Faithfulness and Love

Monthly Archives: January 2016

Monday of Week 13 Year 2

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It is interesting to observe how people behave when times are good and when times are bad. When people are experiencing prosperity, wealth, success, popularity, riches and many other seemingly good things the world has to offer, how many of such people would still be rooted or grounded with God in their lives? But when disaster strikes, when the going gets tough, when there is trouble and suffering, how many of such people will remain faithful to God, and how many would give in to other forms of help, only to find out that they have gotten into an even bigger mess?

In today’s reading, God had a covenantal relationship between Israel and Himself. If the Israelites chose to break the covenantal relationship with God, they do so at their own peril, since God was not obligated to guide them or protect them. Throughout the Old Testament, we have seen how disaster had struck when the Israelites chose to turn their backs on God, and despite trying to find their own way and their own solutions, the Israelites ended up getting into even more serious trouble. The reading even reminds us that flight will not save even the swift, the strong man will find his strength useless, the mighty man will be powerless to save himself. In other words, without God, we are nothing and we cannot save ourselves.

So what does this mean to us today? It means that we must learn to constantly grow in relationship with God. We cannot depend on what the world offers, because what the world offers is only temporary. We too are temporary, we are weak, if we try to block God out of our lives. May we come to a realisation of what is really important, what really matters, and take measures to prepare for our eternal future, before it is too late.

常年期第一周星期五次年

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我们有时候不断地向天主祈求我们所要的，却没有发现到其后果。就像我们当中可能会有些向天主祈求会中乐透，好让自己能够有富裕的生活；有些人可能会祈求拥有一份自己梦寐以求的工作。然而问题是当我们的祈求被俯听了以后，会有什么事会发生？当我们中了乐透，我们可能会很富有，但同时我们开始害怕，开始失去安全感了。最后，可能会想尽一切方法来保护自己，为了要守住财产而处处提防小偷或劫匪(想像或是真实的)。另一方面，我们可能会对我们有了自己想要的工作而开心了一阵子，但那份工作可能是超出我们所想的苛刻，进而让我们备感压力，健康亮起了红灯，家庭出现了问题等等。其实到了最后，不禁会问自己，天主是否俯听了对我们长期的生活非常有帮助或很好的祈求呢？我们所祈求的事，是为了满足我们自己，还是为了光荣天主？

在今天的读经当中，以色列的人民要求撒慕尔立一位君王，对撒慕尔而言，天主是他们最需要的君王，但以色列的人民觉得不高兴，不满足，觉得不合适。他们要的是人类的君王，他们认为立人类的君王可以让他们成名，有威望，有权势和富裕。从以色列的历史中，我们看到了人类的君王最后让他们蒙羞，带来毁坏，滥权甚至放逐以色列人民。

那我们呢？是不是固执和顽固地咬定天主应该给我们所祈求的？有时候，我们所祈求的根本不是我们真正想要的或需要的。愿我们能有开明，谦卑和温顺，足以让天主把最好的给予我们，只因天主知道我们真正要的和所需的。

Birthday of John the Baptist

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Normally, we celebrate the feasts of saints on the day of their death, where they are born into eternal life. However, there are three birthdays which are important to us Catholics: Christmas, September 8 (the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and June 24 (the birth of St. John the Baptist). Christmas and mummy Mary’s birthday we can understand more or less why we celebrate them. But John the Baptist? Celebrating his birthday clearly shows how important and vital John the Baptist’s role is in God’s plan of salvation, since Jesus said: “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Lk 7:28).

John the Baptist’s greatness is based on his faithful fulfilment of his role in introducing the Messiah and upholding the Truth. He showed this in three ways. The first is his humility. When asked by the people who he is, he replied: “I am not the Messiah. I am the voice crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord!’ He must increase and I must decrease.” Here, John the Baptist shows that he is not the one people should go after. Secondly, he showed his fidelity to his mission, by living and dying as a prophet, faithfully pointing the way to the Messiah. Thirdly, he showed courage for the truth. He dared to challenge Herod for taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his wife, reminding Herod that such an act was wrong, adulterous and sinful. As a result, John the Baptist was beheaded.

John the Baptist challenges all of us to be heralds of the Gospel, with conviction and courage to proclaim the Truth. The truth cannot be compromised, but proclaimed and defended, even if one experiences persecution or even death. May we learn to be like John the Baptist, upholding the truth, and pointing others to Jesus.

Thursday of Week 12 Year 2

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When we do something wrong or displeasing towards our parents, what happens? Quite likely some of us may get a scolding, some of us may even get smacked. When we do something wrong or commit a traffic violation, what happens? We may be fined for the offence committed. But what if we do something wrong or sin against God? God may be merciful and patient with us, but some of us may have taken for granted God’s mercy and patience, and sometimes we may be caught off-guard when we are called to face Him for judgement. Then what would happen to us then?

In today’s reading, king Jehoiachin did what is displeasing to the Lord, just as his father had done. Already many of his ancestors had committed offences against God, and God had been so merciful and kind towards them. But king Jehoaichin failed to change his ways and make amends with God. Then what happened? Because of the infidelity of the Israelites, because of the continuous displeasing acts committed, king Jehoaichin and the Israelites ended up in exile, a humiliating and painful consequence of not taking action in making amends with God while they had plenty of opportunities to do so.

What about us? Some of us seem to think that we have plenty of time to change our ways and return to God’s path. But we forget that God can call us any time to give an account of our lives. Are we going to jeopadise our eternal future through our own inaction and false sense of security?

Wednesday of Week 12 Year 2

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Every once in a while, we come across certain persons who claim to be preaching the Good News, but what they preach is more often than not their version or interpretation of the Good News. We see such persons making outrageous claims, such as being able to heal most persons in a crowd, and they even have the gall to say that if a person is not healed, then it is because the person did not put his or her faith in the so called healer. Sometimes such persons would encourage the crowd to give more of their wealth, so that they would get more wealth and success from God, making it sound as if God would do our bidding if we give more.

But let us consider a moment: who is actually doing the healing? God, isn’t it? The preacher or healer is not the one that heals, but it is through God’s grace and mercy that a person is healed. Also, since when God could be bribed or forced to give us wealth? The strange thing is, some people are so gullible into thinking that they can get what they want, be it healing and wealth, by following such persons. But quite often, such persons do such things only for their own benefit. Once they have reached a certain goal, or when they find that support is dwindling, such persons would quite likely disappear and go some other place to ply their trade.

That is why, in today’s Gospel, we are warned: “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits.” Sometimes it does not take much to weed out a fake, and we should warn others about such persons, since such persons are there to try and create trouble and confusion for their own ends. Sometimes it may not be so easy to spot such persons, and this is where we need to watch carefully and be discerning as to whether such persons are genuine or not. Whatever it is, may we be diligent and careful, so that our Christian community would not be led astray or taken for a ride.

Tuesday of Week 12 Year 2

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There are times in life where we are threatened by certain persons or groups who say that if we do not join them or follow their ways, we would be persecuted or even exterminated, and according to them, there is nothing we can do to stop them. They seem to be so confident that we would give in or kow tow to their demands, just because they think that they have the power and strength to carry out their evil designs. But as we recall in many instances in Scripture, God has helped and intervened, and such persons end up eating humble pie.

In today’s reading, we come across one such person, the Assyrian king Sennacherib. He thought that, just because he had quite easily defeated the other nations, Jerusalem would have no chance to escape from imminent destruction at his hand. This is because Sennacherib thought that the God of the Israelites was worthless, just like the other gods who had failed to prevent other nations from being destroyed. But what Sennacherib failed to realise is that the other gods were idols, and that the God of the Israelites is the one, true God. In the end, it was Sennacherib who suffered a crushing and humiliating defeat, and the Israelites were saved, because the Israelites had put their faith and trust in God Almighty, the one true God.

What about us? Would we do the same as the Israelites did? Sometimes the situation seems hopeless and we appear to be on the verge of being wiped out. But let us not be disheartened or even despair, because God can help us if we trust Him and let Him do what is best. No matter what happens, may we remain steadfast and faithful to God, and give Him the glory.

常年期第一周星期三次年

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每过一段时间，我们都会遇到一些自称是传福音的人即是假先知，但他们在宣扬福音时往往会本末倒置，他们甚至会做出一些令人惊讶的举动。举个例子当他们在治愈病人们时若其中有病人没有被治愈，他们便会宣称说：“若没有得到主的救恩就是其患者没有信德。”更有许多时候，他们会鼓励信徒们奉献多些金钱，以便能从上主的恩典中获得更多的财富以及名利。听起来就像若我们在金钱上付出得多上主就会给予我们更多。

让我们仔细想，到底是谁用慈悲的力量宽恕及治愈我们？那是 — 天主。即不是那些假先知也不是任何人而是透过主的恩典以及怜悯使我们痊愈。即使现在还有许多人相信那些自称传福音者只要提供他们想要的东西他们就会透过主得到救恩以及财富，难道他们能收买或强迫上主赐给我们的财富或救恩吗？事实并不！他们做的是为自己的利益而非为信徒也更不会是为了上主，一旦他们达成了某个目标或发现信徒逐渐减少，他们可能会抛下剩余的信徒消失并再其他的地方重施故伎。

这也是在今天的福音里，我们会警告说：你们要提防假先知，他们到你们这里来伪装成羊，但皮下其实是只贪婪的狼。所以我们有义务告诫其他受害者，因为这样的人是会以自己的利益屡次制造麻烦以及混乱。有时在人群中不容易发现这样的人，但我们也必须细心观察以及辨别这些人的存在以及可信度。不管怎样，我们都要以我们的信德以及天主的引导走下去。只有这样我们天主教徒才不会被误导而迷失方向偏离正道。

常年期第一周星期二次年

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身为基督徒，我们时常被提醒及呼吁要洁身自爱，与世界保持距离，免得被卷入世俗的漩涡里。

就如我们现今所看到的，这世界上有些人会想尽一切的办法和手段，甚至不择手段，从而让自己占尽优势; 但身为基督徒，我们目标更应该是向天主迈进。我们主要的关注并不是在于世俗的名与利，而是与天主建立起亲密关系。

另外一个例子就是身为基督徒，要对我们的敌人有所不同。无论我们有多善良，多有爱心，我们的贡献有多少，身边总会有人对我们的行为或言论指指点点与不悦。到了某一个程度极可能会成为我们的敌人，他们会不断寻找途径和手段来贬低我们或让我们气馁。那我们该如何面对这样的人？

答案就在今天的福音当中： 我们应当爱他们，如同天主爱我们一样，无论我们是谁、做了善事或坏事。不仅如此，我们也应该为我们的敌人祈祷。你可以想像在他们对我们说了和做了让我们讨厌的事情，我们还要爱他们，为他们祈祷？当然这并不容易，但耶稣要求我们远离世俗，复仇或以牙还牙的方式对付我们的敌人。相反的，我们应该要关爱、祈祷以及充满慈悲的心；就如天主对我们一样。愿我们能跟随基督的脚步，爱世人，正如天主爱我们一样。或许这样做，能够让我们多一位朋友，少一位敌人，也能显示基督徒的意义。

Monday of Week 12 Year 2

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What sort God do we believe in? Do we believe in a god that grants us all our wants and needs? Do we believe in a god that gives us lots of wealth? Do we believe in a god that will protect us from our enemies? Some of us may think that this seems to be a silly question, since some of us think that we believe in God Almighty. But if we believe in God Almighty, then we should be following His ways, keeping His commandments, and growing in His providence, care and friendship. But are we really doing these things? Or have some of us begun believing other gods, thinking that we would get what we want according to our whims and fancies?

In today’s reading, the Israelites had a problem. What was their problem? They had gone astray. The reading tells us: “The Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods, they followed the practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed for them.” Even though the Lord had given Israel and Judah plenty of warnings through the prophets and the seers, the Israelites were still so stubborn and went against God. Because of this, the Israelites were conquered, captured and deported by the Assyrians.

What about us? Could we end up being deported as well? We could be deported from our eternal heritage, especially when we sin and refuse to seek forgiveness and reconciliation for our sins. We could be deported when we refuse to forgive and be forgiven. May we take caution and not end up being deported, since we have only ourselves to blame.

Friday of Week 11 Year 2

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From a young age, we are taught to take care of our bodies. We learn about personal hygiene, and we are reminded to pay attention to certain parts of our bodies which would quite likely smell. We make effort to eat well, so that our bodies would get proper nutrition, and bathe once, twice or even three times a day. All these are good, since neglecting our bodies could lead to medical problems or even relational problems, since people would find it challenging being near to us because of the smell and to some extent, also because of our appearance. But what about our soul? How well do we keep our soul clean? Do we bother about our soul at all?

In today’s Gospel, we are cautioned: “The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will be!” This eye refers to our soul, and when our soul is soiled with sin, our whole being will eventually be engulfed in darkness, causing us to lose contact with God. Are we going to allow ourselves to be consumed with the stench of sin, and tragically lose our eternal inheritance?