Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: 21st

Monday of Week 21 Year 1

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We sometimes do not realise how much influence we have towards others. Sometimes the influence could be good or bad, depending on our attitude and behaviour. What we say and do could cause others to have a good or bad impression towards us, and could cause others to imitate us, for better or for worse. For example, a child observes the father smoking and drinking quite heavily. Observing such a habit and possibly addiction could one day cause the child to become a smoker and drinker also, especially if the child kept on imitating the father’s actions and was left unchecked.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gave us an example in the form of the scribes and Pharisees, of how others could be affected by our bad influence. He said: “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.” Such words seem harsh, but they remind and caution us of the devastating power and influence that we can have over others.

So what does this mean to us? It means that we should be careful of our words and actions. We should use our words and actions to help and influence others to grow closer to God. May we be good examples to others, and in all we do, give God the glory.

Friday of Week 21 Year 2

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We sometimes come across people who call themselves experts in a particular subject or a particular field of study. Such persons may claim to know a lot about the subject or field of study, but as we know, many subjects or fields of study evolve or change over time. Nothing is permanent and nothing remains the same, since what we know yesterday, may become old news, or obsolete, or no longer relevant today or tomorrow.

In today’s reading, we are reminded of an expert whose wisdom goes beyond any wisdom of man. The reading tells us: “As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned. Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? …For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Since God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, let us not become so proud, arrogant or conceited about wisdom found here on earth. Instead, let us remain humble and do our part in remaining in right relationship with God, and submit to His wisdom, since His wisdom is ageless and limitless.

Thursday of Week 21 Year 2

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In everything that we do, there needs to be some sort of preparation. For example, if we want to do well in an examination, we would need to study smart and get sufficient rest, so that we would be prepared and remain alert while attempting the examination. If we want to remain healthy, we would need to ensure we have healthy food, live a healthy lifestyle, exercise and go for regular medical checkups to detect any potential illnesses eatly. The same goes for our soul: if we want to keep our soul clean, we need to be regular in going for confession and doing penance. We do all these things because we do not know what is going to happen in the future, so we need to be well prepared.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns us “Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming… You too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”Jesus is not asking us to be extremists and focus only in our spiritual life, but also to take care of our lives too. There is a time and place for everything, and if we remain alert and vigilant, then there is no need to worry, since we are making efforts to stand ready. May we not be caught off-guard, but remain prepared to be with the Lord.

Tuesday of Week 21 Year 2

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Every once in a while, we come across people who try to scare others into believing that the world is going to end. They then try to cajole such persons into parting with their wealth, supposingly in preparation for the end of days. But if the end of days is really coming, why would anyone need wealth? Surely such wealth would not mean anything to anyone anymore, since the world would likely be destroyed and we would cease to exist as humans, and end up where we have chosen to be for all eternity. Such persons claiming such things are merely trying to cheat others of their wealth, and once they have gotten the loot, they would make a run for it.

In today’s reading, St Paul reminds us: “To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.” Instead of worrying too much about the end of the world, perhaps we should make more effort in remaining in good relationship with God. When we are in good relationship with God, then there is no reason to fret or fear, since God will be our help and guide.

Housekeeping – Week 21 Year 2

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

21 Aug 2016 – 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
22 Aug 2016 – Our Lady, Mother and Queen
23 Aug 2016 – Tuesday of Week 21 Year 2
24 Aug 2016 – St. Bartholomew, Apostle – Feast
25 Aug 2016 – Thursday of Week 21 Year 2
26 Aug 2016 – Friday of Week 21 Year 2

Friday of Week 21 Year 2

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How prepared are we to face God? If God were to call you right now, would you be ready to meet Him? Or would you begin to go about frantically preparing yourself, even though it may already be a little too late? Sometimes due to one reason or another, some of us may have neglected in preparing ourselves to meet God, only to regret our inaction or procrastination later. Why put ourselves in a spot if we had been given plenty of time and chances to be prepared?

In today’s Gospel, we come across ten bridesmaids. Five were foolish, five were sensible. Five chose to take things easy, five got things ready and were prepared for any situation. In the end, the five foolish bridesmaids ended up being left out and locked out. In our situation, would we end up like the five sensible bridesmaids, or would we be left out like the five foolish ones? May we be wise and prudent enough not be caught off-guard, and end up being left out.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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What sort of image do we have of God? Some of us seem to think of God as a fierce and strict police officer or judge, just waiting to catch us and condemn us for every little thing we have done. Some of us think that God is like a disciplinarian out to get us and give us a good whacking. But is God really like that? Of course not. Today’s first reading shows us that God is not interested in condemning us, but He wants to save all of us, since the reading tells us: “I am coming to gather the nations of every language.” Ultimately, God’s plan is to save everyone, regardless of race, language or culture.

So if this the case, then how do we understand the parable of the narrow door in today’s Gospel? Doesn’t this parable seem to imply that God is trying to catch us or make it tough for us to be with Him? Once again, no. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us: “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” What does this mean? What Jesus is trying to bring to our attention is not how many people would be saved, rather He is trying to emphasise to us the manner in which we should live our lives. Jesus is reminding us that to be a Christian is not easy. The way of the Christian, the narrow door, is not going to be an easy way. To follow Christ, we must be prepared to accept suffering too, since it means that we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him; it means that we would be misunderstood by others; it means that people would make fun of us, tease us and insult us; and it means that we must not seek positions of honour and power but must be prepared to be servants of others: “the first will be last and the last will be first.”

Though being a Christian means we should be prepared to suffer and that we should not be afraid of suffering, it does not mean we should become gluttons of punishment and purposely go looking for suffering. Through his own suffering and death, Jesus gave suffering a new meaning. Suffering is not punishment for our sins. Instead, the second reading assures us that: “Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness.” People who have gone through suffering would be more sensitive and caring to others who are suffering. Through suffering, one learns to be more patient and understanding of others.

Calling ourselves Christians is not good enough. Going to church each Sunday is also not good enough. We must put into practice what we profess to believe. Today, let us be courageous and steadfast in suffering for Christ, and pray for the strength and the courage to enter through the narrow gate. Let us also encourage others to persevere, so that together, we would be with our loving God.

Friday of Week 21 Year 1

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It is easy for some of us to be distracted with so many things in life here on earth, so much so that we may have neglected in our efforts to be prepared to meet the Lord. Some of us think that we still have much time to grow in relationship with God, and we procrastinate, thinking with confidence that we would eventually return to the Lord’s ways. But do we really have that much time?

In today’s Gospel, we come across ten bridesmaids: five were foolish, five were sensible. All ten were supposed to meet the bridegroom, but the foolish ones only brought their lamps without bringing extra oil, whereas the sensible ones brought both. The bridegroom was late and the lamps of the foolish bridesmaids were running out of oil. So these foolish bridesmaids had to go and buy more oil, and in their absence, the bridegroom came. As a result, the foolish bridesmaids ended up being locked out of the wedding hall.

Just as the foolish bridesmaids ended up being locked out, we too could find ourselves being locked out of God’s presence, if we have been foolish enough to be unprepared to meet Him. God has given plenty of chances for us to grow closer to Him, and it is up to us to be sensible enough to do our part. So let us not procrastinate any more but stay awake, because we do not know either the day or the hour.

Thursday of Week 21 Year 1

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Being sleepy during the day time could be hazardous to our health and could also lead to fatalities. We have seen how some people have fallen asleep at the steering wheel of the vehicle, only to end up in disastrous consequences. Even at the workplace, we may land ourselves into trouble or dangerous situations, if we are caught falling asleep by the boss, or if we fall asleep while operating dangerous equipment. This is why we need to be disciplined and get enough rest, so we will be alert and ready to do our work and other duties.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is cautioning us to stay awake for a different reason. Instead of our physical  sleepiness, Jesus is warning us about our spiritual sleepiness. We may have been sleepy in being regular in attending Mass, or sleepy in going for regular confession, or sleepy in being regular with our prayers and meditation. When we are spiritually sleepy, we may be caught off-guard or unaware if Jesus were to come and call us to give an account of our lives, since Jesus has cautioned us: “Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Thus, we have a choice: do we still wish to remain spiritually sleepy and risk our eternal future, or are we making efforts to remain alert and be ready for the Lord?

Wednesday of Week 21 Year 1

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Appearances can be deceiving. When we observe a person, especially when we do not know the person at all, or know very little about the person, we could be tricked or fooled into thinking that the person is friendly, good or holy. The person may appear to be prayerful, come for Mass, get involved in many church activities or even be friendly towards others, but is the person really doing all these and serving God for His greater glory? Or could there be a hidden agenda? Some of you may ask, aren’t we too quick to judge a person? The issue here is not about judging a person, but about being cautious and not be too quick in accepting a person as a friend or a confidant or confidante. This is because there are some people who could be putting on a show, just to win the support and admiration of others for a certain purpose or reason, and we could sometimes eventually discover their true intentions.

In today’s Gospel, we come across an example of how appearances can be deceiving. The scribes and the Pharisees were being given a good run down by Jesus, because of their attitude, behaviour, the amount of pretense at the way they portrayed themselves, and much more. Despite all Jesus had said and done, the scribes and the Pharisees chose to obstinately remain as they are, and throughout the Gospel, we can clearly see what sort of people they have become. We too could fall into the same trap as the scribes and the Pharisees, when we choose to remain stubborn and prefer to do things our way, while lording it over others. Are we willing to listen to Jesus’ warnings and have a change of heart, before it is too late?