Faithfulness and Love

Author Archives: Andrew Kooi

The Transfiguration of the Lord, Feast

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Mountain tops are places where we sometimes experience the beauty of nature, the awesomeness of God’s creation, and from these we get a glimpse of God’s omnipotence (great or unlimited authority or power). In some situations, we could experience the presence of God and we feel humbled and long to stay in His presence for as long as possible.

In today’s Gospel, Peter, James and John experienced the presence of God when they saw Jesus transfigured. They had never experienced their master in this way before. Peter, filled with awe says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us erect three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But things did not quite work out that way. They were only being prepared for what is to come. With Jesus they descended the mountain to the valley below and on to the garden of Gethsemane and Calvary. On the mountain, they didn’t want to leave. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they didn’t want to stay. When Jesus was arrested they all fled in fear.

We can all identify with the apostles because in our mountain-top experiences of joy and consolation we also want to stay. We want the experience to go on forever. And then in the moments of trial we want to flee. We forget that our Lord did not promise us a rose garden, but a garden of olives and a crown of thorns. We also forget that we need to face reality and go forth to proclaim the Good News, not just remain up in the mountain.

Today, we have opportunities to experience the mountain top, perhaps on a daily basis. The Mass is our mountain-top experience which prepares us for the trials of our day. In the joy and consolation of Communion we say with Peter, “Lord, it is good for us to be here” and some of us may be reluctant to leave. Soon we hear the words, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” It is then time for us to pick up our cross and leave to face the trials of the day. Are we still clinging on to the mountain top?

Tuesday of Week 18 Year 1 & 2 – For Year A (Gospel)

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What does it mean to be scupulous? A person who is scrupulous is said to be diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details. A person who is scrupulous is also known to be very concerned to avoid doing wrong. Sometimes in the process of trying to avoid any wrong doing, such persons may end up following rules and regulations according to the letter of the law, and not according to the spirit of the law. A scrupulous person may be so concerned with the action and fail to be loving, compassionate, or merciful. This is the situation that the Pharisees had gotten themselves into. They were more concerned about appearing to be good and upright in following the law, that they had become cold, indifferent and calculative in being charitable towards others.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus told the people: “What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes him unclean.” Jesus was admonishing the Pharisees for only being concerned with the tradition of the elders such as ritual cleansing before a meal, but the Pharisees did not see any problem or wrongdoing when it came to words they uttered, words of condemnation, or hurtful sayings they may have committed along the way. What about us? Have we become so scrupulous like the Pharisees, only concerned about the externals, that we forget that our attitude, behaviour and way of life have become a contradiction to the values of the Gospel?

Monday of Week 18 Year 2 – For Year A (Gospel)

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Some of us face many kinds of difficulties and challenges in life. Sometimes we feel as if such difficulties and troubles are too overwhelming, so much so that we may be tempted to give up. Instead of continuing to fervently pray and depend on God’s help, some may have doubted in God’s providence and turned to other forms of help such as shamaans, medicine men and bomohs, thinking that these other forms of help would really help them, only to later find that they are of no help.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples were battling with a heavy sea, and they doubted when Jesus came towards them, thinking that He was a ghost. Peter also doubted when he felt the force of the wind, took fright and began to sink, and Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. When we doubt, we begin to question whether God is able to help us. We fail to realise that God can help us, but according to His time. When we ask God for help, we cannot expect or demand that He will help us immediately according to our terms. Are we trying to control God? Let us be patient and persistent in prayer, knowing that God can and will help us. When and how? Trust and pray, go do your best today, and leave it in the hands of the Lord.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Some of us worry a lot and are worrywarts. We worry about so many things, sometimes things which are actually not a big deal. We worry about our present circumstances, we worry about our future, we worry about our family, our financial situation, etc. When we worry, we are actually looking only at ourselves, we are looking at our needs and perhaps the needs of our loved ones. We have little or no time to think of the needs of others, especially those not close to us or those around us.

So how do we lessen or stop our worrying? By being more trusting towards God’s care, love goodness and providence. In the second reading, we are reminded that “Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.” If God is there for us, why do we still worry? If we believe that God can help us, then we should be free from worries. We should be more willing to care and share with others, because God is there for us and we will not be lacking as God can provide for us.

In today’s Gospel, we see how the disciples were worried about what to do with the crowd. We read: “When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’” Here, we see how the disciples still did not get it. They still did not recognise or have enough trust in Jesus. They were more concerned of themselves and wondered how they were going to feed such a crowd with so few loaves and fish. But Jesus showed them that when we give, we can receive even more, and we see this in the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish which Jesus performed right in front of their eyes.

The more we are willing and prepared to give, the more blessings we would receive from God. It matters not how much or how little we give, it is the heart or quality of the giving that matters. Some people give a lot, but they may do so grudgingly or to show off. But if we are genuinely willing to give happily and generously, God will bless us abundantly, sometimes in ways which are beyond what we imagine. Are we willing to trust in God’s providence and share what we have?

Friday of Week 17 Year 2

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There are many places a priest or religious is sent to to serve a community for a certain period of time. However, if one notices, the priest or religious is seldom sent to his or her hometown or home parish. Even if he or she is sent there, it may be only for a short while and then he or she is transferred elsewhere. One reason why this is so is mentioned in today’s Gospel.

In today’s Gospel, we read: “”A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.” At their hometown or home parish, a priest or religious may have been known from a young age. People may have become familiar with him or her as he or she grew up. Some people may think that they know the person well enough and it becomes difficult for them to accept advise, criticism, correction or teaching from the person. Jesus did not work many mighty deeds in his hometown because the people there lacked faith in Him, and thought they knew Him well enough. In the same way, a priest or religious may also be unable to carry out his or her mission in his or her hometown, because of lack of faith in him or her. In this situation, we could say that for some, “familiarity breeds contempt” to a certain extent.

However, this situation boils down to attitude and a willingness and openness to be guided, even by a son or daughter of the home parish. Seeing how short we are in priestly and religious vocations, we may some day have not much choice in who will come to serve our community. Are we going to allow our prejudices and so called familiarity with a person to become a stumbling block in our efforts towards spiritual growth?

Thursday of Week 17 Year 2

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If 2 items were placed before you: a large boulder and a piece of clay, which of the two would you identify yourself with, especially in your behaviour, attitude and present spiritual situation? Would you consider yourself hard and unmoving like the boulder, or would you see yourself as pliable and mouldable like the piece of clay? Many of us may like to think that we are like the piece of clay, but sometimes our way of life, our attitude, our behaviour and our actions prove otherwise.

In today’s reading: “I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.” Just as the Lord constantly worked on the Israelites and tried to help them come back to Him, the Lord is also constantly working on us, beckoning us to turn back to Him and depend on Him. Are we willing and humble enough to allow ourselves to be like the object of clay, so that the Lord can transform us into something even more wonderful?

Wednesday of Week 17 Year 2

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We face all sorts of challenges in life: from the time we were born; the time we took our first steps; the time we started kindergarten and then school, then college, then university; the time we started working; perhaps for some, looking for a life partner; for some, getting married; then starting a family; till today. Throughout the many stages of our lives, we have depended on our family and friends to guide us along the way. But how many of us have turned to God for help; perhaps falling away from Him at some point in our lives, and then returning once again to Him?

In today’s reading, we are comforted with the fact that we have a loving God who waits patiently for us to turn to Him and depend on Him. The reading tells us: “If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; …For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD. I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.” Throughout our lives, we may have done many right and wrong things. God invites us to repent and return in friendship with Him. He will care for us and protect us, provided that we are willing and humble enough to let Him take control. Are we going to wait or ignore His promptings?

St. Martha, Memorial

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If a VIP (Very Important Person) were to come to your house, how would you react? Some of us may become quite excited and begin to frantically look for good food and drink to serve the VIP. Some of us may become cautious with what we say or how we behave, hoping to make a good impression with the VIP. What if that VIP is Jesus? What would we say or do?

In today’s Gospel, Martha became very busy and distracted with all the serving, while Mary chose to sit down at the Lord’s feet and listen to him speaking. There is nothing wrong in preparing something for our guests and to see that they are comfortable, but Jesus is inviting us not to be too concerned about the serving. It is better, like Mary, to spend more time with Jesus, letting Him to talk to us, care for us and enrich us with His words.

Monday of Week 17 Year 2

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Throughout our lives, God has been patient towards us. Sometimes we fall and pick ourselves up, and yet God is willing to give us lots of chances and opportunities to turn back to Him. However, the choice of whether to do the will of God or to do things our own way is entirely up to us. God is not going to force us to be with Him; we choose to be with Him or otherwise.

In today’s reading, the people of Judah and Jerusalem had chosen to remain stubborn and evil. The reading tells us: “This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing.” Have some of us become like these people of Judah and Jerusalem, our hearts hardened, just like the loincloth and good for nothing? Have we forgotten who we are? Let us be mindful of our choice for our eternal future.