Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 14th

Thursday of Week 14 Year 2

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When we go for a vacation trip abroad, one of the things that concerns us is whether our luggage is too heavy, or whether we have packed too many things, or whether we really need so many things. We seem to fret over so many things concerning our trip, that we may end up becoming stressed or preoccupied with such things, and end up not really enjoying our trip after all. If this is the case, why do we go for the trip in the first place? We say that we go because we need a break or a vacation, but how are we going to have a proper vacation or break if we are fretting or getting stressed out?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you.”

Jesus wanted us to be free from so many unnecessary worries and concerns, so that we would concentrate more on preaching the Good News. Just as we are advised to travel light and bring only essential things, so that we can enjoy our vacation trip, Jesus is inviting and encouraging us to learn to depend on our loving God, who will provide us with what we need. Do we not trust in God’s generosity and providence?

Wednesday of Week 14 Year 2

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As Christians, do we worship God alone? Some of you may think that this sounds like a silly question, but sometimes we come across Christians who appear to worship God, but they have become so attached to the ways of the world, that money, wealth, riches, and popularity have become more important than God, and some have made all these other things of equal importance with God. When we do such things, our hearts become divided and our focus may turn more and more towards other gods in the form of money, wealth, riches, and popularity, instead of the one, true God.

In today’s reading, Hosea cautioned Israel that “their heart is a divided heart and they must pay for it.” This is because the Israelites had focused more and more on other gods, and neglected or even abandoned the one, true God. Could we be in danger of having to pay for it, for abandoning or neglecting the one, true God? Are we risking our eternal future just for the sake of temporary success, wealth and power here on earth?

Tuesday of Week 14 Year 2

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God has given each and every one of us different gifts and talents. We do not have the exact same talent, since each talent is unique. But sometimes, we come across people who are not happy with their gift or talent, and they begin to get very jealous when other people seem to be better than them in a different way. When such people are jealous, they begin to say things or find ways to put other people down, but they sometimes do or say things which only end up making them look silly or stupid. Could some of us be guilty of such things?

In today’s Gospel, we come across the Pharisees who were extremely jealous of Jesus, because of what he said and did. Just because Jesus had cured a dumb demoniac, the Pharisees tried to put Jesus down by saying: “It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.” Now if we consider for a moment: isn’t such a statement stupid? Why would the devil cast out another devil? Surely the devil would join up with the other devil and the person would be worse off.

When we become jealous like the Pharisees, we may also end up like them by saying or doing silly or ridiculous things. May we take care not to become so incessantly jealous, since all gifts are from God, and we should rejoice when such gifts are used well for His glory.

Monday of Week 14 Year 2

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Among the many sins a married couple may encounter, one of the most difficult to forgive is unfaithfulness or adultery. This is because the party who committed such a sin has lost the trust of the other party. The situation is even further aggravated if a pregnancy is involved, or if the party who sinned has contracted some disease as a result of such unfaithfulness. It takes a lot of courage, love, mercy and compassion for one to forgive the party who sinned. Forgiving the party that sinned is one thing, but rebuilding the trust that is lost is another thing altogether, and it may take quite some time before some trust is restored. Humanly speaking, it is not easy to rebuild the trust, but with time and with God’s help, perhaps the trust may be somewhat restored.

But when it comes to God, He shows us what it means to forgive and rebuild trust. In the reading, the Israelites had been unfaithful to God, and had been seduced by Baal. But God had not given up on them or abandoned them. Despite their unfaithfulness, God is willing to take them back and make them His own. If God can be so loving, forgiving and merciful to such people, what about us when it comes to broken or unfaithful relationships? Are we willing to follow God’s ways, forgive and rebuild trust? Are we willing to let bygones be bygones, pick up the pieces, and move on, especially if the party who sinned wants to come back to us and remain with us? Or are we going to allow the hurt, anger, pain and disappointment control us and even cause our marriage to fail?

Housekeeping – Week 14 Year 2

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

3 July 2016 – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
4 July 2016 – Monday of Week 14 Year 2
5 July 2016 – Tuesday of Week 14 Year 2
6 July 2016 – Wednesday of Week 14 Year 2
7 July 2016 – Thursday of Week 14 Year 2
8 July 2016 – Friday of Week 14 Year 2

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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Today’s readings give us two conflicting images that do not seem possible to be harmonised. One is of abundance and rejoicing; the other is of the cross and self-denial. When we look at these images, we would wonder how we could link the two, since finding a connection does not seem so evident or straightforward. But if we look discernly and carefully at the messages offered in today’s readings, we can see how they actually do fit together.

In the first reading, Isaiah’s message is a vision of the future Jerusalem, which had been destroyed, its inhabitants scattered, will be made prosperous again and its people brought back home, and the ancient Israelites clung with hope and trust to this promise of future security and happiness. In curent times, some of us too are experiencing cities ravaged by war, cities plagued by poverty; and cities infested with crime. We grieve over what is happening to such cities, and we wonder whether God will turn their mourning into rejoicing. This is not a vain hope or just a dream, for as today’s psalm reminds us, God “changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot.” God liberated a people before; and He certainly could do it again. But how would He do so?

Today’s Gospel offers us answers to this question. The world has an immense need of labourers who will bring to life the kingdom of God. Jesus sent out the seventy-two in pairs, to all the towns and places that He himself was to visit, and he sends us out to continue their work. Today we are the ones with the message, “Peace to this household.” “Peace” seems to be a simple greeting to give, but a great and challenging task to accomplish. But world peace really does begin in our families and in our neighbourhoods, and we can and must establish it there. Jesus warned us that the message of peace may be rejected. Our efforts at change may not always be appreciated. But God restored the people in the past, and through us, God can continue to restore the people today.

One thing we need to constantly remember is that we are the new creation of which Paul speaks in today’s second reading. And like Paul, we too must be willing to be crucified to some of the standards of our world, standards that stand in opposition to the reign of God. It is in this way that the cross enters our lives, and that God’s peace would begin to spread in our homes, our neighbourhood, our cities, our countries, throughout the world. Let us pray that God will continue to help us in our effort and grant us more patience in spreading His message of peace to all.

Friday of Week 14 Year 1

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How many of us are able to withstand pain? For some of us, just a little pain could cause us to whine and complain, some even begin to have all sorts of strange thoughts. Then after all the drama, and the pain is gone, we carry on as if nothing happened. Some of us are able to withstand a great deal of pain without complaining, and we are able to carry on with our lives by managing the pain as best we can. But what about persecution? How many of us are able to withstand persecution, even to the point of death? Would we try to save our skin or would we be willing to stick to our beliefs and principles, come what may?

In today’s Gospel, we read: “Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.'”

If we were persecuted for our faith today, would we be willing to suffer and even die for our faith? Some of us may have gotten so used to peace and prosperity in this world, that we may have become complacent of what it means to be a Christian. May we choose to do what is right and just in God’s eyes, and “be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves” as Jesus instructed us, while being courageous and steadfast in witnessing to the Gospel for the glory of God.

Thursday of Week 14 Year 1

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Over the years, we may have come across a difficult or bad situation which we thought would end up bad or disastrous, only to be surprised that something good could come out of such a situation. We may wonder how it could turn out to be good, especially when we had experienced so much hurt, trouble or problems upfront. Yet, God works in mysterious ways and through His intervention. we have seen throughout the history of mankind how bad situations have had a good ending.

In today’s reading, “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him, they were so dismayed at the sight of him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ When they had come closer to him he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.'” Who would have thought that Joseph, sold to slavery in Egypt, would one day end up rescuing his family and Israel as a whole, from famine? But that is exactly what happened. God indeed had a plan from the beginning, and we came to know of the surprising outcome only at a later time.

What does this tell us? We may face problems or difficult situations, but we should not give up or think that all hope is lost. If God can transform something which seemed bad into something good at the end, what more He could do for us? Are we willing to be humble and patient, and let God help us and do what is best for us according to His time and for His glory?

Wednesday of Week 14 Year 1

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Some of us may be quite enthusiastic or gung-ho about going forth to preach the Good News. We may have made great plans to go to other countries on a mission to preach to people we think have not heard the Good News, and we may have dreamed about converting huge numbers to Christianity. But if we consider for a moment: what about the very people in our community, our own backyard, our own housing area, who may have not heard about the Good News? It may sound surprising, but you would never know unless you reach out and find out, and you may find people nearby who are potential to be converted, and yet no one has actually made the effort to reach out to them.

In today’s Gospel, we read: “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ Upfront, we may be wondering why Jesus gave such strange instructions, since so many other people could have received the Good News and be converted. But if we consider for a moment what Jesus is telling us, we could realise that basically, He is reminding us that charity begins at home. Before we make big plans trying to preach the Good News to others, we should be reaching out to our own families and friends first. Some of us may have taken the easy way out by going elsewhere to preach the Good News, only to neglect or ignore our very own people. Perhaps we may be doing this because we find it easier to talk to strangers, or we think that our own people are too difficult or stubborn to talk to, but are we preaching the Good News selectively, thinking only of achieving a great success rate? Or are we preaching the Good News for the glory of God, regardless whether we are successful or not? May we learn from our loving Saviour and go forth and preach the Good News to all, especially to those near to us, and then to others as well.

Tuesday of Week 14 Year 1

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In ministry, we cannot please everybody. No matter how hard we try, we are bound to encounter people who appreciate what we do, some will be jealous or unhappy with us no matter what we do, and others could not care less or are not bothered with what we do, possibly because they are more interested in themselves or in matters which interest or benefit them. In different situations, those who like us may become annoyed with us and those who were annoyed with us may like us. Such is the kind of people we encounter and minister to.

That is why, if we look in the Gospel, we can see how the people and the Pharisees had some sort of love-hate relationship with Jesus. In the Gospel, we read: “A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.'” The people loved Jesus for what He said, the healing He did and the casting out of devils he did. The Pharisees were constantly at loggerheads with Jesus, as they were jealous with His increasing popularity and the words He said hit them hard and pricked their conscience, but they refused to change and risk losing their status and position.

What about us? Are we still trying to please everybody and water down the faith to accommodate certain people, or are we willing to be bold and not be affected with what others think of us? Jesus was not the least bit concerned about His popularity or position, since He was more interested in loving and serving the people, as the Gospel tells us: “Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.” May we follow the example of our loving saviour, and be happy, determined and loving bearers of the Good News to all the ends of the earth.