Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 1st

Tuesday of Week 1 Year 2

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Weekday, Year 2 Leave a comment

Is there anyone among us who could say that we have never had any problems in life? I believe each and every one of us would have experienced problems in one way or another. It does not matter how small or how big the problem is, a problem is still a problem. So what do we do when we are facing a problem? How do we deal with the problem?

In today’s reading, Hannah had a problem. She was barren, there was bitterness in her soul and she went to the temple of the Lord to express her distress to the Lord. In today’s gospel, we also come across a problem – a man possessed by an unclean spirit challenged Jesus. But because Hannah and the man possessed by an unclean spirit had come to the presence of God with their problem, their problem found a solution: Hannah was delivered from her barrenness, and the man was delivered from the unclean spirit.

So if we are facing a problem, let us come to the presence of God with our problem. Let us offer our problem to God, trusting and knowing that He would give us a solution according to His time and for His glory.

Monday of Week 1 Year 2

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Monday, Ordinary Time, Weekday, Year 2 Leave a comment

As children, some of us may have experienced taunting from our classmates or friends. It is interesting to see how we, as children, responded when we experienced such taunting. Some of us may have just laughed it off and continued to play with our classmates or friends; some of us may have felt hurt for a little while and even said: “I don’t want to friend you!”, and then later snapped out of it and still continued to play with our classmates or friends; yet there are some of us who are quite sensitive and easily hurt, and we may alienate ourselves from our classmates or friends. The way we respond could sometimes be brought forward to adulthood, depending on our upbringing, how much self-esteem we have, and how much trust we have in ourselves and in God.

In today’s reading, we see how Hannah was quite hurt when Peninnah had taunted her year after year, every time they went up to the temple of the Lord, because Peninnah had children and Hannah was barren. Even though Elkanah her husband loved her more, Hannah was unable to come out from wallowing in hurt, self-pity and resentment. Hannah could have also wondered whether God would rescue her from her barrenness. But as we would later discover, God did not abandon Hannah and Hannah would later be freed from her barren state.

If we were facing the same situation as Hannah, how would we respond? Would we be able to come out of our anxiety, our fears, our hurt, self-pity and resentment? Would we be willing to trust in God and let Him rescue us or do what is best for us? God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes God may be preparing something better for us. It is a question of how patient we are and how willing we are to let God be our help and guide.

Housekeeping – Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord & Week 1 of Ordinary Time Year 1

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Baptism, Epiphany, Ordinary Time, Weekday, Year 1 Leave a comment

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

8 Jan 2017 – Epiphany
9 Jan 2017 – Baptism of the Lord
10 Jan 2017 – Tuesday of Week 1 Year 1
11 Jan 2017 – Wednesday of Week 1 Year 1
12 Jan 2017 – Thursday of Week 1 Year 1
13 Jan 2017 – Friday of Week 1 Year 1

Housekeeping – 1st Week of Advent

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Advent, Housekeeping, Sunday, Weekday Leave a comment

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

27 Nov 2016 – 1st Sunday of Advent Year A
28 Nov 2016 – Monday of the 1st Week of Advent
29 Nov 2016 – Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent
30 Nov 2016 – Saint Andrew, Apostle – Feast
1 Dec 2016 – Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent
2 Dec 2016 – Friday of the 1st Week of Advent

Housekeeping – 1st Week of Lent

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Housekeeping, Lent, Sunday, Weekday Leave a comment

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

14 Feb 2016 – 1st Sunday of Lent Year C
15 Feb 2016 – Monday of the 1st Week of Lent
16 Feb 2016 – Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent
17 Feb 2016 – Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent
18 Feb 2016 – Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent
19 Feb 2016 – Friday of the 1st Week of Lent

1st Sunday of Lent Year C

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Lent, Lent 1, Sunday, Year C Leave a comment

Most of us know that the ways of the world and the ways of God are different. For example, what the world sees as success is different from what God sees as success. According to the world, a person is successful if one has tremendous amounts of money, property and wealth, as well as power and popularity. People in the world would generally hardly take notice of you if you are poor, weak or unpopular, since in their mind, you would not have anything to offer them or you are of no use or advantage to them.

In today’s Gospel, we see the contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of God. Jesus was tempted by the devil to succumb to possessions, power and popularity, all of which are worldly matters. The devil tried to tempt Jesus to change the stones into bread, which is the temptation to place ones trust in riches, possessions and objects, as if such things are all that matters in our lives. The devil tried to tempt Jesus with power, by giving the impression and illusion that if we are in control of our lives, control of organisations, or control of other people; basically if we are in control generally, then we would be somebody important. The devil also tried to tempt Jesus with popularity, by doing things or performing feats which would attract the crowd and make one seem famous. But as we would later note, Jesus did perform miracles but never to show off or to make himself popular.

Such temptations are certainly challenging to overcome, but Jesus rejected all these temptations because none of them could take away the fact that He is the Son of God. Jesus is showing us that God loves us no matter who or what we are. We do not need to prove our importance by acquiring riches, power and popularity. Being God’s sons and daughters is all that we would ever want and need. In the first reading, Moses reminded the Israelites of their history and their identity. They were ‘nobodies’ or ‘slaves.’ But God gave them an identity by saving them, giving them a land which they could call home and made them His people. Without God they had no identity, no freedom, no riches, no importance. Only with God did they and us too become sombodies. Only with God would we find happiness and contentment.

Thus, if we are still caught up with the ways of the world, let us pray that we would learn to let go and let God be in control. Let us pray for God’s grace to resist all forms of temptations, knowing that they can never grant us eternal happiness. What matters is we find happiness and everlasting life in our loving God.

Wednesday of the 1st Week of Advent

Posted on by Posted in 1st, 1st Week, Advent, Advent 1, Wednesday, Weekday Leave a comment

How much do we really care about others? Do we care about the people around us? Do we care about the people in our neighbourhood? Do we care about what is going on in our country? Many of us may say we care, but how much do we care? Just a little? A bit more? A lot? Saying that we care is easy, since words are cheap. But what have we done or are doing to show we care? Sometimes, some of us may just give a few Malaysian ringgit or dollars for the needs of people around us, but is that all we are willing to do? Or are we willing to do much more than that? How many of us are willing to give not only financial help, but also our time and talents so that others may learn to grow and change? Are we willing to even give all that we have, for the glory of God?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus not only cured the lame, blind, crippled, dumb and many others, He also fed them. Jesus shows us what it means to go that extra mile for another person, instead of just dealing with the person’s immediate needs and be done with it. May we be willing to learn from our loving Lord, and be loving and caring to others, just as He is loving and caring to all of us.

Wednesday of the 1st Week of Advent

Posted on by Posted in 1st, 1st Week, Advent, Advent 1, Wednesday, Weekday Leave a comment

Nowadays, we are seeing more and more people becoming more and more concerned only about themselves. It seems as if “the survival of the fittest” is becoming more and more important than being in community or even being in family. In certain countries, the situation has come to such a state where even the parents are given a legislation where they could sue their children for maintenance and upkeep, as some of such countries have seen an increasing number of people abandoning or ignoring their parents. What is happening to such countries? Have people forgotten about being human, being a family, or even being a community? Has the attitude of “me, myself and I” become more important?

In today’s Gospel, we see a contrast between Jesus and His disciples. The disciples seemed to be more concerned about their needs, but Jesus was more concerned about the crowd, not only by teaching and healing them, but also in seeing to their welfare by giving them something to eat. Logistically speaking, the disciples seemed to be in a nightmarish situation, since realistically, it seemed impossible to feed so many. But what the disciples failed to realise is that Jesus is not just any ordinary preacher, and He showed them the true meaning of love and compassion by taking that extra step in giving the crowd something to eat.

What about us? Would we be willing to take that extra step and feed the multitude, not only spiritual food, but also physical food? Or have we become so concerned only about the costs and about ourselves? May we do our best to be like Jesus in the way He loved and served the crowd, so that others would know we are Christians by our love.

Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent

Posted on by Posted in 1st, 1st Week, Advent, Advent 1, Tuesday, Weekday Leave a comment

Some of us may have grown up entertained in a world of make believe, especially when we were children. We may have fantasised about fairy tales, imaginative heroes and imaginative villians, imaginative friends, and many other forms to keep ourselves happy, occupied and entertained. But what happens when we grow up, when we grow older? Quite possibly, we may come face to face with reality, that what we imagine or fantasise is not likely to happen, or we may begin to become more and more realistic about life, and set aside the many forms of imagination which we once had.

In today’s reading, what we hear from the prophet Isaiah seem to be like a fairy tale or figments of our imagination. The wolf lives with the lamb, the lion eats straw like the ox, the infant plays over the cobra’s hole: all these seem to portray a picture of serenity, peace and harmony. But could such things ever happen in the real world? Those of us who remain sceptical or realist in our thinking may say that such things are mere fairy tales or imagination. But God can make the impossible possible, and His ways are not our ways. What we thought to be imagination could be made real by God. So let us not remain doubtful or sceptical, but become like mere children as mentioned in the Gospel, knowing that our God can do wonders beyond our imagination and expectation. Let us learn to be more dependent in Him, and walk in His ways, while doing our part in promoting peace and harmony.

1st Sunday of Advent Year C

Posted on by Posted in 1st, Advent, Advent 1, Sunday, Year C Leave a comment

Every year, many of us would celebrate the new year to remember and give thanks to God for all the blessings of the past year and also take the opportunity to pray for a good year ahead. But today’s readings and Gospel seems to give us a different way of how Christians should celebrate the new year. What is this different way all about? This different way is that we celebrate the new year not by looking to the past or to the following year but to focus on the end of time or on the end of the world. It seems strange for us to focus on the end of time, so why should we do so, since some may find the end of time a not-so-pleasant topic?

Today’s Gospel appears to give us a frightening picture of the end of the world: “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.” For some, such natural disasters may seem scary or frightening, but science has shown us that such natural disasters mean that the earth is growing and evolving, which are signs of life instead of death. Planets that no longer have such natural disasters like earthquakes, storms, or volcanoes have no life, in other words, they are dead. Jesus gives us examples of such natural disasters to describe the end of the world and tell us that something new is about to take place. This means that, from this point of view, we should see the end of the world as a celebration of hope instead of fear.

Some of us may be wondering: when and how will all these take place? When and how is not important, but what we should do in preparation for such an event should be our focus. To begin with, even if there is confusion in our lives, even if things don’t go according to plan, nobody should lose heart, as Jesus reminds us: “When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.” Also, we may be tempted to run away or look for excuses or other solutions when faced with problems and challenges in the world, but we should instead watch ourselves and stay alert and ready, as Jesus reminds us: “Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap.” Moreover, we must “stay awake and pray.” This means that we must take our spiritual growth seriously, as St. Paul in the second reading urges each and every one of us to continue growing in our faith life.

So what does this mean to us? It means that we cannot rest on our laurels and think that we have plenty of time to grow closer to God. Instead, we should be consistent and persistent in our efforts to grow in our spiritual life and in our relationship with God and with others, as St. Paul advises us in the second reading: “We urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it.” May we do our best and stay alert and prepared, with hope and confidence that God will be our providence and guide.