Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 14th

Monday of Week 14 Year 1

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There are times in life some of us may have felt as if God has abandoned us. Some of us may be feeling this way because of constant illness which seems to have no cure; or perhaps we may be suffering from some form of persecution, depression or grief; or some of us may be suffering from some kind of substance abuse which we may be finding difficult to come out of. Whatever the situation may be, how should a Christian respond?

In today’s reading, God assured Jacob: “Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.” Not only that, today’s Gospel reassures us that God will not abandon us when He cured the woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and brought the official’s daughter back to life. What is important to note here is we need to have constant, unwavering faith in God, and trust that He will do what is best for us. God can help us according to His time and for His glory. It is a question of whether we are willing to be humble and patient in waiting for His help.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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How many of us are willing to speak the truth, even if it is difficult to accept or swallow? Some of us try to say things as nicely as possible, some of us try to beat around the bush, hoping that the other party would somehow get our message, but at the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves: as Christians, are we supposed to tell the truth, no matter how painful or difficult it may sound? Or are we supposed to keep the peace and make people happy, even if it means diluting the truth quite a bit. Some of you may be wondering: isn’t it obvious that the truth must prevail? And yet, we still come across Christians who are unwilling to say it as it is; or they may say that the matter is not their concern or their business, and they rather not get involved; or they do not want to be the bad guy or bad girl. But is this what being a Christian is all about?

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we are reminded: “the faithful, who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the World. (CCC 897)” Being in the prophetic office means that we are required to preach the Good News and to be witnesses to the truth. This means that if we are speaking the truth in love and for the sake of God, we should not be afraid of criticism or insults from others. St. Paul in today’s second reading reminds us that he is able to speak so eloquently only because of his confidence in God and not in himself, and he writes of God and of himself in this way: “My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness…. that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.”

Being in the prophetic office also means the person of the prophet is not what matters. The prophet may be weak, a failure or may have various faults and limitations, but all these do not matter. What matters is the message which needs to be delivered. If God wishes to use a prophet to deliver his message, he will surely give grace to his chosen one to perform the task. Moreover, it does not matter whether the other person or persons listen or not. The Lord reassured Ezekiel of this in the first reading: “Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.” Others may choose not to listen, but eventually the truth will prevail. We must leave it in the hands of God, the effect of the word spoken.

Ultimately, being in the prophetic office means a prophet and his message is never popular. The message is hard and the truth is painful to accept. There are people who do not like to hear the truth about themselves and they are resistant to change, since quite often such truth requires a change and conversion of heart. Such people prefer to remain as they are, keeping the status quo, or they only want to hear what is pleasing, not the truth. Sometimes, even the people from your own home town or people who think they know you well enough are among those most resistant to or are against the prophet and his message. This is the situation that Jesus went through in today’s Gospel, where He was rejected by his own country men and relations.

At the end of the day, being in the prophetic office means the prophet needs to check oneself and ensure that the truth is spoken with love. We cannot speak the truth out of anger and revenge as that is not being prophetic. Such words uttered out of anger and revenge merely destroy rather than heal. Love is at the heart of being in the prophetic office.

Today, let us wake up to the fact that there are some of us perhaps who have neglected our role as prophets. We are called to be proclaimers of the Gospel, and that includes saying the truth, even to those we hold so dear. We cannot be followers of Christ and please everyone, and we should be prepared to face ridicule, persecution, or even be shunned by others, for the glory of God and to promote truth and justice.

Friday of Week 14 Year 2

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Whenever we are faced with persecution or difficulties, we may be inclined to try and come up with a good defence. Some of us may start to think of all sorts of ways and means to counter our accusers. Some may decide to keep silent and wait and see. At the end of the day, would we really be able to adequately and effectively defend ourselves? Could we be making matters worse when we try to come up with solutions on our own?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures us: “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 are firm in faith and trust in Jesus, we have no reason to fear or worry, for we know that He will guide and protect us. Are we willing to leave it in the hands of the Lord and let Him save us? Or are we still trying to save our skin or do things our way?

Thursday of Week 14 Year 2

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In our efforts to proclaim the Good News, we may have become distracted with so many other things. We begin to think about what we should bring, where we should stay, how we should go about, how long we should be at a certain place; so many things begin to cloud our minds, divert our attention and distract us. Instead, we should be focusing on going forth to preach the Good News.

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.” This shows that Jesus wanted us to be free from so many unnecessary worries and concerns, so that we would concentrate more on preaching the Good News. Let us not be distracted with other things as we go forth to preach the Good News. Are we not trusting enough that Jesus would care and provide for our needs?

Wednesday of Week 14 Year 2

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Some of us have been actively and enthusiastically seeking wealth, status, fame and recognition here on earth. In our pursuit for all these things, we may have committed many sins to get where we are today or to achieve what we covet or hope for. However, are we aware of the consequences of our actions, especially with regards to our spiritual well-being? Some of us think that we can procrastinate, take things easy and put off looking seriously into our spiritual well-being until it may be too late.

In today’s reading, Hosea cautioned Israel that “their heart is a divided heart and they must pay for it.” When we look at hindsight, we see how Israel was punished and went through much painful purification and cleansing. Even then, it was still not easy to get Israel to change and repent. We too could be in the same boat, the same situation. This is why Hosea advised Israel, and advises us today: “Sow integrity for yourselves, reap a harvest of kindness, break up your fallow ground: it is time to go seeking the Lord until he comes to rain salvation on you.” Are we still thinking we can carry on with our lives the way we are now? Let us not be deceived, our time is short.

Tuesday of Week 14 Year 2

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There are so many things around us that need to be done: people to be helped, things to be resolved, family issues to be settled, so many things indeed. But quite often, we do not have enough personnel to attend to these matters. In some places, a priest or a religious has to attend to a huge crowd of faithful. In other places, the faithful are scattered over great distances. At times, it could be quite overwhelming trying to reach out to faithful who are so many or so far away.

This is why Jesus said in today’s Gospel: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” It is not enough to just pray for more “labourers”, we also need to change our mindsets and attitudes. Some of us are quite readily and willing to encourage and pray for other people’s children for a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. But there are still some of us who cling on to our own children and are reluctant to let them answer God’s call. This is where we need to ask ourselves: are we only thinking of ourselves when it comes to our children? Or are we willing to be generous and let them do God’s will?

Monday of Week 14 Year 2

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How much faith do we have in Jesus? How much do we trust Him? Do we have faith in Him and trust Him only a little? Or do we have full faith and trust in Him? Sometimes we say we have full faith and trust in Him, but our attitude, actions and behaviour contradict what we say.

In today’s Gospel, the hæmorrhaging woman was cured because she had full faith that Jesus would cure her by just touching His cloak. The official’s daughter was dead but raised to life because the official had faith that Jesus could save her. Seeing how much faith these people have towards Jesus, what about us? Do we still try to look for other ways and means when we need help? Or are we humble and willing to let Jesus help us?

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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As children, some of us find it difficult to listen to our parents. We try to do things our way. As a result, we get a scolding (and in some cases, even a beating) for not listening or doing what our parents tell us. While we are growing up, we find it harder and harder to listen to our parents, as we value our freedom and we think we can figure things out. However, at times, what our parents tell us is actually for our own good, and we disobey at our peril.

When we are unable or find it difficult to listen to our parents, we are being disobedient. In the same way, when we are unable or find it difficult to listen to God’s voice, we are also being disobedient. Sin is disobedience to God. Obedience means listening to God’s voice and trusting in His providence.

Jesus in today’s Gospel invites us to put our trust in Him and in God the Father. We may not fully understand God’s will, but that’s ok. Unless we become docile and obedient like little children, we would not discover God’s will. Jesus reminds us that God hides these things from the learned and the clever and reveals them to mere children. This is what trust is all about. A child who trusts that his parents will take care of him is free from worry. Obedience means trusting.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus also gives us an imagery of the yoke where he says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” A yoke is often made for two or more oxen, and by inviting us to take His yoke and learn from Him, Jesus is assuring us that by putting on His yoke, He will guide us and help us in our burdens. When we accept Jesus’ yoke, we are actually being liberated from many unnecessary fears or worries, and we learn to be meek and humble, trusting in Jesus and in God the Father, knowing that we will be cared for, just as a child puts his or her trust in his or her and parents and is cared for by them. Disobedience is a result of pride. Obedience is a result of humility.

Let us therefore surrender to God’s will and let Him take control. When we surrender to God’s will, we will also find peace and true happiness. Are we still so obstinate and wanting to do things our way? Or would we be willing to be humble, and do things God’s way?