the Ninevites of the impending doom coming their way. The Ninevites took Jonah’s warning seriously, and even the King of Nineveh issued a decree: “Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked things he has done. Who knows if God will not change his mind and relent, if he will not renounce his burning wrath, so that we do not perish?”

The reading then tells us that “God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour, and God relented: he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.” In the same way, when we listen to God’s warning and act upon it, we too may experience what the Ninevites experienced, and we would also avoid going through the unpleasant experience of Jonah. Are we willing to take seriously what God is telling us, before it is too late?

Monday of Week 27 Year 1

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If God calls you and asks you to do something, would you do it? Or would you try to find all sorts of excuses to avoid doing it?  Some of us may even go to the extent of trying to run away and hide, hoping that God would eventually let us go and not bother us, but that is not often the case. God is omnipotent and omniscient, meaning that He is all-powerful and all-knowing. This means that, no matter where we try to run, we cannot hide, for God can seek and find us anyhow.

In today’s reading, Jonah tried to run away from God, instead of doing His will by going to Nineveh. What Jonah failed to realise is that he was not dealing with just any other being, but he was dealing with God. Jonah tried to run away by boarding a ship to Tarshish, but God had other plans. In a way, the way God treated Jonah shows that He has got an interesting sense of humour, by causing Jonah to be swallowed by a big fish, only to be vomitted on to the shore after three days and three nights in the fish’s belly. Eww! Must have been quite yucky and disgusting to be stuck in a fish for a while.

In the same way, we too could experience a not so pleasant time like Jonah, if we choose to repeatedly ignore God’s voice. Sometimes we need to remember that God calls us because He has a better plan for us, and it would be to our benefit to do His will for His greater glory.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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What does it mean to be married? Is marriage merely an event for show or for display, such as what we see in some of the reality shows appearing on television these days, which treats marriage as a form of entertainment? Some people may say that they have a right to get married, so long as they are at the right legal age, and they love each other. No matter what others say, no matter what the church may say, they insist that they have a right to marry. While the church recognises that individuals have a right to marry, the church also requires that those planning to marry be properly informed about what marriage is all about, in other words, what such individuals are getting themselves into.

Why is the church so fussy about preparing couples for marriage? What is the big deal, some may ask. Is the church behaving like a Big Brother, trying to control our lives, even when it comes to marriage? No. The church is not like that. It is precisely because we have seen many marriages fail, sometimes so quickly and at an alarming rate, that it is a great cause of concern. When affected couples were asked what had happened and what went wrong, it is quite often the same story: they were actually not ready for marriage, even though they had initially thought they were; they had not known each other long enough or well enough; they had not truly and clearly understood what commitment in marriage is all about; they were more concerned about their own needs and issues; and a significant number of affected couples realised that God was not present in their minds when they decided to get married. When you marry without being ready in all sense of the word, you are merely brewing a recipe for disaster, leading to another statistic for marriages gone bust.

The readings today gives us some understanding of what marriage is all about. We must realise that marriage is not a human institution but a divine institution. It is a vocation. Very often, God is forgotten in all the hustle and bustle of making preparations for marriage. Couples are more concerned with so many other things, that God and the church seems to have become a necessary inconvenience. Some couples feel as if they are being forced or pressured by their parents to marry in church. But what they forget is that it is God who makes marriages possible and lasting. If God is absent from our lives, it would really be very difficult to make the marriage work. Also, a marriage calls for couples to experience a conversion in their lives. Conversion must take place because, as Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel: “the two must become one body.” Conversion must take place for couples to die to their selfishness and learn to live together as one. That is why the preparation is so important. Some people try to find ways and means to take short cuts during the preparation, but what they fail to realise is that Rome was not built in a day. If you want to graduate with a degree, you work hard for it and you pursue it relentlessly. Likewise, if you want to stay married, you must also be properly prepared and work hard for it. Moreover, marriage is about commitment. Love is all about commitment, and never about feelings and emotions. Commitment means accepting the whole package as is, “for better or for worse,” and not just pick and chooose the parts we like. Commitment means learning to forgive not once but again and again, and is more concerned with giving than with taking and receiving. Commitment calls us to change ourselves throughout our lives.

Today, marriages are in trouble. Couples are behaving more and more individualistic. The togetherness and oneness seems to have become lost in translation. Divorces have become so rampant. I recall being present for a hearing for divorce cases at a family court some time back, and on that one day, more than fifty cases were being heard, and each case was disposed like products moving along a conveyor belt. Can you imagine that? What has marriage become? Have some couples become so selfish and self-centred, that people are seen as objects to be used, and when they are no longer seen as useful, they are then discarded? This is why I pray that couples will take responsibility and initiative for their marriage to remain strong. Remember that your children learn from you, and your children too may someday follow in your footsteps. If your marriage is messed up, do something about it and seek help where necessary, don’t play play with your marriage, don’t wait until it is too late. Let us pray that God would continue to bring healing into our lives so that our lives would be filled with selfless love instead of selfishness.

Housekeeping – Week 26 Year 1

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

27 Sept 2015 – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
28 Sept 2015 – Monday of Week 26 Year 1
29 Sept 2015 – Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels – Feast
30 Sept 2015 – Wednesday of Week 26 Year 1
1 Oct 2015 – Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor – Feast
2 Oct 2015 – The Holy Guardian Angels

The Holy Guardian Angels

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Have you ever met an angel before? Some of us may have been influenced by pictures of angels that look cute, with wings, and flying here and there. But are angels really like that? In the bible, we have read in several places which tells us that angels are far from cute. In fact, such passages describe to us that angels are frightening to behold and the angel often says: “Do not be afraid.” Certainly not something many of us would want to encounter.

But today’s reading gives us something to be thankful and ponder about. In today’s reading, we are reminded: “The Lord says this: ‘I myself will send an angel before you to guard you as you go and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Give him reverence and listen to all that he says. Offer him no defiance; he would not pardon such a fault, for my name is in him. If you listen carefully to his voice and do all that I say, I shall be enemy to your enemies, foe to your foes. My angel will go before you.’”

This means that each of us, whether we are aware or not, have got a guardian angel watching over us. Sometimes that guardian angel would work through our conscience to warn us when we are about to sin, but it is up to us to avoid such temptation. Also, we may have had experienced several occasions where our guardian angel had prevented evil from happening to us. This is why we should always give thanks to God, for His gift of a guardian angel to us, and let us strive to avoid all occasions of sin, and learn to live in His embrace and providence.

O Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor – Feast

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Our hand has five fingers. Among these five fingers, some might assume that it is the last finger, the little finger, that has the least important function. However, we might be surprised to discover that the little finger is actually the strongest finger of the hand. Why so? When you grip a knife, the last three fingers of each hand, especially the little finger, are used to grip the knife handle tightly, with the thumb and index fingers holding it loosely. Also, try holding a hammer without the little finger gripping the handle. It won’t be that easy to hit a nail into the wall.

So it is interesting to see how much strength and power the little finger has, isn’t it? It may be the smallest of all the fingers, it may be the last finger in the hand, it’s just a little finger, but it certainly has considerable strength. In fact, losing the little finger can be very inconvenient. It may mean losing the grip of things, practically as well as symbolically. This helps us understand what Jesus meant when He said in the gospel: The one who makes himself as little as a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Just as the little finger plays an important role in gripping, a little child shows us how we should be strongly gripping in our dependence on God and His providence.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. Her way to holiness and eventually to sainthood is known as the “Little Way.” She believed that the way to approach God is to be like how a little child approaches its parent: with open arms and complete trust. St. Teresa showed how she lived out that “Little Way” by taking on all the lowly and humble tasks in her convent. Her life was just so routine, mundane and ordinary. But she did small things with great love. St. Teresa was like that last finger of the hand – small and little, yet strong and powerful. She taught and showed us that in the small, little and lowly, God’s mighty love and power is shown. May we follow her example, and learn to do all things, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, for the glory of God.

Wednesday of Week 26 Year 1

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Some of us have got attachments in one form or another. We may be attached to our parents, our family members, our children, various things, our property, our titles and many others. We find it difficult to let go of our attachments, and sometimes that could be a stumbling block in our efforts to grow spiritually and become closer to God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds and challenges us of the cost of being a disciple. To be a disciple, one needs to take up one’s cross and follow Him, even to the point of being detached from one’s parents, family members and other things which could distract or encumber us from becoming effective disciples. Our duty and mission as disciples is to go forth and preach the Good News, and if we are attached to or distracted by the wants and needs of others, how would we be able to freely and joyfully carry out what is expected of us? May we be humble and docile enough to let God take control of our lives, and learn to be detached, so that we could serve Him for His greater glory.